The sun was shining brightly in the sky today, making it somewhat hot and stuffy. There was a small garden next to Songtao Court filled with blooming chrysanthemum flowers, and within the cluster of chrysanthemums, there was a decorative mountain with an interesting shape. A small stream flowed continuously into a lotus pond beside the decorative mountain. Unfortunately, the lotus leaves and flowers in the pond had already withered away by this time. However, you could admire the view of the autumn chrysanthemums alongside the glimmering pond from the pavilion. The chrysanthemums adjacent to the decorative mountain made for a very beautiful scene.
There was a zither room located next to this pavilion. Since it was close to Songtao Court, Chu Lian went there frequently in the afternoon to enjoy the cool weather.
While returning to Songtao Court, Chu Lian happened to pass by the little zither room. She glanced at it and then told Mingyan behind her, “It’s a little hot today, get someone to move a lounge chair over there. I’ll have a nap over in that zither room.”
In the outer court of the Jing’an Estate, a group of young men were seated at the main table in the Hall. All of them were good friends of He Changqi who had been invited to the small gathering.
Standing amongst them was the newly appointed young official of the Honglu Temple, Lord Ge. There was also Marquis Weiyuan, who had inherited his title not long ago from his predecessor, Madam Zou’s brother, Zou Wu, from the second branch of House Dingyuan and House Zheng’s young heir, Zheng Tiancheng. There was a tall young man in a green robe right next to him; it was none other than Xiao Bojian from the Imperial College.
Xiao Bojian and He Changqi weren’t actually friends or even acquaintances. He had been invited to the Jing’an Estate thanks to his connection to Heir Zheng.
Everyone present here knew that Heir Zheng had a best friend who was a senior brother one grade above him at the Imperial College.
Xiao Bojian’s looks were a perfect match to the aesthetic taste of the people of this era. Furthermore, he had a natural gentlemanly aura and carried himself with elegance. This meant that it was rare for anyone not to have a good impression of him.
Thus, Xiao Bojian had always been like a fish in water when interacting in society. People made friends with him most likely due to his good appearance and temperament while ignoring his humble background.
Lord Ge sipped at his cup of sencha and smiled, “Brother He, surely you’re not trying to play a trick on us? It’s going to be noon in the blink of an eye, but you haven’t ordered your servants to start serving the meal. Are you trying to let your brothers starve to death?”
A trace of awkwardness appeared on He Changqi’s face after he heard those words. A few days ago, he had boasted in front of his friends that he would be treating them to delicacies that they had never seen before. He even used the longevity peach buns from House Dingyuan’s longevity feast to tempt his group of brothers, making them crave for the food they hadn’t even seen yet. However, nothing had been served up till now, so even he was starving a little.
“Brothers, please stay calm. Since these are delicacies we’re talking about, it will definitely be worth the wait for us.” Xiao Bojian displayed a gentle smile, and everyone nodded in agreement.
He Changqi had mentioned in advance to everyone gathered today that the entire meal would be personally prepared by the Third Young Madam of House Jing’an, the Emperor’s newly-conferred Honoured Lady Jinyi.
It could be considered an honour to be able to eat the food personally made by an Honoured Lady.
At last, He Changqi’s manservant came over in a hurry and whispered something into his ear. He Changqi lit up in delight upon hearing this. “Brothers, it seems like our wait has finally paid off.”
As expected, in a moment, the luxuriously dressed Madam Zou entered the parlour, leading a maidservant with a huge food box and directing her to the dining table in the hall.
He Changqi’s friends had also gotten up to give Madam Zou a respectful bow. Apart from Madam Zou’s older brother, each of them greeted her with a call of ‘Sister-in-Law’. Amongst these people, He Changqi was the oldest so there was nothing wrong with how they had addressed her.
Madam Zou rarely had the opportunity to meet with He Changqi’s good friends. Now that her husband had finally brought his friends over for a small gathering, she had to meet them and give them a good impression of her. However, she had dressed a little excessively today. A small gathering between close friends was supposed to be relaxed and comfortable, but she had inadvertently made the atmosphere a little stiff dressed like that. When Xiao Bojian lowered his head in a slight bow, his eyes were filled with disdain.
