Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Although it was a banquet celebrating Song Shian's promotion to Grand Secretary, it certainly couldn't be publicly stated as such. Otherwise, it would make the Song family seem overly eager for recognition.

In the end, they settled on calling it an "Osmanthus Banquet."

With the title of Osmanthus Banquet, time was of the essence. If the osmanthus flowers wilted, it would be embarrassing to have an Osmanthus Banquet without any osmanthus flowers to admire.

Thus, the date of the banquet was set for the 2nd of September, giving Madame Zhuang only six days to organize everything.

Although Jiang Chun wanted to be a hands-off manager, she had been busy these past few days receiving gifts.

With Song Shian's promotion to Grand Secretary, the Song family, already connected to the imperial family, became even more prosperous, flourishing like never before.

People eager to ingratiate themselves kept arriving in a steady stream.

Jiang Chun had to personally oversee Gui Zhi and Gui Ye as they unpacked the gifts. Items that weren't particularly valuable were accepted and recorded.

Especially valuable items, like antiques, paintings, and large amounts of gold, silver, or banknotes, were returned.

Naturally, people from prominent families know better than to act recklessly.

But wealthy households had no such qualms, sending whatever was most valuable, sometimes even delivering entire boxes of silver.

Though they knew their gifts would likely be returned, there was always a slim chance the Song family might accept them. If they did, wouldn't that mean they had climbed up to a higher branch?

After all, you never know unless you try, right?

Additionally, Jiang Chun had to cross-check the guest list while accepting gifts. If something was accepted from someone not on the invited list, an invitation had to be immediately sent out.

After several busy days, it was finally the 2nd of September.

Yesterday, the servants in the mansion cleaned every corner of the Song family's estate, leaving it spotless.

Early this morning, the side door of the Song family was opened. The manager, Song Fu, led a group of male servants to wait outside the main gate, ready to welcome the guests.

Song Shirui and Song Shiqian, the two brothers, were waiting inside the main gate.

At the second gate, Zhong Wenjin led Song Shiying and Song Shiyue, the two younger sisters, in receiving guests.

As the father of the empress, Song Zhen Ting, and Madame Zhuang, the mother of the empress, their status was so noble that it was inappropriate for them to come out to greet guests. It would be too demeaning.

Song Shian and Jiang Chun, as the newly minted Grand Secretary and his wife, also had to put on airs and couldn't be as casual as before.

Although putting on airs didn't really matter much.

Thanks to the gossiping ministers, the story of Song Shian leading his wife and children up a tree had spread all over the Imperial City.

Although many people disagreed with this account, thinking that the story had been reversed and it was actually Jiang Niangzi who led the Grand Secretary and the two young masters to climb trees.

After all, Grand Secretary Song was a refined scholar. How could he be like Jiang Niangzi, who came from a farming background and worked as a patrolling sea guard, doing such outrageous things?

But the Song family insisted, and the couple were happy to take it easy, only needing to wait to welcome close elders like Jiang He and Zheng Yi, and esteemed guests like Princess Xinchang, the imperial princess who was their godmother.

Yes, Jiang Chun's uncle, Zheng Yi, and his wife, Madame Qian, had come to the capital again.

Zheng Kun and Cao Wan's wedding date had originally been set, but it happened to coincide with the death of the previous emperor. According to the rules, families in the Imperial City couldn't hold weddings for three months, so they had to postpone.

Zheng Yi thought that although his family was just common folk, his niece's in-laws were not. To avoid any gossip, he simply pushed the wedding date back by a year.

They didn’t pick a new date and stuck with the original auspicious day, September 26th.

Since Zheng Kun had purchased a small residence in the Imperial City, and the Song family was considered Cao Wan’s quasi-maternal family, plus both of them had official duties, Uncle Zheng Yi decided to have them married in the Imperial City.

The couple arrived in the city a month early to help with the preparations and happened to catch the Song family’s banquet.

As soon as Zheng Yi saw Jiang Chun, he smiled and said, "Your aunt and I have the best luck, truly unmatched. Thanks to you, Chunniang, we get to experience this grand banquet of thousands."

Jiang Chun and Song Shi’an hurriedly went forward to greet their uncle and aunt.

Jiang Chun then asked with a smile, "Where's my cousin and his future wife? I told them to close the shop for the day and come over for the feast. Why didn’t they come along with you?"

Zheng Yi scolded playfully, "Close the shop? When they get married at the end of the month, they’ll have a few days off. Now is the time to work hard and make up for the losses during their wedding holiday."

