Chapter 44: The Banquet (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

After dismissing Cui Xun, Gao An entered holding a stack of invitations: "These are all from officials wishing to seek an audience with the Prince. Many, in an attempt to curry favor, have specifically sent their female relatives along with young boys of a similar age to A-Li to request an audience together.

"Among them are invitations from Xu He."

He wanted Yan Bei to pick a few to go through the motions. Since they had already come, it would be unseemly to hide them away and refuse to see anyone.

Yan Bei flipped through them a few times before setting them down. "Very well. Hand them to the Du family and let them choose. See who they pick, and make a note of everyone."

Gao An accepted the command.

Glancing sideways, he saw that the Du father and son had just arrived, so he placed the invitations to the side.

Since the Du father and son had come to the small garden to host guests, naturally, most of the household had to come to attend to them. At this moment, who would be thinking about the study where no one was present?

With no further interruptions, things went exceptionally smoothly for Yue Tang.

Behind the painting of peonies, there was indeed a mechanism—it was a wall cabinet.

Wei Zhang had studied these things in his younger years. He felt around the mechanism, trying several methods, until he soon heard a *click*. A square hole about half a foot wide opened in the cabinet.

Wei Zhang pulled out a stack of papers of varying sizes and a box from within.

Yue Tang took the box; it was a fan box. Upon opening it, she found a quite valuable collection featuring the handwriting of a famous person.

As she flipped through the papers, she found they were merely evidence of corruption and malpractice gathered by the Du family against certain officials from the middle part of the dynasty.

For such a secret place to only hide these things seemed somewhat unreasonable.

Just as she was frowning while leafing through the letters, Wei Zhang suddenly said, "There's something else!"

As he spoke, stretching his arm to grope in the deepest part, his eyes lit up as he pulled out a string of beads.

It was a string of beads worn by a woman on her wrist!

The bead string actually consisted of three loops, held together in the middle by a gold-inlaid jade knot. One of the loops had already broken. Looking at the break, it appeared to have been snapped by brute force.

The beads were indeed round and large, clearly not ordinary items; if placed in a gold shop, they would be worth at least two or three hundred taels of silver at the very least.

"This isn't something he should be hiding. Furthermore, there are scratches on this gold and jade; it's not new. It has been worn by someone!" Yue Tang said decisively. "Keep looking!"

Wei Zhang, however, knit his brows tightly. "Someone is coming!"

Yue Tang tilted her ear and indeed heard an extremely faint sound of wind coming from the shadows. Judging by the sound, the newcomer was someone with extremely high-level martial skills!

Without a word, she tucked the bead string away, quickly skimmed through the evidence, firmly memorized the names involved, and then rapidly returned the secret compartment to its original position before retreating through the back window!

The moment they leaped out of the window, masked guards from the Prince's mansion silently leaped in from another direction.

...

On the way back to the small building, the bead string in Yue Tang's sleeve felt as hot as glowing charcoal.

Both He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode had confirmed at the brink of death that there was something fishy about this study, which Du Minghuan guarded day and night as a secret post.

Perhaps, besides the secret compartment they just found, there were other hiding places.

But even this one place they found must be of utmost importance.

And the things hidden inside could naturally not be ordinary items.

So, why would this broken bead string—which clearly wasn't brand new and wasn't exactly a priceless treasure—be cherished by Du Minghuan?

And why was it hidden away secretly alongside the evidence of the officials' crimes that he collected?

Therefore, was this bead string related to those officials?

And which faction did those officials belong to?...

In the blink of an eye, Yue Tang had been gone for half an hour.

Lan Qin waited in the small building, keeping track of the time.

"Where is Lady He?"

When the Du family maid entered, Lan Qin was washing her hands in a basin of water.

She turned back calmly and offered a polite smile. "The Lady has gone to the restroom. Do you have business?"

The maid said, "His Highness, the Prince of Jingyang, has arrived today with the young Heir...

"Just now, word was sent for our Marquis to invite several officials who brought their families to converse. Tea tables have been set up at Haitang Pavilion. The Marquis holds the Top Scholar in high regard and has already sent for Master Xu, and ordered me to come and fetch Lady He to attend as well."

The maid's attitude was not particularly respectful, though her words were clear.

Lan Qin realized this was a troublesome matter, so she dismissed her: "I understand. I will go find our Lady and bring her over immediately."

The maid nodded, scanned her up and down, and left.

Lan Qin let out a heavy breath. Just as she was about to turn around, Yue Tang emerged from behind the screen.

Lan Qin's heart settled. "Was it smooth?"

Yue Tang nodded. "We'll talk when we get back."

She paused and added, "Can we decline this tea banquet?"

"I'm afraid not," Lan Qin shook her head. "Firstly, the Du family's attitude toward us is obvious; they won't miss an opportunity like this to make you look foolish.

"Secondly, that man Xu He won't miss a chance to show off. If his family isn't present, he will feel disgraced, and it will be difficult to deal with him when we return.

"Thirdly," she sighed, glancing toward the door, "even if the Du family and Xu He don't mention it, there are plenty of people today eager to see the wife of a country scholar make a fool of herself; they will certainly instigate it."

Yue Tang also sighed. "In that case, call someone to lead the way."

The little maid outside could not play deaf this time and obediently led the way.

The banquet location was not far; after winding through a few gravel paths, they arrived.

It was a lakeside pavilion with a terrace where about a dozen tables had already been set.

At the north end, leading the way, were three long tables. The middle table was decorated with particular elegance; needless to say, this was the seat of the Prince of Jingyang. To the left and right were naturally the hosts, Du Minghuan and his son, or perhaps other members of the Du family.

Below the long tables, five sets of tables and chairs were arranged on both the left and right. About seventy to eighty percent of the guests had arrived. Behind each table sat a prim and proper official along with their family members.

Yue Tang was the last to arrive. Xu He was already dissatisfied and complained to her in a low voice, "Where have you been? Why are you only just arriving! Being summoned by the Prince is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You won't be able to make up for ruining my good fortune!"

"I know."

Yue Tang responded indifferently and sat down.

She was mindful of the item in her sleeve and certainly had no intention of showing off in such a setting.

She should instead find an opportunity to slip away early.

Just as she was thinking, someone announced at the entrance: "His Highness the Prince has arrived!"

She turned her head slightly and saw a group approaching from afar. The Du father and son, who were usually arrogant, were now walking on the sides, displaying extreme flattery.

The person walking in the middle wore a purple robe and moved with a leisurely pace; even from a distance, he exuded an air of being above all others.

This was, naturally, that unpredictable Prince of Jingyang.

As they drew closer, Yue Tang casually picked up a peanut kernel and cast a cool gaze toward them.

With that single look, her eyes met the Prince of Jingyang's face directly.

Subsequently, the peanut in her hand went *clatter* and fell onto the table in front of Xu He!

Xu He was looking toward the direction the Prince was coming from with an eager face, his body leaning forward halfway, his heart thumping uncontrollably.

Seeing the peanut rolling away, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and complain, "Uncultured! Sit down properly, don't cause me trouble!"

Yue Tang gave this "current husband" a half-open-mouthed look, then turned her gaze back to the "ex-husband" at the head of the tables.

Then, she grabbed the runaway peanut, brought her teeth together, and *crunch*—she crushed it!