Chapter 77: There is Room For the Poor Daughter
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Chapter 77: The Banquet
The Yan family had just arrived in Xingzhou and were unfamiliar with the area. Whether it was for Yan Zhigao to smoothly begin his work or for the Yan family to establish themselves in Xingzhou, hosting a banquet to invite local officials and gentlemen was inevitable.
This banquet was the Yan family's first official appearance in Xingzhou, making it highly significant. As a result, everyone in the family was on high alert, even Old Madam Yan took part in preparing the banquet dishes for the event.
Daohua Xuan.
Daohua stood in front of the flower trellis, her chin resting in her hand, her brows slightly furrowed as if she were deep in thought.
Ping Tong, carrying a newly made dress, happened to see this and immediately asked with a smile, "Miss, have you encountered some trouble?"
Daohua, seeing that it was Ping Tong, sighed like an adult and said, "The banquet is coming up, and I was thinking about how to entertain the young ladies who will be attending."
The tasks in the Yan family were divided. For the back courtyard, her mother and second aunt would be responsible for hosting the ladies, and her third aunt would handle the kitchen affairs. As for Daohua, her job was to look after the young ladies who were invited.
As for the outer courtyard, her father would manage the adult guests, while her older brother would take care of the young men.
Ping Tong smiled and asked, "Have you come up with any ideas, Miss?"
Daohua, seeing Ping Tong's smiling face, rolled her eyes playfully and said, "Please, Ping Tong, offer me some advice!"
Ping Tong chuckled and replied, "What advice can a servant like me offer the young lady?" But seeing Daohua's disappointed face, Ping Tong continued, "However, Madam did ask me to come and share with you what young ladies typically do at banquets."
Daohua's eyes brightened, and she immediately dragged Ping Tong into the room. "Please tell me, what do young ladies do at banquets?"
Ping Tong first handed the dress to Wang Man'er, then smiled and said, "At banquets, young ladies don’t have many activities to do. It usually involves enjoying flowers, drinking tea, chatting, and sometimes composing poetry."
"Ah? Is that all?" Daohua said, visibly disappointed.
Ping Tong nodded, "Yes. For noble families, the reputation of their daughters is highly important. When visiting others, everyone behaves with great decorum. So, young ladies need not worry too much. On the day of the banquet, simply treat everyone with courtesy."
Madam Li, worried that her daughter might be nervous about hosting for the first time, had specifically asked Ping Tong to comfort Daohua.
Before long, Ping Tong left, and Wang Man'er, seeing that Daohua still looked troubled, asked, "Miss, didn’t Madam say to simply treat everyone with courtesy? Why are you still worrying?"
Daohua sighed, "It’s not that simple."
Wherever there are many women, there are bound to be gossip and complications. Even if it's a group of young girls, she couldn’t afford to be careless.
Fortunately, their home was situated near the government office, and there were no rock gardens or ponds, otherwise, she would have been on edge the entire day of the banquet.
"Enjoying flowers is out of the question," she thought. "The climbing roses have already been planted, and the flowerbeds have many flowers, but they’re not blooming yet."
"Drinking tea is fine, but we can't do that all day, can we?"
"Composing poetry..." Daohua shook her head. In her past and present lives, she had never had a poetic talent. Even if she copied someone else’s work, she could only remember a few lines. She couldn’t just recite "The bright moonlight before my bed" to a group of young girls.
Daohua frowned, "I need to find something to do." If they just sat around, a group of young girls would inevitably start causing trouble. She didn’t want to look bad as the host.
After thinking for a while, Daohua quickly ran off to find her third uncle, Yan Zhiqiang.
The day of the banquet soon arrived.
Early in the morning, the Yan family got up to prepare, each attending to their respective tasks. By the time it was the hour of the snake (around 9 a.m.), guests began to arrive one after another.
Daohua followed Madam Li, welcoming the ladies into the house with smiles and polite words.
Madam Li first took the young ladies to greet Old Madam Yan, then, after a short stay, led them to the main courtyard to converse.
