mtl008 Chapter 578 Xia Tongguan and Yinping's Engagement
Chapter 578 Xia Tongguan and Yinping's Engagement
This was the day Xia Tong and Guan Yinping got engaged, and the mansion was bustling with activity.
Engagement is not a wedding, so there's no need for a big banquet. Just a meal for both sets of parents to get to know each other is enough.
That being said, Guan Yu's extensive network of connections was undeniable. Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Sun Quan, Zhuge Liang, and their wives and children—everyone who could come—came, and the number of attendees was even greater than Liu Bei's grand court assembly.
The groom, Xia Tong, had parents and brothers who were honest, simple farmers who had never seen such a scene before. They were so frightened that they hid in a corner and didn't dare to breathe.
Xia Tong, on the other hand, was quite thick-skinned, shamelessly weaving through the crowd and chatting with anyone.
The vast Guan mansion was bustling with activity, and the happiest of all was Zhou Che, the little foodie. While munching on a piece of beef, Zhou Che chased after Guan Xing and asked, "Brother Anguo, how many cows did you slaughter today? Is there any beef left? Let's save some for barbecue later. It's a waste to give the guests mutton, right? It's too much of a waste to give them beef, isn't it?"
She loved eating beef, but it was illegal for a big man to kill a cow. In the vast city of Jiangling, no one dared to kill a cow recklessly except Guan Xing, so she loved following Guan Xing around.
Guan Xing flicked her forehead and laughed, "You're already thinking about the next meal before you've even finished this one. Don't worry, it'll keep well in the cold winter. I've already prepared some for you. Go have some fun, I'm busy."
After speaking, she was surprised to find that Zhou Che was biting into beef and staring intently into the distance, his mind not on her at all. It turned out that the little brat hadn't heard a single word she had said.
Guan Xing couldn't help but wave his hand in front of her to wake her up, but Zhou Che found him in the way and pushed him aside, saying, "Move aside and don't block my way."
Guan Xing was speechless. He turned around and followed her gaze, only to find that the girl's eyes were moving on a young man in a white robe. The young man's name was Jiang Wei.
Looking at Zhou Che's eyes again, they were so dreamy they were almost drooling, which left Guan Xing speechless. "You little brat, how old are you? You're already acting like a young girl in love. Aren't you a bit too precocious?"
Guan Xing slapped the back of her head and laughed, scolding, "What are you looking at? Repeat what I just said."
Zhou Che's pretty face flushed red instantly, as if her secret had been exposed. She said somewhat flusteredly, "It's nothing, I'm going to play."
After saying that, she took off running in the opposite direction from Jiang Wei, sneaking back to her room. When she came out again, she had changed into a pink dress. Then, she looked around and stealthily crept towards Jiang Wei, leaving Guan Xing, who was watching her closely, speechless.
Guan Xing was too lazy to bother with this and turned to continue his work. Unexpectedly, Zhou Che suddenly appeared beside him like a ghost, fiddling with the hem of his clothes and asking in a voice barely audible, "Brother, can I ask you something? Is Brother Jiang Wei married yet?"
That's pretty efficient; they even found out the name!
Guan Xing teased with amusement, "What does this have to do with you?"
Zhou Che's face turned red to his ears again, and he kicked him in embarrassment, saying, "Oh, please just tell me, please!"
Guan Xing: "..."
It seems that this girl was not disappointed after seeing Jiang Wei's face, but instead completely fell for him.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Jiang Wei is a well-known young general in white robes, with a heroic spirit and the scholarly air unique to a scholar. Coupled with his tall and straight height of 1.8 meters, he is definitely the most handsome man in Jiangling City at present.
To put it more dramatically, aside from Zhou Che's deceased father, probably no one in the entire Han Dynasty could claim to be more handsome than Jiang Wei. Jiang Boyue from Tianshui was just that outstanding.
The entire family is incredibly good-looking, so Miss Zhou Che has very high standards. Just imagine how stunning someone's looks must be to be approved by her, but...
Guan Xing poured cold water on the idea, saying, "Jiang Wei isn't married yet, but he's getting on in years. You can forget about it; you won't get married. Even if you did, your mother and brother wouldn't agree. Go wash up and go to sleep."
