Family Banquet - Questioning

Concubine Lan lost her interest in talking to her and Huang WanRou was expecting her cousin's reaction to the drug to show. Lady Huang who was observing both Rijun and Xing who are fairly close for someone who only knew each other for only a short time. She noted Rijun exchanging his sweet and sour chicken dish for Xing's spicy pork dish as if he was so used to it.

In fact, Xing and Rijun got close pretty quick ever since their talk in Uncle Feiye's home. Xing usually emitted the casual vibe that lets anyone get close to her as long as she likes them. Also all her mannerisms were close to a male and she only acted feminine unconsciously around Shengli. So Rijun who is basically a jovial one got along pretty quick with her as he identified her mostly as his peer who can understand him rather than some female he is newly getting to know. Also other than the Emperor, only she knew the ancient language and could help him out with his works. Xing also found many similarities between him and Haru and treated him the same way as a brother. Since she mostly dressed as a man if anyone would find them together they would seem like close friends or brothers.

"You two get along pretty well. If I didn't know better I might think you two are a pair of mandarin ducks", Lady Huang smiled slyly at Xing.

Ducks??? Xing looked at Rijun who had his chopsticks tightly clenched and face stiff. Shengli also had paused his eating and her father too didn't look pleased. Her uncles too had a weird look. Guess it should be an insult… Okay.. Xing didn't realise mandarin ducks represents lovers and decided to leave it.

"We are siblings. It is only natural for us to get along", Xing replied smiling.

"Siblings?", Lady Huang chuckled, " One is a illegitimate son and another one is of unknown origins",her tone clearly berating them.

Xing saw Concubine Lan holding her laughter, isn't she calling your son bastard? And Lady Huang! what kind of words are you teaching your six year old grandson? Xing wondered. Guess this is the usual kind of talks that would provoke her father. Xing nodded slightly at her father who almost opened his mouth and he immediately stopped.

Of course Lord Huang didn't miss a thing happening around him but didn't stop his wife either. He had already asked his sons not to interfere too. It was for that reason they took the farthest seat in the banquet even though they should be the ones sitting nearer the host seat.

Xing noticed Rijun already stopped eating. What she hated most is the people who won't let them eat when there is food in front of them. Be it poisoning or adding salt or making to lose their appetite saying useless things, they are the worst kinds of bastards who deserves the highest level of punishment in hell. She wanted to wait it out to see if that Lady Huang stops talking. Also the way Lord Huang acts also is weird as she noted. He seemed not caring about what happens around him but he looked disappointed at the same time.

Seeing none of them replying and even her usually easily provoked brother-in-law keeping his silence, Lady Huang continued her blabbering as if everyone was agreeing with her.

"Looking at you, your mother should have been pretty right", she asked mockingly.

Seeing Xing nod she continued, "It must have been hard raising a daughter alone and she was pretty young too"

"It wasn't that hard", Xing replied truthfully even though she didn't like the direction this conversation is going. It didn't seem right.

"Huh! Really! Then you must've had many people to help you right? They might have expected something in return too".

" I'm just asking because I am just curious. Don't get me wrong"

"If you are really our AoTian's daughter why did your mother waited this long?"

"You are too old to marry. Is it because you can't afford to get married, she killed herself and sent you here?"

" Is your mother sure that our AoTian is your father. You don't look like a Huang at all"

" Our AoTian must have been only fifteen back then, how can he sire a child when he was that young?"

Every sentence she spoke clearly hid vicious undertones and even Xing could feel it. Xing was the only one eating in the entire hall while everyone was either cringing or enraged except Concubine Lan and her daughter who are ecstatic. Actually Xing wanted to throw her chopsticks right through Lady Huang's eyes to keep her mouth shut, While AoTian was at his wits end and wanted to actually flip the table.

Xing kept calm as she wanted to know how far she would go. Also her mother is not here to hear these insults and that helped her keep her cool too. As everyone was stressed, Lady Huang did not have any intent on shutting up and Xing could feel Lord Huang really enraged but still he didn't say a thing. Xing was giving a dry smile and didn't even answer her while she kept on asking questions. She saw Shengli with clenched fists beside her. She knew how much he liked her mother too. Just as she was about to speak, Rijun placed his chopsticks on the table with a clicking noise.

"Look..", he started to talk but he was interrupted.

