Chapter 19 Banquet for All Families Wang Yan: How did I end up on the Shen family's pirate ship?
Shen Minghuai and Wang Yan returned to Tingying Pavilion. She hadn't intended to go, but Shen Minghuai insisted that since they were already cooperating, they should exchange information promptly. Besides, Li Changling had said she could come to their residence to find him, so Wang Yan couldn't refuse again. Thus, Shen Minghuai shamelessly came.
Li Changling is right; the people in the capital and Yangzhou are two different people. The person who said this was flipping through the "Mahayana Infinite Life Sutra," but it's unclear whether he was really reading it or not, as he immediately put it aside when they arrived.
Stepping into the garden felt like entering another world. Shen Minghuai was also captivated by the scenery, remarking, "Even Elder Feng is so refined and elegant."
Feng Huaisheng bought this courtyard many years ago and named it Wanchun. Tingyingxuan faces the garden and was the favorite place for Li Changling and Wang Yan to go after studying. Feng Huaisheng did not like to tend to flowers and plants, so all the flowers and trees in the garden were planted and cultivated by the two of them.
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter—the four seasons change, and the garden is always filled with blooming flowers, plum blossoms, orchids, lotuses, and osmanthus in succession. Whenever friends come to Yangzhou, Li Changling always invites them here to show off his garden.
“This is not the result of Master’s hard work.” Li Changling led Shen Minghuai to the blooming peony garden. “Which blade of grass, which tree, has not been carefully tended by me and Aying?”
The small patch of peonies stood out in the flowerbed. Shen Minghuai clasped his hands in a slight bow and said, "It was originally a masterpiece by Brother Lanzhi and Lady Wang."
“The peonies are in such beautiful bloom,” Wang Yan said with a smile as she stood up. “I wonder when the Danxiang Garden will open this year.”
"Just looking at those peonies in the garden costs an ounce of silver. The Wei family is really good at scheming." Last year, when Li Changling was recuperating, he reluctantly spent a lot of money to go with Wang Yan to admire the peonies in Danxiang Garden.
"You're not still thinking about it this year, are you?"
“Yes, we still remember it,” Wang Yan sat down next to Li Changling, “but our peonies are no worse than those of Danxiang Garden. By the way, you guessed right, Shangguan Yu really does know a lot. She is also afraid.”
"Could it also be the He family?" Li Changling frowned. "What is the background of the He family? Why have I never heard of them being so easy to bully before?"
"You two usually reside here, so why don't you know many of these people?" In the capital, making acquaintances is essential, yet this brother and sister have come here alone. Shen Minghuai was quite puzzled.
“I live on the mountain with my master and mistress, so naturally I’m not familiar with them,” Li Changling added. “I went to He Yangzhou to inquire about the He family and the Elephant Maiden Pavilion.”
"Is it Prefect He?" Shen Minghuai thought it was just a rumor that people affectionately addressed local officials, but he didn't expect it to be true.
When the topic of his name came up, Wang Yanxuan and Li Changling teased him, and he recounted in detail how he had given a false name earlier that day.
Li Changling laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight. "A penny less? If Fu Jizheng finds out, he'll definitely come after you for leading his good disciple astray."
Wang Yan earnestly defended himself, saying, "When you're out in the world, being too honest won't do."
Things that are not in balance will make a sound. With respect for Han Yu, Shen Minghuai immediately followed this advice, saying, "Wang Niangzi is probably also responsible for my being exposed."
"I?"
Li Changling knew his junior sister very well, and patted Wang Yan on the shoulder, "You can't blame A Ying for this. If I were here, I would be laughing even louder than her."
“I didn’t laugh out loud.” Wang Yan pressed him back into his seat. “Mai Zi told me that very few people in the city know about the death of Madam He, and even the maids who used to serve her have been expelled from the mansion and their whereabouts are unknown. What else did Governor He say to you?”
