Chapter 241: The Banquet
A very small courtyard, two old women brought in the dishes.
Wan Jing and Li Xiaonan didn’t dare to eat much. After the dishes were cleared, the old women brought in hot water. The two old women who had been serving in the courtyard helped Li Xiaonan and Wan Jing wash up again. Li Xiaonan’s hair was let down and carefully combed. Wan Jing took charge and chose a hairstyle. The old women were very skilled. After the hair was done, they took the pair of lapis lazuli inlaid gold hair ornaments that Wan Jing handed over and inserted them.
Li Xiaonan stood up and took off her fine cloth jacket, only to see Wan Jing first pick out a bodice.
“This one!” Li Xiaonan pointed at the bodice and exclaimed.
Did this mean she had to change from the innermost layer to the outermost?
“This belongs to our cousin girl, not me,” Wan Jing quickly explained.
“I mean, does this also need to be changed?”
“Yes, look at the fabric of your clothes, it’s so coarse. How can it match these?” Wan Jing picked up Li Xiaonan’s cotton-padded jacket with one hand and shook it.
“Why can’t it match? This doesn’t need to be changed. I’m more comfortable in my own clothes.” Li Xiaonan firmly refused the fine silk bodice.
“Oh, you, alright, alright, I’ll listen to you.” Wan Jing sighed repeatedly, put down the bodice, and picked up a piece of undergarment.
“How many layers do I have to wear?” Li Xiaonan reached out and flipped through the pile of clothes.
“This is the first piece, washed plain white silk. This kind of fine silk is the softest. After washing off the starch, it will be comfortable against the skin.
“This is the second piece. There’s a thin layer of silk wadding in the middle. It’s still winter, so you can’t do without wadding. This is our maternal aunt’s particularity.
“This is the third piece. Only the collar and cuffs are embroidered because only the collar and sleeves are directly exposed. Look how beautiful this embroidery is. Our maternal aunt likes to pay attention to these details, saying it’s neither ostentatious nor unfashionable.
“Then there’s this thin gauze. The embroidery on it complements this piece. Look, isn’t it simple and elegant? This is also our maternal aunt’s particularity. She says that when embroidery is done on this cicada-wing gauze, it can be matched with more clothes.”
Wan Jing showed Li Xiaonan each piece one by one.
Li Xiaonan took several deep breaths as she watched.
This whole outfit, not including the head ornaments or that white fox overcoat, was definitely worth more than their entire family fortune!
Except for the two innermost pieces, Li Xiaonan changed into the clothes Wan Jing brought from the inside out. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, she sighed. Indeed, clothes make the man!
Wan Jing also had the old women re-comb her hair and change into a new outfit: a duck-shell green skirt and a duck-shell green half-sleeved top, revealing half of her pine-green pipa sleeves, neat and tidy.
“You look great in that!” Li Xiaonan circled Wan Jing.
“This is the holiday attire for the maids at our maternal uncle’s mansion. It’s top-grade!” Wan Jing turned around. She didn’t envy the clothes, she envied the top grade.
“We have to go, it’s almost time.” Wan Jing put on her own silk wadding overcoat, picked up the white fox overcoat and draped it over Li Xiaonan, then gave Li Xiaonan a push.
“Is this mine a maid’s outfit? Then what am I to Old Shopkeeper He?” Li Xiaonan asked, pulling at the white fox overcoat as she walked out.
“These clothes are our cousin girl’s! Hurry up.”
“What am I?” Li Xiaonan caught up with Wan Jing and asked again.
“How would I know! We’ll ask when the time comes.”
The two of them, followed by two old women, went out the corner gate, walked through a narrow alley half the length of which was lined with high walls, entered another corner gate, and walked along a series of houses for a quarter of an hour. In front of a two-story building where lights were already lit, the old women stopped and indicated they had arrived.
Wan Jing stopped and motioned for Li Xiaonan to go ahead.
“I don’t know the way, I’ve never been here before.” Li Xiaonan motioned for Wan Jing to go first.
“Look at our clothes. You are the lady, I am the servant. How can I go in front of you? Hurry up.” Wan Jing urged.
