Chapter 47 Chapter 47 A sudden change at the banquet
Lan Ye had discussed things with Bao Chai and Xiang Yun and returned to the courtyard. As they were planning what to do for the next day, they suddenly saw Wu Tianyue return, dancing with joy. He asked with a smile, "What's wrong with you today? You look so happy?"
Wu Tianyue smiled and shook his head, without saying anything, and asked about tomorrow's affairs.
"Miss Shi and Miss Xue both agreed. They'll take care of the main dishes, and we'll take care of the rest of the dishes, wine, and tea," Lan Ye replied. "I've also had a lot of crabs brought in from the palace, so there won't be enough tomorrow."
Seeing that she had arranged everything properly, Wu Tianyue said nothing and went back to his room to rest.
When he came back from martial arts practice the next day, the garden was already bustling. Wu Tianyue heard that Xiangyun had gone to invite Jia Mu and others, so he hurriedly washed up and went to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to find Daiyu.
Daiyu had just finished combing her hair when she saw him coming and hurried out. The two of them went together to the Ouxiang Pavilion.
Lan Ye had already decorated the Ou Xiang Pavilion with the servants of the Jia Mansion. Seeing them coming, she smiled and said, "Young lady, you are here early today."
Wu Tianyue laughed and teased, "It's rare that she doesn't sleep in."
Daiyu heard the two of them teasing her, but didn't say anything to Lan Ye. She turned around and was about to hit Wu Tianyue.
The Ouxiang Pavilion was built in the pond, with winding corridors on both sides and a bamboo bridge connecting it to the back. When Wu Tianyue saw that she was about to fight, he hurriedly ran onto the bamboo bridge.
As the two were quarreling, Baochai, Xiangyun, and the other sisters of the Jia family came over and said with a smile, "You are so restless so early in the morning. Be careful not to fall into the water."
When Daiyu saw everyone coming, she glared at Wu Tianyue and quickly restrained herself.
As they were talking, everyone entered the pavilion. Xiangyun looked around at the furnishings and saw that everything was in place. Although the layout was ordinary, it was more exquisite than before and exuded a sense of nobility. She liked it very much.
When he learned that it was Lan Ye who helped him, he hurriedly pulled her aside to thank her.
As he was speaking, someone came in from outside and said, "The old lady and the ladies have gone into the garden."
After hearing this, everyone rushed out to greet him.
Soon, Jia Mu and others came in a sedan chair and got off in front of the pavilion.
Grandmother Jia was a person who attached great importance to rules. When she saw Wu Tianyue here, she led everyone in paying their respects.
"What are you doing, old lady?" Wu Tianyue dared not accept Daiyu's grandmother's greetings and hurried forward to help her up. "If you keep doing this, I won't dare to attend any banquets in your house anymore."
After hearing this, Jia's mother laughed and said, "Your Highness, your words are really embarrassing for me."
Wu Tianyue helped her walk into the pavilion and said with a smile, "The old lady treats me as her own junior."
As they were talking, a group of people entered the pavilion and sat down in turn. Only Li Wan and Feng Jieer were busy serving tea, setting up tables, etc.
Everything was settled for the time being. Wu Tianyue felt very uncomfortable when he saw that the two of them did not dare to sit down and only served at the tables of Lady Jia and Lady Wang. He once again strengthened his determination to take Daiyu away in the future.
No one noticed his thoughts and they ate crabs while ordering people to bring hot rice wine.
Daiyu only ate a few crab legs, and the maid who was serving the dishes kept picking up other dishes for her.
Seeing that they were all her favorites, Daiyu muttered something and gave up the crabs.
Turning around, I saw Wu Tianyue eating in a disjointed manner, and his expression was much more serious than usual. I was a little confused, but it was not convenient to ask him since we were at the dinner table.
The Jia family lives a luxurious and leisurely life, but Fei Yan's life is much harder.
Fei Yan stood on a hillside, watching the farmers harvesting below. The servant beside him suddenly said, "Master, what should we do next?"
"No soldiers have come in the past few days, which means the prince has already made arrangements." Fei Yan retracted his gaze, "Now let's take some drastic measures here and have him send someone to demand the ransom."
As he spoke, he walked over the sandy slope and headed towards a low earthen house.
