“So that’s how it is…” Qing Wen suddenly understood, “Then why can Mei Ren do it, but not me?”
“Because you made a fuss.”
Seeing that she still didn't understand, Li Xuan explained:
“The Old Lady is someone who seeks only high pleasure.”
“It’s just a leftover cup of ginseng tea. It’s something the Old Lady doesn’t want anyway. If you didn’t make a fuss, wouldn’t it be the same for the Old Lady if Mei Ren didn’t say anything and just poured it away or drank it?”
“The Old Lady saw your nature – how you can’t stand any sand in your eyes, how you always want to be the best and argue every point – that’s why she doesn’t dare put you by Master Bao’s side.”
“Otherwise, if you make a fuss every few days, how can the Old Lady relax and enjoy herself?”
“This…”
Qing Wen was stunned.
Although it sounded unbelievable, upon closer thought, wasn’t it true?
She had actually ruined her own future!
But looking at the carefree Fourth Master sitting in front of her…
It seemed…not so bad after all?
While the three were chatting casually and spreading gossip about the mansion, a little maid from the Old Lady’s side came to deliver a message.
She said the Old Lady had prepared a feast in her room and invited Li Xuan over to enjoy himself.
Li Xuan looked at Xiang Ling and Qing Wen.
As an introverted homebody, Xiang Ling immediately shook her head vigorously.
Go out and meet people?
No way, absolutely not!
Taking a deep breath in exasperation, Li Xuan left Xiang Ling and the two maids to guard the room, and took Qing Wen to the feast.
Since it was getting late, Li Xuan couldn’t go directly through the inner courtyard.
So he took the side paths.
These were the small paths that ran between the individual courtyards and the outer wall of the Rongguo Mansion.
Along the way, Qing Wen pointed out the residents of each courtyard and introduced the situation in the mansion.
This gave Li Xuan a holistic understanding of the Jia Mansion.
The Big Sister rarely mentioned the Jia Mansion in her letters, and he hadn't cultivated any influence.
His previous understanding of the Jia Mansion was entirely from fragmented information from his past life.
But who among normal, average university students reads the original Red Chamber Dream novels and TV series for fun?
It’s enough to look at the fan fiction on the stove.
So, Qing Wen enriched Li Xuan's understanding.
The two passed by the residences of Lady Wang, Zhao Yi Niang, and Zhou Yi Niang, walked through the Dream Slope Studio of Jia Zheng, crossed the corridors and inner ceremonial gate, then another corridor, before finally reaching the Old Lady’s courtyard.
As they walked in, a maid finally came out to greet them.
“Fourth Master Xuan, the feast is set up in two tables, please this way!”
Boys and girls of seven years old don’t share the same table.
Sometimes the Jia Mansion didn’t care about such things, and sometimes they did.
I guess it depends on the specific situation.
Li Xuan took off his overcoat and handed it to Qing Wen, then calmly walked into the hall.
As soon as he entered, a handsome young man walked towards him.
He was born with thick brows and big eyes, his face like the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival, his nose like a hanging gourd, his eyes like crystal, his demeanor elegant and refined, his skin white and smooth, his peach blossom eyes had the ethereal aura of a celestial being.
Li Xuan thought: Hmm, he’s about half as good-looking as me.
The young man laughed before even speaking: “Haha, Brother Xuan, nice to meet you. I’m Jia Lian, the eldest son of the first branch of the Rongguo Mansion.”
“Everyone says I’m handsome, but I didn’t expect Brother Xuan to be three points better than me, I feel ashamed, truly ashamed!”
“Come, let me introduce you to a few people.”
Jia Lian, the only decent direct descendant of the Jia family?
No, I have to be careful. I heard this guy is a bisexual!
Thinking this, Li Xuan clasped his fist in greeting: “Thank you, Second Brother Lian.”
“No problem, no problem, this is my father, the Great Master of the mansion.”
Li Xuan bowed: “I have met the Great Master.”
Jia Zhen nodded, his expression a bit nervous.
Actually, Li Xuan wanted to call him “Uncle”, but calling him “Great Master” always felt like he was addressing a servant of the mansion.
But calling him “Uncle” felt too close.
