Chapter 17: A Joyous Occasion at the Duke of Qi

Xu Zaijing, nearly five years old, was already sweating on his forehead. Seeing this, the groom from the Hou Fu did not continue.

He made Xu Zaijing shoot fifty arrows with his left hand and fifty with his right, and only those that hit the red center of the grass target ten paces away counted as a successful shot.

After finishing the training, Xu Zaijing practiced a set of breathing techniques and was finally tossed into a bathtub filled with medicinal herbs.

At his age, this level of training—drawing the bow dozens of times—would harm his body without the soaking and nourishment of medicinal herbs.

The young servant Qingyun, whom the groom had found, was also tempering his strength nearby, though his medicinal herbs were somewhat different from Xu Zaijing's, with the dosage significantly reduced.

This young servant was the nephew of the groom's former family. After the groom met with misfortune, the family's various businesses were carved up by others, and the clansmen, left without a livelihood, left the capital one after another.

Entrusting Xu Minghua to search in many ways, they only managed to find this nephew who had lost both his parents.

The reason he had tested his skills at the polo field some time ago was that a major business deal had been coveted by the Prince of Jing, and he had refused it.

At the time, he had truly been too smooth; his continuous successes made him underestimate the people of the world. A single error in trust, falling for someone else's beauty trap, caused him to take a massive tumble—so massive that one could almost say he could never recover.

Some time ago, Princess Pingning of the Duke of Qi's second branch gave birth to a child, a son.

The Marquis Yongyi's residence, which did not have much of a connection to the Duke of Qi's residence, received a gift of celebration and was further invited to have the Da Niangzi of the Marquis Yongyi's residence stay until the full-month celebration to visit the Duke of Qi's residence.

Princess Pingning was the only daughter of the Marquis Xiangyang. Like the Ningyuan Hou Fu, they shared the same surname, Gu, and the ancestors on their genealogy were the same. Since she had a child, the Ningyuan Hou Fu naturally received the happy news as well.

On this day, Sun Shi brought Xu Zaijing and the other four children to the Duke of Qi's residence. Sun Shi arrived relatively early, but the roadside in Xingguo Lane was already filled with the carriages and sedan chairs of various noble families.

The old Duke of Qi was a top-tier noble who had also served as an official in the court for many years and held a reputation for integrity. Therefore, now that the Duke's family had a grandchild, whether they were noble military officials or civil officials in the court, everyone had to come to offer congratulations.

Bringing children to attend banquets in the capital was also one way to size up potential matches. If a marriage could be settled on such a joyous occasion, it would be happiness upon happiness.

However, there was no shortage of lip-service, cold mockery, and the practice of fawning over the high and trampling on the low.

Bai Shi also brought Gu Tingye along; her daughter was still young and was being looked after by a wet nurse at home.

But because she came from a merchant family, not many ladies from noble families were willing to say much to her.

The ladies of the fourth and fifth branches of the Gu family also went straight to find their close friends in the boudoir after entering the Duke of Qi's residence, ignoring Bai Shi entirely.

Chang Mama's expression was also unsightly at this moment. Bai Shi smiled bitterly. Gu Tingye, standing beside her, had eyes that darted around; he looked at his mother and then at the people around them, a flash of anger passing through his eyes.

Just as they were feeling depressed, Chang Mama saw Sun Shi's group and hurriedly reminded Bai Shi.

"Sister."

Sun Shi called out.

The five children beside Sun Shi bowed.

"Greetings, Da Niangzi."

Bai Shi was all smiles, her momentary radiance causing many official wives to look over.

She affectionately hugged Xu Zaijing.

"Jing Ge'er!"

"Auntie, greetings."

Meanwhile, Sun Shi was holding Gu Tingye's hand on the side, asking some casual questions.

Although Gu Tingye was nearly a year older than Xu Zaijing, his speech and bowing still carried a childish air.

