Chapter 37 Banquet (Part 2)

Eleventh Lady heard something else in those words.

The fifth master of the Xu family, Xu Lingkuan, is only 18 years old this year. He is the captain of the Tiance Camp of the Yulin Army and a fourth-rank military officer. Three years ago, he married the daughter of Dingnan Marquis Sun Kang. In the eyes of the first wife, Xu Lingkuan is a playboy who is uneducated and relies on the influence of his ancestors to do nothing but fly eagles and ride horses...

Could it be that Mrs. Qiao was talking about Xu Lingkuan?

The lady just smiled without saying anything and led everyone into the flower hall.

There was a floor faucet in the flower hall, and it was warm as spring. The table was set in the west room of the flower hall, and the plates and chopsticks had already been laid out. The maids and old women who were serving stood aside in silence.

The third lady warmly invited everyone to sit down.

After some pushing and shoving, the Tai Madam, the First Madam, Madam Qiao, and the Third Madam sat at the same table.

Grandma Luo, Fifth Lady, Sixth Miss Qiao, and Eleventh Lady sat at the same table.

Madam Wen hid outside the hall.

The maids brought water soaked in osmanthus flowers to clean everyone's hands, and served Junshan Yinzhen to the table of the lady, and Lushan Yunwu to the table of Grandma Luo. Then the maids brought snacks, platters, side dishes, cold dishes, hot dishes, hot pot... one after another.

The third wife poured Jinhua wine for the dowager, the first wife and others.

The lady-in-law politely said to the eldest wife, "It's a home-cooked meal, please don't reject it, madam," and then raised her glass to toast everyone.

The first wife and Mrs. Qiao responded.

The banquet officially begins.

Although there were many dishes on Shiyi Niang's table, no one was too embarrassed to stare at them from afar - if the people helping to serve the dishes saw them, they would definitely stretch out their long chopsticks to pick up some food, which would inevitably make people feel greedy... So everyone ate the dishes in front of them obediently.

As for the Tai Madam, she claimed that she was not feeling well, and drank one more cup, then put down her glass and stopped drinking. The Third Madam took her place. Although the Tai Madam looked about the same age as the First Madam, she was actually over sixty years old, so no one dared to persuade her. The First Madam stared at Madam Qiao. After a few cups of wine, Madam Qiao's face was red, but the First Madam's expression remained the same.

I didn't expect that the eldest wife could drink so much!

Eleventh Lady sat aside and watched the show.

After a while, Mrs. Qiao could not speak clearly.

The old lady saw that something was wrong and winked at the third lady. The third lady took the wine cup and was about to drink for Mrs. Qiao. The first lady didn't want to cause trouble at the banquet of her in-laws, so she stopped.

After the meal, it was already late in the evening, so everyone moved to the west room to drink tea.

Perhaps it was because she had been drinking, Mrs. Qiao was talking a lot.

"…Those who can be your relatives are blessed. Let's not talk about other things, just talk about your grandson's family. If it weren't for a mother-in-law like you, how could her married daughter spend half a month at her husband's family and half a month at her parents' family?"

The old lady laughed, and seeing the confusion on the face of the first wife, she explained: "Marquis Dingnan has only this one daughter, who is as precious as a treasure. He married her to our family because we have many sons, so that our daughter and son-in-law can visit her often in the future. I am also a person who raises sons and daughters. It's pitiful that parents all over the world are worried. Let them live at home for half a month, and live in the Dingnan Marquis Mansion in Hongdeng Hutong for the first half of the month. Both sides want to experience something new. It's unfortunate that you came, it's the second half of the month, and they are still in the Dingnan Marquis Mansion. Wait for them to come back and let them pay their respects to you!"

"I dare not, I dare not." The first wife said hurriedly, "The Fifth Madam was appointed as the head of Danyang County by the late emperor. She is of noble status. How can I let her pay her respects to me!"

