“Father, this is a painting I sought out for you.”

A handsome young man of about seventeen or eighteen, wearing a blue-purple round-collar robe with a jade crown, stood up and presented a gift box.

This was the Marquis of Dingxi’s third son, Chang Yunqi.

He lifted his head, meeting the eyes of the smiling Marquis of Dingxi in the place of honor. The father and son’s faces were cut from exactly the same mold.

The Marquis of Dingxi, approaching his fiftieth year, didn’t look old due to his pampered lifestyle. His handsome features had gained a few more traces of years’ accumulation, making him appear scholarly and gentle.

The Marquis of Dingxi looked at this son with a warm smile.

“What good thing is it? Open it and let’s see, let Father check if you’ve been deceived,” he laughed with some teasing.

The Marquis of Dingxi considered himself a very humorous and good-natured person who liked to joke. When he wanted to joke, he didn’t care about occasion or seniority. The Old Marchioness was very displeased with this and scolded him frequently. The Marquis of Dingxi’s good nature was precisely shown in this point – no matter how his mother berated him, he would respond when he should, but continued doing things his own way.

Chang Yunqi smiled and opened the box with his hands, nodding his chin toward a young man of similar age sitting nearby.

“Fourth Brother, help me,” he said.

The young man quickly stood up. This was another son born to a concubine, Chang Yunhong.

The two brothers unrolled the scroll together. It turned out to be a horizontal scroll painting of a reclining beauty. This beauty was charming and seductive, as if just awakened from spring sleep, with alluring eyes like silk and slightly disheveled clothes, painted so lifelike it seemed real.

The Marquis of Dingxi laughed heartily, while a trace of disdain appeared on Madam Xie’s face.

The other siblings and brothers also gathered around to look. Seeing this beauty painting, the men all laughed while the women felt somewhat shy.

“Oh my, Third Young Master’s gift really… it’s fortunate this is his own father…” a concubine sitting at the lower seat whispered to another, “Where have you seen a son give his father this kind of thing…”

This concubine was in her twenties, beautiful and charming, with a voluptuous figure.

“Concubine Zhu just arrived, so she doesn’t know,” the concubine listening to her, around thirty, stirred her soup with a spoon while speaking without even glancing at her, “Our Marquis doesn’t avoid such things. The Marquis has said that a family should show true nature – there’s nothing that can or cannot be done. Would it be filial to knowingly give something disappointing and admonishing to spoil the mood when you know your father likes flowers, plants, and beauties?”

The phrase “just arrived” made Concubine Zhu slightly embarrassed, but she quickly recovered.

“Yes, younger sister is new and young, not knowing proper conduct. Elder sister is experienced – please guide me more,” she said with a smile.

The soup-stirring concubine’s movements became more vigorous, the bowl and spoon clinking crisply.

No one noticed these small movements, but the people viewing the painting became lively.

“Qi-ge’er,” a tall young man of sixteen or seventeen suddenly asked, “this painting has some flavor of Master Tang’s work…”

Master Tang was a renowned scholar of the time, surnamed Tang, whose calligraphy and painting skills were extremely high. Over time, his real name was forgotten and everyone called him Master. His paintings and calligraphy were worth a fortune and difficult to obtain. He was also unrestrained and carefree, hard to meet, making it even harder to request his works.

At these words, everyone looked at Chang Yunqi.

“Brother, you’ve become obsessed thinking about Master Tang’s paintings,” another young man pulled the speaker and whispered, “No one in all of Yongqing Prefecture can get Master Tang’s paintings. Besides, these past two years Master Tang has become even more elusive and mysterious. They say he’s ascended to immortality…”

Before he finished speaking, Chang Yunqi seemed to have been waiting for this very comment. He laughed heartily and picked up the paper box that had held the painting, taking out a small narrow strip and shaking it open with his hand.

“Father, this is the painting your son specially requested for you,” he said loudly.

The narrow strip unfolded – unmounted, seemingly torn randomly from a sheet of paper, with several characters written on it.

“Marquis of Dingxi Chang Rong – Auspicious Celebration”

There was also a large seal and a small inscription signature.

“It’s Master Tang’s!” the young man who had first raised the question shouted. If Chang Yunqi hadn’t dodged quickly, the narrow strip would have been grabbed by him.

The Marquis of Dingxi also stood up, his face full of surprise and joy.

The Marquis had originally thought it was just the children’s plaything. He liked it well enough but hadn’t taken it seriously – he’d seen real beauties before. But now that it was actually from Master Tang’s hand, the meaning wasn’t just that of a simple beauty painting. Moreover, there was this personally inscribed and signed strip.

“Good, good, bring it here quickly for me to see,” the Marquis said loudly.

