Ganlu cheerfully instructed the young maids to set the table.
After having lunch together, Dou Zhao and Jiang Yan went to the upper courtyard.
The women’s banquet was laid out in the flower hall of the upper courtyard. When they arrived, the feast had just ended, and Lady Song and others were accompanying several unfamiliar ladies in plain attire to admire chrysanthemums at the steps of the flower hall.
Seeing Dou Zhao, everyone was startled.
Lady Song hurriedly introduced them: “This is our household’s heir’s wife, and this is our household’s cousin.” She then pointed to the other ladies: “This is the wife of Mr. Li, the National Duke’s classmate; this is the wife of Mr. Wen, the headmaster of Jinxiu Academy, another classmate of the Duke; this is the wife of Secretary Qin from the Five Armies Command…”
They were all rather obscure figures.
Everyone exchanged greetings.
Dou Zhao apologized, “My child is still young and can’t be left alone, so I’ve neglected you all!” She then said to Lady Song, “It’s fortunate to have your support, Aunt so that everything at home can run smoothly without any mistakes.”
Lady Song humbly deflected the praise.
Someone laughed and said, “We’ve heard that your household has a cousin who looks exactly like the late Lady Jiang. Now that we’ve seen her, it’s truly not an exaggeration.” She took Jiang Yan’s hand and said, “You do look just like Lady Jiang!”
Jiang Yan felt a bit uncomfortable.
Dou Zhao smiled and changed the subject: “It’s getting late. Shall we move to the waterside pavilion? We’ve set up a stage there and invited a troupe to perform.”
Everyone unanimously agreed, and they flocked around Dou Zhao and Jiang Yan as they headed towards the waterside pavilion.
Among them was a round-faced woman in her thirties who introduced herself as Madam Huang, wife of Hu Chong, the Left Army Secretary of the Five Armies Command. Her family was from the Dengzhou Garrison Command. She smiled at Dou Zhao and said, “…When the old Duke was alive, my father once came with my grandfather to pay respects to him. After returning, my father couldn’t stop talking about the splendor of Duke Ying’s mansion. I’ve heard about it since I was little, and I’ve always wanted to see what it’s like. Today, I’ve finally had my eyes opened. Just those two ginkgo trees at the entrance must be at least a hundred years old, right?”
Her attitude was neither servile nor overbearing, and her tone was cheerful and lively, which made Dou Zhao quite fond of her.
Dou Zhao smiled and said, “I didn’t expect our two families to have such a connection! Those ginkgo trees were said to be there when the mansion was first established. Because our ancestors liked them, they’ve been nurtured until today. They’re probably more than a hundred years old.”
Madam Hu chuckled and turned her gaze to Jiang Yan: “The young cousin is truly beautiful. How old is she this year?”
Dou Zhao’s brow furrowed slightly.
Jiang Yan, being honest, answered softly, “I’m fifteen this year!”
“Oh my!” Madam Li’s face was full of pity. “She’s just come of age!”
It seemed that everyone had already heard that Jiang Yan was a “widow.”
Jiang Yan remained silent.
Dou Zhao casually asked the greeting matron: “Which troupe did we invite today? What are their specialties?”
The greeting matron smiled and replied, “We’ve invited the Guanglian Society’s Zeng Chusheng today. However, Zeng Chusheng hasn’t performed at private gatherings for some time, so he sent two of his direct disciples, Zeng Liansheng and Zeng Junsheng, to perform while he oversees. Zeng Liansheng specializes in female roles, while Zeng Junsheng performs young male roles. They’re both excellent in ‘The Embroidered Coat’ and ‘The Jade Hairpin’.”
Dou Zhao turned back to the ladies with a smile and asked, “What would everyone like to hear later?”
Someone said, “Let’s hear ‘The Embroidered Coat’.”
Others suggested, “How about ‘The Jade Hairpin’? It’s more interesting than ‘The Embroidered Coat’.”
Everyone enthusiastically discussed the repertoire.
Madam Hu’s eyes darted around as she joined in the discussion about which play to choose, effectively changing the subject.
Jiang Yan secretly sighed in relief and gently supported Dou Zhao as they sat down under the eaves of the waterside pavilion.
The greeting matron brought over the program for the guests to choose from.
Ruozhu hurried in and whispered in Dou Zhao’s ear, “Madam, the steward from the front courtyard just sent a message saying that Princess Ningde and Old Madam Lu are both too elderly to withstand the noise, so they’ve only sent the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family to attend the wedding feast.”
Dou Zhao was surprised.
She hadn’t expected Princess Ningde and Old Madam Lu to so clearly state their position.
She nodded slightly.
Just then, she saw the greeting matron leading Madam Lu towards them.
Dou Zhao went to greet her.
Madam Lu smiled wryly and said, “Don’t take it to heart. It’s just that the Duke’s actions this time are too outrageous, and everyone feels that coming would be beneath their dignity.”
Dou Zhao smiled and said, “If the Princess and the Old Madam don’t come for our little Yuan’s hundred-day celebration, I won’t let it go.”
Madam Lu laughed, “Who would dare not come for little Yuan’s hundred-day celebration? Don’t worry, even if the two elders say it’s too noisy, I’ll drag them here myself!”
This was, of course, a joke.
Madam Lu was certain that even if Song Han was a concubine-born son, Princess Ningde and Old Madam Lu wouldn’t necessarily be so disrespectful to Song Yichun.
Dou Zhao led Madam Lu to sit in the waterside pavilion.
Gradually, people from the families of Marquis Yan’an, Marquis Changxing, and other noble houses that were usually associated with Duke Ying’s mansion arrived. However, they were either secondary wives or young mistresses; not a single primary wife or eldest daughter-in-law came.
