Chapter 129 Jiang He vs. Xue Lingyu [Post-Marriage Daily Life]

Chapter 31 Jiang He vs. Xue Lingyu [Post-Marriage Daily Life]

The noblemen who attended the banquet with Xue Lingyu all went to the jewelry shop afterwards to choose their favorite ornaments. These were things that would normally be impossible to obtain even if one fought for them, but now they were able to get them for free. This was all thanks to Xue Lingyu, so when the noblemen mentioned Xue Lingyu, they couldn't help but say good things about him, practically praising him to the skies.

For Jiang He, this was all small change. Her main concern was that the wealthy men in the capital would take Xue Lingyu with them when they had events. If he always stayed at home, he would probably get sick from being cooped up for too long. Not to mention that Jiang Mian had already gone to study at the Imperial Academy, and Jiang Xi had reached an age where she was sensible, so he didn't need to worry about her too much.

When the wealthy men were bored, they would go shopping, admire flowers, or go on spring outings in groups of three or five. If Xue Lingyu could go out and move around more, she would definitely make a lot of friends. If she had one or two close friends, she wouldn't be all alone when she needed to go out to do business.

It wasn't that Xue Lingyu was unwilling to make friends in the past, but rather that his appearance was simply too stunning. When others stood next to him, no matter how exquisitely they dressed, they would be easily outshone by him. In addition, Xue Lingyu came from a good family. All these factors combined led many people to believe that he was unapproachable and must be a difficult person to please.

Moreover, everyone knows that the eldest son of the Xue family was once a model of aristocratic young masters in the capital. Unless it was an important occasion, he would never leave his home, instead focusing on practicing music, chess, calligraphy, painting, embroidery, and music.

After marrying Jiang He, Xue Lingyu changed everyone's perception of her quite a bit. Her personality also became much gentler, so there were many people who wanted to get close to her. After all, who wouldn't like such a gentle and easy-going beauty?

Xue Lingyu was unaware that she had unknowingly gained the unanimous approval of the noblemen.

Recently, however, something has been troubling him. His birthday is coming soon, but since it's not a full year, he thought it would be enough to have a small celebration, with the family sitting together for a meal and a bowl of longevity noodles. That would be enough.

If he were to hold a birthday banquet, it would be a huge undertaking, which would not only be exhausting for him to plan, but also cost a lot of money, which would be very distressing.

But before he could even mention it to Jiang He, she took the initiative to invite the wealthy husbands to his birthday banquet. If he were to back out later, or cancel without a good reason, he would become a laughingstock among the wealthy husbands.

He struggled with this for several days, but in the end, he concluded that it seemed the birthday banquet had to be held.

It's all Jiang He's fault for speaking too quickly. After all, he couldn't very well refute her in front of so many people and embarrass her.

Now that the decision has been made to hold the event, all the preparations must be made. Whether it's something that should be saved or something that shouldn't be saved, nothing can be omitted. After all, this banquet has invited outsiders, which indirectly represents the face of the Jiang family. If it's messed up, not only will he lose face, but the Jiang family will also be the subject of gossip.

Xue Lingyu put in a lot of effort to prepare. He had seen his father hold several banquets when he was young, so he followed suit and it wasn't too hard. However, there were too many trivial matters, all of which he had to decide on one by one.

During his evening rest, he would bring these things to his bedside and mutter them incessantly.

"The decorations needed for the banquet, as well as tea sets, pastries and dishes..." Xue Lingyu flipped through the booklet in her hand, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. "During the banquet, we also need to prepare a few fun games in advance, otherwise just eating will be too boring."

He sighed softly, closed the booklet, and placed it beside his pillow.

He'd been thinking about it for so long his head was throbbing; he'd better leave these decisions for tomorrow.

When he lay down, Jiang He was still sitting. She held an account book in one hand, her eyebrows lowered as she carefully examined the records. Her mouth would sometimes move, working in conjunction with her other hand, as she diligently checked whether the expenditure amounts were balanced.

This is something she's used to doing, so it's not tiring for her.