Jiang Chun smiled helplessly, but since her uncle was thinking about the business, she didn’t say anything more.

She simply turned to Gui Zhi and instructed, "Tell the main kitchen to send two meals for the young master and Lady Cao at noon."

Aunt Qiu praised with a smile, "Chunniang, you’re so thoughtful, sending them food. They’re adults, they won’t starve, right? I often tell your uncle that Kun’er is well taken care of by you. We parents aren’t as thoughtful as you."

Song Shi’an seized the opportunity to show some affection, "My wife is indeed very thoughtful. She’s always been meticulous in her care for me."

Jiang Chun twitched her mouth. This guy even gets jealous of Zheng Kun, her cousin. He’s really idle.

As they were talking, a maid came to report that the Princess of Nanyang had arrived.

The arrival of the Princess of Nanyang, the half-sister of Princess Xincheng, didn’t have much contact with the Song family, but she was still a princess. So, Madame Zhuang had sent her an invite.

Jiang Chun hurriedly had the main gate opened and went to personally welcome her.

The arrival of the Princess of Nanyang was just the start. Prestigious guests began arriving one after another.

There were many princesses and grand princesses, and each one had to be welcomed by Jiang Chun, which exhausted her.

Whenever she got a chance, she would rub her back and grumble. This earned her scolding from Zhong Wenjin and the two younger sisters, "We’ve welcomed hundreds of female guests, and you’re complaining after just a few? Shame on you!"

Jiang Chun quickly clasped her fists and said with a smile, "Three of you are hardworking. Once this is done, I’ll give each of you a catty of blood bird’s nest, three catties of white fungus, and ten catties of red dates as a thank-you gift."

Hearing the thank-you gift, their faces immediately brightened, showing willingness.

Song Shiyin gave Jiang Chun a thumbs up, "Big sister-in-law, you’re so generous. I’m willing to work for you with all my heart and soul!"

This made Jiang Chun laugh, "Slick tongue."

Song Shiyin stuck out her tongue and said fearlessly, "I’m slick-tongued, so what are you going to do about it?"

Jiang Chun gave her a sideways glance and teased, "I’m not going to do anything. Anyway, you’ll be married off on the 2nd of December. Let the Lan family worry about you then."

Ever since her wedding date was set, Song Shiyin had been teased by her big sister-in-law and had initially felt shy. But now, she had developed a thick skin.

She hummed, "No problem. If my big sister-in-law can take charge of the Song family, as your disciple taught by you, I can take charge of the Lan family too."

Jiang Chun scolded jokingly, "You can take charge of the Lan family if you want, but don’t call yourself my disciple. I don’t accept such foolish disciples."

Song Shiying was so furious she jumped up, about to protest that she wasn’t stupid. Just then, a guest's sedan chair was carried through the second gate, and she had no choice but to reluctantly close her mouth.

Seeing this, Jiang Chun quickly slipped away.

With workers helping out, she was more than happy to take it easy whenever possible.

*

Over a thousand tables were set for the banquet, and thanks to the expansive grounds of the Song family, every available space in the front yard, back yard, and the scattered rooms in the garden were put to use for resting.

Even the nearby opera house was converted into a banquet hall, with multiple floors packed with tables.

Even the open space in the garden had tents set up, with the tent fabric kindly sponsored by Zhong Wenjin.

Of course, these tents weren’t for the guests, but for the important servants accompanying them.

Since she was already spending a fortune, Jiang Chun decided to go all out to earn a reputation for being 'meticulous' and 'caring toward her servants.'

Although this kind of reputation was insignificant compared to her notorious image as a sea patrol demon who could silence crying children, still, it was better than nothing.

So, while they officially set up a thousand tables, in reality, there were closer to fifteen hundred tables.

For a banquet of this scale, the dozen or twenty chefs of the Song family clearly couldn’t handle it alone.

Madame Zhuang borrowed forty to fifty chefs and over a hundred apprentices from her own family, the Zhuang estate, the Third Madam’s family, the Marquis of Wuan’s residence, and Song Shian’s friend Lu Shuyu’s Marquis of Jinxiang’s residence.

Only then were they able to get everything organized and serve all the dishes on the menu by noon.

The banquet was lively, and Jiang Chun, seated at the main table, was undoubtedly the brightest star among the female guests.

She enjoyed countless compliments.