The He family was renowned in Yangzhou for its veneration of Confucianism and Taoism. He Li's actions, however, did not result in her being expelled from the family, and she remained a subject of speculation among the city's residents. No one dared to marry her, and she did not wish to marry either, thus managing to live peacefully in the He family for nearly ten years.
It is said that He Li selected countless male actors, but in the end only chose Meng Shu. Wang Yan had also heard this. Li Changling thought that, given Meng Shu's appearance and voice, this was not surprising.
After a moment's consideration, Wang Yan cautiously said, "Could it be that their relationship is more than just...sexual intimacy?"
Remembering how Li Changling had swiftly covered her mouth last time, the last four words were barely audible. She didn't think much of it, but Shen Minghuai gave her a strange look. Now both of them felt uneasy.
Li Changling looked at Shen Minghuai with a strange expression, "You wouldn't...?"
Shen Minghuai coughed twice, "I am not yet twenty years old."
Li Changling said with relief, "Pure and innocent, still a child."
Wang Yan glared at him. "Don't interrupt. What I mean is, they might have feelings for each other."
Li Changling thought she didn't understand. A male actor and a flirtatious woman—to anyone else, it was a transaction; how could there be any affection involved?
Wang Yan disagreed, arguing that it was all a transaction to everyone, and even the parties involved might not have realized it. Everyone knew that Meng Shu had only ever had one client, He Li; the others were all performing artists, not prostitutes.
Li Changling still refused to accept it, "Perhaps Madam He gave too much?"
Shen Minghuai had already understood Wang Yan's meaning: "Meng Shu searched bitterly in the western suburbs cemetery for a month, which is his testimony; He Li brought her close friend to the Xianggu Pavilion, which is her testimony."
“Children’t always have the sharpest minds,” Li Changling continued. “If that’s the case, Shangguan Yu should know that they were truly in love, so how could she think that Meng Shu killed He Li?”
Shen Minghuai corrected him, "She never said that."
“We still don’t know why she’s hostile towards Meng Shu, but she’s the key to solving the problem,” Wang Yan suggested. “We need to meet with her again.”
Another day passed, and Mai Zi had finished explaining Shangguan Yu's situation before Shen Minghuai finally arrived at Linjiangxian.
Shangguan Bo was a wealthy local merchant, but he felt that merchants had a low social status and always tried to climb to a higher position. He had five daughters, and his four older sisters, Shangguan Yu, had all married officials of varying ranks. Shangguan Bo strongly disapproved of her association with Zhu Yao. In reality, the Shangguan family's business relied entirely on the Zhu family.
Li Changling asked in surprise, "There's this connection too?"
“Not only that,” Wang Yan continued, “Shangguan Yu was originally betrothed to the Wei family as a child, but unfortunately, the fifth son of the Wei family passed away four months ago.”
Shen Minghuai remembered the three deceased she had mentioned, "That Fifth Young Master Wei, whose cause of death is unknown?"
Li Changling later inquired with He Fan about the other two deceased. It was said that the Fifth Young Master Wei died of a weak illness, and his health had deteriorated significantly since last year. The Wei family did not want him to suffer in the afterlife, so they did not specify the cause of death.
Wang Yan then learned the reason for this: "Weakness?"
Shen Minghuai said calmly, "It seems that he knew that Young Master Wei was not long for this world, so he had already prepared a way out for himself."
Wang Yan was instantly enlightened by Shen Minghuai's words, "She knows very well that the Fifth Young Master Wei is not a good match, and she met Zhu Yao a year ago."
Li Changling got goosebumps. "The more I talk about it, the more creepy it gets. Perhaps Shangguan Yu had no feelings for that Wei family young master, and later met a man she liked and started a relationship with him, which makes perfect sense."
Wang Yan had a sudden inspiration: "If we bring Shangguan Yu and Zhu Yao together, wouldn't that be helping her?" Jingxin's whereabouts are just a matter of a word from her.
Suddenly, Mai Zi came to report, "Second Master, a young master surnamed Zhu is looking for you."
Zhu Yao walked dejectedly into the side room, "Everyone is here..."
