Chapter 275 - 250: The Reunion Banquet

On the second day, Su Rende had the housekeeper send invitations to various families. The main idea was that he had recovered his memory, and now that he had reunited with his wife and daughter, he wanted the officials and their families to come over for a casual meal. The purpose was to introduce them so that there would be no situations where his own people would not recognize one another.

Many from these aristocratic families faced a troubling decision. Before the Su Family mother and daughter reunited with General Su, they were just ordinary merchants who offered skincare services to the ladies and young misses of these households. Although Zhang Zhaodi and Su Yaoguang rarely made house calls, seldom didn’t mean never, and there had been a few instances. Now, those who had received their services were worried they might seek revenge later.

Thus, they were discussing with the men of their households about whether or not to attend the event. If they didn’t attend, perhaps they would soon be forgotten, and there would be no question of revenge. However, this way, they would miss the opportunity to foster good relations with the General’s wife and the young miss of the General Mansion. As wives and daughters of officials, they knew that it was their responsibility to help their husbands expand their networks. Generally, such interactions among noblewomen were expected to be managed by the noblewomen themselves.

No matter how the wives and young misses chose, the banquet went ahead as planned.

The Prime Minister Wang’s Mansion did not receive an invitation.

One as the head of civil servants, and the other as the head of military officers, these two just couldn’t see eye to eye, and simply would not get along. In the past, when Su Rende was alone, Prime Minister Wang always mocked him for being too bloodthirsty, saying he was destined to be childless and without a spouse to mourn him, so he would always be alone.

Now that Su Rende had found his wife and daughter, he was no longer alone, and it would have been reasonable to invite that Wang fellow and show off a little. However, the housekeeper said that Yaoguang also seemed to dislike the Wang family.

If that’s the case, then there’s no need to invite that bothersome fellow to come and cause trouble.

The National Guardian General Mansion invited young masters and ladies from various mansions to the banquet, deliberately leaving out the Prime Minister Wang’s Mansion. This matter quickly spread, and everyone said the National Guardian General was too bold, not caring about the face of the Prime Minister at all. Since ancient times, many military generals have fought enemies only to meet their end at the hands of their own people. Therefore, offending anyone but a civil servant was unwise, as a soft blade was more dangerous than a hard one.

Zhang Zhaodi dealt with those official wives, listening to them speak in sophisticated terms, feeling awkward but enduring it.

Su Yaoguang occasionally smoothed things over for Zhang Zhaodi. Originally, it would’ve been fine to let things pass, and everyone would be happy, but...

"The last time we visited the mansion, it was Sister Pang who hosted us; why haven’t we seen Sister Pang today?" a lady asked softly.

The room fell silent.

At that moment, the noblewomen in the room were as silent as if they had been struck mute, each holding their teacups and sipping as if the tea had some special quality.

"This lady is... Mrs. Gou, is that right?"

"It’s Ma, my surname is Ma," the lady corrected.

"Whether it’s Gou or Ma, it’s all the same," Zhang Zhaodi said lazily. "I haven’t seen that Pang you’re talking about; she was gone by the time I returned. I thought about it and realized it’s likely because my husband knew I didn’t like having unrelated people in my home and sent her away in advance!"

"Sister Pang isn’t an unrelated person. She took care of your husband’s daily life while he was fighting at the border," someone pointed out.

"Oh, did you see it yourself?" Zhang Zhaodi asked. "Or did Pang tell you herself? Did she also say that my husband and she were mutually in love, but because she was mindful of her late husband, she didn’t want to serve another man and thus never agreed to marry him?"

Mrs. Ma was stunned: "How did you know?"

"No need to guess; just thinking about it makes it obvious. A woman who stays in someone else’s home for many years without being the mistress is bound to be questioned. At such times, if she doesn’t find herself a good reason, how can she save face? But Mrs. Ma enjoys listening to drama, so go listen elsewhere; here, there is no Sister Pang, only me, Mrs. Su Zhang."

The person next to Mrs. Ma tugged at her sleeve and said in a low voice, "Apologize now! Your husband has struggled to reach his position; do you want him to fall off a cliff because of this?"

"You know I have a quick temper; I just can’t bear to see this woman who did nothing spend years doing nothing special and now just come back into the fold. How does she qualify to be the General’s wife?"

"She’s not qualified, but you are? Then go ahead; offer yourself to General Su," someone said sarcastically. "I think you’re just jealous that she got to become a First Rank Imperial Lady right away."

Women are known to hold grudges, especially these official wives. When they gather, if they’re not comparing husbands, they’re comparing children, common for them to exchange a few sour remarks.

"Everyone..." Su Yaoguang said, "Did you remember what I asked you to note down?"

A few maids walked over from the side, each with a notebook in hand and a pen in the other.

"To answer the Young Miss, we recorded everything the guests said, exactly as they said it, just waiting to present these records to the Great General after the banquet," one of the maids responded.

"Miss Su, having people record our words and actions isn’t quite appropriate, is it?" Mrs. Ma said with a dark expression. "Don’t you consider that intrusive? It’s quite against decorum."

"Mrs. Ma, you’ve misunderstood. My mother and I grew up in the countryside, and even later on, we survived on craftsmanship. We are very straightforward people who don’t understand all your indirect talking. To avoid unnecessary trouble and misunderstanding, I asked them to note everything down so that when my father has time, he can help us interpret what the ladies and misses mean."

"My father mentioned he has several good friends in the court, but he never said who they’re specifically friends with or not. Reporting these words and actions will allow my father to deduce which wives and daughters belong to his friends."

Everyone there was savvy enough to catch the implicit threat in Su Yaoguang’s words.

Miss Su was basically advising them to speak cautiously. If she caught them saying anything wrong, she’d report back to her father, who couldn’t deal with these wives and young misses directly; he’d handle their husbands in court instead.

The observing official wives discerned that both Su Yaoguang and Zhang Zhaodi were far from simple. Miss Su clearly was a sly little fox, whereas the First Rank Imperial Lady, Mrs. Su Zhang, seemed straightforward but was evidently not one to suffer losses quietly and had a fiery temperament.

"The front courtyard is set; ladies, please take your seats!" Su Yaoguang announced.