Since there is space, it is naturally the best to buy it for 0 yuan

Chapter 670 The Xu Family, a Monopolistic Power

Most of the ones I encountered before were colluding with each other, acting in concert for evil purposes.

"Yes, Master, I obey."

"Then let's hold our banquet at Qiushui Residence. Let's rent it in advance and check it out carefully before the banquet starts."

"Yes, master."

"Go down."

During the day, Shen Ruyi put on makeup, swaggered out of the inn and went out onto the street, wandering around.

I had only been on the street for a short while, right in front of the Treasure Pavilion, when I witnessed a lively spectacle of a bunch of green tea and white tea sparring each other.

Shen Ruyi hadn't seen such a lively and exciting scene in a long time, and immediately forgot why she had come out, squeezing to the front of the crowd.

They watched the show while munching on sunflower seeds.

When they see something exciting, they'll chime in with a shout of approval or applause.

I must say, the ladies of ancient times were exceptionally clever.

A single sentence can be uttered in a roundabout way, and even a person of two different temperaments can speak in such a unique and pleasant way that you might think they are praising you if you don't listen carefully.

Shen Ruyi shook her head. These girls were too precocious. They were only thirteen or fourteen years old, yet they were already so mature. It was frightening.

The listener was extremely tired.

Thankfully, she was not confined to the inner quarters.

Otherwise, given her straightforward nature, she might not be able to outsmart these ancient people when it comes to using tricks and cunning.

They're all so precocious.

The ladies were initially just fighting over jewelry.

Later, it escalated to a competition of social standing, and then to a competition of potential betrothal partners.

Good heavens, they're thinking way too early. How old are they? That's terrifying.

Before Shen Ruyi could finish eating her melon, the situation on the scene was completely reversed due to the arrival of the fifth eldest daughter of the Xu family.

The two groups, who had been arguing fiercely, immediately quieted down and fawned over the fifth daughter of the Xu family.

Shen Ruyi was now completely convinced that the Xu family held absolute power in the area.

After all, among those young ladies were from the families of the prefect, the assistant prefect, and other families.

But once the Xu family appeared, no one dared to act recklessly anymore, which shows how influential the Xu family was in the area.

It seems this is the first family she needs to deal with.

With concubines and generals in the family, if a child is born and the mother gains power through the child, this would be the most dangerous kind of maternal relative.

A powerful maternal relative is extremely unfriendly to ordinary people; it must be nipped in the bud and cannot be allowed to grow stronger.

It needs to be tidied up in advance.

Seeing that the excitement had died down and things were about to get heated again, Shen Ruyi clapped her hands in disappointment and prepared to leave.

The fifth daughter of the Xu family accidentally saw it and had someone stop Shen Ruyi.

"What do you mean by this? I don't think I know you. Why are you stopping me?"

"Or is it that some young lady has taken a fancy to me? And wants to offer herself to me?" Shen Ruyi asked.

One of the attendants scolded Shen Ruyi, saying, "How dare you! You should take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror. How dare you even think you can covet my young lady?"

"Don't you even know where you are? How dare you speak to our young lady like that? I think you're asking for trouble."

"No, you're blocking my way. If you didn't have your eye on me, why would you stop me? Are you saying your young lady is being hypocritical and actually has her eye on me?"

"How dare you! Go and slap him! How dare a lowly commoner covet me? You're tired of living!"

As she spoke, a maidservant came over and slapped her across the face with a ferocious expression.

Shen Ruyi turned her head to the side and slapped the maid back, sending her flying.

"If you've taken a liking to me, why are you stopping me? Don't you know the proper separation between men and women, and that men and women shouldn't touch each other?"

Or does this young lady enjoy abducting men in the street? How desperate must she be to do this in broad daylight?

"You, you, stop him for me, beat him hard, no matter what."

Shen Ruyi thought to herself, "Great, excellent! Here comes another free piece of leverage."

"Everyone come and see! The fifth young lady of the Xu family tried to abduct a man, but failed. Now she's planning to kill him to silence him! Help! The fifth young lady of the Xu family is trying to abduct a man! Help!" Shen Ruyi shouted as she ran, using her inner strength to make sure as many people as possible heard her.

So, Shen Ruyi ran ahead and a long line of people followed behind her.

He ran around shouting, making sure everyone knew about the news.

This kind of thing is bound to escalate further.

