Chapter 264: Still Charming [Deep thanks to everyone for your support! Bowing again!]

(Music recommendation for this banquet: Liu Qingyao's "Tang Palace Night Banquet")

The Si hour has passed (after 10:00 AM).

The young men from each family had mostly arrived.

The *boxiagong* pots in the various restaurants and main shops in Bianjing City had all been brought to a boil.

Various fragrances mixed with the smoky air of charcoal fire

blended into a unique, non-conflicting fragrance in the hall.

Smelling this scent, those who had specifically left room in their stomachs began to have their stomachs growl.

Everyone sat at separate tables.

Gu Tingye sat behind the table in the very center this time.

Looking at the familiar noble scions of Bianjing sitting in a circle, he raised the wine cup in his hand and said:

"The first cup of wine, a toast to everyone; we have our own Warm Stove Gathering."

Xu Zaijing drank a shallow sip of fruit wine, while Qi Heng on the side had already downed his in one gulp.

"The second cup of wine, a toast to Jing Ge'er; the style of this gathering was suggested by Jing Ge'er, and I think it's very good!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zheng Xiao, Liang Han, Qiao Jiu, the Zhang family sons, and others on the side cheered one after another.

"Many thanks, Jing Ge'er!"

"It should have been like this long ago!"

"Yo-ho, no one is chattering in our ears."

"Jing Ge'er, do you want to say a few words?"

Hearing Gu Tingye's words, Xu Zaijing raised his cup and said:

"Today is our Warm Stove Gathering; eating good food is the priority, so don't drink too much!"

Gu Tingye nodded upon hearing this, exchanged a look with Liang Han, and said:

"Jing Ge'er is right, the best is yet to come! Drink!"

Liang Han and Qiao Jiu exchanged a look and chuckled.

Xu Zaijing listened to the praise around him, shook his head with a smile, and after clinking cups with Liang Han and Qi Heng who had crowded to his side, he still drank a shallow sip.

Soon,

sliced rabbit meat, mutton, etc., in the side room, and the heated dishes brought by everyone were served to the tables one after another.

Xu Zaijing tasted the different *boxiagong* pots on the table and ultimately chose the Pan Lou pot.

Dipping in the seasoning and eating the delicious meat slices, it was truly a kind of enjoyment.

After drinking three more cups of wine,

the servant Diaoche walked to Liang Han's side and said:

"Young Master, everyone has arrived."

Liang Han said happily:

"Then please invite them in!"

Hearing this sentence, Qiao Jiulang on the side and Gu Tingye in the main seat looked straight toward the door.

Xu Zaijing was also a bit puzzled, but looking at the leading Mama who looked somewhat familiar, as well as the young ladies in their prime who entered, he knew who it was.

Mama Ruan looked at the young men from each family in the room and squatted in a bow:

"This slave greets the young masters."

The young ladies behind Mama Ruan also bowed one after another. Some had large, watery eyes like young deer above their veils, looking at the noble young masters they were familiar or unfamiliar with.

It was truly endearing.

It was fine looking at other noble young masters, but when the young ladies saw Hua Xiang, who had walked to Xu Zaijing's side and served a plate of roasted meat,

some young ladies lowered their eyes in self-abasement,

some young ladies scanned Hua Xiang, seemingly wanting to compare themselves with her,

some young ladies had eyes full of disgust,

in short, they were all different.

During the time of greetings, six or seven musicians holding different musical instruments lowered their heads and bowed as they walked to the side behind the screen and took their seats.

Liang Han on the side said with a smile:

"Mama Ruan, it's been a long time; your daughters have increased again."

"Six Lang is right; these delicate young ladies are new here, and I hope for the young masters' patronage in the future."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

"Then, which one would the young masters like to see perform first?"

Gu Tingye's throat moved and he said:

"Mama Ruan, please arrange it."

Seeing that no one else was speaking around, Mama Ruan gave a gentle bow and said:

"Then this slave will take the liberty!"

"This Fang Niang, you all know; her *pipa* is peerless! Previously, she performed on the same stage with Yang Xingshou..."

"Her!"

