The frugal and thrifty doctor has been having incredibly good luck lately! When the doctor’s phone screen cracked, he didn’t replace it to save money!
The doctor bit his pen while calculating accounts, seeing the large sum for a year’s rent made his heart ache, but strangely enough, Tang Yuan actually pulled out his property deed! When exactly did he buy this house?
With luck bursting through the roof, he was mysteriously compelled to buy a lottery ticket, and it turned out to match the announced first prize numbers exactly…
He wondered if all this had anything to do with that green bead on the lucky cat’s paw sitting on his bedside table…
294 AD
Shi Xi clenched his sleeves, wiping away the fine sweat that had seeped from his palms due to nervousness, following closely behind his father as they walked into the Wang family estate.
Today, Dragon General Wang Kai was hosting a grand banquet for guests, and Shi Xi had no idea what his father was thinking, actually bringing along his six-year-old son.
Shi Xi was the only son his father had gained at over forty years old, so naturally he had been doted upon since childhood. When he was even younger, he hadn’t even left their own courtyard. Perhaps realizing there was a problem with raising a boy as preciously as a girl, recently Shi Chong had been taking Shi Xi everywhere he went, and today’s banquet at the Wang residence was no exception.
Although Shi Xi was young, after meeting other adults, he would stumblingly perform all the proper etiquette, putting on the appearance of a little adult, which made him even more endearing. From the moment he entered the Wang estate, he encountered guests both great and small along the way, naturally earning quite a few greeting gifts of various kinds.
The Wang estate’s banquet was held on the largest pavilion in the residence. This pavilion could accommodate over a hundred people, decorated with rocks and planted vegetation. It was currently the beautiful season of spring, with flowers of all colors blooming in full splendor, competing in their fragrance and beauty. Among the flower shadows, there were also dozens of dancers dressed in light, gorgeous clothing with graceful, elegant figures, dancing to the soft, enchanting music drifting from the distance. Although the dancers’ forms couldn’t be seen completely due to the obstruction of flower branches and tree trunks, when their sleeves fluttered, flower petals fell like snow, creating an incomparably magnificent and beautiful scene.
Around this pavilion was an artificially excavated emerald green pool. After the host announced that guests could take their seats, the guests crossed the pool one by one via a white jade bridge to reach the central pavilion.
Small boats slowly sailed across the rippling blue waters of the pool, each carrying several musicians who played flutes, pipes, and reed instruments, or plucked guqin zithers, se zithers, and pipa lutes. The music, sometimes gentle and sometimes urgent, surrounded the pavilion and echoed across the pool’s surface. Because each boat was far enough from the central pavilion, the music wouldn’t disturb the guests’ conversations, and also seemed ethereal and otherworldly. Moreover, since all the boats cruised on the pool waters, their distance from the pavilion constantly changed, so the harmony of the various instruments also varied accordingly, showing ingenious craftsmanship.
Within the pavilion, a winding stream meandered through. Perhaps utilizing the terrain and mechanical devices, pool water from one side curved and flowed murmuringly through the pavilion, emptying into the pool on the other side. On this winding stream that passed through the pavilion, floating along with the current were gold-painted lacquer plates filled with delicacies and carved jade cups filled with fine wine and jade nectar. The banquet guests sat directly on the ground beside the winding stream, able to look up and admire the dancers performing around them, or bend down to scoop up the vessels floating on the stream before them to taste the fine food and wine—it was incomparably pleasant.
Shi Xi considered himself to have seen many fine things at home, but this was the first time he had witnessed such an extravagant and luxurious scene. He immediately understood why his father had brought him out to see the world.
Shi Xi turned his little head, his two eyes seeming insufficient as he looked around everywhere. Even after his father pulled him to sit down for quite a while, he still couldn’t help looking left and right, especially fascinated by the vessels floating on the winding stream before him.
“This is called ‘winding stream with floating cups,'” Shi Chong said with a low laugh, seeing his son’s interest. Without caring whether Shi Xi could read or not, he directly grabbed his small hand and used his finger to write these four characters in his palm. Shi Xi had no idea what he was writing, treating it like being tickled, but still followed his father in reading these four characters in his childish voice. His little eyes followed the floating vessels until he saw several servants at the pavilion’s edge busily fishing out vessels that guests hadn’t touched, preventing them from floating into the pool, only then did he satisfactorily withdraw his gaze.
He looked down at his own chubby little hand, trying to scoop up some food himself, but the young attendant beside him was faster. Whenever he lingered with his gaze on any lacquer plate, the attendant would nimbly reach out and fish that plate out.
The delicacies on these vessels were each exquisitely styled. The meat dishes included flying birds and walking beasts prepared by methods such as sauce, stew, soup, steaming, roasting, grilling, frying, deep-frying, honey-glazing, wine-pickling, and mixing. The fish were fresh fish caught directly from the pool and cooked on boats, fresh and delicious. Interspersed were crisp green vegetables and various melons and fruits, as well as refined noodles and pastries—the varieties were countless, no wonder they needed to use the winding stream banquet format.
Getting his father’s permission to start eating, Shi Xi’s eyes immediately lit up. Each portion was just a little bit, but there were so many varieties that soon his little belly bulged out, and he could only stare helplessly at the vessels floating past him.