She led the group around the city three times before stopping. Actually, she could still run, but she stopped only after she saw that the mission was complete.

Of course, the story of the fifth young lady of the Xu family chasing after a man in the street spread to every household and became common knowledge.

After walking the dogs for a while, Shen Ruyi changed her clothes and swaggered into a restaurant for a meal before leisurely returning to the inn.

The fifth young lady of the Xu family was almost driven to her death by Shen Ruyi today.

Some things can be done in private but cannot be discussed in public. This is the most basic rule; at the very least, they cannot be discussed openly.

Besides, even if the Xu family is the most powerful family here, a woman is still a woman.

It's not a pleasant thing to hear about your daughter chasing after a complete stranger all over the street.

This is just ruining their own reputation for no reason; the Xu family also cares about their image.

Moreover, the Xu family is a large clan with many unmarried daughters. The most direct consequence of doing this is to ruin the reputation of the unmarried girls in the Xu family.

Before going to bed that night, Yi Ren told Shen Ruyi about it as a joke.

Unfortunately, she didn't know that this matter was related to Shen Ruyi.

Shen Ruyi went to bed early, while the fifth young lady of the Xu family smashed several sets of porcelain at home in anger.

Meanwhile, the Xu family also sent a large number of people to search for the person all over the streets, determined not to give up until they found him.

If it weren't for the fact that the King of Donghai was here and it wasn't advisable to make a big fuss, the Xu family might have already sealed off the city gates and dug up the ground to search for them.

When has the Xu family ever suffered such humiliation? They must find that ungrateful wretch and beat him to death.

Xihe, on the other hand, stayed at the inn and spent the whole day writing invitations to prepare for the banquet two days later.

The next day, Shen Ruyi sent invitations to every household in Yangque City.

Banquet day.

All the local powerful families, officials, and gentry of Yangque City were present.

Everyone had mixed feelings about the King of the East Sea; they were afraid that he was there to investigate them, but they also hoped to get in touch with him.

This is a path to heaven; who in the whole world is as powerful as him, who has the Emperor's trust as much, and who lives as freely as him?

Which of the other princes didn't live cautiously, at least on the surface? As for their private lives, that's another story.

How could they dare to do whatever they wanted like the King of the East Sea, even daring to break the sky?

So, while these people were on guard against the King of the East Sea, they also began to try to curry favor with him.

They brought their sons and daughters along. Whether it was a son or a daughter, as long as they could win a smile or a word of appreciation from the King of the East Sea, they would be able to walk around with their heads held high.

Therefore, the actual number of attendees was far higher than Shen Ruyi's initial estimate.

She originally thought some people would be too scared to come and would make excuses to decline, but she didn't expect so many people to come.

Moreover, he only wrote that family members could attend the banquet, never expecting that people would bring their children.

This was completely unexpected for her, but naturally, the more people who came, the better.

Shen Ruyi took the preparations for the banquet very seriously, considering every detail.

Apart from the food ingredients being a bit insufficient and needing to be added, everything else is fine.

Once they arrived, many people started chatting in twos and threes, speculating and trying to find out the latest news.

To put it bluntly, everyone wants to know what the King of the East Sea is really up to.

After some back and forth, everyone decided to hold the banquet to raise funds for disaster relief supplies.

This is the only reasonable explanation that everyone can think of.

After all, the nobles in the capital are fond of doing this; it's a familiar and old practice.

The King of the East Sea is neither the first nor the last.

They weren't entirely unprepared; they had already discussed and decided at home how much supplies and money they were willing to donate.

There's an upper limit that can't be exceeded.

So they had already thought it through: it's just a matter of spending some money and effort, no problem.

As long as the King of the East Sea doesn't have too big an appetite, they are still willing to give the other party a good deal.

If this thing catches the eye of the King of the East Sea, then that would be a meteoric rise to power.

This is a consensus among everyone.

After testing each other a few times, everyone realized they all meant the same thing.

They began to probe each other's bottom lines, trying not to be too high or too low, so as not to displease the King of the East Sea.

The men and women of the family were all dressed in their finest attire, meticulously groomed and tidied, all in an effort to leave a good impression on the King of the East Sea.

The young women were even more so, all dressed up in their finest attire, some even bringing musical instruments like zithers.

The purpose was to gain recognition in front of the King of the East Sea. If the King of the East Sea took a liking to them, they would all rise to prominence.

