Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 39
Chapter 39: The Marquis of Xuanwu Arrives
Yunchu personally led the Yun family inside to offer their birthday wishes.
Three members of the Yun family had come: Lady Lin, the wife of the Yun family; Liu Qianqian, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yun family; and Yun Ran, the second young miss of the Yun family.
"Wishing the elder birthday star mutual brilliance with the sun and moon, and eternal spring without growing old." Lady Lin instructed her attendants to present the congratulatory gift. "A meager token of our respect, to convey our heartfelt sentiments."
The birthday gift was a large-bellied vase as tall as a person, its surface covered in exquisite peony flowers inlaid with gold threads. It was exceptionally precious, worth at least five hundred taels of silver.
Yunchu felt a slight pang of heartache over the expense, but it was difficult for her to speak too candidly about such matters with her mother; saying too much would only cause her mother unnecessary worry and anxiety over her daily life.
Through this birthday gift, the surrounding noble ladies could see that the marital alliance between the Yun family and the Xie family would continue to be maintained.
With the Yun family acting as their backing, those ladies adopted a much more ingratiating and attentive attitude toward Old Madam Xie.
The female relatives accompanied the Old Madam in the parlor for conversation, while the men were hosted by Xie Jingyu, with Xie Zhongcheng and Xie Shian assisting as companions.
Before long, the hour for the banquet arrived, and the guests took their respective seats according to their status and official ranks.
Just at that moment, the guards at the entrance shouted in a loud voice, "The Marquis of Xuanwu has arrived!"
A look of astonishment surfaced on Old Madam Xie's face.
The Marquis of Xuanwu was a titled noble whom their Xie family had absolutely no way of coming into contact with. She had not sent an invitation card to the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate, so why would the young marquis come here?
Xie Jingyu's expression suddenly shifted, turning rather unsightly as he raised his head to look at the person walking in.
The Marquis of Xuanwu had inherited his ancestral title three years ago and was only a little over twenty years old this year. Dressed in silver robes and holding a paper fan, he cut a strikingly graceful and dashing figure.
"This junior has come to offer birthday wishes to the Old Madam." Qin Mingheng walked inside, closed his paper fan, and presented his congratulatory gift. "This is Snow-Skin Ointment, available only within the imperial palace. When applied by young women, it makes the skin as smooth as snow; when applied by the elderly, it removes wrinkles. This junior wishes the Old Madam boundless fortune on her birthday, growing younger with each passing year."
Hearing that it was an item from the palace, the Old Madam's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly stood up to say, "For the Marquis of Xuanwu to come personally to offer birthday wishes—this humble old woman is truly undeserving of such an honor."
"What is the Old Madam saying? Lord Xie and I are close friends; coming to offer birthday wishes is only right and proper." Qin Mingheng turned his gaze toward Xie Jingyu. "Why does Lord Xie look as though he's not very welcoming of my arrival?"
Clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles whitened, Xie Jingyu forced out, "The Marquis's arrival brings brilliant radiance to our Xie estate. Please take the seat of honor."
A marquis held a peerage ranking above the hundred officials, which meant Qin Mingheng's seat was placed above the Yun family, right next to the host family's table.
Between Yunchu and the young marquis, there was only Xie Jingyu and a pathway separating them.
Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt that ever since the young marquis stepped through the doors, his gaze seemed to drift toward her from time to time.
Yet whenever she looked back over, the young marquis was busy talking with someone else, making it seem as though she was merely overthinking things.
Just as she convinced herself she was imagining things, Qin Mingheng suddenly turned his gaze directly toward her. "I heard Madam Xie was gravely ill; I wonder if she is feeling better?"
Every guest who came to attend the banquet inquired after her health to some degree, so Yunchu did not find anything amiss and was about to open her mouth to reply.
However, Xie Jingyu spoke up a step ahead of her. "Many thanks for the Marquis's concern. My humble wife merely caught a mild cold and is not as severely afflicted as rumors outside claim; her health has already improved significantly."
As the host of the household, Xie Zhongcheng stood up and spoke, "We thank all my lords, ladies, noble daughters, and young masters for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my mother's birthday banquet. Today, we have prepared a humble meal and modest wine as a token of our sincerity. If there is any oversight in our hospitality, we beg everyone's magnanimous forgiveness. Now, let us raise our cups together in celebration!"
Everyone seated raised their cups simultaneously.
Yet the moment the wine touched their lips, the expressions of the guests shifted slightly. A birthday banquet was a major grand affair, and they couldn't fathom why the Xie family would prepare such mediocre, watery wine.
Still, guests follow the customs of their hosts; whatever the hosts prepared, they drank without raising explicit objections.
Only Qin Mingheng spoke aloud. "Tsk tsk, this is my first time drinking such watered-down, tasteless wine. Lord Xie, the wine in your household is just like you—far too bland."
