Chapter 36 - Seat None
By the time Lin Wan"er and Xiang Yun arrived at the "Apricot Altar Garden", the entire wide courtyard was already filled with tables and chairs. With a single glance, they could see that there were at least thousands of guests!Sure enough, the four gates to the east, south, west, and north were swarming with guests. Fortunately, the palace had arranged for servants to take charge of the order, so it was not too crowded.
Xiang Yun and the rest arrived at the east gate of the apricot tree garden and followed the crowd into the garden. They then headed straight for the Spring Pavilion at the center of the garden.
The second floor had a special viewing platform on the second floor and a dance pavilion on the second floor. Inside the pavilion, there was a large table of eight immortals with four claws and a golden dragon carved on the inside. This time, the host of the birthday feast was shoulder-to-shoulder, inviting all the distinguished guests from Silver City.
The first floor of the Spring Pavilion was reserved for the royal family members who had come to celebrate their birthday as well as some of the more influential officials and n.o.bles. As for the other guests, they could only take seats outside the Apricot Altar Garden.
This was, after all, a royal birthday banquet, so it was very strict with regards to the cla.s.sification. After all, it was a royal birthday banquet, so it was very strict with regards to the cla.s.sification.
As Xiang Yun was the crown prince, he naturally had the right to enter the Hall of Spring, so Lin Wan"er led him through the corridors to the entrance of the Pavilion of Spring. At the entrance stood half a hundred elders with moustaches.
"Master Steward, where is the Crown Prince"s seat?" Lin Wan"er asked politely.At this moment, some people were already seated on the first floor of the Spring Pavilion. These people were either members of the w.a.n.g Residence, relatives, or powerful officials and n.o.bles, and there were only a few ten or so people. When they saw Xiang Yun walk to the door, a commotion rang out from inside, as if someone was discussing something.
A few years ago, Xiang Yun and his two elder brothers had been guests who had accompanied him to the second floor of the Spring Pavilion along with the King. However, Xiang Yun had been arranged to sit on the first floor.
In response to Lin Wan"er"s question about the position of Crown Prince, the wrinkled and emaciated face of Steward Lin appeared somewhat helpless and awkward. He shook his moustache and stammered out a few words.
"Lady Wan-Er, I am sorry. There are too many guests at the king"s birthday banquet. Hey, you"re the son of the Crown Prince!"
After hesitating for a while, Steward Lin finally said helplessly, "It seems like there is no seating for me in the pavilion."
"What!?" There is no seat for the crown prince in the Spring Pavilion! " Lin Wan"er"s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Steward Lin, are you sure you"re mistaken? How can there not be a Crown Prince"s seat in there?" Lin Wan"er could not believe it at all. One must know that Xiang Yun was the real son of the Shoulder King! It was the birthday of the Shoulder King, but Xiang Yun had not even been given a seat. How could this be possible!?Although Xiang Yun had once accompanied His Highness on the second floor of the Spring Pavilion and the eldest son of the crown prince to the first floor of the Spring Pavilion due to him not being pampered, this was one thing.
No matter what, there had to be Xiang Yun"s seat on the first floor. Now that Butler Lin had said that there were no seats on the first floor, Lin Wan"er was astonished.
Housekeeper Lin looked at Lin Wan"er helplessly, shaking his head.
"Lady Wan-Er, you should be right. The list of seats in the House of Ye shows that there is indeed no seat for the Crown Prince."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Even if I"m not sitting on the second floor of the Spring Pavilion, I"m sure there are seats on the first floor. You must have made a mistake!"
At this moment, Lin Wan"er had changed from her usual gentle and demure appearance to a cold expression as she spoke in a firm tone. Now that this matter concerned Xiang Yun"s dignity, Lin Wan"er was like a little tiger defending her master"s rights and interests, not willing to back down in the slightest.
At this moment, those who had already taken their seats on the first floor of the Spring Pavilion could sense that something was amiss outside. Everyone would glance in Xiang Yun"s direction from time to time as they whispered amongst themselves.
Xiang Yun"s popinjay reputation resounded throughout the entire Wind Cloud Country, the latter acting like Fragrance Court and the Jin family"s young master were burning money to cook the cauldron, the Princ.i.p.al of the Orthodox Academy was looking through the books of paintings of the Spring Palace, publicly a.s.saulting the daughter of the Minister of Rites and all sorts of other actions. Not a single one of them wasn"t world shocking.
