Chapter 9
Chapter 9
The Lu Family was headed by no more than a fifth-rank academician, so naturally, there would not be that many people coming to offer congratulations at a banquet held in their home. The Marquis, however, would still attend. He valued his reputation above all, and Academician Lu had been his former brother-in-law, after all.
Madam, of course, was unwilling to go. She herself held a second-rank titled lady’s status; why would she lower herself for such an occasion? Besides, she had never liked anyone from the Lu Family.
In the end, only the Marquis, the Eldest Young Master… and the Second Young Master went together. Who knew what excitement the Second Young Master was hoping to join in on?
Lu Mansion was very small, barely half the size of the Marquis’s Mansion.
Master Lu had only one wife, Madam Lu, and the two of them had a son and a daughter.
From what I had heard the Young Master mention, Master Lu had once had a concubine, but not long afterward, he gave her some silver and sent her away.
Unlike the Marquis’s Mansion, where the Marquis had a whole pile of concubines.
The one who led us inside was a young man with the air of a scholar, gentle and courteous. He was rather like the Young Master, except there was none of the Young Master’s sickliness on his face.
When he called the Young Master “Cousin,” I realized he was the eldest son of the household.
The Marquis went to the main banquet. The elders did not sit with the younger generation, which was also to let everyone feel more at ease.
After the Young Master took his assigned seat, I stood behind him according to etiquette.
Very few male guests brought maidservants with them, so standing there, I inevitably looked out of place.
There was no helping it. The Young Master rarely went out, and he had no personal manservant.
“Isn’t that the young master of the Ye family? Why is he here too?” murmurs rose from around us.
“Who’s the one beside Young Master Ye? He looks unfamiliar. How come he’s seated above Young Master Ye?”
“You don’t know? That is Ye Tingzong, the Eldest Young Master of the Marquis of Qiyang’s Mansion. Ye Tingze’s elder brother.”
Only then did I realize that when they said “Young Master Ye,” they were referring solely to the Second Young Master, Ye Tingze.
Everyone was merely whispering among themselves and had not said anything too excessive. But then a voice rang out, jarringly loud.
“Why does the Eldest Young Master of the Ye family need to bring a maidservant with him when he leaves the house? Could it be he still hasn’t been weaned?” a man across from us sneered.
This person was dressed in finery. Judging by where he was seated, his status was not high-at least, not comparable to the Marquis of Qiyang’s Mansion-but he did look quite wealthy.
One glance at the jade hairpin in his hair told me it was no ordinary object. As for the robe he wore… if I remembered correctly, it was the world-renowned Huaiyang Brocade, and the patterns on it were all embroidered with gold thread. Even the jade thumb ring on his hand had been specially edged in gold.
How should I put it? Taken as a whole, there was only one word for him-vulgar.
Then I would simply call him the “Vulgar Man.”
I looked at the Young Master with some concern.
The Young Master paid him no attention and merely took a light sip of tea from his cup. What the Vulgar Man had said just now was not anything good, so naturally, no one else dared to respond.
With no one acknowledging him, he was the one left looking rather awkward instead.
But… he did not seem to think so. He pressed on loudly.
“Hey! I’m talking to you. Why aren’t you making a sound? Don’t tell me I hit the mark?”
The Young Master smiled faintly, then poured himself another cup of tea without saying a word.
At last, a trace of embarrassment appeared on the Vulgar Man’s face, along with a hint of anger born from humiliation.
“Young Master Liu, there’s no need to jest. My elder brother is frail and often ill, so he needs a maidservant by his side to look after him.”
I looked at Ye Tingze beside us, pretending to be the good man, and was utterly speechless inside. Today’s incident absolutely had something to do with him. Otherwise, Young Master Liu and the Young Master had never even met before-why would he deliberately make things difficult for him?
Young Master Liu laughed loudly. “So he’s a sickly invalid. No wonder only Brother Tingze and Brother Tingwei have entered court service and become famous throughout the land, yet no one has ever heard of the Marquis’s Mansion’s Eldest Young Master. I thought he was just some mediocre, useless fellow.”
As soon as he said this, the people around us began whispering again.