“You picked these clothes for me because of this?” Li Xiaonan mumbled and stepped forward.
Warmth from the building rushed out. Wan Jing took off Li Xiaonan’s white fox overcoat and held it along with her own in her arms.
A servant ran out, “Miss, this way please.”
Li Xiaonan in front, Wan Jing closely following behind, followed the servant through a very tall and narrow corridor. At the bright corridor entrance, Old Shopkeeper He Chengzhe, in a bronze brocade long gown, saw Li Xiaonan and immediately smiled and bowed.
Li Xiaonan quickly hurried forward and curtsied. Before she could ask, Old Shopkeeper He smiled and said, “The Young Lord just arrived. Miss, please.”
Old Shopkeeper He bowed and let Li Xiaonan go first.
“Old Shopkeeper He, please go first.” Li Xiaonan quickly said to Old Shopkeeper He.
Old Shopkeeper He stepped aside, motioned for Li Xiaonan to go forward, and pointed, “Over there, the one in the dark blue gown is Vice Minister Du of our Maritime Tax Bureau. That one is Vice Minister Luo, and next to him is Vice Minister Wang.”
Li Xiaonan quickly followed Old Shopkeeper He’s introduction to recognize the people.
Old Shopkeeper He slowed his pace and spoke in a low voice as they walked, introducing them.
Gu Yan’s back was to Li Xiaonan. He was intently listening to a middle-aged man speak. The commotion around them reached the middle-aged man. Gu Yan followed the middle-aged man’s gaze and turned to look at Li Xiaonan, his eyebrows immediately rising.
Li Xiaonan, who was smiling and greeting people as introduced by Old Shopkeeper He, was so beautiful that he was somewhat dazzled.
This sky-blue gray outfit suited her perfectly, elegant and flowing, completely unlike her usual appearance as a little girl.
In front of him, she made him vaguely recall Lu Xiu from the past. The feeling of seeing Lu Xiu for the first time suddenly became incredibly clear. Lu Xiu, dressed in emerald green, was like a clear spring in a quiet mountain forest. He was exhausted and overwhelmed at the time…
Gu Yan stared at Li Xiaonan, he could even feel Lu Xiu’s gentle and graceful presence beside him…
“Young Lord?” The middle-aged man beside him looked at Li Xiaonan, then at the dazed Gu Yan, and called out cautiously.
“Oh!” Gu Yan snapped back to reality, spun his folding fan rapidly in his hand, pointed at Li Xiaonan, and laughed, “This little rascal is usually quite fierce, but you can’t tell now, can you?”
“Yes, yes.” The middle-aged man’s heart was pounding from Gu Yan’s question.
Who is this? Who dares to be so fierce to the Young Lord? Should I ask? What should I say? Where should I praise?
Li Xiaonan followed Old Shopkeeper He and was introduced to a refined scholar in his early twenties, Foreman Liu of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. She was so surprised that she couldn’t hide it.
She knew where Nanyang was and its customs. Foreman Liu in front of her didn’t look like he was from Nanyang at all.
Moreover, she had heard Gu Yan mention the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. Among the major merchants exporting silk, the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce ranked in the top ten. This Foreman Liu was simply too young and too refined.
Foreman Liu, seeing the surprise on Li Xiaonan’s face, smiled and bowed slightly, “Your grace is also beyond my expectations.” He paused and then smiled again, “And above my expectations. Miss is intelligent and beautiful, as serene as the water in a deep forest pool, and as agile as white clouds emerging from a mountain. I am clumsy with words and cannot describe even a fraction of your grace.”
Li Xiaonan’s eyes widened as she listened, “Is this a custom in your Nanyang? You call this clumsy with words? What would someone with a nimble tongue say? Would they immediately recite a long essay?”
Foreman Liu laughed heartily, “If Miss wishes to see it, I will stay up all night tonight and express my admiration.”
“Then forget it. Poetry and prose are my weakest subjects, and I often struggle to even find rhymes. Do you like divination? Or natural philosophy?” Li Xiaonan asked very seriously.
Foreman Liu raised his eyebrows high and laughed again, bowing as he did, “I was presumptuous, but this is truly from the bottom of my heart. Please forgive me, Miss.”
