A Feast at Hongmen (Part Two)
Word of Marquis Gu’s Manor holding a large birthday party spread around the entire capital.
He usually kept a low profile, but when he made things high profile, it really did not fall short of his status as the head general. It was a truly mighty showing.
Hearing that there were maidservants and grannies who had sent invitations to the prime minister’s manor and that the one invited was Yin Shuo, the people were even more intrigued.
The only one in Marquis Gu’s Manor to make use of maidservants was young miss Yu Fu. Apparently, a madam Gu and a related young miss also come from JinLing to visit family.
Naturally, it was impossible for madam Gu to invite someone from the younger generation, thus a question arose. Which young miss had invited Yin Shuo?
Nothing could be seen from the outside of the double-sided invitation; however, it contained writing that could only have come from a girl. Mixed with its beauty was a bit of a free and floaty feeling.
Only a girl raised in Immortals Valley could have writing like this, right?
He could not stop the corners of his lips from slightly curling up into a faint smile; however, it was not at all like the fake smile that he usually had. This one looked particularly joyful.
When Yin JiYao walked into the room, this was the scene that she saw.
This eldest brother of her’s was putting on a rarely-seen earnest smile. He finally seemed to have a bit of a human quality.
He was no longer like a golden sculpture with his fake and wooden smile, yet there were still countless devotees who came to prostrate before him.
“Eldest brother, what are you smiling at?”
His smile instantly disappeared from his face, as he looked toward Yin JiYao, who had just entered the room.
“The older you get, the less proper you become. Who let you into the study without even knocking?”
Yin JiYao’s face became a little paler, “I’m sorry. I forgot. It was father who told me to come, saying that eldest brother and I would be going to Marquis Gu’s birthday banquet.”
Hearing Yin Yan’s name brought up, his difficult-to-read face became apathetic once more, “Hm.”
Yin JiYao cautiously stepped forward and glanced at the invitation, and a thought immediately came to mind, “It’s young miss Yu Fu from Marquis Gu’s Manor?”
“Un.”
Yin Shuo expressionlessly placed it inside his sleeve with great reverence, “What does father want you to go and do?”
Everyone understood the goal very well, and Yin JiYao knew that he was asking about the method.
“Father’s intentions, Gu JiuGe.”
“Heh, father really knows how to pick them.”
Of the six young sirs in Marquis Gu’s Manor, aside from Gu ShuBai, Gu JiuGe had the most responsibilities.
But he was also the one surrounded by the most women.
“You need to be careful. Gu JiuGe is that as easy to get near as it may seem. He just happened to be born with some attractive eyes. That’s all.”
Yin JiYao usually trusted him greatly, but this time, she did not pay it much mind.
“But I heard that Gu JiuGe has all sorts of girls gathered around him. There are girls from noble and wealthy families, and there are all manners of performers. If I can’t even compare with those girls, how could I be worthy as a daughter of the Yin family?”
Her tone carried a hint of delight, and Yin Shuo could not help but look her over.
In all fairness, among all of the daughters of noble and wealthy families in the capital, Yin JiYao’s beauty and talents could be considered first-class.
Yin Yan very rarely let her go out, except in cases of “necessity,” when he would send her out like bait.
Yin JiYao had never let them down, not disappointing the efforts that Yin Yan had put into cultivating her from childhood.
He suddenly smiled and shook his head.
“Just be a little more careful.”
Yin Shuo very rarely smiled at her, and it was even rarer for him to say this sort of thing to her, thus Yin JiYao’s smile blossomed.
“Then I’ll be going back to get ready first. I won’t be disturbing eldest brother!”
She fluttered out like a pretty butterfly, her snow-white sleeves whirling and revealing a bit of joy.
Yin Shuo looked at her parting figure, and the faint hint of warmth in his eyes dimmed. In the end, they became even colder than ash.
…
“Gu ShuBai inviting this prince definitely has some bad intentions.”
Kun WuShang toyed with the invitation between his fingers. Eastern Ling’s people focused so much on these formalities, even being so meticulous with sending invitations.