Once everyone had left, Old Madam Yan let out a sigh of relief. As a rural old woman, she had a hard time finding common ground with the wives of officials.
"The eldest daughter-in-law is so thoughtful!" She thought. She recalled Daohua and said to Aunt Sun, "Daohua is seeing such a banquet for the first time, and she is hosting it as the head of the house. Go and see if she needs help, and if so, stay with her."
Old Madam Yan, because of her age, could only greet a few people, but as the Yan family’s eldest daughter, Daohua had to manage the young ladies, which meant she was quite busy.
In the Main Courtyard.
In the living room, several well-dressed ladies were chatting and drinking tea. They looked quite comfortable, suggesting they had known each other for a while.
Nearby, several young girls were gathered in a group, laughing and chatting loudly. Not far away, Yan Yihuan, Yan Yishuang, and Yan Yile sat alone, their faces awkward as they couldn’t join the conversation.
When Daohua and Madam Li brought the ladies from the Tong family in, they saw this scene.
Madam Li glanced at Daohua, looking slightly concerned. Among the young ladies today was the granddaughter of the former head of the cabinet, who was known to have a bad temper. Madam Li worried that her daughter might have trouble dealing with her.
Daohua noticed Madam Li’s gaze, smiled, and immediately walked over to the young lady from the Tong family.
Seeing Daohua walk over and warmly greet all the young ladies, Madam Li let out a sigh of relief and went to chat with the other ladies.
Zhou Jingwan, the youngest daughter of the Zhou family, a prominent family in Xingzhou, and the most favored granddaughter of the former head of the cabinet, Zhou Zhengyao, had a somewhat arrogant demeanor.
The Zhou family had already investigated the Yan family’s situation, so Zhou Jingwan knew that Daohua had grown up in the countryside.
At first, Zhou Jingwan had assumed Daohua would be rough and uncouth, but upon meeting her, she found that Daohua’s appearance and demeanor were as refined as those of any noble lady. If it weren't for her plain clothes, she would almost be mistaken for a young lady from the capital.
Looking at Daohua’s fair, rosy complexion, Zhou Jingwan felt a little uncomfortable, especially as she thought of her own darker skin. After some contemplation, she said, "Miss Yan, since we’re all bored, why don’t we try composing poetry together?"
Appearance is a gift of nature, but learning is acquired. Zhou Jingwan didn’t believe that someone who grew up in the countryside would be capable of composing poetry.
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This novel is translated by the Eternal Novel Hits translators. Please read it at https://eternalnovelhits.blogspot.com
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Before Daohua could respond, Yan Yishuang, who had been silent, immediately agreed, "That’s a great idea! It’ll pass the time, and we’ll get to know each other better."
At her words, the other young girls glanced at Yan Yishuang with a hint of disdain.
"Hmph!" Zhou Jingwan snorted, then turned her attention back to Daohua, sneering, "The rules of your Yan family are truly something."
In large families, the legitimate daughters formed one circle, and the concubine’s daughters another. For a concubine’s daughter to enter the legitimate daughter’s circle, she had to be either exceptionally talented or the family had no legitimate daughters.
In this case, Yan Yishuang was neither of those, and the girls had ignored her in the past. But now she was trying to force her way into their circle. Such behavior was truly despicable.
Daohua maintained her smile, as if she hadn’t heard Zhou Jingwan’s words. She wouldn’t let this little girl take the lead. With a smile, she said, "Why don’t we move to my courtyard? It’s quieter there, and you’ll be able to enjoy yourselves more."
Hearing this, the young girls were tempted.
After all, they were still children. What child didn’t like to play and make noise? But when adults were around, there were restrictions.
Zhou Jingwan didn’t want to stay under the watchful eyes of her mother, but since her attitude earlier had been poor, she hesitated to back down.
Daohua, knowing that the young girls were led by Zhou Jingwan, smiled and took her arm, signaling the others to follow her as they left the room.
(End of Chapter)
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