Chapter 185: A Grand Feast
A Wu sat in the inner room of the doorman’s lodge, his eyes wide open, watching the officials attending the imperial banquet enter one by one. He watched them, their movements stiff as they exchanged pleasantries, as if bound by their brand-new official robes. He watched them being directed by the stewards into lines, kneeling and rising at the call of the old retainer.
After the final rehearsal of etiquette, during a brief rest period, a group of people politely offered each other seats. Before they could decide who would go first, a crisp whip crack signaled that the official time to enter had arrived.
The stewards coming and going were all very polite to A Wu. They stood and chatted with her, exchanged a few jokes, and answered her questions.
A Wu only let out a long sigh after watching the officials line up and enter the second gate, then form a long procession into the villa.
Just watching for an hour or two inside the second gate made her feel exhausted. These royal banquets are truly not easy to attend!
Speaking of intelligence, A Nan is the one to admire. I heard that the female guests had the same etiquette procedures. How tiring that must be!
Fortunately, she is here to do a task. Attending this royal banquet is much more tiring for the guests than for those working.
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At the first quarter of the Mao hour, as the final etiquette rehearsal was underway inside the second gate of the Prince’s Estate villa, Gu Yan, dressed in black riding attire with a python-patterned sleeve, exuded an aura of menace as he, surrounded by guards and attendants, charged into the temporary field headquarters adjacent to the wharf.
Wang Gui, charging at the forefront, raised the golden tiger-head token high and announced loudly, “Commander Gu has arrived! There is a military order!”
The on-duty squad ran forward, pushed open the headquarters gate, and Gu Yan rode his horse straight in.
Several commanders, having received Yang Qifan’s military order, were already in their battle attire and prepared. They immediately assembled their respective soldiers and, following Gu Yan’s command, headed straight for the wharf.
Huang Xianzhou and Mr. Yao, each wrapped in a faded old padded coat, stood in front of the Prince’s Estate’s shed, feeling the cold sea breeze, craning their necks to look around, not feeling cold at all.
“Remember this clearly, there are seven families in total. Be firm with the other six, but be polite with Foreman Zou’s family. Officially speaking, Foreman Zou’s family is the wronged party. Remember, investigate only two things: one related to our case, and the other related to our task. Remember this!” Huang Xianzhou reiterated.
“Esteemed Master, please calm your heart. You’ve said this seven or eight times already. My task here is minor, please don’t worry. You should focus on your end. Not a single silk warehouse on this wharf can be missed. Your part is much more important than mine.” Mr. Yao’s heart was pounding.
This was the first time he had experienced something of this magnitude, and he was very excited.
“Yes, my part is important, very important. Ah! They’re here!”
A person and a horse were charging from a distance. Huang Xianzhou excitedly took a step forward, tripped, and Mr. Yao quickly grabbed him. “Esteemed Master, don’t rush, steady yourself, steady yourself!”
“I’m not rushing, I’m not rushing, what’s there to rush about! It’s fine, it’s fine now!”
Huang Xianzhou took a deep breath and watched the person and horse charge right up to him. Before he could speak, the servant on the horse, while dismounting, waved and called out, “Please follow us!”
………………………………
He Ruiming rushed into his father’s courtyard, almost colliding with his father.
He Chengzhe stepped aside, avoiding He Ruiming, fastened his belt, took his cape from the old servant, and put it on. By the time he tied the cape strings, he had already left the courtyard gate.
He Chengzhe fastened his cape and stopped outside the courtyard gate. He patted He Ruiming, “Don’t rush. The more critical the situation, the less you should panic. What’s happening outside?”
“It’s all soldiers!” He Ruiming’s face was pale.
“Take a breath, and exhale. Feeling any better?” He Chengzhe stopped and placed his hand on his son’s shoulder.
He Ruiming took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Yes, much better.”
“Let’s go, don’t rush, it’s fine.” He Chengzhe walked to the main gate, ascended to the pavilion above the doorman’s lodge, and, bending over, looked outside through the gap in the window.
After watching for a while, He Chengzhe came down, asked the doormen a few questions carefully, instructed them to guard the entrance well, and led his son into the second gate.
