Chapter 90 Attending the Banquet

Chapter 90: Attending a Feast

The young woman put away her impatience and suddenly let out a sigh. "The Song family's Fulang is naturally a formidable person. I've heard my husband say he's sharp and calculating, even better at business than most men..." The young woman glanced at Ms. Xiang's expression, and seeing no change in her demeanor, grew uncertain.

"He's quite handsome, which makes things easier for him than for ordinary men." The young woman flicked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ms. Xiang frowned deeply at this and said to the matron beside her, "Forget it, let's leave."

The two boarded the carriage and left. The young woman from the Jiang family closed the door, leaving a crack to peek through. Before long, the Song family's carriage soon returned.

Meng Fulang was helped out of the carriage by his husband with great care. The two walked hand in hand, chatting and laughing as they went home.

She let out a heavy breath. How could this be? Just a xiaoge, yet he got to marry such a fine husband. He should be content to stay home, manage the household, and raise children. Someone like her, who couldn't even bear a child as the Jiang family's mistress, didn't deserve such an outstanding man.

She had heard Juren Song tenderly call his Fulang "Wan'er." How lovely it sounded. If only I were the one...

"Wan Niang? Wan Niang?"

A man's deliberately lowered voice pulled her back to reality.

Wan Niang said with disgust, "Didn't I say the Shen hour at three quarters past? Why are you so late? You made me wait."

The man said placatingly, "You don't know how vicious those people are. They're turning over every stone to find me. To avoid them, I had to..."

Wan Niang had no patience to deal with her beastly brother. She said irritably, "Enough! I don't want to hear any of your crap. Here's twenty taels of silver. Take it and never come looking for me again!"

The man took the silver first, then hastily said as Wan Niang was about to close the door, "Didn't we agree on fifty taels? Twenty is too little; it won't even cover my debts."

"Ha, take it or get nothing." Wan Niang moved to close the door again.

The man hardened his resolve and raised his voice, "Don't blame me, brother, if I go to Master Jiang and tell him about the aphrodisiac from the Spring Fragrance Pavilion."

Wan Niang glared at him, "How dare you! You've got some nerve! You were the one who brought the medicine and made me drug him to get him into bed!"

"Wasn't it you who acted all aloof and let Master Jiang sleep alone, then came begging me?" The man wasn't one to back down, and his sharp tongue made his sister furious.

They argued in a disgraceful manner until Jiang Fulang heard the ruckus and came out. "Wan Niang, who is it?"

Wan Niang quickly caved to her scoundrel brother's blackmail, pulled out a gold hairpin from her hair, and threw it at him. "Scram!"

Then she turned coldly to Jiang Fulang and said, "Nobody. Just a beggar."

—

Once home, Chang Jinhua asked Meng Wan, "Well? Was the Li family's feast any good?"

Chang Jinhua's room had a stove set up with a fire brazier. Meng Wan took off his cloak, and Song Tingzhou, being tall, helped him hang it on the screen.

"Sister Li invited you, yet you didn't go. Now you're asking me if it was good?" Meng Wan sat next to Chang Jinhua by the fire to warm his hands.

Chang Jinhua moved over to make room. "You were invited to see Qin Niang off for her wedding. I'd just be there eating for free—how could I have the nerve?"

The charcoal in the fire crackled red. Meng Wan's hands were warm. "I gave a gift, you know. Why would you be embarrassed?"

Chang Jinhua ignored him. Meng Wan teased her, "Why won't you talk to me? Do you know how popular I am at other people's homes? Even Nie Er Fulang wanted to adopt me as a godson."

Chang Jinhua snorted. "That's because you always put on a good show outside. He doesn't know you're a little rascal at heart."

Song Tingzhou couldn't help smiling. Meng Wan noticed and gave him a light kick.

The family sat together chatting about household matters. Chang Jinhua asked about Qin Niang's wedding and then sighed about how when Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan had gotten married, the family had been in poor circumstances and couldn't even afford a bridal sedan chair.

Meng Wan didn't care about that. All he remembered was nearly starving to death back then.

Chang Jinhua moved on to another topic. "We're running low on salt at home. I went to the salt store early this morning to buy some."

In Changping, all salt shops, big and small, were under the control of the Zhu family. Naturally, the ones in the prefectural city were also Zhu's.

"What about buying salt? Has the price gone up again?" Meng Wan grabbed a roasted persimmon cake from the stove and bit into it.

Chang Jinhua looked puzzled. "The price hasn't gone up, but the salt isn't like before—all coarse grains. Lately, the salt sold is a mix of coarse and fine, and some is not even clean, with a grayish-yellow tint."

The salt fields of Yu Kingdom were mainly in the Lianghuai region, producing sea salt that was coarse and white. If the salt was discolored with gray and yellow, it was either due to impurities during transport or... well, it might not be sea salt but well salt instead.

—

A few days later, Huang Zheng reported that the scholars at Qingxiao Pavilion had finally finished three storybooks.