Her close friends didn’t need to be told, but even those who hadn’t met her before had asked around about her preferences.

Knowing she loved to flaunt her affection, everyone focused on this topic.

The compliments made Jiang Chun beam with pride, and her smile never wavered.

Madame Xiao, the wife of the Marquis of Jinxiang’s heir, and others took the opportunity to pour her several glasses of wine.

Jiang Chun’s alcohol tolerance was really not great, and today she was drinking thirty-nine-degree white wine sold to her at cost price by Zhong Wenjin. After a few glasses, her head started to spin.

Once her head spun, rationality left her.

She stood up and ran to the stage on the first floor of the opera house, her tongue thick, and said, "I'm very happy that everyone came to our osmanthus flower banquet today.

When I'm happy, I want to be a child who gives away wealth.

So, today, I'll give each of the female guests ten jin of sweet potatoes.

You can eat them directly or store them in the cellar for planting next year."

After a brief pause, she confidently waved her hand, "Actually, I’m worried you might not store them properly and they’ll rot in your cellars. So, for those who want to keep them for planting next year, go find my two senior maids before leaving the residence to register.

I’ll store them for you and distribute them again next spring.

For those who don’t register, I’ll have the sweet potatoes delivered to your homes once they’re harvested."

After she hopped down from the stage, the female guests finally came to their senses.

A deafening cheer erupted immediately.

The main table was set up in what used to be an opera house but is now a restaurant, and the stage employed a traditional ancient sound-amplifying method—burying several large jars under the stage—so several floors of guests could hear Jiang Chun’s words.

Of course, everyone erupted into excitement.

After all, the sweet potatoes from this foreign land cost fifty wen per jin when Jiang Niangzi sold them to the imperial court, and if sold to others, the price would likely increase tenfold, starting at five hundred wen per jin.

These were seeds that could grow new sweet potatoes, so even at five hundred wen per jin, many people would scramble to buy them.

But even if you had money, you couldn’t get your hands on them. Jiang Niangzi refused to sell, and the imperial court wouldn’t sell them either.

Who would’ve thought that today, Jiang Niangzi would give away sweet potatoes for free—ten jin per person!

Families like theirs had multiple female guests with invitations, and larger families even brought over a dozen people.

Ten jin of sweet potatoes per person would add up to over a hundred jin.

With proper cultivation, over a hundred jin of sweet potatoes could yield two or three acres of spring crops, and with summer sweet potatoes from cuttings, it could amount to four or five acres.

The yield of sweet potatoes is extremely high; one acre of spring sweet potatoes could harvest around two thousand jin, so four or five acres would yield…

They were about to hit the jackpot!

How could anyone contain their excitement?

However, the most excited person was Madame Zhuang. Hearing Jiang Chun’s words, her vision darkened, and she nearly fainted.

With just a few words, this woman had given away over fifty thousand jin of sweet potatoes, worth over twenty-five hundred taels of silver!

If only she had consulted me first, even if I had to cover her mouth with my own hands, I would have stopped her.

But she was used to making her own decisions, and her eldest son only indulged her. After a few drinks and some flattery, she had turned into a spendthrift.

No, even a spendthrift wouldn’t lose money this fast!

But as the Prime Minister’s wife, how could she take back her words after they were spoken?

The fifty thousand jin of sweet potatoes had to be given away, whether she liked it or not.

Madame Zhuang signaled Feicui to come over and whispered, “Go to the front and inform the young master about the mess the old madam has made.”

Tell him to deal with his wife and get her out of here before she does anything else crazy.

In the front yard, upon receiving the message, Song Shian didn’t immediately head to the back garden. Instead, he stood up and shared this good news with the male guests present.

Lu Shuyu immediately complained, “We’re all guests here—why do only the women get sweet potatoes while we men get nothing?”

Song Shian shot him a look and calmly replied, “Because those sweet potatoes belong to my wife, not me. She only wants to share them with the female guests. What can I do?

Should I send you to the inner quarters to ask for an explanation?”

Lu Shuyu quickly waved his hand, “No need. As long as my wife gets some in the back, it’s fine. Whether I get any or not doesn’t matter.”

His friend was too sneaky, trying to get him into trouble. He wasn’t falling for that.

Song Shian sat there calmly, ignoring Madame Zhuang’s hopes that he’d go find Jiang Chun.

Not until the main banquet ended and some of the male guests went to Danguiyuan to admire the osmanthus flowers and compose poems, while others headed to the flower parlor in the adjacent courtyard to listen to opera, did he finally rise and make his way towards the inner quarters.