It was like a meticulously planned feast at Hongmen.
“Then will seventh prince go or not?”
Chi Gan stood at the bottom of the stairs, politely asking him with a smile.
The special envoy from Western Kun had been treated as guests of honor by Emperor Ning; however, they did not receive a single invitation.
Everyone said that Eastern Ling’s people paid particular attention to face, yet Gu HuaiJiang just did as he pleased. He had invited just about everyone in the capital, yet he had not invited them. It was truly infuriating!
If Kun WuShang did not go, they might be able to take this invitation and use it…
“Who said that this prince won’t go?”
He let out a cold snort and sat up straight, “Marquis Gu’s Manor said that Gu ShuBai was specifically instructed to send this invitation because of the fight. If I don’t go what excuse can I use to go to Marquis Gu’s Manor in the future?”
They had only just begun getting close to the extremely secure Marquis Gu’s Manor, so how could they give that up so easily.
Chi Gan opened his mouth, but Kun WuShang irritatedly squinted his eyes at him, “With this prince going, what is there for you to feel uneasy about? With you guys also going would be a pain. Just obediently stay at the post house!”
After saying this, he hopped up from his seat and strolled out.
Outside, a whistling wind blew, and the weather could not be considered good. Who knew what the weather would be like on Gu HuaiJiang’s birthday?
Kun WuShang held the invitation and took a couple of looks at the dim sunlight with squinted eyes, the golden light continuously changing colors.
Opening to the inner contents, it was a man’s writing. Each stroke was precise, and it was perfect to the point that no flaws could be found.
If writing could describe a person, he dared to be certain that this had been written by Gu ShuBai.
If this invitation had been written by Yu Fu herself, how great would that have been?
The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a mouth of white teeth.
“Who cares! Either way, going will allow me to see Yu Fu! Hahaha!”
TN: The title is a reference to a banquet held with the intention of assassinating a guest. In the original case, it was Xiang Yu hosting a banquet at Hongmen to kill Liu Bang.
A Feast at Hongmen (Part Two)
Word of Marquis Gu’s Manor holding a large birthday party spread around the entire capital.
He usually kept a low profile, but when he made things high profile, it really did not fall short of his status as the head general. It was a truly mighty showing.
Hearing that there were maidservants and grannies who had sent invitations to the prime minister’s manor and that the one invited was Yin Shuo, the people were even more intrigued.
The only one in Marquis Gu’s Manor to make use of maidservants was young miss Yu Fu. Apparently, a madam Gu and a related young miss also come from JinLing to visit family.
Naturally, it was impossible for madam Gu to invite someone from the younger generation, thus a question arose. Which young miss had invited Yin Shuo?
Nothing could be seen from the outside of the double-sided invitation; however, it contained writing that could only have come from a girl. Mixed with its beauty was a bit of a free and floaty feeling.
Only a girl raised in Immortals Valley could have writing like this, right?
He could not stop the corners of his lips from slightly curling up into a faint smile; however, it was not at all like the fake smile that he usually had. This one looked particularly joyful.
When Yin JiYao walked into the room, this was the scene that she saw.
This eldest brother of her’s was putting on a rarely-seen earnest smile. He finally seemed to have a bit of a human quality.
He was no longer like a golden sculpture with his fake and wooden smile, yet there were still countless devotees who came to prostrate before him.
“Eldest brother, what are you smiling at?”
His smile instantly disappeared from his face, as he looked toward Yin JiYao, who had just entered the room.
“The older you get, the less proper you become. Who let you into the study without even knocking?”
Yin JiYao’s face became a little paler, “I’m sorry. I forgot. It was father who told me to come, saying that eldest brother and I would be going to Marquis Gu’s birthday banquet.”
Hearing Yin Yan’s name brought up, his difficult-to-read face became apathetic once more, “Hm.”
Yin JiYao cautiously stepped forward and glanced at the invitation, and a thought immediately came to mind, “It’s young miss Yu Fu from Marquis Gu’s Manor?”
