Chapter 157: A Festive Affair

Chapter 157: A Festive Affair

The coincidence of being granted the title of County Magistrate and his birthday was indeed a joyous double occasion, necessitating a grand celebration with a wide invitation to avoid any criticism from envious individuals who might accuse him of disregarding the emperor's generosity.

Fortunately, Lord Azure Phoenix had warned him beforehand; otherwise, Qiu Huanian's household would have been in a chaotic scramble when the time came.

This year's birthday banquet for Qiu Huanian was taken over by Jiu Jiu, who had already planned a splendid event. Now, she only needed to enhance the original plan with additional details and expand its scale.

"To showcase the emperor's generosity, besides acquaintances, all the noblewomen and titled ladies in the capital must be invited. Luckily, Lord Azure Phoenix sent over several lists; otherwise, I wouldn't have known there were so many of them in the capital."

Qiu Huanian sat at the desk by the west window crafting invitations, but after writing more than a dozen, he found it increasingly difficult to remain seated. As the months progressed, he often felt lower back discomfort after a short while.

Seeing this, Jiu Jiu and Cun Lan helped Qiu Huanian to a nearby plush, cushioned couch to rest for a while.

"Brother Hua, let me handle the invitations for you," Jiu Jiu advised. "These are invitations for the County Magistrate's birthday; even if you don't write them personally, no one would dare to criticize."

Jiu Jiu had learned etiquette from a palace maid hired by the Zhu family in Xiangping Prefecture. Although young, she was well-versed in such matters.

She brought over the immaculately groomed Milk Frost and a cat toy with vibrant peacock feathers, placing them on the couch.

"Brother Hua, play with Milk Frost for a while; Cun Lan and I will go out to buy some things."

With Qiu Huanian's energy waning, Jiu Jiu had effectively become the household manager. Entrusted by Du Yunse, she kept a close eye on Qiu Huanian, prompting him to rest at any discomfort.

Feeling both comforted and slightly awkward being so well taken care of by his sister, Qiu Huanian hugged the warm, plump Milk Frost, giving it a few affectionate strokes.

"Why not let Quan Yu and Wu Da take care of the shopping? Why do you need to go yourselves?"

Jiu Jiu smiled, "Most things are bought by the stewards based on the lists I provide, but I want to personally explore the shops to check the styles and fabrics for the clothes Brother Hua will wear on the day."

While the household's sewing room could handle everyday clothes, Jiu Jiu believed that for the birthday banquet, it was more appropriate to have garments custom-made by a celebrated seamstress to ensure grandeur and avoid being looked down upon by others.

Knowing Jiu Jiu's keen interest in jewelry and beautiful clothes, Qiu Huanian laughed, "Then take more people with you and enjoy a leisurely walk."

Cun Lan had been in the capital for several days but hadn't had the chance to go out. Since Qiu Huanian couldn't take the children shopping, it was fortunate that Cun Lan and Jiu Jiu were grown enough to explore the capital's sights together.

After seeing Jiu Jiu and Cun Lan off, with no one else in the room, Qiu Huanian lounged casually on the couch, stretching lazily. Propping his head with one hand, he dangled the cat toy in front of Milk Frost with the other.

After waving it up and down for a while, Milk Frost finally condescended to glance his way, chasing the blue-purple peacock feathers in a symbolic circle.

Qiu Huanian: ...

Why does it seem like I'm being judged by a cat!

...

Jiu Jiu and Cun Lan didn't return until dinner time. Du Yunse had already come home from the Hanlin Academy and was diligently providing "early education" for the child in Qiu Huanian's womb.

Listening to half an hour of classical literature daily, Qiu Huanian gradually shifted from initial boredom to immersion, his heart relaxing and slowing with Du Yunse's deep and pleasant voice, as if listening to snow falling from tall, straight pines in a spacious winter hall.

After finishing a chapter, it was time for dinner. Qiu Huanian enjoyed lively gatherings, so every meal was shared with everyone living in the house. The family of four, along with Yuan Jia's siblings, Cun Lan, and Yun Ying, finally made up a large round table.

Noticing that Cun Lan seemed preoccupied, Qiu Huanian casually asked during the meal if she and Jiu Jiu had enjoyed their outing today.

Cun Lan was momentarily unsure how to respond, but Jiu Jiu hesitated briefly, knowing that Brother Hua couldn't be fooled, and decided to recount the afternoon's events in a light, casual tone.

"We visited over a dozen shops in the West Market and finally settled on two fabrics. One is a shimmering, moonlit-hued brocade with grapevine patterns, where the grapes are woven with silver threads, layered and shimmering even indoors."

"The other is a rain-thread brocade with a white base and red threads, a prestigious variety of Shu brocade. Woven with white and red threads of varying thicknesses, it resembles delicate rain streaks, graceful and lively. Making clothes from it and embroidering red pomegranates would surely be exceptionally beautiful."

Jiu Jiu was passionate about this subject and had a deep understanding of various fabrics, while Cun Lan was clueless about such things. However, most young girls love shiny, pretty clothes, and after going out with Jiu Jiu, Cun Lan quickly fell in love with the thrill of picking out fabrics.

Cun Lan and Jiu Jiu also chose beautiful new fabrics for themselves and Chun Sheng, among others. On the day of the birthday banquet, everyone in the household, from top to bottom, would be dressed in new clothes. This was partly to make the banquet more splendid and partly because Qiu Huanian took the opportunity to give everyone a treat.

Wu Da had already unlocked the storeroom as instructed by Qiu Huanian, pulling out over ten bolts of silk and handing them over to Lark. She was in charge of organizing the seamstresses to take measurements and quickly make new clothes for all the servants in the mansion.

Jiu Jiu shared many fun stories they encountered during their outing in the afternoon before changing the subject.

