Dai Li didn't know Wei Cheng, but hearing that the other party's surname was "Wei", she instantly knew this was Qin Qinian's maternal family.
But why was the other party sending her a visiting card? If anyone should receive it, it should be Qin Qinian.
Looking at the time on the visiting card, it was for the afternoon of the next day.
Dai Li closed the visiting card, "Alright, I understand."
Nianxia wasn't a local of Yuyang, and initially didn't know the Wei family either. But later, as she went out of the mansion more often, she heard a lot of gossip in the marketplace and roughly understood the connections.
"Madam, if you don't want to see her, you might as well just decline," Nianxia whispered.
Dai Li smiled, "Let's see later."
And the "later" Dai Li spoke of was during dinner that evening, when she directly brought the matter up at the dining table.
As the autumn colors deepened, the weather grew colder day by day. In the cold weather, food cooled quickly once taken off the stove, and gourmands obsessed with delicious food racked their brains to figure out how to eat piping hot dishes in the dead of winter.
Thus, the earliest hot pot appeared during the Zhou and Shang dynasties. Yes, it was the bronze ding widely known to the world.
Although this thing was later mostly used for inscribing merits and achievements, in the earliest times, it was indeed used as a cooking tool, used by nobles to boil vegetables and meat.
Later, developing into the Han dynasty, nobles still used copper pots, but with many improvements. The inside was divided into two parts, one part holding seasonings and the other part holding food.
Seasonings could dye the food with other flavors, so this era also called it "dyeing", and the hot pot was called a "dyeing stove", or "antique stew".
As for the latter name, it was also quite interesting, taken from the homophone of the "gudong" sound when food was dropped into the pot.
It was unknown since when Qin Shaozong and Dai Li stopped eating separate meals and sat together at a square or round table to eat.
Later, after returning to Yuyang, with Qin Yunce and Qin Qinian added to the dining table, Qin Shaozong had someone make a new round table, so the five of them sitting around it wouldn't feel crowded.
With just the right number of people, one stove wasn't enough, so two were placed on the table.
Dai Li and Qin Shaozong shared one, while the three teenagers shared another.
An array of plates and dishes of different sizes were spread out on the table, some holding raw meat slices, with a wide variety of meat. Mutton and pork went without saying, and today there was also beef from a cow that had died of illness; fish balls and shrimp balls were placed on the side, and vegetables occupied another corner.
Qin Qinian was eating noisily, not even raising his head.
Just then...
"During the day, I received a visiting card from the Fifth Lady of the Wei family. I haven't replied to her yet. Marquis, do you think I should reply later?" A gentle female voice sounded at this moment.
The table instantly quieted down a lot, with only the sound of someone chewing still echoing.
But soon, it seemed he received a kick under the table from his elder brother beside him, and the sound stopped. The owner of the sound raised his head in astonishment, "Madam Dai, my aunt sent you a visiting card?"
Dai Li only nodded, not saying anything else.
Generally speaking, when a visiting card was sent over, if one wanted the other party to come visit, a timely reply was required.
Just as Qin Qinian's words "Did she send it to the wrong person?" were about to tumble out of his throat, he was stepped on again under the table.
The teenager subconsciously turned his head to look at his elder brother beside him, only to see that the latter, like Qin Yanzhou, was looking at the two elders, waiting for them to speak.
Qin Qinian: "..." Fine.
The bone broth in the iron pot was still bubbling and boiling, with cooked shrimp balls floating on it, which were quickly picked up by a pair of jade chopsticks.
The jade chopsticks holding the shrimp ball took a trip through the seasoning compartment on the stove, and then placed it in another small bowl of Dai Li's.
"If she wants to come, let her come. As the hostess of the mansion, there's no harm in you seeing her," Qin Shaozong's voice was very calm.
Dai Li paused, then gave him a heads-up, "I can see her, but I must state in advance, I'll only treat her as an ordinary guest."
"That's how it should be," Qin Shaozong said lightly. "Qin San, tomorrow when your aunt comes to visit, don't go wandering outside. Stay in the mansion and receive the guest with Madam."
Qin Qinian's cheeks were stuffed full, like a hamster. Unable to speak, he just nodded repeatedly.
After instructing his youngest son, Qin Shaozong looked at Dai Li again, "Does Madam need me to make an appearance tomorrow?"
Dai Li answered with a question, "Have your injuries healed?"
This man had been cooped up in the mansion for over a month. Officials coming to visit the sick were in an endless stream, but only a sparse few were personally summoned by him. Dai Li didn't know exactly what he was scheming, but he was definitely laying out a plan.
Could he just walk around casually halfway through laying out his plan?
Qin Shaozong smiled, "It's been over a month. If I still can't move, people outside will scold me for smashing old Mr. Ding's signboard."
"As you wish," Dai Li didn't care.
