A Good Country Wife
Chapter 426 - 420_1

Chapter 426: Chapter 420_1

Lin Yue’s banquet this time was not the sour poetry gathering mentioned by Commandery Princess Roujia. As the hostess, if she indeed hosted a poetry gathering, she would have to prepare several poems to fit the occasion. However, Lin Yue felt that she was not cut out for that sort of thing and plagarizing old poems felt dishonest. Besides, she had no idea if those poems had already made an appearance here. Therefore, the banquet mainly consisted of dining and chatting, which was even more troublesome than a poetry gathering. Not only did she have to ensure the food and entertainment were adequately prepared, but also the servants had to be properly organized.

It was indeed a difficult task. Although Lin Yue had moved into a new residence, there were only a few servants that came with her. Aside from the fact that it was too late to buy new servants on short notice, even if she bought them, they would require training. Fortunately, Jiang Ziqi and Commandery Princess Roujia had both dispatched servants from their households to offer assistance. As for the dining arrangements, she naturally aimed for the best, considering her guests were all noblewomen from the capital, who valued both taste and elegance in their food. Lin Yue was quite confident about avoiding any lapses on that front. After all, if her cooking could satisfy Commandery Princess Roujia and Jiang Ziqi, there was no reason she couldn’t impress the other young ladies. However, she would need to ponder the selection of dishes carefully. It would not do to serve common home-cooked dishes and be deemed petty.

In procuring all the necessities for the banquet, Lin Yue once again found the capital city to be exceedingly expensive. She had only been somewhat aware of this when buying in small quantities, but now that she had purchased so much, just the ingredients alone had cost her over a hundred taels of silver. Not to mention, she had brought a considerable amount of homemade ingredients from her own stocks, which reduced the expenditure somewhat. However, they only planned to stay in the capital for two or three months before returning. Otherwise, Lin Yue would have to consider buying a farmhouse in the capital suburbs to grow grains, vegetables, and fruits.

"Wife, how do you plan to arrange the dishes for tomorrow? The two cooks sent by Doctor Jiang could take charge," Zhao Erhu said, also busy with arrangements alongside Lin Yue. Although the countryside also adhered to the notion that men should avoid the kitchen, Zhao Erhu never believed in such things. Moreover, he was unwilling to let his little wife be busy by herself and naturally assisted her.

"I’ll prepare the more difficult dishes and pastries in advance, and leave the rest to Xiaoling. Let her make the arrangements. The two cooks from Jiang Residence can just assist her. It’s better to rely on our own people for matters in our household. Xiaoling has been with me for quite a while now; she is both clever and nimble. She has learned a lot from me, especially when it comes to cooking, she has nearly mastered fifty to sixty percent of my skills. Besides, there should be no problems as long as she follows my instructions for the preparations I have made in advance."

Lin Yue said this, bearing in mind that she did not want her cooking skills to be learned by unrelated cooks. Even in modern times, renowned chefs would not easily share their recipes with others. Moreover, in this conservative era, Lin Yue—who had always been skilled in cooking and had improved further under Wang Dachuan’s guidance—did not want her skills to be picked up by irrelevant cooks.

"You just do whatever you think is best, my wife," he said. "I’m not good at this, and I cannot help you much more. You decide on your own. If there’s anything you need me to do, just let me know."

In the palace, as the day of Lin Yue’s banquet drew nearer, Princess Yongle grew increasingly anxious. She had just been released from confinement and rushed to find the Emperor to ask for his permission to leave the palace.

"Why do you wish to leave the palace again? Can’t you be content and stay inside to learn what women should learn? You’re not young anymore; it’s time to choose a consort. Since Ziqi doesn’t fancy you, stop focusing all your attention on him. Dazhou has plenty of good men. When you meet the right one, I, as your emperor, will select him for you. Settle down and stop thinking about running away all the time!"

Hearing the Emperor mention Jiang Ziqi, Princess Yongle felt guilty. Her imperial brother was too discerning and formidable; even without knowing about Lin Yue, he hit the nail on the head regarding her intentions. Her eagerness to befriend Lin Yue, apart from finding Lin Yue personable and compatible with her temperament, was largely due to Jiang Ziqi’s attitude. Any opportunity to please Jiang Ziqi was embraced by Princess Yongle. Lin Yue was already married, and the princess had no suspicion of anything between Lin Yue and Jiang Ziqi. She thought Jiang Ziqi probably favored Lin Yue due to her exceptional qualities.

"Imperial brother, I’ve already made promises to friends. A person without credibility is nothing. Please let me leave the palace. Besides, I’m not going out aimlessly, just to join a gathering among women of quality. There’s nothing to worry about. If you’re concerned, could you at least let someone accompany me?" Princess Yongle always persisted until the Emperor agreed.

Emperor Huangfu Jing did indeed dote on his only sister, or else Princess Yongle would not have developed her current temperament. After nearly an hour and a half of her pleading, which resulted in a headache for him, and seeing her willing to have his people accompany her, he realized she truly intended to attend the banquet and thus, reluctantly agreed, "All right, considering you’ve been well-behaved these past days, I consent to this request. But if you dare to act recklessly or create trouble, from now on, stay contentedly within the palace and forget about leaving!"

"Yes, thank you, imperial brother. I will be good and won’t cause any trouble. You really are the best and most magnificent imperial brother in the world, wise and sagacious. The admiration I have for you is like..."

Emperor Huangfu Jing waved his hand dismissively, as if ushering her out, "Enough, enough, I’ve agreed already, stop flattering me. Go accompany our mother in Cining Palace. Just this morning I visited her, and she mentioned missing you after not seeing you for a few days. Don’t always fixate on those who don’t care for you and neglect the ones who are dearest to you."

Princess Yongle was unhappy with her brother’s comments and stamped her foot, "Brother, what are you talking about? If you hadn’t confined me, I would have gone to accompany our mother already. This is your fault, hmph, I’m leaving!"

Watching his sister’s retreating figure, Emperor Huangfu Jing sighed. He could not understand why his sister was so stubbornly fixated. Since she was eight years old, she had taken a liking to Jiang Ziqi, who visited their palace to play, and since then, her infatuation had grown only deeper. Despite so many years passing, she had not wavered. However, he knew Jiang Ziqi too well, who had been celibate for years, solely interested in medicine. At most, he might harbor fraternal feelings for Yongle but would never fancy his own sister. Even if they were forced together, they would merely be a resentful couple. He did not wish to mistreat his sister or impose upon his friend. He could only let things take their course.

"Ah, the matters of the heart are the hardest to forget." Emperor Huangfu Jing felt uncharacteristically sentimental for a moment. Once, he had disbelieved in worldly love and romance, considering them too contrived. Yet, since the day he saw that warm and radiant smile on Chang’an Street, he has been unable to erase it from his mind.