"Do you dare to talk back, you illegitimate bastard? Don't you know your place? You weren't even given the 'Ming' character for your name. You think just because you were adopted as the legal son makes you one?", Lady Huang raised her voice pointing his hands at him and Rijun just stopped talking. He did not know why his father didn't give the 'Ming' character in his name either and everytime they mention it, it gets him.

Xing could not hold back any longer seeing her brother's sullen look and all her patience flew threw the window, "Ha! Do You think anyone would care about 'Ming' character? My brother would be better off even without the Noble Huang name with his own skills and wisdom alone. Three generations from now no one would even know that Huang family had 'Ming' character in their name, but my brother will be known as the wise advisor and right hand support of the Emperor and his lineage will be only known as the legal son of Huang AoTian through his Legal wife Táng Ming Ling since that's how he will be remembered. ", she shouted surprising everyone.

"How harmonious, like a pair of ducks", Lady Huang sneered. Shengli held his chopsticks tightly until it got bent.

Xing looked at Rijun who had gained his confidence back by her words but angered by Lady Huang's words and just then Xing spoke,

"Brother, what's with Lady Huang and ducks? I think she wants to complain that we don't have a duck dish. For dinner, let's tell the kitchen to prepare a duck dish to shut her mouth" ,Xing spoke in a calm manner with a childish innocence in her eyes.

Rijun could not help but laugh, "Okay little sister! Your suggestion is not bad", he went along with her.

Everyone can't keep serious after this and a smile crept on their lips. They thought she was trying to change the mood, but didn't realise Xing really didn't understand the phrase and no one knew how she'd react if she understood what it meant.

Lady Huang's face became red with anger and embarrassment. She could not let a little trash girl get the best of her.

" Like your mother you are trash! Not respecting elders and with no manners. Shows how you were raised."

Xing couldn't hold anymore of Lady Huang dissing her mother. She saw Shengli's chopsticks bent, Rijun had stopped eating and her father was completely at his wits end and would burst any moment. Actually, Xing wanted to know if in the past, things got worse because of her father's outbursts that lead to a much bigger problem. But it seems like that's not the case but that Lady Huang just had a serious attitude problem. Even if you keep shut, she cannot stop. Now that kind of behavior is truly despicable.

Actually Xing was told that Lady Huang was from a humble family who were a noble family just in name with no actual power or status and were cotton merchants who were barely getting on. But by some wonder, she was chosen by Lord Huang Bojing to be his daughter-in-law. As the Princess, Lady Huang had already passed away even when Madam Zou entered the household, she was the only female with higher status in the family as the other brothers were too young . AoTian was only two when his elder brother got married and Feiye was twelve and AoTian usually was spending his time in the Zhong Manor. Also with Lord Huang Bojing passing away soon and Huang Zedong always travelling, made her too arrogant as she was the matroness of the entire Huang family and respected as such by the entire Southern province.

Someone from an ordinary family like her, let all the privileges get to her head as she suddenly became a Lady of a reputed Noble family of the highest status and no one in the family to challenge her authority. Also since the Huang family is known to take care of their people, naturally her father's Zou family's business took off in the past thirty years too.

Actually Xing was initially surprised to know that his father and her first cousin brother were only separated by three years. The age difference between her father and first uncle was seventeen years and it was more than the age difference between her and her father.

Xing took a deep breath, "Brother!", she talked slightly loudly so that Lady Huang could hear.

Rijun remembered her telling to follow her lead after seeing her evil smirk, he smiled and sat slightly facing her,

"Yes, little sister"

" I'm asking this because as per Madam Zou, I am uncouth and not raised properly… but talking bad about a recently deceased mother in front of her grieving daughter and husband.. Is it considered acceptable in the noble circles? Because my mother had taught me that it was a despicable and a lowly thing to talk bad about dead people"

Rijun understood where it was going and he spoke clearly audible to Lady Huang, "Little sister, it is considered lowly and despicable and utterly disgraceful and even a punishable offence, especially in our family as any one who passed away from our family old or young is considered to be an ancestor in our Huang family", he spoke slowly and clearly so that everyone may hear. He could not help but remember this sister of his calling a dead Emperor names previously. He just held back his laughter and joined her play, while everyone else opted to just watch.

"Hmm.. Punishable offence, huh!", Xing shook her head stressing 'Punishable offence'.