Qin Qinian looked at Dai Li, then at Qin Shaozong. The brief two-sentence conversation made him feel...
His father actually quite wanted to go meet the guest with Madam Dai tomorrow.
The autumn sky grew dark late. After the meal, the sky looked dark, but it wasn't yet curfew time. Dai Li wrote a reply card and had someone deliver it.
While Dai Li was writing the reply card, Qin Shaozong took Qin Yunce for a stroll in the mansion to relax.
He didn't go to the study, just casually chatting: "Yunce, write a letter to your aunt. Tell her I've just recovered from my illness, and ask her to bring her younger daughter to Yuyang for a short stay of a few days. Your aunt loves collecting medicinal herbs the most. Ask her if the Shi mansion has musk and fleeceflower root. If they do, ask her not to be stingy and bring them all over."
Qin Shaozong's mother had three children. He was the second, with an elder brother above him and a younger sister of the same mother below him.
Leaving aside the elder brother who died in battle for now, the younger sister married a subordinate of Father Qin surnamed Shi after coming of age.
The Shi family had considerable influence in Nanyu Commandery and was a prominent local clan. That subordinate had already risen to the position of Commandery Sima and was a good-looking young talent. All things considered, it was a good match.
The distance between Yuyang and Nanyu was neither close nor far, requiring a four-day carriage ride. Qin Hongying, who had married out, came back to Yuyang at most once or twice a year.
As if remembering something, Qin Shaozong added, "Send the letter out of the city urgently tonight. After the guards arrive in Nanyu, have them stand by at the Shi mansion and depart to come back with Hongying."
A trace of surprise flashed through Qin Yunce's eyes, but he nodded in agreement, "Yes, Father."
The guards waiting at the Shi mansion would be a completely silent urging. Seeing this, his aunt would definitely just simply pack two sets of clothes and hurriedly return with his cousin.
Qin Shaozong: "Go do it."
Qin Yunce cupped his hands and took his leave.
Qin Shaozong stood under the corridor, the heavy night colors reflecting in his eyes, dyeing those brown eyes obscure and unclear.
...
The night passed in the blink of an eye. The morning sun rose high, and the east was bright.
Yuyang today was no different from yesterday. There were still teams of soldiers intercepting merchant caravans to requisition medicinal herbs at high prices, and there were also Qin Shaozong's confidants, led by Kuang Ye, successively visiting the prominent clans in the commandery.
As soon as they opened their mouths, they wanted to purchase fleeceflower root and musk.
The prominent clans gasped inwardly; these two were both precious items.
If they gave them, the other party was purchasing them, so they couldn't sell much of a favor; if they didn't give them, with the Marquis of Wu'an previously in critical condition, refusing them when they came to the door to collect medicine now would inevitably offend people.
How the prominent clans' heads ached, Dai Li didn't know. In the afternoon today, a carriage hanging the Zou family's plaque arrived at the side door of the Qin residence as scheduled.
Wei Cheng is the fifth lady of the middle generation of the Wei family, married into the Zou family. And it was precisely because Wei Conglin attended the birthday banquet of his good friend Zou Yude that a major event happened later.
The gatekeeper had already known in advance that a distinguished guest was visiting today, and as soon as the Zou family's carriage arrived, he greeted them.
Wei Cheng stepped out of the carriage, and before she could speak, she looked up and saw Qin Qinian standing by the side door. She paused slightly before smiling.
"Aunt," Qin Qinian stepped forward cheerfully.
The young man, who often mingled in the army, did not know how to be subtle. After greeting her, he asked, "If you wanted to see me, why did you send the visiting card to Madam Dai? You sent it to the wrong place. You should have sent it to me."
Wei Cheng smiled and said, "Besides coming to see you, I also came to see her. I heard that my brother-in-law brought back a beauty when he returned to Yuyang this time. It is rumored outside that she is a rare beauty in the North. I was curious, so I came to take a look on the way. But considering that she is probably older than you, this visiting card can only be given to her."
She did not use the excuse of "visiting the sick" for Qin Shaozong, because only the male members of the Zou and Wei families who held official positions were qualified to send such visiting cards.
Qin Qinian suddenly realized, "So that's it. Madam Dai mentioned this at the dinner table last night, and I almost thought you sent the wrong visiting card. So it wasn't a mistake."
These words made Wei Cheng's eyebrows twitch.
Mentioned this at the dinner table? They dined together? Not only did they dine together, but there was actually a sentence "So it wasn't a mistake" afterwards.
How could it not be a mistake?
That woman was just a favored concubine, a mere concubine. How could she climb over her master's head? In terms of status, she could not catch up with the legitimate son of the Lord of the North even on horseback.
But her nephew not only did not feel that it was inappropriate, but his words and attitude were also very close to her. She had only been in Yuyang for a little over a month, and she could actually make Qinian treat her like this. Did she give him an ecstasy potion?
