Chapter 184 Reunion
The person who was happiest about Meng Guanqi entrusting the banquet to Meng Mao was Old Madam Meng.
Although everyone criticizes Meng Mao for being ignorant and incompetent, she is now overjoyed that this incompetent son has been entrusted with an important task, and she even finds the fourth branch of the family more agreeable.
Very good, Meng Guanqi knows to help his fifth uncle, so he hasn't forgotten his roots.
This was Meng Mao's first time handling such an important matter, and Old Madam Meng was afraid that he would not do a good job, so she sent her head maid, Qin, to him: "Granny Qin is an old hand at handling things, so you can ask her if you don't understand anything."
When Minister Meng heard about it, he sent him a steward from the outer courtyard to help him. Although he didn't say anything, he was very happy that Meng Guanqi was supporting Meng Mao.
Of all the sons, Meng Mao was the one most without a future. If he could find a proper job with Meng Guanqi in the future, then his branch of the family would finally be able to stand on its own.
So when Nie complained about her dissatisfaction and wanted to talk to Li Xiaoxiao to take over the matter, Old Madam Meng not only didn't support her, but also scolded her.
Her beloved youngest son finally had a chance to stand on his own, and she still had to come out and steal the spotlight. She really doesn't know what's good for her.
With his parents' support, Meng Mao was naturally full of confidence and began to take care of the matter.
When Meng Mao got really busy, he realized that twelve days wasn't a lot of time. Just the list of invitees was enough to give him a headache. Moreover, his nephew and niece had to go to the government office every day and could really shirk their responsibilities at home. They could use the money in the account as they pleased, but if he wanted them to help out, they would only cause trouble.
Meng Mao asked them to tally up how many people each side would invite. Meng Guanqi's side was easy to handle; he had only been working at the Hanlin Academy for a short time, and he only needed to invite Shangguan and a few close colleagues, which would be about enough for one table. But it was a different story with Li Xiaoxiao's side.
As soon as she mentioned holding a banquet, the guards from the former East Palace who were on good terms with her immediately widened their eyes like copper bells, with an attitude of "If you become rich and powerful, how dare you forget me?" Li Xiaoxiao scratched her head and simply invited them all. The group of young princes in the Imperial Study who had resumed their studies also soon heard about it. They all wanted to join in the fun of Li Xiaoxiao's sister-in-law's wedding, let alone her holding a banquet.
She came to pick up Aze from school, and the little princes surrounded her, each with their arms crossed in front of their chests, pouting and their eyes full of accusation. What? She was having a banquet and hadn't even sent them an invitation? Couldn't they just play happily together?
Having no other choice, she sent out invitations to each of them, formally inviting them to a banquet, before the young princes finally let her off the hook.
Li Jin asked in a childish voice, "Did you like the cloth I gave you last time?" If he liked it, he would ask his mother for another bolt as a congratulatory gift.
Li Xiaoxiao pinched his chubby cheeks: "You don't need to bring gifts, just come to my house for dinner. We're friends, right? Friends shouldn't be so formal."
The young princes were satisfied, nodding like chickens pecking at rice. Yes, they were good friends, and how could good friends forget them when they held a banquet?
Aze held his head high. Although he hadn't received an invitation either, he was different from them. He was one of their own. Could Sister Xiaoxiao really not take him to her banquet?
He not only had to attend her banquet, but he also had to stay at her house for one night, and then go back to the palace with her to go to school the next day. In this way, he wouldn't even need to ask for leave, and it wouldn't delay anything.
Meng Guanqi and Li Xiaoxiao told Meng Mao the number of posts they had made. When Meng Mao tallied it up, he found that the total number of people they had invited was less than the number invited to the Meng family's old residence.
Meng Mao was furious. There were already quite a few of his own family members coming, but his brothers and sisters-in-law had also brought their colleagues and relatives from their maternal families. It was simply outrageous and unreasonable. In a fit of anger, he dismissed everyone except his own family members, only inviting those with the surname Meng. He told everyone else to go away.
When Second Sister-in-law Ye heard that he had removed the names of her two younger brothers and two nephews from the list, she came to ask Meng Mao, "Fifth Brother, did you make a mistake? These are the names of my brothers and nephews."
Meng Mao said with a dark face, "There's no mistake, Second Sister-in-law. This is a banquet held at the Li residence, not at our home, nor is it a banquet for your branch of the family. If everyone invited all their relatives like you, would there be any room for them to stand? Apart from our closest relatives, I haven't even notified the more distant branches. The Li residence only has three courtyards. Qi-ge and Xiao-xiao both have a group of colleagues, and the Crown Prince and several imperial grandsons will also be coming. Where can we accommodate so many people?"
