Chapter 92: The Rebels Host a Banquet
The snow had cleared, and the weather was fine. It was the perfect time to boil tea—a refined pastime.
Although the Jiang Mansion did not occupy as vast a space as the grand residences in the capital, it was still quite spacious.
The original layout was intended to have three wings: the Old Madam’s main quarters, Elder Brother Jiang Huaisheng’s wing, and Second Brother Jiang Changtian’s wing.
Whether they were married or not, rooms were supposed to be reserved for them.
However, the current layout consisted of Jiang Huaisheng’s wing and the Old Madam’s main quarters.
The remaining space was used for the Old Madam’s Buddhist prayer room, a tea room, a study, a reception room, and a martial arts training ground, making it very comfortable to live in.
The weather was lovely today.
Jiang Wan was in the tea room, boiling tea and admiring the snow.
In her youth, Old Madam Jiang was also a person of impeccable taste.
Years had passed, and people and things had changed.
Tasting tea again in a strange land brought many new sensations.
The water in Ming County was rather hard.
The tea brewed from it had a sharp, biting fragrance, but if the temperature wasn’t controlled well, it easily became astringent.
Tasting tea on a snowy day had a unique, refined charm.
Old Madam Jiang, dressed in a magnificent robe and wearing a pearl headband, held a small celadon cup in her hand, sipping tea with an elegant posture.
Although it was a snowy day and the tea room was left open to admire the snow, it was not cold.
High-quality frost charcoal was warming in a copper stove; there was no smoke, yet it made people feel warm.
Jiang Wan, wearing a white, light fur-lined robe, sat upright on a chair, her wrists slightly suspended as she poured the tea.
Snow-white, clothes-white, and she was white as well.
The warm robe wrapped around her fair, slender neck, possessing a unique beauty.
One or two guards stood meticulously at the courtyard entrance, able to see the figure sitting upright and brewing tea inside the tea room.
The guard glanced over with his peripheral vision but did not dare to look more, his gaze refocusing on the area under the tree ahead.
Jiang Wan took a sip of the tea she had brewed.
It was slightly astringent, but after entering her mouth, it left a faint sweetness. The fragrance was rich, perfect for drinking on a snowy day.
This was the fine green tea sent by Aunt.
Light snow, pearl charcoal, green tea, a young maiden, and a lady. A scene of worldly splendor.
Suddenly, the steward ran in, stumbling: “It’s bad! It’s bad! The Rebels have entered the city!”
The Rebels moved extremely fast, occupying the county government office and taking control of the county city.
Every important position had been filled with new faces.
The soldiers at the city gates had also been replaced.
Furthermore, they had booked a restaurant to host a banquet for guests.
All the influential, high-status, and wealthy families in the city had received invitations.
They could not help but feel terrified and complain.
However, receiving an invitation was better than receiving a blade.
They couldn’t help but curse the county government for being useless, letting people walk right in.
The invitation requested the attendance of wives and daughters, and everyone felt the Rebels were ignorant of etiquette; how could noblewomen go to such a chaotic place?
If they were going to host a banquet, they should have invited them separately.
The Jiang Mansion also received an invitation.
Because Madam Jiang was present when the invitation was delivered, and upon hearing that they were invited to dine—and that the wives and daughters had to attend—she, while heavily pregnant, turned pale, clutched her belly, and nearly fainted.
Jiang Huaisheng’s expression was grave; his life had truly been too full of hardships.
His sister had written to him before, urging them to go to the capital, but because his wife was pregnant, they had delayed, and he never expected to encounter the Rebels breaking into the city now.
The Old Madam also felt stifled; she had been enjoying her tea peacefully that morning, but upon suddenly learning the Rebels had arrived, she felt palpitations and shortness of breath. Fortunately, she had experienced many storms throughout her life and managed to steady herself.
Upon receiving this news, the calmest person was actually Jiang Wan.
“Misfortune is where fortune lies; didn’t Aunt tell us to wait and see? Since the Rebels sent invitations, it shows they are not the type to slaughter innocents indiscriminately. We should just attend the banquet.”
Jiang Rong, however, thought of the time the mountain bandits killed people in front of him. He shouted loudly: “I won’t go! I won’t go! The Rebels are just mountain bandits, I won’t go!”
The grandson was making a scene. The daughter-in-law was pale and swaying.
Old Madam Jiang casually picked up her cane from the side and struck Jiang Rong with it.
“Ouch!” Jiang Rong let out a miserable shriek.
He hadn’t expected that his grandmother, who had always doted on him, would actually hit him.
“Shut up! Huaisheng and Wan’er will accompany me tonight.”
Old Madam Jiang leaned on her cane and, supported by Aunt Yao, returned to her room.
Back in the room, the imposing aura of Old Madam Jiang dissipated, and she lay lazily on the soft couch.
Aunt Yao knelt down to massage her knees.
“Madam, is your leg ailment acting up again?”