Seeing her so relaxed, Xue Lingyu was furious. She deliberately leaned on her shoulder, rubbed her face against her head, and grumbled, "Stop looking at me. I'm already like this, and you don't even look at me."

He went to bed half an hour later than yesterday.

Upon hearing this, Jiang He put the ledger aside, pulled him into her arms, and raised her eyebrows, saying, "Now it's your turn to see."

Jiang He couldn't hide the smile on her lips; she was even jealous of the account book.

She was listening intently to what he was fretting about.

"The shop has everything needed for the banquet. We just received a batch of excellent tea sets recently, and I'll have Manager Zheng send them over tomorrow. As for the dishes and desserts, we'll have Ruyi Restaurant supply them. As for the games to play during the banquet, I think pitch-pot would be a great choice." Jiang He arranged everything in just a few words.

Xue Lingyu lay on Jiang He's chest, playing with her hair with her fingers, and pouted, saying, "Then I'll do whatever you say. I've been thinking about this so much that I'm almost brain-dead."

"If you don't use your brain, it'll probably rust away," Jiang He joked.

“If you don’t want to worry about this in the future, just tell me. Even Xi’er isn’t as childish as you, getting so caught up in arguing about accounts.” Jiang He pinched his slender waist and touched his lips with her fingertip. “If you don’t want to tell me, then let me taste it. After a few more bites, I’ll understand what you’re thinking.”

These words made Xue Lingyu's cheeks flush red. He tried to get up, but found that Jiang He was holding him firmly.

Once the blanket was pulled over him, he couldn't see anything anymore, only the woman's panting in his ear.

Jiang He finalized all the miscellaneous tasks, so Xue Lingyu only needed to oversee the overall situation on the surface. The servants of the Jiang family were very well trained and showed no stage fright in this kind of situation, leading the guests to the inner courtyard in an orderly manner.

The guests who came to the banquet couldn't help but praise Xue Lingyu's excellent training.

On his birthday, Xue Lingyu wore a red robe and, unusually, applied lip rouge to his lips. He really didn't want to admit that it was because a certain woman had bitten his lips red, so he had to use lip rouge to cover it up.

Jiang He was like a puppy, leaving bite marks not only on his lips, but also on his neck, chest, and even his thighs.

The birthday banquet was very well organized. Xue Lingyu didn't have to put in much effort; she only needed to greet important guests and exchange a few polite words.

Lord Lin came with Minister Lin. The female relatives were arranged in the outer courtyard and were entertained by Jiang He, while the male relatives were in the inner courtyard.

Having received a gift from Jiang He last time, Lord Lin went to the shop and picked out a jade necklace. After wearing it, even the usually clueless Minister Lin praised him a few times, which made Lord Lin very happy. When Xue Lingyu's birthday banquet came, he specially prepared a grand gift to present to him.

Upon seeing Lord Lin arrive, Xue Lingyu hurriedly stepped forward to lead him to a seat, and when she saw the gift Lord Lin had given her, she showed a look of surprise.

Lord Lin explained, "These are snow lotus flowers picked from the Tianshan Mountains. They are used to make a decoction that can not only beautify the skin but also has many benefits for men."

This snow lotus is priceless. It was only through her husband's family that Lord Lin was able to obtain one by chance. Now, by giving it to Xue Lingyu, she is expressing her desire to befriend him.

Xue Lingyu knew about the unique effects of snow lotus, but he hadn't taken any special care of it, so he didn't put too much effort into it. He said, "This gift is really too precious, and it makes me feel a little embarrassed."

Lord Lin said, "Lord Jiang has everything he could want. I even think this gift is too small, and I'm afraid Lord Jiang will find it distasteful."

Thus, Xue Lingyu accepted the snow lotus.

The servants brought tea, and as soon as Lord Lin picked up the teacup, he knew it was made of fine blue and white porcelain. After taking a small bite of the pastry, he discovered that it was actually the osmanthus cake from Ruyi Restaurant.

No wonder Ruyi Restaurant is not welcoming guests today; it turns out that all the chefs have been invited to the Jiang residence.

When he held his last banquet, he had to wait in line to reserve pastries from Ruyi Restaurant, but the Jiang family simply invited people directly.