“The King of the East Sea is a king of the opposite sex. He is so young and has a bright future. Even if you can stay by the King of the East Sea's side as a maid, it would be good.”

"Who says otherwise? I've heard that the King of the East Sea is young, handsome, and exceptionally charming. To become his woman would be an incredible blessing."

"I've also heard that the King of the East Sea has no other women by his side and is still a pure and innocent young man. If anyone manages to win his heart, they'll be extraordinary in the future..."

Shen Ruyi overheard the shadow guards describing how the people attending the banquet today described her and how they were plotting against her.

He even treated her like a piece of Tang Monk's flesh, and almost choked on his own saliva.

These people are crazy. Should we say they're reckless and lack common sense, or should we say they're incredibly ambitious?

Shen Ruyi: "They're quite bold. Haven't they heard of my fearsome reputation? How dare they even try to take advantage of me?"

“Master, what’s the big deal? Since ancient times, fortune has always been found in danger. With such a huge temptation as yours, it’s perfectly normal for them to take the risk for it.”

Many families have climbed the ladder to heaven by relying on their daughters; it's the shortcut of shortcuts, and what could be more effective?

All they needed to do was send out a few girls to test the waters; there were no other losses.

"What you say seems to make sense. Ah, power and wealth are truly blinding. Let's go, it's time for me to make my appearance."

Shen Ruyi flicked her sleeves and headed towards the banquet hall outside.

With a chorus of "Your Highness has arrived!" Shen Ruyi appeared, expressionless, strutting leisurely.

In reality, he was observing the guests kneeling on the ground, calling him "Your Majesty" out of the corner of his eye.

There were more than 120 people who came.

Once he was seated calmly at the head of the table, he looked at the large mass of heads buried in the ground and said in a cool tone, "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Shen Ruyi didn't say a single unnecessary word. She gave a signal with her eyes, and Ying Wu drew out a long voice, imitating the palace eunuchs, and called out, "Let the feast begin."

"We await Your Highness's request."

Shen Ruyi calmly looked at the people below, without mentioning the purpose of the banquet.

Then, Shadow 5 clapped his hands, and people started serving the food.

This approach of saying nothing has confused and unsettled everyone.

This made everyone anxious and ponder: what exactly is the purpose of the King of the East Sea today?

Why did he start the banquet without saying or mentioning anything? Shouldn't he have said a few words and explained the purpose of his trip?

I have a feeling that something is off about today's banquet.

The banquet began amidst everyone's bewilderment. It was a fine banquet, but unfortunately, very few people were actually there to eat.

Shen Ruyi looked at the crowd below casually, without saying a word, and no one knew what she was thinking.

After a brief lull in the atmosphere, the current head of the Xu family, with a forced smile, offered Shen Ruyi a toast.

Shen Ruyi glanced at the other party with a clear and sharp look, but did not refuse. She waved her hand and Ying Shiliu gave her some of the fruit wine she had brewed herself.

I drank a cup of wine virtually.

Seeing that the King of the East Sea, though not talkative, did not refuse, the crowd's hearts, which had just been frozen, warmed up again.

They grew bolder and began taking turns to toast Shen Ruyi.

Of course, those who could show respect to Shen Ruyi were the heads of these families and the adults.

Shen Ruyi, unusually good-natured, accepted all their invitations and drank a cup with each of them.

Subsequently, someone suggested that their sons and daughters perform something for Shen Ruyi.

There was no reason to refuse, so I waved my hand and agreed.

Then the music of string and wind instruments began, and the banquet reached its climax.

The young ladies who came displayed all their skills to the fullest.

One act ends and another begins, it's quite a lively scene.

The girls below, with their delicate, slender figures and supple waists, evoked pity in one's heart.

It's a pity she's not a man, otherwise she would have had a chance to experience the joys and pleasures of being a man.

Pity.

The difference between women from the south and girls from the north is quite significant.

Her dancing was both incredibly beautiful and incredibly alluring.

If she didn't have important business to attend to today, she would definitely have taken the time to appreciate it properly.

Shen Ruyi sighed inwardly once again, wondering why she wasn't a man.

The men are eating so well, she's even jealous.

Their calligraphy and painting skills are also superb. Those who can perform here are all professional students who have studied from elementary school to university, so you can tell their skill as soon as they make a move.

I must say, the show at that time was still very entertaining, reaching the pinnacle of elegance.