Chapter 157: Welcome Banquet
Minghe Tower is also in the north of the city, not far from the Song residence.
When she first arrived in Dayuan, Song's father had died in battle and her mother was critically ill. The Song family was already on the verge of collapse. In Song Lingyi's limited memory, no one had ever helped the orphaned and widowed Song family. Before her death, Song's mother dismissed the servants in the mansion and gave her all her valuable jewelry, asking her to pawn it for money.
When she passed by Minghe Tower that day, she saw many BMWs and carriages parked in front of the door, with music playing inside. She felt envious. After all, once Song's mother fell ill, she had no relatives in this strange world, and she didn't know how much hardship she would have to endure. Maybe one day she couldn't make it and would starve to death on the street.
While I was daydreaming, the carriage had already stopped in front of Heming Tower.
The servant at the door called out "Miss Song is here" and then moved a stool to the side of the carriage.
Song Lingyi lifted the curtain and walked out. Just as she stood there, she heard a commotion coming from the door behind her. She turned around and saw Governor Guo with a smile on his face. He quickly stepped over the threshold and shouted, "What are you doing?"
"My dear nephew! My dear nephew is finally here!"
Du Xuan stepped forward, and his cold and solemn look made Governor Guo stunned on the spot.
"Nephew, who is this?"
"He is..."
Song Lingyi was about to explain when she suddenly realized that she didn't know much about Du Xuan, such as his official position. She was afraid of saying something wrong, so she turned her head to look at him.
"Grand Marshal Guo." Du Xuan bowed respectfully. "I am Captain Du Xuan under General Yunhui. I have been ordered by the Crown Prince to escort Miss Song back to Huaizhou City."
Hearing that he was under orders from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Governor Guo dared not underestimate him simply because of his lowly rank. He smiled and said, "So it's Captain Du. Tonight is a welcoming banquet. Don't be shy and join Miss Song."
Heming Tower was arranged in a courtyard-style layout, with each courtyard serving as a separate "private room." Pavilions and terraces connected to each other, and the lake and gallery connected, surrounded by lush green grass and carved railings. Prefect Guo had reserved the largest bamboo garden, and upon entering the courtyard, one could see vast bamboo forests and large, lush, green banana trees.
By then, all the guests had arrived and taken their seats.
Men and women in Dayuan sat at different tables. The tables were separated by a carved railing and each had a long table made of huanghuali wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory stones, decorated with flowers and birds. On the table were various gold and silver utensils, and a series of delicious delicacies with good color, fragrance and taste were displayed.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, impatience began to show on everyone's faces.
They were all high-ranking officials in Huaizhou City, while the other party was just an orphan who could only have her current glory thanks to the face of the Duke's Mansion.
The prefect had held a welcoming banquet, partly because the Duke's Mansion had given them advance notice and partly because they wanted to build closer ties. They were attending out of respect for the prefect. This orphan girl not only kept them waiting, but also had the prefect personally greet her. She was truly ignorant of etiquette.
Just as everyone was complaining in low voices, the prefect Guo and the general Wang entered the courtyard one after another. Everyone was about to stand up to greet them when they saw a beautiful girl in pink clothes coming in from outside the courtyard. She had an elegant and dignified demeanor, and her fair face was as rosy as the morning sun and as bright as the moon.
There were many unmarried young men present, and they were instantly stunned, forgetting their previous complaints.
"This is Miss Song, right?"
"I never thought Captain Song's daughter was so beautiful. After visiting Kyoto, her demeanor is even more noble than the ladies from Huaizhou City."
"Miss Song must have been exhausted after traveling all the way from Kyoto back to Huaizhou City..."
Suddenly faced with so many people's care, Song Lingyi felt a little unnatural. She smiled lightly and said, "It's okay. I don't feel tired."
"Stop standing there, sit down." As soon as Prefect Guo gave the order, everyone sat down.
At the men's table, except for the seats in the middle and on the right side of the long table, all other seats were full.
According to the rules, Prefect Guo sat in the center of the long table, and Sima Wang of Song sat on the right. But suddenly Du Xuan appeared and the seats were limited, so Prefect Guo moved Sima Wang to the end of the long table and gave the vacant seat to Du Xuan.
"This isn't a good idea." Du Xuan knew his limits. Sima Wang was a sixth-rank official after all, higher in rank than him. How could he give up his seat to him and sit at the last seat?
Governor Guo waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "It's alright. Captain Du came to Huaizhou City on orders from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so naturally I have to treat him well. It's no big deal for Sima Wang to give up his seat at the end."
Du Xuan glanced at Wang Sima, but saw that his expression remained unchanged. He continued to smile and agreed, "Captain Du is the Crown Prince's confidant. I'm just giving up my seat. It doesn't matter where I sit."
After hearing this, Du Xuan did not accept the arrangement happily, but felt strange instead.
Sima was in charge of local military affairs. Although his official position was not prestigious, he was still a well-known figure in Huaizhou City. Tonight's welcoming banquet was attended by all the city's high-ranking officials and dignitaries. There was no reason for him to give up his position and demean himself.
It seems that Sima Wang's situation in Huaizhou City is not good, and there is suspicion that he is being excluded by local officials.
However, Du Xuan had no control over this matter. Since Sima Wang had taken the initiative to give up his position, he didn't say much.
"Thank you very much, Sima Wang." Du Xuan bowed and thanked him, then sat down.
Before the banquet began, led by Prefect Guo, everyone stood up and raised their glasses to celebrate Song Lingyi's return to Huaizhou City. The atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Only after the first glass of wine was finished did the men and women take their seats.
Soon, musicians and dancers came in one after another, and the courtyard was filled with lascivious music and was extremely lively.
The women sitting at the table were all wives of officials and wealthy ladies, who were not young at all. Song Lingyi had nothing in common with them, and the only topic they talked about was marriage.
"Miss Song is almost eighteen, isn't she? She's not young anymore. Has the Duke arranged a marriage for you?"
"My nephew works as a judge in the city. He's very capable and good-looking, but he's a bit old. He's 28 this year and still unmarried..."
Song Lingyi frowned slightly, took a sip of warm wine, lowered her eyes and thought secretly.
Twenty-eight, unmarried, Tongpan.
These conditions are quite good in Huaizhou City, but if you think about it carefully, you can feel that something is wrong.
Since he was good-looking and a Tongpan (a magistrate), how could he still be unmarried at this age? He must be a playboy with a plethora of concubines and mistresses, and no respectable girl in the city would marry him, which is why he has been delayed until now. This Tongpan (a magistrate) position was probably donated by his family through connections.
It's not that she was too picky and looked down on the Tongpan after her trip to Kyoto, but there is a saying that goes: the kind of man the matchmaker shows you often reflects the kind of man she thinks you should be worthy of.
In their eyes, the Song family was just a ruined family, and she, an orphan with the support of the Duke's Mansion, was a ready-made resource.
The reason why this lady paired her with a dandy boy was simply because she thought she was soft-hearted and easy to manipulate. Moreover, if the magistrate married the cousin of the Duke's family, he could get promoted in the future by relying on the Duke's connections, which was the best of both worlds.
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