Chapter 260: We Haven't Lost Face Either [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support! Bowing Again!]

Seeing this group of nobly dressed, spirited young men led by Xu Xu Zaijing,

the young ladies lining the road all turned to look,

and those who had been gazing absentmindedly elsewhere were promptly reminded by their maids or elders.

Many young ladies who had initially appeared completely indifferent, upon getting a clear look at Xu Xu Zaijing and his band of noble youths,

and under the explanations of knowledgeable old women and idle men who recognized each family's identity,

all changed their expressions.

Immediately afterward,

some feigned shy modesty while examining flowers closely,

some puffed out their chests and extended their arms, revealing fair wrists and willow-like waists,

some stared straight over without a shred of fear,

while others turned their backs to the crowd, displaying only a lovely silhouette,

and so on, too numerous to list.

Gu Gu Tingye rode his horse up beside Xu Xu Zaijing, glanced around, winked proudly at Xu Xu Zaijing, and then arrogantly lifted his chin.

Liang Han burst into loud laughter.

But once the carriages carrying the ladies of various families entered the garden,

the young Young Masters lining the roadside, dressed flamboyantly and clearly identifiable as wealthy households of Bianjing, began brandishing swords and reciting poetry,

while simultaneously gazing toward those precious carriages, hoping some noble lady would lift the carriage curtain, catch their eye, and thus forge a marital alliance.

Gu Gu Tingye had been utterly delighted just moments before, but now, noticing the gazes directed at the Gu family carriage from the roadside, he could no longer smile,

for sitting inside that carriage was his own younger sister!

Immediately, he rode his horse to the side of the carriage and whispered:

"They are all nothing but dissolute ruffians!"

"Disgracing refinement!"

Speaking thus, Gu Gu Tingye scanned his surroundings from atop his horse; whenever someone looked toward the Gu family carriage, he would glare and point directly at them:

"Look again!"

There were wealthy young men of Bianjing who, confident in their own status and feeling indignant, wished to challenge Gu Gu Tingye, but the moment they met his gaze, before they could utter a word, they were dragged aside by their hangers-on who whispered in their ears:

"Young Master, do not stir up trouble! Do you know who he beat up last time?"

Gu Gu Tingye continued searching for other dissolute fellows daring to look over, and sure enough, he found one!

'Wait! Why does that person look so effeminate? And what is the meaning of them casting coquettish glances at me?!!!'

Soon, Gu Gu Tingye figured out what was happening, and just as he was about to rush over and beat the person up, he discovered someone else had already taken action.

Upon entering the garden, when they were still a standard distance from the entrance to the polo field,

Liang Han merely glanced a moment longer at a young lady with a slender waist,

and an old woman dressed like a matchmaker immediately tried to approach, only to hastily retreat once she recognized who he was.

After several dozen steps of such constant commotion, the group finally arrived near the entrance to the polo field.

From here to the area where carriages and horses were parked, felt screens had already been erected to block the view,

and with Liang family servants maintaining order, the crowd had thinned considerably.

While Xu Xu Zaijing and Gu Gu Tingye waited at the entrance for their family members to disembark from the carriages, Liang Han walked over and spoke a few words.

According to the Liang family steward who had been stationed there all along,

it turned out that ahead of them were the Duke of Han, the Duke of Ling, and other nobles, along with the relatives and descendants of these families;

Just earlier, an illegitimate son of the Han family had, for some reason, locked eyes with a young lady by the roadside.

and after exchanging a few words, that lady was lifted onto the horse, and the two rode a single horse toward the interior of the polo field.

This sudden development quickly spread throughout the garden:

To become a concubine of an illegitimate son from a noble family?

That would still be excellent!

Conversely, for a young man to be favored by an illegitimate daughter of a noble family was also quite desirable!

Therefore, other young ladies and Young Masters from wealthy households and common families of Bianjing, who had previously been strolling leisurely within the garden, now crowded onto both sides of this several-dozen-step entrance path.

What if they were chosen?

And thus arose all the commotion along this route.

When the family ladies and maids approached and walked onto the path leading into the polo field, Xu Xu Zaijing explained the whole situation to his mother, Sun Shi.

Everyone proceeded together to the second floor of the wooden pavilion where Wu Da Da Niangzi was situated,

while Liang Han went directly to the small path in the middle of the field,

and Xu Xu Zaijing, Gu Gu Tingye, and the others instructed the servants to bow before taking seats on chairs beside the tent curtains to listen to the Da Da Niangzi converse.

"Sister Wu, I see you are not angry."