Facing Lin Wan"er"s unwillingness, Steward Lin was helpless. He could only nod his head and say, "Alright, alright, alright. I"ll have my subordinate investigate and see if there"s any mistake."
As he spoke, he turned to leave.
"Housekeeper Lin, I don"t need to bother you to come all the way here for nothing. Since there are no seats for me, I will go outside and take a seat." Just as Steward Lin turned to take a step forward, the silent Xiang Yun spoke.Hearing this, Housekeeper Lin couldn"t help but turn his head to look at Xiang Yun with an astonished expression. In his mind, whenever someone encountered this kind of situation in the future, they would unhappily curse and stir up trouble at the Spring Pavilion. Why would they be so indifferent today?
Housekeeper Hu didn"t understand, and Lin Wan"er was even less able to understand what Xiang Yun was doing. The latter anxiously said, "Crown Prince, with your status, how could you sit outside? They must have made a mistake. The Spring Pavilion definitely has a seat for you.He reached out and patted Lin Wan"er"s small head, "Silly girl, Spring Pavilion"s seats are reserved for those distinguished guests. The Duke"s Mansion will definitely carefully check them out, and our Housekeeper Lin will have to look at the Spring Pavilion"s seating order at least a dozen times before he"ll be able to relax. He"ll even take a glance at that fellow to prevent any mistakes, and if I"m not here, then it"ll definitely not be an accident."
As Xiang Yun said this, not only Lin Wan"er, but even Butler Lin revealed an expression of surprise. Of course, most of it was an awkward expression!
What Xiang Yun had said was right. The reason why the latter had not appeared in the Spring Pavilion this time was because the Prince had personally arranged for him to erase it. Otherwise, with the importance of the guests in the Spring Pavilion, he, Lin Bin, would have been able to remember it all.
The reason he did not say it was because he did not want to say that the prince had personally removed the Crown Prince"s name. He did not expect the latter to see through everything at a glance.
Steward Lin wanted to say something, but Xiang Yun waved his hand at him, "Enough, Steward Lin. I know this has nothing to do with you, it"s just a seat, what"s the point of arguing. The food at every table is the same anyway. I"ll switch tables."
"Wan-Er, let"s go outside and take a breath of fresh air!" Xiang Yun"s expression was indifferent. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned around and left.
Hearing this, Lin Wan"er hesitated for a moment before finally glaring fiercely at him. With an embarra.s.sed expression, she turned around and followed Xiang Yun down the stairs of the Spring Pavilion. Under the mocking gazes of everyone in the hall, they walked down one step at a time.Looking at Xiang Yun"s free and easy back, the eyes of the originally awkward and lowered head housekeeper Lin turned incomparably bright. His deep eyes were staring intently at Xiang Yun"s back, as if he was trying to see through it.
"This little guy seems to have changed a lot, but isn"t the prince"s way too heartless? After all, he"s his own son!" "Sigh." Housekeeper Hu sighed and a smile appeared on his face again as he faced the guests in the Spring Pavilion.
Around the middle of the year, when the sun had just set, the Apricot Altar Garden was lit up with lanterns that looked like they were carved stars. Under the light of the fire, the entire Apricot Altar Garden was wrapped in silver, as bright as day and as beautiful as the sun.
At this moment, the entire Apricot Temple was filled with guests, a total of several thousand people. The tables and chairs were placed outside the Apricot Altar Garden, and the place was still packed full of people.As for the master and servant duo who were walking down the stairs of the Spring Pavilion, Lin Wan"er had originally wanted Xiang Yun to sit at the seat closest to the Spring Pavilion. Those who were able to sit here were all influential officials within the imperial court.
However, Xiang Yun did not listen to Lin Wan"er"s instructions. The latter followed him all the way through the central garden, then the rear garden, and finally all the way to the west gate of the Apricot Altar Garden.Seeing that there was another table placed in the corner outside the garden, Xiang Yun moved it to the dining table outside because it was impossible to place it here. The latter swaggered out and took a seat, then grinned at Lin Wan"er, saying, "Alright, Wan"er, let"s sit here."
