Love Like the Galaxy

Chapter Twenty-Four:
Guests of the Cheng Family Banquet (Part 1)

Two days later, the Cheng family hosted a banquet, and the whole house was illuminated and refreshed.

Old Madam Cheng finally looked forward to the day when she was in the limelight. She got up early, full of energy. She even ate three bowls of wheat rice before putting down her chopsticks. She sat high at the top of Cixin Hall and waited for the guests to come and see the ceremony. Cheng Shi led his brothers and sons to the main entrance to welcome guests while Madam Xiao and Madam Sang were busy in the inner residence.

Today, Shaoshang was dressed up like Cheng Yang. The three-wrapped brocade with a Lingzhi mushroom pattern in a deep red had a curved collar, and was paired with a snow-colored inner lining, which was very bright. Madam Xiao had no aesthetic problems but what was problematic was her current mood.

Cheng Yang had big eyes, a round face, and a healthy skin tone, which could be considered dignified and beautiful. Unfortunately, with the same dress, although Shaoshang’s figure had not yet grown, her complexion was fair and young, eyes bright and good-looking. She made Cheng Yang look like a village girl.

Old Madam Cheng was dressed like a big red lantern, covered in gold and silver, shining brightly, and the thick pure gold fire stick reappeared. Shaoshang carefully examined the back of Old Madam Cheng’s head and found that it was thicker than normal. She leaned into Cheng Yang and whispered, “Did Grandmother add to that golden hairpin again?”

Cheng Yang smiled bitterly. “You can see that? Grandmother has added two taels of pure gold.”

Shaoshang couldn’t resist teasing her. “You are the amazing granddaughter of Grandmother and you didn’t persuade her? Isn’t that funny.”

“How dare I?” Cheng Yang said, horrified.

“You can ask Mother to persuade Grandmother,” Shaoshang said with a mischievous smile.

Cheng Yang was speechless. She just didn’t respond well, and she wasn’t stupid.

The two cousins were whispering together, and the guests had begun to arrive one after another. The first being General Wan and his wife.

General Wan, known as Wan Songbai, was five or six years older than Cheng Shi and slightly shorter by five or six inches. He had a dignified appearance, looked impressive, and seemed to have recovered from his foot injury. Shaoshang looked at the golden purple crown on his head, red gold belt on his waist, and his strong general’s belly. His demeanor was open and broad, with a domineering aura. She could smell the scent of power on his body from three meters away.

In contrast, Madam Wan did not have such a strong appearance and looked a bit older than her husband. After greeting Old Madam Cheng, she sat quietly by the side and smiled.

After the pleasantries, Old Madam Cheng asked after Old Madam Wan with great joy. General Wan replied, “A while ago, my mother accidentally felt a cold wind and Qiqi also contracted it. The doctor said she will be fine after two more days of rest. In a few days, our family will hold a banquet and we invite you to come with us.”

Old Madam Cheng nodded demurely and agreed.

According to Cheng Yong, the Wan family in Sui County was a legendary aristocratic family; that is, the family leader was always a single descendant of the nth generation. No matter how many concubines were accepted or how many gods were worshipped, one could easily lose their offspring if they weren’t careful. The most magical thing was, even if the once thriving side family took over as the main family, the branches and leaves withered within two generations, and in the end, could only endure the hardships of raising a single son.

Cheng Shi once gave his sworn brother a bad idea, saying that the feng shui of the Wan family tombs was inappropriate. Therefore, several years ago, General Wan repaired the ancestral tomb, but it hadn’t taken effect yet. On the contrary, even the previous endless supply of a daughter every two years had stopped. General Wan was furious and severely beat Cheng Shi.

Apart from the issue of offspring, the rest of the Wan family was very stable. Although only a prestigious local clan, the wealth of the manor grew from generation to generation, and its reputation never declined. In the generation of Wan Songbai’s father, he was able to quickly transition from literature to martial arts and raise a group of capable tribal generals. This not only prevented him from perishing in the chaos, but also broke out of the local pattern and reached out to the emperor.

The current situation of General Wan was that he was conferred the title of Marquis (nobility) with a rank of two thousand stones, and holds the position of Prefect of Xu County (soon to be appointed). He was wealthy, powerful, had a virtuous wife, beautiful concubines, and a wise and knowledgeable mother. He was only missing a son.

… or several.

Shaoshang said to herself, ‘I feel sorry for my life.’

After chatting with Old Madam Cheng, Wan Songbai turned his head and went to see the youngest daughter, whom his sworn brother had boasted about 108 times. Because Shaoshang always sat with her head down, he generously took off a dazzling dagger hanging from his waist and handed it over to her without even seeing her face clearly.

