43 Painting Appreciation Banquet
◎Rich flavor, thick white soup◎
Song Mansion.
Song Zhangye, Shen Lingyu and her two children were sitting around a round table for dinner. When the housekeeper came in to report, Shen Lingyu was serving lotus leaf and lotus seed soup to Song Zhangye.
Song Zhangye asked, what's the matter?
The housekeeper looked up at Shen Lingyu and reported, "The eldest lady is back."
Shen Lingyu was just scooping a spoonful of soup into the small soup bowl. With a slight shake, half of the soup was gone. She calmed down and scooped another spoonful, then placed the soup bowl in front of Song Zhangye.
Song Zhangye put down his chopsticks, and the maidservant beside him immediately handed him a handkerchief. Song Zhangye used the handkerchief to wash his hands and asked, "Did she say why she came back?"
The housekeeper didn't reply. He leaned over slightly closer to Song Zhangye and told him everything that had happened recently in Song's Sweet Water Shop in a low voice. He said, "Maybe it's about this matter. Do you want to see me, Master?"
"No, she's grown strong, hasn't she? These are just appetizers in the business world. If she can't even handle such a small matter, then she should just go home."
The housekeeper understood what Song Zhangye meant, turned around and went out to find an excuse to get rid of Song Jinyi.
Song Zhangye glanced around the table, his eyes swept over Song Ci, Song Jiao, and finally landed on Shen Lingyu's face. He spoke slowly, as if casually asking about Song Yunting.
Shen Lingyu was stunned for a moment, then smiled lightly: "That child loves to toss and turn. It takes a lot of effort to eat a meal. I don't want to upset you, so I let the nanny in his yard serve him meals."
Song Zhangye was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "After all, he is my son as well as your son. You must treat him equally."
Shen Lingyu's expression changed slightly, and the hand holding the silver chopsticks tightened and loosened, forcing a forced smile.
Song Yunting is a gentle and lovable child. I can't take care of him enough. When I say this, Yelang, do you think I am abusing him?
"You are a gentle and kind person, how could this happen? I hope you wouldn't do that, so don't think too much about it."
After dinner, Song Zhangye was about to return to the study. Shen Lingyu stood up and chatted with him for a while, then watched him go out. As soon as Song Zhangye disappeared, Shen Lingyu laughed coldly.
In just a moment, she put on the appearance of a good mother, accompanied the children to finish their meal, and asked the maids to watch the young masters and young ladies review their homework for the day.
After everyone in the hall dispersed, the only ones left were the people in her own courtyard, who followed the rules and served by the side. No one dared to speak or move unless the master gave the order.
The two doors were open, and looking in from the outside, she was framed in a neat rectangle. She suddenly sighed softly, "I wasn't paying attention for a moment, and the moon is out."
Shen Lingyu's personal maid asked, "Madam, do you want to remove these meals?"
Shen Lingyu looked at Song Zhangye's untouched bowl of soup and said lightly, "Please take it away." After everything on the table was cleared away, she asked for some sake.
The moonlight is very beautiful today, and she wants to drink some wine.
The maid advised, "There are servants coming and going here, and there are too many people and eyes. If you get drunk and accidentally say something, it will be bad. It's safer to go back to the courtyard."
Upon hearing this, Shen Lingyu laughed self-deprecatingly, "Yes, safe and sound, always careful about everything. Even drinking and speaking should be done with caution. This is the gentle and respectful deference he wants."
The maid helped Shen Lingyu back to Lingyuxuan. When Shen Lingyu arrived in her room, she couldn't help but ask, "Why did he suddenly mention Song Yunting today?"
She bit her lip, countless thoughts flashing through her mind, "It must be because of Song Jinyi. He can't give birth to capable children, and he never cares about his children.
Now Song Jinyi has suddenly become a different person, and he is now paying attention to her. He even asked about that idiot.
"Ma'am, should we do something?"
"The previous attempt at the post station failed. It's not advisable to do it again. Let's wait and see what happens. The problem she's facing now is very difficult, and a little girl like her can't solve it.
If there are any other disturbances, it won't be too late for us to take action." His tone became fierce as he spoke, "The only one who can support the Song family is my child."
Song Jinyi stood at the door of the Song Mansion and took a deep breath. She was so desperate that she had to seek help from anyone. Why would she think of looking for Song Zhangye? Who was Song Zhangye?
He favored his concubine over his wife, ignored his children, and was selfish. He was still waiting to see her laugh.
She really lost her mind!
She turned around and walked away quickly, feeling angry about what happened to Song Zhangye and herself. She wished she could just walk to another street in a few steps and pretend she had never been to the Song family.
Halfway through the journey, her reason overwhelmed her emotions. Song Zhangye was unwilling to help, so what should she do?
She wandered around aimlessly, not wanting to go back to the sweet water shop, and not knowing what to do.
She walked like this, crossing several streets, before she came to her senses and found herself on an unfamiliar road.
Where is this? She looked around, surrounded by unfamiliar buildings, until she saw a landmark sign - Liuxiangju.
******
Although the decoration of the teahouse in front of you is simple and elegant, from the sandalwood door plaque engraved with running script that looks as delicate as a startled dragon to the cloisonné enamel and gold-painted landscape lamp hanging at the door, all of them can reflect the extraordinary taste of the teahouse owner.
