Chapter 86 The Best Feast is the Flowing Banquet (Part 2): "Miss, why don't we go take a look at the front?" "Look at what? What's so good about it..."

"Young lady, why don't you go and take a look ahead?"

"What are you looking at? What's so interesting?"

Having been reprimanded so severely by Shen Wanqing in front of a room full of people, Fu Xuan wouldn't leave the house for the next few days even if Madam Tongjia hadn't placed her under house arrest—it was too humiliating. Most importantly, she still couldn't fathom what heinous thing she had done to deserve such treatment from Madam Shen.

Previously, even though her second sister-in-law bullied the East Courtyard so much, Shen still considered her feelings when she wanted to seize control of the household. Later, when her second brother took a job elsewhere and her second sister-in-law was left to guard the West Courtyard alone, Shen never mistreated her in the slightest.

At that time, Fu Xuan understood that Shen was capable and had a bad temper, but she was not a bad person. Especially since she was also a woman in the inner courtyard of the mansion, she never used dirty tricks to harm others. Even if she wanted to fight or take something, she would do it openly and forcefully.

That's why Fu Xuan wanted to get people from her. She thought that this was a one-time thing, and Fu Xuan should be understanding. Jingzhou was so far away and remote. How could she manage without a few capable people? Did she have to take care of all those fields and shops herself?

The managers and stewards in the household were all trained by Shen Shi, so they could be put to use as soon as they arrived at their destination. They were capable, which saved Shen Shi a lot of trouble, as there would be no problems for her to solve in the future.

This statement seems to make a lot of sense, but this logic can only be argued from Fu Xuan's perspective. To make her point, someone else has to sacrifice their own interests.

As Fu Xuan complained, the maidservant beside her listened quietly without saying a word. Having served Fu Xuan for many years, she knew her mistress's temperament better than the old lady herself.

Once she's made up her mind, no one can persuade her otherwise, so it's better to save your breath and energy. If she doesn't want to show her face in front of the main house, then she won't go. I patiently listened to her finish saying the same things she'd said more than ten times to complain about the eldest grandmother before turning around and heading out to the main courtyard.

Even if her master doesn't go, she has to. After the Dong E family leaves, her master will definitely ask her if she went to see them, what she saw and heard. If she can't answer, her master will think she's not clever enough and can't handle things.

Fortunately, such days would soon come to an end. A few days ago, she had her mother go to the old lady to ask for a favor, and her family had already arranged a marriage for her. When Miss Fu went to Jingzhou, she didn't have to go with her, and this dilemma would no longer fall on her shoulders.

Fu Xuan didn't come forward on her own initiative, and Tongjia didn't send anyone to the back room to find her either. She knew her daughter's temperament well, and she was sure that she was still being stubborn and unwilling to come over.

It would be possible if Madam Shen went to invite her in person, but Madam Shen herself refused to show herself and only Yu Lang came alone, so Madam Tongjia naturally couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

The incident a few days ago left her feeling somewhat disheartened. She couldn't understand whether she, as a mother, was too useless and couldn't raise her daughter well, or whether her daughter was inherently selfish, otherwise how could she have done something so foolish and brainless?

Now that her eldest grandson has come to entertain guests, Madam Tongjia listens more and speaks less. Fortunately, she is already quite old and her daughter has married far away. The two cousins ​​and one aunt from the Dong'e family who came with Decheng did not notice anything amiss. Anyway, as long as Lord Yu gives face and comes over, it's fine. If the old lady doesn't want to say anything, then so be it.

Yu Lang's birthday is on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. After turning eighteen this year, he will be nineteen. Dong E Decheng is three years younger than Fu Xuan, and he and Yu Lang were born in the same year.

Two young people of the same age but different generations sat together, asking each other how easy the journey to the capital was and if there was anything they could do to help each other. The awkwardness and unfamiliarity of their first meeting dissipated considerably.

"Most of the things I brought back to the capital this time are for the wedding day. There wasn't enough space on the ship to fit them all. The Mid-Autumn Festival gifts this year were a bit meager, and I definitely won't do that again in the future."

“We’re family, so let’s not be formal. You just landed in Tongzhou the day before yesterday and brought so much stuff over today. If you’re going to say something like that, Uncle, you’re being too polite.”

"I still have to say it. Everyone says that a small gift carries great meaning, but this is still too small."

Decheng had an older sister, two younger brothers, and two younger sisters. His family was considered to be of above-average status among the Manchu people in Jingzhou.

