Chapter 106: Apprenticeship Banquet
Yuxie's shocked question made a maid from outside walk in quickly.
As the maid opened the green bamboo curtain, the smell became stronger and the lingering smoke floated in.
Yu Xie asked again in a hurry: "What are you burning?"
"Don't worry, Aunt Yuxie. I just burned some mugwort in front of the door." The maid explained in a soothing tone.
Yuxie clutched the thin blanket beside her tightly: "Mugwort...why are you suddenly burning this?"
"Burning moxa on the Dragon Boat Festival can cure diseases and drive away evil spirits." The maid said in a gentle voice, "I saw that Aunt Yuxie has been feeling uneasy lately, so I thought of burning some."
"Dragon Boat Festival..." Yuxie suddenly looked out the window in a daze: "Is today the Dragon Boat Festival?"
Seeing that she had calmed down a little, the maid smiled and nodded: "That's right."
"Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival... if Your Highness is in the capital, he will also have people burn moxa..." Yu Xie's voice gradually became weaker and weaker, "And he will ask me to go to Shuiyun Tower to get calamus wine... Only the calamus wine brewed by Shuiyun Tower is the most favorite of Your Highness."
The maid sighed in understanding, thinking that he was just reciting some old stories that were half dream and half reality.
This Aunt Yuxie had served Her Royal Highness Princess Chongyue for many years. The Saint ordered them to take close care of this unconscious Aunt Yuxie, not only to treat Her Royal Highness Princess Chongyue well, but also to prevent her from going out and talking nonsense in a half-crazy and half-idiotic state, affecting the reputation of the late Her Royal Highness Princess.
So, it is both placement and surveillance.
But Aunt Yuxie was not a big worry. Although she was not clear-headed and would lose control from time to time, she never left the Princess's Mansion. For twelve whole years, she had never gone out once.
Aunt Yuxie misses her old master especially, and they see this and respect her a little more.
"Shuiyun Tower, calamus wine..." Yuxie sat on the couch, muttering to herself intermittently.
The maid didn't know that the Shuiyun Tower she mentioned was the Dengtai Tower before it was renamed, and she didn't care about her nonsense that was neither true nor false. Seeing that Yuxie had calmed down, she retreated with peace of mind to prepare for breakfast.
Yuxie stared blankly out the window, sniffing the aroma of mugwort at her nose, and uncontrollable trembling started from her fingertips and spread throughout her body.
During the festive season, she missed her family and was more likely to think of old times. Those old scenes that she wanted to forget but couldn't, stirred in her mind under the catalysis of the smell of wormwood.
There’s more than just calamus wine in Shuiyun Tower!
The secret code pattern that was so familiar that it was engraved into her bones flashed before Yuxie's eyes again.
But that secret code should have disappeared along with His Highness!
Suddenly, intense anxiety appeared on Yuxie's face. She jumped off the bed, walked quickly out of the bedroom, and recklessly put out the slowly burning moxa with her hands.
"Aunt Yuxie!"
The maid hurried over and dragged the person into her arms.
Another maid hurriedly took the mugwort away.
Yuxie screamed and struggled, her eyes once again falling into chaos and madness.
…
Today, outside the Dengtai Tower, fresh mugwort and calamus are placed at the gate in accordance with custom.
Cui Lang was wearing a newly tailored lotus pink brocade robe today, his hair was tied up very neatly, he had a jade pendant on his waist, and held a folding fan in his hand, looking very energetic.
He was standing outside the restaurant at the moment, waiting to welcome visitors with a happy face.
Yihu, who was accompanying him, whispered, "My dear, you look so happy. If you don't know, I'm afraid you might think that today is your big day, and you are the groom welcoming guests..."
Cui Lang fanned his folding fan twice and said proudly, "I won the Dragon Boat Festival football match held by the Imperial College. Isn't this more gratifying than being a groom?"
He couldn't help but sigh, "My last name is Cui, so there's really nothing I can do as a groom. I can only marry girls from those families, and getting married isn't necessarily a happy event."
Yihu: "Don't say that..."
Cui Lang snorted: "What are you afraid of? Father is not here today!"
Speaking of this, he couldn't help but look over expectantly: "I wonder if my eldest brother can come over."
As he spoke, he suddenly put away his folding fan and called out to a young man who had just dismounted from his horse, "Hu Huan, over here!"
When the young man surnamed Hu saw him, he handed the horse to the servant and strode towards him with a smile.
Soon, the other classmates invited by Cui Lang also arrived one after another, including three of the four students from Team Xuan who were defeated by them that day.
When the four were reduced to three, Cui Lang was still not satisfied: "Why is there one less?"
Could it be that the sincerity and demeanor of the sixth son of the Cui family were not enough to impress and convince the other party? "Brother Qi also wanted to climb the Tai Tower, but he got..." Just as one of them opened his mouth to explain, he heard a loud and surprised voice.
