Chapter 334

Chapter 335: This Is Fatherly Love and Filial Piety

The private room thrummed with warmth and harmony. As the dishes came up one after another, Xin An invited everyone to be seated. Men and women sat at separate tables. The soups and broths had been chosen with everyone’s needs in mind. After Tang Gang stood with his cup and said a few auspicious words, everyone raised a toast. The room grew even livelier.

The men traded cups and blessings, the women smiled. Anyone looking on would have said this was a large family on excellent terms.

Grand Matron could not have been more pleased. This was precisely the harmony she had envisioned: a benevolent father and filial sons, a household filled with joy.

The banquet lasted a full two hours. Everyone seemed to have endless things to say. Tang Mo and Tang Yao Ming had their arms around each other’s shoulders, Wang Shi and Tang Nan chatted about anecdotes from Qian Men Academy, Tang Yong and Wang Mian discussed business, and Tang Gang spoke with Wei Liang Cai and Tang Yu about happenings in officialdom. Grand Matron’s kin were in high spirits, and laughter rippled through the room again and again.

When Grand Matron had laughed herself tired and the hour was getting late, Xin An rose to her feet and asked if everyone had eaten their fill. The women said it was late and they wished to return; the men wanted to talk a while longer. Xin An had the tables cleared and tea and fruit brought in. Those who wished to continue chatting could do as they pleased, and those who wished to leave she began to see off.

Wang Bao’er clung to Xin An’s arm and refused to let go, asking sweetly: “Cousin-in-law, when you have time, can you come pick me up?”

Xin An laughed: “I will. Or better yet, why don’t you come back with us tonight and not go home? Sleep with Ke’er.”

Ke’er chimed in at once: “Yes, let Bao’er sleep with me. We can lie there and talk.”

Hearing this, Wang Bao’er’s heart was moved. Her mother, Madam Wang, was helpless. What family let their daughter go out to a dinner with her elders and then not come home afterward? She was about to refuse when Madam Wang of the Marquis’s residence said cheerfully: “Let Bao’er come stay for two days, and send her back on New Year’s Eve.”

Wang Bao’er looked pleadingly at her mother. Madam Wang could only sigh. The Marquis’s residence already had five young gentlemen at home; what was the point of her girl running over there? But she could not resist her daughter’s coaxing and agreed: “I will send your changes of clothing later. Once you are at the Marquis’s residence, listen to your aunt and your cousin-in-law, and get along well with your elder sisters…”

“Got it, got it,” Wang Bao’er sang out.

Before her mother finished speaking, Wang Bao’er and Tang Ke’er had already ducked one after another into the carriage. Madam Wang laughed: “Bao’er has no sisters. Her elder brother and younger brother are always studying, and she gets bored. Let her have a few happy days. After the New Year, I will bring her over to our residence for a short stay.”

Xin An promised to look after their cousin. Madam Wang said: “It is not that I worry you will not take good care of her. It is just that the girl is getting livelier and I fear she will trouble you.”

To settle it, Madam Wang of the Marquis’s residence smiled and said: “She is my own niece. What trouble could there be?”

Madam Zhao left first with a carriage full of girls. Then Madam Wang and Xin An turned to see off Madam You and her daughter-in-law, saying with care: “Be careful and take it slow on the road.”

Madam Gu was pregnant. Her complexion was good enough, but since it was her first child she was especially cautious. Xin An helped her into the carriage, and Madam Wang added several more words of advice.

Last came Madam Zhang with the Wei sisters. The sisters stepped forward to offer thanks. Xin An smiled: “Why so formal? When you have nothing to do, do not stay shut in your courtyard. Go out and walk a bit.”

The sisters thanked her again. Madam Zhang opened her mouth, hesitated, then turned and climbed into the carriage. The sisters followed with embarrassed smiles.

Auntie Liu supported Tao Yi Ran out. Tao Yi Ran spoke politely with Xin An, and when her carriage departed, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finally breathed out. All that remained was to go back to the private room to say a word to the men, then pick up Grand Matron and return home.

In the carriage, Grand Matron held Xin An’s hand in one of hers and clasped Madam Wang’s with the other, full of contentment. She said how delighted she had been that night, and that if the Old Master were still alive, how happy he would be to see such a scene. As she spoke, her eyes reddened again. Madam Wang accompanied her in wiping away tears. Xin An, uncertain whether to cry along or offer comfort, finally chose silence.

Early the next morning, Tang Mo reported that after the women left, the men ordered more dishes and drank more wine. In the end, apart from himself, Tang Yao Ming, and Tang Rong, they were all drunk. Fortunately the women had left attendants behind when they departed, or else, he said with a wry grin, “I truly would not have been able to send them all home.”

He added with dark amusement: “Each one drank until he could not even be dragged. The fellow in the next room was unlucky. He went to help the old man, and the old man toppled right onto him. He could not keep his feet and went down with him. I fear the old man pressed his ribs. He was gritting his teeth in pain, covered in cold sweat.”

Still in bed, Xin An found it amusing and said lazily: “How nice. Isn’t this exactly fatherly love and filial piety?”

Tang Mo, pulling on his clothes, replied crisply: “It is called adding insult to injury. The old man is hale and strong. Can that frail one stand being crushed like that?”

He fastened his belt and said matter-of-factly: “I am going out. I might not be back for dinner tonight. In fact, for the next few days I probably will not be back to eat. I also have to take Tang Nan and Tang Ye out to meet people.”

[He thought of how he had already been home two days without being able to be completely honest with his wife, and now he would have to keep drinking. When would they get their honest time? New Year’s Eve?]

Xin An looked at him and asked teasingly: “What is that look in your eyes?”

Propping her head on one hand, she instructed him: “Steady yourself. Drink less. Do not let the drink make you forget heaven and earth.”

“Understood,” he said, bending to peck her lips. “I am off. Sleep a little longer.”

She watched him leave, then curled back under the covers. She knew that even with Tang Mo home he could not really help her much; what needed doing would still need doing. But she felt far more at ease, and most importantly, the bed was much warmer. [Keeping one warm is a man’s greatest use in winter.]

Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were busy another two days. All the New Year gifts from their household had been sent out, and those from other families had been recorded and stored. The porridge distribution was running smoothly. All that remained was to prepare for New Year’s Eve, and at last they could catch a breath.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, the Emperor put down his brush. Beginning that day, the officials did not attend court and would not do so again until the eighth day of the first month.

That day, on a whim, the Emperor learned that the great houses were all distributing porridge and decided to take a look. He disguised himself, left the palace, and had the carriage take him from household to household. He found that most were much the same: thin porridge and coarse-grain buns. A eunuch attendant explained that this was the standard. Though modest, a porridge stall, once opened, did not close until New Year’s Eve, and the grain consumed added up. Moreover, grain was not cheap at the New Year.

The Emperor found this reasonable. After touring several houses, he thought of returning to the palace, for it was bitterly cold outside. Just as his carriage was about to turn back, he encountered Tang Gang. With a single glance, Tang Gang recognized Eunuch Zhao at the Emperor’s side, and he hurried down from his carriage to pay his respects.