tallest building

Chapter 2 Flower Appreciation Banquet

In the second month of the tenth year of Chunjia (1182).

The second branch of the Ruyang Earl's Mansion held a grand flower-viewing banquet.

In the back garden, there is a bicolor peony that is over four hundred years old. It had not bloomed for several years, but this spring it suddenly bloomed with over a hundred flowers.

People say this is a very auspicious sign and should be celebrated properly.

Now that Consort Song is in charge of the household affairs, she has set a date early and invited many relatives and friends to come and enjoy the flowers.

The weather was fine that day, and people were waiting in front of the mansion early in the morning. Guests arrived one after another, and gradually the mansion was filled with carriages and horses.

Just then, a horse-drawn carriage with a straw mat canopy slowly approached.

The horse was old, thin and bony, with mottled fur.

The car was a dilapidated vehicle, its paint faded and its shafts rotten, on the verge of falling apart.

The driver was an old woman with a fierce face; she was stout, dark-skinned, ugly, and both rustic and strange.

But the carriage stopped abruptly in front of the door.

"This isn't a parking spot, get out of the way!" the servants at the gate immediately urged, "Don't get in our way!"

The old woman rolled her triangular eyes, snorted cold air, and straightened her neck as she cursed, "You watchdog, barking like that! You stupid bastard who deserves to be slapped! Why are there so many cars parked here if this isn't a parking area?"

Enraged by the insult, the servant stepped forward, shouting, "You're asking for it! A beggar like you dares to cause trouble in front of an official's house? I'll beat you to death!"

Several other servants followed behind him, quickly surrounding the carriage.

The old woman remained completely unfazed, still arrogantly saying, "What? Are you going to make a move?"

"Country folk don't know manners, why bother arguing with her? Tell her to leave quickly! So as not to disturb the guests." The steward came out from inside, clearly not wanting to stoop to the level of the old woman.

The old woman, however, was unconvinced and said with her nose in the air, "It's true that I'm a country bumpkin, but my master is not."

"Alright, alright, I admit I was wrong. Please forgive me. Please send the car away!" the butler said with a smile.

The carriage of the Marquis of Changrong's mansion has already appeared at the entrance of the alley. We can't let such a stupid woman embarrass our family.

"Go?" the old woman immediately shouted in a strange voice, "Where are you going?!"

"We don't care where you go, but you can't stop here and block the way," the butler said patiently, trying to calm himself down. "Please move your car a little, I'm begging you."

“We’re not going anywhere else,” the old woman suddenly said with a smile, which made people feel even stranger. “We’re going to enter this mansion. You’re quite sensible for opening the gate so early.”

At this point, the steward could no longer tolerate it and said sternly, "Our household has never invited a guest like you. Stop making trouble. Otherwise, we'll take you to the authorities and you'll be in deep trouble!"

“Steward Chen, we are not guests,” the old woman said, stepping down from the carriage shaft and pointing to the carriage. “The lady and young master of this mansion are sitting inside, your rightful masters. Are you going to stop us from going in?”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

They hadn't mentioned those two people for many years.

As the old woman lifted the curtain slightly, a young woman and a boy of seven or eight years old were seen sitting inside.

The steward paused for a moment before saying, "Madam... Madam has been living in seclusion in her hometown for many years now, and we've never heard of her returning to the capital..."

"It's true that Madam is in seclusion, but she's not being exiled. Does that mean she's not allowed to return to the capital?" the old woman demanded, pulling back the carriage curtain. "Do I need to discuss this with you?"

"This... is too sudden..." The butler didn't know how to explain further, so he could only say vaguely, "Please allow me to go in and inform them."

"Who should we report to?" the old woman sneered. "The second master is definitely not home today. Just tell Aunt Song to come out and greet him."

At this moment, the carriage of the Marquis of Changrong arrived, carrying his wife, eldest mistress, and fourth young lady.

