Chapter 38: The Banquet (Part 2)

  Qiao family's sixth young lady was slightly stunned.

  She never thought someone would make tea with their own hands just like her...

  Xu Jia's second wife, Xiang Shi, came from a family of scholars. Her father was the champion of the imperial examination in 1830 and had served as a scholar in the Hanlin Academy and as a ritual official in the Imperial College. She was known for her virtue from a young age, and the Xu family had tried to arrange a marriage for her three times without success. Later, Xiang's father met the handsome, intelligent, and talented young Xu Ling'an, and with the support of Empress Dowager Cixi, he agreed to this marriage.

  Who would have thought that within three years of marrying into the Xiang family, Xu Ling'an would pass away?

  "Is the second lady all right?" The big madam asked with a slightly gloomy expression.

  The old lady could hardly conceal her sorrow: "Since An' er passed away, she has been heartbroken and rarely goes out."

  Miss Qiao's face showed a look of unbearable distress.

  Mrs. Qiao's eyes sparkled as she smiled and said, "Then you should also advise her to go out more often. She is an intelligent person after all, but with no one by her side to take care of her, she can't help but feel melancholy. If it weren't for Third Madam bringing out this cup of osmanthus tea, I wouldn't have thought of it. Our Sixth Sister also loves making these sorts of things. Why don't we take the opportunity to go visit Second Madam? On one hand, it'll liven up her place a bit; on the other hand, it'll let her meet our Sixth Sister - they're sure to hit it off. Having someone coming and going will make things more lively."

  Old Lady Tai nodded in approval: "This is a good idea." She immediately stood up, without even finishing her tea. "We'll go visit her for a bit." Then she called out to one of the maids by her side named Dong Xiu, "Tell Second Lady that our relative's wife has arrived and we're going over there to sit with her for a while."

  Winter embroidery should sound and go.

  The third madam ordered a maid named "Jin Rui" beside her: "Arrange several green curtain small oil cars."

  The old lady shook her head and smiled: "Today is a rare good weather, let's take a walk, and when we come back, the car will pick us up."

  The three madams nodded in agreement. The group headed north back to the Guangliang Gate they had just left.

  The woman who was guarding the gate hurried over and accompanied Madame Wang inside.

  A white Taihu stone artificial hill stands in front, with several ancient trees planted beside it. Passing by the artificial hill, to the left is a large mountain covered with green trees, and to the right is a forest with winding paths leading to secluded areas.

  The three madams supported the old lady and led them into the forest, along a small path paved with stones. After a short while, they saw a lush bamboo forest, and the path led directly to a small courtyard in the bamboo forest.

  In front of the gate, there were seven or eight stone steps. A woman wearing a plain-colored dress and a floral apron was standing on the steps with Dong Xiu and an unfamiliar maid, looking around.

  As soon as they saw them, Dong Xiu and that unfamiliar maid supported the woman down the steps.

  That woman must be the second wife of the Xu family...

  The eleventh girl couldn't help but size up the woman with a glance.

  Appearing to be only twenty-five or six years old, slender build, fair skin, delicate features, calm and peaceful eyes, walking slowly, with a kind of unhurried composure.

  "Yi Zhen!" The old lady's face was already full of smiles.

  "Mother!" The second lady smiled and paid respects to the elder lady, who hastily helped her up. Lady Zheng and Madame Qiao greeted her one after another, and introduced her to Luo Dainai, Wu Niang, Shiyi Niang, and Miss Qiao, the sixth young lady of the Qiao family.

  The second lady smiled and said, "There's nothing good about it, take these few strands of sandalwood beads to play with." The unfamiliar maid then handed out several small red lacquer boxes to a few people.

  A few people helped her up and Second Mistress supported Eldest Mistress onto the steps: "Go slowly! It's not easy walking here. If you need anything, just have someone call me."

  The third madam also hurried over to support the other side.

  "What's going on here?" The old lady stepped carefully, "The aunt from Beijing has arrived, let's sit down and chat."

  Behind her, each of them was supported by their own maidservant as they stepped up onto the platform.

  Eleventh daughter found that the stairs were made of Taihu stone with water marks, and a few small grasses occasionally emerged from the gaps between the stone steps. After walking through the stairs, I saw the door frame with the words "Shao Hua" written on it. When entering the courtyard, the bamboo path was lined with dense moss, and when the wind blew, it made a rustling sound, which had a deep and quiet ancient charm.

  Inside the door, a small three-room house, black lacquer pillars on the ground, white stone pavement, in the middle hall hangs a picture of Guanyin picking flowers, and a pair of purple-black mud-gold cloud dragon paper couplets with the words "Sweet dew in the bottle is always sprinkled, the willow branch in hand does not count autumn". The black lacquer long table only has a few sweet white porcelain plates. In front of it, a black lacquer square table, with a pair of black lacquer armchairs on either side.

  The two madams had Mrs. Lai and Mrs. Xue sit on the armchairs, while a young maid brought out a black lacquer rosewood chair for Madam Qiao to sit on, and another maid brought in small black lacquer stools for the others. In an instant, the small main room was packed with people.

  The old lady then called out Qiao Liu and followed her to say to the second lady, "She heard that you made osmanthus tea and came to see the real thing, so she brought it along."

  Miss Qiao Liu hurried forward to pay her respects to the second lady: "I wrapped tea leaves in gauze at home and put them in unopened lotus flowers, but the fragrance always faded a bit. It's not as fragrant as your osmanthus tea." She looked eager for guidance.

  The elder lady gazed at the second lady with piercing eyes.