Wei Cheng's thoughts turned and turned, and she felt that something was wrong, but she smiled and handed over a heavy booklet, "Qinian, this is the gift list. Take a look."
Qin Qinian took it and flipped through it casually, "Aunt, why do you bring things every time you visit?"
"What are you talking about, child? How can anyone visit without bringing gifts? Although your brother-in-law's house lacks nothing, I, as your aunt, treat you as my own son. Naturally, I want to bring all the things in my house over every time to make you happy," Wei Cheng smiled.
"You really don't have to do this," Qin Qinian shook his head.
He had no pursuit of worldly possessions. His greatest wish was to make contributions on the battlefield like his father and awe the four directions.
Wei Cheng motioned for the servants to carry the things in, "After all, this place is not the Lord's Mansion. Living outside is quite inconvenient. Although it can't be said that there is a lack of food and clothing, it is certainly not as convenient as at home. It is better to prepare more just in case."
"We really don't lack anything. Father is almost moving everything from the Lord's Mansion over," Qin Qinian sighed.
Wei Cheng frowned imperceptibly, "Qinian, why doesn't your brother-in-law live in the Lord's Mansion?"
More than a month had passed, and Qin Qinian had already forgotten Mo Yanyun's instructions that day. Besides, the person asking the question was his own aunt, "Madam Dai feels more comfortable living outside, so she lives outside."
Wei Cheng was dumbfounded and shocked for a long time before she recovered.
While they were talking, the two turned from the small side door to the front courtyard, and passed through the front courtyard to the main hall.
"Qinian, that Madam Dai..." Wei Cheng's words stopped abruptly.
There was no need to inquire further, because she had already seen the person.
Sitting at the head of the main hall ahead was a woman with a beautiful face. She had purple clothes and dark hair, and her appearance was bright and beautiful, like a blooming peony on a golden jade platform.
Looking at her appearance, she was quite young, but looking into those slightly upturned peach blossom eyes, one could see the calmness and gentleness precipitated by time, which was completely different from a young girl.
She was radiant, like a glowing pearl, and it seemed that the entire main hall brightened a bit.
Without noticing Wei Cheng's astonishment, Qin Qinian, who brought people back, introduced to Dai Li: "Madam Dai, this is my aunt, my mother's legitimate younger sister."
Then he turned his head and formally introduced Dai Li to Wei Cheng.
Dai Li looked at Wei Cheng. The other party looked about thirty years old, with a beautiful face, wearing a falling horse bun, and her head was dotted with various gold and jade hairpins. She wore a green lotus-colored curved hem long dress with dark patterns flowing light on the clothes, which was very rich.
"Madam Wei, please sit down," Dai Li smiled at her, and then called Nianxia beside her to serve tea to Wei Cheng.
They didn't know each other before, and she wasn't rushing to curry favor with the other party, so Dai Li wasn't very enthusiastic, just not impolite.
The women of the Qin family all married into other commanderies, and Wei Cheng had always been unmatched in the circle of noblewomen in Yuyang. She was used to being flattered, and now that she was given the cold shoulder, she felt uncomfortable in her heart.
At the same time, she suddenly felt that her father was not shooting without a target.
Three days ago, a daughter of the Wei family who married far away to Yanzhou returned to visit her relatives and brought back a lot of news.
According to the other party, the Marquis of Wu'an used surprise troops to win in Yanzhou, and it took less than ten days to break through the dangerous pass in front of Bairi City. Then he led his troops all the way to the border of Si and Yan provinces, beating the Sizhou army to a steady retreat, fleeing and dying. Even the third son of Governor Xie of Sizhou was captured alive by him.
With such an unstoppable momentum, how could the Marquis of Wu'an be seriously injured?
Once suspicion arose, her father connected all sorts of things, including Cai Yuan being able to go in to visit the sick, while their Wei family could only see Qin Yunce, and the subsequent change in the Cai family's usual style, targeting their family in many ways regarding farmland.
The Wei family, which was already restless, was suddenly enveloped in a cloud of suspicion.
Another day, not knowing what news her father received, he actually sent someone to call her back from the Zou family early in the morning. The first sentence he said when he saw her was:
The Marquis of Wu'an wants to remarry!
At first, Wei Cheng absolutely didn't believe it.
There was no prominent family with the surname Dai in the North, so that Dai family must have been born into a small family. It was already a compliment for a daughter of a small family to be a noble concubine, and she actually wanted to be the legitimate wife?
Not to mention, the Marquis of Wu'an had promised in his early years that if he remarried, he would only marry a daughter of the Wei family.
Shocked and angry in her heart, Wei Cheng smiled and sat down, "It's rumored outside that my brother-in-law brought back a great beauty. I also heard Qinian mention you just now. He said you are gentle and easy to get along with. I also thought to myself how could there be such a perfect woman, but seeing you today, there actually is."