Originally, the family had prepared a total of one thousand taels of silver for Decheng's wedding, since the Eight Banners stationed in the garrison were not as well-off as the Eight Banners in the capital. The reason they were able to prepare one thousand taels for Decheng was because he was the eldest son in the family, and his older sister was married and his younger brother's wife was still young, so the family was able to prioritize him.

But no one expected that the marriage that was supposed to go well would be delayed because of a funeral. Decheng took over the position of his father's chieftain and spent most of the money that was originally intended for him to get married.

In the past two or three years, Decheng had been in charge of the household. Besides the salary of the garrisoned bannermen and the land, the family also earned money from doing business in the southeast and southwest with partners. The capital was not much, so the profits were not much either. After managing the household properly, he had saved less than two thousand taels of silver for himself.

Two thousand taels was less than the dowry the Hesheli family gave to Fuxuan, but for Decheng, it was enough to stand tall and propose marriage in Jingzhou.

I heard that the family that broke off the engagement secretly regretted it, regretting listening to their daughter's advice to cancel the engagement. It's such a pity that they missed out on such a good son-in-law, who is so good at making money.

When Decheng heard these rumors, he just listened to them. But when no one was around, he would secretly brew a pot of wine and cook a couple of side dishes, feeling a little smug inside.

So you all looked down on me, and now you regret it? Too late. I can find a wife anywhere, why did you have to be so picky and scornful? Tomorrow I'll find someone good-looking and from a good family, and you'll regret it so much you'll vomit blood.

These were just drunken ramblings. De Cheng was a steady person and never even said them aloud. He kept them to himself and let them go. Who knew that his family would actually find him a wife who was both beautiful and from an even better family.

Aside from being a bit older, Fu Xuan was flawless. It was precisely because of his age that this marriage fell to him; otherwise, how could he have been the one to marry the young lady from the Empress's clan and the daughter of the former Minister?

After his relatives in the capital wrote to Jingzhou, Decheng immediately agreed. He couldn't think of any reason why he should refuse. However, this meant that the thousand taels of silver he had originally planned to prepare for his wedding was no longer enough.

De Cheng specifically sought out his mother for this matter, and after discussing it together, the mother and son decided to add another five hundred taels. After all, the future new grandmother had such a good family background and a nephew who was said to be favored by the Crown Prince, so adding five hundred taels was not excessive.

Being able to afford 1,500 taels of silver to marry a wife was a rather frightening amount among the Manchus stationed in Jingzhou. Everyone said that the Dong E family was going to marry a gold nugget, and no one knew what kind of celestial being this great-aunt who was related to Empress Yuan.

This was meant as a joke, but now that Shen Wanqing had sent people to Jingzhou this year to purchase dowry fields and shops, it's impossible to keep it a secret that someone from the capital had suddenly come to buy so many good paddy fields and two large shops.

The jokes gradually became true. Everyone said that this wife was a good match. She had already prepared so much property as a dowry before even getting married. Even if something happened to the Dong E family in the future, they would never go hungry or cold because they could rely on their wife for food.

De Cheng didn't intend to rely on his wife for a living, but seeing that every letter from his relatives in the capital talked about how Yu Lang was doing in front of the Crown Prince, he kept increasing the amount of money he prepared for his wife's marriage.

A month ago, when Decheng set off from Jingzhou, he secretly did some calculations. Including the betrothal gifts and the money he would have to spend on this trip to the capital, he estimated that he would have to spend at least three thousand taels of silver.

He had already spent all the money he had, plus the several hundred taels he had saved up over the past year, and another five hundred taels of his mother's savings before he set off. The widowed lady of the Dong'e family hoped that her son could handle this marriage well and she even took out her own savings for her funeral.

Three thousand taels was all the silver Decheng could come up with; that was all the money he had. They would only spend as much as they had, and since things related to the wedding couldn't be compromised, they had to find ways to save money elsewhere.

The Mid-Autumn Festival gifts brought to the Hesheli family this time were mostly local specialties from Jingzhou: lacquerware, tea, lotus root powder, lotus seed paste mooncakes, and fresh fish and crabs from Dongting Lake. Several large baskets were packed with them, and I don't know how they were preserved along the way, but most of them were still alive.

On his way to the main courtyard, Yu Lang happened to run into Urgun, who was carrying the large crabs he had picked out to the east courtyard. Everyone in the family knew that Shen Wanqing loved to eat crabs, and De Cheng's Mid-Autumn Festival gift was truly heartwarming.

"Uncle, you're too kind. Such fine crabs are hard to find even in the capital at this time of year. You had to find ways to preserve them along the way. The effort you put into that is incomparable to money."

