Chapter 152: The Mother of the Wei Family and the Beginning of the Longevity Banquet [Many thanks for everyone's support

Two days later,

at the Gao family residence of the Yang Zhou Education Commissioner,

the two Great Ladies whom Wang Wang Ruofu had previously met were drinking tea in the main hall.

"In our past dealings, one could never tell; who would have thought this Qi family of the Salt Administration could produce such a dowry," said the Great Da Niangzi of the Yang Zhou Education Commissioner.

The Great Da Niangzi who had come from Laizhou asked, "Could their family possibly have some connection to the Duke's Mansion of the Qi family in Bianjing?"

"We did ask, and they did not deny it; perhaps they are simply usually low-key and do not display their wealth. That Great Da Niangzi of Magistrate Hong spoke so highly of things in Bianjing, but once I looked into it, they are not even as good as this Salt Administration family."

"Then, has there been any news at all from the Sheng family?"

"Just two days ago, an invitation arrived for their Old Da Niangzi's birthday banquet! Could it be they have learned something? Or have they already settled on the Qi family's second daughter?"

"Then let us use the Sheng family's affair to finalize the arrangement with the Qi family at the banquet! If the Sheng family knows nothing, we shall at least have won back a breath of pride."

In Chuzhou,

the snow that had fallen earlier began to melt, making the roads somewhat muddy.

Wei Wei Yuyi and her husband, returning from the canal side, rubbed the rotting mud from the soles of their shoes at their doorway.

Wei Wei Yuyi's husband said, "Looking at the footprints in the courtyard, someone else has been here."

"It might have been the elder brother from the relay station."

Upon entering the earthen house, Wei Wei Yuyi looked with concern at her own old mother and said, "Mother, did anyone come to our home today?"

The old woman inside, whose eyesight was somewhat poor, hummed in agreement.

Wei Wei Yuyi walked to the bed and touched the earthen kang; it still retained some warmth. Then Wei Wei Yuyi's gaze tightened as she spotted reddish traces on the light-colored clothing the old woman was sewing.

"Mother? What is this? Why is there blood? You have been doing needlework for so many years; how could you still be pricking your hand!" Seeing several needle marks on the old woman's hand, Wei Wei Yuyi asked anxiously.

That old woman said, "Yu Er, it is nothing; Mother is just feeling uneasy in her heart."

Wei Wei Yuyi's husband also entered the room and said, "Mother, who came to our home and frightened you? I will go find the Village Head immediately."

"It is nothing, nothing! It was a passing young official who stopped in the courtyard to ask for a mouthful of hot water," the old woman said.

"Mother, people have asked for water before, yet we never saw you act like this, pricking yourself several times while sewing clothes!" After speaking, Wei Wei Yuyi looked at the old woman.

"That young official was a good person; after drinking our hot water, he even gave us two copper coins. It is just... what he said has left me feeling somewhat unsettled."

"Mother, what did he say?" Wei Wei Yuyi asked as she took the needlework from the old woman's hands to help sew.

"When I told that young official that your elder sister had become a concubine in the Assistant Prefect's mansion, he said that in such high gates there is much trouble. He mentioned hearing of a pregnant concubine whose belly was tampered with to grow too large; during delivery, had her natal brothers not happened to be present at the time, that concubine would have nearly failed to give birth and been harmed." After finishing, the old woman sighed.

Wei Wei Yuyi stopped her needlework, paused for a moment, and said, "When elder sister gave birth to Ming'er, everything was fine; this is already her second child!"

"At that time she was far away in the Fujian Circuit, a thousand li distant, beyond our reach; but did you not also say that their household steward has now been changed to a concubine?"

Listening to her mother's words, Wei Wei Yuyi hummed in agreement and said, "Previously, the Guan Guan Pozi who came from the Yan family to deliver gifts of gratitude also mentioned it, saying that in the Yang Zhou Assistant Prefect Sheng family, it is the Wei Xiaoniang who manages the household."

The old woman sighed and said, "Ever since hearing that person's words, the more I think about it, the less secure I feel in my heart."

"Mother, surely you do not expect me to go to Yang Zhou right now?"

With a tone full of worry, the old woman said, "Your sister has less than three months until she gives birth; are you to wait until then to go to Yang Zhou? One would still have to inquire where the medicine shops and Physicians are located! If you go, she will have a relative from her natal family there, and my heart would feel somewhat better."

At this, Wei Wei Yuyi's husband also said, "Mother is right. Before returning home, an acquaintance who is a worker at the salt depot told me that if we go to Yang Zhou, we could hitch a ride on their boat."

