Chapter 50: The Hua Family Attends the Banquet

The next morning, even before Su Yunqing could visit to pay her respects, Madam Cheng came to the Jade Pavilion herself, accompanied by Mother Jin.

As Su Yunqing had just finished washing and dressing, she heard the voices of the two women outside. She hurried out to rise and greet them with a bow.

"Mother, why have you come so early?"

Mother Jin chuckled, "Still calling her Madam?"

Su Yunqing curtsied, lowered her head, and called out again, "Mother!"

Madam Cheng took her hand immediately. "Good, good, good. Come inside, I have something to tell you."

With that, she pulled Su Yunqing toward Cheng Ji's room.

Seeing her emerge from the west side room, neither Madam Cheng nor Mother Jin showed the slightest bit of surprise. Su Yunqing guessed that Cheng Ji must have given them a heads-up beforehand.

As soon as they entered the room, Madam Cheng had Mother Jin hand over a brocade box.

Su Yunqing opened it to find keys of various shapes and sizes, and she looked up at Madam Cheng in confusion.

Madam Cheng explained, "These are the keys to the family storehouses and account rooms. They are all being handed over to you now. Have Mother Jin take you to the account room later to study all the ledgers and detailed accounts. Ask me if there is anything you don't understand."

"You are handing them over to me right now?" Su Yunqing frowned. "Isn't it a bit too hasty?"

Madam Cheng smiled. "How could I not trust you? The burden of the Cheng family will fall upon your shoulders in the future. It will be hard on you."

"Mother, I will certainly not disappoint your trust."

While they were talking inside, the sound of a crane flapping its wings suddenly came from outside, followed by the heavy panting of a dog.

Without needing to ask, it was undoubtedly the fierce wolfhound.

Su Yunqing opened the door, and the wolfhound broke free from Cheng Cong's grip, rushed toward her, wagging its tail and circling in front of her.

"Ah Cong, why did you bring the wolfhound here? You've scared the crane."

Cheng Cong glanced at her, instantly lowered his head and eyes, refusing to look at her again as he hurried over to pick up the leash.

"It insisted on coming to find you. It hadn't seen you all day yesterday and was acting like it went crazy."

Today, Su Yunqing had gathered the long hair that usually fell over her shoulders into a married woman's bun, and she had changed from the gowns of an unmarried maiden into the robes of a matron.

Although the pale red color was still bright, her entire presence gave off a completely different feel.

With his head bowed the entire time, Cheng Cong did not say another word, pulling the wolfhound and turning away.

Madam Cheng shouted at his retreating figure, "Are you not going to pay your respects to your eldest sister-in-law? Such bad manners!"

Instead of stopping when he heard this, Cheng Cong only quickened his pace...

Madam Cheng pulled Su Yunqing back inside, gave her further instructions regarding household affairs, and finally left with Mother Jin after Dr. Liu finished administering the acupuncture treatment to Cheng Ji.

Although the Cheng family was large, it was not an influential aristocratic clan or a noble marquess household. Aside from Master Cheng's four children and two concubines, there was no one else.

Therefore, there were no overly complex interpersonal relationships, nor generations of hereditary family servants; everything was relatively simple.

Moreover, ever since her near-drowning incident, Concubine Zhang had fallen gravely ill and had yet to recover her spirits. Furthermore, she was confined to her quarters and could not step out of her courtyard.

As for Concubine Jin, she was naturally a quiet person who kept to herself.

Ever since Su Yunqing became the eldest daughter-in-law, Cheng Cong had also become uncharacteristically obedient, not even needing anyone to supervise his studies.

With the masters and servants of the entire Cheng family numbering just over a hundred people in total, the daily expenses were fixed, and there were no disputes among the people. Su Yunqing handled everything with ease.

That was until she received an invitation.

The Senior Eldest Madam Hua had newly acquired a remarkably articulate, rainbow-colored budgerigar with extraordinarily gorgeous plumage, reportedly a gift from Wang Hong, a eunuch in the imperial palace. Wishing to invite everyone to her home to admire it, she had sent out invitations.

Su Yunqing sneered. She must have too much money to burn, throwing a banquet over just a bird? Such a trivial matter warranted widespread invitations and a grand feast.

However, what caught her attention was the name Wang Hong.

Wang Hong was none other than the eunuch who had once run amok making a show of power at her family's estate—the very same Wang Hong who had returned to kill three days after confiscating their property, digging up ten thousand taels of gold from beneath the stable's trough and taking every single ounce away without leaving a single coin behind.

The reason he had risen to become the chief supervisor eunuch of the palace was thanks to the patronage of Marquis Zhang. Over the years, acting as Marquis Zhang's lackey, he had committed countless heinous deeds.

Her father's death was also partly due to his assistance.

Therefore, this banquet was an event she had to attend.

