All the guests' eyes turned to Su Fei, with some curiosity, some surprise, and some fear.
Everyone knows Imperial Guard's famous name, and no one would have thought that Imperial Guard Thousand Households Officer would actually come to the birthday banquet of the salt merchant Yangzhou.
Before Su Fei could speak, a middle-aged man wearing a blue brocade robe quickly walked out of Liang Garden. He was about fifty years old and had a respectful face.
He bowed to Su Fei with a respectful tone.
"The villains Liang Zhong and Liang Residence are in charge. I have seen Thousand Households Commander Su. The master of the house has already given instructions. If Lord Su comes, I need to personally lead you in. Please come with the villain."
Su Fei nodded slightly and followed Liang Zhong inside.
As soon as I stepped into Liang Garden, the scene in front of me changed.
It's like two different worlds from the outside.
At the foot is a winding path paved with bluestone slabs, with well-proportioned rockery ponds on both sides, in which rare double-peduncle lotus plants are planted.
The courtyards along the way are all decorated with painted pillars and carved beams.
The green plants on the roadside are neatly and elegantly trimmed, dotted with various exotic flowers, and many valuable jade ornaments are placed in the corridor.
Even the servants and slaves passing through were all wearing uniform silk uniforms, behaved neatly, and had decent smiles on their faces.
Su Fei sighed in his heart.
This Yangzhou salt merchant is really rich.
Passing by a hall on the road, the door was open, and all kinds of exquisite dishes were carried by waiters like running water and sent into the hall. There were dozens of banquet tables in the hall, which was very noisy.
Su Fei thought we were at the right place.
Steward Liang Lower your voice.
"Lord Su, you are a distinguished guest. Please come over here."
Take Su Fei through a moon gate.
An open courtyard appeared in front of him. There was a stage in the center of the courtyard and dozens of long tables on both sides. Many guests were already seated and surrounded by lakes on both sides.
There is also a nine-curved stone bridge in the courtyard, connecting the pavilion in the center of the lake, where musicians are playing music.
"The scale of this Liang Garden is even more luxurious than the residences of officials in the imperial city."
Imperial Guard beside him whispered to Su Fei, his eyes filled with wonder.
Su Fei nodded slightly, sighing in his heart.
He is just a salt merchant, but he has such financial resources and ostentation. It seems that this Yangzhou salt merchant's ability in Guangling is indeed not small.
He glanced at the guests in the courtyard. In addition to wealthy businessmen and officials, there were also many warriors with strong auras. Some had bulging bags on their waists, obviously carrying weapons.
Liang Zhong led Su Fei to the long table in the first row.
"Lord Su, this is the seat specially reserved for you by the master of the house. You sit down first. The master of the house is receiving guests in the inner hall and will come later."
After that, he ordered the maid to serve tea and snacks before bowing and leaving.
Su Fei After he sat down, the surrounding guests, although they did not come forward to chat, frequently looked at him from the corner of their eyes.
Imperial Guard Thousand Households Officer's identity makes these wealthy businessmen and officials who usually make the most of things a little more cautious.
Su Fei picked up the tea cup, but his eyes fell on a few people in the corner of the courtyard.
Those people were wearing uniform black attire, with "Canal Transport Gang" embroidered on their shoulders. They were chatting in low voices, and their eyes glanced at the door from time to time, as if they were waiting for someone.
"Canal Transport Gang people are here too."
Su Fei is thinking in his heart.
"It's not that this salt merchant named Liang has a good relationship with both Salt Gang and Canal Transport Gang. It's a bit strange why we only saw Canal Transport Gang attending the banquet today and not Salt Gang."
Just as Su Fei was thinking, there was a sudden commotion at the entrance to the courtyard.
I saw a wealthy old man wearing a purple brocade robe and a jade crown walking towards him, surrounded by servants.
The old man was about sixty years old, with a ruddy complexion and a piece of hollow jade of excellent quality hanging around his waist.
It is the host of this birthday banquet, the great salt merchant Liang Yuanzhi.
As soon as Liang Yuanzhi appeared, the guests in the courtyard stood up to greet him, including several warriors from Canal Transport Gang, who bowed their hands.
"Master Liang."
Liang Yuanzhi smiled and raised his hand to signal everyone to sit down. He walked steadily to the main seat and sat down with a loud voice.
"Today, I am honored to have all of you come to my birthday banquet. It is a great honor for me. The banquet will begin immediately. To express my gratitude, I have prepared a small gift to give you a good start."
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of boys came forward with trays, and in each tray was placed a small gold bar three inches long.
The front of the gold bar is engraved with "Celebrating Liang Yuanzhi's 60th Anniversary Banquet".
The back is engraved with the exquisite Grand Canal pattern.
The servants handed gold bars to each guest in turn, and even the two Imperial Guard next to Su Fei also received one.
Su Fei took the gold bar and weighed it. It was about twenty taels. According to the market price, it was worth several hundred taels of silver.
He rubbed the gold bar with his fingertips and sighed in his heart.
This wave of 'small gifts' alone cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. The financial resources of Liang Yuanzhi are indeed unfathomable.
"Master Liang is really generous!"
The guests praised him one after another.
Liang Yuanzhi smiled without saying a word and raised his hand to signal the musicians to play.
Soon, a group of singers and dancers in colorful clothes walked slowly from the nine-curved stone bridge. They danced gracefully and sang gracefully, and the atmosphere in the courtyard instantly became lively.
Fine wines and delicacies were served one after another, including deep-sea shark's fin, thousand-year-old ginseng stewed chicken, and grape wine donated by Western Regions. Each dish was exquisite and luxurious, far exceeding the banquet standards of ordinary officials.
After three rounds of drinking, Liang Yuanzhi stood up with a glass in hand and began to toast everyone in turn.
He first paid tribute to several local officials, and then clinked glasses with Canal Transport Gang warriors. His words were flawless, showing respect without losing dignity.
When he reached the Su Fei table, he deliberately stopped, raised his glass and smiled.
"Thousand Households Commander Su holds an important position at a young age, and has also solved major cases like Vajra Temple. He is truly a talented young man. I admire you the most for such a courageous and capable young man."
Su Fei stood up and responded in a calm tone.
"Master Liang is too praised. I am just doing my duty Imperial Guard."
Liang Yuanzhi came closer and lowered his voice.
"Thousand Households Commander Su came to Guangling Commandery this time for the tax and bank case, I guess. I have some connections in Guangling Commandery, who may be able to help. After the banquet is over, I wonder if Thousand Households Commander Su can move to the inner hall and chat with me alone?"
Su Fei felt something in his heart.
Liang Yuanzhi took the initiative to mention the tax bank case and invited him to talk alone, obviously he had something to say.
Anyway, he has no clue about the case now,
So he nodded in agreement.
The smile on Liang Yuanzhi's face became even brighter. He clinked glasses with Su Fei, drank the wine in one gulp, and then went to toast other guests.
Su Fei sat back down, twirling his wine glass, not interested in enjoying the singing and dancing, and glanced at the guests in the courtyard.
The people at Canal Transport Gang were still talking in low voices, and several officials were toasting each other.
When the banquet ended, the guests left in twos and threes. Many people even waved their hands to say hello when they passed by the Su Fei table.
It's almost time to wait for people to leave.
Liang Zhong appeared at the right time and bowed.
"Thousand Households Commander Su, the master of the house is waiting in the inner hall, please follow me."