Meng Wan was overjoyed, thinking that these men of letters were indeed more efficient than him.

But when he got to the pavilion and read the three books, he fell silent.

Looking at the only three employees in the shop, Meng Wan said painfully, "You are all talented scholars! How can your thinking be so rigid?"

Two of the three employees were former classmates of Song Tingzhou from the Yizi Class, and the other was a middle-aged Xiucai. They were all Xiucai Masters, but now they sat restlessly on the cushions in the main hall.

Meng Wan held the three storybooks in his hand. They were a sorry sight!

Utter garbage!

He picked up one of them and sighed to the heavens, "Scholar Wan, I had high hopes for you. I even drafted the theme and outline for you. You just had to follow it, but you had to go off on your own direction. The former heir of the marquis estate, after being reborn, doesn't think about using his intelligence to reclaim his position. Instead, he runs off to marry a princess? Marrying a princess! Don't you know that the consort of a princess in this dynasty can't hold an official post?"

Couldn't these scholars think of anything other than princesses?

What happened to standing up to the powerful and relying on your own strength to bring honor to your ancestors?

The end goal of all their struggles was just to marry a princess?

Huang Zheng hesitantly said from the corner, "Master, but the owner of the Zhujian Bookstore has taken a liking to this book and wants to buy it for printing and selling."

Meng Wan nearly choked on his breath.

???

It's like casting pearls before swine!

"If he wants to print it, let him. The pavilion gets forty percent, Scholar Wan gets sixty percent. For subsequent sales, the three of us split the profits. You handle the negotiations." After giving his instructions, Meng Wan couldn't help but lecture the three again.

"The characters you create have their own backgrounds, strengths, and flaws. They are not you; they are individuals in their own right. You need to think: if you were in their shoes, what would you think? What would you do?"

Seeing them all bow their heads in thought, Meng Wan added one final complaint, "Anyway, a noble scion full of resentment and determined to reclaim his birthright would never ruin his future by marrying a princess."

Wan Sui's face, which had just lit up at the thought of money, suddenly turned bright red.

Meng Wan left the bookshop, profoundly aware of how difficult it was to change these people's fixed mindsets. It would take time to break them in. In the early stages, he might have to do it himself to build Qingxiao Pavilion's reputation first, or else they'd go bust.

"Well, well, if it isn't Master Meng? Why the long face?"

The Nie family's carriage stopped in front of Qingxiao Pavilion, and Nie Zhiyao sat atop, teasing him.

"How did you come over?" Meng Wan boarded the carriage to look for him, with Bi Yun following alongside.

Nie Zhiyao tossed him a hand warmer. "I naturally came to find you. I went to the Song residence, and your Xue Sheng said you were at Qingxiao Pavilion, so here I am."

Meng Wan held the hand warmer and asked him, "Is there something urgent?"

"Yes and no."

Nie Zhiyao took an invitation card from a drawer under the small tea table and handed it to him. "Second Aunt asked me to give this to you personally."

Meng Wan put the hand warmer aside, took the invitation card, and opened it. A faint fragrance emanated from it, with a line of small characters and a few ink bamboo strokes on top.

—New residence completed, a simple banquet is prepared. You are sincerely invited to come to the new home, Lin Residence on Huaqi Lane, on the twentieth day of the eleventh month.

"Is Ms. Xiang moving? She's no longer living at the Nie residence? Huaqi Lane? Isn't that the same lane as my home?"

"It was said she only planned to stay a few days, but somehow changed her mind and wanted to live until after the New Year. She found it inconvenient at the Nie residence and wanted to live alone with her servants. There was a scholar's family on Huaqi Lane; they were moving back to their hometown, so Ms. Xiang bought the house."

Meng Wan folded the invitation card and put it away, then picked up the hand warmer again. "So Second Aunt called me over?"

Nie Zhiyao affectionately tapped his forehead. "Are you stupid? If Ms. Xiang hadn't agreed, how could my Second Aunt make decisions for her?"

Even Nie Zhiyao realized that Second Aunt had passed Meng Wan's painting to Ms. Xiang as a recommendation.

Ms. Xiang, at such an advanced age, had painted countless works, many of which were collected by others. The one she gave Meng Wan was a painting of snow mountains and green lotuses, exquisite in style without excessive colors. When unrolled, a cold and crisp wind seemed to blow from it, showing the superb skill.

Meng Wan sighed. "But I'm afraid I'm flattering myself and dare not offend Ms. Xiang."

"You are truly the most contradictory person I've ever met—sometimes cautious, sometimes bold in thought." Nie Zhiyao couldn't find the right words to describe Meng Wan.

On the twentieth day of the eleventh month, favorable for: meeting relatives and friends, making a stove, and moving into a house.

Meng Wan brought gifts and led Chang Jinhua to Ms. Xiang's new residence. Since it was close, they arrived after walking just a hundred steps.