"What?" Lin Wan"er looked at Xiang Yun with an expression of disbelief. She had originally thought that the latter had left in a fit of rage, but she had not expected that the crown prince would find a secluded seat outside the garden.
"Crown Prince, with your status, how can you sit here?"Hearing this, Xiang Yun smiled and said, "What"s the big deal. Since they haven"t even prepared seats for us, why are we trying to get close to the center while licking our faces? We might as well just sit at the outermost area. It"s quite enjoyable here."
"But Your Highness, your ident.i.ty …"
"Sigh, what status does he have? My ident.i.ty is the deputy mayor of Qinfeng City, not some bullsh * t prince. We"re just a small fry, it would be great if the Royal House could let us sit here, wouldn"t it, girl?" Xiang Yun had once been the City Lord of Qin Feng City when he was first arranged to be in the city. Now, he was opposite of Qin Feng.
Xiang Yun then beckoned towards Lin Wan"er, "Come, come. What are you standing there for? Come sit with me."
"That won"t do. Wan-Er is just a servant. How can she sit with Master?""Hey girl, when have I ever treated you like a girl? Didn"t I already say that you"re my future wife?"
"Crown Prince!" Lin Wan"er glared at Xiang Yun, a red blush appearing on her face.
"Hurry up and sit with me, or this prince will feel awkward sitting here by himself." Xiang Yun advised.
However, no matter what Xiang Yun said, Lin Wan"er refused to sit down. This place was not like the time of Xiang Yun"s previous life, when there was still a feudal society, where the hierarchy was strict. Servants were absolutely not allowed to eat at the same table as their masters.
However, Xiang Yun would never follow these traditional rules. The latter pretended to be angry as he said to Lin Wan"er, "Girl, this crown prince has given you a great gift this time. If we don"t eat a little of the Duke"s Mansion"s food, won"t we suffer a huge loss? I can"t eat much by myself, so why don"t you come and help me?"
When Lin Wan"er heard this, she suddenly remembered the dozens of wooden boxes on the carriage. Compared to the congratulatory gift given by others, the size of a single box could probably match up to all of these boxes, and even if it contained gold, it would not exceed a thousand taels. For the birthday gifts that other people brought to the palace, it was simply too shabby.Unable to endure Xiang Yun"s coaxing, she was also worried that he would be unhappy. In the end, Lin Wan"er could only brace herself and sit beside him.
Looking at the still empty table, Xiang Yun turned his head to look at the two servants who had long since been stunned, saying, "What are you two still standing there for? Can"t you see that the table is still empty? Why haven"t you served up the dishes and wine already?"
"Yes, we are. Please wait a moment, Crown Prince!" The two servants seemed to have just awoken from a dream.When the two servants guarding the gate saw the crown prince sitting outside the garden, they thought they had mistaken him for someone else. Now, they finally confirmed that they had not mistaken him. He was indeed the main body of the crown prince.
The two servants hurriedly went to arrange for people to serve the dishes on the table. Just as they were about to leave, Xiang Yun called out to them.
"What orders does the Crown Prince have?" The two of them asked respectfully."About that, I have a good appet.i.te today. I"ll have two servings of all kinds of dishes. There"s no need to serve anything like chickens and ducks. Just add some abalone seafood and sea cuc.u.mbers, swallow nest fish wings and so on. My appet.i.te is relatively light."
Lin Wan"er felt a burning sensation on her cheeks. If it weren"t for the fact that there was no one else around, this maid would really want to cover her face and pretend that she didn"t know Xiang Yun. This master of hers was simply too thick-skinned.Lin Wan"er lowered her head awkwardly, but Xiang Yun turned and whispered into her ears, "Wan"er, you have to eat your fill in a while. Help me earn more back. Don"t lose anything."
"Your Highness!" Lin Wan"er didn"t know how to respond. She could only nod and seriously say, "Wan-Er will try her best to eat more."
It was at this moment that a miserable scream rang out. A man stumbled and fell from the west gate of the Apricot Altar Garden that Xiang Yun and the others had come from. He even tumbled to the ground.A tall and st.u.r.dy man with thick eyebrows and big eyes looked at the man on the ground in disdain and said, "A small boy who only knows how to send letters and run errands, he dares to take over the position? I think you must be tired of living."