Chapter 193: Banquet (Part 1)

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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After hearing Xing Rongrong’s words, everyone fell silent for a while. Her words were just too graceless. Shi Cheng was himself someone from Feng town, while Shi Cheng’s father was from a village managed by Feng town. Her little speech had denigrated Feng town while simultaneously praising Hanzhong city. Was she trying to humiliate Shi Cheng’s mother to her face?!

Shi Cheng’s mother was still her elder!

Meng shi’s face immediately soured. She gave a hmph and turned away. 

After Xing Rongrong spoke, she hadn’t realised her mistake. It was only when Shi Cheng’s mother showed such a negative reaction that she became aware that she might have misspoke. She clamped her mouth shut then and didn’t say anything more, but her face still held stubbornness, as if to refuse to take back her words. 

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Nkw Dw’la pbssj bla blye. Fbl jdlo vbyv yv vbkp xsxldv, Fbk Ubldt oswze elqkdkvlzu dsv pyu yduvbkdt. Gqvla yzz, kv oswzed’v alqzlnv olzz sd bkx, y xyd, vs iwyaalz okvb y tkaz. Rv oswze xyjl bkx yrrlya ayvbla rlvvu. Gp pwnb, kd saela vs jkpp wr vs bla qwvwal xsvbla-kd-zyo, pbl vssj kv sd blaplzq vs pyu psxlvbkdt. 

Fs pbl pxkzle yde pyke, “Wldt vsod kpd’v y pxyzz rzynl. Rv oyp y qzswakpbkdt nkvu kd vbl Mydt eudypvu, yd lmvalxlzu kxrsavydv vsod yzsdt vbl vayel aswvl clvolld Ubydt’yd yde vbl nyrkvyz nkvu, Rv sdzu pvyavle vs zspl kxrsavydnl ewakdt vbl Fsdt yde Zwyd eudypvklp clnywpl sq oya. Jlqsal vbl alktd sq Oxrlasa Iydtmk, vbkp ldvkal yaly oyp jdsod yp Wldt ralqlnvwal, kv oyp sdzu yqvla bl nyxl vs rsola vbyv bl nbydtle kvp elpktdyvksd vs y vsod. Mbl rypv qlo ulyap, vbl nswdvau byp clld yv rlynl, yde ps swa awzlap byhl pvyavle vs ytykd lxrbypkpl vayel yde cwpkdlpp. Lsoyeyup, vbkp aswvl byp clnsxl rsrwzya. Mblpl rypv qlo ulyap, Wldt vsod byp yzps nbydtle y zsv.”

Ssdt Dkdtmkdt’p qynl bye pvyavle vs vwad wtzu obld Nkw Dw’la cltyd vs prlyj. Rv oyp hlau schkswp vbyv pbl qlzv Nkw Dw’la oyp elzkclayvlzu vaukdt vs pvyc bla obkzl pbl oyp esod! Fbl saktkdyzzu vbswtbv sq alcwvvkdt, cwv pbl oyp fwpv y tkaz. Rd vbkp eyu yde ytl, kv oyp yzalyeu nsdpkelale lmnlzzldv kq y tkaz nswze alye y qlo osaep; bso nswze pbl bsrl vs nsxrlvl kd vlaxp sq tlstayrbknyz jdsozletl! Fbl jdlo dsvbkdt ycswv vbl vsrkn, ps lhld vbswtb pbl oydvle vs yatwl, pbl nswzed’v.&dcpr;

Nkw Dw’la’p prllnb bsolhla, oyp hlau olzz alnlkhle cu bla qwvwal xsvbla-kd-zyo. Yldt pbk cltyd vs zssj yv Nkw Dw’la okvb ekqqlaldv lulp. Fbl bye dlhla lmrlnvle bla eywtbvla-kd-zyo vs cl ps jdsozletlyczl! Fbl xwpv’hl clld vywtbv cu bla psd. Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla hlau dyvwayzzu tyhl yzz nalekv vs bla psd, cwv pbl oyp pvkzz hlau rzlyple. Fbl pxkzle yde dseele, “Wldt vsod byp nlavykdzu nbydtle y zsv kd vblpl rypv qlo ulyap. Jlqsal, vblal olal sdzu y qlo pvallvp, cwv dso, vblal yal ps xydu pvsalp lhlauoblal.”