After Bai Da Da Niangzi spoke, Wu Da Da Niangzi remarked indifferently:

"What is there to be angry about? It is not the young masters of our few families behaving so licentiously! The ones losing face and making fools of themselves are not us."

Sun Shi said, "Still, that short stretch of road was not a pleasant sight!"

"Ah, it matters not; once all these noble and official families have entered, those others will scatter on their own."

Sun Shi smiled and said, "Your heart is truly vast!"

"Indeed it is!"

As they were speaking, the Second Da Da Niangzi of the Fu family, Lady Feng, arrived with the Fu family's unmarried younger sisters to pay respects to Wu Da Da Niangzi.

The two young ladies of the Fu family glanced at the descendants of the Gu, Xu, and Liang families nearby,

All felt somewhat embarrassed.

Wu Da Da Niangzi, meanwhile, held the hands of the two Fu family Misses and asked them a few detailed questions:

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Do you prefer a noble with military merit or a family of civil officials?"

This caused the two Misses to blush.

Once the Fu family Misses had departed from this place,

Sun Shi was just about to send her youngest son down for a stroll when Wu Da Da Niangzi stopped her, saying with a touch of haughty coquetry:

"I said your youngest son shouldn't go down! I certainly won't offer up fragrant meat bait only to be bitten; let's not ruin our reputations!"

At these words, Bai Wu Daniang burst out laughing.

Sun Shi then stood up, put on a stern face, and chased after Wu Da Da Niangzi to pinch her, saying as she walked:

"Then why did you send an invitation to my household, asking us to swell the crowd, only to turn it into a source of amusement for yourself?"

The platform was not large to begin with, so Wu Da Da Niangzi was caught up with in just a few steps;

after enduring a few painless pinches from Sun Shi, Wu Da Da Niangzi laughed and begged for mercy. Just then, Liang Mama from downstairs announced:

"The Yu family's Eldest Lady has arrived!"

Upstairs, the Ladies immediately restored their dignified bearing.

Soon, a beautiful woman in her thirties, accompanied by a son and daughter around ten years old, arrived on the second floor.

After glancing around, this Lady bowed to each person in turn,

"When did you return to the capital?"

"Sister, I only returned half a month ago."

While this Yu family daughter-in-law was speaking with Wu Da Da Niangzi, Sun Shi glanced back at her own son with a meaningful look,

and Xu Xu Zaijing returned a smile.

Noticing Sun Shi's gaze, Bai Shi leaned close to Sun Shi's ear and asked a question.

Sun Shi did not hide anything, simply lowering her voice to briefly recount what she had learned about the Yu family while in Xiangzhou.

As Bai Shi listened, she watched this Yu family daughter-in-law putting on the airs of a Lady, the corner of her mouth curling slightly downward.

When the woman looked over, Sun Shi and Bai Shi merely nodded in response.

As for the Yu family's son and daughter, one looked toward Gu Gu Tingyi, and the other toward Gu Gu Tingye.

After they had departed, Wu Da Da Niangzi looked at the expressions of Sun and Bai and said helplessly:

"When my elder brother previously served as the Pacification Commissioner of Jiangnan East Circuit, he owed the Gu family a small favor; although it has already been repaid, surely we cannot cease all contact?"

Gu Gu Tingyi, standing nearby, was still somewhat bewildered; after asking his mother and learning that this woman was Yu Yu Yanran's nominal principal mother, he asked with great surprise:

"Has Sister Yu Yanran not come?"

Gu Gu Tingye sycophantically walked to the edge of the platform, looked carefully, and said, "Sister, she has come; she is down below!"

"Mother, I am going down to play with Yu Yanran."

Shortly after Gu Tingyi went downstairs,

Rong Family's Eldest Lady arrived on the second floor with Rong Rong Xian and Rong Rong Feiyan.

As they approached the table, several Ladies stood up; while speaking, Wu Da Da Niangzi naturally took Rong Rong Feiyan's hand:

"After only a few days apart, Miss Rong Feiyan has become even more beautiful."

As she spoke, Wu Da Da Niangzi was looking at Sun Shi; anyone unaware of the underlying circumstances would surely think she was merely making ordinary conversation.

Rong Rong Feiyan lowered her head and said softly:

"Eldest Lady praises me too highly."

Having finished speaking, she raised her head and glanced at Sun Shi.

Sun Shi ignored Wu Da Da Niangzi's teasing; instead, she smiled kindly at Rong Rong Feiyan, her eyes full of praise and agreement.

