Chapter 306 The Senior Brother's Gift?
The social interactions and dining etiquette at the banquet of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families were actually no different from those in ordinary households.
Or, to put it another way, it's the same throughout history and across the world.
The objective world operates in a way that is absolutely based on a simple logic that closely reflects reality.
The moment Ouyang Rong stood up and followed the crowd to offer a toast to the deceased, this thought inexplicably flashed through his mind.
"Please do not rise, everyone."
Xie Lingjiang's aunt had a very commanding presence. She walked up to the table, raised her hand to press it down, and smiled as she looked around.
Everyone had no choice but to sit down.
Xie Xue'e first exchanged pleasantries with her beautiful eyes.
"It is an honor for the Xie family that you all could attend Seventeenth Sister's birthday banquet today..."
Perhaps because this table was located at the back, most of the guests were young people, and Xie Xue'e didn't know them very well.
A clever maidservant followed behind her, leaned over, and seemed to whisper a few words of introduction to her.
Xie Xue'e smiled and nodded, raised her glass in the air, and exchanged a few polite words with several young guests at the table who knew her father's generation, including the young man named Li Heng next to Ouyang Rong.
Xie Xue'e's gaze, as usual, ignored Ouyang Rong and landed on the latter, greeting him with a light laugh:
"Young Master Li, how has your father been lately? The last time I saw him was at the wedding banquet of Prince Teng in Hongzhou. It has been three years since we last met."
Li Heng seemed surprised that Xie Xue'e was speaking to him, a junior. He quickly turned his head and looked around before confirming that it was him. His expression was one of flattery and surprise.
Ouyang Rong watched silently as the purple-robed youth, who had previously been quite arrogant in front of him and Yan Liulang, hurriedly stood up, bowed, and offered a toast:
"Thank you for your concern, Madam Xie. My father is in good health, but recently his legs have been a bit cold, an old ailment from his time on the frontier when he was young. The doctor advises against him traveling far, and Jiangzhou is a damp place, so he specially sent me to attend Madam Xie's birthday celebration..."
Feeling the smiling gazes from the other tables, Li Heng's face flushed slightly, and he blurted out a lot of things without thinking.
Xie Xue'e listened with a smile for a while, then nodded slightly. She glanced around, seemingly deciding that she had been there long enough, and turned to pull Xie Lingjiang's hand from behind, who had her eyes lowered.
"Come, Seventeenth Sister, have a drink with everyone. This table is full of young talents, let's get to know each other."
All the guests at the table, including Ouyang Rong and Yan Liulang, stood up again to offer a toast. If they weren't mistaken, this was probably the last drink.
With Xie Xue'e beside her, Xie Lingjiang lowered her eyes slightly, barely looking at the others. Just like at the other tables, she only took a sip of wine and stopped there.
The male guests were naturally very tolerant and forgiving of the beautiful woman's aloof and slightly willful nature, and did not pursue the matter.
Ouyang Rong chuckled inwardly; his junior sister was in jail.
He glanced at the two Xie beauties, one tall and one short, in front of him and noticed that the two, aunt and niece, looked somewhat alike and were both stunningly beautiful.
However, the junior sister is more youthful and energetic, as delicate as a flower in the sunlight at seven or eight in the morning.
Aunt Xie Xue'e, on the other hand, was like a swaying orchid in the warm afternoon breeze, more mature and vibrant.
In addition, the junior sister inherited her master Xie Xun's height and has been practicing Qi cultivation since childhood, making her even taller. Xie Xue'e is slightly shorter, especially when standing next to the junior sister.
The Xie clan of Chen Commandery truly produces beautiful women and handsome men, deserving of the title "a family of outstanding talents." No wonder the men of the Great Zhou all want to marry women from the five prominent families; there's a reason for it...
Ouyang Rong tilted his head back and finished the wine in his cup, leaving a little in his mouth. He savored the slightly sour taste and thought to himself.
Xie Xue'e shook her head helplessly at her niece's perfunctory attitude and was about to go to the next table, but as she turned around, the noblewoman suddenly stopped.
The sudden stop caused the priceless hairpin adorning Yunyun's hair to sway wildly, drawing attention.
"This is……"
Xie Xue'e stopped in front of the table and glanced sideways at a certain spot.
Those around her noticed that her gaze had fallen on a short knife at the waist of a young man in a white fox fur coat.
Ouyang Rong also noticed that his junior sister's aunt was looking at him. He stared at Xie Xue'e, who slowly raised her eyes, for a while, his expression unchanged. He even raised his wine glass slightly and politely offered a toast.
Xie Xue'e raised an eyebrow, looked at the handsome young man in simple clothes, and suddenly parted her lips:
“This young master’s sword looks familiar to me. May I take a look?”
Ouyang Rong stood tall, gripping the smooth hilt of the white sandalwood sword with one hand, and shook his head in front of everyone:
"I'm sorry, I can't. This was a gift from an important person and cannot be given away lightly."
Xie Lingjiang stood behind her aunt, and the surface of the wine glass held in her delicate hand rippled.
