Chapter 224 [VIP]
It's been over a month since Wang Ying returned to Kyoto. Lately, he has received many invitations, some inviting him to his home to admire flowers, some inviting him to taste tea, and others inviting him to go on a spring outing together.
This was something he had never received before in Kyoto, and he was somewhat confused.
It just so happened that Fourth Aunt came over today, so Wang Ying mentioned it to her.
Fang Ling pulled him aside and started teaching him, "This is a social skill among the wives and husbands of officials. If you maintain good relationships, it's good if they can put in a good word for you if something happens in the future."
She also received many invitations, because Chen Jing has now been promoted to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and her status has risen accordingly, so she naturally received many invitations.
Wang Ying nodded. Before, Chen Qingyan was of low status and no one sent him invitations. Now that two generations of the Chen family are officials in the court, there are bound to be many people who want to make friends with him.
Although Fang Ling had not lived in the capital for a long time, she had a wide network of connections and knew a lot. She picked out a few invitations from the list and said, "This is an invitation from the wife of the Vice Minister of Revenue. You must go. He is the superior official of your family, Qingyan."
Wang Ying quickly took it and examined it carefully. The Vice Minister's wife invited him to her home for tea on the 28th of March.
"We also need to go to this invitation from Madam Wei. Although her husband's official rank is not high, she is the current Empress's aunt. I heard she is a kind person. She also sent me an invitation. We can go together then."
"Okay." Wang Ying put the invitation away as well.
Fang Ling picked out two more tickets, saying, "We don't need to go to these. If we go to all of them, we won't be able to do anything."
Wang Ying asked, "Won't they blame us?"
"No, sending an invitation doesn't necessarily mean it's a sincere invitation. Sometimes it's just a polite greeting. You'll understand after a while."
"Should we prepare any gifts for those going in advance?"
"It depends on the situation. If Madam Huang invites you to tea, you can bring some pastries. If Madam Wei invites you to admire flowers, you don't need to bring any. Have Qingyan prepare two poems for you in advance. Whether you need them or not, just make sure you don't look awkward."
It seems there are many tricks to getting along with the wives and husbands of officials, but unfortunately Wang Ying is not good at it. After listening, she felt her head was spinning.
*
Before she knew it, the day Madam Huang had invited her arrived, and Wang Ying got up early to busy herself in the kitchen.
He's going to a tea tasting today, and he plans to make some pastries to take with him.
In her past life, Wang Ying was a pretty good cook because she lived alone, and she often learned how to make food by following videos on Douyin and Kuaishou. Of course, she only knew how to make simple dishes; anything too difficult was definitely out of the question.
Today we're making egg tarts. Since we don't have aluminum foil, we'll just use a small, flat-topped porcelain cup as the base, put the dough inside, and pour in the prepared egg tart filling.
The egg tart filling was made with eggs and cooked goat milk, seasoned with orange juice from the experimental field to remove any fishy smell, and flavored with honey.
Without an oven, we steamed them directly in a pot, and the steamed egg tarts came out round and plump, looking quite appealing.
After it cooled down, Wang Ying tried one. The taste was average. Although it wasn't as caramelized as baked cakes, it had its own unique flavor, more like a small cake with cheese added.
After neatly arranging the steamed egg tarts in a food box, Wang Ying boarded a carriage and went to Vice Minister Huang's house.
This was his first time attending such a gathering of officials' wives and children, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. But he had to go, even if he was nervous. The capital was not like Shanzhou; the relationships there were complicated, and if he accidentally offended anyone, it might implicate Qingyan and make things difficult for him.
When they arrived, several carriages were already parked outside the gate, indicating that Madam Huang had invited quite a few people. After handing over the invitations, the gatekeeper took the carriages to make their way, while Wang Ying followed the servants into the courtyard.
The Huang family was located on Baihu Street, a street that was usually inhabited by small families. However, their house was surprisingly spacious. Upon entering, there was a very large outer courtyard with a row of rear-facing rooms on the side. Wang Ying, carrying a food box, followed the servants through the hanging flower gate to the inner courtyard.
A spacious courtyard comes into view, with traditional central axis architecture that is simple yet grand.
However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the house is quite old, with many pieces of wood showing cracks and the paint on it being peeling. It is evident that the Huang family is of modest means and not a wealthy or noble household.
"Please come this way, sir," the servant called out.
Wang Ying snapped out of her daze and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
Continuing forward, there is a corridor, and the flower hall at the back is where we will enjoy tea today.
Before she even entered the door, Wang Ying heard laughter coming from inside. Once inside, she saw seven people: four wives and three husbands, making a total of eight people including Wang Ying.
Madam Huang was probably in her early forties, with a round face and a slightly plump figure. She was wearing a dark blue jacket with a front opening. Upon seeing him, she immediately greeted him warmly, "This must be Lord Chen's husband, come over here quickly."
Wang Ying stepped forward somewhat reservedly, cupped her hands in greeting, and said, "There was some traffic on the way, so I'm a little late."
"Not late, not late either, we just arrived." A slightly older man next to him chimed in.
Wang Ying smiled and nodded at him.
Since it was their first meeting, Madam Huang introduced everyone, and Wang Ying wrote them down one by one. Luckily, he had a good memory, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to remember whose wives and husbands these people were.
The officials present today are not of high rank; most are wives of officials of the fourth, fifth, or sixth rank. Of course, there are no officials of very low rank either.
This is essentially a social circle. The fact that Madam Huang invited Wang Ying into this circle indicates that she has accepted his status. If they get along well, it could be a good option for their children to become in-laws if they have children of marriageable age in the future.
Before long, two more people arrived. Once everyone was there, they took their seats in turn, and the servants brought out the prepared tea and pastries brought by the guests.