While Rong Family's Eldest Lady was subtly probing whether the Chai family would come today, Gu Gu Tingye whispered to Xu Xu Zaijing:

"Today, Rong Rong Xian is acting strangely; he seems afraid to look at you."

Xu Xu Zaijing nodded.

After saying this, Gu Gu Tingye leaned close to him again and muttered a few more words.

Having received confirmation that the Chai family would indeed come, Rong Family's Eldest Lady did not stay long; after exchanging a few words, she prepared to leave this place.

Several Ladies walked ahead to see them off,

and with everyone moving about, there was a moment of chaos.

Rong Rong Feiyan walked at the very rear with two maidservants,

taking small steps as she whispered to Seeing Qingcao beside her:

"Seeing Qingcao, when you have time, please teach me how to tie a hair bun!"

Taking advantage of the maidservants talking, Rong Rong Feiyan raised her head and cast a quick, sidelong glance toward Seeing Qingcao's side,

catching sight of Xu Xu Zaijing holding Gu Gu Tingye by the neck with one hand,

while Gu Gu Tingye seemed to be begging for mercy, patting Xu Xu Zaijing's arm:

"Brother Jing, I was wro—ng!"

Watching Rong Family's Eldest Lady descend, Wu Da Da Niangzi happened to encounter the newly arrived Lady Chai, who was followed by Chai Chai Zhengzheng and several unmarried Misses of the Cheng family.

After her own mother and sister had exchanged greetings with Lady Chai,

Rong Rong Xian bowed deeply with hands clasped, saying, "Rong Rong Xian, Commander of the Divine Brave Army Camp, pays his respects to the Lady, and to the Chai family sisters and all the other sisters."

Chai Chai Zhengzheng led her female cousins in a curtsy; amidst the light laughter of the Cheng family Misses, they then followed Lady Chai.

Watching Lady Chai lead her party up to the second floor, Rong Rong Xian raised his eyebrows and said to Rong Rong Feiyan, "Sister, was your elder brother just now handsome and dashing or not?"

Rong Rong Feiyan forced a smile.

On the second floor,

Wu Da Da Niangzi once again took Chai Chai Zhengzheng's hand, glanced at the several Misses of the Cheng family, then looked at Sun Shi and said:

"These Misses are truly beautiful!"

Sun Shi likewise wore an amiable expression, nodding with a smile, yet in her heart she truly felt some regret; when she had pinched earlier, she had used too little force.

Beside them, Lady Chai withdrew her gaze from Xu Xu Zaijing and said with a laugh, "Sister Sun, I have just realized that there are relatives between us!"

Outside Jingcheng, while they were admiring chrysanthemums,

a courier, exhausted to the point of near death, delivered a letter into the hands of the Imperial Guards stationed outside the Donghua Gate.

Soon, after the letter was transcribed, it was presented before the Emperor.

Reading the contents of the letter, the Emperor asked:

"Where did this occur? Where?"

"Summon the Great Daxianggongs! Also summon the Eldest Young Master of the Gu family!"

Quickly, the high ministers who had been outside climbing heights to gaze afar and admire chrysanthemums were summoned into the Imperial Palace,

most without even having changed their clothes,

and when they walked into Daodadian,

a map two men tall showing the border between Northern Liao and Jin had already been hung up,

Gu Gu Tingyu was holding an imperial-bestowed bamboo pole, pointing at a certain spot and saying:

"Gao Changyong, a general of Northern Liao's Liaodong region, has raised troops to declare independence, proclaiming himself Emperor of Great Yuan and Great Bohai, claiming to occupy fifty prefectures of Liaodong; it is this light green area here."

"This month he submitted memorials to our Great Zhou and to the Jin State, proposing a joint resistance against Liao."

After hearing Gu Gu Tingyu's words, several civil officials of the court immediately showed joy on their faces,

while the noble veterans and seasoned generals of the court, such as General Bo and others, stepped forward to examine the map carefully,

The Duke of Britain looked even more astonished at the now-completed full map of the Jin State, saying:

"Your Majesty, when exactly was this map of the Jin State..."

The Emperor stroked his beard and said with a laugh, "Just last month."

The military officers continued studying the map; after a quarter of an hour, they exchanged glances, yet there was no joy on their faces,

"Your Majesty, this so-called false Emperor of Great Bohai may not survive for long..."

General Bo nodded and said, "What the Duke says is true; this terrain, tsk tsk, offers no defensible terrain!"

A civil official said, "Or perhaps let the Jin State..."

"In this old subject's view, it will be the Jin State that destroys this so-called Great Yuan State."

(End of Chapter)