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Chapter 166 Family Banquet
The battle on the Huainan front was in full swing, and Li Yi, far away in Tokyo, was not idle either.

In early October, he finally officially took the maid Xian'er as his concubine. If we count from that passionate, drunken night, more than half a month had passed before this matter was finally settled.

Li Yi originally planned to bring Xuan'er and Zuo Ling'er into the family on the same day, but Fu Erniang subtly expressed her intention to let Xuan'er enter first.

After a moment's thought, he understood his wife's thoughts—Xuan'er was, after all, her personal maid, who had grown up with her since childhood. Even as a concubine, Fu Erniang naturally hoped that she could have a slightly higher status than the other concubines.

In Li Yi's view, there was actually no difference in the order of precedence. It was difficult to distinguish who was superior among the concubines; it mainly depended on the degree of favor the master showed them.

However, the women in the inner quarters might have a different perspective. Li Yi, always understanding his wife's thoughts, readily agreed.

Li Yi specially ordered people to prepare an elegant courtyard on the west side of the inner residence. Although the place was not large, it was decorated quite exquisitely, with blue bricks paving the ground, lush flowers and trees, three main rooms, and side rooms on the left and right.

He planned to settle Xian'er and Zuo Ling'er here after they married into the family. To this end, he had several clever maids selected from the matchmaker to serve the two concubines in their courtyard.

Although taking a concubine was not as extravagant as marrying a principal wife, a formal ceremony was still held according to Tang Dynasty custom. Furthermore, a dowry would be paid to the woman's family as a sign of sincerity and respect.

However, since the chaos of war, many rituals have been simplified and are no longer so elaborate. In addition, the war in Huainan was in full swing, and Li Yi was responsible for guarding the area, so he decided to keep everything simple.

After all, the emperor was working day and night on the front lines. It would be somewhat inappropriate for him to make a big fuss about taking a concubine in Tokyo. Naturally, he should keep a low profile as much as possible.

Since several of Li Yi's sworn brothers had already gone to war with the army, and there was no point in making a big fuss about taking a concubine, he did not invite anyone else to his residence. Instead, his own family set up two tables of food and drink as a token gesture.

After Xian'er, dressed in a peach-red wedding gown, performed the grand ceremony for Fu Erniang, the happy occasion was considered complete.

“We were once master and servant, and now we are family.” Fu Erniang held Xian’er’s hand and said gently, “From now on, you must serve Ah Lang well.”

"This servant will remember Madam's teachings..." Xuan'er's eyes immediately reddened slightly. After saying this, she respectfully bowed to Fu Erniang again, "This servant will never forget Madam's kindness!"

Li Yi sat to the side, watching the scene of deep affection between master and servant, but he had some doubts in his heart... If a wife took the initiative to find a "mistress" for her husband, it would definitely cause a public outcry in later generations, and even lead to considerable gender antagonism.

But in this era, it was commonplace, and it even demonstrated the magnanimity of the mistress. A virtuous wife and obedient concubine, a generous mistress, men managing external affairs and women managing internal affairs—everything was in accordance with propriety.

However, Li Yi also pondered in his heart: his caution in taking a concubine was originally out of respect for Fu Erniang, and it also indirectly helped her establish the authority of the principal wife, which was equivalent to showing everyone in the mansion that even taking a concubine required the approval of the mistress.

If we look at it from the perspective of the times, Li Yi's actions naturally seem unmanly and somewhat like a "henpecked husband"—after all, the male head of a wealthy family is a man of his word, and he doesn't need the women in the family to agree to take a concubine.
However, everyone's situation is different. For example, after Guo Wei ascended the throne, Zhang Yongde's first wife became a princess. As the son-in-law, he naturally needed his wife's consent to take a concubine.

Even if Princess Shou'an didn't mind him taking a concubine, Zhang Yongde still had to consider the dignity of the royal family and the emperor's opinion of him, so he had to consider many factors.