"After buying the fabrics, we went to the capital’s most renowned embroidery workshop to have clothes made. We’d just picked out the designs for Brother Hua and elder brother, and arranged for them to make four sets of clothes as quickly as possible, when we bumped into someone."

Jiu Jiu downplayed it, glossing over the matter, "It was the wife of the Minister of the Imperial Banquet Office. She arrived after us and took a liking to the same embroiderer we had chosen. She threw her weight around and demanded that we give up the embroiderer to her, but I refused, and she had no choice."

Qiu Huanian caught Cun Lan’s expression and knew that things couldn't have been as simple as Jiu Jiu made it sound. Jiu Jiu didn’t want to upset him, so she didn't go into detail.

The Minister of the Imperial Banquet Office... that title rang a bell?

Du Yunse gently put down his chopsticks, "It's Yu Wen, the Yu clan’s eldest son."

Qiu Huanian raised an eyebrow, suddenly remembering, "I remember he’s Yu Min’s elder brother. His wife is the matriarch of the Yu clan, and her maiden family is the Xie family."

Qiu Huanian had once met this Madam Yu at the Confucian Temple and was deeply impressed by her snobbish and arrogant attitude typical of aristocratic families.

One could easily imagine that when this person was competing with Cun Lan and Jiu Jiu for the embroiderer, she definitely didn’t mince words.

Jiu Jiu was somewhat better off, but Cun Lan had just come to the capital from the border and had hardly any prior exposure to these so-called "noble families of wealth and power." She was likely pretty shaken.

How could Madam Yu, in her thirties, have the nerve to compete with two teenage girls over something?

Hearing someone had picked on his kids, Qiu Huanian felt a wave of anger.

Seeing that Brother Hua was indeed upset, Jiu Jiu quickly said, "That person spoke unpleasantly, subtly belittling us, but I also argued back with reason and evidence. Moreover, today the imperial decree conferring the title of County Lord on Brother Hua hasn't been officially announced yet, so not many people know about it. Otherwise, she definitely wouldn't have dared to snatch the embroiderer meant for Brother Hua's clothes."

Cun Lan, afraid of affecting the baby in Qiu Huanian's belly, also forced a smile and repeatedly agreed with Jiu Jiu's words.

Qiu Huanian didn't want the children to worry, so he temporarily set the matter aside and only brought it up again when he was alone with Du Yunse that night.

"I found it strange earlier. Yu Wen was only a second-class scholar from the Palace Examination two terms ago. How could he rise to the third rank in just six years? Even the Number One Scholar might not be promoted that quickly."

Du Yunse kissed his forehead, soothing his angry little husband.

"Brother Hua, do you know what the Imperial Banquet Office is in charge of?"

"The Imperial Banquet Office is responsible for sacrifices, palace banquets, and meals, and also for receiving tributes from various regions." Qiu Huanian had specifically studied the functions of various government offices in the Yu Dynasty before coming to the capital to be well-prepared.

Although the Minister of the Imperial Banquet Office didn't hold much real power, it was definitely a lucrative position.

Du Yunse smiled and kissed the person in his arms again, "Brother Hua is so smart."

Qiu Huanian felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that this couldn't be called smart, but he couldn't help feeling happy.

As he entered the middle and late stages of pregnancy, he seemed to be becoming more and more childish, and his emotions were becoming more and more exposed. Du Yunse keenly noticed this and had been treating him like a child recently.

Qiu Huanian listened as Du Yunse said, "After you sold cotton at a low price to the Commander of Liaozhou last year, the Emperor repeatedly praised you, hinting to the court officials to donate money and supplies to the border."

"The Yu clan of Liaozhou, through Prince Jin, openly and secretly donated nearly three hundred thousand taels of gold and silver, along with supplies, to the court. Yu Wen's position as the Minister of the Imperial Banquet Office can be considered the Emperor's gift in return to the Yu clan."

Three hundred thousand taels... Qiu Huanian marveled at the amount.

The Qiu's Six Staples in the capital was already quite profitable, with a monthly net profit of around two thousand taels of silver. Qiu Huanian now had more than eight thousand taels of silver on hand, and by the end of the year, with the income from the estate and the dividends from the Qiu's Six Staples in Xiangping Prefecture, he should be close to twenty thousand taels.

This was already an unimaginably huge sum of money for the vast majority of people in this era, but compared to the Yu clan, which could easily provide supplies worth three hundred thousand taels of silver, it paled in comparison.

The great aristocratic families that had continued from the previous dynasty, through generations of exploitation and accumulation, had long become formidable giants.

No wonder even the Yuanhua Emperor relied on their support when he ascended the throne, and no wonder they believed they could influence the selection of the next emperor.

Qiu Huanian thought seriously for a while, "Three hundred thousand taels of supplies in exchange for a third-rank capital official post with little real power does make sense. But why the Minister of the Imperial Banquet Office?"

Starting from the image of the Yuanhua Emperor as a veteran ruler in his mind, Qiu Huanian felt this was no coincidence and there must be some imperial strategy behind it.

Qiu Huanian was willing to think, and Du Yunse was happy to enlighten him, "Brother Hua, consider again the duties of the Imperial Banquet Office."

"Managing palace banquets, responsible for collecting tributes from various regions..." Qiu Huanian's eyes lit up, "In this position, corruption is unavoidable, and being closely related to the palace, it's also easy to arrange some taboos for him to violate. In the future, if the Emperor wants to deal with Yu Wen and the Yu clan, he can easily find charges."

Currently, the Yu clan and other aristocratic families hold a transcendent status, feeling secure and not caring about these trivial matters. But when the Yuanhua Emperor really takes action, these pre-consumed poisoned offerings will turn into deadly weapons piercing these centuries-old powerful clans.