Old Madam Meng had been keeping a close eye on Meng Mao's errands. When she heard that her sons and daughters-in-law had added so many extra people, she couldn't help but call them over and scold them: "If this were a wedding in our mansion, it wouldn't matter if you invited so many people. Fortunately, our mansion is so big that we can accommodate as many as we want. Even you uncles and aunts don't really know Qi-ge'er and his wife. What kind of behavior is it to invite their colleagues and relatives? Did they even invite them? Mao'er helped with this errand. Are you deliberately trying to make him mess it up so you can laugh at him?"
So the list that was handed to Meng Mao was drastically reduced, leaving only relatives from a few branches of his own family, which was still quite a lot.
Male and female guests should be separated. In addition to the banquet, there should also be opera performances. The tables should be set up, the food and drinks should be served, and when they should be served. Who should keep the accounts for the gifts and cash, who should return the gifts, and how to handle any unexpected situations? All these aspects must be carefully considered.
As November drew near, preparations for the banquet were complete. On this day, Li Xiaoxiao left her office on time and had just stepped into her house when a short, stout man suddenly ran out and grabbed her leg.
She was wondering where this short, stocky guy had come from when she saw him raise his head and call out to her happily, "Xiaoxiao!"
Li Xiaoxiao almost screamed. She picked up the short, stout guy and spun him around several times, then hugged him tightly and kissed him twice, exclaiming happily, "Rui Rui! You're back?!"
She was so pleasantly surprised!
Rui Rui giggled in her arms, then twisted down and pulled her hand to walk home. As soon as Li Xiaoxiao entered the front yard, she saw a group of familiar people standing at the gate, talking animatedly. Li Xiaoxiao was shocked because she saw Liu Shi, Aunt Luo, Granny Qi, Xing Ge, Tao Xiang, and a plump woman—Madam Mao—surrounded by Xiu Mei and Liu Zhi.
Mother Mao!
Li Xiaoxiao let out a loud cry and immediately pounced on Mama Mao: "Mama Mao!"
When Mao's mother saw her, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Xiaoxiao!"
Li Xiaoxiao rushed to Mama Mao, picked her up, and spun her around several times. Mama Mao cried out in pain, tears welling up in her eyes: "Xiaoxiao! My young mistress! Alright, alright, my old body can't take such rough treatment."
Li Xiaoxiao put her down, then hugged her shoulders tightly, both surprised and delighted: "What's going on? Why are you all here?"
Only then did she remember to greet Liu Shi, and she quickly stepped forward: "Mother, why didn't you tell me you were back? I could have gone to Tianjin to pick you up!"
Liu gave her a reproachful look: "Isn't it possible to travel from the capital to Tianjin in two days? You've only just become a third-rank official, and you can't easily leave the capital without an imperial decree. I'm not so old that I can't walk anymore, so I'll just have family members accompany me to the capital. I won't get lost."
She helped Li Xiaoxiao up and looked her up and down, her eyes filled with excitement: "Let me take a good look at you, you're so good, so impressive, a female general! Our Xiaoxiao has become a female general!"
Aunt Luo chimed in, "That's right, this uniform looks tailor-made, it makes Xiaoxiao look especially energetic."
Granny Qi, Granny Mao, and the others readily agreed. Li Xiaoxiao let them look at her to their hearts' content before saying, "I asked Meng Guanqi earlier if he had written back to Biyang County to tell my parents about our promotion, but he was so secretive and wouldn't say anything. Turns out he was saving such a big surprise for me, making you all make a special trip to the capital, especially on such a cold day—"
Her voice suddenly stopped when she saw the huge pile of luggage in the yard. It looked like a house move, so much stuff!
Liu chuckled: "That mischievous Qi-ge'er hasn't told you yet, has he? Your father-in-law has been transferred back to the capital ahead of schedule. Our return this time is both a homecoming and a new posting. We won't be leaving again."
Granny Qi smiled and said, "Madam was so concerned about the family's banquet on the 17th that she didn't even wait for Master. She rushed home for several days and finally arrived today, so she didn't miss the important event at home."
Everyone was chatting and laughing together when Meng Guanqi returned. Seeing that Liu Shi had already arrived, before he could even joke with Li Xiaoxiao, she punched him several times, and he begged for forgiveness: "Alright, alright, I know I was wrong. I kept Father's transfer a secret from you because I wanted to give you a surprise, didn't I?"
After saying this, he looked around but didn't see Magistrate Meng. He asked in surprise, "Where is Father?"
Liu said, "Your father disembarked in Mianzhou with Steward Zhao to visit one of his former classmates. He told us to go ahead, as he will be back a day later. I was afraid we wouldn't make it to your banquet, so I rushed back without waiting for him."
