Chapter 61 Blind Date

Sipping her tea and listening to the gossip of the women around her, Li San Niang pretended to be calm, but her heart was in turmoil.

Who is that man who knows kung fu and has a gentle, refined appearance?

Was Lin Lang's sudden death in the garden an accident or a deliberate act of sabotage?

Ever since Li San Niang heard from her father that there really was a martial arts world here, and that her father's master was a poison doctor known as the "Poison King," Li San Niang has become more cautious. Now she wonders if that Lin Lang has been drugged.

After all, a sudden stroke is such an unexpected event.

Furthermore, who exactly are Lin Lang and Rou Niang, who are having an affair?

Li San Niang is already at the banquet, and it's about to start. I wonder if the man who saved her is among the male guests across the table?

Although Li San Niang was an unofficial member of the Bad People, as an unofficial member, she was only responsible for treating and saving people, and she could obtain very little intelligence information relevant to herself.

It seems I'm not important enough. Otherwise, the Bad Guys would have given me this information long ago. Just like last time when I was going to participate in the Alliance's assessment, Mr. Bu Ke proactively gave me factional information within the Alliance.

If I am very important, the Bad People's Bureau will definitely pay close attention to my itinerary. So, they must have informed me in advance about such an important matter as my attendance at the flower viewing banquet at the Duke of Liang's mansion today.

Judging from Mr. Bu Ke's contact point, the Bad Guys are a huge organization. How could we know that Li San Niang, Xu Jingzhen, and even Lin Lang and Rou Niang's actions just now were not seen by other eyes? Was there no third or even fourth party outside controlling the whole situation?

Before Li San Niang could find a way to sort out her complicated thoughts, she heard her maid's voice: "Princess Anding has arrived."

As the words fell, Li San Niang saw a woman dressed in a bright red gown, with her hair styled in a high bun and adorned with many dazzling gold hairpins and elaborate ornaments, slowly walking towards the pavilion in the center of the garden.

This beautiful woman is Princess Anding. To Princess Anding's left is the old lady of the Duke of Liang, whom Li San Niang had seen in the main hall of the backyard before. And behind the old lady of the Duke of Liang is none other than Qibi Yatong.

It seems that although Qibi Yatong was a concubine's daughter, she had grown up by the side of the old lady of the Duke of Liang's household since childhood. Among her peers, none had a mother, so she was quite favored. The old lady of the Duke of Liang even brought her, a concubine's daughter, along to such a grand occasion. However, according to the social class of the time, a concubine's daughter from a duke's mansion was indeed more precious than a legitimate daughter from a minor official's family.

However, to the left of Princess An Ding was a pretty young woman who looked no older than her coming-of-age ceremony. She was wearing a light red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). Li San Niang guessed that this must be Princess An Ding's youngest daughter. She overheard the young women at the table gossiping that her title was Princess Jinyang and her nickname was Tan Niang.

Princess Anding brought Princess Jinyang to this flower-viewing banquet, presumably to find her a husband.

Of course, Li San Niang, a woman who ran a clinic, was unaware of these gossips. They were all revealed by the chattering young women at the table, which Li San Niang had a good chance to hear.

The person to Princess An Ding's right appears to be the First Lady of the Liang State Duke's Mansion. She is wearing a deep purple coat, but her face looks quite young. Is she deliberately trying to appear older? Is she trying to project an air of authority?

Li San Niang wondered if the matter in the garden was related to the First Madam.

Otherwise, why didn't you send someone to borrow the glass cups in advance, instead of waiting until the day of the banquet to send someone to call Bitao, the maid who led Li San Niang, to get the key to open the storeroom and retrieve the glass cups?

Even if Li San Niang had never met such high-ranking nobles, she could tell with her toes that if they were to hold such a grand banquet, they would definitely start preparing ten days, half a month, or even more than a month in advance, striving to make sure that every detail was perfect, otherwise they would be making the Duke's Mansion lose face in front of the entire Tang Dynasty!

Chang'an was the political, economic, and cultural center of the entire Tang Dynasty. Any event that happened here could radiate throughout the entire Tang Dynasty from Chang'an. What happened in this year might still be discussed by people on the border at the end of the year.

Therefore, if one were to become overly suspicious, Li San Niang would genuinely wonder if the First Lady of the Duke of Liang might be the mastermind behind it all.