After all, Gu Tingye was a real child, while Xu Zaijing's soul was that of a modern adult.

The eyes with which Bai Shi looked at Xu Zaijing were full of affection, as if she had a predestined affinity with him.

Because Da Niangzi Wu also had a son, the sixth in the Hou Fu, everyone called him Liang Liu Lang. He hadn't come this time; it was said that his mother had gotten angry during her confinement and harmed her health.

Just as the banquet was about to begin, the protagonist of this banquet, the legitimate son of the Duke of Qi's second branch, was carried out.

The arriving guests naturally offered a round of flattery.

Although Princess Pingning's family was the second branch,

she had brought the wealth of the Marquis Xiangyang's residence when she married into the Duke of Qi's residence. Coupled with the fact that the Qi family itself was a top-tier noble house, this young master was born into gold and jade.

Princess Pingning in the crowd wore a gold-threaded green pine and ruby forehead band, and the wet nurse carried the second young master of Qi for the relatives to see.

The Princess chatted with the relatives, and from time to time, valuable gifts were placed into the little young master's swaddling clothes.

After nearly making the rounds, Princess Pingning said a few words to her personal wet nurse, who then took the little young master back to the side chamber.

Princess Pingning scanned the spacious room and spotted Xu Zaijing, who was standing honestly beside his mother.

In nearly a year, Xu Zaijing had grown quite a bit taller, and his long hair was tied into several hair buns,

making him appear even more adorable and sensible.

While chatting with the noble ladies, Princess Pingning walked to Sun Shi's side.

After some pleasantries, Princess Pingning sincerely said to Xu Zaijing: "Good child."

This sentence, however, made the surrounding noble ladies hear a different tone.

Xu Zaijing naturally did not know about the events at the polo field and the Duke of Qi's residence a few months ago, so he could only grin ignorantly.

"Thank you for the praise, Princess."

A female official walked to the Princess's side and said a few words; Princess Pingning nodded.

Subsequently, the female official said loudly: "Honored guests, please take your seats."

After the banquet began, the guests started to eat, but the children could not sit still. Those who didn't want to eat or were already full started playing games in the courtyard.

Xu Zaijing had been fed full by his mother at the banquet, and after finishing, he came to the courtyard accompanied by a maid.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the nation was prosperous, and everyone from the imperial family and nobles down to the commoners loved gambling. The children inevitably picked up some of this atmosphere.

"Wow, Ye Ge'er, amazing!"

"How did he hit that!"

In the middle of the courtyard, Gu Tingye was playing a pitch-pot gambling game with a group of noble children, and he had already won quite a few spoils in front of him.

The value of many of the trinkets in the hands of those noble children was enough to feed a commoner in Bianjing for half a year.

But in this Duke's residence, they were merely add-ons to the children's pitch-pot game.

In the pavilion nearby, the children of several high-ranking court officials had already begun their schooling, and some had even taken the exams. Whether they passed or not, they already had a reputation for being scholars.

Their attention was drawn by the liveliness in the courtyard, and they discussed one after another:

"This Gu Tingye of the Ningyuan Hou Fu is too good at pitch-pot."

"His family has associated with military brutes for generations; it would be strange if he weren't good."

After saying this, the children of civil official backgrounds in the pavilion curled their lips and smiled with tacit understanding.

Around the courtyard, separated by curtains and screens, was a long covered walkway where the young ladies of various residences played games, and close sisters exchanged experiences in needlework.

From time to time, children who refused to admit defeat went to the walkway to beg or trick their sisters out of items, wanting to continue challenging Gu Tingye.

But the result was that they lost everything.

At this moment, a burst of crying suddenly came from the walkway. A seven or eight-year-old girl walked back to the banquet room crying, followed by a little boy with a panicked expression.

Xu Zaijing did not participate in the gambling; he stood on the side with the maid Xiaodan, watching the liveliness in the courtyard.

Seeing this scene, he looked at Xiaodan beside him with some confusion.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====