Song Ying smiled and said, “General, the palace has just sent down its rewards, so I’m distributing some of them among the concubines and children in the manor.”
“Good, good. That’s exactly how it should be. Everyone should share in the joy. Now that Qiming and I have returned, the manor should liven up a little too. Madam, make some preparations. In a few days, hold a banquet at the manor and invite my colleagues over for a gathering.” Xu Yuanshan was in exceptionally high spirits.
According to custom, when an official was promoted, he was expected to host a banquet for his colleagues to celebrate together. It was also an opportunity for them to draw closer to one another.
“Please rest assured, General. I’ve already made the arrangements. I had someone select an auspicious date, and five days from now looks suitable. Why don’t we set it for then?”
Since it was customary, Song Ying had begun preparing for it on the very day Xu Yuanshan returned.
Hosting a banquet at the General’s Manor involved many things to consider. Five days was already the soonest it could be arranged.
“Then I’ll trouble you, Madam. Have Meier help you with it.”
When Song Ying heard this, the smile on her face stiffened slightly. Arranging a banquet was the responsibility of the principal wife of the household. Wasn’t Xu Yuanshan effectively asking Qin Meier to share her authority over the household? How could she allow that?
“General, the banquet has more or less been arranged. I only need to oversee the remaining details, so there’s no need to trouble Concubine Qin.”
A mocking look flashed through Concubine Qin’s eyes. When Xu Yuanshan had been promoted to Grand General of Huaihua, the manor had also held a banquet. It had been the first time Song Ying had arranged such an event.
Song Ying had been born in the countryside and had never seen a banquet of that sort. Not knowing how to arrange one, and too embarrassed to ask anyone else, she had organized it according to her own understanding.
As a result, all the dishes served had been the large portions of fish and meat commonly seen in the villages. The cooking had been rough, greasy, and heavy, and in order to make the feast appear grand, every dish had been brought out in huge bowls.
The wine served had also consisted entirely of ordinary strong liquor, which the female guests who attended the banquet could not swallow. Quite a few people had gone home hungry, and the banquet had become the source of no small amount of ridicule.
“Madam, you should still let Meier help you a little. Meier has lived in the capital since she was young. She’s seen more and has more experience.”
Xu Yuanshan still could not bring himself to trust his wife to arrange the banquet alone. The previous banquet had caused his colleagues to mock him behind his back for a long time, and this time he did not want history to repeat itself.
“Yes, General.” Seeing that Xu Yuanshan insisted, Song Ying could not say anything more. She secretly clenched the handkerchief in her hand.
At that moment, Xu Qiming suddenly spoke. “Mother, since you’re distributing His Majesty’s rewards, why doesn’t Cousin Xiuyi have any jewelry?”
Although he was a man, he understood that when his mother distributed things among the women of the household, jewelry would naturally be the main item.
At present, Song Xiuyi had only a plain hairpin securing her hair. There was nothing in her ears.
When Song Xiuyi heard Xu Qiming ask this question, her eyes instantly reddened. She clenched the handkerchief in her hand and spoke with a faint sob in her voice:
“Cousin, don’t blame Sister Jiang. This has nothing to do with Sister Jiang. I thought that since Sister Jiang intended to sell the jewelry Madam had given her, I would give mine to Sister Jiang instead.”
What?
Xu Qiming turned around and looked at Jiang Youning, anger in his eyes. “Jiang Youning, you intend to sell the jewelry my mother gave you? And you even took Yier’s jewelry?”
Yier?
She sure calls him affectionately.
Jiang Youning took the hairpin that had originally belonged to Song Xiuyi from Qingyang’s hand and lightly tapped it against her palm as she cast a sidelong glance at Xu Qiming.
“Young General, is there something wrong with your ears? Didn’t you hear Song Xiuyi say that she offered it to me of her own accord? Since she willingly gave it to me, why can’t I accept it?”
“Yier offered it to you because she was generous. How can you shamelessly accept it? Do you have no shame?” Xu Qiming rebuked angrily.
“Young General, that isn’t right. We all saw Miss Song take the initiative to offer it to Miss Jiang. Miss Jiang accepted it, which means she accepted her goodwill as well. How did it instead become Miss Jiang’s fault?
“Could it be that Miss Song never intended to give those things to Miss Jiang in the first place, and only wanted to put on a show to amuse everyone?”
