After a few days of preparation, it was finally time for the banquet. Early in the morning, Ruiding residence sent the eldest Young Madam and Xiao Xu over to help. The second Young Madam’s belly had grown bigger and it was inconvenient for her to move around, so she didn’t come.
In addition to the women from Marquis residence, there was also Marquis Jinan’s wife, the second Young Madam of Marquis Taiping’s family, Old Madam Han from Duke Zhenguo’s family, and the Minister of Appointments, Lord Yu’s wife. Among them, Madam Yu and Marchioness Jinan brought their daughters while Old Madam Han brought her granddaughter.
After these ladies entered, it was only natural for them to look around the residence. The former third Young Master of the Ruiding family, who had now leaped to become the dragon’s descendant, and the fact that the Emperor had a mansion built for him, naturally made everyone curious. They wanted to see how the mansion was built. There were also some who couldn’t help but poke their noses into everything.
But Gu Sui’er was not someone who would indulge in gossip. She was wholeheartedly focused on entertaining the guests so as to not make Xiao Heng lose face. Moreover, she wasn’t much of a talkative person.
Gradually, everyone reckoned that this concubine consort of the fifth prince didn’t know anything at all. At first glance, she seemed simple-minded, but upon closer inspection, she seemed a bit foolish. They inferred she was just a village girl who happened to become a consort by a stroke of luck and naturally, no longer asked her any questions.
The others gave up their ideas but Madam Yu whispered to her daughter: “Although this concubine consort is somewhat beautiful, she seems a bit foolish. She only got her position because she conceived a child. Who knows what will happen in the future.”
Hearing this, her fifteen years old daughter, Yu Xiuming, realized the meaning behind those words.
As they were talking, everyone arrived at Tingzhu Courtyard. As soon as they entered, the Old Madam of Marquis Ruiding’s family praised: “This place looks just like our old Tingzhu Courtyard ah!”
Gu Sui’er smiled: “Yes, His Highness said that he was afraid it would take some time to get used to this place after moving, so he simply decided to make it similar to Tingzhu Courtyard.”
She added: “His Highness also prepared separate courtyards for Old Madam and Madam so that whenever you come over to relieve your boredom, he can properly show filial respect to you.”
Everyone knew that the fifth prince grew up in Marquis Ruiding’s residence. Now that his concubine said this, it was clear that he had not forgotten their grace of bringing him up. The Old Madam was naturally happy to hear the others praise herself and her family. Her face shone with joy. Even the usually expressionless Madam couldn’t help but smile: “His Highness is so thoughtful.”
As they spoke, they entered the main house of Tingzhu Courtyard. Once they stepped in, the guests exclaimed in admiration.
Inside the house, there was actually an entire set of red sandalwood furniture. From the tables to the high-back chairs, all were carved out of the same red sandalwood. This immediately stunned everyone. It should be noted that high-ranking rich households in Yanjing City liked to use this type of wood for making furniture nowadays. However, it was becoming increasingly expensive due to its scarcity. Yet, despite its high price and insufficient supply, people were willing to buy it for the sake of face.
Upon closer inspection, they saw that by the window, there was also a large rosewood table with inkstones and a white jade brush pot on it. Next to the brush pot on the windowsill were a pair of white jade vases with bamboo branches in them.
On the eastern side was a Nanjing gold-threaded hollow-out carved canopy bed. The canopy on the bed was made of smoke-colored gauze, layer upon layer. It was exquisite and precious. Beside the bed, there was a small table with a silver tray placed on it. There were a few Buddha’s hands and children’s toys in it.
When Madam Yu saw this, she couldn’t help but exclaim: “Goodness! This red sandalwood table is a part of a rare entire set! Why is it placed here?”
In her opinion, if someone had such a set, they should naturally place it in the most conspicuous place, such as the reception pavilion, where guests could see it. That would be considered prestigious. But this fifth prince had chosen to place it in the Tingzhu Courtyard, where guests were not to come unless they were women. This was truly a grand style, showing that he basically didn’t take such things seriously.
Gu Sui’er was the same. But it wasn’t because she considered money worthless; it was because she simply didn’t know that this piece of furniture was so valuable.
She didn’t handle the household purchases, and Xiao Heng didn’t care about it either, so he naturally wouldn’t remind her of how invaluable and rare it was. It wasn’t the servants’ place to tell her about it either, so she truly had no idea.
Completely unaware, when Gu Sui’er heard Madam Yu’s words, she replied with a smile: “A few days ago, I brought up to His Highness whether we should just replace it or not. It doesn’t look pleasing when it’s placed here.”
Little Ah Chen liked bright colors so she thought of it. That table’s shade was too dark.
When she said this, the women of the Ruiding residence, who knew Gu Sui’er well, understood that she didn’t know the value of this red sandalwood. She just felt that the color wasn’t good because it didn’t suit little Ah Chen’s preferences.
However, the others didn’t know this. Everyone took a deep breath; even the experienced and knowledgeable Old Madam Han couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
It was said that the favored fifth prince doted on his concubine a lot, but they never expected him to treasure her to such an extent.
To casually replace such a good thing is so distressing!
Looking at the smiling and gentle Gu Sui’er, all their thoughts of her being foolish vanished like smoke.
All that was left was envy.
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