Shaoshang raised her hands up above her shoulders and respectfully accepted the gift. When she saw it, she exclaimed, “My goodness!”

The dagger blade was made of refined steel, which was clearly visible to others. The hand and sheath of the dagger were made of intricately carved gold, and were inlaid with various precious stones and beautiful jade. Shaoshang had almost no way to grip the dagger’s handle because of the finger-sized rubies and emeralds, with several of them embedded between the two sides of the scabbard! Obviously, although General Wan was a legitimate descendant of a noble family, he was very aesthetically pleasing. She really liked it!

Shaoshang smiled so hard she couldn’t see through her eyes. She not only thanked him loudly, but raised her head and gave her Uncle Wan a sunny smile, almost dazzling his titanium alloy eyes. She thought the dagger was valuable, but when she caught a glimpse of Madam Xiao’s sinking expression, she suddenly realized the dagger was worth too much!

The Wan-Cheng families had been in close contact with each other for decades and, while General Wan and Madam Xiao could acknowledge each other’s strong points, they did not like each other. Madam Xiao did not like Wan Songbai’s extravagance and indulgence with alcohol and lust. Wan Songbai was dissatisfied with Madam Xiao’s behavior of putting on more airs than her husband, and for decades, he had not been allowed to take Cheng Shi to ‘play,’ which was simply disheartening (although Cheng Shi would never admit it)!

Madam Xiao could restrain herself, but General Wan would take any opportunity to add obstacles for Madam Xiao. If there wasn’t a chance to do that, it was even more important to create opportunities! In short, seeing Madam Xiao unhappy made Wan Songbai happy.

Wan Songbai and Cheng Shi had been through thick and thin together. He knew all about the affairs of the Cheng family, and it was rare to catch Madam Xiao in a rough spot and not do something to dig at her.

“Niao Niao, our two families are close, and your father and I are sworn brothers. If you suffer any injustices in the future, come to me! Uncle will definitely do what he can to help you!”

General Wan’s eyes were full of sparkling stars, and every little star had a malicious intent to it. The meaning of his words was obvious.

Finally, Father Cheng knew that it would be no good for his sworn brother and wife to collide. He quickly called on Cheng Yong to come and drag the person away, using the excuse of helping to greet other guests. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Madam Wan hurriedly went to chat with Madam Sang and her husband.

The guests who came later mostly followed this step. The female guests left to talk, the male guests ran to the outer hall, and if there were any elderly women, they sat next to Old Madam Cheng. Cheng Yang and Shaoshang were kneeling off to the side, always serving as mascots. They smiled when they met people, bowed down and pretended to be shy to accept the compliments of their elders. This went on for so long that even Cheng Yang’s kind and good temper couldn’t pretend to be able to do it to the end.

The guests flew by like the clouds, and most of the people’s faces and names blurred together. Only one lady with the surname Yin left a deep impression on her.

She was followed by many maidservants, dressed in splendid attire, and her gift was particularly valuable, making Old Madam Cheng’s heart burst with joy. After a brief discussion, Shaoshang understood that this was a guest invited by Madam Wan, and the Cheng and Yin families had no previous relationship.

It turned out that although Madam Yin and Madam Wan appeared to be many years apart, they were sisters and had been close ever since childhood. After getting married, they encountered the chaos in the world and were separated for many years before reuniting. Madam Xiao had long sleeves and was good at dancing*, and Madam Sang was good with her words, and the sisters-in-law were interested in making friends. The ladies quickly began talking with each other and had a great time.
[Long sleeves help one dance beautifully is an idiom that means money and power will help you in any occupation. Madam Xiao sees the wealth and power the Yin family has and wants to get in on that.]

After an hour, Shaoshang and Cheng Yang were hardly able to straighten their backs after they greeted a guest. Finally, seeing more and more younger girls come to visit, Madam Sang graciously asked them to lead the girls to the side hall for drinks and refreshments. The remaining middle-aged and young women could then talk about adult topics.

Upon arriving at the side hall, Shaoshang honestly and rudely assigned the responsibility of being the host to Cheng Yang, asking her to entertain the guests and speak polite words, while also revealing the achievements of Madam Xiao’s multi-day training. She herself dragged a lacquered wood bench and moved to the corner to sit down. Lian Fang cleverly brought her something to eat and drink, and then led two other maidservants to kneel in front of her, half shielding her. Shaoshang nodded with a smile as a gesture of commendation.

If there was a theme for the Cheng family banquet today, it had to be ‘farewell to yesterday, and welcome tomorrow.’ Because today, with the exception of the Wan and Yin families, most of the guests who arrived… how to put it, the family, official positions, and hierarchy were not very high.

