Chapter 171

The air was slightly cool.

The sunlight was just right.

Lush green leaves still hung on the branches.

Some leaves were pure yellow, gleaming like gold.

The courtyard garden had been carefully designed.

The planted trees changed with the seasons.

Different seasons brought different aesthetic appeals.

If it snowed in winter, it would present yet another scenic view.

The stage was set up by the pond, with elevated seating and shaded areas. For those wanting to sunbathe, they could stretch their legs out a bit.

Jiang Mianmian lay on a small recliner, very satisfied with her vantage point.

This life, these days, this feeling - it was simply too enjoyable.

Aunt Yin watched the young lady trying to kick off her embroidered shoes and gave her a slight glare. Seeing her smile back, trying to act cute.

Acting cute wouldn't work either.

Aunt Yin bent down to help her remove the loosely hanging embroidered shoes, massaged her soles, and then helped her put the shoes back on.

"Young ladies shouldn't do that," she admonished.

Jiang Mianmian gave her great-aunt an obedient smile. It wasn't that she had suddenly been possessed by the spirit of a wealthy heir; she just wanted to kick them off for a moment.

The great-aunt wiped her hands again and set out to prepare kung fu tea.

She and Eunuch Duan had been studying it, with the Young Master giving a few pointers. The tea brewing process was a revelation each time. Aunt Yin had a feeling that if she mastered this tea brewing method, her life would reach new heights.

The Young Master even encouraged her to write it down.

She said it could be published and passed down through the ages, with titles like "The Origins of Yin's Kung Fu Tea," "The Tea Classic," "The Tea Doctor," "The Jingzhou Tea Brewing Method"...

Her words made even Aunt Yin, an old palace maid who had been steeped in palace life for decades, feel a surge of excitement.

This Young Master had a silver tongue, a sweet talker.

If she could even persuade her, the Young Master shouldn't have to worry about marital discord in the future.

Although she had taken on the responsibility of managing all affairs of the household, big and small, and training new staff, Aunt Yin still placed serving the Young Master as her top priority.

Jiang Mianmian watched Aunt Yin fiddling with the small charcoal stove, brewing tea, and said from the side: "For tea brewing, mountain spring water is best. In winter, collecting clean snow water is also very elegant. Anyway, Aunt, just make it as challenging as possible, and I guarantee you'll have a crowd of crazy followers."

Aunt Yin: ...

Although the Young Master's tone made one want to smack her, she seemed to have a point.

The Young Master seemed to understand certain aspects of those nobles better than she did.

Pangya stood obediently to the side, holding a fan but not fanning, as it wasn't hot. However, she was ready to swat away any mosquitoes that might fly in.

Jiang Mianmian reclined comfortably, watching the first act on the stage.

Beautiful young ladies came out wearing minimal, transparent gauze, lifting their legs high.

The dance steps were quite graceful, though there were frequent high leg lifts.

There were no underwear in ancient times.

Jiang Mianmian almost spat out her tea when she thought of this.

Aunt Yin's face darkened as well.

These singing and dancing girls had no future.

Looking at this setup, it was clear that even though the Young Master wanted to listen, they were presenting this rubbish for her to watch.

Jiang Mianmian watched very attentively; the young ladies' legs were very long.

Quite provocative.

Among them was a young girl with a voluptuous figure but an exceptionally clear and beautiful face, both pure and alluring, very unique.

Jiang Mianmian watched the dance performance carefully to the end.

She looked busy and bustling.

Soon, it was time for Commander Jiang's eldest son's birthday.

Those who received invitations couldn't help but curl their lips.

Officials had a standard approach when dealing with pardoned rebels who became officials: they tried to corrupt and degrade them, wear down their fighting spirit, and make them quickly assimilate into officialdom.

They feared the rebels' troops and their potential for rebellion. If the rebels lost their will to revolt and only thought about promotion and wealth every day, what was there to fear? There were plenty of ways to control them. The official circles were complex and could tame even the fiercest generals, playing them like donkeys.

But this Jiang the Second seemed to be corrupting a bit too quickly.

He had just arrived, barely settled in, and was already starting to amass wealth.

Others at least waited for their mother's birthday to receive gifts.

But here he was, sending out invitations for his son's birthday, already collecting gifts. It was too much.

To be honest, when arranging Feng'er's birthday, Jiang Changtian had considered whether to bring over Old Madam Jiang as a prop and arrange her birthday for next month.

No, wait, next month seemed to be Shao Xia's birthday.

Then the month after that would do.

Jiang Changtian arrived in the prefectural city and found that he had no real work to do.

The pardoned Commander position offered by the court was actually a joke. If he really wanted to do something, treating himself as a dish ready to be eaten would be laughable. No troops, no people, no weapons.

So he decided to focus on amassing wealth. Might as well take what he could get and continue training and maintaining troops.

For pardoned individuals who wanted promotion, the only way was to continue rebelling. Rebel, get pardoned, get promoted - this was the sustainable path of development.

Those invited to attend Commander Jiang's birthday celebration couldn't help but notice the Jiang father and son.

Everyone had seen Commander Jiang's beauty before, and each time it was stunning.

But they hadn't expected Commander Jiang's eldest son to be so exceptional as well. Although he had a scar on his forehead, it didn't detract from his appearance at all.

However, no noble families were considering marriage alliances.

After all, the true nobility viewed these newly pacified people like Commander Jiang as nothing more than jesters, waiting for the court to deal with them.

For now, they let them run wild and send lavish gifts, but in the future, they would have to spit it all back out.

Many people came. It was very lively.

Jiang Yu was fortunate to have arranged a large group dinner and gathering under her great-aunt's guidance, and she was quite excited about it.

Her focus was on the feast.

Meanwhile, her great-aunt was teaching Qin, the matriarch, how to host a large-scale reception.

Beyond food and drink, there were many other details to consider.

The personal safety of guests, the possibility of ill-intentioned people sneaking into the inner quarters, conflicts between guests that might affect the banquet - banquets were often the scene of major incidents.

Especially in the capital, gatherings of noble ladies frequently featured scenarios including but not limited to chance encounters, getting soaked, falling into rivers, poisoning, miscarriages, secret engagements, catching adulterers, passing secret notes, and so on...

Particularly for marriageable young women, every year there were a few muddle-headed ones who ruined their prospects at such banquets.

Qin Luoxia had originally wanted to consider a couple of young ladies, but after hearing Aunt Yin's words, she became a bit nervous.

However, on the day of the event, no one brought their daughters, and few even brought their womenfolk.

This was awkward.

It showed that although they had moved to the prefectural city, they hadn't been accepted by the upper-class nobility.

They weren't even prepared to begin social interactions among the ladies.

The men of the families had no choice but to come, grudgingly bringing gifts.

The women of the great families and noble houses in the prefectural city were all waiting to laugh at this birthday banquet.

Peasants will always be peasants, they thought. Who holds birthday celebrations for youngsters and invites people?

They were all waiting to see how shabby this banquet would be.

Qin Luoxia noticed the absence of women and realized the problem.

However, she wasn't the type to be intimidated. Aunt Yin had said there would be absolutely no problems, so there definitely wouldn't be any problems.

She trusted Aunt Yin. She would do her part well; as long as no guests died in their home, the rest wasn't her concern...