Chapter 60: The Marriage Discussion for the Concubine-Born Sister
Guests arrived one after another.
Both the front and rear courtyards gradually grew lively.
Before long, the carriage from Marquis Xuanwu's residence arrived, and Xie Jingyu's expression immediately darkened slightly.
But as a mere fifth-rank official, no matter how much he despised the Qin family, he had to greet them with a smile: "Marquis, Marchioness, Young Son, your esteemed presence brings great honor to our Xie residence. Please come in."
Qin Mingheng attended the banquet with his wife Luo Shi and their legitimate eldest son. The Young Son of the Marquis residence appeared to be about six years old, with a very fair complexion.
"I remember before I was married, I attended the Young Son's full-month celebration with my mother," Yun Chu said smilingly to Marchioness Luo Shi. "In the blink of an eye, the Young Son has already grown so big."
Luo Shi wore a gentle smile: "Back then, I also attended Lady Xie's wedding banquet at the Yun residence with the Marquis."
Through this conversation, the two women inexplicably grew closer.
Due to the other party's high status, Yun Chu personally escorted them to the rear courtyard, where the many ladies present quickly stood up to bow and pay respects.
Luo Shi had a kind temperament and didn't put on airs, quickly blending into the gathering.
Yun Chu returned to the entrance to welcome more guests.
Around the appropriate time, the Yun family arrived. Being relatives by marriage, except for the elderly general and the general guarding the front lines, all other family members came.
Lady Yun Lin Shi, the Yun family's eldest young master Yun Ze, his wife Liu Qianqian, along with their legitimate eldest son and eldest daughter, plus three of Yun Chu's concubine-born younger siblings—the entire large family came, giving the Xie family ample face.
Yun Chu brought her own family inside, deliberately seating Lin Shi next to Dai Furen. The two ladies soon engaged in pleasant conversation.
Official Dai was a fifth-rank civil official. His legitimate second son was nineteen this year and had passed the imperial examination to become a Cultivated Talent two years ago. While naturally not comparable to Xie Shi'an, for most people this was already quite impressive.
Unlike the sons of noble families in the capital who either inherited titles and family businesses or directly participated in the highest imperial examinations—where no one knew their true capabilities until they took the tests—those from less prominent backgrounds were different. Becoming a Cultivated Talent proved one could make a living as a scholar and demonstrated diligence and studiousness, making him far better than typical idle noble youths.
Lin Shi felt quite satisfied with the Second Young Master Dai and found Dai Furen pleasant to deal with as a future in-law. Dai Furen was completely satisfied with the Yun family's young lady. Neither side could find any faults, so the marriage was more than halfway settled.
Yun Chu walked over and said: "Sister Ran, come with me to fetch some fruit wine for the ladies to taste."
Yun Ran stood up and obediently followed behind Yun Chu.
She followed Yun Chu to the moon gate, where the outer and inner courtyards met, where there was a long corridor.
In the distance, they could see Xie Shi'an speaking with some young masters.
Yun Chu said softly: "The one wearing the blue robe, relatively taller, is the Second Young Master Dai. What do you think?"
Yun Ran glanced up briefly before quickly lowering her gaze, her ears immediately turning bright red to the roots. She gave an almost imperceptible slight nod.
Yun Chu couldn't help recalling how her mother had once brought her to secretly peek at Xie Jingyu from behind a screen.
Back then, Xie Jingyu had been such an elegant young gentleman. With just one glance, she immediately nodded, expressing her willingness to marry, and thus became a daughter-in-law of the Xie family.Having endured hardships herself, she was determined to protect her younger sister from suffering the same fate.
The Dai family was the best she had selected from hundreds of households. Once Yun Ran married into it, she should be worry-free for life.
After Yun Ran expressed her satisfaction, the next step was for Yun Chu to bring Yun Ran to pass by that area, allowing the Second Young Master of the Dai family to catch a glimpse of her. Only then would the matter be fully settled.