  "Make lotus tea!" The second wife's smile was faint, "It's best to choose white lotus flowers, before they open in the morning, then tie them with hemp skin, pick the flowers the next morning, dry the tea leaves, and do this three or four times, so as not to lose the tea flavor, but also have the fragrance of lotus."

  "Ah!" Miss Qiao Liu's eyes widened, covering her mouth with a gentle sigh, "Do you want to use the white lotus flower?"

  The second lady nodded: "White lotus flowers have a more delicate fragrance than red lotus flowers."

  As they spoke, a maid had already brought up tea.

  There is plum blossom fragrance...

  "Does Madam still use plum blossom tea?" asked Miss Qiao with a look of surprise on her face.

  The second lady smiled and said, "As long as it has a fragrance...". She looked out the window, "In our garden, flowers bloom all year round, I think any type of tea would be easy to find." The atmosphere was not lonely or desolate, but rather leisurely and carefree.

  Eleventh Sister suddenly thought of those steps in front of her courtyard gate.

  It's quite steep, like climbing a mountain, ordinary people won't come up here!

  Qiao's sixth lady has been asking the second lady for some tips on making flower tea, pastries and porridge. The eleventh girl thinks that some of them are exaggerated, some are too delicate and artificial, but some make sense.

  The second wife's expression was warm and polite, but with a hint of detachment. The first wife saw a flash of disappointment in her eyes.

  Mrs. Qiao suggested going for a walk in the garden as soon as she saw it: "The winter jasmine by Chunyan Pavilion should be blooming, shouldn't it?"

  The second lady smiled and said: "It just opened yesterday!" She got up and accompanied them to see the peach blossoms.

  Madam Ta took Second Madam's hand and left the Shao Hua courtyard, passing through a small path in the woods to arrive at a wide flagstone road that led north. In front of them was a winding river about one hundred meters wide, with a dam pavilion called Bi Ying on it. After crossing the pavilion, they walked eastward along the winding flagstone road, where the clear waves rippled and the steep mountains were covered in dense forests. The gentle breeze blew towards them, making people feel refreshed from the bottom of their hearts.

  The footsteps of the eleventh girl slowed down and gradually fell behind the crowd.

  A maid came over and asked her: "Miss, are you tired? Do you want to rest for a while?"

  "Eleventh girl hurriedly said: 'Not tired, not tired.' But her footsteps were getting slower and slower."

  Dong Qing and Hu Po were anxious at one side, wanting to go forward to help her, but she refused: "...... in case mother asks."

  The maid listened and followed her quietly, without hurrying her.

  Seems like it's from Mrs. San's house... but a kind-hearted one...

  Eleventh Girl thought for a moment, gave Amber a wink on one side, and smiled: "What should I call sister?"

  The maid smiled and said: "My name is Qiuying."

  Amber exclaimed: "I have a sister with the same 'autumn' character as you..."

  Qiu Yan's lips curled up in a smile. Shi Yi Niang had already led Dong Qing to the front.

  Amber and Autumn Whispered: "This garden is really beautiful! I heard that the Dingguo Duke and the Weibei Marquis live next door?"

  Qiu Ling nodded and smiled: "The Dingguo Gong Zheng family lives in front of us, and the Weibei Hou Lin family lives to our west."

  Amber looked envious: "Don't those coming and going all belong to families of high officials?"

  Qiu Ling smiled and nodded.

  "Do they also visit each other from time to time like we do?" Amber asked curiously.

  "Of course." Qiu Ling smiled and said, "The eldest lady of the Lin family is very close to our Fourth Lady. She would come visit Fourth Lady every now and then."

  Amber's gaze slightly shifted: "Does the Wang family from Maoguo also come here often?"

  Eleventh Girl's mouth corners slightly raised, leading Winter Green to catch up with Fifth Girl.

  "Over there, Qiu Si was taken aback: 'Why did you bring up that family!'"

  Amber hastily explained: "I heard people mention the influential families of Yanjing. They mentioned your manor, and also mentioned the Manor of Duke Mu..."

  "How can their family be compared to ours." Before Amber could finish, Autumn Silk already showed a look of disdain, "Although our family also relies on the remaining prestige of our ancestors to make a living. But our old Marquis had been the Minister of Rites in his heyday, what about their Imperial Duke? He managed to get a position as the Chief of the Yu Ma Temple through connections, but he couldn't even get the number of horses right and was dismissed from office..."

  Amber's face showed surprise: "Relying on relatives to get a job? Who is the relative of Marquis Mo?"

  "Is it the late Wenyuan Ge University Scholar Jiang Jie?" asked Qiu Ling with a smile.

  "Jiang Jie?" Amber's eyes flickered, "I've never heard of him."

  "You certainly haven't heard." Qiu Ling covered her mouth and smiled: "General Jiang has been gone for over a decade."

  Amber smiled: "Sister, tell me... I used to only do needlework at home and have never heard of such things." She gazed with envy, "Sister, you really know a lot!"

  Qiu Xiang smiled and said: "I also know a thing or two because our family's mistress likes to ask Master about these things."

  Amber took the initiative to go forward and pulled Autumn's arm: "Good sister, tell me. I'll go back and tell our young lady too, let her listen."

  Qiu Yan just smiled.

  "Good sister..." Amber begged her.

  "This is not a secret either." Qiu Ling smiled and said, "Have you heard of the Le An Jiang family?"

  Amber shook her head.

  "His family had produced two imperial teachers..." Autumn Silk's voice gradually lowered, and the footsteps of the two also slowed down.

  Two people stood under a big tree talking in whispers.

  (The wind and rain are getting heavier, and the power went out again in the afternoon... Fortunately, there was no flooding. I hope those affected can stay safe...)