Although the Su family had always kept a low profile, in her memories, she still retained the knowledge and breadth of vision from when her entire family lived in the capital.

She had certainly visited the estates of imperial princes and marquesses before.

As luck would have it, that very day, Cheng Xiao brought back a set of *doucai* parrot cups, claiming they were newly fired from their own kilns.

Master Cheng had always felt that the porcelain on the market was too monotonous. Before falling ill, he had constantly experimented with firing *doucai* porcelain, refusing to give it up despite repeated failures. After Master Cheng fell ill, Cheng Xiao continued the experiments using his methods and finally succeeded.

Senior Eldest Madam Hua loved birds, and this set of porcelain cups happened to feature parrot patterns. Being the first batch of *doucai* porcelain on the market, it promised to be a gift of considerable weight.

"Ah Xiao, this set of porcelain cups is so lovely. Can you give it to me? Madam and I are going to a banquet at the Hua residence, and I'd like to use this as a gift."

Cheng Xiao pushed the wooden box toward her. "If Eldest Sister-in-law wants them, just take them. I have already mastered the firing technique; in the future, we can have as many pieces of porcelain like this as we want."

Then he turned to Madam Cheng. "Furthermore, our Cheng family kiln is the very first kiln in the entire Great Liang dynasty to successfully fire *doucai* porcelain. Once they go on the market, I fear they will be in short supply."

Madam Cheng's eyes were filled with smiles. "This was your father's wish, and he even came up with the name. Xiao'er, you've done well; you haven't let your father down."

"Actually, Father had already accomplished the vast majority of the work. I merely provided the finishing touch."

On the day of the banquet, Madam Cheng suddenly felt the onset of a chill, accompanied by dizziness and malaise. After taking some medicine, she fell into a drowsy sleep.

"Qing'er, I'm afraid I cannot go to the Hua residence. You go ahead. After all, you will have to handle things independently sooner or later."

"Then, Mother, please get a good rest at home."

Thus, taking Zhuhua with her, she boarded a carriage and arrived at the Hua estate.

When Su Yunqing arrived at the Hua residence, the courtyards and halls were already filled with numerous guests.

A maid announced, "Senior Eldest Madam, the Eldest Madam of the Cheng family has arrived."

"Oh, and who might this be?" Senior Eldest Madam Hua looked at Su Yunqing, finding her face unfamiliar.

The maid replied, "It's the newly wedded Eldest Madam of the Cheng family's eldest son. She just attended the wedding!"

Senior Eldest Madam Hua stepped forward enthusiastically and took Su Yunqing's hand, looking not like someone meeting her for the first time, but rather like an old friend after a long separation.

"My, my, let me take a look. Ah, what an exquisite person..."

Too bad she had married a paralyzed man.

Su Yunqing performed a deep curtsy, wore a beaming smile, motioned for Zhuhua to present the gift box, and said in a clear voice, "Greetings, Senior Eldest Madam Hua. A small token of porcelain cups, a humble tribute, please accept them with a smile."

Upon seeing this set of *doucai* cups, Senior Eldest Madam Hua was so overjoyed that she abandoned all her pretensions as a noble matron. Not only did she shower them with praise, but she even took them to show off in front of everyone.

This was, after all, the first set of *doucai* in the history of the Great Liang dynasty. The emperor himself had not yet enjoyed such wares, and she was getting them first.

Moreover, the paintings upon them happened to be her most beloved parrots.

At that moment, the master and mistress of the Hua family also hurried over upon hearing the news.

The old matriarch held the porcelain cup as if she couldn't bear to put it down, examining it meticulously.

*Clang.*

With a crisp sound, a porcelain cup slipped to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Everyone present was dumbfounded. Senior Eldest Madam Hua bit her lower lip in anguish, yet she could say nothing.

Seeing this, Su Yunqing hurriedly said, "May every year bring peace and safety. It doesn't matter, it's just a small porcelain cup. Once the next kiln is fired, I will send you another set."

Only then did Senior Eldest Madam Hua's sorrow turn back to joy.

At that moment, other matrons stepped forward.

"Eldest Madam Cheng, seeing it means a share for everyone. Since we've encountered this today, you must reserve a set of your family's next batch of *doucai* porcelain for me as well."

"And me! My grandfather loves your family's kiln porcelain above all else; every time Master Cheng released a new design, he was bound to buy it. It's just a pity..."

"Why bring up a sore subject? Eldest Madam Cheng, my household wants to reserve a set too!"

...

Su Yunqing quickly replied, "There will be some for everyone, but these are newly developed and still in the trial stage. They haven't been fired in large quantities, so I'm afraid production might be a bit slow. I hope everyone will bear with us."

"Naturally, naturally! I love the look of these things; price is no object at all."

"Yes, yes, indeed..."

Su Yunqing gathered from this that these noblewomen were all indicating that the more expensive, the better—the higher the price, the more it reflected their own status.