There must be unspeakable bloodshed and intrigue within the families of high-ranking officials and nobles that Li San Niang could not know about.

Of course, all of this is just Li San Niang's speculation. It is very likely that the couple having an affair in the garden was just a coincidence, and that Lin Lang, who suddenly fell ill, really died in an accident.

Let's see how things develop.

For some reason, Li San Niang somewhat believed what the handsome man who saved her said—that someone might be plotting and manipulating everything behind the scenes.

As the dignitaries approached, Li Sanniang followed suit, bowing and paying her respects. Only after Princess Anding and the others sat down in the pavilion and gestured for everyone to rise did a maid loudly announce, "Please rise, everyone."

Then, one after another, maids came up with food boxes to serve the dishes. Of course, before everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating, Princess Anding, the old lady of the Duke of Liang, and the first lady of the Duke of Liang's mansion all gave their blessings.

Given Li San Niang's literary skills, although she didn't understand every word, she still grasped the general meaning: the weather was fine, the flowers were in full bloom, the women were all beautiful, and the men were all handsome; it was a time for women to marry and men to be married, and she wished everyone present could find their perfect match.

These words sound nice, with beautiful language and a wonderful meaning, but what does this have to do with Li San Niang?

After sitting down and starting to eat, it took Li San Niang a while to realize that the way the Liang State Duke's Mansion thanked her for saving their daughter was to have her participate in a matchmaking event and then try to find her a marriage partner.

It is estimated that after Qibi Yatong's incident, the Liangguo Duke's Mansion investigated Li Sanniang's ancestors for three generations, and naturally learned about her divorce and return home. Now that she is of marriageable age, in their eyes, letting Li Sanniang attend the flower viewing banquet and have the opportunity to meet a man from a family several times better than hers is a very good way to express their gratitude.

Thinking about this, Li Sanniang felt more comfortable and relaxed.

At this moment, Li San Niang also understood why her mother and sister-in-law were so keen on dressing up at home.

Li San Niang was still trapped by modern thinking. She always thought that she attended the banquet because the Liang State Duke's Mansion was too proud to lower itself and was giving her a chance to make friends with noble ladies. But actually, the real intention was probably something that only Li San Niang herself in the entire Li family didn't understand. They wanted to give her a chance to find a good second husband.

After all, as mentioned before, the social atmosphere was still relatively open at that time. Before Emperor Wu ascended the throne, remarriage was not prohibited. Not to mention that several royal princesses were remarried before Emperor Wu ascended the throne. After Emperor Wu ascended the throne, the status of women from high-ranking noble families was further improved, which could be felt throughout Chang'an.

Moreover, people are a very important resource nowadays. Not only is remarriage not prohibited, but it is also strongly encouraged. In the countryside, it is not uncommon for people to remarry, let alone remarry twice, but even three or four times.

After all, young women can remarry and have more children, while older women who are no longer able to have children can help manage household affairs. Therefore, both men and women tend to enter into marriage contracts.

Otherwise, Li San Niang wouldn't have been able to encounter that group of noble ladies who were originally going to the horse farm to play polo on the banks of the Yu River.

The relaxed upbringing of upper-class women, allowing them to freely leave the city to play polo, reveals the upper class's attitude towards them.

Li San Niang felt content because she had no intention of remarrying, so there was no need for her to put on a show at the banquet. She could just eat and drink without worry, wait for the appointed time, and go home as soon as possible.

But before the banquet was even halfway through, only one soup was served. It was just as delicious as the meatball and mushroom soup she had eaten at Junyoulai Restaurant. Li San Niang was about to get a second bowl to savor the taste when a maid in the pavilion stepped forward and announced loudly that, in order to enjoy the feast to the fullest, Princess An Ding, the old lady of the Duke of Liang, and the first lady of the Duke of Liang's mansion would each contribute a precious item as a prize. The ladies and gentlemen present would then compete in poetry, dance, and music to determine who won the prize and add color and splendor to the banquet.

Then, Li San Niang couldn't help but sigh at the previous sentence. She hadn't even had enough of the feast when servants came to clear away the bowls, plates, and chairs, to make room in front of the pavilion for the young man and the women to compete.

Li San Niang looked at the delicious mushroom soup on the table, whose name she did not know, shook her head, put down the soup spoon, and stood up to give her seat to the servant who came to her.

Then, the young men on the other side of the artificial river would call their friends and cross the bridge to this side to attract attention.