"Minister Wei?"
"Minister Wei has arrived!"
Cui Lang was surprised.
He didn't invite Minister Wei either.
Seeing the gentle and elegant young man nodding at him with a smile, Cui Lang raised his hand to salute him. Although the other party came uninvited, he was the Minister of Dongtai after all, so he should treat him warmly! Soon, a seemingly ordinary sedan chair stopped, and the sedan bearer lifted the curtain, and a middle-aged man in a blue robe came out.
"Yao Siqing is here too!"
The students around Cui Lang all bowed.
Cui Lang stared at him for a moment, then hurriedly saluted—Yao Tingwei had come to show his support! Could it be that he was impressed by his heroic performance on the field that day? "Quick... Qiao Jijiu is here!"
The noise became even louder. Seeing Qiao Jijiu walking towards him, wearing a brand new robe, his beard was obviously well-groomed, and he looked particularly energetic. Cui Lang's lips trembled -
No way, Qiao Jijiu actually came to congratulate him in person? He won the football match that day, and it was not an exaggeration to call him the glory of the Imperial College... But he never thought that he would be able to let Jijiu come to congratulate him! Moreover, Qiao Jijiu not only came himself, but also brought Jijiu's wife and Miss Qiao... What sincerity! Cui Lang was touched and his scalp shuddered and numbed. When his eyes subconsciously stayed on Qiao Yumian, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves.
The person who came was Chang Kuo.
He was wearing a new robe today, and even the horse he was riding had obviously just been brushed, with its fur clean and shiny.
Seeing Chang Kuo dismounting and walking towards this place, Cui Lang was completely stunned.
Is his personal charm even stronger than he imagined?
Could it be that his grandfather saw this in him... and this was the reason why his grandfather let him enter the Imperial College? Cui Lang suddenly felt enlightened - he probably didn't know enough about his own excellence in the past! "Chief Lieutenant, General Chang, Minister Yao, Minister Wei..." He was a little overwhelmed for a moment, and flatteredly invited them in: "Please come in and talk!"
Everyone came over, chatting and laughing, and nodded to him as they passed in front of him.
Cui Lang straightened his back and followed him into the restaurant.
Chang Kuo and others went upstairs while talking.
Cui Lang said "Eh" in confusion - the celebration banquet he had arranged was in the hall on the first floor! Just as he was about to call for help, he heard a classmate beside him say in surprise: "I only knew that the Chang family's wife was going to hold a banquet for her apprenticeship here today, but I didn't expect that even Yao Tingwei and Wei Shilang would come..."
Cui Lang: “?”
"It seems that this apprenticeship banquet is really going to be held with great fanfare. I heard that most of our famous and talented classmates in the Imperial College have received Madam Chang's invitation... Brother Qi has also received it!"
Cui Lang finally found his voice: "... Madam Chang? The apprenticeship banquet? When did it happen?"
How come he didn't hear anything? Oh, that's right...
Because his father was not in favor of him studying at the Imperial College and always liked to find faults, in order to make today's celebration banquet go smoothly, he had been pretending to be a grandson at home for the past three days, busying himself with stroking his father's hair. He was so tired every day that he was really oblivious to what was happening outside and never left the house once! After listening to his classmates talking about the apprenticeship banquet, Cui Lang understood it, looked upstairs, and sighed deeply.
Hey, that’s what he said.
It just felt like a dream, but now it finally feels real.
After Cui Lang accepted the fact that he "did have charm, but it was within a reasonable range", out of curiosity he asked the waiter in the building how many tables were set up for the apprenticeship banquet upstairs.
The waiter smiled and said, "The second and third floors are all reserved. Apart from you and Chang Fu's apprenticeship banquet, we will not accept any other guests today."
Cui Lang was stunned and looked up blankly in the direction of the second and third floors.
Dengtailou is not an ordinary restaurant. As the business is booming, it has been expanded several times. Each floor can accommodate more than a hundred diners. The Chang family actually booked two floors at once?!
Regardless of whether it was lavish or not, after all, when it came to lavishness, the Cui family was no less lavish than anyone else. As the legitimate son of the Cui family, he would not be shocked by such lavish behavior.
What really shocked Cui Lang was how many people Madam Chang invited to her apprenticeship banquet! Usually, a banquet for apprenticeship is held privately with one table and a famous person is invited to witness the event. For more important banquets, if there are more fellow apprentices, it is understandable to set up a few more tables.
But Madam Chang was the only one in the class, and Qiao Jijiu had only her as a serious student! The other students also showed an even more shocked and confused expression.
A student from a poor family looked up at the upstairs in astonishment: "I... I'm afraid I can't even set up so many tables if I go back to the west to prepare a banquet."
"Wake up." A familiar classmate reminded him: "Even if you go to the west to hold a banquet, you won't have so much money to set up a banquet in Dengtai Tower."