Of course, Li Yi wasn't a prince consort. Although his wife came from a noble family, she couldn't compare to a princess for the time being, so there wasn't much resistance to him taking a concubine. Besides, it was with Fu Erniang's approval, so it wasn't up to others to interfere.

However, if you look at it from another angle, the Empress is Fu Erniang's own sister, and she said, "An aunt is also a mother."

Whether it was out of sisterly affection, to pave the way for her young son's future, or both... at least the Empress was more inclined towards her younger sister and her maternal family.

Li Yi's respectful treatment of Fu Erniang would surely make the Empress more at ease with her brother-in-law. This is because it reflects not only his attitude towards Fu Erniang personally, but also his attitude towards the Fu family, the Empress, and even the imperial power. These seemingly insignificant details may appear trivial in ordinary times, but they could become crucial considerations in critical moments.

"Husband, what are you sitting here like an idiot for? The family is waiting..." Fu Erniang's gentle voice drifted into Li Yi's ears, pulling him back to reality.

Looking up, the whole family was sitting without touching their chopsticks, and the atmosphere at the table seemed somewhat stagnant.

"Look at me, I was just thinking about what happened in the court and I got lost in thought." Li Yi laughed loudly and raised his wine cup first. "Today is just a family banquet, there are no formalities... Uncle, let me drink with you."

Uncle Liu Da hurriedly picked up his wine cup, and only after seeing Li Yi tilt his head back and drink it all in one gulp did he cautiously take a sip. Then, his taciturn cousin Liu Zhengqi was also half-scoldingly and half-draggingly pulled up by his aunt Chen to offer Li Yi a toast.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the table finally livened up. The maids began to quietly pour wine and serve dishes.

At this moment, Li Yi truly felt that in this mansion, his every move affected everyone's nerves.

Although he couldn't help feeling a bit emotional, he gradually got used to it over time... When facing someone in a higher position, wasn't he just as cautious and timid?
During the banquet, Li Yi asked his uncle a few questions about the fields outside the city.

Previously, with his financial assistance, he helped his uncle's family purchase nearly 100 acres of land in the suburbs. Later, his uncle's family built several large houses outside the city. The family spent more time outside the city and only occasionally returned to the mansion for a few days.

Li Yi is usually quite busy and hasn't had time to pay much attention to it, but he took advantage of his free time today to check on it.

"Thanks to Erlang, all the land is top-quality, and the crops grown there are thriving..."

Uncle Liu Da gently rubbed his rough hands together, and a ruddy glow immediately appeared on his dark face. When the topic turned to land, he immediately became very knowledgeable.

Li Yi wasn't very interested in farming, but he still listened patiently to his uncle and occasionally chimed in with a comment.

As they were talking, Fu Erniang suddenly placed a piece of dried meat into his bowl with her chopsticks. Taking advantage of the movement of leaning over, she parted her lips slightly and said, "Husband, look how close Miss Zuo is to your sister-in-law..."

Li Yi's heart stirred slightly, and he looked up.

Guo was sitting on either side of Zuo Ling'er and Chen Ya'er, the three of them talking in hushed tones, with Guo occasionally putting food into their bowls.

Zuo Ling'er wore an apricot-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a plain silver hairpin in her hair, giving her a somewhat gentle and graceful appearance. It is said that one is influenced by one's surroundings... It seems that Madam Guo has done a good job of training her.

Li Yi nodded slightly and said calmly, "Ling'er is used to being wild in the mountains. It would be good for her to learn some manners and temper her temper by following her sister-in-law..."

"My husband makes it sound so easy." Fu Erniang glanced at him with a look that seemed both reproachful and resentful, her fingertips gently stroking her slightly protruding belly. "Your sister-in-law has also had a hard life. She became a widow at a young age, and I'm afraid she must be feeling incredibly lonely... Now you have to worry about these things for her."

Li Yi's hand holding the cup paused almost imperceptibly, causing a ripple to spread across the wine inside.

He felt there was something more to his wife's words, but he didn't know how to respond, so he could only pick up his wine cup and take a small sip.

(End of this chapter)