On this day,

it was the birthday of the Old Da Niangzi of the Sheng family, the Assistant Prefect's household,

just as the hour of Mao arrived,

the Sheng family's main kitchen began preparing ingredients, allowing the servants and maids to eat their morning meal.

At two ke into the hour of Mao,

Sheng Hong led Wang Wang Ruofu and a group of children to kowtow and wish the Old Da Niangzi a long life.

Led by Sheng Hualan, the sons and daughters of the Sheng family each presented gifts prepared for the Old Da Niangzi: Sheng Hualan offered a jade ruyi scepter, Sheng Changbai presented his own calligraphy, Hearing Rulan offered longevity peaches she had made by hand, and from Linqi Pavilion came gilded longevity peaches.

After the first five children had presented their gifts, only the youngest, Minglan, remained.

The Old Da Niangzi was in a very good mood; looking kindly and politely at Minglan, she asked, "Sixth Girl, what is this you have?"

Minglan, opening her large eyes wide, knelt respectfully in the center of Shou'an Hall and said, "Grandmother, this is a congratulatory gift from Mother, an embroidered painting..."

Afterwards, Wang Wang Ruofu began leading Sheng Hualan, directing the servants and maids dressed in new clothes to arrange the Sheng family courtyard, placing the tables, chairs, and benches that had been cleaned the day before, and then setting clean bowls and chopsticks on the long tables beside them.

Dried fruits, preserved fruits, and pastries were also arranged.

Water vats, copper basins, and water ladles were placed at the doorways, while maids arranged hand towels piece by piece onto trays.

They inspected the various tea cups, tea leaves, and infused drinks,

placed the brand-new meditation cushions and embroidered stools prepared several days prior in the courtyard of Shou'an Hall, and prepared quite a few brand-new pouches to serve as gifts for the children.

The invited opera troupe was also preparing on the stage in the courtyard, carefully organizing the booklet of performable pieces.

The courtyard of Shou'an Hall was not so busy,

except that the fire wall in the rear room was heated until very warm; when the proper time arrived, the Old Da Niangzi changed into entirely new clothes, put on precious jewelry she seldom wore, and chatted with Sheng Hualan, who had also redone her appearance and returned to Shou'an Hall, quietly awaiting the arrival of guests to offer birthday wishes.

At the hour of Chen (after 8:00 AM),

hot water was poured into the water vats at the doorways, prepared for guests to wash their hands.

Firecrackers were set off at the Sheng family gate; officials' families and gentry from Yang Zhou began to arrive at the Sheng residence, where they were warmly welcomed inside by the Sheng family steward, had their names and congratulatory gifts registered, and were seated at tables inside the rooms.

At the hour of Si,

Xu Xu Zaijing, dressed in new clothes, respectfully offered birthday wishes to the Old Da Niangzi, received an embroidered stool, and sat beside the Old Da Niangzi, leaning near Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng.

Important guests began to arrive, and Sheng Hong, accompanied by Wang Shi, also appeared at the Sheng family gate.

The Old Da Niangzi of the Wang family from Runzhou had, moreover, personally brought her entire family to the Sheng residence early on to offer birthday congratulations to the Sheng Old Da Niangzi, her in-law relative.

As the Wang family entered Shou'an Hall, Wang Wang Ruofu led the way and said, "Mother-in-law, my natal mother has arrived."

Hearing these words, Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng hurriedly rose to their feet.

The Old Da Niangzi also hurriedly stood up, while the Old Da Niangzi Wang, who had already entered the main hall, hastily said, "Aiyo, yo, yo, old sister, today you are the birthday star; how could you come out to welcome me!"

"You are my in-law; how could I not welcome you! Quick, come sit over here."

Once Sheng Changbai, Sheng Hualan, and the other Sheng family children had greeted their maternal grandmother and aunt.

Wang Wang Ruofu smiled and said to Grandmother Wang and the others, "Mother, Brother, Sister-in-law, this is my mother-in-law's grandnephew, the fifth young master of the Xu family from Bianjing, Jing-ge'er."

Xu Xu Zaijing stood beside Da Niangzi Sheng, bowed deeply with clasped hands to the Wang family elders, and said, "Xu Zaijing pays his respects to all the elders!"

"Oh! What a good child! I have heard your name several times already; haven't you appeared before His Majesty quite a few times? Come, come closer so I can take a look," Grandmother Wang said with a laugh.

"Grandmother honors me too much," Xu Xu Zaijing replied as he approached Grandmother Wang.

Grandmother Wang examined him carefully, then turned to Da Niangzi Sheng and praised, "This truly is a good child!"