Li Xiaonan curtsied slightly and asked with a smile, “Do they also speak the Great Qi language in Nanyang?”
“In Nanyang, the first thing you learn in school is the Great Qi language, and the books you read are the same as in Great Qi. Those in Nanyang who don’t study speak the local Nanyang dialect, and there are many kinds of Nanyang dialects,” Foreman Liu explained in detail.
“What about their appearance? Do they all look like you?” Li Xiaonan continued to ask.
“Those who speak the Great Qi language better look more like me. Those who speak the Nanyang dialect are darker and shorter, with slight differences in their features,” Foreman Liu said with a smile.
Li Xiaonan drew out her “oh” and said, “I understand.”
“What do you understand?” Foreman Liu immediately asked.
“The official language is also the official language in Nanyang,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
Foreman Liu laughed, “You truly understand.”
“Is Foreman Liu’s ancestral home in Great Qi?” Li Xiaonan looked at Foreman Liu.
Foreman Liu smiled at Li Xiaonan and said nothing.
“It was presumptuous of me,” Li Xiaonan quickly curtsied to apologize.
“If Miss is interested in Nanyang, I will invite you to try our Nanyang delicacies another day,” Foreman Liu bowed in return and said with a smile.
“Okay.” Li Xiaonan casually agreed, curtsied slightly again, took a step towards Old Shopkeeper He who was waiting nearby, and then curtsied and smiled as introduced by Old Shopkeeper He.
Inviting you to dinner another day meant that today’s event was over. She understood this very well.
Foreman Liu also stepped aside and spoke with others, but his peripheral vision kept glancing at Li Xiaonan.
The banquet, named as such, was reflected in the various foods laid out on the long tables along the walls: Pingjiang noodles, glutinous rice balls, small dishes, and all sorts of pastries. Servants constantly came and went, clearing away the old and bringing in the new.
Throughout the entire banquet, Gu Yan raised his cup and said a few words. At other times, it was a constant stream of conversation, with almost everyone gathering around Gu Yan or watching him, looking for an opportunity to speak with him.
Li Xiaonan was too busy watching people to eat anything. Wan Jing followed Li Xiaonan closely.
Fortunately, both of them were so focused that they didn’t feel hungry.
The banquet was not long, dispersing around the Xu hour. Li Xiaonan and Wan Jing returned to that small courtyard at the He family’s residence. The old women immediately brought in a food box with dishes.
The next day, when Li Xiaonan woke up, it was already broad daylight.
Hearing the movement, Wan Jing peeked out, then brought in Li Xiaonan’s clothes. Before she could speak, she started laughing.
“At the Yin hour, Shi Gun came with a message. He said our Young Lord ordered that he would eat breakfast with you after he finished his training. He said if you woke up early, you should wait.”
Li Xiaonan quickly turned to look for the water clock.
“It’s already the second quarter past Chen hour. Our Young Lord is so busy, he’s already eaten breakfast and gone to the Maritime Tax Bureau.” Wan Jing handed the clothes to Li Xiaonan. “Our Young Lord ordered before he left that if you hadn’t woken up before Chen hour, you would have pastries for breakfast and wouldn’t be allowed to eat too much, so you could eat properly at noon.”
“I’m not one of your household servants! I’m usually not this late. I was too tired yesterday.” Li Xiaonan quickly put on her clothes.
“I’ve asked. The pastries include meat tangyuan, sweet porridge, sweet wine small dumplings, silver fish spring rolls, ham crisp cakes, shrimp shaomai, and a bite-sized zongzi,” Wan Jing giggled a few times, lowering her voice.
Li Xiaonan immediately burst out laughing, “I’ll have a bowl of sweet porridge and a cage of shrimp shaomai! Have you tried them?”
“I woke up at the Yin hour and have already eaten.”
After Li Xiaonan washed up and ate breakfast, Wan Jing went out to get a carriage. She returned shortly and said, “It’s the Young Lord’s order that you wait for him to return before leaving.”
This was within Li Xiaonan’s expectations. Since he had asked her to observe, he would definitely want to ask her what she had seen.