Even Dou Zhao felt embarrassed.
By the time of the evening banquet, the situation was even more awkward—there were only seven or eight tables of guests in the entire flower hall, less lively than even an aunt’s birthday celebration in a marquis’s household.
Dou Zhao secretly sighed.
Those wives of scholars and secretaries also sensed something amiss, and they all kept their heads down while eating, not saying a word.
Since the Miao family was in Daxing, the Song family had sent out sedan chairs before dawn. Song Third Madam and Madam Li, who were to act as the full-blessing people for Song Han’s wedding, had also set out early with the sedan chairs.
After the evening banquet, the ladies and madams from various households found various excuses to return home, while the wives of Song Yichun’s friends accompanied Dou Zhao to the bridal chamber.
The bridal chamber was a small courtyard with two entrances and three rooms, decorated quite elegantly. Part of the bride’s dowry was stored in the back storeroom, while some had already been displayed, watched over by two maids and two matrons who had accompanied the bride from the Miao family.
Everyone examined the bride’s dowry. Although the quilt cover was embroidered with fine silk, its color and pattern were styles from a decade ago. The teacups, though of a novel design, were not from the imperial kiln and were quite cheap. As for the feather dusters, the feathers fell off at a touch. The tin basin was too light to handle properly. The jade stone bonsai looked dull, more like ordinary stones…
People couldn’t help but show some disdain.
One tactless person exclaimed, “Wasn’t this an imperial-decreed marriage? How come the dowry is all like this?”
Someone quickly pulled at that person’s sleeve.
The person hurriedly shut their mouth.
The maids and matrons from the Miao family blushed with embarrassment.
Lady Song’s face burned. She hurriedly invited everyone to have tea in the east wing room next to the bridal chamber.
Everyone silently went to the east wing room.
Lady Song enthusiastically offered fruits to everyone, then asked the headmaster’s wife from Jinxiu Academy, “Where is your academy located? Do you accept young children?”
The headmaster’s wife elegantly sipped her tea and replied slowly, “The academy is located in Sun Family Alley next to the Medicine King Temple outside the city. We only accept children aged seven or eight…”
As everyone listened to their conversation, Madam Hu approached Dou Zhao and said softly with a smile, “Madam, please don’t be offended by my tactless words. It’s just that seeing the young cousin, my heart aches for her. I thought of my widowed cousin at home who just turned twenty this year. He’s quite handsome, has a few acres of land, and passed the imperial examination at sixteen. His previous wife didn’t leave any children, and he lives with his widowed mother. I just wanted to play matchmaker for your young cousin, which is why I asked so boldly.”
As she spoke, she carefully observed Dou Zhao’s expression.
Dou Zhao was very surprised. She felt that Madam Hu was being too forward for such a new acquaintance, but she was afraid that if she rejected the offer outright, others might think her requirements were too high and wouldn’t dare to propose matches for Jiang Yan. So she said, “This matter still needs to be discussed with our heir. If that family is truly interested, you might as well write down the person’s name, birth details, and family situation for me. That way, I can show it to the heir later.”
Madam Hu hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.
Given her social status, if it weren’t for Song Han’s wedding, she wouldn’t have had a chance to set foot in Duke Ying’s mansion. That’s why she had taken this risky step.
She nodded happily and went to the west wing room across the way, accompanied by a maid.
If she could marry the rumored switched daughter of Duke Ying’s family, not only would her cousin rise like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, but they would also benefit from the connection.
She carefully thought through what she needed to write down before putting the brush on paper.
Dou Zhao had Ruoting collect the note and said, “We’ll contact you later.”
Madam Hu glanced at Jiang Yan, who was intently listening to the opera and nodded repeatedly.
At a quarter to 7 PM, the bridal sedan chair entered the mansion.
The bride crossed the fire basin, performed the wedding ceremony, entered the bridal chamber, and had her veil lifted.
The bride’s appearance elicited a wave of admiration from everyone.
Miao Ansu quickly glanced at Song Han and found that the groom was quite handsome. Moreover, his gaze was full of amazement as he looked at her, which greatly satisfied her vanity, causing her to lower her eyes shyly.
Song Han hadn’t expected the bride to be so beautiful.
His heart wavered for a moment, and when the full-blessing people brought up the cups for the wedding toast, his movements became gentle.
Miao Ansu sensed Song Han’s change and felt quite proud. Her courage also grew. As soon as Song Han left the bridal chamber, her gaze swept across the group of women.
Apart from a young woman wearing a silver-red short jacket who looked graceful and refined like a lady from a noble family, the others were all women over thirty.
Miao Ansu couldn’t help but pursed her lips.
Wasn’t that Dou woman said to have unparalleled beauty? To her, she seemed quite ordinary.
It seemed that Dou’s reputation was merely inflated by others.
She signaled to her maid, Ji Hong, indicating that she should reward the little maid who had poured tea for her.
Ji Hong’s face flushed red and white, but she didn’t move.
Miao Ansu was displeased.
The little maid, however, retreated respectfully.
Third Madam Song, remembering how the Miao family had demanded red envelopes when they went to fetch the bride, and thinking that after today she would no longer be involved, couldn’t wait to complete her duties and had no interest in talking to Miao Ansu. Madam Li, on the other hand, wanted to introduce the people in the room to Miao Ansu, but she hadn’t recognized everyone, so how could she introduce them?
So everyone just teased Miao Ansu with a few words here and there.
Miao Ansu firmly remembered her mother’s words and pretended not to hear anything anyone said, just smiling in response.
Madam Hu praised Miao Ansu for her composure.
A little maid came in and said with a smile, “The Madam says it’s getting late, and the ladies and madams need to return home. She’ll see them off first.”
Fortunately, she hadn’t gone back on her word!