It trembled slightly with her delicate body.
It's unclear whether it was from hearing someone's statement or from feeling the warm touch on her skirt.
Xie Xue'e narrowed her eyes slightly, her back to her beloved niece behind her, and whispered:
"An important person? Just let me see the scabbard; perhaps I know this important person too."
Ouyang Rong shook his head, refusing to budge an inch: "Without her permission, I cannot comply."
Xie Xue'e looked at him.
At this moment, the clever maid who resembled a secretary put away the roster she had just taken out to look at, stepped forward and whispered a few words in her ear, seemingly introducing something.
After listening, Xie Xue'e turned her head, gave Xie Lingjiang a deep look, said nothing, and then looked away, leaving those who didn't understand the situation somewhat confused.
Only Yan Liulang, who knew some of the inside story, was secretly alarmed.
Xie Xue'e suddenly turned her head, her expression now smiling, and softly asked Ouyang Rong:
"Is this young master the current Prefect of Jiangzhou, Lord Ouyang?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "I dare not address you as 'sir,' Madam, you flatter me."
Xie Xue'e's gaze swept over the rather clean plates in front of Ouyang Rong and Yan Liulang, maintaining her smile:
"Young Master Ouyang is a fifth-rank official at a young age. His outspokenness and resignation have made him famous in Luoyang. His reputation as a true gentleman is known throughout the world. What is there to say about him being unworthy of respect?"
"I have heard my brother mention you before. You are my brother's prized student, and you can be considered my Seventeenth Sister's senior brother."
Xie Xue'e's praise was sincere and heartfelt, but Ouyang Rong felt something was off.
She turned her head and said reproachfully:
"Seventeenth Sister, really! Your senior brother is here, why didn't you even say a word to me? You acted like nothing happened. You almost offended him. People who didn't know better would have thought that the Xie family was rude."
Under everyone's gaze, Xie Xue'e glanced apologetically at Ouyang Rong, then turned back and reprimanded the clever maid behind her:
"How could you do this? Young Master Ouyang is Seventeenth Sister's fellow disciple, how could you arrange him at this table? He should be sitting at the table with his fellow disciples from Bailudong Academy."
"Moreover, Young Master Ouyang's reputation is known throughout the land, and he is certainly among the most famous scholars in Jiangnan. He should be seated at the front, at the same table as Lord Wang, Master Sihui, and other hosts from Jiangzhou. How could you arrange things so haphazardly?"
"Yes, yes, Madam is right. It was my fault. I was careless and confused. I forgot to check and neglected our distinguished guests. Madam, Miss, please forgive me."
The clever maid knelt on the ground, begging for mercy with tears welling up in her eyes.
Xie Xue'e gave a cold look.
Ouyang Rong suddenly spoke up:
"It was my carelessness that led me to the banquet in such a hurry that I did not give my full name and forgot to inform my junior sister that I would come on my own. Please do not blame the servants, Madam; they have it hard enough as it is."
Xie Xue'e glanced at his calm expression, then a smile returned to her face, and she nodded gently.
"Young Master Ouyang is truly worthy of such a reputation, and so considerate and generous. I am ashamed."
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "It is I who should feel ashamed for disturbing my junior sister's birthday banquet."
Xie Xue'e glanced at Xie Lingjiang, who was lightly biting her lower lip:
"It's alright. Seventeenth Sister is sure to be happy that you senior brothers can come to the banquet, isn't that right, Seventeenth Sister?"
"Um."
Xie Lingjiang raised her eyes, glanced quickly at Ouyang Rong, then turned to the people around her, and nodded slightly:
"I'm very happy to be here."
Xie Xue'e smiled brightly and gave a few instructions to her clever maid:
"Get up and quickly arrange a seat of honor for Young Master Ouyang. Do not neglect him any longer."
After saying that, she stopped looking at Ouyang Rong, took Xie Lingjiang's hand, and turned to walk to the next table.
"Let's go, Seventeenth Sister, there are other guests waiting, we mustn't be impolite."
"Um."
The two Xie sisters, an aunt and niece, accompanied by a pair of maids, walked towards the table at the back.
Because Ouyang Rong's table was located towards the back of the hall, quite far from the front desk where everyone was focused.
Therefore, the conversation between Xie Xue'e and Ouyang Rong just now did not attract everyone's attention.
However, at a dinner of this caliber, the conversations were relatively quiet, and the atmosphere was quite peaceful.
Xie Xue'e and Xie Lingjiang, the birthday girl for the night, lingered at the table for quite some time, attracting the attention of half the guests in the hall. Their curious gazes all fell upon Ouyang Rong.
Some nobles who had heard of Ouyang Lianghan’s name either looked at him with interest or raised their glasses in polite greeting.
Li Heng, who was standing next to Yan Liulang, also looked at him in surprise:
"You are Ouyang Lianghan? And you are also Miss Xie's senior brother?"
Ouyang Rong nodded, and before Li Heng, who was becoming enthusiastic, could ask any more questions, a clever maidservant hurried over and respectfully invited Ouyang Rong to sit down in the front row.