There were no firecrackers or red lanterns at the gate, only a maid at the door to greet guests.

Ms. Xiang's husband, Academician Lin, did not come to Changping, so today's guests were all women from the inner chambers. Meng Wan guessed they were wives of officials, all dressed luxuriously and with elegant manners.

Chang Jinhua inevitably felt out of place among this group. She tugged at her brown fur coat and asked Meng Wan, "Wan Geer, does Mother look okay in this?"

Meng Wan took her hand. "Yes, why not? You look wonderful, more spirited than those noble ladies."

Although this was somewhat exaggerated, it wasn't entirely just to comfort her. Chang Jinhua had a slightly darker complexion, and due to years of labor, she moved with a brisk and spirited air, making her seem robust and healthy.

Compared to other noble ladies who greeted each other by asking what pills they usually took, Chang Jinhua was quite an exception.

The Xiang residence was a small, two-courtyard house, elegantly and simply decorated, with few gold or silver ornaments, mostly wood, bamboo, and jade decorations.

Meng Wan led Chang Jinhua first into the main hall to pay respects to Ms. Xiang. Nie Er'fulang was sitting below Ms. Xiang, speaking with her.

"Congratulations on your new home, Ms. Xiang. This is my mother-in-law, née Chang."

Nie Er'fulang was normally impatient with socializing, but since his grandmaster Ms. Xiang was even less patient, he was more composed than usual.

Seeing Meng Wan, he managed to show a smile and greeted Chang Jinhua, "Sister Chang, come sit. I like your Wan Geer the most. Our two families are closer than others."

The more nervous she became, the more tight-lipped Chang Jinhua grew. "He is a bit too free-spirited; on ordinary days, I am most grateful to Nie Fulang for indulging him."

Ms. Xiang raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I didn't notice. What are you holding in your hand?" The latter sentence was directed at Meng Wan.

Normally, in ancient times, people were reserved and wouldn't inquire about gifts in person, but since no servant had come forward to record the gifts along the way, Meng Wan had to bring them in.

Asked by Ms. Xiang, he placed the things in his hands on the nearby square table. "It's a steamed cake sold on Yingluo Street. I find it quite tasty and wanted to bring some for you to try."

Ms. Xiang's voice was flat. "Others send golden Buddhas and jade pendants, and you just buy some cakes and fruits?"

Chang Jinhua was restless on the side. She had just seen that the noble ladies at the table had indeed sent many gifts, including boxes half a person's height carried by servants to the back courtyard. Her family's gift was so ordinary that she feared the host might be displeased.

Meng Wan, however, didn't think Ms. Xiang was angry. "I thought that you, with your lofty sentiments and refined tastes, would not care for vulgar things like gold and silver. Besides this cake, I also personally designed an incense burner as a congratulatory gift."

The cake was one package; in his left hand, he also held a small wooden box slightly larger than a palm. When opened, it revealed an orange-yellow tangerine-like object, oddly shaped with a round bottom and a small top, more like a gourd than a tangerine, with a bumpy surface, apparently made of ceramic.

Meng Wan was not foolish. Before clearly understanding whether Ms. Xiang intended to take him as a disciple, he acted as if he were one of her own. In terms of worldly wisdom, no one in the Song family was more skilled at it than him.

Ms. Xiang was indeed pleased. "Bring it over for me to see."

Meng Wan presented the item. Ms. Xiang took it in her hand and laughed. "Why is it so peculiar? Is it a pear or a tangerine?"

Meng Wan answered, "Madam, it's a tangerine called 'ugly tangerine'. By lifting the leaves on top, the lid can be opened, and incense is placed inside. There are small holes on the lid to diffuse the fragrance."

Ms. Xiang pinched the small leaves on the lid and indeed could open it. She held the small incense burner and couldn't put it down. The more she looked, the more she felt that although it was ugly, it had an indescribable cuteness. "Not bad, not bad."

Seeming to feel that such behavior was inappropriate in front of the younger generation, she restrained her smile, handed the incense burner to the servant behind her, and said calmly, "Put it away. If all the outside guests have arrived, tell the kitchen to start the feast."

Ms. Xiang had not invited too many guests; including the host family, there were only three tables in total.

Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua were called to the main table, inevitably drawing sidelong glances. Chang Jinhua felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. Seeing others eating slowly and elegantly, she dared not move her chopsticks much and only picked at the cold dishes in front of her.

Seeing this, Meng Wan called over the young attendant waiting nearby, asked for a pair of serving chopsticks, and regardless of others' gazes, picked several unfamiliar dishes for Chang Jinhua.

The ancients valued filial piety. In large families, there was a custom of serving parents-in-law during meals, but only at home; it was rare to see this at outside banquets. Looking at the Song family's mother-in-law and son-in-law, it didn't seem like the mother-in-law was being difficult, but rather the son-in-law was deliberately taking care of his mother-in-law.