“If the Eldest Young Master of the Marquis’s Mansion is a sickly invalid, then doesn’t the future of the Marquis’s Mansion have to rest on the Second Young Master?”
“No wonder the Marquis of Qiyang has been so slow to appoint a Heir Apparent. So the legitimate eldest son simply isn’t fit for such a heavy responsibility.”
From the seat of honor, the Lu Family’s young master spoke up to smooth things over. “Thank you for your concern, Young Master Liu. My cousin is merely weaker than most; it is not as if he is bedridden with illness. He may not be a peerless talent, but he is no mediocre man either. He simply has an indifferent temperament.”
“Oh? Is that so? Drinking wine and listening to music is rather dull. I hear the Lu Mansion has a training ground. Young Master Lu, would you mind taking us to have a look?”
Young Master Lu looked troubled. “Today’s banquet is meant to be an elegant affair. The training ground is full of sand and dirt. It would be a shame if the young gentlemen’s robes were soiled.”
Young Master Liu still refused to let it go. “We are all men here. Why care about such things? I witnessed Brother Tingze’s divine archery before, and today I would like to see it again.”
Ye Tingze hurriedly said with modesty, “Last time was only good luck. A coincidence, nothing more.” But he did not refuse either.
I could tell that this Vulgar Man’s desire to see Ye Tingze shoot arrows was false; his real goal was to make Young Master embarrass himself. I glanced at Young Master, who was calmly drinking tea before me. Forget archery-he probably could not even draw a bow.
Young Master Lu spoke again. “It is not that I am being stingy. It is just that the training ground has not been repaired, and I fear it would not satisfy Young Master Liu. Why don’t I invite Young Master Liu over another day instead?”
That Vulgar Man was about to say more when Young Master, who had been silent for a long while, finally spoke.
“Since Young Master Liu admires my second brother so much, why not have him make a special trip with you to demonstrate?”
“That won’t be necessary!”
Ye Tingze hastily refused. Most likely, in his heart, he felt that having a young master of the Marquis’s Mansion accompany someone of Young Master Liu’s sort to shoot arrows would be beneath his status.
Young Master gave a soft laugh. “In that case, let us listen to my second brother. We will not go.”
Ye Tingze abruptly looked at him, shock mingled with a trace of anger. He did not understand why his elder brother, who had always been gentle and soft-natured, seemed so different today.
Seeing the situation grow awkward, Young Master Lu hurriedly said, “These are peaceful and prosperous times, and the realm is governed through civil administration and literary learning. If you all find the banquet dull, why don’t we compose poetry instead?”
Young Master Liu readily agreed. By the time Ye Tingze wanted to stop him, it was already too late.
By now, I could more or less guess who the winner of this banquet would be.
The Lu Mansion had not held this banquet to celebrate their arrival in the capital, nor to pave the way for connections. It was for my Young Master, to give him a chance to enter society.
A chance to appear in glory before the noble families of the capital.
With snow as the theme, the young gentlemen competed in poetry, each poem surpassing the last, every one so fine it made people want to slap the table in praise.
I had read poetry and books before, back when I was young.
Aside from Young Master Liu, the noble sons were all brilliantly talented. After all, they had been carefully cultivated by their families, people meant to shoulder their clans’ futures.
And yet the victor was never in doubt, because this poetry contest had been prepared for Young Master from the beginning.
Young Master’s life in the estate had been difficult. In order to lower Madam’s guard, he had always kept an extremely low profile.
But after serving Young Master for many years, I naturally knew that the one thing he never lacked was books: poetry, prose, military strategy, schemes of power, histories of past dynasties, and everything in between.
With snow as the theme, Young Master’s poem, “Lavish White,” nearly conquered everyone present.
At that moment, Ye Tingze’s expression had already gone rigid, though he had no choice but to maintain a proper smile in front of outsiders.
After all his planning, he had wanted to make Young Master pale in comparison before everyone, only to instead hand Young Master an opportunity to make his name.
When the banquet ended, the guests dispersed, and compared to when we had arrived, it seemed that nothing much had changed. But I knew that was only because the time had not yet come.
On the way back, Ye Tingze’s expression was extremely unnatural. Young Master remained as calm and unruffled as ever, while the Marquis still knew nothing about the matter.