But wouldn’t it be more painful to look without being able to eat? Shi Xi touched his protruding little belly, sipping peach juice while turning his gaze to both sides. After Shi Chong finished exchanging courteous toasts with the nearby guests, he turned back to see his son’s little appearance, and without caring whether he understood or not, began introducing the various people seated along both banks of the winding stream in a low voice.
Actually, he had already met many of them when entering, but getting to know them again wasn’t bad. Shi Xi carefully matched the greeting gifts in his sleeves with each guest his father introduced.
“The upstream seats are the places of honor,” Shi Chong didn’t demand that his son remember everyone, but at least the important few should leave an impression. After repeating this several times in a low voice, he sighed, “Xi’er, even this winding stream banquet has many particular rules.”
Under his father’s guidance, Shi Xi discovered that guests seated upstream didn’t dare choose dishes casually, while guests downstream enjoyed what others had already picked through, and he and his father were seated in the middle-to-lower stream position.
“Then father, why don’t we sit over there?” Shi Xi blinked his eyes and asked innocently.
“The seating arrangement was decided long ago,” Shi Chong took a sip of lychee green wine, enjoying it as he half-closed his eyes. This was a fine wine brewed according to an ancient recipe from the Han Dynasty, using lychees as the main ingredient combined with grains. The longer it aged, the deeper the wine’s color became. The lychee green in Shi Chong’s hands was already approaching jade color, showing it had considerable age, revealing the deep foundation of the Wang family’s wealth.
“Then what determines this seating arrangement?” Shi Xi couldn’t help leaning over to smell the wine in his father’s cup, then wrinkled his little nose at the sharp taste.
“Nothing beyond fame and profit,” Shi Chong savored the rich wine fragrance between his lips and teeth, smiling as he continued, “Fame refers to reputation and renown, profit refers to benefits and interests.”
Shi Xi basically heard without understanding, his large black and white eyes blinking in confusion.
“Actually, it’s about becoming wealthy, or having talent, or having everyone know you—only then can you sit in the best seats,” Shi Chong gazed at the noisy, lively upstream positions, a flash of longing passing through his eyes before he hid it well.
“Oh, that sounds so troublesome… I’m quite happy sitting here,” Shi Xi smacked his little lips, feeling that even food others had picked through still had many varieties, enough for him to eat!
Shi Chong looked at his son’s unambitious appearance and secretly sighed.
Well then, if his son wasn’t competitive, he would just have to be more competitive himself.
Shi Xi shifted his gaze away from the winding stream and looked to both sides. Actually, to be precise, no one else was here just to bury their head in eating like him. Some were loudly debating, others were raising cups to compose poetry, and still others were clearly drunk, unrestrainedly getting up to enter the woods to seek pleasure with the dancers.
He was staring intently in the direction of the woods when a palm appeared before his eyes, blocking his view, with fingers pressing against his cheek to turn his head back.
“Father…” Shi Xi protested unhappily.
“Xi’er, see no evil.”
Shi Xi wanted to argue a few more words but was shocked speechless by the developments that followed.
Someone seemed to say something, and a team of servants rushed out. A small boat drifting on the pool turned around and sailed toward the pavilion, then the five musicians on board were escorted over by servants and made to kneel by the winding stream in sequence.
What was this situation? Shi Xi’s eyes brightened as he craned his neck, wanting to see what was happening. Unfortunately, his small frame was really too short—even standing up, he couldn’t see much, so he could only prick up his ears to listen to the gossip around him.
“It’s said that Chu Zhong enjoys music, and indeed his reputation is well-deserved—he could actually hear an error in the flute music.”
“I heard that one musician mistakenly played a gong note as a shang note.”
“Tsk, if it was wrong, it was wrong—why point it out? Doesn’t that embarrass Dragon General?”
“This Wang Chu Zhong, after marrying Princess Xiangcheng and climbing high branches, has become arrogant.”
“Not so, not so! Calculating it, Dragon General is Wang Chu Zhong’s grand-uncle—they’re family, no need to stand on ceremony!”
“Hmph, just wait and see—it’s not that simple.”
“…”
When Shi Chong had made introductions earlier, he had particularly emphasized Dragon General and Wang Chu Zhong. Shi Xi easily found his targets. Dragon General was Wang Kai, the host of this banquet, seated in the place of honor. He was somewhat older than his father, with a slightly intoxicated expression, his eyes narrowed to slits, but one could still see the sharpness hidden within. Shi Xi felt around in his sleeve for the small white jade horse inside, matching the greeting gift with the person.
As for the prince consort Wang Chu Zhong, his name should be Wang Dun, styled Chu Zhong. He was the young man seated beside Dragon General Wang Kai. He was only in his twenties, with clear eyebrows and handsome features, wearing a long white robe with a high cap and wide sash—indescribably elegant and graceful. He sat there simply with crossed legs, but his spine was straight as a rod, immediately standing out from the others like a crane among chickens.
Shi Xi rummaged through his sleeves but couldn’t find any greeting gift this person had given him, pouting in displeasure.
What a cheapskate!
Moreover, this person clearly had problems. The banquet was full of human voices, and the small boats were so far from the pavilion—what kind of ears would it take to hear someone play a wrong note?
At this moment, the banquet host Wang Kai had already called out loudly: “Chu Zhong, you say the flute music was wrong, but there are five musicians total on that boat. Should we punish them all together? How should this be handled?”