Fbk Ubldt zssjle yv Nkw Dw’la yde pxkzle.&dcpr;

“Eblvbla sa dsv Wldt vsod kp y pxyzz rzynl nyd cl plld cu vbl nkvu oyzzp. Mbl nkvu kvplzq kpd’v ydu pxyzzla vbyd Tydgbsdt nkvu. Jlqsal, Wldt vsod vss bye lktbv nkvu tyvlp, cwv obld kv oyp esodtayele vs y vsod, vblu plyzle qswa sq vblx. Fvkzz, usw nyd pll vaynlp sq oblal vblu olal.” Nkw Dw’la pyke okvb y okel pxkzl, vokpvkdt vbl jdkql ellrla kdvs Dkdt Ssdtasdt.

Dkdt Ssdtasdt vwadle bla blye yoyu.&dcpr;

Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla bsolhla, oyp tlvvkdt xsal yde xsal lmnkvle. Fbl qlzv vbyv bla qwvwal eywtbvla-kd-zyo alyzzu tyhl bla qynl – pbl jdlo ps xwnb! Fbl oyp fwpv ycswv vs ypj obld vbl plahydv tkazp pvyavle nsxkdt kd vs yddswdnl vbyv vblal olal nyaakytlp sd vbl asye vs vbl tyaeld.&dcpr;

The group of them then began to stand up and head outside. Shi Cheng lagged behind and grabbed hold of Liu Xu’er’s hand. He softly said, “I will be in the front courtyard’s study. I will stay there the entire day. If you need anything, call for a servant to send me a message. Also, please closely watch the reactions to the jewellery. If most of the crowd don’t seem interested, it might mean that we chose the wrong styles. Call for someone over to let me know as soon as you can. I will immediately prepare something new for you!”

Liu Xu’er nodded her head, “Got it. Don’t worry!”

“Of course, make sure that you get your task done first! Do this only if you can manage everything.” Shi Cheng laughed and said. 

Liu Xu’er also laughed. At least Shi Cheng still recalled her original task. Still, it was just like a businessman to make full use of all opportunities. She too was in business, so she understood Shi Cheng. 

She nodded her head and left. Shi Cheng’s mother was already stationed at the flower pavilion, while she stood outside. They waited for the servant girls to announce each arrival before determining who should go and greet them. 

The first to arrive was of ordinary importance. They too, were a merchant family. Subsequently, the county magistrate’s wife and daughters arrived. Shi Cheng’s mother took Liu Xu’er with her to personally greet them, and escort them to the pavilion to have tea. 

Shi Cheng’s mother continued to accompany them, while Liu Xu’er only stayed for a brief chat. She had heard another servant girl come in to announce the arrival of the Hanlin family’s womenfolk. 

Liu Xu’er gave her apologies and left them before heading over to personally welcome the Hanlin family.

Shi Cheng had given a lot of thought to ensure that Song Yao would come. In the invitation written to the Song family, he had deliberately written that Song Yao was well known to be a talented young woman, and had requested for the First Young Miss of the Song family to help name two pieces of jewellery from their store. 

Liu Xu’er walked to the courtyard entrance. Right that moment, the horse carriage had stopped, and out came two women. The one in front was clearly married – she appeared to be around 24 to 25. If Liu Xu’er didn’t misremember, this should have been the woman who had bought her three hand-warmers close to 10 years ago now. 

Behind her was a girl. She was dressed in a pale, water blue, embroidered brocade. Her waist was slender, her figure willowy. Her eyebrows were curved gracefully on a delicate face. 

After coming off the carriage, she stood there for a moment. The air around people from prestigious families was truly different. Even without trying, their status was clear from every little expression and gesture they made. 

Liu Xu’er immediately went forth to greet them. The First Young Madam gave a very cursory bow in exchange. Song Yao, on the other hand, very quickly gave a deep curtsy. When she stood up again, her entire face was red. 

Liu Xu’er then invited them into the garden. It was obvious that Song Yao knew who she was, and was embarrassed about meeting her. Liu Xu’er mentally reminded herself that she needed to pretend to know nothing. It would be embarrassing if Song Yao realised that she had done all this just to meet with her!

Right at that moment, Song Yao was thinking – so this was Liu Lin’s meimei? Who would have thought…. That she was such a delicate and refined person. Liu Lin kept saying that she was a businessperson – it had given her the impression that his sister was very coarse…..

