Chapter 62 New Year Greetings (Please read! ^^)

Linqi Pavilion.

"My dear, all the brothers and sisters in my family have gone to Shou'an Hall to pay their respects."

Xue Niang glanced at Lin Qinshuang who was sipping her tea, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "It seems that Wei Xiaoniang from Mu Cang Zhai also went there this morning."

"Mrs. Wei? Did that bitch Wei Shuyi go to Shou'an Hall?"

Lin Qinshuang was very calm when listening to Xue Niang's report. After all, every year at this time the whole family would go to Shou'an Hall to pay New Year's greetings to the old lady. But when she heard that Wei Shuyi was also going, she stood up suddenly.

Lin Qinshuang's face was filled with resentment, and she angrily said, "I have been in the Sheng family for so many years, and my first child was a boy, but I have never been to Shou'an Hall even once. Why can that bitch Wei Shuyi go there?"

Lin Qinshuang had naturally forgotten what dirty tricks she had used to enter the Sheng family and cause Old Madam Sheng to hate her. She only knew that she seemed to be isolated.

It would have been fine if Wei Shuyi hadn’t gone.

Lin Qinshuang could still comfort herself in her heart that Shou'an Hall was not a place that concubines could go to.

But now even Wei Shuyi can enter Shou'an Hall, which means that he is the only one in the family who cannot go. The meaning is suddenly different.

Having already lost her power as housekeeper, Lin Qinshuang could only rely on Sheng Hong's favor to survive at home, and on weekdays she could only live on her own small piece of land in Linqi Pavilion.

Now, let alone other people, even the servants in his own courtyard might be subtly influenced and their thoughts might change.

If this continues, my position in the family will probably become even more shaky.

"Young lady, maybe it's because Changrong is still young, so the old lady asked you, Wei, to carry him." Xue Niang reminded carefully.

"Still young?"

Lin Qinshuang got angry when she talked about this. If Yang Wenyuan had not intervened in Yangzhou, it would be hard to say whether Wei Xiaoniang and Chang Rongniang were there or not, and there would not be so many troubles.

Thinking of this, Lin Qinshuang pointed her index finger at Xue Niang and said in a hateful voice, "If you hadn't been incompetent and failed to take good care of Minglan in Mu Cang Zhai, allowing her to escape and run into the young marquis, there wouldn't be so many problems now!"

"What do you mean Chang Rong is still young and wants Wei Shuyi to carry her? That's all an excuse! When I gave birth to Feng'er, I didn't see the old woman let me carry Feng'er!"

……

After wishing New Year's greetings to Old Madam Sheng, it was the Sheng family's turn to wish New Year's greetings to other families.

"The scholars and officials all congratulated each other, and the common people, both men and women, also dressed in fine clothes and visited each other to pay respects to each other."

As a civil servant, one usually has a lot of connections to visit.

If I were to visit them all in turn, I'm afraid even one day wouldn't be enough.

This is when you have to make a choice.

New Year greetings stickers came into being.

"When greeting people during festivals, those who cannot attend in person usually sign their names on a card and have a servant deliver it to everyone. This is a common custom."

New Year greeting cards are usually made from plum blossom paper.

It is two inches wide and three inches long, and is inscribed with the name of the person being congratulated, the congratulatory message, and the signature.

Close relatives come to visit in person.

For those who are not that close to you, just send a New Year greeting card.

Now is not the time to be in Yangzhou.

In Bianliang, a capital city filled with nobles, the Sheng family was considered one of the lowest-status families. Moreover, this year was the Sheng family's first year in Beijing, so many old relationships had to be renewed under the pretext of New Year's greetings.

Therefore, early in the morning, Sheng Hong took Changbai out and began to travel around various places in Bianliang.

First, visit neighbors to wish them a happy new year and get to know them.