“Everything was fine…”
He Ruiming, following closely behind He Chengzhe, had not finished his sentence before he was interrupted by He Chengzhe.
“Everything was fine? Alas! You child.”
He Chengzhe sighed, “The net is being cast now, and at this particular time.”
He Chengzhe frowned, paused for a moment, and said softly, “It seems that the Crown Prince’s trip south is likely for this Maritime Tax Bureau. At least today’s imperial banquet is to allow the Young Lord to successfully cast his net.”
“Then what should we do? We didn’t know about such a big matter. This is in Linhai Town.” He Ruiming’s voice trembled slightly.
“This is nothing. What’s wrong with Linhai Town? Linhai Town isn’t ours. Alas.” He Chengzhe sighed softly and patted his son, “The net should be cast and withdrawn around noon. You go wash up, eat something, and then go find the Young Lord. When you find him, tell him I want to see him; I have something important to report in person.”
“Father?” He Ruiming sounded uneasy.
“It’s nothing.” He Chengzhe smiled and comforted him gently.
“Okay, I’ll go wash up now.” He Ruiming felt a little more at ease and turned to run back to his own courtyard.
He Chengzhe, with his hands behind his back, watched his son run away. He stood in thought for a while, then turned and walked back to his own courtyard.
Alas, this is not just casting a net; this is raising the curtain.
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The sun rose to its zenith, and the female guests who came to receive the imperial banquet finally concluded their lengthy etiquette and entered the relaxing phase of eating, drinking, and watching opera.
The young ladies were led to a water pavilion and warm pavilion by the water. A winding corridor connected to another spacious pavilion against the mountain, which was the place for the old ladies and madams to feast and rest. There, accompanied by Mrs. Fu and Second Madam Pan, they listened to the singing of a Pingtan master and chatted.
Facing the water pavilion and warm pavilion, a grand opera stage was performing a festive and auspicious play.
The young ladies’ minds were not on the opera stage. They were busy carefully examining this legendary villa. The boundless lake before them rippled with clear blue waves. Was this tall small mountain entirely man-made? How beautiful were the pavilions and towers here, as if they had naturally grown from under the trees by the water?
The maids here seemed rather ordinary, ordinary in appearance, and even more ordinary in their clothing, and they were silent.
The pastries and tea here were also just so-so. They were good, but only just good. They were far from as good as they had imagined, and even less refined and particular than the pastries at their own homes!
Those noble ladies had such good bearing. The three who were dressed identically were said to be Wei Family girls!
However, the clothes and jewelry of these noble ladies were also just so-so, not as good as theirs.
Miss Shi walked over to a few young ladies sitting by the lake and sat down on an empty chair. Facing the young ladies who looked at her, she lowered her voice and smiled, “I’ve been standing since morning, I’m really tired. Allow me to rest secretly for a while.”
The young ladies all pursed their lips and smiled.
“Why are you so thin? Thin people can’t endure fatigue.” A young lady closest to Miss Shi extended her finger and carefully touched Miss Shi’s bony wrist.
“I’m a bit unaccustomed to the climate,” Miss Shi said with a smile.
“Being unaccustomed to the climate is very difficult.” A young lady opposite quickly leaned over and smiled, “When my mother was my age, she went to Fujian Circuit with my maternal grandfather. She was unaccustomed to the climate, and my mother said she suffered terribly.”
“You’re not from our Pingjiang Prefecture? Did you come from the Capital City? Are you also surnamed Wei?” A young lady beside her asked a string of questions curiously.
“My family is in the Capital City, and I’m not surnamed Wei. I came with Second Madam.” Miss Shi smiled gently, pointed at the cat’s eye top hairpin on the questioner’s head, and said with a smile, “Your cat’s eye is really good, so large, and so pure. This is the first time I’ve seen one like it.”
“This isn’t worth much. My mother has a pair, much better than this. We have no shortage of these in Pingjiang Prefecture,” the young lady said with a bit of pride, yet very reservedly.
“Her Weng Weng, her Father, and her Uncle all work in the Maritime Tax Bureau. Her family has no shortage of these things,” a young lady diagonally opposite said with a smile.
“It’s not a good thing, do your families lack these things?” the cat’s eye young lady asked with a smile.
