Chapter 1365 – The Ladies’ Tea Party (Part 8)
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve, and Jiang Pengji, as usual, held a New Year’s banquet to celebrate with the ministers.
Huang Song attended as a special guest. Although he couldn’t sit at the same table as Jiang Pengji, his seat was just next to hers.
“Can’t sit still?”
Huang Song didn’t bring his two legitimate sons to the New Year’s banquet; instead, he brought his daughter.
As soon as his daughter saw a few peers her age, she couldn’t sit still and wanted to leave her seat. However, without her father’s permission, she didn’t dare move.
Lady Qi found it awkward, “In such an occasion… if anything unfortunate were to happen…”
Playing around normally wasn’t a big deal, but this was Jiang Pengji’s New Year’s banquet; if something unexpected happened to the child, it wouldn’t be good.
Just as Huang Song was about to speak, Jiang Pengji interjected, “Is that Lord B Gao’s daughter?”
“Indeed, my little girl.”
“Let her come forward, I want to take a look.” A gentle smile appeared on Jiang Pengji’s face, “She looks quite adorable.”
Huang Song lightly brushed his daughter’s back and gave her a gentle push, encouraging her to approach Jiang Pengji.
The little girl was a bit shy and looked around with her chubby little face, but in the end, she timidly walked toward Jiang Pengji.
Once close, she awkwardly performed a greeting.
“Wishing Lord Lan Ting a Happy New Year.”
Her childish voice not only delighted Jiang Pengji but also knocked out the 850,000 idle viewers in the livestream.
“Happy New Year.” Jiang Pengji reached out and pulled her onto her lap, bouncing her gently, and asked, “Did you come with your father?”
The little girl nodded, “Uh-huh, Father is over there.”
Jiang Pengji smiled and gave her a red envelope filled with New Year blessings to hang at her waist.
“I saw you couldn’t sit still earlier; you want to play with your older brothers and sisters?”
The little girl nervously bit her lip, as if pondering how to answer, but eventually followed her heart and nodded earnestly.
“Then go ahead, come back when you’re hungry.”
Jiang Pengji smiled softly and instructed Changsheng and a few older children to play with the little girl.
Seeing this, Huang Song felt completely reassured.
The New Year’s banquet had a new program each year, and the food was becoming increasingly abundant; even someone as gluttonous as Yang Si couldn’t complain.
If one were to pay attention, they’d realize that this year, Yang Si wasn’t seated alone anymore!
On the side, Nong Qin was dressed in a brightly colored new outfit. Even with her cold expression, she appeared softer than usual.
As they ate, Yang Si noticed Nong Qin’s gaze directed his way.
“What’s wrong?”
With a cold face, Nong Qin stared at a plate of uneaten food, gently raising her chin.
Yang Si immediately moved the plate over to her.
Since they were served separately, while there were plenty of dishes on the table, each plate had a small amount, and she had already finished her portion.
“You seem to have a taste for spicy food lately?” Yang Si casually asked, “I remember you didn’t like it before.”
Nong Qin responded, “I’ve started to like it recently.”
Yang Si added, “If you really like it, I’ll have the maidservant bring another plate, but it’s both sour and spicy, and too much will affect your taste buds.”
He was someone who valued flavors; after tasting heavier dishes, he always drank a sip of clear soup to cleanse his palate.
Otherwise, the flavor of the previous dish would overwhelm the next one, making the meal less enjoyable.
Nong Qin nodded.
Noticing some commotion at their table, Jiang Pengji clicked her tongue softly and sent over a stack of goodies to Yang Si.
“Thank you, my lord, for the gift of food.”
Yang Si smiled, opened the gift, and the smile slowly faded from his face.
Red dates, peanuts, longan, lotus seeds.
The tray contained these four items instead of the delicious food he had been expecting.
What was the lord sending him this for?
Yang Si glanced at Jiang Pengji, who shot him a side-eye.
