Chapter 1418
Jin Yue 19
Chapter 1418 Jin Yue 19
Even if Cheng Sui went too far, Tan You could make amends for him afterwards. Now, his life is entirely in the hands of Tan You and Cheng Sui.
Cheng Qian has become increasingly silent these days, and of course, he has given himself a reason, which he calls a tactical retreat.
Let Tan You be smug for now.
This is no different from the mentality of Ah Q.
In preparation for the palace banquet, the entire Duke's mansion was bustling with activity. They needed to tailor new clothes, purchase jewelry, and familiarize themselves with the Duke's social circle to ensure they wouldn't make any mistakes at the banquet.
Tan You remained calm. Before heading to the palace in the afternoon, she even had the small kitchen prepare dinner and snacks in advance.
Cheng Qian couldn't stand it anymore: "The palace has them, why are you being so... petty?"
Tan You didn't say anything, but casually smashed a piece of pastry. Cheng Qian tried to dodge, but the pastry still hit him squarely on the thigh. Cheng Qian staggered and had to grab the table to steady himself.
"It's the dead of winter now. Even if there's everything at the palace banquet, the food would have been chilled by the wind long ago, carried all the way from the Imperial Study to the main hall."
“You’re a man, with a heart of steel, so naturally you don’t care. But Yun-ge’er is still a child, how could he possibly stand it?”
"Especially since the one above advocates frugality, the so-called palace banquet is nothing more than a few kinds of coarse grains, accompanied by a palm-sized piece of meat."
"Anyway, the subjects can't say it's bad, since both thunder and rain are the emperor's grace."
"As for the desserts and other snacks at the palace banquet, who knows what's in them? If someone behaves improperly in public, people won't hold the perpetrator accountable; instead, they'll point fingers at the victim."
Cheng Qian was speechless. He thought back carefully and realized that it had always been like this at the palace banquets in previous years. However, in previous years, because he disliked the Lin family, he had always attended the palace banquets alone.
The official explanation given was that Mr. Lin was unwell.
Now that Tan You mentioned it, he realized these things.
Cheng Sui was someone who listened to advice. Hearing that there wouldn't be any good food at the palace tonight, he climbed onto a chair and started slurping down his noodles. At the same time, he was directing Gu Yu: "Aunt Gu Yu, bring me more pastries."
"I've started practicing martial arts now, and I eat a lot."
Gu Yu packed his little backpack: "This servant packed some biscuits and rock sugar for Yun-ge'er. They're harder than pastries and won't be easily crushed."
"I also put some dried meat in. Miss said that if you get hungry, you can eat sugar and meat to replenish your energy."
Cheng Sui nodded: "Yes, I'll listen to Mother."
Everyone was busy attending to Cheng Sui, while Cheng Qian, the young master, was the lowest-ranking person in Qinglanggan. The servants dared not disrespect him, but indeed, none of them would take the initiative to approach him.
Cheng Sui, carrying the backpack Xiaoman had sewn for him, straightened his clothes in front of the mirror: "Mother, why did the Emperor specifically ask me to attend this year's palace banquet?"
Tan You: "He wants to see you, after all, Cheng Qian has twice petitioned to have you named a prince."
Cheng Sui looked up at Tan You: "So, Yun-ge'er, are you going to do a good job?"
Tan You: "No need, just be yourself. I will shield you from all the storms of the outside world, and I will bring you everything that should have been yours."
"You don't need to be subservient."
Cheng Sui smiled with narrowed eyes, leaning relaxed against Tan You's thigh: "Mother, I will study hard and not let you and Mother down."
“You have a good attitude,” Tan You said, stroking his head. “It’s not shameful to accept everything from others. What’s ridiculous is the kind of person who gets the benefits but still claims to have relied on themselves.”
"The so-called 'having to do something while also standing up for something else'."
"To firmly inherit what your elders have given you and strive to carry it forward is an excellent mindset." Cheng Sui tried to suppress her laughter, but her little teeth still couldn't help but show: "Mother, you are so good."
"My mother and I have both given me so much."
Tan You moved her legs: "Little one, you're getting better and better at being affectionate. Get up quickly. Once you're out of the house, if anyone offers you anything, especially anything that goes in your mouth, don't eat it."
Cheng Sui nodded: "I know, Mother. You always told me that Yun-ge'er keeps it in mind."
Tan You: "It's good that you remembered it. You can never be too careful when it comes to things that go into your mouth."
Cheng Qian: "We're going to a palace banquet, not a den of dragons and tigers. How many people would dare to make a move at a palace banquet?"
Tan You chuckled: "That's hard to say. In my experience, things are more likely to go wrong at times like these."
Cheng Qian stared at Tan You: "Experience? You seem to have..."
Tan You looked at her: "Are you curious about my background?"
Cheng Qian immediately cowered: "No, no, please stop using your supernatural powers."
Has he lived too long to dare to be curious about Tan You? Even his eldest son is no match for him now, let alone Tan You. This is truly unpredictable.
And yet, she's also full of good deeds. Where can you find justice in this?
Tan You led Cheng Sui out of Qinglanggan, with Cheng Qian walking beside him. From behind, the three of them looked like a family of three; who would have thought they all wanted to kill each other?
Cheng Qian couldn't do anything about Tan You, while Tan You was in a situation where it wasn't appropriate to take action at the Duke's mansion. However, once outside the Duke's mansion, Cheng Qian would encounter all sorts of trouble without her even lifting a finger.
Suspicion among colleagues, infighting between different factions, and the scheming of foreign invasions, etc.
Tan You continued walking and encountered Madam Wei at the entrance of the main hall. As for Duke Cheng Kun, he was still in the palace at the moment.
Madam Wei was dressed very elegantly today; her mother came from a merchant family. They lacked nothing in many other things, but they had no shortage of gold and silver. Madam Wei was also generous, and her clothes and jewelry were usually of the highest quality.
Its main selling point is its high price.
Cheng Sui blinked: "Mother, Yun-ge'er is going to be blinded by the light."
Wei's face stiffened, and Gu Yu and Shuang Jiang behind Tan You lowered their heads in unison, hiding the smiles on their lips.
Tan You sighed and patted Cheng Sui's head: "That's her style. As long as she likes it, that's fine. We should accept other people's preferences as long as they don't bother you."
Cheng Sui didn't understand: "Grandpa doesn't like her dressed like this. I heard before that Grandpa thought it was embarrassing to take her out like this, that she has no elegance at all."
Tan You scoffed: "A man's reputation isn't maintained by his wife. He despises the Wei family for being shameful, but when he used the Wei family's dowry to support his army, didn't he feel ashamed?"
"Eating from a bowl and then cursing your mother is not like that."
"Husband and wife are one, and he should uphold his wife's dignity. Even if he dislikes his wife, he should still defend her in front of his colleagues."
"As for dressing up, as long as she's happy, that's all that matters. Women dress up not to please men, so why should you care whether he likes it or not?"
Wei stammered, clutching Tan You's hem: "Miss..."
Tan You glared at her: "Stop. Even if you're moved to tears right now, I still don't like you. I'm not speaking up for you; these are two different things."
Wei's initial感动 (feeling of being moved) vanished instantly. Indeed, she was a devil!
Gu Yu and Shuang Jiang exchanged a glance, silently taking Tan You's words to heart. They could learn so much from the girl.