"Your uncle is staying for lunch today. This afternoon, I'll take you to visit some of our relatives. Don't bring anything else, just bring crabs and lotus root starch. These two things are better than anything you can buy in the capital."

The relatives that Yu Lang was led to visit were none other than the First-Class Duke's Mansion and the Suo Zhongtang Mansion. Yu Lang had no idea that they were secretly complaining about him. For such a joyous occasion involving a clan and a surname, he had no choice but to take people there to get acquainted with the family.

Upon hearing this, Decheng stopped refusing. Having spent so much money to marry a wife, he couldn't just have his eyes on her dowry fields and the surname Hesheli. It would be best if Yulang would take him to meet the family and pay his respects.

“It’s a rare trip back to the capital, so I should pay my respects. If you like, you can find a way to send crabs to the capital every year. I’ve set up a fence around Dongting Lake; the crabs there are full of roe and taste better than those from other places.”

"Everyone says that the Jianghan Plain is a land of fish and rice. Except for not being as prosperous as the capital, it is worse than the capital in every way. At least the water tastes sweeter than the water in the capital."

The water quality in the capital is mostly poor, and there are more bitter wells than sweet wells in the city. If it weren't for the fact that the family had managed to buy a small courtyard from the neighboring house and enclose it for their own use in the early years, they wouldn't even have a sweet well, and they would have to spend a lot of money every month just on drinking water.

"I'm not being modest with you. To be honest, I've only been in the capital for two days and I'm already finding it hard to keep up. It's true that you have to live in the same place for a long time. My father once said that if you stay in Jingzhou for too long, you'll feel like you've grown roots in the south and can't get out."

The speaker meant something, and the listener took it to heart. De Cheng's words represented the Dong E family's stance: regardless of the reason for marrying this woman, he had no immediate plans to come to the capital.

Yu Lang kept it in mind, and when he got home that night, he told his grandmother everything that had happened during the day. "This De Cheng is a smart man. As long as my aunt doesn't cause any trouble after marrying into the family, her life won't be bad."

"You said it yourself, you're trying to avoid any trouble. But your little aunt keeps coming up with new ideas, and even if it's not trouble, it'll still cause trouble."

It's not the cunning of bad people that's scary, but the sudden inspiration of fools. Shen Wanqing felt that this saying was particularly apt for Fu Xuan. What a waste of her pretty and striking face; it turns out she traded her brains for it.

That's the good thing about breaking off relations. Before, you had to hold back when you were complaining, but now you can say whatever you want without any worries. Shen Wanqing lay on the couch, reading a book while listening to Yu Lang talk about what happened during the day. She casually turned a page and realized she had forgotten what was said before, so she had to turn back and read it again.

"The big day is in less than a month. Once this is over, we can finally have a proper rest."

"Don't say it. Just keep it to yourself. Saying it out loud might cause some trouble. This is the kind of thing that can't be talked about."

Shen Wanqing stopped Yulang from making any promises, and the Decheng family's visit to the capital did not cause any further trouble. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it was the day of Fuxuan's wedding.

"Grandma, please go ahead and greet them. The General's wife and the eldest daughter have arrived."

"who?"

With Aunt Fuxuan getting married, the busiest person is her nephew's wife, Shen Wanqing. Today is a joyous day, not only for the bride Fuxuan, but also for the Hesheli family.

When Shen Wanqing entered the family last year, the Hesheli family did everything perfectly, but at that time Yulang was just a military academy student, which is nothing compared to now.

It's no exaggeration to say that the number of guests visiting our home today was so high that it was like a never-ending stream of cars and horses. This is the most obvious and direct manifestation of how people treat you, and how they treat your family's affairs will be determined by your social standing.

No one cared whether it was a marriage proposal or a wedding for an aunt; what mattered was whether they had come, whether their names were recorded in the social register, and whether Yulang and Madam Shen had left an impression on them.

As a result, Shen Wanqing naturally became extremely busy. Every elder sitting in Tongjia's room would ask, "Where is your eldest grandmother?"

At first, when each guest came, Tongjia would ask a question and send someone to invite Shen Wanqing over to sit down, exchange pleasantries, and keep the guests company. Later, she felt embarrassed to keep bothering her like that, so she would gather several more guests, such as several maternal aunts and great-aunts, and then have Shen Wanqing come over to meet them and make an impression.

When Granny Peng came to find Shen Wanqing, Shen Wanqing had just come out of Tongjia's room. Inside, there was a circle of old ladies and mistresses, and she couldn't tell who was who at all. She went around calling out to them, but only they recognized her, not the other way around.

"It's Madam Shi and her eldest daughter from General Shi's mansion. Their carriage is parked at the side gate. Madam Dai Jia and Madam Zhao Jia have already gone there and told me to hurry over to find you, Grandma."