Although Magistrate Meng did not come home with them, almost everyone from Biyang County had returned with Liu. Granny Qi quickly arranged accommodations for the servants. Xiumei and Liuzhi, along with several young maids, tidied up rooms for Liu and Granny Qi. Li Xiaoxiao went to help Mama Mao. Mama Mao was in Biyang County when she got married and couldn't attend the wedding. This was her first time visiting the Li family mansion. There were many rooms but few people in the house, and many of the rooms meant for the servants were empty. Mama Mao did not forget her job and chose a room close to the kitchen.
Li smiled and said, "The Mao family lives in the front yard. Mao's mother, would you like to go and live with them?"
As she packed her things, Madam Mao shook her head: "We'll all be living in the same house from now on. It's so much better than not seeing each other for years. They've been used to living on their own for a long time. I have my own place to live, so why should we squeeze in together? It's better for me to live here. It's close to the kitchen, so I can quickly make whatever you want to eat."
Li Xiaoxiao helped her tidy up: "We also bought a cook for the family. She used to work for an official, but her master was convicted, so I bought her and her family. She cooks well, but she's far inferior to you. I dream about your steamed meatloaf with pickled vegetables."
Mao's mother was touched: "If you want to eat it, I'll make it right now. We haven't seen each other for so long..."
Li Xiaoxiao quickly waved her hand: "No rush, no rush. You've had a long journey, so you should rest at home for a few days. The day after tomorrow is the day of the banquet, so you can leave the kitchen work to the current cook."
The family gathered together for a lively dinner that evening. Liu and her family hadn't been back for a long time and had so much to say to Meng Guanqi and his wife, but they were too exhausted to continue. After dinner, they quickly called the servants to bring in water to wash up and went to bed early.
Li Xiaoxiao and Meng Guanqi returned to their room together, and only then did she have time to ask about Magistrate Meng's transfer: "Your term hasn't expired yet, why are you suddenly being transferred back to the capital?"
She was used to calling him Magistrate Meng and couldn't change it right away.
Meng Guanqi said, "This matter was brought about by several factors. I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. It started with Mr. Gu's recommendation. Mr. Gu is now a Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy and has had more interactions with the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. The two of them conducted an investigation together and found that the academic level of the Imperial Academy was uneven. So they recommended my father to His Majesty, hoping that he would return to the capital to teach at the Imperial Academy. His Majesty was still considering it, but then Aze—the Crown Prince—gave another push, so the matter was settled."
Li Xiaoxiao asked in surprise, "Aze gave you a push? I'm with him every day, he doesn't seem to know that the master is being transferred back to the capital." Aze is at the age where he would be eager to share even seeing an ant on the road with her, so there's no way he could hide something this big from her.
Meng Guanqi said, "This is all thanks to Rui Rui. The Crown Prince often mentions Rui Rui to His Majesty and the Empress, saying that Rui Rui has not learned to write for so long and has not sent him any letters. He misses him very much and even asked His Majesty if he could be summoned back to the capital to study. He said he could assign him a teacher. After hearing this so many times, His Majesty and the Empress softened their hearts and, taking advantage of Mr. Gu's suggestion, readily agreed."
The Emperor and Empress only have one child. They couldn't bear to see Aze disappointed, and their doting on their child also contributed to this decision.
Li smiled and asked, "What about Biyang County? Who will take over?"
Meng Guanqi said, "The candidate was personally recommended by Father. The 'Binhua' of Biyang County has become famous, and there are often merchants coming and going. The situation is gradually opening up and it is different from before. As long as it is managed well, it will not be difficult to achieve political achievements. Therefore, as soon as Father was transferred, many people wanted to use their connections to be transferred to the county magistrate. Father recommended a candidate with upright character, and His Majesty agreed."
Li Xiaoxiao was overjoyed. Ever since Liu Shi left with Rui Rui, the house had been so quiet and lonely. All the servants were only around her and Meng Guanqi. She couldn't wait for Magistrate Meng to be transferred back to the capital with his whole family in two years so they could reunite. She never expected that her dream would come true after her promotion. Magistrate Meng actually brought his whole family back from Biyang County! Moreover, except for a few people from Biyang County who were unwilling to leave their hometown, Liu Shi released them. Everyone else went back to the capital with her. Now the house was full of people she used to know. She couldn't be happier.
The house should be lively and bustling. Besides, with Liu Shi and Granny Qi back, the affairs of the inner courtyard can be handled by them instead of Zhao Jian and Xiu Mei constantly coming to ask her for instructions, which she neither understands nor wants to manage. Now that someone else is in charge, she can just go to work and earn money and completely be a hands-off manager.
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Author's Note: These chapters will be relatively light and transitional. Xiaoxiao is about to face the greatest tribulation she has ever experienced in this world.
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