The elder sister of Marquis Dingnan was the favorite concubine of the late emperor, and he had no children. When she was alive, he often summoned Sun to the palace to keep her company. The late emperor liked her and conferred her the title of "Princess of Danyang County", which was the highest among the families of marquises, dukes, and ministers.

"You are too polite, Madam." Madam Qiao said with a smile, "The emperor has several poor relatives, not to mention you and me. Besides, our princess is a first-class virtuous woman. Since she married into the Xu family, she no longer allows people to call her "county princess". She has always been generous among relatives and friends, and everyone likes her..."

The eldest wife became furious as she listened to her increasingly outrageous words, but as she was a guest at the old lady's house, she could not lose her temper and could only sneer in her heart.

Really a frog in a well, arrogant. The Zhou Dynasty has been established for more than a hundred years. In his later years, Emperor Taizong had killed, demoted, or deprived the title of the so-called founding meritorious service by claiming that "Prince Zheng An plotted against An". Most of the family property was either kept or sold, and the remaining families were trembling in fear like bereaved dogs. It was not easy to come to the reign of Emperor Xiaozong. Although a few families restored their titles, they were already frightened birds. They only wanted to save their lives and did not dare to make contributions to the court. After more than a hundred years, most of them were strong on the outside but weak on the inside, relying on their ancestral land to barely maintain their daily expenses. How can they compare to these officials and their descendants who have become successful, not only have they bought land and opened shops, but they have even used the treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to do business... If Duke Cheng had not made some money in the Northwest Army in those years, the Qiao family would have been just one of them. He actually spoke so arrogantly in front of her...

The more she thought about it, the uglier her face became.

The lady saw it clearly, sighed inwardly, and stood up with a smile: "Why not go and see the newly built stage, it will help digestion!"

The eldest wife knew that the old lady was trying to help her out, so she looked at her with gratitude, and the group went to the newly built stage.

The stage is very small, with two rooms, whitewashed walls and gray tiles, and the four corners of the eaves rise high like swallows. The screen of the stage is painted with large peony flowers in five colors, which is very gorgeous. Behind the stage is a row of seven side rooms, with three side rooms on the left, a hall on the right, and seven main rooms opposite, with corridors on all four sides and curved roofs.

The Third Lady smiled and said, "That's the Fifth Master's idea. In summer, we can hang curtain fans on the eaves, and fan ourselves while listening to opera. The breeze can help relieve the summer heat. In winter, we can hang up the plywood curtains, either hanging down or rolling them up, and then light a fire, roast sweet potatoes and beans, play and have fun, and be free and easy..."

Grandma Luo praised it repeatedly: "It is really a wonderful idea."

Everyone said "yes".

Wu Niang's eyes were filled with envy, Miss Qiao Liu smiled faintly, and Shiyi Niang carefully looked at the surrounding furnishings.

The door rails and window lattices are all made of colorful gold, with carvings of flowers, birds and beasts, babies, or antiques. They are very different from the commonly used patterns of five bats holding a longevity statue or five sons passing the imperial examinations. There is a solemnity in the liveliness. It is obvious that a lot of effort was put into it.

The lady laughed, "I don't know how much effort was put into building this stage." Then she pointed to the seven rooms behind the stage and said, "If this row of rooms had not been built, it would have led directly to the garden." Then she pointed to the hallway and said, "Half of Xiao Si's study was demolished. Even though he has a good temper, if he meets the old marquis, he will probably have a good beating."

Madam Qiao said "Oh" and turned her eyes away: "If we start singing over here, won't it disturb the Marquis?"

"What are you arguing about?" The lady laughed, "We moved a long time ago. When Xiaowu got married, we moved to the "Banyuepan" in the back garden. Otherwise, Xiaowu would not have dared to build a large building here."

Everyone laughed.

The lady simply led them into the hall.

There is a small courtyard inside, with only three main rooms facing south and north, with gray tiles, white walls, black painted floor-to-ceiling columns, and white lattice window paper. There are a few Taihu stones in the courtyard, a few bamboos planted on the left, and a few banana trees planted on the right, which is quiet and elegant.

The eldest wife praised it as a "good place".