"Guess, that should be because Madam Zou wasn't raised properly back in her maternal home that she shows such behaviour even at this clearly old age ", she said with a fake sadness.

Lady Huang was shocked by their interactions, she had to be punished by family rules? What an insolence? And she was being called old? She was three years younger than Lord Huang alright? But before she could say anything, Xing Continued,

"Brother! But where have I heard about Zou family before?"

"Little sister! They are cotton merchants who are only getting well in the past three decades", Rijun didn't hold back to speak about them only using the Huang family's connections to be well off now.

"Ah! Now I remember", she tapped the table, "They recently increased the prices of cotton and made other merchants in their union to raise their prices too", she raised her eyebrows.

"My Little sister is indeed well informed", Rijun smiled proudly.

"It is such a shame too. Just with winter approaching and poor people would only depend on cotton which is affordable than wool or leather or fur like the rich, to survive the cold and by the cotton merchants increasing the prices now, would only affect them", Xing said in a concerned tone.

By now Rijun completely understood what his sister was implying. In here, he was a lowly Huang son who cannot raise his voice. But outside, he is the one who speaks in the Emperor's ears and his father is the Prime Minister. Although they are not allowed to have revenge on family members as a Huang family member, as an official he is capable of enacting vengeance on offenders especially when they are in the wrong. Why haven't he thought about it previously?

Rijun's eyes got bright and he smiled, "Wow! Sister! Your concern is exactly same as the Emperor's", he said firmly.

Actually they had just received memorials from some officials for investigation of the recent price hike of cotton. Xing knew it because she helped with the memorials last night and Rijun didn't even have the time to talk to the Emperor today as he left early to attend this banquet. But still he said it with confidence, since who is going to ask the Emperor to confirm his statements? It is a classic example of a fox using the tiger's might, but it is acceptable since the Emperor considered him friend and Xing as family.

At the mentioning of the Emperor, Lady Huang's face paled. Seeing Lady Huang's paled face, Xing continued,

"Yes, The Emperor is kind-hearted and worries about the common people. He even punished the great Ming family for their greed that made common people suffer. Good thing he has wise and kind people like you and father to stand by his side and share his hefty burdens", she said seriously placing her hand over her heart.

"It is actually our honour to serve such an Emperor", Rijun bowed his head. Shengli could not help but smile at the play that was enacted by these siblings beside him. AoTian had a proud look and his face brightened.

This is actually a threat! They are actually threatening her paternal family, Lady Huang fumed. All these years, she never considered the fact that her brother-in-law is a big shot in the capital as Huang family never allowed business inside the family dinner and also she thought the entire family would depend on her graces to get their part of the inheritance as she is the matroness. But she never thought she would be reminded that the actual power was with the people with authority who can bring down families by their small mistakes or if needed even by false accusations. And everyone knows Huang AoTian and Lord Zhong secured the Emperor in the throne and the Emperor is indebted to them.

And it was then she realised, the only reason Huang AoTian never bothered with her family was not because he was expecting something from her, but only because of his morality as a Huang son. As she was reminded of the Ming family which was taken down by the son, she realised, If AoTian actually wished, he could have taken down the entire Huang family even. But all he did was talk back and was misunderstood as a barking dog by her.

Actually no one noticed Lord Huang Zedong's smile of appreciation behind his wine cup by the drama these siblings were enacting to prove no one in the Huang family should be taken lightly just because they have kept their silence for years. He was actually pretty surprised to see Rijun act as a son in the family letting his voice heard. Finally, what he wanted is happening, AoTian letting his kids act on their own and Rijun acting for himself. Uncle Feiye was with his usual smile and AoTian relaxed greatly and could not hide his mirth. Shengli was smirking and admiring Xing for her antics.

Lady Huang face turned colours and pale as a sheet of paper. They would not dare right? After all she is Lady Huang alright? Ever since the incident with her dowry maid becoming concubine, she had used the guilt Lord Huang had towards her as a means to do whatever she pleased. So she looked at Lord Huang to signal him to talk for her as a family head. But Lord Huang looked at her blankly and continued to eat as if he was unaware of anything happening around him. She looked at her sons who might help their mother but they didn't seem to care either. It was like everyone had abandoned her and her family. She felt wronged and got angry at Xing. Everything was fine until this trash came here. It's all her fault! She gritted her teeth.