Old Madam Jiang closed her eyes and nodded wearily.
“Wan’er had long advised me to go to the capital, and I should have listened to her. It was just that little beast making trouble here, and I was worried. I never expected to end up in such a situation—I, a dignified titled Madam, actually have to attend a banquet held by Rebels.”
Aunt Yao lightened her touch and comforted her: “These Rebels don’t seem like simple mountain bandits. The Eldest Young Master said their conduct bears the air of a noble family, so it will surely be fine. On the other hand, while the Rebels sent invitations to noble families, they were not so polite to the commoners; they used blades against them.”
At noon, only Mianmian, Father, and Mother were eating together at home.
When Elder Brother was training the villagers, he ate the communal meal with them.
Elder Sister’s good friend was getting married tomorrow, so the wedding feast had already started today.
Mother cooked a pot of noodles.
She used wild vegetable and meat broth as the soup base, with hand-kneaded noodles.
Eating a bowl of hot noodle soup on a cold, snowy winter day, with a handful of wild onions added, was so fragrant it made one’s nose run.
Jiang Mianmian also thought it was delicious.
It was just that she didn’t have enough teeth, so chewing the noodles was a bit difficult.
But as she chewed, there was the fragrance of the noodles; it was excellent.
Jiang Mianmian diligently ate a small bowl and then added another small bowl.
Originally, she should have been worried, after all, the people who came today were Rebels.
But Father looked like he was about to become sworn brothers with the Rebel representative, Mr. Mustache, so Jiang Mianmian felt it wasn’t a big problem.
And that little Rebel older brother~~~ he looked very good even when he didn’t speak.
Jiang Mianmian chewed another noodle with her few teeth, thinking that if Elder Sister knew they were having noodles for lunch, she would definitely regret going to the feast; the noodles at home were better than the ones outside.
A-Cui’s Mother was just all talk; the food she made was said to be terrible.
Sure enough, Elder Sister returned in the evening.
She came back without even bringing leftovers, though usually, people would pack some up from a feast.
Jiang Yu said angrily: “Mother, Mother, I won’t get married in the future, and neither will Younger Sister. We will stay at home until we are old.”
Qin Luoxia was shoveling snow. Seeing the second daughter’s face puffed up in anger, she asked with amusement: “What happened again? It’s fine if you don’t want to get married, but why shouldn’t you let your sister get married?”
Jiang Yu didn’t say anything, but it was clear she was in a very bad mood; her eyes were red.
The little girl inexplicably had something on her mind.
Jiang Mianmian was also curious; with Father’s current status, at least no one in the village would make Elder Sister feel wronged, right?
When she was playing with Elder Sister in her room, she took out a small gold bean and said: “Guest, gave me, Elder Sister, look.”
This was what that Mr. Mustache had stuffed into her hand when he left—a handful of small gold beans.
They had been confiscated by Mother, who left her just one.
“A-Cui’s Mother told A-Cui that once you marry, you belong to someone else’s family, and if you get beaten, you have to endure it.” At this point, Jiang Yu hugged her younger sister, feeling aggrieved, and the gold beans in her eyes fell down.
Jiang Mianmian reached out to wipe Elder Sister’s tears and said: “Elder Sister, don’t fear. I, Father, Mother, Elder Brother, are all very fierce, beat him.”
Jiang Mianmian tried hard to speak in long sentences. Her voice was cutesy and off-key.
Jiang Yu wailed loudly, and while crying, she took the gold bean from her younger sister’s palm and put it away…
Jiang Mianmian:…her eyes also turned red.
In the evening, someone sent an invitation, inviting Mr. Jiang to attend a banquet at Qingfeng Restaurant in the county city.
The note remarked that he could bring his wife and children.
Jiang Changtian looked at the invitation and said to the messenger: “Very good. It seems Mr. Gang has already taken Ming County. We will definitely attend.”
The guard who delivered the invitation did not leave immediately but said respectfully: “Mr. Gang says the roads are slippery from the snow, so he has ordered us to escort you to the banquet.”
Mother warmly greeted the guard from the side, pressed him to sit down, and handed him a bowl of thick, hot noodle soup.
“It’s cold out; drink something hot before you go. It also gives us time to get ready.”
The guard had delivered many invitations and had been met with cold glares and curses all along the way.
Only here, at Mr. Jiang’s place, did he encounter—a bowl of hot soup.
The snow in the courtyard had been shoveled clean, while snow still hung on the trees outside the courtyard.
Under the eaves were a few broken pottery jars, and the wild onions inside the jars were a vibrant green.
With a bowl of soup in his stomach, he felt a bit of warmth in his body.
The guard heard a little girl in the next room shout: “Mother, I don’t have new clothes to wear.”
He couldn’t help but smile. He thought, when his lord conquers another city, he would go back to fetch his wife and daughter. He would buy his daughter new clothes.
This winter was truly cold, but this bowl of soup was truly hot.
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