“When will we meet the Crown Prince?” A young lady not far from Miss Shi leaned forward and asked with a smile.
“Yes, yes, when can we see the Crown Prince?”
“And the Young Lord, can we speak with the Young Lord?”
The group of young ladies immediately became excited.
“These are all important matters of etiquette. I was instructed to look after the young ladies who came today,” Miss Shi said with a smile.
“You don’t know either.”
The group of young ladies was very disappointed.
“Your family is in the Capital City, so do you know the family of the young lady the Young Lord was engaged to?” A young lady opposite leaned over and asked with a low smile.
“Mm,” Miss Shi replied with a smile, an ambiguous “mm.”
“Then tell us, what does that young lady look like? Is she pretty? Why did the Young Lord not want her anymore?” The young ladies all leaned forward, their eyes sparkling with gossip.
“The Young Lord doesn’t want her anymore? Where did you hear that?” Miss Shi’s smile remained unchanged.
“My cousin has been waiting in the Capital City for the imperial examinations. When they returned for the New Year, my cousin-in-law told me that it was the Young Lord who insisted on breaking off the engagement, and that the Prince and Princess Consort tried to dissuade him but couldn’t. It caused quite a stir in the Capital City!” a young lady said rapidly with a laugh.
“Is that so? The engagement was broken off, but why did I hear it was because that young lady had a hidden illness?” Miss Shi frowned slightly.
“Ah? A hidden illness? What kind of hidden illness? Can’t have children?” The young ladies’ eyes lit up with excitement.
“I don’t know about that. Your Pingjiang Prefecture’s official language is so soft and sweet, it’s really pleasant to hear.” Miss Shi changed the subject.
“Why hasn’t the Young Lord gotten engaged yet? Is the Young Lord planning to choose a Young Lord’s Consort from our Pingjiang Prefecture?”
The cat’s eye young lady leaned forward and asked.
The eyes of the group of young ladies immediately sparkled with a pink glow.
“I saw the Young Lord once. My mother and I went to Linhai to pick gemstones, and the Young Lord happened to be managing affairs at the wharf. My mother took me to watch the excitement. The Young Lord was so handsome! Extremely handsome! I was mesmerized, and my mother was mesmerized too!” A young lady beside her excitedly clenched her fists.
“Can we see the Young Lord?”
“Can we speak with the Young Lord?”
……
The group of young ladies chattered around Miss Shi.
“I really don’t know. Can we stop talking about this? Let’s talk about gemstones, or clothes fabric. One year, gold-pressed fabric was very popular in the Capital City. Was it popular in Pingjiang Prefecture?” Miss Shi said with a smile, changing the topic.
“What’s so good about gold-pressed fabric? It’s hard and heavy, and gold isn’t valuable,” the cat’s eye young lady said with a disappointed expression.
“Look at this string of pearls.” A young lady beside her took off a string of golden pearls from her wrist and handed it to Miss Shi.
“They are truly beautiful. My Second Aunt has one pearl, which she sewed onto her forehead in winter and took off in summer to use as a pendant for her shawl. She treasures it immensely. You have so many.” Miss Shi exclaimed in admiration.
“This is nothing. I have a whole box of pearls like this at home,” the cat’s eye young lady said, leaning forward.
“That’s true. Our families have no shortage of these things.” A young girl next to the cat’s eye young lady chimed in, extending her hand to Miss Shi. “Look at this bracelet. My mother just gave it to me. I originally had a pair, but the luster was slightly inferior to this. Last month, I was wearing it while chasing butterflies and bumped it against a rockery, and it broke. My mother said ‘broken pieces bring peace,’ so she gave me this pair.”
“Look at mine. This mutton-fat jade is one thing, but my Father says the carving is its strength.” Another young lady unfastened the mutton-fat jade sachet hanging from her waist and handed it to Miss Shi to look at.
“Look at mine…”
The group of young ladies eagerly showed Miss Shi their jade and pearl jewelry one after another.
Miss Shi kept exclaiming in admiration.
These young ladies were not of high rank, but they were extremely wealthy. The closer they were to the Maritime Tax Bureau, the wealthier they became.