Don't forget that the Han Dynasty was an era where family lineage mattered, and marriages were based on matching social status. There weren't many people like Guan Yu who were so reckless and unconventional.
Jiang Wei's father was just a minor official in Tianshui County. The Jiang family was considered a small aristocratic family in Tianshui County, but it was not significant in the grand scheme of things in the entire Han Dynasty.
In contrast, the Zhou family had produced high-ranking officials in the past. Zhou Che's father, Zhou Yu, was the first Grand Commander of Eastern Wu. Although he had passed away many years ago, his former subordinates were still all over Jiangnan, and his influence was many times greater than that of Jiang Wei.
The Zhou family is of a much higher social standing than the Jiang family. It would be a miracle if Xiao Qiao and Zhou Xun agreed to such a mismatched marriage.
"Waaah..." Upon hearing this, Zhou Che squatted down and started crying as if he had suffered a great injustice. His loud crying immediately attracted the attention of everyone nearby. Guan Yu, who was chatting with Zhuge Liang, turned around when he heard the crying. Without saying a word, he threw the wine cup in his hand at Guan Xing and scolded him sternly: "Anguo, you brat, how did you make your sister cry again? Don't force me to beat you on such a joyous day."
Guan Xing: "..."
Which eye of yours saw me offend her? I'm innocent!
Damn Guan Yu, could you be any more biased? So I was the one who was adopted?
Guan Yu squatted on the ground and comforted him, feeling wronged: "Don't cry, this is just getting me into trouble. Alright, alright, I'll help you figure something out. Can you get up first?"
Zhou Che quickly looked up, his tears turning into a smile, and said, "Really, don't lie to me."
Bullshit! I'll just appease you to get through today first, and then I won't care what happens after that.
Thinking this, Guan Xing nodded hurriedly and said, "Of course it's true. Get up quickly, there are so many people here, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
Zhou Che said, "I'm not afraid. If you dare to lie to me, I'll kneel down in front of your father right now and see if he doesn't beat you to death."
Guan Xing: "..."
As expected of Zhou Yu's daughter, she's ruthless.
Guan Xing was helpless with such a spoiled brat. After much effort, he finally managed to appease Zhou Che, and the engagement ceremony began. Under the watchful eyes of all the guests, Xia Tong and Guan Yinping, the soon-to-be couple, walked down the red carpet to the stage to greet the guests and announce the start of the banquet.
The celebration lasted until the afternoon before it was almost over. Liu Bei, who was quite drunk, patted Guan Yu on the shoulder and was about to leave when a soldier rushed into the mansion, knelt down in front of Liu Bei, and said, "Your Majesty, General Fu Shiren has returned. He said he brought back new grain seeds from the Kingdom of Linyi and wants to present them to Your Majesty immediately."
what?
These words shocked everyone present. Even Liu Shan, Guan Xing, and others who were enjoying their drinks quickly gathered around, looking at the messenger with astonishment.
Fu Shih-jen has only been at sea for a few days, how come he's back so soon?
Furthermore, Fu Shiren must have landed in Jiangdong upon his return. Why did no news come back from the Yangzhou Prefectural Government? Could it be that this old fellow Fu Shiren was in such a hurry to present the treasure that he didn't rest after landing and personally acted as a messenger, riding a fast horse back?
At their age, is it really necessary to work so hard?
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and the others exchanged glances, and at the same time thought of the Champa rice that Guan Xing had mentioned. They said impatiently, "Then what are we waiting for? Please come in quickly."
The messenger left, and not long after, Fu Shiren strode in carrying a bundle. When he saw Guan Yu standing behind Liu Bei, his heart trembled and he immediately stopped. He was genuinely afraid of this red-faced thief.
Liu Bei, however, was eager to find out the news about the voyage and didn't have time to waste with him. He sternly rebuked him, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up!"
Fu Shiren trembled and quickly untied the package, took out the bamboo tube, threw the package aside, stepped forward, knelt down, and presented the bamboo tube with both hands, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the rice I brought back from Linyi. Please take a look."