"Brother Xue, has something happened?" A middle-aged man with a simple and honest appearance was having a meal. When he saw Fei Yan coming, his face was full of panic.
Fei Yan smiled and walked forward to pat his shoulder: "What's the matter?"
The man breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression was still nervous: "Are you really okay?"
"What are you afraid of?" Fei Yan comforted him and shouted outside, "Bring me a bowl of rice."
After a while, a little girl came out from the even narrower earthen house next door, holding a bowl. When she reached the door, she was called back by a pretty girl. Not long after, the girl came over with hunched shoulders, holding chopsticks and a bowl of rice.
The man, perhaps seeing her humiliated, scolded her, "Why are you acting so shameful? What will I eat if I don't have you? If people see me, they'll think I, Zhang Fu, can't even support my wife and daughter."
As he raised his hand to hit someone, Fei Yan stopped him and said with a smile, "Why are you angry with her?"
Then he took the bowl and chopsticks, waved the woman away, and whispered, "I have something to discuss with you."
Zhang Fu heard this and asked hurriedly, "What's the matter?" without caring about anything else.
Fei Yan didn't answer. He pointed at the food on the table with his chopsticks and teased with a smile: "Brother Zhang, you have been living a comfortable life these days, haven't you?"
Zhang Fu chuckled, "The Xue family is truly wealthy. I heard they were going to Nanjing to purchase goods. Traveling as merchants is so tiring, yet they brought so many luxury goods with them. I simply changed my quilt last night and slept so soundly."
Having said that, he glanced at Fei Yan and cursed the Xue family, "But I'm afraid your family's wealth is also among them. You let this villain occupy it for so many years in vain."
Fei Yan made up a story at the time, saying that he was also a member of the Xue family, but his father was framed by Xue Pan's father and died of anger. His mother could not bear the torture and committed suicide. The Xue family took over his property. Only a loyal old servant rescued him, and he joined the profession of ranger.
Fortunately, he had good skills and had made some money over the years. When he heard that Xue Pan's father had died and that Xue Pan was incompetent and had caused the Xue family to fall into decline, he wanted to avenge his father's death.
Zhang Fu was just a country bumpkin. He lost his land in gambling a few years ago, so he hooked up with the thieves from the surrounding villages. Because he was strong and the oldest, he became the leader.
After that, the few of them robbed some small vendors and lived a good life. The villagers saw that they did not harass them and would even bring other villagers to do it together during the slack season. They also tacitly helped cover up for them.
But he just wandered around here, had no culture, and loved to listen to the quarrels between brothers in rich families. Fei Yan had good eloquence and fooled him with just a few words. In addition, this man was greedy by nature, and after hearing Fei Yan's promise that he would repay him after taking over the Xue family, he took people to rob Xue Pan.
But he was still worried about being abandoned, so he asked Fei Yan, "Brother Xue, don't blame me for being so talkative. I've been thinking about this these days. I'm just a villager, and following you to do this is risking my life. And that kid from the Xue family has seen my face. If you take the money and run away, and the Xue family sends soldiers to kill me, I won't even be able to escape."
Fei Yan listened and laughed, "You still don't trust me? I've told you everything. Even if I do something to you in the future, if you take the token and go to the Xue family, they'll know it was me who planned it. Big families value their reputation the most. I'm sure I'll be in big trouble."
Zhang Fu thought of the jade pendant he had given to him when they first met. He also thought of the jade pendant Xue Pan, whom he had captured the day before, had on him. It seemed they were truly family. He then thought of the food and daily necessities he had eaten and used over the past two days. He could not let go of this overwhelming wealth and said with a smile, "You're joking, brother. How could I not believe you?"
Fei Yan looked at his flattering face, sneered in his heart, and said with a smile: "The man has been released for two days, and the government has not made any move. Since Big Brother trusts me, isn't it time to take the next step?"
Zhang Fu rubbed his chin and thought for a while, still hesitant: "Although it is true as you said, this family has fallen on hard times, and there is no one to rescue the only son in the family after he was captured, it is better to wait a little longer."
