Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Housewarming Banquet 1

“For her housewarming banquet, I’ll have Sixi bring the gifts over tomorrow. Take them to her for me.”

The bed in Tingtao Pavilion was large and soft, more than spacious enough for two people.

Dongfang Wei expertly found the spot where he had slept as a child and lay down.

“You’re not going?” Cang Chuli asked.

“What would I go for? To ruin her mood?”

Dongfang Wei was silent for a long while before he let out a faint, self-mocking laugh.

“As long as she’s doing well now, that’s enough. Back then… she suffered quite a bit.”

“Back then, it was the late emperor who sentenced the Xiao Family to demotion and exile from the capital. What could you have done?”

“That’s right. I suppose this is what they call the son paying for the father’s debts…”

Dongfang Wei rolled over.

Cang Chuli sat there alone for a while, then returned to the study.

The four blockheads were still writing furiously. Cang Chuli watched them for a moment before finally picking up a brush and joining in.

Before dawn had even broken, Sixi drove the carriage over to pick up Dongfang Wei.

After handing the items in the carriage to the servants of the General’s Mansion, he sat inside the carriage and waited.

By the time he picked up his master, Sixi was almost in tears.

“Emperor, if you’re going out, could you at least say something first? You left a note telling this servant to come pick you up alone in the morning. This servant was terrified…”

What Emperor went out without bringing the imperial guards or the Jinyiwei with him?!

If anything happened to him, Sixi’s entire clan would have to answer for it!

Good thing he was a eunuch and had no sons…

“Tsk. What are you afraid of? Is there anyone in this capital more frightening than me?”

Sixi wiped his tears. True, there really was no one more frightening than you.

But one of our own shouldn’t be scaring his own people!

After confirming again and again that the Emperor was seated securely, Sixi called out, “Hyah!”

The carriage rumbled unsteadily toward the palace’s side gate.

Ah, thinking about it, Eunuch Qin at the palace gate must have been scared half to death too. Fine, better hurry up and get him back first.

===========

When Xia Heng returned to her room again, her steps were practically floating.

As a young person with the perfectly proper schedule of a middle-aged retiree, she had never, ever stayed up past eleven at night before, let alone pulled an all-nighter.

And yet these past two days, she had basically been pulling all-nighters every day, coming back in the morning to sleep for a bit, eating lunch at noon, then continuing to the study in the afternoon.

Even a production brigade donkey wouldn’t be worked this hard.

Originally, she had wanted to let these ancient people experience the shock of modern mathematics.

She hadn’t expected to hand over her own head on a platter instead.

For the past two days, whenever Mo Qing and Mo Bai managed to slump over the table for a brief rest, even their sleep-talking was:

“Not seventy-one. Eighty-one. It’s eighty-one.”

The last thing that had burned her brain this badly had been the college entrance exam.

Qiulin had read so many account books that she had given herself internal heat. These past two days, she had stopped drinking ginger and scallion tea and switched to honeysuckle instead.

Today, they had finally finished sorting through all two chests of account books. Cang Chuli was still verifying the final accounts.

At last, the rest of them could come back and get some proper rest.

“Bed. My bed!

Not even God Almighty can stop me today! No one is allowed to disturb my sleep!”

Xia Heng declared viciously.

After sleeping for less than three double-hours, Xia Heng was dug out of bed. She really couldn’t hold back and cursed with the swear word she had most often used when getting up early for class in university.

“Holy shit!”

Chuqing had brought water in for her from outside and hadn’t heard clearly.

“Hm? What did you say?”

“Ah… Why??? Why????”

Xia Heng didn’t understand. Was there no one else in the General’s Mansion?

How was this possible? Did Cang Chuli not need sleep?

This workload would seriously kill someone from overwork!

“It was supposed to be Zhao Die and the others…”

Chuqing watched Xia Heng get dressed with utter despair written all over her face.

“The two of them dressed too thinly this morning and waited at the door for an hour. The moment they entered the general’s bedroom, they started sneezing and couldn’t stop at all.”

“In the end, their noses even started running. The general’s face went dark, so he sent them back.”

Xia Heng’s face turned ashen. Hearing the faint sounds of sneezing and sobbing from next door, she inwardly spat in disdain,

‘Sisters! You’re useless!!!’

“Qiulin is still the same as before. Your bandages have been removed, so now it’s just the two of us left.”
Yes, Xia Heng’s bandages had finally come off. The army physician changed her dressing for two days, then said that from here on out, she only needed to apply the medicine on time.