The student nodded: "Thank you...I'm awake now."
Hu Huan's face was filled with shock. "How many invitations did Madam Chang send out?"
"Including the ones sent out by the chief priest, there are about thirty in total." A clear voice answered in a normal tone.
Cui Lang and others looked and saw that it was Chang Suining who walked into the restaurant, accompanied by Chang Sui'an and several servants.
"Mrs. Chang is here!"
As Hu Huan and other students were talking, Cui Lang came forward and said, "Ms. Chang, the grand ceremony of your apprenticeship banquet today really shocked us!"
Chang Suining looked at him with a smile: "It just happened to run into Cui Liulang's celebration party. Cui Liulang doesn't mind, right?"
Cui Lang shuddered and shook his head quickly: "How dare I!"
Don't mind it, as long as Madam Chang doesn't think he's in the way, everything will be fine! Thinking of the consequences if he got in the way, Cui Lang already held his head in his hands.
After he finished speaking, his expression froze, and he felt that he was a little cowardly. He laughed dryly twice to dispel the embarrassment, and then said: "Of course I don't mind. It's more lively when we bump into each other... Moreover, if it weren't for the help of the extraordinary lady, how would I have the opportunity to hold this celebration banquet today?"
Chang Suining nodded: "As long as Cui Liulang doesn't mind."
"But... Madam Chang just said that only about thirty invitations were sent out. I think five, six or seven tables should be enough to receive the guests. I wonder what the rest will be used for?" Cui Lang asked curiously.
"I haven't thought about it yet." Chang Suining said, "If you don't need it, just leave it empty. Just think of it as a quiet and spacious place."
Cui Lang was surprised.
The other students were even more stunned. Some students who secretly wrote books under pseudonyms to supplement their family income had a line of words in their minds: Shock! The girl from the general's mansion spent a lot of money to book the two-story banquet hall in Dengtai Building, and she used it only for this!
"After you finish here, you can also try to go upstairs and sit down." Chang Suining left this sentence and went upstairs with Chang Sui'an.
Cui Lang came back to his senses and hurriedly said, "Let's finish this earlier... Then we can all go up to Madam Chang to gather the numbers!"
Otherwise, it would be so deserted and embarrassing to leave so many empty seats! Hu Huan nodded hurriedly. Like Cui Lang, he was grateful and admired Chang Suining after the football match.
One student asked in confusion, "But Madam Chang just said... that we can 'try to go up and sit'. What does 'try' mean?"
As a storyteller, I am very good at grasping the key points.
"We're invited anyway." Cui Lang said, and waved to the waiter: "Serve the food!"
Classmates: “?!”
I just had breakfast, there’s no need to end it early like this!
The waiter was also stunned, but fortunately the restaurant was big and he had seen all kinds of things: "Sir, please be patient, the kitchen is just preparing the dishes at this time..."
Their restaurant is different from teahouses and breakfast shops, and they only serve lunch and dinner.
Cui Lang had to give up the idea.
Yihu whispered beside him, "My dear, everyone is not here yet, and the eldest son hasn't arrived yet, why are you in such a hurry..."
Cui Lang suddenly realized: "Yes, I still have to wait for my elder brother."
Yihu's expression was complicated - could it be that in the young master's heart, Lady Chang was more important than the young master? At this time, Hu Huan said, "Zhiyuan is here!"
Xi Zhiyuan came in with his servant and bowed to his classmates with a smile.
After going up to the second floor, Xier asked Chang Suining in a low voice: "Girl, is it almost time?"
Chang Suining nodded, his voice normal: "Well, go ahead and do it."
Xier looked at Jiantong, who nodded in understanding and quickly went downstairs.
"What else does Madam Chang want to do?" Wei Shuyi asked curiously.
Chang Suining looked at him and asked instead of answering, "I wonder if Minister Wei has prepared a gift?"
"How can you come here empty-handed?" Wei Shuyi said with a smile, "My mother will be here later, so she asked me to tell Madam Chang not to be offended."
"How could it be."
Chang Suining walked towards Qiao Jijiu and Chang Kuo who were waving at her with a smile.
Wei Shuyi turned his head with a smile and looked thoughtfully in the direction where Jian Tong went downstairs.
At the same moment, in Xuan Ce Mansion, which was only separated from Dengtai Tower by a long street but had a completely different atmosphere, Cui Jing was sitting in the study handling official business.
Yuanxiang glanced at the clepsydra by the window from time to time.
Good night! (I recommend this book to everyone. It is a period novel. It is already very rich. If you are interested, you can read "A Rough Man in the 1980s, His Warehouse Leads to the Modern Times" by Nian Nian Shu
Summary: The bullied child bride accidentally discovered a portal to the modern world. When she learned of her tragic ending, she suddenly became excited.
(End of this chapter)
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