If you walk closer, you can hear the scholars inside reciting poems over tea, and the girl playing the piano is leaning against the window, singing softly to the people inside and attracting the people outside. The girl playing the piano sees her standing there stupidly and winks at her.
Although she had heard of Liuxiangju hundreds of times before, she had never been there. She didn't expect to end up here by accident. No, maybe it wasn't an accident, it was the white mink that led her here.
If Diao is really the spirit Wong Tai Sin, and he lured her here, does that mean that her problem can be solved here? Cheng Xia is the owner of Liuxiangju, and he is knowledgeable and experienced, so maybe he really has a solution.
Song Jinyi went up to the waiter who was greeting customers and said that she knew Cheng Xia and asked the waiter to take her to meet him. The waiter listened, went into the teahouse to ask for details, and took her to a secluded room on the second floor.
When Cheng Xia came in, he brought two cups of tea and said, "Try my tea."
Song Jinyi had heard Xu Ruolan mention before that Zui Liuxia was famous for its snacks, but Liuxiangju was truly famous for its tea drinks.
A layer of white foam forms on the tea, and a green leaf is outlined with tea paste, a bit like coffee latte art in previous lives.
"The taste is mellow, and the soup is thick and white. It can be said to be top-quality." Song Jinyi exchanged a few words with Cheng Xia, then got straight to the point and stated her own difficulties and requests.
After hearing this, Cheng Xia said directly: "This matter involves too many things, I may not be able to help you."
Song Jinyi nodded to show her understanding. After all, she, as an insider, was helpless, so how could Cheng Xia, an outsider, help?
She was about to get up and say goodbye when she heard Cheng Xia say, "But... you can help yourself."
What does this mean?
Cheng Xia mentioned that Madam Li from the south of the city had a younger brother who was an official in Shengjing, and he was a high-ranking official. In short, the local officials in Yunzhou were all very courteous to the Li family. If she could ask for permission, the store would definitely be unsealed.
After hearing this, Song Jinyi asked how she could get Madam Li to do her a favor since she was not familiar with her.
"Mrs. Wang will hold a tea party in three days, and her neighbor, Mrs. Li, will hold a painting party on the same day," Cheng Xia said, and he also found it funny. He laughed twice and said, "You don't know, these two ladies have been enemies since childhood.
Both of them are from Lizhou, are neighbors in Lizhou, and are about the same age, so they are inevitably compared.
After a while, the two of them started competing with each other in reading and writing, playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and even marriage and childbirth. Now they are even competing to see who is better at half a banquet.
Madam Wang invited the chef from Yingchunlou to take charge of the place, while Madam Li originally wanted to ask Chun Sanniang from Zui Liuxia to make tea and snacks. Speaking of Chun Sanniang, Cheng Xia paused and said, "Perhaps Zui Liuxia paid to suppress the news, so many people still don't know about it."
Of course, Mrs. Li couldn't be invited, so she asked someone to ask me. If it comes to tea, my skills are acceptable, but if it comes to tea and fruit, I can't take on the responsibility.
I've seen Madam Song's craftsmanship, it's one of the best in Yunzhou City. Why not show it off and sell it to her? That way, we can have a reason to start this matter."
Song Jinyi listened to the gossip seriously. This painting banquet was similar to the afternoon tea in her previous life. It was a place for idle people with a lot of money and little to do to kill time. The food was simple, but -
She asked, expressing her confusion: "Even if there is some competition, it's just to cook. The host is of noble status, so I may not be able to engage in conversation."
"Mrs. Song is clever and noticed something fishy. I also heard that the two families hosted banquets for the same person, a teacher from the academy, a man of culture, who is not usually invited to banquets.
Therefore, the elegant event of appreciating flowers and paintings can move people. This banquet is naturally not an ordinary banquet, but an elegant banquet.
"That doesn't sound easy."
"It may be difficult for others, but for Madam Song, I believe it is not a big problem, so I told you this method."
Song Jinyi thought carefully about what Cheng Xia had just said, decided to give it a try, stood up, thanked her, and then left.
******
Li Mansion.
Since it was Song Jinyi's first time there, she couldn't help but look around curiously. The Li Mansion was spacious and magnificent, with multiple buildings and courtyards, a pond inside, a corridor built overlooking the pond, and lush flowers growing by the water.
The manager was a woman in her forties. She looked Song Jinyi up and down and asked, "Are you the tea and snack chef recommended by Madam Cheng?"
"Where is your job?"
“I opened a small shop.”
After hearing this, the man's eyes became more scornful. If Boss Cheng hadn't recommended her, she would have waved her off. "This is Madam Li's banquet. I don't think ordinary chefs are qualified. I'd like to trouble you to try making a dish for everyone to taste."
There was no such rule originally, but she didn't trust Song Jinyi, so she made up a rule.
Song Jinyi has also dealt with all kinds of people. She saw that the other party did not trust her and wanted to use this as an opportunity to drive her out. She had thought that there would be an assessment before she came here.
Now that she encountered it, she didn't feel panicked and replied with a faint smile: "It should be."
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