As for Qiulin, tendons and bones took a hundred days to heal, so her arm would have to stay in a sling for a while longer.

Strangely enough, ever since Xia Heng’s bandages came off, Qiulin’s look, all by itself, suddenly seemed a lot more proper…

At the very least, Mo Qing and Mo Bai no longer looked at the two of them with that expression of wanting to laugh but not having the heart to laugh out loud.

Now that the wound had scabbed over, Xia Heng used her own handkerchief to make a simple mask. In weather this cold, wearing one did not look out of place at all.

Xia Heng could only resign herself to going back to work.

She casually handed Chuqing a new mask too. Sisters had to look coordinated when they went out!

The carriage from the General’s Mansion swayed and jolted its way to their destination at last. Xia Heng, who had managed to catch a nap inside the carriage, followed behind Chuqing as they got down.

Then she looked at the bustling scene before her.

Oh, right!

Today was the housewarming banquet for the female lead, Xiao Yaqing!

Mo Qing was holding a large crimson coral ornament, while Mo Bai carried a carved, gilded plaque engraved with the two large characters for “Xiao Mansion.”

The two of them were following a young servant at the entrance inside.

That awkward man couldn’t even show up in person to deliver a gift. The moment Xia Heng saw the plaque, she knew what the male lead Dongfang Wei had come for last night.

A mouth was a useful thing. Everyone ought to have one.

Wasn’t it just that his wife’s whole family had been demoted and driven out of the capital by his father? Then explain it!

Tell her that at the time, he had tried to escape and go find her, only to be whipped until he passed out.

Then, after he woke up, his father had put him directly under house arrest.

Even so, he had still asked Cang Chuli to make all the arrangements for the female lead. Otherwise, no matter how capable she was, there was no way she could have built herself up from nothing so quickly.

And Xiao Yaqing was the same. She clearly didn’t blame him, and she even sent food and money to his brothers, but whenever she faced the male lead, she clammed up like a gourd with its mouth sawed shut.

The two of them could stand face-to-face and still act out eight hundred misunderstandings. That was one of the main reasons Xia Heng had never been able to keep reading the book back then!

A middle-aged man whose face practically had the words “steward” written all over it was greeting guests at the entrance.

When he saw the distinctive “Cang” insignia of the General’s Mansion of Northern Pacification on their carriage, he hurried forward.

“The General of Northern Pacification honors us with his presence. Truly, the Xiao Mansion is graced beyond measure!”

After a few more flattering words, he personally led them into the residence.

Xia Heng finally understood why Cang Chuli had insisted on bringing them along.

The Xiao Mansion had just settled into its new residence in the capital, and the family were merchants.

For that reason, most of today’s guests were families they had dealings with in ordinary times. Among the officials’ households, the guests were mostly women.

As they passed through the garden and side halls, almost everyone Xia Heng saw was a madam from some household bringing her daughter as a guest.

Xia Heng thought it over carefully.

Ah!

The beloved of his own brother, whom he had known since childhood, and the moneyed patron who had delivered both grain and funds at a critical moment.

Whether out of sentiment or reason, he really did have to attend this housewarming banquet.

As she was thinking, the three of them arrived at the place where the male guests were resting.

A small number of the male guests had accompanied their families to the banquet, while some had business dealings with Xiao Yaqing.

The men who had come to the banquet alone all had maidservants or attendant girls with them.

The moment Cang Chuli sat down, people began glancing at him again and again.

There was no helping it. He stood out too much.

Among people with any status at all, who could possibly not know his famous name?

Xia Heng and Chuqing pulled themselves together and stood on either side of him like a pair of door gods.

“I have long heard of the General of Northern Pacification’s great name! Seeing you today, I find your reputation is truly well deserved. I am Qian Zimo of Qian’s Trading Company. An honor, an honor.”

A rather young man in elegant robes finally stepped forward and opened the door to socializing.

“I am Zhang Zhe. I have long admired your great name, General!”

“I am…”

For a time, everyone came forward to greet Cang Chuli.

Cang Chuli responded to them calmly and indifferently.

Xia Heng, however, gave Qian Zimo an extra glance. Ah, the moneybag!

Wasn’t he the profiteering merchant ally at the female lead’s side, the one who had always had feelings for her and made Dongfang Wei jealous a few times?

The wealthy imperial merchant who helped add bricks and tiles to the male and female lead’s romance line.

Sure enough, wherever the female lead was, he would be there too.