He Jin had been following Your Excellency for nearly three years and understood her temperament well. At her level, there was no need for formalities. If she gave a gift, it was because she genuinely intended to. If she had looked down on his father, she would not have made this trip at all.
He Qisha bowed and said, "This subordinate thanks Your Excellency in advance. I accept your generosity with gratitude."
As he spoke, he tentatively reached for one of the boxes, and the eyes of those around him followed his movement, fixed on the box.
When He Qisha had refused earlier, most of the onlookers looked as if they were in pain, as if he had rejected Yue Fuguang’s kindness on their behalf.
He Qisha had practiced martial arts for years, and even when severely injured, his hands had never trembled as much as they did now. Even when his eldest son was born and he held the child for the first time as a new father, he had not been as nervous as he was at this moment.
To his relief—or perhaps not—he felt no obstacle at the bottom of the box and smoothly touched the wooden container.
It was slightly heavy. As a martial arts master, He Qisha’s senses were sharp. The moment his hand steadily supported the box, he clearly felt the buoyancy of the box suddenly dissipate.
The crowd, seeing him take the box, unconsciously swallowed hard, their desire to see its contents written all over their faces.
He Qisha ignored how much they longed to look. He went on to take the other two boxes, one by one, placing them on the table beside him.
Once again, he expressed his thanks to Yue Fuguang.
Though politeness never hurts, Lord He’s excessive courtesy left Yue Fuguang somewhat helpless.
Seeing that He Qisha had no intention of opening the boxes, the crowd grew more restless than a cat scratching at their hearts. Their eyes clung to the boxes, unable to look away.
Yue Fuguang found it amusing but did not suggest he open the boxes to see if he liked the gifts—mainly because they were not familiar with each other.
Yes, even after nearly three years, she still did not know this subordinate of hers well. This shows just how laid-back Yue Fuguang usually was.
[Master, not only are you giving him weapons, but you also gave He Qisha wine. Can he even appreciate it?]
Hearing the Divine Tool Master’s words, He Qisha was startled. So the boxes contained weapons and wine?
He Qisha swallowed hard. A weapon from Lord Ying must be a divine blade, and the wine must be of the highest quality. But the Divine Tool Master saying he could not appreciate it—was that not a bit insulting?
He had been drinking for decades and considered himself knowledgeable. Even if he did not know what kind of wine Lord Ying had given him, he surely knew how to drink it.
He had several types of baijiu in his cellar, all premium vintages.
Just as He Qisha was puzzled, he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. Aside from his son and daughter-in-law, a few other people had expressions of momentary shock and confusion.
Seeing their faces, He Qisha understood and sensed trouble. He quickly stood up and said, "Lord Ying, it is getting late. Shall we move to the front hall for the evening banquet?"
Yue Fuguang was also feeling hungry, so she rose and said, "In that case, I will accept your hospitality."
He Qisha made a gesture for her to proceed, leading the group toward the banquet hall.
As he turned, he gave his son a meaningful look. He Heng had accompanied him on visits to Yue Fuguang before and had heard her thoughts, so He Qisha trusted him to calm the uncles.
[It’s just two bottles of medicinal wine. What’s so hard to appreciate?]
[Master, that is medicinal wine. If you do not explain its effects, he will waste it.]
"You've already drunk it all, so how can you say it's wasted? That stuff is just the effect of the Vitality Pill plus the Rejuvenation Pill. He Qisha's martial skills are good enough; he can handle the potency without getting sick from it."
The effect of the Vitality Pill plus the Rejuvenation Pill? He Qisha, walking beside Yue Fuguang, nearly soared with joy right on the spot.
Those who heard the inner thoughts had no idea what the Vitality Pill and Rejuvenation Pill were, but they could read expressions! Not to mention He Qisha, who looked like he was about to laugh his guts out, even He Heng, walking beside him, had a grin so wide it nearly split his ears. Clearly, that wine was something good—extraordinarily good!
[Master is right. He Qisha definitely won't get sick from this wine. But if we're talking about someone who drank too much and got into trouble, there actually is one here.]
"Oh? Little Bead, one of He Qisha's guests drank himself sick?"
Before she and the Crown Prince had jointly brewed the distilled liquor, the wines on the market in the Dayan Dynasty were mostly fermented rice wine and fruit wine, with low alcohol content.
For someone to ruin their health from everyday drinking, they'd have to be a proper drunk.
[Master, getting sick from drinking is a small matter. Letting alcohol ruin important business—that's the real disaster.]
By now, the group had entered the banquet hall. The birthday feast was set in the flower hall, where five rooms had been opened up to form a spacious, bright area.
The Seven Swords Manor truly lived up to its reputation as one of the Five Mountains and Six Manors of the Dayan Dynasty. The banquet hall was not only elegantly built but also large enough to hold four or five hundred people with ease.
Yue Fuguang stepped inside, and her eyes fell on a twelve-panel screen made of rosewood inlaid with mother-of-pearl. When fully folded, it formed a "Hundred Deer" picture: elderly men of longevity either standing or reclining, with pine trees and lingzhi fungus crafted from fine ivory threads, surrounded by a circle of peaches with faint pink blushes on their tips.
In front of the screen stood a long table covered with a red brocade cloth embroidered with gold threads. At the center sat a foot-tall jade statue of the God of Longevity, with a shiny forehead, a long beard flowing down to his chest, and a cheerful smile.
Before the statue were five tiers of gold and silver sacrificial vessels. On the top layer, a cloisonné incense burner shaped like a tripod emitted the sweet fragrance of lilies and sandalwood, wafting gently through the air.
What caught the most attention was a two-foot-tall jade statue of her, hanging above the God of Longevity. Not to mention the exquisite, lifelike craftsmanship, every inch of the whole jade piece screamed "expensive."
With jade quality like that, Yue Fuguang only had a few pieces of similar size in her storage ring.
She, the subject of the statue, glanced at it briefly and pretended not to see—it wasn't her embarrassment if anyone felt awkward.
Walking further inside, the hall was neatly arranged with twenty-four large tables made of rosewood. Each table was covered with a brand-new red silk cloth, embroidered with gold-thread "longevity" characters in dense, circular patterns.
The cups and dishes were all pure white, unadorned "Tuotai" porcelain from Chenghua kilns. They were so thin that you could see your fingers through them in the light, and they felt weightless when held.
The wine flasks, however, were heavy, gold-inlaid filigree pots. They held osmanthus wine and the most trendy drink of the past two years: grape wine. The osmanthus wine was served in white porcelain cups painted with flowers and birds, while the bright red grape wine was best enjoyed in glass cups.
Thus, on the main table, besides the white porcelain cups, there was a baby's-fist-sized glass cup placed before each distinguished guest.
Yue Fuguang looked at the glass cup in front of her and twitched her lips. It seemed she had specially asked the Crown Prince to make a batch of these last year for New Year gifts. No wonder the Seven Swords Manor had them—it wasn't strange after all.
By then, the sky had grown completely dark. A few delicate colored-glass lamps hung from the beams above Yue Fuguang and her companions—some hexagonal, others octagonal, with long tasseled cords dangling beneath. A wisp of wind crept in through the door, and all the light in the hall seemed to come alive, trembling in fragmented patterns as it fell upon the table, the walls, and the faces of those present.
The embroidered, colorful canopies shimmered all the more brilliantly in the glow of the liuli lamps. He Jin quietly explained to her that this was a local custom: whenever a household celebrated a birthday, a wedding, or a daughter's marriage, friends and relatives would present such canopies as tokens of blessing.