Li Changling hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
Zhu Yao said with a bitter expression, "Madam Shangguan is unwell, and I wanted to visit her at her residence, but I was turned away. After thinking it over, I realized that I don't have many friends in Yangzhou who I can talk to, so I came instead. I hope you all don't mind?"
"How could this be?" Wang Yan gestured for him to sit down. Although he had asked rather urgently last time, it shouldn't have been enough to frighten Shangguan Yu into illness, right? Zhu Yao's visit to them now shows that he doesn't hold grudges.
Li Changling had seen too many young women feign illness, and couldn't help but become suspicious. "Are you really sick?"
"Is this even real?" Zhu Yao was extremely displeased. "You—"
Wang Yanxuan said, "Brother Zhu, please don't be offended. We were just worried. We were afraid that the Shangguan family was using this as an excuse to refuse your visit. It's always good to find out the truth."
"This..." Zhu Yao's gaze swept over the three of them, "How do you know that Shangguan's father doesn't agree?"
Wang Yan then brought up Shangguan Yu's marriage to the Wei family, which Zhu Yao seemed to already know.
“She told me that an arranged marriage between children is meaningless if there is no affection involved. I also know that the two families had already broken off the engagement a month before the Fifth Young Master Wei died.”
Shangguan Yu's frankness surprised the three of them.
Wang Yan comforted him, saying, "Actually, given Brother Zhu's family background, the Shangguan family has no reason to refuse him when he comes to ask for her hand in marriage."
"They refused without reason."
Wang Yan thought to himself, showing no modesty whatsoever.
Zhu Yao hadn't finished speaking when he said, "I don't want to use my power to oppress others. The Zhu family is the Zhu family, and I am me. I hope that Shangguan's father recognizes me and all merchants and traders, and that we are not inferior just because we don't have official positions. I also hope that he will stop using his children's marriages as a shortcut to advancement in the future."
Wang Yan never expected that these words would come from the mouth of this young master from a wealthy family.
Li Changling was also impressed and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Well said!"
Zhu Yao removed Li Changling's hand. "Are you looking for He Li?"
Shangguan Yu remained secluded in her residence, so Zhu Yao might know something. Wang Yan then informed Shangguan Yu of the He family's concealment of He Li's death, hoping to learn some details from the matter.
Shen Minghuai had been observing Zhu Yao's expression and casually added, "She was also threatened by the He family because of this."
Zhu Yao was immediately horrified, "A threat?!"
Wang Yan told Zhu Yao about their predicament, "We don't know the specifics yet, but she's currently ill, so she's probably hiding from the He family. The He family knows we're looking for Madam He for Meng Shu."
Zhu Yao said with a sigh, "What should we do then..."
Shen Minghuai suddenly said, "There is a banquet coming up soon."
Li Changling said blankly, "I haven't heard of any banquets lately."
"The banquet invitation will be delivered today. We will need the assistance of the two hosts for this banquet."
The sun shone brightly, and though there was no wind, it stirred up a sense of unease in everyone's hearts. For the first time, Wang Yan truly saw the inescapable high wall through Shen Minghuai's eyes.
Two days later, news broke that Shen Minghuai was inviting everyone to appreciate the peonies at Danxiang Garden, causing a stir throughout Yangzhou. Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were treated equally, and many received invitations. The host, posing as a strategist for the Prince of Wei, issued the invitations with the seal of the Duke of Dingguo, a jade seal bearing a dragon motif. Those invited could easily guess the meaning behind this.
Wang Yan watched from the second floor. With the manager checking the dishes, everything would be in perfect order, and naturally, there would be nothing for her to do. Li Changling, who should have been admiring the flowers in Danxiang Garden, was standing beside her.
"Not going? Wouldn't it be a waste to wear this blue goldfish jacket and brocade purple skirt?"
Wang Yan remained silent, wearing a light blue jacket with goldfish and waterweed patterns and a purple-brown pleated skirt. She also styled her hair in a bun for the occasion.
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