“Un.”
Yin Shuo expressionlessly placed it inside his sleeve with great reverence, “What does father want you to go and do?”
Everyone understood the goal very well, and Yin JiYao knew that he was asking about the method.
“Father’s intentions, Gu JiuGe.”
“Heh, father really knows how to pick them.”
Of the six young sirs in Marquis Gu’s Manor, aside from Gu ShuBai, Gu JiuGe had the most responsibilities.
But he was also the one surrounded by the most women.
“You need to be careful. Gu JiuGe is that as easy to get near as it may seem. He just happened to be born with some attractive eyes. That’s all.”
Yin JiYao usually trusted him greatly, but this time, she did not pay it much mind.
“But I heard that Gu JiuGe has all sorts of girls gathered around him. There are girls from noble and wealthy families, and there are all manners of performers. If I can’t even compare with those girls, how could I be worthy as a daughter of the Yin family?”
Her tone carried a hint of delight, and Yin Shuo could not help but look her over.
In all fairness, among all of the daughters of noble and wealthy families in the capital, Yin JiYao’s beauty and talents could be considered first-class.
Yin Yan very rarely let her go out, except in cases of “necessity,” when he would send her out like bait.
Yin JiYao had never let them down, not disappointing the efforts that Yin Yan had put into cultivating her from childhood.
He suddenly smiled and shook his head.
“Just be a little more careful.”
Yin Shuo very rarely smiled at her, and it was even rarer for him to say this sort of thing to her, thus Yin JiYao’s smile blossomed.
“Then I’ll be going back to get ready first. I won’t be disturbing eldest brother!”
She fluttered out like a pretty butterfly, her snow-white sleeves whirling and revealing a bit of joy.
Yin Shuo looked at her parting figure, and the faint hint of warmth in his eyes dimmed. In the end, they became even colder than ash.
…
“Gu ShuBai inviting this prince definitely has some bad intentions.”
Kun WuShang toyed with the invitation between his fingers. Eastern Ling’s people focused so much on these formalities, even being so meticulous with sending invitations.
It was like a meticulously planned feast at Hongmen.
“Then will seventh prince go or not?”
Chi Gan stood at the bottom of the stairs, politely asking him with a smile.
The special envoy from Western Kun had been treated as guests of honor by Emperor Ning; however, they did not receive a single invitation.
Everyone said that Eastern Ling’s people paid particular attention to face, yet Gu HuaiJiang just did as he pleased. He had invited just about everyone in the capital, yet he had not invited them. It was truly infuriating!
If Kun WuShang did not go, they might be able to take this invitation and use it…
“Who said that this prince won’t go?”
He let out a cold snort and sat up straight, “Marquis Gu’s Manor said that Gu ShuBai was specifically instructed to send this invitation because of the fight. If I don’t go what excuse can I use to go to Marquis Gu’s Manor in the future?”
They had only just begun getting close to the extremely secure Marquis Gu’s Manor, so how could they give that up so easily.
Chi Gan opened his mouth, but Kun WuShang irritatedly squinted his eyes at him, “With this prince going, what is there for you to feel uneasy about? With you guys also going would be a pain. Just obediently stay at the post house!”
After saying this, he hopped up from his seat and strolled out.
Outside, a whistling wind blew, and the weather could not be considered good. Who knew what the weather would be like on Gu HuaiJiang’s birthday?
Kun WuShang held the invitation and took a couple of looks at the dim sunlight with squinted eyes, the golden light continuously changing colors.
Opening to the inner contents, it was a man’s writing. Each stroke was precise, and it was perfect to the point that no flaws could be found.
If writing could describe a person, he dared to be certain that this had been written by Gu ShuBai.
If this invitation had been written by Yu Fu herself, how great would that have been?
The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a mouth of white teeth.
“Who cares! Either way, going will allow me to see Yu Fu! Hahaha!”
TN: The title is a reference to a banquet held with the intention of assassinating a guest. In the original case, it was Xiang Yu hosting a banquet at Hongmen to kill Liu Bang.