The steward hurried forward and eagerly helped the three of them down from the carriage. The old woman, however, couldn't wait and urged, "Steward, don't forget to tell Aunt Song to arrange the seats properly. Madam has been away from the capital for seven years, so this is a good opportunity for her to catch up with all her relatives and friends."

The steward had no choice but to welcome the three guests into the mansion while giving vague replies.

Aunt Song was dressed very festively today, and her smiling face radiated warmth.

Although she was a concubine, she was literate and well-educated. More importantly, she had a son to rely on and was deeply favored by her master. In addition, she was beautiful, clever, knew etiquette, and was good at flattery.

Therefore, the Second Master Gong Xu entrusted all the affairs of the inner quarters to her, and even instructed the servants to call her "Little Madam" instead of "concubine" to show respect.

The Song family is also very capable; they have managed the household affairs very well over the years without any mishaps.

Noticing the butler's strange expression, she made an excuse to leave the crowd and go to a secluded spot.

“Young Madam,” the butler followed and said in a low voice, “the man from our hometown has suddenly returned.”

"Who?" Madam Song's brow twitched, and the smile on her face vanished instantly. "You mean Wen Mingqian?"

The butler nodded: "Indeed, we brought the fourth young master back as well."

Mrs. Song was stunned for a moment, as the matter was too sudden.

Her trusted confidante, Granny Yang, retorted sharply, "She still has the nerve to come back?!"

"There's a blockage in front of the door right now, with lots of people coming and going, which isn't good," the housekeeper said.

“Let them come in through the back door! There are so many guests today, it looks bad,” said Mrs. Song. “Who gave her permission to come back on her own?”

"Young Madam, I'm afraid this won't work," the butler said, observing Madam Song's expression. "Not only are they refusing to use the back door, they're also demanding that you go out to greet them!"

"Has she lost her mind?!" Granny Yang's eyes widened. "She killed the young mistress's own son, ran back on her own initiative, and now she actually wants to act like a master?!"

Back then, the Gong family only told the outside world that the second wife, Madam Wen, was determined to live a life of seclusion and not be involved in worldly affairs, which is why she refused to live in the capital and returned to her hometown.

The truth is that she poisoned her illegitimate son, but didn't want to expose the family scandal, so she did it this way.

Once this matter is made public, not only will the careers of the Gong brothers be doomed, but even the marriages of their descendants will be greatly affected.

Left with no other choice, this compromise was adopted: Wen was sent back to her hometown of Shuangxi to reflect on her actions. Although she was not divorced, she was no longer allowed to stay in the mansion.

Those in the know believed that Wen Mingqian, who came from a respectable family, should atone for his disgraceful act with his death.

Even if he doesn't die, he will surely have no face to return to the capital.

Among them, the Song family hated Wen Mingqian the most, thinking that she would spend her whole life in her hometown, staying with her son and studying books until she died.

Who would have thought that after only seven years, it would return like a ghost.

"It's no wonder the young mistress is upset; we couldn't stand it either," the steward said. "They brought back a shrew, extremely vulgar and shrewish, who throws a tantrum in front of the mansion, making a complete scene. We're too proud to do anything about it."

“That’s it,” Song said coldly after a long silence. “They must have chosen today, the day of their banquet, specifically to annoy us. They know they would never allow such nonsense on a normal day.”

“That’s true, but we should deal with this matter quickly,” the butler said. “We have to save face, after all!”

Song was naturally unwilling, but she knew what was important and that she couldn't act impulsively, otherwise she would suffer more losses than gains.

He said, "If that's the case, then let her in. After all, I've suffered more than just this one grievance over the years."

"Young Madam is kind-hearted; no wonder the Master values ​​you so highly," the butler flattered naturally. "Let's give way for now and see how long they keep throwing a tantrum."

"Finally, a new book is out!" On the first day of August, may we always have the courage to walk on new paths...

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(End of this chapter)