Wei Fangzhi, wearing a veil, bowed slightly to Qingcao who had brought her an embroidered stool, and also bowed to the young masters present.

Only then did she sit down. Looking at the smiles on everyone's faces, Wei Fangzhi said to the screen on the side: "Tang Banquet Music."

A soft response came from behind the screen.

Amidst the music of the *guzheng*, bamboo flute, and *sheng*, the edge of the drum sounded.

Fang Niang, that is, Wei Fangzhi, played the *pipa* comfortably along with the music, her movements expressive.

When not playing the *pipa*, she wasn't motionless either; instead, her arms would rhythmically sway with the drum beats, accompanied by various movements matched with her eyes.

Whether it was seductive or not was another matter, but it was truly beautiful.

On the other side, Changfeng and Qiao Jiu had been staring at Watching Yunniang.

After seeing Qiao Jiu, Watching Yunniang's eyes were also fixed on Qiao Jiu during the few steps she followed Mama Ruan to the side room.

Before entering the room, she even gave Qiao Jiu a backward glance, which made Qiao Jiu ache with longing.

Xu Zaijing tapped his fingers to the drum beat. Looking at Watching Yunniang's performance since entering the door, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Truly full marks for "idol virtue"!

Meeting someone like Qiao Jiu who liked her so much, she really remembered it, and was even more willing to interact, regardless of whether it was acting or not.

After she was out of sight, Qiao Jiu nodded in approval at Changfeng, and then looked at Gu Tingye. Gu Tingye had also just withdrawn his gaze,

exhaled with great emotion, and gave a thumbs up.

Qi Heng, who was beside Xu Zaijing, had drunk these few cups of wine and asked with a slightly flushed face:

"Jing Ge, where did this Six Lang find such a beautiful..."

Xu Zaijing smiled: "It's better if you don't know, lest the Princess..."

Qi Heng was stunned and nodded.

After Fang Niang finished her performance, applause rang out in the hall.

Zheng Xiao, sitting on the side, raised his wine cup and said:

"Beauties, delicious food, beautiful music; this is worth a big drink!"

Xu Zaijing raised his wine cup and drank the wine in the cup dry for the first time.

Wei Fangzhi, who had finished playing the *pipa*, saw that no one had come out of the side room door, so she continued to play a soothing tune,

but her eyes occasionally looked at Yun Xiang who was walking out. The Yun Xiang sisters were dressed the same today, but the direction of the jade hairpins on their hair buns was indeed different.

In Wei Fangzhi's field of vision, this maid changed the direction of her hairpin every time she entered or exited the hall, which really caught her attention.

It wasn't until the sisters appeared at the same time that she knew they were twins.

Xu Zaijing's wine cup was filled by Hua Xiang.

Liang Han on the side asked Qiao Jiu:

"Why isn't the girl who plays the flute here?"

"Yu Niang? She caught a serious illness and didn't pull through; she has passed away."

Liang Han was stunned.

Before he could feel any emotion,

the gracefully-bodied Watching Yunniang walked out barefoot.

It's not for nothing that Watching Yunniang has "idol virtue."

Her cloud-like hair bun wasn't high, dotted with silver ornaments and cyan hair ribbons.

She still wore a white veil on her face.

On her fair, tender arms, she wore armlets and yellow and red light gauze *xiapei* (stole).

On her upper body, she only wore a green bodice, and under the bodice was a pleated skirt in blue, cyan, and white.

Her entire outfit was very eye-catching.

Wei Fangzhi on the side also very tacitly accelerated the rhythm of the music.

This Watching Yunniang soon became the focus of the field.

When she spun in place, the pleated skirt danced lightly. Liang Han on the side sighed in disappointment because Watching Yunniang was still wearing silk trousers under the skirt.

After the dance was finished, Watching Yunniang took something from Mama Ruan's hand and walked to the side of the crowd with elegant dance steps.

The first one was Qiao Jiu. Xu Zaijing looked and saw it was an exquisite flower note.

When she came to Xu Zaijing, Watching Yunniang raised her eyebrows and glanced at Hua Xiang, then placed the flower note between Xu Zaijing's fingers, and even touched Xu Zaijing's fingertip.