When everyone carefully brought the painting over, not caring that they were at a banquet, the Marquis of Dingxi examined it thoroughly, unable to hide his smile.

“You’ve worked hard for this. How much effort did you spend to get it?” he looked at his son and laughed.

“If Father is happy, then it’s worth it for your son,” Chang Yunqi said loudly.

“Uncle, Uncle…” Before the father and son could finish their filial moment, the young man squeezed forward and bowed.

“Yunsheng, stop right there. It’s no use saying anything,” the Marquis of Dingxi smiled and raised his hand to him, “I don’t lend out paintings or calligraphy…”

The young man’s face immediately clouded with sorrow.

“Uncle…” he called out.

“This boy, the painting is good, but the mounting is too crude. After I have it properly mounted, come to my study – I’ll let you look at it for one day,” the Marquis of Dingxi smiled.

“Uncle is too stingy, only one day to look,” the young man grumbled.

“Stingy? Uncle will tell you a method,” the Marquis of Dingxi laughed.

“Uncle, please tell me quickly,” the young man’s eyes lit up as he asked eagerly.

“Go quickly and marry a wife, then have a big fat son. Wait another ten-odd years until your son grows up and can also find you a painting. Then you can even hug it while sleeping and no one would dare object…” the Marquis of Dingxi laughed.

At these words, the whole hall burst into laughter.

“Uncle, how can an elder tease a junior like this?” the young man said with mixed laughter and tears. Unable to continue this topic, he had to sit down.

“Qi-ge’er is so thoughtful,” Madam Xie said with a slight smile, looking at the instantly lively hall, though her gaze was directed toward a woman on the other side.

The whole room was filled with beauties, but this woman approaching forty didn’t pale in comparison.

This was the Marquis of Dingxi’s concubine, the Old Marchioness’s niece, Madam Zhou. Originally, if Young Madam Xie hadn’t married in, she would now be the Marquis of Dingxi’s legitimate wife. She had given birth to one son and one daughter.

However, these were all private rumors among the servants. At the time, because of these rumors, Madam Zhou had cried and wanted to return to her natal family, saying this was creating discord between her and Young Madam Xie, making it impossible for her to maintain her position in the Marquis’s manor. As a side branch whose father had died early, being able to serve the Marquis and Madam was a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes. She would work like an ox or horse to repay the Marquis and Madam. These rumors actually slandered her by suggesting she had private relations with the Marquis before marriage – such words that sullied the Marquis and destroyed her reputation would truly be the death of her, making it impossible to maintain her position here.

At that time, Young Madam Xie had just entered the household. In her anger, the Old Marchioness had several servant women beaten to death. This wasn’t the end – she also scolded Young Madam Xie for lax household management and took back the stewardship rights she had just been given. From then on, no one dared speak half a word of rumor. But the animosity between legitimate wife and concubine was established. Unfortunately, this Madam Zhou had the Old Marchioness’s support from behind and the Marquis’s favor from the front. Her influence was so strong that no one could stop her, until the Old Marchioness later became ill and gradually stopped managing household affairs, and the Marquis had new favorites. Only then did she quiet down. After the Old Marchioness died, she became even more low-key, becoming obsessed with Buddhist chanting and copying sutras, which she had been doing for over three years.

This Third Young Master was her son.

Hearing Madam Xie say this, Madam Zhou only smiled with lowered head.

“It’s thanks to Madam’s good guidance,” she said.

“I wouldn’t dare claim credit. Qi-ge’er grew up following the Old Marchioness – if he’s well-raised, it’s because the Old Marchioness raised him well,” Madam Xie smiled faintly, “If you’re thinking of it, have him go kowtow to the Old Marchioness.”

“Yes,” Madam Zhou still said compliantly with lowered head.

Because of Third Young Master’s amazing gift, the other children’s gifts held no surprises. However, the Marquis of Dingxi’s consistently good nature made each child feel they hadn’t been neglected, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Just as they were talking, a woman rushed in from outside.

“Marquis, Madam, the Prince has sent someone,” she called out loudly.

A smile immediately appeared on Madam Xie’s face – this smile was completely different from her earlier smiles, overflowing from the depths of her eyes.

They must have sent someone to speak auspicious words. The Prince’s gift had arrived home several days ago – an inkstone now displayed in the Marquis’s study. Everyone thought this, so they didn’t pay much attention, except for Madam Xie. No one looked toward the door. Soon they heard a series of jingling ornament sounds. With many women in the household, such jingling ornament sounds weren’t unusual, but as they listened, everyone sensed something different. This jingling had rhythm, as if playing music. So everyone put down their chopsticks and wine cups and looked outside.

They saw several people in military dress escorting four or five men and women inside, with one leading woman particularly eye-catching.