After all, the families who could live in Jiying Lane were of good status, so we should have more contacts in the future. Then, we should visit the examiner who passed the imperial examination that year, that is, the family of our mentor. This was the most important interpersonal relationship for Sheng Hong in the officialdom, and it was also his natural faction.

This was destined the moment Sheng Hong passed the imperial examination and cannot be changed.

Next came former classmates, classmates, and fellow townsmen who were serving as officials in the capital. These people would come to build relationships and establish friendships so that their official careers could proceed smoothly.

As for Mrs. Sheng’s connections.

Not to mention the breakup between the Sheng family and the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion, just the fact that the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion is not in Bian Jing, but far away in Jinling, makes this impossible.

As for other relationships, Old Madam Sheng did not tell Sheng Hong in detail. Sheng Hong only knew Old Madam Yu from Lord Yu's family, but this relationship was a bit far-fetched. Even though Sheng Hong was eager to visit Lord Yu's family and seek progress, he ultimately did not have the courage to go.

If he were Madam Sheng's biological son, Sheng Hong would have shamelessly visited Lord Yu's home for the sake of his career, but unfortunately he was just an adopted son.

Same as the Sheng family.

The Yang family of Pingyang Marquis's Mansion also wants to go out to pay New Year's greetings.

However, unlike the Sheng family, the Yang family, as marquises and nobles, only needed to visit the nobles with whom they had connections in person. Most of the time, they stayed at home waiting for people to come and pay New Year's greetings.

In addition to waiting for people to wish them a happy new year, the Yang family also hung a large red bag at the door with the words "Receive Blessings" written on it to receive New Year greetings from other families.

Many dignitaries have the same big red bags at the door of their mansions.

There were so many New Year greetings that needed to be received that the doorman could not handle it all by receiving them one by one, so he simply hung up a "lucky bag" to receive the New Year greetings.

According to Mrs. Chen's instruction to "take care of external affairs yourself", Yang Wenyuan had to come to pay New Year's greetings.

Therefore, as soon as Yang Wenyuan returned home from the palace, he set out to pay New Year's greetings without even getting off the carriage.

Mrs. Chen has already prepared the New Year gifts.

It is a mahogany lacquer tray container, called "New Year's Gift Box", with auspicious words engraved on it and gifts placed inside.

The first place Yang Wenyuan wanted to go was the Duke of England’s Mansion.

After all, as fellow nobles, it is natural for him to visit the eldest brother among the nobles first.

What's more, Yang Wenyuan will also join the army later, so he has to come to the Duke of Ying's Mansion first.

As the top boss among the military honors, the Duke of England's Mansion was very powerful. At this time, many carriages of noble families were parked at the gate.

The doorman of the noble family was very sharp-eyed. Before Yang Wenyuan got off the carriage, he recognized it as the Marquis's carriage, and the butler of the Duke of England's mansion came to greet him immediately.

Enter the British Palace.

Yang Wenyuan saw the Duke of England with white hair and beard, the Duke of England's wife whom he had just met, and Zhang Guifen who looked heroic next to him.

As for the eldest son in the family, he should have gone out to pay New Year's greetings.

As the only daughter born to the Duchess of England, Zhang Guifen was naturally loved by the Zhang family.

Even though Zhang Guifen liked to wield swords and guns since she was a child, her family members all followed her.

But this favor is obviously limited.

Otherwise, the Duke of England would not have ignored the objection of the Lady of England and insisted on rejecting her proposal to marry a girl from the Zhang family's side branch to Uncle Shen, and also rejected the almost agreed marriage and insisted on marrying Zhang Guifen to Uncle Shen.

Obviously, the Duke of England's love for his only daughter is far less than that of the old Marquis of Yongyi.

But this is understandable. After all, one has no hope of continuing his direct bloodline and can only give all his love to his daughter, while the other has a son to continue the family.

　This book has a little hope for Sanjiang, and I implore all readers to stop supporting the book these days!
　　Thank you all for your recommendations, monthly tickets and collections!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)