Hua Xiang, who saw this, rolled her eyes directly and cursed "vixen" in a low voice.

Xu Zaijing looked at the flower note in his hand. What's interesting is that this flower note could be worth a hundred strings of cash when Watching Yunniang first took the stage and you spent money to see her take off her veil for the first time in the guest room.

Xu Zaijing smiled and gave the flower note in his hand to Liang Han beside him.

"Jing Ge'er, good brother!"

Wei Fangzhi, who was performing over there, saw Xu Zaijing's movements clearly, so she knew that Xu Zaijing probably didn't have much interest in Watching Yunniang.

The Wu hour (noon).

When Rong Xian came here after his shift, Watching Yunniang had already changed into plain white clothes and was singing a *cipai* (tune) in a melodious voice.

Pushing Liang Han to Qiao Jiu's table, which was closer to the girls, Rong Xian ate the meat slices that had been boiled for a long time in large mouthfuls.

"Hiss! Fragrant!"

"Jing Ge'er, come, have a drink."

Xu Zaijing picked up the dishes on the table unhurriedly and clinked cups with Rong Xian.

Subsequently, Watching Yunniang finished singing and returned to the side room. Rong Xian chased her back with his eyes for a few glances, then was stunned.

When Wei Fangzhi was playing and singing, Xu Zaijing stood up and left the hall to change clothes.

Putting on his outer robe, as soon as he stepped out of the room, the temperature outside dropped a lot.

Zhang Fangling, the Fourth Young Master who followed Xu Zaijing out, shivered.

"The only bad thing about this is that the place to change clothes is outside the room. If we were at Pan Lou, we wouldn't even need to wear clothes."

"Fourth Brother is right."

Listening to the laughter and music coming from the room, Xu Zaijing sighed.

"What's wrong, Jing Ge'er? Do you have any thoughts?"

Xu Zaijing and Zhang Fangling were walking side by side in the corridor.

After inhaling a breath of cold air, he said:

"There's a reason why this Northern Liao Kingdom is being pressed to the ground and beaten by the Jin Kingdom."

Zhang Fangling frowned slightly: "Hmm?"

After being puzzled, he quickly reacted and said:

"That's right! With such a comfortable nest to stay in, who would be willing to go to the north to starve, freeze, and risk their heads."

Xu Zaijing didn't know what he thought of.

He exhaled with great emotion and said: "Our fathers and brothers are all there!"

Zhang Fangling sighed: "That's right."

Xu Zaijing smiled and said: "In the future, it will be us."

Hearing this, Zhang Fangling scanned Xu Zaijing up and down,

a smile appeared on his face, and he didn't say anything, just patted Xu Zaijing's shoulder forcefully.

The two's servants followed behind them. After hearing Xu Zaijing's words, Zhang Fangling's servant looked at Qingyun,

but there was no expression on Qingyun's face.

After returning from changing clothes, Xu Zaijing and Zhang Fangling didn't mention the previous topic and continued to eat and drink in the hall.

Mama Ruan didn't stay long with the girls. After the Wei hour had passed (after 3:00 PM),

she bid farewell to everyone.

With the status of these scions, they naturally didn't need to see them off, not to mention that they had already given silver coins.

But Liang Han and Qiao Jiu liked to see them off.

At the gate of the Bai residence,

Qiao Jiu looked at Liang Han, Gu Tingye, Rong Xian, and the others who were still watching them off and said proudly:

"Ye Ge'er, Xian Ge'er, Watching Yunniang will be the top courtesan in the future; there's nothing to say about that, right?"

Gu Tingye clicked his tongue and nodded: "She is beautiful!"

Liang Han gave a thumbs up to show agreement, then patted Rong Xian and said:

"Xian Ge'er? Stop looking! Watching Yunniang's carriage has already gone far away."

Rong Xian frowned and looked at Liang Han, saying:

"What Watching Yunniang?"

Qiao Jiu on the side was stunned, and said in a tone of disbelief: "Xian Ge'er! You weren't looking at Watching Yunniang, could it be Fang Niang who plays the *pipa*?"

Rong Xian shook his head and said: "I think Mama Ruan is still quite charming."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 265 =====