She stopped her line of thought, feeling embarrassed and apologetic toward Liu Xu’er. As such, when Liu Xu’er came smilingly forward to escort them, Song Yao took the initiative to start a conversation, “They’ve really changed the place to make it more like a garden. This road here used to have bamboo growing at its sides. When people stayed here, they felt that it was bothersome, so they cut them all down.”

Liu Xu’er smiled, “Is that so? But I suppose that it’s only natural. This place is intended to showcase beautiful gardens. If the view from the road is blocked by bamboo, it would indeed be rather bothersome.”

Song Yao smiled and nodded, “I didn’t know that you could host a banquet here. Originally, no one really came here during the summer. The previous two times I came, it was in winter. But actually, it’s actually rather beautiful in summer. It’s a completely different look for the place.”

Liu Xu’er smiled and said, “The main reason was that there weren’t any other suitable places for the banquet.” 

Song Yao hadn’t expected her to be so blunt. She looked at her surprised, before laughing. She thought to herself, sure enough, her character was a bit similar to Liu Lin’s. 

The two of them continued to enjoy a chat as they walked along. In front, the First Young Madam continued on directly ahead. To be honest, she didn’t expect much from a banquet hosted by a merchant. The only reason they came today was because there was a chance that she could interact with the other important households here. 

Slowly, all the invited guests arrived. Shi Cheng’s own prestige in Feng town was not what it was a few years ago. By now, he had a reputation amongst the business circles. Although he was young, his name eclipsed some of the other, more seasoned merchants; he could be considered to be quite influential. Furthermore, he had just passed the exams – his future was limitless.

The county magistrate had really high hopes for the Shi family as well as the Liu family. The Liu family, after all, had managed to churn out three scholars in a single stroke. The magistrate’s wife naturally treated Shi Cheng’s mother and Liu Xu’er warmly. After a while, the magistrate’s wife started to look at Shi Cheng’s mother differently. Having chatted for some time, there had been a number of good suggestions brought forward. The flower pavilion was very lively, with lots of laughter. Liu Xu’er had worried that it would be too cold and cheerless, but it looked like her fears were groundless. 

The older women continued to stay in the pavilion, entertained by Shi Cheng’s mother. The younger guests were more willing to walk around the gardens with Liu Xu’er as their escort. 

Liu Xu’er had kept a constant eye on Song Yao. The instant they had come in, she had already noticed that the jewellery the First Young Madam wore. There was a jade hairpin, exquisitely made with a lattice in the shape of two peonies with gold thread inlaid. On her head was another gold hairpin and on her arm, she wore a pearl and gold bracelet. While Song Yao wore a simple silver hairpin. She too had on a bangle, but it was made out of pinewood beads. 

She had also noticed that this First Young Madam ignored Song Yao. Not only did she ignore her, when she saw another woman around her age, she had drawn her close to talk, and kept giving Song Yao strange glances, as if gossiping about her. 

Liu Xu’er shook her head, this was just like Shi Cheng said. These women were all so superficial – although they knew it wasn’t right, they continued to gossip about others. When there were people around, they pretended to be dignified and composed, but in secret or with their good friends, their words turned cruel, and they could say anything. 

This First Young Madam was a real joke – did it make her look good to share gossip about her xiaoguzi? It was obviously a personal vendetta! She was just doing this in order to smear Song Yao’s reputation. 

Liu Xu’er started to fume. She really wanted to give this First Young Madam some attitude, and help support Song Yao. But considering that she was here as Shi Cheng’s future wife, she wasn’t sure if she could help Song Yao. Still, it was entirely possible for her to take down this First Young Madam a peg. 

Liu Xu’er was thinking up a plan when two or three 15-16 year old girls came over. In a polite tone, they called her Miss Liu, clearly trying to get to know her. Liu Xu’er had to divert her attention to these three. 

Because the current Liu family now had three xiucais who were fairly young – especially Senzi who was only just 11! – anybody with even a bit of vision would know that the Liu family’s progress won’t just stop. With three xiucai, at least one of them should be able to pass the next round of exams, possibly even making it all the way to becoming an official! Furthermore, the family’s son-in-law Shi Cheng was also a new xiucai as well as being from a wealthy family.

As such, most of the people who came here today didn’t treat her with disdain! These young misses were used to being careful with their words and actions. Furthermore, when they left the house, their family members would  have definitely advised them on how to behave. 

If there was anyone who might have treated her with disdain, it would be that First Young Madam. The First Young Madam was born to a prestigious family, and had married into a respectable scholarly one. It was normal for a person like that to believe herself superior and hold herself aloof.