Besides, this guy seemed to be indiscriminate in his tastes, too.
“This is the Second Master, you should have met him already.”
Li Xuan bowed: “Student has met Master Cun Zhou.”
Jia Zheng, of course, he had met him.
The military salute was appropriate for Jia She, but it was better for him to use the scholar’s greeting for Jia Zheng.
Jia Zheng nodded with a stern face.
What a shame, such a young scholar will be taking up a military position in the future.
“This is Zhen, the eldest brother of the Eastern Mansion.”
Li Xuan: “I have met Brother Zhen!”
Jia Zhen smiled and said to Li Xuan:
“Good, good, good, indeed a good one!”
“Brother Xuan, you look like a capable person, let’s get closer in the future!”
“Brother Zhen, you’re too kind.”
How come I remember this guy is also a bisexual?
“This is Rong Ge’er, this is Qiang Ge’er, there are no outsiders here.”
These two…also seem to be…
Damn…
Looking at it this way, the Rongning Two Mansions are even more terrifying than the Pansi Cave!
The only other direct descendants left are that phoenix egg, Baoyu.
But needless to say, he’s definitely at the table with the girls next door.
“Brother Xuan, please sit, just like you’re at your own home, no need for the coat.”
Jia Lian smiled and led Li Xuan to sit down.
Everyone was present now.
Jia She waved his hand, and the maids, like butterflies carrying messages, came up one after another, carrying plate after plate of dishes.
First came the viewing dishes: Peacock Opening Screen, Fan Dance Butterfly Flight, Lotus Pond Fun.
Then came the four dry fruits: chestnuts, white melon seeds, green fruits, peanuts.
Then came the four seasonings: radish, sesame oil and sour cabbage, pepper oil noodles and sauce, and peculiar flavor eggplant cups.
Then came the cold dishes: Red Robe Prawns, Buddha’s Hand Slices, Crisp Fried Eel, Rouge Goose Breast, Dragon Crossing Phoenix Wings, Wine-Soaked Duck Letter, Double-String Duck Egg, Jade Feather Robe.
Then came the main courses: Dragon Robe Shark Fin, White Snow Red Plum, Old Clam Holding Pearl, Raw Roasted Deer Meat, Phoenix Feather String Pearls, Watermelon Bowl Drunken Duck, Flower Basket Mandarin Fish, Bright Pearl Swallow’s Nest.
After that, there were also six types of fine snacks, four kinds of fragrant tea, and four types of seasonal fruit cups.
It truly embodied the saying: “Waste is shameful, but enjoyment is not”.
And with maids serving them, even though the table wasn’t a rotating one like in modern restaurants, all they had to do was give a glance, and the maids would use public chopsticks to take the dishes from afar.
Including the drinks, this table would cost at least twenty or thirty taels.
But even so, Jia She said that the preparation was insufficient and that he had neglected his relatives.
So, it makes sense that the Rongning Two Mansions fell so quickly.
During the feast, they talked about the grandeur of the Imperial Capital for a while, and the scenery of Jinling for a while. With Jia Lian, the social butterfly, there was no awkward silence.
In fact, the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, Jia Zheng was the first to become restless: “I need to be on duty tomorrow, Big Brother, please continue enjoying yourself. I will go back to rest now.”
He considered himself a scholar who loved elegant conversations.
He couldn’t find anything to talk about with this table of non-scholars.
As for Li Xuan, the scholar, he had already been dismissed from the ranks of scholars when he said he would inherit a military position.
He completely failed to realize that he was also a member of the Jia family’s group of good-for-nothings.
Everyone got up to see him off, and after they sat back down, Jia She sneered:
“A mere decorative official, yet he pretends to be so dignified with his own family?”
“Hmph, we don’t care about him, let’s continue enjoying ourselves!”
Everyone raised their cups in agreement.
They drank for a while longer, and Jia Zhen, perhaps a bit drunk, remembered the setback he had in the afternoon, slammed his wine cup heavily on the table, and cursed: “Jia Hu, that poor thing!”
“Rong’er asked him to do something, and he begged and pleaded, even offered a hefty sum, but that shameless thing actually dared to refuse.”
“He is a lowly servant!”