It was called tea tasting, but it was really just a group of people sitting together chatting. Wang Ying had just returned from out of town and couldn't join in the conversation, so she sat quietly to the side with her teacup and listened to them talk.
The conversation started off well, but it gradually got more and more exciting.
"Did you know that the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice's family had another dispute a few days ago? The old man wants a divorce."
"I heard? Are you really going to get a divorce?"
"It's true! It's even taken to Shuntian Prefecture. They were persuaded to come back last year, but they went again yesterday. I suppose this time they'll get a divorce."
Someone nearby, unaware of the situation, asked, "Isn't Lord Xing Fu almost sixty years old, and his grandson is about to get married? What's the reason for this old couple's quarrel?"
"Hey, that's a long story!"
Wang Ying held the teacup and pricked up her ears.
Madam Zhang took a sip of tea to moisten her throat and began to gossip, "This matter started with Duke Feng. Everyone has heard of him, right? He likes to send concubines to people, and because of their special status, they can't refuse. Many families have been thrown into chaos because of him, and the Fu family is no exception."
Two winters ago, Lord Fu attended Duke Feng's sixtieth birthday celebration and was casually given a concubine as a gift. However, this concubine caused trouble.
Lord Fu and his wife were childhood sweethearts, and they have been together for over forty years, raising seven children. Over the years, they have always been a harmonious couple, which has earned them praise from others.
Who would have thought that ever since this concubine entered the mansion, Lord Fu would be obsessed with her, staying in her room every day and even elevating her status to make her a concubine.
Although Madam Fu was angry, she was helpless. After all, this concubine was not of ordinary status, and she could not easily deal with her. Otherwise, she would offend Duke Feng and suffer the consequences.
Not long after, the concubine became pregnant!
Lord Fu was overjoyed to have a son late in life, and, as if possessed by a demon, he actually wanted to make that woman his secondary wife.
This angered Madam Fu. What kind of status did that woman have that she was worthy of sitting on equal footing with her?
That very night, he had a huge argument with Lord Fu, saying that unless he died or they divorced, this concubine would never be promoted to the rank of equal wife.
The other children also advised their mother not to go too far, elevating a servant to the status of a wife—wasn't that a slap in their mother's face? There's a limit to absurdity; don't let word get out and people laugh at you.
But Lord Fu stubbornly refused and actually considered divorce. When this news got out, he became a laughing stock in the capital.
Last year, when they were supposed to get a divorce, their children and the prefect persuaded them to go back. This year, it was Old Madam Fu who took the initiative to ask for it. Since he was shameless, she didn't need to put up with him, so she directly made the two of them leave with nothing and kicked them out.
Several people couldn't help but sneer after hearing this, "A man in his fifties shouldn't be ashamed, being bewitched by a little vixen."
"All men are like that."
Wang Ying scratched his face awkwardly, remembering that he was now a "ge'er" (a male bro) and not a man anymore.
After discussing the Fu family, Madam Huang brought up the Shen family, a once prominent and influential family. In the past, they would never have dared to discuss such matters so openly, as it would inevitably implicate her husband.
However, the main branch of the Shen family fled to the south after the war with the Turks, and now only a minor branch remains, having long lost its former prestige.
"Back then, my eldest daughter was engaged to Shen Mingqiu's youngest son. They had already agreed on a wedding date, but right before the engagement, the Shen family suddenly changed their minds and inexplicably broke off the engagement, and then turned around and married the county princess."
Marriage is not a trivial matter; it cannot be arranged or canceled at will.
Moreover, in their family, the daughter valued her reputation the most, and if word got out, she would inevitably be criticized by others. At that time, it almost caused her eldest daughter to jump into a well.
"Now that their family has fallen on hard times, I heard that the county princess is keeping several male lovers outside. The Shen family is wearing a huge green hat, but they dare not speak out against it."
Everyone had heard about this, and Madam Jiang, who was sitting next to her, said, "It's fortunate that she didn't marry into that family. This is what they mean by a blessed woman not marrying into an unblemished one."
Wang Ying listened with great interest. If all tea parties were this interesting, he would come again next time!
Madam Huang took a bite of the egg tart, held it in her palm in surprise, and asked, "Who brought this?"
Wang Ying quickly replied, "I made it. I don't know if it suits Madam's taste."
"It's delicious, it smells really good! You should try some too. I heard that Chen Fulang is from Jizhou, so we're actually from the same hometown."
Wang Ying quickly replied, "No wonder Madam Huang's accent sounded so familiar. But my family isn't from Jizhou Prefecture; we're from a small town in a county below."
Everyone else exclaimed in disbelief, "From a small town? Then your husband passing the imperial examination with top honors is truly a stroke of genius!"
It's no wonder everyone is so surprised, because it's rare for people from small places to pass the imperial examination. Take Chen Jing for example, for someone from a family of farmers and scholars, passing the second class was already an incredible achievement, and becoming the top scholar was something that had never happened before in history.
Wang Ying added, "My husband alone would have had a hard time passing the exam; it's mainly because our teacher taught him so well."
"May I ask who your husband's teacher is?"
"Liang Liufang, Liang Daru."
Mrs. Zhang exclaimed excitedly, "Oh my! It's him!"
Several women nearby echoed this sentiment, and some even asked if Old Master Liang would take on apprentices, even if it meant spending more money.
Wang Ying said apologetically, "The old man was ill before the New Year and is currently recuperating, so I'm afraid he won't be able to take on any apprentices."
The ladies were all somewhat regretful, as such a good opportunity was hard to come by. If they could receive guidance from the great scholar Liang, their children and grandchildren might benefit greatly.
The tea party didn't end until after 1 p.m., and everyone said goodbye and went home.
Wang Ying leaned wearily against the cushion; this tea party was more tiring than harvesting wheat all day.
A note from the author:
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