Chapter 594: Chapter 594: Second Madam Pan

Hong Ye called over a servant girl to replace the tableware, and once everything was tidied up, Qin Yuan sat down again, smiling as she said to the lady beside her, "It seems the Duke Zhen’s Mansion’s feast is held rather hastily; this is already the second time. Earlier, I was sitting in the garden, and a servant girl came over to serve tea and almost spilled it all over me."

The lady was surprised, "We haven’t encountered that; even if it’s hasty, there shouldn’t be a second time, this is really too much."

She lowered her voice, "There are several ladies managing the household here, each has their preferred people, but it’s Duke Mansion after all, no matter how it is inside, mistakes should not be made outside, losing face."

These words carried quite a bit of meaning.

Qin Yuan smiled, "Let’s hope there won’t be a third time. I wouldn’t want to have to change clothes."

The lady picked up a piece of roasted camel hump, stuffed it into her mouth, rolled her eyes, and laughed, "Then you should be extra careful."

Qin Yuan also laughed.

This person was also quite astute, understood well, yet was unafraid of anything.

She spoke whatever she thought.

It’s just Empress Lin and her likes relying on their power to treat others like fools and plot against them.

During the feast, the ladies all drank Peach Blossom Brew, and when one pot was finished, little servant girls came to replenish it. When it reached Qin Yuan, she smelled the odor and knew there was a problem, but she didn’t say anything, just stopped touching that cup. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

If anyone came and urged her to drink, Qin Yuan would say her drinking capacity was too shallow, and since she was traveling with her mother-in-law, she dared not get drunk.

Her radiant beauty was enhanced by the wine, with a faint blush that made her look even more tender, and her pitiful plea made people feel sympathy and stop urging her to drink.

The little maid pouring wine waited beside her for a long time but didn’t see her drink, so she left dejectedly.

Qin Yuan casually handed the wine to Yang’er, "I accidentally spilled some oil in it, pour it out."

Yang’er glanced at it and saw there was no sign of oil on the surface, understanding the wine was problematic, she withdrew, and Hehua quickly replaced her.

The lady at the neighboring table smiled, "If you can’t handle the drink and need to change clothes or walk around, how about inviting me to accompany you?"

Qin Yuan was taken aback.

The lady continued, "Dingbei Marquis’s wife seldom goes out, I’m afraid she doesn’t know I’m the second daughter-in-law of the Pan family. Originally, it was supposed to be my mother-in-law and her eldest daughter-in-law today, but some matters kept them, so I came. I met Dingbei Marquis’s wife and felt a strong affinity, wanting to get closer."

Qin Yuan cautiously asked, "Are you from Chief Minister Pan’s family?"

"Exactly," Second Granny Pan nodded with a smile.

The Chief Minister is from Jiangxi, Zhang Hanlin is also from Jiangxi, nowadays most Jiangxi people have sided with Prince Qi, no wonder Second Granny Pan speaks so frankly and warmly with her.

It shows the Pan family is aware of the alliance between Prince Qi and Dingbei Marquis Mansion.

Qin Yuan affectionately said, "No wonder I sensed a Jiangxi accent in your speech."

Second Granny Pan smiled, "We Jiangxi people can never quite change some tones when speaking official language. It’s been over a decade since I came to the capital, yet it can still be heard."

Qin Yuan chuckled, "It’s hard to change one’s accent; I’ve heard Chief Minister Pan hasn’t changed his either, he must have been in the capital for over forty years."

Second Granny Pan thought, "Probably."

She continued, "Let’s talk as we eat, the Duke Mansion’s birthday feast has laid out some good stuff." With that, she picked up a piece of Dragon Fish belly meat and savored it.

Qin Yuan also picked up a piece; indeed, since she was here, she should enjoy it fully, not miss out, this Yellow River carp took a lot of effort to bring.

In her past life, when returning to the capital with Lin Ziqi, Chief Minister Pan had already retired and returned home, naturally she hadn’t seen this Second Granny Pan.

Lin Ziqi did mention Chief Minister Pan, saying he had offended the Emperor and had to wisely depart. After he left, the Jiangxi Gang lost its influence on the court, and in the following decade, the number of successful candidates from Jiangxi reduced by nearly thirty percent.

Witnessing Chief Minister Pan’s outcome, Lin Ziqi lost some of his scholarly integrity towards the Emperor, constantly seeking to curry favor, his daily concerns were how to gain power, form factions, and ostracize military generals.

The entire court was somewhat chaotic; everyone thought about just surviving and making money.

Officialdom became a murky, foul cesspool.

Thinking about this, Qin Yuan couldn’t help but sigh, the path of humanity is fraught with setbacks, in the past, officials were corrupt, civil servants loved wealth, military generals feared death, and the common people were in misery. When the Grand Ancestor Emperor founded the Da Xing Dynasty, the dynasty was impoverished, salaries were calculated in grain, Empress’s yearly salary was just two hundred stones of millet, marriages among the populace were humble, for population growth, marriages happened at thirteen or fourteen.

Yet, at that time, officials were loyal to the court, worried about the people, petitions to the court were for the sake of commoners, for the country. Even when the Grand Ancestor Emperor became suspicious, brutal, and killed many officials, the officialdom was upright and honest, with few corrupt officials, and scholars were honorable.

A few reigns later, the populace became wealthy, marriages extravagant, salaries multiplied, but officials became greedy and slippery, while scholars grew numerous but were lamentable. It’s not too bad now, but in ten years, southern scholars will become truly troublesome, reading and pursuit of fame will turn into means for profit and oppression of the populace, wealthy merchants from Jinling and Gusu would even curse, saying hire a scholar to deal with you, which shows what scholars had become.

Everyone knew the foundation of Da Xing’s court was crumbling, but they chose to let it be.

Officials like Chief Minister Pan no longer had the chance to rise.

Qin Yuan picked another piece of roasted camel hump, the greasy oil mixed with pepper and bayberry was exceptionally delicious.

The other ladies didn’t move their chopsticks much, which was advantageous for her.

Both of them ate with oily mouths, the wine-pouring maid came over again, noticing Qin Yuan’s glass remained untouched, she appeared anxious.

Qin Yuan just pretended not to know, focusing on eating with Second Granny Pan, thinking that she should eat her fill now, as the dishes, soups, and wines served later would go untouched by her.

Let’s see what tricks they had next.

Soon, the Ninth Princess, along with her entourage, approached this side.

Second Granny Pan asked, "Is the Ninth Princess seeking you?"

Qin Yuan hesitated, "What for?"

Second Granny Pan merely smiled, stuffing another bite of deer tendon into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before saying, "Seems she’s really coming for you."

As she spoke, the entourage surrounding the Ninth Princess had already surrounded this table.

Qin Yuan exhaled heavily: ... really amazing.

Though the ladies didn’t know the reason, they hadn’t forgotten their manners, and everyone hurriedly stood up.

The Ninth Princess raised her chin and said, "There’s no need for formality, I’m here to chat with Dingbei Marquis’s wife, you all just remain seated."

Even though she said this, no one dared to sit again.

There’s no logic in sitting while the Princess stands.

Yet, the ladies couldn’t just leave the table like that; the birthday celebrant was still accompanying the Empress.