Along the way, Yun Ran’s face flushed crimson, like a ripe red persimmon.
Yun Chu went to the front courtyard to welcome the last wave of guests. By then, it was already noon, and the banquet officially began.
The men were in the front courtyard, but some younger boys, whether seven or eight years old and not yet sensible, all stayed in the rear courtyard.
Some ladies of slightly higher status sat at the main table, accompanied personally by Yun Chu and Xie Laotaitai.
Among those ladies, some had attended Xie Laotaitai’s birthday celebration before and had been somewhat worried about a repeat of any mishaps. It was only when the banquet was halfway through that they finally relaxed completely. This banquet was indeed well-organized, even surpassing those held in their own households.
After several rounds of drinks, Madame Luo, the wife of the Marquis, couldn’t help but remark, “Lord Xie is a Number One Scholar, and it seems Young Master Xie will also achieve the title of Number One Scholar. While the Xie family’s feng shui is undoubtedly excellent, what truly matters is how well the Xie family raises its children. Could Madam Xie share how the Xie family usually disciplines the children?”
Yun Chu hurriedly replied, “Madame, you flatter me. They say children aged five or six are even disliked by dogs, but I see the Young Son is well-behaved and sensible. It’s clear that you have raised him excellently.”
“Him? He’s nothing but a little troublemaker,” Luo Shi shook her head. “Everyone in the household is afraid of him. If a bird flies by, he’d pluck two feathers from it. Isn’t that outrageous? I’m afraid he’ll soon earn a reputation as one of the most notorious rascals in the capital!”
“Mother!” The Young Son of the Marquis’ household was nearby. Hearing his mother speak of him like this in front of others, he looked displeased.
“Children are sensitive about their pride,” Old Madam said with a smile. “Wei Ge’er, you’re about the same age as the Young Son. Why don’t you take him to play elsewhere?”
Xie Shiwei curled his lip. This Young Son looked to be only six years old—just a little brat. He hated playing with children who were always sniffling and runny-nosed.
He was about to refuse instinctively when he felt Old Madam’s cold glare.
Old Madam wished she could grab him by the ear and remind him that this was the Young Son of Marquis Xuanwu’s household. Befriending him would bring nothing but benefits, no downsides!
Although Xie Shiwei didn’t fully understand these subtleties, he knew that if he refused, Old Madam would surely scold him after the banquet. And if his father got angry too, he’d be in for a world of pain.
He quickly stepped forward and said, “Young Son, let me take you to the rear courtyard. There are plenty of interesting places to explore.”
The Young Son of the Marquis’ household had long grown impatient with the ladies’ chatter and was eager to change the scenery. He immediately followed Xie Shiwei to the rear courtyard.
Yun Chu turned and instructed, “Jiu’er, stay close to the Second Young Master and the Young Son. Be careful not to let them trip or bump into anything.”
Jiu’er lowered her head and hurried after them.
While the women in the rear courtyard chatted, the banquet in the front courtyard was also nearing its end.
The front courtyard was filled with men—court officials and some young boys. Xie Shi’an took the boys of similar age to the garden to play pitch-pot, while Xie Jingyu arranged tea-tasting and poetry competitions for the scholars.After two rounds of games, Yuan Daren stood up: "All these poems about romance and scenery are far too common. I've heard that Lord Xie has planted a grove of date trees in his residence. Date trees carry excellent symbolism—why don't we go to the Date Garden and compose poems with dates as the theme?"
Every scholar present knew that the symbolism of date trees was "early birth of a noble son"—Yuan Daren was clearly mocking the Xie family for lacking a true legitimate eldest son.
As colleagues and friends of Xie Jingyu, they naturally refrained from voicing agreement at this moment.
Just then, Qin Mingheng laughed heartily: "I've heard this Date Garden was planted by Lady Xie herself—a rare departure from following trends for elegance. Let's go take a look."
With the highest-ranking person present having spoken, the others naturally followed along.
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