Concubine Qin interjected at that moment. Song Xiuyi’s face instantly turned deathly pale when she heard this, and she hurriedly said, “No, that’s not it. I sincerely wanted to give these things to Sister Jiang.”
Song Ying glared at Concubine Qin. What did this have to do with her? Why was she butting in?
Concubine Qin merely smiled lightly at Song Ying, without a trace of fear in her eyes.
“Then… then it was simply because Yier was kind. Jiang Youning, do you really lack these things?” Xu Qiming’s expression was displeased.
“Oh, so one isn’t allowed to accept things given by someone else? Then please return the jade pendant at your waist to me, Young General.”
Previously, Qingyang had only seen that the Young Miss’s personally made items were not used by Xu Qiming. In Qingyang’s eyes, that was because the Young Miss’s sentiments were more precious than anything else.
But Xu Qiming made very good use of some of the valuable items Jiang Youning had brought from Jiang Residence, such as the jade pendant at his waist, the Duan inkstone in his room, and the red-coral ornament.
The jade pendant around Xu Qiming’s waist was made of an exquisite piece of mutton-fat jade, exceptionally warm and lustrous. Even the palace possessed only a few jade pendants that could rival it.
It had been Jiang Youning’s birthday gift to him during her first year at the manor. How could Xu Qiming bear to return it to Jiang Youning? His face reddened at once.
“Youning, stop fooling around. How can one ask for something back after giving it away?” Song Ying scolded her.
“That’s enough. Why make such a fuss over a small matter? Madam, just give Xiuyi some more things later.” Xu Yuanshan spoke up to stop them.
Jiang Youning turned around and handed the hairpin to Qingyang. “Qingyang, I’m giving this hairpin to you.”
She was not far from Song Xiuyi, and her voice was neither loud nor soft—just loud enough for Song Xiuyi to hear.
The thing Song Xiuyi had obtained with such difficulty had actually been handed over by Jiang Youning to a servant just like that. Song Xiuyi was so angry that her chest ached, yet she could not say anything more. She could only glare resentfully at Jiang Youning.
Since the General had spoken, Song Ying had no choice but to agree. Her heart ached at the thought of having to give away even more jewelry.
She cursed Jiang Youning inwardly.
She was just like that scheming mother of hers—stingy and miserly in everything!
Xu Yuanshan changed the subject. “Now that we’ve returned, it’s time for Qiming to start a family as well. Madam, choose an auspicious date and arrange Qiming and Youning’s wedding.”
“Yes, General.”
Jiang Youning’s thoughts stirred. It had come. In her previous life, it had also happened at this time.
“By the way, General, Xiuyi took care of Qiming for some time at the border. Although the two of them are perfectly innocent, they spent so much time together that it inevitably gave rise to some gossip. Why don’t we give Xiuyi a status as well?
“How about this: on the day Qiming and Youning marry, we welcome Xiuyi into the household at the same time with the rites for an equal wife. That can also serve as an explanation to Xiuyi.
“Youning, you’re a sensible child. Surely you won’t object.
“Rest assured. After the marriage, you will still be the principal wife in charge of the household, and all the manor’s affairs will remain under your control. Xiuyi will merely bear the title of equal wife.”
Song Ying looked at Jiang Youning with a smile, absolute certainty in her eyes that Jiang Youning would not refuse.
The room instantly fell silent. Everyone’s expressions turned strange, but no one spoke.
Although marrying an equal wife was a custom in Dayue, it was mostly practiced by merchant families. It made it convenient for merchants who traveled far and wide to establish a household in each place, so that someone could care for the head of the family. Aristocratic official families looked down on doing such a thing.
Most aristocratic official families married women of comparable status. The two families would be evenly matched, and if a man married an equal wife on the very day of his wedding, it would amount to an insult to the woman’s maiden family.
Naturally, her family would never agree. If the matter escalated, neither side would retain any dignity, and the marriage might not even take place. Thus, no one would ever do such a thing.
For Song Ying to raise this matter today clearly meant that she was bullying Jiang Youning because she had no family backing her.
Concubine Qin looked at Jiang Youning with some concern.
Jiang Youning had been raised in Protector-General's Manor. In a sense, the General and Madam had a say in her marriage.
Moreover, everyone in Protector-General's Manor knew that not long after Jiang Youning entered the manor, she had begun running after Xu Qiming everywhere, calling him “Brother Qiming, Brother Qiming” every day, as though she wished she could give him her very heart.
Now that Madam had suddenly said this, what would Jiang Youning do?