"That's right." The old lady smiled and looked at the third lady. "If it wasn't for Xiao San's insistence that if there were distinguished guests, they could come here to rest, Xiao Wu would have torn it down long ago."

The Third Lady covered her mouth and smiled: "Our master came out to stop us because he saw that the Marquis' face turned blue."

Everyone laughed as they walked out of the courtyard, out of the chamber behind the stage, and onto a corridor paved with bluestone. On the left side of the corridor was a lattice wall, with windows in round, square, or crabapple shapes, through which one could see the mountains, springs, and rocks in the garden. Walking along the way, one felt a bit like a Jiangnan garden, with each window offering a different view.

Mrs. Qiao smiled and said, "Master Wu really put in a lot of effort to even change this wall."

The lady smiled and pointed to a few green branches sticking out of the white wall not far to the right: "That's Lao Wu's residence."

Eleventh Lady looked over and saw a five-step platform where two or three hairless maids were throwing sandbags.

Seeing the old lady coming, they all stepped forward to greet her. A fifty-year-old woman wearing lilac-colored makeup and a flowered jacket beside the old lady took out some candy from her purse to reward the maids. The maids all ran away with smiles on their faces. The old lady pointed to a section of the whitewashed wall in front and said, "That's Yuanniang's yard."

Bamboo shoots protrude from the wall.

The third lady pointed to the pink wall at the end of the corridor and said, "I live there!"

Behind the lady's house is the flower hall, next to the flower hall lives Xu Lingkuan, next to Xu Lingkuan is Xu Lingyi, and further back is Xu Lingning... The Xu family should also have a widowed sister-in-law, I wonder where she lives?

Shiyi Niang pondered. Then she passed Yuanniang's yard and saw a large door behind a lattice wall. The main door and the side door on the left were closed, but the side door on the right was open. Two maids were sitting on a bench in front of the door and talking. When they saw the lady, they immediately ran over to pay their respects.

The old lady spoke to the two women in a friendly manner, pointed to the bright gate and said to the first wife, "Go in from here and you will reach the back garden."

The eldest wife nodded.

The third lady smiled and said, "Since you've been away for a while, why don't you come over to my place and have a cup of tea?"

The old lady looked at the first wife, who was afraid that the old lady might be tired, so she smiled and said, "Okay!"

They walked south along the path that the Third Lady had just pointed out and arrived at her residence.

The residence of the third wife has five rooms and four courtyards, which is larger than the house of the Luo family in Gongxian Hutong. It has white walls, gray tiles, black painted Ruyi doors, and the back house is divided into a study and a flower hall, and the front is the hall. Entering the hall, there is a cross-shaped bluestone corridor, with banana and apricot trees planted and flower racks built. There are three main rooms with side rooms, and a corridor connecting the east and west side rooms. Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian, the eldest grandsons of the Xu family, live in the third courtyard. There are magnolia trees and pine and cypress trees planted in the yard. The fourth courtyard is the back room.

They drank tea in the main room where the third wife lived.

The clear, bright light golden tea soup is dotted with emerald green leaves and carries a faint, rich sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance.

Eleventh Lady was slightly stunned.

Take a sip.

The unique aroma of Longjing bean curd and the sweetness of osmanthus are intertwined together, which is mellow and sweet, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.

It's osmanthus tea.

Although the taste was unique, she didn't like it.

Shiyi Niang likes plain tea - each tea has its own characteristics, and if other things are mixed in, it always feels like it lacks the original purity.

As she was thinking, someone had already praised her, "What a great tea!"

Eleventh Lady looked in the direction of the voice—it was the Sixth Miss of the Qiao family.

"This is the new scented tea that Lingxiu Tower has launched this year!" She narrowed her eyes slightly, with a satisfied expression.

The Third Lady smiled and said, "Sister, you are such an elegant person. However, this is not the tea from Lingxiu Tower. It was made by Second Sister-in-law herself last autumn, picking flowers from the century-old osmanthus tree in the garden and scenting them."