Daijia, Zhaojia, and Wanyan were all invited by Shen Wanqing to help entertain the female guests.

Zhaojia was mainly responsible for the families of Yulang's colleagues outside, while Daijia and Wanyan were responsible for the bannermen and their relatives under the banner. Everything was arranged well, but now that a future crown princess has suddenly arrived, Shen Wanqing really has to entertain her.

As long as the Crown Prince's wedding hasn't taken place, the Shi family will maintain a low profile. Aside from that plum blossom banquet, the Shi family rarely interacts with other Manchu families in the capital. Only Shi Wenbing is summoned to the palace by the Emperor every few days, a testament to the Shi family's current status. Today, both Shi Qionghua and Lady Aisin Gioro have come—that's an incredibly high honor.

"Why did you bring the eldest daughter here at this time, Madam? I went to your place the day before yesterday and you didn't even mention it to me. It gave me quite a fright."

"It would be pointless to bring it up. I wasn't supposed to come today, but I begged my mother to let me know that I would have to go through this in a few days anyway, so I thought I'd come and see what it's like, as a kind of... preview?"

The word "preparation" was used by Shen Wanqing to talk to Shi Shi. After the imperial decree of marriage was issued, Shi Shi did not have many opportunities to go out. Most of the time, she stayed at the Shi residence to prepare for the marriage.

Shi Qionghua didn't see many members of the Shi family, but she would send someone to ask about Shen Wanqing every few days. At first, she would ask Shen Wanqing and then go. But there was nothing of real importance there. Most of the time, Shen Wanqing would sit and chat with her or talk about her family.

After a while, Shen Wanqing understood. Let her send someone to ask; she could go herself once every three times. The longer the intervals between visits, the more newsworthy stories she could tell.

However, Shi Qionghua couldn't help but complain to Shen Wanqing, saying that she couldn't understand why Shen Wanqing was so busy when there were only a few people in the Hesheli family. Since Fuxuan wasn't the kind of person who appreciated your kindness, she might as well let others in the family handle this matter. After all, there were still the Madam and the Second Madam. It was more appropriate for the sister-in-law to arrange her sister-in-law's marriage than for her nephew's wife.

Shen Wanqing's answer was to treat it as a preview. During the time that Shi Qionghua was preparing for her wedding, she entrusted many things to her. In addition, Yu Lang was also dealing with the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department all day long in Yuqing Palace. The things he handled were all related to the Crown Prince's wedding.

Fu Xuan's marriage was certainly not as grand as the Crown Prince's wedding, but the wedding process was still somewhat formal, and the general procedures were always similar.

Fu Xuan and Shi Qionghua's marriages were arranged one after the other. Shen Wanqing arranged Fu Xuan's marriage first, and then arranged the one Shi Qionghua had arranged. Even if there were some awkwardness or oversights the first time, she learned her lesson and straightened things out the second time.

"Then let's hope our family can also benefit from the joy and nobility of our eldest daughter. Maybe I can rise to prominence and become an imperial consort in the future."

There were too many people in the main courtyard. Although they said they wanted to share in the joy, Shen Wanqing didn't dare to actually bring Shi Qionghua there. If she went, the entire Hesheli family would be in chaos.

Shen Wanqing took Shi Qionghua to the East Courtyard and called Fangyi and Wanyan to accompany her. She asked the two of them to keep an eye on the situation in the main courtyard. When there were few people, she told them to take Shi Qionghua to secretly watch the excitement, and when there were many people, to go back to the East Courtyard. In short, they should not be surrounded by people.

She then led Lady Aisin Gioro to Lady Tongjia's residence in the main courtyard. After all, Lady Tongjia had previously been the wife of a high-ranking official, so it was not considered impolite for her to accompany Lady Aisin Gioro.

As Shi Wenbing's wife, Aisin Gioro is currently very popular, but she's still much better off than the future Crown Princess. At least after Shen Wanqing hinted that Shi Qionghua wasn't coming, everyone's attitude was generally warm and attentive, but they still managed to maintain a certain level of composure.

The guests were spreading the word that the Crown Princess of the Shi family had also come today, but no one had actually seen her. So the rumors just passed by, since today was a joyous occasion for the Dong E and Hesheli families, and the bride and groom were the most important people in the world.

When the Hesheli family married off their daughter, the procession began in the morning when the groom's family sent out a sedan chair to fetch her. The Hesheli family waited at the gate until the bride was dressed and ready to bid farewell to the Tongjia clan. Her eldest nephew, Yulang, carried her to the sedan chair. The wedding banquet held by the Hesheli family at noon marked the end of the ceremony.