Wang Yan and Da Niangzi Feng also nodded at Xu Xu Zaijing with smiles in their eyes, and Da Niangzi Feng interjected, "Jing-ge'er, from now on our families will be relatives upon relatives."

As she spoke, Da Niangzi Feng glanced at Sheng Hualan, causing everyone in Shou'an Hall to smile knowingly, while Sheng Hualan's face turned extremely red.

Xu Xu Zaijing also smiled and said, "What the Eldest Da Niangzi says is true!"

After exchanging a few more words, Wang Yan bowed to offer birthday congratulations, then went outside Shou'an Hall to take his seat.

Grandmother Wang, Da Niangzi Feng, and the others remained in Shou'an Hall chatting, and Da Niangzi Feng said, "Old Star of Longevity, this is a birthday gift from my elder cousin; he asked me to bring it on his behalf."

Da Niangzi Sheng asked, "Is this from the one serving as Prefect of Jiangning?"

"It is."

"Please thank him on behalf of this old woman."

"Mother, Sister-in-law, please remain seated; I will go outside to welcome the guests."

With that, Wang Wang Ruofu left Shou'an Hall while the others continued making small talk.

Soon, Wang Wang Ruofu led in the wife of Peng Da from the Hong family, the Department Magistrate's household; perhaps it was Xu Xu Zaijing's illusion, but he felt Wang Wang Ruofu's expression was somewhat subtle at that moment. After Da Niangzi Peng bowed to offer birthday congratulations, the Hong family children knelt on the ground to kowtow and wish the Old Da Niangzi longevity, and each received several pouches.

"Da Niangzi Peng, this is my birth mother and my sister-in-law; this is Xu Zaijing, the legitimate third son of the Marquis's Manor in the Eastern Capital."

Another round of greetings and introductions followed.

Da Niangzi Peng chatted for a while in Shou'an Hall before departing.

Afterwards, family members and children of various officials from Yang Zhou arrived.

Even the children of the Gao family, the Education Intendant, came to pay their respects; although Sheng Hualan's reputation had suffered due to matters involving their relatives, invitations still had to be sent, otherwise how could Eldest Da Niangzi Wang Wang Ruofu lift her head and breathe freely?

Afterwards, Wang Wang Ruofu was so busy her feet hardly touched the ground, and Xu Xu Zaijing was introduced many times by Wang Wang Ruofu; when most guests had arrived, Wang Wang Ruofu's voice reached Shou'an Hall again: "Mother, the wife of the Marquis of Da Niangzi Ningyuan has arrived. Eldest Da Niangzi, please come inside."

Upon hearing this, everyone in Shou'an Hall rose to their feet one after another.

No sooner had the words fallen than Bai Shi appeared in Shou'an Hall accompanied by Xu Xu Pingmei.

"Old Da Niangzi, may your days be bright as the sun and moon, and may you enjoy the longevity of pines and cranes."

"Thank you, Eldest Da Niangzi."

"Great-aunt, may your fortune be as vast as the sea and your life as enduring as the mountains."

"Good, good, good."

Da Niangzi Sheng smiled and invited Bai Shi and the others to be seated.

Subsequently, Gu Gu Tingyi and his sister knelt directly on the prayer cushions and spoke auspicious words for the birthday celebration.

Bai Shi was essentially the final key guest of the day; after her, there were no other important visitors, though it was still somewhat early until the banquet began.

Wang Wang Ruofu thus told the children to go play first, while she went out to attend to the guests.

Thus, Sheng Hualan led Xu Xu Pingmei, Seeing Mo Lan, and the other girls, while Sheng Changbai guided Xu Xu Zaijing, Gu Gu Tingyi, Sheng Changfeng, and the other boys out of Shou'an Hall.

The Old Da Niangzi's birthday banquet was set in the three large main halls of the northern building.

Just then, Sheng Hualan happened to walk outside the room where the daughters of official families were gathered, and heard a girl's voice from within say, "If she is as wonderful as you say, then why hasn't she been betrothed yet?"

The daughters of official families inside the room saw Sheng Hualan's figure at the doorway, and the atmosphere instantly froze.

Sheng Hualan turned to look and found the two daughters of the Gao family, the Education Intendant's household, staring with unpleasant expressions at the legitimate second daughter of the Qi family, the Salt Intendant's household.

"Why have you all fallen silent? At the banquet in Wuyi Lane back then, I was not the only one who called her an ill-omened person; there was also..." As she spoke, she looked toward the Third Miss Hong beside her.

One more chapter remains.

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(End of Chapter)