He wasn’t a fool; as his mind churned, he almost overturned the table in excitement.
At this New Year’s banquet, some were happily wanting to twirl in joy, while others were anxiously worried and fearful.
Who was favored by the lord could be seen just by whether they’d received a New Year’s invitation or not.
Those who didn’t receive an invitation were determined to work even harder the following year.
Those with invitations were naturally elated, looking forward to their future roles.
The most awkward situation was having received an invitation only to have it snatched back, which was a tremendous loss of face.
They secretly inquired and discovered that they weren’t the only ones facing this plight.
But—what exactly had they done wrong?
Why, out of the blue, were the New Year invitations retracted?
This was undoubtedly a sign of being discarded by the lord, leaving families feeling miserable, searching everywhere for clues to the truth.
In the household, there was none of the usual lively chatter, only a heavy and anxious atmosphere.
In a certain home in Chang’an Alley—
“You devious widow! Why are you crying? My son’s promising career will be washed away by your tears!”
The brightly dressed old woman glared fiercely, her eyebrows raising, directing a murderous gaze at her daughter-in-law, as if she wanted to execute her.
The daughter-in-law’s left cheek was swollen, the thick makeup couldn’t hide her disarray and fatigue.
Her hair was sparse, and her locks looked withered and yellow, making her appear ten years older than her actual age.
When the daughter-in-law was scolded by the old woman, her swollen eyes were frightened into silence; her heart, however, was filled with grievance and sorrow.
The old woman declared, “I told you your fate is to harm husbands and children, it’s detrimental to my son’s career. Look—hasn’t it come true? You’ve cursed our grandson to be deaf, and hindered my son’s career! Tomorrow, you need to step down on your own; if this continues, my son will be ruined by you! You bring misfortune!”
The old woman’s expression was fierce, and a glimmer of murderous intent flashed in her eyes.
If this daughter-in-law didn’t understand subtlety, she had no one to blame but herself.
As a mother, she couldn’t allow a widow known for harming husbands and children to continue occupying her son’s rightful wife’s position!
Once the old woman finished speaking, a delicate woman with a protruding belly gently patted the old woman’s hand, soothing her softly.
The woman was the old woman’s niece, also her preferred choice for a daughter-in-law.
She was favorable for her husband and children, and her fate was also excellent.
Ever since her son married her, everything in their careers went smoothly; it wasn’t long before the niece became pregnant.
Seeing this, the old woman was even more eager to pressure her daughter-in-law to step aside and make room for her niece.
The chaotic night quickly passed.
On the morning of the first day of the New Year, a piece of news blew apart the calm in Wanzhou.
Upon hearing the news, the old woman’s face turned pale, and she collapsed to her knees with a thud.
Even as a woman, she knew how serious “disregarding propriety and overstepping limits” could be.
Not only could it take down one person but could also crush three families.
“When did you commit such a huge mistake, capable of destroying the family—”
The old woman looked at her son in despair, but he was stunned into silence.
At that moment, the unfortunate daughter-in-law tried to help her up, and the old woman’s anger found its outlet.
She raised her palm like a paddle and smacked her daughter-in-law with all her might.
Crying out, “You disastrous widow! Where did you come from, causing harm when we have no enmity?!”
If it were any other time, the son would have acted like he didn’t see anything.
He didn’t like his wife either; she was old, ugly, and didn’t know how to be pleasing.
But now, his frustration boiled over, and he raised his hand to stop his mother’s violence.
With great embarrassment, he blurted, “Disregarding propriety is because you’re favoring a concubine over a wife, and overstepping limits is because of taking in concubines!”
Though their family did enjoy some wealth, they weren’t entitled to have five or six concubines.
The old woman once disliked the daughter-in-law, fearing that she would win her son’s heart, so she bought several pretty women to serve him.
The result—
She had truly shot herself in the foot.
Who knew taking in concubines could be illegal?!