Only at this moment did Fuxuan truly leave the Hesheli family and enter the Dong'e family, beginning another chapter of her life.

After seeing Fuxuan off to her wedding sedan chair, there was no time for sentimentality as she had to attend the wedding banquet. In the front courtyard, Yulang led Akdun and the others to entertain the guests, while Shumulu and Daijia were there to help out in the back. Only then did Shen Wanqing manage to find a moment to return to the East Courtyard.

"You should go back and keep that young lady company. I'll watch over things here, everything will be fine."

Akdun had already been selected for the firearms battalion. The battalion was newly established, and this was the most advantageous time to join and the best opportunity for advancement. For this reason, Daijia had been radiant and full of energy for the past six months, and she was extremely attentive to Shen Wanqing.

Knowing that there was a troublesome person hiding in Shen Wanqing's east courtyard, he took the initiative to accompany the guest without saying any polite words, and pushed Shen Wanqing away from the table by pulling and mopping the floor.

"Well, did you see the bride getting into the sedan chair?"

"I didn't see the bride, I just saw a bunch of heads. It's more lively than weddings in Fuzhou. Do you think it will be even more lively on the fifth day of the eleventh lunar month?"

"It was certainly lively, but I never experienced exactly how lively it was. I asked my grandmother what it was like when the Empress Yuan entered the palace, and she only said that it was very grand and different from ordinary Manchu weddings, but she didn't know exactly how it was different."

"This is the first time for us, and there's no precedent to follow. I heard that the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department are arguing about this every day, each wanting this and that. I don't know what they're arguing about."

A feast was also set up in the East Courtyard. Wanyan was a gentle person who was particularly good at reading people's expressions. Of course, she knew who Shi Qionghua was here for. As soon as Shen Wanqing returned, she led Fangyi to the main courtyard.

“After they finished arguing, they would go to Yulang to argue. Yulang said that it was like eight hundred ducks quacking in his ears every day. After the adults finished quacking, he would go to the Crown Prince to quack.”

"Are you hungry? Go and eat something. You have the nerve to criticize others for talking nonsense. I think you're the one who talks the most."

Shi Qionghua enjoyed listening to Shen Wanqing talk, for reasons she couldn't quite explain, perhaps they just clicked. She had barely left the house that year in preparation for her wedding, and now, with the wedding date fast approaching, she felt increasingly uneasy. Unable to stay at home any longer, she finally came to find Shen Wanqing.

"Young lady, please have some too. The food for today's meal wasn't prepared by the family's chef; I had Yulang go out and find it himself. We already prepared a small feast yesterday, and it was delicious."

Shen Wanqing used to love eating banquets, especially the kind in the countryside. As long as the chef was good, the food tasted much better than the banquets in hotels.

"It's delicious."

Seeing that Shen Wanqing was eating with relish, Shi Qionghua, who hadn't really wanted to eat, also developed an appetite. The two of them happily finished their wedding banquet while listening to the lively sounds coming from the main courtyard.

"I'll be marrying into Yuqing Palace in two months. Could you send me to the palace then?"

"Your Highness the Crown Princess is looking for me to be your lady-in-waiting."

Besides the Shi family's relatives, the people accompanying the Shi family to their wedding were also the wedding procession designated by the royal family. In principle, they should all be noblewomen of high status and good fortune, mostly relatives of the imperial family or from the Hesheli family, the maternal family of the former empress. If you really wanted to be associated with them, you could, but you had to be a little shameless.

"Yes, I feel more at ease with you around. Why don't you think of something?"

Shi Qionghua was dignified and poised in public, like a crown princess, but in private she was actually quite approachable. Especially now, the way she was deliberately glancing sideways at Shen Wanqing, she really looked like a cute and adorable girl.

“Sure, why not? I’ll have Yulang go to the palace to plead with the Crown Prince tomorrow.”

From last year to this year, the reputations of myself and Yulang have become increasingly polarized. For every person who thinks that I and Yulang are kind and honest, there are just as many people who think that we are too obsequious, with one of us clinging to the Crown Prince and the other currying favor with the Crown Princess. We really don't leave any room for others to maneuver.

Since that's the case, why not go all the way? If I can sneak into the Crown Princess's wedding procession, then my reputation will be truly solidified.

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Some readers have said that the pace has been slow lately. I will try my best to adjust it. The next chapter is about the Crown Princess's wedding. After this hurdle, it will be a new chapter.

[Dog head carrying a rose][Dog head carrying a rose][Dog head carrying a rose]