So, someone left the nearly empty table, got up...
This is a table near the front, separated from Xie Xue'e and Xie Lingjiang's main table by only one table for VIPs, where you can hear their conversation.
Of course, none of that matters. What matters is that there are still plenty of dishes left on the table, and hardly anyone has started eating. Well, no one has secretly snatched any of Yan Liulang's food either.
Ouyang Rong sat down with satisfaction, and when he turned around, he saw his old superior Wang Lengran and a black-robed monk who seemed to be named Master Sihui.
Wang Lengran said with a kind face, "Lord Ouyang is here too? You must be tired these days, you've lost weight. Please eat more, Lord Ouyang."
"good."
Ouyang Rong nodded and picked up his chopsticks, the first thing he picked up was the plate of braised crucian carp in front of Wang Lengran.
"..." Wang Lengran.
Master Sihui smiled slightly at Ouyang Rong.
He returned the smile.
About an incense stick's time later, Xie Xue'e and Xie Lingjiang finished drinking the birthday wine around the table and returned to the main table.
Once the host returned to their seats, the front tables immediately became lively.
Ouyang Rong, however, was focused on eating and paid little attention to the topics that everyone was discussing.
He could only faintly hear that some young talents of similar age to him were getting up one after another at the main table to celebrate his junior sister's birthday.
There were direct descendants of the Langya Wang clan, a family with which they had a long-standing friendship; there was the eldest son of the governor of Hongzhou; and there was even the third son of the Li clan prince, who was enfeoffed in a certain prefecture in Jiangnan… Each of them was extremely distinguished.
Without exception, these talented young people presented a substantial birthday gift, including an agate cup with an animal head, a hawksbill turtle shell from the South China Sea, and ambergris, which is more expensive than gold.
That's certainly extravagant.
Ouyang Rong nodded in agreement.
However, none of this concerned him. The gifts he sent followed the usual procedure for most normal guests, and had already been handed over to the maids at the front desk before entering the room... He could now enter the banquet without any worries.
At the main table, Xie Xue'e looked satisfied and smiled charmingly as she introduced these talented young men to Xie Lingjiang.
Okay, here comes the classic scene of an aunt arranging blind dates for her niece again...
Ouyang Rong, who was not far away, took in all of this. His chopsticks became increasingly skillful as he picked up food, quietly displaying his abilities.
What, let him show off too? Write an unparalleled birthday poem that will amaze everyone or something.
Ouyang Rong shook his head.
If he enjoys doing this, why has he been staying so far away from the circle of celebrities in Xunyang City these days?
Rather than the rumors suggesting that he was isolated by the circle of prominent figures in Xunyang, it would be more accurate to say that he isolated and ignored them.
He hadn't forgotten why he came to Xunyang City.
The family from the Xunyang Prince's Mansion hadn't forgotten either, which is why they didn't arrive today.
And... what about Junior Sister?
Out of the corner of his eye, Ouyang Rong saw Xie Lingjiang sitting upright at the main table not far away. In front of her aunt Xie Xue'e, her pretty face was serious, as if she was listening to the lively conversation of those young talents.
Ouyang Rong also noticed that the porcelain bowl and silver chopsticks in front of Xie Lingjiang were almost untouched.
I haven't picked up any food.
He glanced silently at the table full of delicious dishes. Back in the Plum Grove Courtyard, if there was such a sumptuous dinner, his junior sister would devour it in no time, just like when they fought over pickled radishes at the Donglin Temple breakfast.
Ouyang Rong suddenly realized that the food in his mouth had lost its flavor.
Is it because no one is eating with him?
Ouyang Rong suddenly felt a strong urge to walk over to those young talents and say that instead of going to great lengths in public to win a smile by giving her so many expensive gifts, it would be better to keep things quiet and let her rest a bit and eat something. That would be more likely to win her favor.
At Ouyang Rong's table, a renowned scholar from Kuanglu dressed as a Taoist priest rose to present a gift: an old flute, said to be a relic from a famous scholar of the Bamboo Grove during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
The birthday wishes of this renowned scholar from Kuanglu were also very well-said, immediately winning applause from all the guests. For a moment, all eyes were on this table.
Just as the scholar who presented the flute sat down, Wang Lengran suddenly turned and spoke:
"I wonder what kind of valuable gift Lord Ouyang sent? Wait, I misspoke. Lord Ouyang is honest and incorruptible, and is a well-known upright official. He would never send such a valuable gift."
"However, as Miss Xie's senior brother, Lord Ouyang's gift must have been carefully prepared, with elegance and refinement being essential, just like Mr. Jiang's gift of a flute."
"I am quite curious, why don't we take it out and let everyone have a look?"
A barrage of gazes immediately turned to them.
This includes Xie Xue'e and Xie Lingjiang.
Ouyang Rong paused, his chopsticks stilled, and silently turned his head.
The two officials in charge of Jiangzhou, the chief and the deputy, looked at each other for a while.
Wang Lengran smiled kindly, and Ouyang Rong smiled too.
(End of this chapter)
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