Yunchu gripped her cup tightly as Xie Jingyu's lips pressed into a rigid, white line.
Qin Mingheng was clearly here to pick a bone, but due to the disparity in status and rank, Xie Jingyu had no way of throwing him out.
Yunchu sensed it too: this Marquis of Xuanwu seemed to be at odds with Xie Jingyu. Yet Xie Jingyu was merely a low-ranking fifth-grade official with no intersection whatsoever with the aristocratic nobility, so how on earth had he managed to offend the Marquis of Xuanwu?
However, this was not a matter within her sphere of concern. Sitting quietly in her seat with a faint, polite smile, she exchanged pleasantries with the noble ladies seated around her.
At that moment, the maidservants began serving the banquet courses one by one.
Each table received the identical array of dishes: four large platters, four hot dishes, four cold dishes, and four fruit and pastry platters, which appeared quite bountiful at a glance.
Yet Yunchu noticed that every dish was filled to only half a bowl. It was glaringly obvious that those lower down had skimped on ingredients to pocket the difference.
The men might not have noticed such trivial details, but the aristocratic wives present were all mistresses who managed their own households; how could they fail to spot the trickery? Exchanging glances, they found it utterly incomprehensible.
The Xie family was, after all, a household holding a fifth-grade official rank. Although they originated from humble commoner stock, having served as officials for so many years, they should have accumulated a decent foundation of wealth. How could they fail to even pull off a respectable birthday banquet?
Old Madam Xie was beginning to regret her choices.
She never should have handed over a major event like the birthday banquet to Xie Ping, an unmarried young maiden, to manage.
Look at the gazes of those noble ladies—they were filled with utter contempt and disdain, as if the Xie family was something completely unpresentable.
Xie Ping didn't even dare to look at the Old Madam. Bowing her head low, she cursed He Xu to the eighteenth level of hell in her heart yet again.
"My lords and ladies may not know this," Yunchu spoke up smoothly. "The southern provinces have suffered an unseasoned drought with no rain this spring, which will inevitably lead to a total crop failure this autumn, surely giving rise to numerous displaced refugees. The Xie family dared not indulge in extravagance and waste for this birthday banquet, because throwing a lavish banquet would only buy a shred of superficial face for the Xie family, whereas spending these same silver taels on disaster relief would undoubtedly save dozens of innocent lives. Face versus human lives—which of the two carries greater weight? I believe everyone here has their own scale of judgment in their hearts."
"Well spoken!" Qin Mingheng was the first to applaud and cheer. "For Madam Xie to harbor such thoughts of state concern and compassion for the common people, it truly puts the rest of us to shame!"
The Old Madam was genuinely impressed by this granddaughter-in-law of hers. Just as the birthday banquet was about to become the laughingstock of everyone present, these words effortlessly transformed the Xie family's shabbiness into an act of great virtue and merit.
Since even the Marquis of Xuanwu had openly applauded, who would dare utter another word claiming the Xie family's birthday banquet was unpresentable?
Sure enough, the disdain in the crowd's eyes faded significantly, replaced by smiling remarks about the Xie family accumulating great merit and the Old Madam being blessed with boundless longevity and fortune.
Picking up her chopsticks, the Old Madam smiled. "We've chattered for so long, everyone must be famished. Let us begin our meal."
Plucking a piece of the crispy fish, the Old Madam took a bite and couldn't help marveling inwardly. It truly lived up to its reputation as a private recipe of the Yun family; even dead fish could be prepared to such delicious perfection.
Just as she was marveling, an unharmonious sound broke out from the lower tables.
Qin Mingheng took a bite of a meatball, immediately spat it out, and loudly declared, "I always knew Lord Xie was a bureau director in the Ministry of Revenue, but I never knew the Xie estate was also running a salt-peddling business."
The gathered guests broke into an immediate uproar of murmurs and discussions.
"This dish is far too salty; it's completely inedible."
"How could it possibly be salted to this degree? Drinking two cups of tea doesn't wash the taste away—it's deliberately trying to salt someone to death."
"For the Xie family's cook to commit such a massive blunder, it shows that the management of the inner courtyards has gone awry. The mistress in charge is the legitimate eldest daughter of the Yun family, so how can she not even know how to manage a household?"
"It must be because Madam Xie has been ill lately. Look at that pale complexion; her illness probably hasn't fully healed, leaving her with no energy to oversee household affairs. When all is said and done, it's because the Xie family's eldest miss lacks household-managing talent and completely botched this birthday banquet."
"I heard she's a concubine-born daughter raised by a minor concubine, who merely usurped the title of legitimate eldest daughter. What could she possibly understand about managing a household?"
"Just moments ago, Madam Xie stepped in to smooth things over, but I wonder what kind of words she can invent to smooth over dishes this salty."