It wasn't just Lord Lin who noticed; the other noblemen also remarked that the Jiang family, though seemingly unassuming on the surface, actually lived a more refined life than even the most aristocratic families.

In the past, even illegitimate sons from noble families would rather marry poor scholars than look at merchants. Now it seems that Xue Lingyu's life is better than everyone else's, and few people in the capital dare to look down on him.

Halfway through the banquet, the games to liven up the atmosphere began. The first game was pitch-pot, which was often played by the sons of noble families to pass the time, so the noblemen were also very familiar with it. Even if they had never played it before, they could learn it after watching it a few times.

After watching several rounds, Xue Lingyu was still the clumsiest one present. He couldn't get his pitching posture right no matter what he did, and he always ended up throwing the pitcher at the edge of the pot, with even just grazing it being a considerable result.

Without a doubt, he lost in the end.

The game has prizes; the winner receives a prize.

The prize for this round of pitch-pot is a hairpin, which was just transported from Jiangnan yesterday. It is small and beautiful. The winner is the eldest son of the Marquis of Yingwu. Born into a military family, he has always been more unconventional than other young masters from noble families. These kinds of things are something he has been used to playing with since childhood.

Next came games like Hide and Seek, Tea Competition, and Guessing Game. Xue Lingyu only managed to win one round in Guessing Game, since he had been well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, and this game was not difficult for him.

Aside from the guessing game, all the other games were devised by Jiang He, who must be the most skilled at them. He had originally thought that Jiang He was just idle and carefree when she was a playboy, but it seems she had quite a few tricks up her sleeve back then.

Xue Lingyu made up her mind to settle accounts with Jiang He after the banquet.

Unlike the backyard, the women in the front yard rolled up their sleeves and started playing finger-guessing games. The loser had to drink a cup as a penalty. If they didn't want to drink, they had to pay off the debt with money. As for how much to pay, under Jiang He's supervision, they finally settled on one coin per cup.

Some people said, "Miss Jiang, you are the richest merchant in the capital, how can you be so stingy? Are you afraid of losing everything?"

“I’m not afraid of losing, but my husband manages the money at home. If I spend too much, he might get angry with me. I can only reluctantly use my savings to entertain you all. Please forgive me.” Jiang He said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

The fact that the city's richest merchant had fallen to such a state immediately made everyone burst into laughter.

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Author's Note: Tea Tasting

During the Tang and Song dynasties, tea was usually made by steaming, drying, grinding the picked tea leaves into fine powder, adding spices, and then boiling them in water to make tea soup.

During the Song Dynasty, tea competitions, also known as tea contests, were popular, much like today's tea quality assessment competitions.

Tea competitions are usually between two people, with the best two out of three. The first thing to do is to compare the color of the tea soup. Pure white is the best, which is a sign that the heat was just right during steaming. A greenish color is insufficient, a gray color is too much, a yellow color means the tea leaves were not picked in time, and a reddish color means the tea has been over-roasted.

Another comparison is the foam that rises to the surface of the tea soup. If the tea powder is finely ground and the tea soup is poured and whisked just right, it will form a "cold porridge surface" that clings tightly to the rim of the cup and stays there for a long time. Conversely, if the foam rises, it will quickly disperse. Tea competitions judge the quality of tea based on when the water line appears in the tea leaves.

Hidden hooks and traps

The *Youyang Zazu* quotes Xin's *Sanqin Ji* as saying, "Lady Gouyi of Emperor Wu of Han always kept her hands clenched into fists, and people imitated her, calling it 'hiding the hook.'" Lady Gouyi of Emperor Wu of Han always kept her hands clenched into fists, only opening them when she saw Emperor Wu, revealing a hook inside. Thus, people began to play the game of hiding the hook, with many people participating to guess whose hand the hook was hidden in.

Shooting

The riddle in Chapter 62 of Dream of the Red Chamber involves a riddle where a certain thing is implied through a poem, idiom, or allusion. The riddle-taker guesses the answer and then reveals the answer through another poem, idiom, or allusion that also implies the same thing.

The above information is from a Baidu search.