This man was greedy and cowardly. Fei Yan was a little annoyed, but he still patiently persuaded him, "Don't worry, I've used all the money I've earned over the years to bribe people. There will definitely be no soldiers coming to cause trouble. When the time comes, you can take the ransom and leave, and I'll take the life-saving grace and enter the house. Once I enter the Xue family, how can I not benefit from you?"
After saying this, seeing that Zhang Fu was still hesitant, he said, "If we delay for too long, the government will try to have it both ways. They'll take the Xue family's money and come after us head-on. Not only will our chance to make a fortune be ruined, but we'll also probably end up in jail."
Zhang Fu didn't want to let his wealth slip away after hearing this. He also had a lot of money he had earned in the past two days, all of which he had kept. If anything went wrong, he could escape alone. So he nodded and said, "Then do as you say. I'll send someone to collect the ransom right away."
Fei Yan took a mouthful of rice and said with a smile, "Brother, why are you in such a hurry? Let's talk after dinner."
Seeing how calm he was, Zhang Fu thought that he was indeed a descendant of an aristocratic family who had endured for many years. He thought that he still had a lot to learn, so he replied, "That's right, brother."
After the two of them had dinner, Zhang Fu asked Fei Yan to write a kidnapping letter and called a man he trusted to go to the city and deliver it to the Xue family.
Fei Yan saw that he was so stupid to send someone to deliver the letter, so he quickly stopped him and said, "If we just hand it over like this, I'm afraid his family will bring people back. It would be better to find a beggar in the city, give him some money, and let him deliver the letter."
Zhang Fu saw how meticulous he was and said with a smile, "Brother Xue is indeed smart."
So he asked the man to do as Fei Yan said.
After the man left, Fei Yan smiled at Zhang Fu and said, "I'd like to congratulate you on your fortune, big brother."
Zhang Fu was happy, but he also knew that he would be his own rich man in the future, so he waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, I will have to rely on Brother Xue in the future."
"Brother, you're joking. How dare I forget you?"
The two of them complimented each other a few times, and discussed how to put on an act when the Xue family paid the ransom to make them believe that it was Fei Yan who saved Xue Pan. After all the details were agreed upon, they dispersed.
Fei Yan went out and saw that there was no one around. He ordered his servant, "Release the fellow who was stopped at the Xue family earlier. Clear the road and make sure he gets to the Xue family first."
The servant took the order and returned to the small courtyard where the few people had previously rented, released the man, and followed him personally. After seeing that he had entered the city smoothly, he turned around and went to the Grand View Garden to report to Wu Tianyue.
At the Jia Mansion, everyone had dinner and went sightseeing. Grandmother Jia was a little tired, so she took Mrs. Wang and the others out of the Grand View Garden.
Xiangyun and Baochai saw them out of the garden. When they came back, Lanye had already prepared the wine and food again, ready for them to use while writing poems.
When Baoyu saw the two of them coming back, he urged them, "What poem are you going to write today?"
Xiangyun saw that Lanye had set up another table for Zijuan, Xiren and other senior maids, and that the maids and servants were also arranged to eat and drink outside under the osmanthus tree. Everything was in perfect order, so she felt relieved. She pulled Lanye aside to thank her for a while, then took the title of the poem and pinned it on the wall with a needle.
Everyone came forward to take a look. Seeing that the plan was to use chrysanthemums as the guests and people as the main characters, they wrote twelve chrysanthemum poems, starting with "Remembering Chrysanthemums" and ending with "Visiting Chrysanthemums"... and finally "Withered Chrysanthemums." They laughed and said, "Are you trying to make a chrysanthemum album?"
After thinking for a while, he said, "It is indeed novel, but I am afraid I can't make it."
Xiangyun said hurriedly, "Today there is no limit to rhyme. Whoever has a good line can speak it out and have fun. And you don't have to write all of them. You can write whatever you want, and you can also write any one you can't."
After hearing this, everyone said that she was very thoughtful.
Xiangyun said it was Baochai's idea, and everyone praised Baochai again, and then they dispersed and started writing poems.
Daiyu thought about Wu Tianyue's strange expression earlier, and while everyone was writing poems, she walked over to ask him something.
Before she could say anything, a little maidservant who served Aunt Xue came running over in a panic and called out to Baochai, "Miss, it's bad... Madam has fainted."
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