If she were to use numbers to indicate that the Cheng family came from a humble background and later came from the Dragon family, they originally belonged to the 4th class family in the capital. After ten years of struggle, Cheng Shi and his wife now rose to the 3rd class family. After Cheng Shi completes his task in the future, they will be granted a new rank and position, which should be the 2.5th class. As for whether the future can climb to the 2nd class family or fall, it was unknown.

Moreover, the visitors in front of them were still in line with the previous Cheng family, and even lower.

If they had befriended the Cheng Shi couple before, perhaps they could still drag on old friendships. Unfortunately, in the past decade, their daily interactions had been with Old Madam Cheng and the Ge family. So today, Cheng Shi and Madam Xiao’s hospitable attitude was clearly not intimate enough, and their relationship was appropriate. There was also a faint sense of mutual kindness and authority.

For example, the dozen young ladies in red and green in front of them, although each tried to put on a smiling face, clearly showed resentment towards Cheng Shaoshang. They looked at Shaoshang’s elegant and expensive attire, surrounded by maidservants, and with a calm and generous demeanor, which was completely different from the timid or arrogant appearance she used to have in front of Madam Ge. They were all dissatisfied in their hearts. But they kept in mind their family’s instructions and had to hold back no matter what. They could not speak ill of Shaoshang.

Shaoshang was very happy; she liked the way they didn’t like her but had no choice but to be nice to her.

It was a teenage girl who was warmly welcomed by Cheng Yang and, after laughing for a while, finally couldn’t stop herself. She had a diamond shaped face and intentionally said, “Today, I dare not recognize Shaoshang anymore. It’s really different.”

Shaoshang didn’t even move her eyebrows. “That’s natural,” she said. “I’ve grown four inches taller these days.”

Another girl in green bit her lip and said, “It’s not that! You’re talking and acting differently!”

“I used to behave improperly,” Shaoshang said lightly. “But I have been scolded by my parents, naturally I have improved.”

After that, several people tried to pick up the conversation, and they all began asking her questions.

Her answers were polite and distant, and the girls couldn’t pick out a single flaw, just like stabbing a wet cowhide, smooth, soft, and inviolable. The girls became increasingly irritated, and finally the girl with the diamond shaped face boldly said, “Cheng Shaoshang, stop pretending we don’t know who you are. You used to beg us to be friends with you and didn’t know how to be respectful. Now you’re putting on airs! Do you remember not too long ago speaking ill of Mei Lin and beating her…”

Her voice became lower and lower and trailed off. Shaoshang stared her down coldly.

Shaoshang straightened up and said coldly, “Cousin, do you want to testify for me? Today I have not been disrespectful, nor have I said anything inappropriate. I started over with sincerity, but some people are still holding onto the past and refuse to let it go.” Time had changed, and today’s Cheng Shaoshang was not the same Cheng Shaoshang as before. Yet, these brainless girls couldn’t figure out the situation.

Cheng Yang was also very angry in her heart. She said coldly, “If you sisters want to talk so much, why don’t you talk about my mother? My cousin was raised by her.”

The debt owed by the mother is to be repaid by the daughter. Even if the fault committed by Madam Ge wasn’t borne by her, it should be repaid by her and not her innocent cousin. After the writing desk scandal, she knew that she could no longer hide under her aunt’s sleeve and be a child. It was time for Cheng Yang to hold her chest up and take responsibility.

As soon as those words were spoken, the girls remained silent, and the girl with the diamond shaped face turned pale. Shaoshang was impressed.

Everyone awkwardly faced each other and the room was filled with silence.

Suddenly, there were women’s screams from the main hall next door. A young lady sitting near the door seemed to hear something and exclaimed in surprise, “Ah! It seems like Young Master Shanjian is here!

The girls all beamed with joy. They took the opportunity to break the awkward atmosphere and gathered together to peek through the door.

Shaoshang forced a smile at Cheng Yang and a few of the girls who didn’t squeeze together to look. “I feel a bit uncomfortable,” she said calmly. “I’ll be leaving now. Please forgive me. Cousin, you’ve been working too hard.”

After she finished speaking, she bowed to the group and turned to leave, with Lian Fang quickly following behind her.

Cheng Yang was kind-hearted and gentle in nature, and held no grudges with others. Everyone could take a step back and enjoy each other’s company after Shaoshang left.

As long as she wasn’t there, there would be harmony.

…

I love how Wan Songbai will do things to purposely anger Madam Xiao and Shaoshang will benefit from it! Also, I was worried a bit with Yang Yang’s character in the novel, that she wouldn’t be as supportive as she was in the drama but she’s really shaping up to be a great family member.

Next Chapter: Guests of the Cheng Family Banquet (Part 2)