*

At the opera house, Jiang Chun was forced by Madame Zhuang to drink two large bowls of sobering soup and rested for a quarter of an hour before she finally sobered up considerably.

Upon learning that she had given away over 50,000 jin of sweet potatoes in her drunkenness, she immediately let out a loud, unladylike scream, "Ah! My sweet potatoes!"

Princess Xincheng, who was sitting at the main table, couldn't help but laugh and said to her, "You deserved it for drinking without limits!"

Jiang Chun, pretending to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, retorted, "I have a poor alcohol tolerance. Those conniving women were flattering me while plying me with drinks, so of course, I got drunk?"

As she spoke, her eyes swept over Madame Xiao and Madame Cao.

Madame Xiao immediately refuted, "We didn't need to pour you drinks; you voluntarily picked up the wine cup yourself."

Jiang Chun deliberately made a pained expression and grumbled, "Damn, you took advantage of me!"

Then she wailed again, "My precious sweet potatoes!"

Even though she had given them away, these wealthy noblewomen had been eyeing the sweet potatoes. However, the sweet potatoes from the imperial court were meant to be promoted among the common folk and definitely couldn't be given to them.

By giving them a small portion, we're actually helping the court.

Jiang Chun's behavior caused everyone to burst into laughter.

After the banquet, the servants quickly cleared the tables and set out tea and dried fruits.

The performers from Dechun Opera Troupe also took their positions on the stage.

With a generous budget provided by Jiang Chun and Madame Zhuang's generosity, apart from a fine banquet, they also invited Dechun Troupe to perform.

There were also female storytellers and acrobats.

It could be said to be all-encompassing.

They even booked the entire Dechun Troupe and divided them into two groups, one performing in the flower parlor at the front courtyard and the other at the opera house.

Jiang Chun, who disliked watching operas the most, was just about to find an excuse to stroll around and sober up when a maid reported that Song Shian had come looking for her.

This was truly timely rain.

She immediately stood up and walked quickly outside.

This caused Madame Xiao to tease her from behind, "Why are you in such a hurry? Is there something we shouldn't hear?"

Jiang Chun turned her head and cursed jokingly, "If you heard everything, it would only harm you!"

*

Song Shian, dressed in a dark purple brocade robe with subtle patterns, stood tall and straight like a purple bamboo, standing elegantly by the railing on the third floor.

Most people couldn't pull off this color; if one's face wasn't superior and one's skin not fair enough, it would make them look dark and rustic.

As Jiang Chun approached him, she teased with a smile, "Wow, whose husband has such a great figure?"

Song Shian slowly turned around, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

Jiang Chun exclaimed, "Oh! It’s my husband! I’m so lucky!"

A captivating smile appeared on Song Shian's lips as he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

The people inside the hall, who were sneakily peeking at the scene outside, let out exclamations and bursts of laughter.

Jiang Chun raised her hand and lightly punched Song Shian's chest, laughing and scolding, "Other people are watching! What would people think!"

Song Shian said slowly, "I heard someone got drunk and gave away more than 50,000 pounds of sweet potatoes?"

Jiang Chun instantly turned into a docile kitten, pressing her face against his chest and softly said, "Oh, if you want to hug, go ahead; I won't say anything."

Song Shian gave a satisfied grin.

The two of them embraced each other as if they were the only two people in the world.

Behind them, the seats were filled with distinguished guests. In front of the opera house, groups of female guests from other courtyards were heading over to catch the show.

In the nearby garden, colorful tents were scattered like vibrant blossoms, under which servants were enjoying a feast.

Though she couldn’t see the Dan Gui Courtyard from here, she knew that according to the banquet arrangements, at that moment, male guests were reciting poetry beneath the osmanthus trees.

Such a grand feast could be considered the most lively and glorious moment in their married life.

Touched by the moment, Jiang Chun looked up at Song Shian and suddenly sighed, "If only time could stay at this moment forever, how wonderful it would be."

Song Shian glanced at her disapprovingly and lightly hummed, "No, I want to experience every part of life with you. Life is long, and our good days are still ahead."

Jiang Chun pondered for a moment, nodded, and smiled, "You're right, my husband. With that promise, I’m not afraid of getting older."

Song Shian lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead, saying with a smile, "Let's grow old together."

Jiang Chun stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips, then smiled, "Okay."