Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 1005 – Home and Country
In the blink of an eye, Lunar New Year’s Eve had arrived.
Just yesterday, Ouyang Shuo invited the civil servants and generals to the Xia Palace for a feast. Those that joined the feast not only included the officials grade 5 and above, but there were also the 12 Provincial Governors and marshals.
The star-studded line up made one look on with mouth agape.
The Provincial Governors and marshals either governed a province or protected a border, holding great power in the Imperial Court. Them returning to the city naturally was not just to reminisce, as they had an important duty.
After the Chinese New Year, Ouyang Shuo was going to hold the imperial assembly.
…
Xia Palace, Zhaohua Hall.
Zhaohua Hall sat at the southwest corner of the palace, and it was where Ouyang Shuo held the feast.
Ever Chinese New Year, the huge Xia Palace would be decorated anew, with lanterns hung everywhere. Compared to the casual civilian decorations, the palace ones were more solemn and arranged.
Everything had to follow the royal family rituals, and nothing could be missed out.
Hence, even during the festive season, no one dared to fool around in the palace.
Within the Zhaohua Hall, there were many rosewood tables with peanuts and walnuts on it. Magically, even during this winter season, one could still see oranges, bananas, and other seasonal fruits.
Looking at the skins of the fruits, it looked like they were just harvested.
Obviously, Great Xia did not have any special technique or modern fridges to keep them fresh. These fruits were taken from Morocco Province and Somalia Province.
Amongst them, there were Southeast Asian fruits from Xingzhou Prefecture as well as fresh milk from New Zealand.
With the help of the teleportation formation, anything could happen. The Xia Palace had new fresh fruits ever season. Moreover, they could drink fresh milk from Auckland every day.
This was called the rich having anything from the four oceans.
Within the hall, exquisite charcoal was burned, spices from Somalia were lit up, making one feel warm, chasing away the chill of winter.
Within the huge hall, main members of the Ouyang and Lin families had gathered. Along with them were the core members of the Song family.
Altogether, there were no less than a hundred of them.
Song Wen, Song Wu were also present, However, Song Tianxiong’s face was a little weird. He had hoped that his daughter giving birth to kids for the king would solidify his family’s position.
Who knew that the king would use such a move?
Even among the relatives of the king, there were differences in terms of closeness. In the Ouyang family, those who were of the same branch as his grandfather naturally held a higher position. Next would be the branch family, and then Ouyang Shuo’s mother’s Lin clan followed by Song Jia’s clan.
Everyone was seated accordingly. Within the hall, there were a row of tables but only four seats. The closer to the host’s seat, the more important the person.
Attending the feast were old men and also some kids.
No matter who it was, they were all wearing specially prepared dresses, especially those with ranks, who wore the costumes that came with the rank.
Seated below, some people were really careful, while some could not wait for the start of the feast. Occasionally, they whispered to the people by their sides, not daring to speak loudly.
Children who were supposed to fool around were locked down to their seats by their parents, who stopped them from moving around.
At the right side corner, there was a 11 or 12 year old teen that was peeling a banana, “Brother Shuo is so amazing, he can buy anything to eat.”
It seemed like he was a person that loved to eat.
“Good that you know. You have to study hard to help your brother in the future.” The father seated beside him looked at his son dotingly as he said this.
To the Ouyang family, surprises fell from the sky.
This teen’s father was known as Ouyang Gong. In reality, he worked in a bank and was working in the Four Seas Bank currently. It was said that Meng Zhida had good opinion of him.
Before the year, Ouyang Gong was given the rank of 2nd class Earl, so he could be considered to be outstanding in the family. To the adults in the Ouyang family, as long as they were willing to work hard, they could promote many times faster than others.
Thinking back to the envy from his superiors and even them trying to suck up to him, Ouyang Gong was filled with emotions. After the king sent the decree, his family had become a hot topic.
There were many friends, classmates, and even strangers who came up to send their congratulations.
Ouyang Gong was still really clear0headed and did not let all their flattery get to his head. He knew that for the Ouyang family to get to their position, it was all thanks to Ouyang Shuo.
Ouyang Gong knew his place.
He had heard that during the giving of rank, there were two people who had close blood relation to Ouyang Shuo but were only given a 3rd class baron title due to their work ethic.
Undoubtedly, this was a warning.
Although Ouyang Gong was his senior, he could only look on in awe.
…
At 6 PM sharp, a court lady sang, “The king arrives!”
With a ‘Hua!’ all of the guests stood up in unison and looked at the northeast corner of the hall. They saw Ouyang Shuo bringing in Song Jia, his sister, and Lin Jing.