Qin Qinian hadn't said this just now, but it didn't prevent him from recalling the various things in the past month. Hearing this, he nodded.
"You flatter me. I'm just an ordinary person. I wouldn't dare to claim to be perfect," Dai Li also began to flatter commercially, but what she praised was Qin Qinian, "That child Qinian is kind-hearted. Even ordinary things can be seen by him as a flower."
Wei Cheng pursed her lips and smiled, "That's true."
Qin Qinian was dizzy.
After going back and forth with a few pleasantries, Wei Cheng said: "Nursing the sick is the most exhausting, but Madam Dai is still radiant. Is this because you are naturally beautiful, or because my brother-in-law can't bear to let you serve in front of the bed?"
Dai Li's eyebrows raised slightly, and she didn't choose either, "It should be because old Mr. Ding's medical skills are superb. After a dose of medicine, the Marquis' wound no longer hurts, and he falls asleep immediately. He doesn't even know when thunder roars outside."
Wei Cheng sighed as if worried, "Nursing the sick is still hard work. Why don't you send someone back to the Lord's Mansion and call Pingzhi over? She is the most docile and can endure hardships the most."
The other party's tone was full of concern, but Dai Li instinctively felt that the "Pingzhi" she mentioned was probably not an ordinary person.
Dai Li did not ask further, but instead looked at Qin Qinian beside her. "Qinian, what do you think about calling Pingzhi over here?"
Caught off guard by the question, Qin Qinian first let out an "Ah," looking completely bewildered. "Who is Pingzhi?"
Wei Cheng let out a helpless laugh. "Technically, she is also your aunt, Qinian. However, I am your mother's full sister, while she is a cousin, so the relationship is a bit more distant."
Dai Li's expression shifted slightly as she roughly understood the situation.
Qin Qinian still had not wrapped his head around it. "My cousin-aunt? Why would she be in the Marquis's estate?"
"When your mother passed away from illness, you were not even two years old. Shortly after, when the eldest young master of the Qin family had that incident, the estate was thrown into complete chaos. Father was worried that no one would take care of you, so he discussed it with the Marquis and sent Pingzhi over to look after you," Wei Cheng said with a smile.
Dai Li picked up her teacup and took a light sip.
The "Wei Pingzhi" she spoke of was likely the illegitimate daughter of the Wei family whom they had originally wanted to marry off to Qin Shaozong as his primary wife.
However, Qin Shaozong had been unwilling to let an illegitimate daughter occupy the position of his main wife, fearing it would make the Qin family a laughingstock among other prominent families, and thus he had rejected the Wei family's request.
Looking at it now, although he had not married the Wei daughter, he had still brought her back to the estate.
Qin Qinian's expression turned a bit strange. "Aunt, are you talking about Concubine Li? She seems to be the only person in the estate who comes from the Wei family. Is she actually my cousin-aunt?"
These words made Wei Cheng's heart skip a beat.
Li? Why would Wei Pingzhi be known as "Concubine Li" in the Marquis's estate? Was that Concubine Li really Wei Pingzhi?
Moreover, all these years, her nephew actually had no idea that his cousin-aunt was living in the estate.
This was simply too bizarre.
Wei Cheng could not help but feel a pang of regret. Had she known this, she would not have worried about her nephew's attention being divided by another aunt, deliberately avoiding any mention of Wei Pingzhi every time she saw him.
Wait, Wei Pingzhi's biological mother seemed to be... surnamed Li.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dai Li caught sight of a tall figure emerging from the side corridor. She turned her head and, unsurprisingly, met a pair of light brown eyes.
Yesterday, he had asked if she needed him to step in, and at the time, she had told him to do as he pleased. Since he had gone to the study this afternoon, she thought he would not come.
"Father, you are here." Qin Qinian also saw Qin Shaozong.
From just the brief exchange between aunt and nephew, Dai Li had already sensed the undercurrents surging beneath the surface.
Unwilling to get involved, now that Qin Shaozong was here, Dai Li immediately tossed the problem to him. Still unaccustomed to referring to other women by their clan names, she simply said, "My Lord Marquis, Madam Wei suggested having Wei Pingzhi come here to serve."
Qin Shaozong paused his steps. "Who is Wei Pingzhi?"
Dai Li: "..."
This father and son truly were cut from the same cloth.
A few moments of eerie silence fell over the hall, until Qin Qinian finally whispered, "Father, Wei Pingzhi should be Concubine Li."
During Qin Qinian's early childhood, he, his elder brother, and his elder sister were all raised by Nanny Chen, who was their grandmother's trusted dowry maid.
Therefore, he did not know much about this Concubine Li. He only knew that such a person existed in the estate; after all, how could a son be overly curious about his father's concubines?
Qin Shaozong's expression remained placid. "There is no need. She already has her new place to go."