“Bow!”
All of them bowed in unison.
Ouyang Shuo smiled and moved to his seat, “This is just a family feast, so there’s no position difference. There are some of you who are of my grandfather’s generation, my dad’s generation, and some who are my nephews. We are all a family.”
As he said that, Ouyang Shuo sat down.
‘Huala!’ the other people followed him and sat. Now, their faces were a lot more natural.
Although all of them were modern people and were not bounded by the old traditions, when they were in this majestic palace hall and looked at the solemn court ladies who were standing aside following all the rules, they could not help but unknowingly enter a solemn state.
No one felt that it was inappropriate; instead, they felt that it was a glory.
A glory for the family.
They could foresee that the Ouyang family could be like the emperor families in the legends, shining in the country.
As the feast began, court ladies brought up plates of delicious food. The younger generation received red packets from Ouyang Shuo personally.
At the two sides, there were bands playing. At the same time, in the middle of the hall, there were dances.
Not long after the start, Ouyang Shuo raised his glass and the music stopped. The hall turned silent. This was the first time many of them had seen this legendary figure, so they could not help but feel curious.
Ouyang Shuo got up, “Today is Lunar New Year’s Eve, a day of family reunion. It was not easy for all of us to gather today. The Great Xia of yesterday has become something of the past. I’ll depend on all of you to help me for the Great Xia of the future.”
“Here’s a toast to all of you!”
As he said that, Ouyang Shuo downed the glass.
This was a clear indication of the position of family.
The feast entered the peak just like that, and Ouyang Shuo smiled, “You do not need to stay at your seats, you can be more causal.”
As he said that, he personally led his wife and Bing’er to the guests seated at the front. Song Jia was not wearing a coronation dress. Rather, she was wearing a normal dress, as she was worried such clothes might cause people to feel distant.
Bing’er was wearing a white olden time princess skirt. The usually naughty and playful princess actually had a good grasp of court manners during such an occasion. Obviously, she had received good education.
When the people around saw that, they were all amazed.
This family was filled with dragons and phoenixes.
They were the true example of a royal family.
At the front row sat the heads of the three families, the three marquises.
The person who received the highest rank was known as Ouyang Bo. He was the brother of Ouyang Shuo’s grandfather. In terms of generation, Ouyang Shuo should call him grandpa, and he was one of the closest in the family to him.
However, this grandpa’s body condition was not good. He was thin, and his face was filled with wrinkles.
“Grandpa, Happy New Year!”
Ouyang Shuo smiled as he raised the cup, and Song Jia naturally followed suit. During the wedding, there were not many Ouyang family members who came, so this was the first official meeting between Song Jia and her in-laws.
Ouyang Bo had a merciful smile on his face as he pat Ouyang Shuo’s hand as he shook it, “Good son, good wife, good, good!”
Ouyang Shuo nodded. At that moment, he probably felt the warmth and power of a family.
The feast lasted till 7:30 PM.
After the reunion dinner, they moved over to the imperial garden to watch fireworks. The kids played around on the grass.
The imperial garden on this night was lit up brightly.
As the host, Bing’er once again transformed into a king of the children as she led all of them to play around in the garden, watch the golden fish in the pond, and disturb the panda.
Carefree and simple.
Listening to Bing’er’s clear laughter, Ouyang Shuo gave out a knowing smile.
Bing’er was lonely.
Along with Ouyang Shuo’s position rising, Bing’er as the only princess became the center of attention. The teachers who taught her also started to become stricter.
Within Shanhai City, those kids who followed her to play also slowly dispersed.
A difference in status meant that they could not hang around Bing’er like they were the same type of people. Even if the children wanted to, the parents would tell them not to disrespect her and let her in everything.
As time went on, they slowly grew apart.
Huo Chengjun, who was the only one who was similar in age to her, could not meet Bing’er because she was by her father’s side. When she was too bored, Bing’er would fight the spirit beasts and mutter to herself.
When Ouyang Shuo saw that, his heart could not help but wrench.
He did not know if this meeting today was good or bad for Bing’er.
Ouyang Shuo did not consider this aspect when he decided to accept his family. Maybe only playing with her cousins could she truly be happy.
Being connected by blood, but it was the most unrestrained.
‘With this laughter, everything is worth it.’ Ouyang Shuo thought to himself.
As Song Jia was pregnant, she returned to rest early. Ouyang Shuo stood in the pavilion and talked with the elders about his experiences during these past few years.
After a short while, the elders were also tired and took their leave.
A family feast ended at that point.
