Chapter 343: Unexpected Visitors
“Master Tan Yin’s mastery of Buddhist teachings is profound. Even the Empress Dowager holds him in high regard. You must never show him any disrespect in the future,” the Old Matron sternly instructed Li Yi.
A monk of such spiritual attainment could not be measured by common standards. For Master Tan Yin to condescend to befriend their family’s child was a great blessing for the Li family. However, any arrogance stemming from this connection would surely draw the scorn of all devotees.
Li Yi could only nod and agree, though he thought privately that the warning came a bit late. He had already been disrespectful to the old monk on several occasions. Besides, Master Tan Yin, with all his alleged profundity, was hardly immune to the needs of the mundane world. He ate, drank, and lived much like anyone else. The only difference was his shining bald head and his ability to recite a few more sutras than most. He too had desires and needs. For example, the scriptures Li Yi had promised to copy for him were still unfinished. The old monk was unlikely to care much about whether he was shown due respect.
Still, building good relations with Master Tan Yin wasn’t a bad thing. The banquet was ongoing, the Old Matron had said her piece, and the formalities had been completed. It was time to start eating.
“Eat more vegetables—just look at how thin you’ve become…” The Old Matron, full of concern, piled food onto the Second Miss, Liu Ru-Yi’s plate. In the entire Li family, only she enjoyed such special treatment.
Other than Ru-Yi, the table was filled with elders, making the atmosphere unbearably stifling. It was far less lively than sitting with the plump little rascal Li Xuan, where one could eat and laugh freely without constraint.
Li Yi had only taken a couple of bites from his plate when a steward of the Li family hurried over to Li Mingze, the second uncle, and whispered something in his ear.
“The Crown Prince of Ning has sent someone to offer birthday congratulations to the Old Matron?” Li Mingze stood up, his face full of surprise.
“Cough!” Li Yi nearly choked on his tea. He turned away, coughing violently.
“Which Crown Prince?” The Old Matron set down her chopsticks and asked.
Still in disbelief, Li Mingze replied, “The Crown Prince of Ning. His Majesty recently appointed him as the Imperial Censor of the Jingdu Prefecture—he has sent someone to deliver congratulations.”
At a neighboring table, several guests froze mid-bite.
The Ning Prince was the younger brother of the reigning emperor, one of the most powerful figures in the entire Jing Nation. His fiefdom, based in Qing’an Prefecture, was second only to Jingdu itself in importance, reflecting the emperor’s trust in him.
The Crown Prince of Ning had only recently married the legitimate daughter of the Wang Clan as his Crown Princess. The Wang Clan, a prestigious family with a lineage spanning centuries and surviving numerous dynastic changes, was one of the greatest aristocratic houses in the Jing Nation. For such a figure to send a representative to the Li family’s Old Matron’s birthday banquet? Did this mean the Li family had ties with the Ning Prince’s Manor?
Speculations swirled among the guests, yet even Li Mingze, the head of the Li family, was utterly puzzled. Still, not daring to slight the messenger, he personally went outside to welcome the guest.
Li Yi’s forehead broke out in faint black lines. What exactly was Li Xuan up to? Was he worried the Old Matron’s birthday celebration wasn’t extravagant enough?
The only solace was that Li Xuan himself hadn’t come. Otherwise, once the banquet ended, Li Yi would surely face endless rounds of interrogation.
The Crown Prince’s Manor had sent one of its stewards—a gesture that already gave the Li family considerable face. Many guests couldn’t help but wonder about the identity of this messenger, given that even Li Mingze treated him with visible respect. Yet before the first visitor had even taken their seat, another piece of news arrived.
“Now it’s the Crown Prince of Ning? How could this Li family possibly…”
Although the Crown Prince of Ning had only recently come into the public eye, his actions left a strong impression. He had married the Wang Clan’s legitimate daughter, been appointed the Imperial Censor of Jingdu, and exiled the corrupt Magistrate Chen Yue to a distant province. And now, his manor was sending a representative to congratulate the Old Matron of the Li family?
Those who thought they knew the Li family well suddenly realized tonight that the family might be far more mysterious than they had previously imagined.
Before the Crown Prince’s guest had even settled in, yet another steward approached, his expression dazed as he reported to Li Mingze, “Master, the—the Yongle Princess, someone from the Princess Manor…”
Crash!
Li Mingze’s face was a mask of shock, and around him, countless pairs of chopsticks clattered to the ground.
The Yongle Princess. The only legitimate daughter of the emperor and empress, the eldest princess of Jing Nation. Pampered from childhood, she was the only princess who, upon reaching adulthood, had not been married off but remained in the palace. A true scion of the imperial family—was this still the declining Li family everyone thought they knew?
Even in the Li family’s most prosperous days, they had never commanded such attention.
Li Yi placed his chopsticks down and covered his face with both hands, finally understanding the strange smiles Li Xuan and the Yongle Princess had given him when they parted.
A swirl of emotions churned within him. The princess had said she had a way to resolve the Li family’s difficulties and ensure that no one would dare trouble them after his departure. And this was her method?
Indeed, the Li family’s troubles had significantly diminished. The Crown Prince and the Princess had both sent birthday gifts to the Old Matron during her banquet. To outsiders, this sent a crystal-clear message: the Li family was under the protection of both the Crown Prince and the Yongle Princess. Anyone considering moving against them would have to weigh whether they could afford to provoke such formidable figures.
But when the banquet ended, the burden of explaining everything to the family would fall squarely on Li Yi’s shoulders.
The simultaneous arrival of the Crown Prince’s and the Princess’s representatives had even left the Old Matron unable to sit still. When had the Li family ever been connected to such lofty individuals? Not only were the guests curious, but even the Old Matron herself was perplexed. This revelation far surpassed the shock Master Tan Yin had brought them earlier.
“May I ask what connection the Crown Prince and the Princess…” Li Mingze hesitated as he addressed the two representatives. Before he could finish his question, the young man from the Princess Manor interrupted him.
“We are merely carrying out our orders. Their Highnesses specifically instructed us not to disrupt the Old Matron’s birthday celebration. There’s no need for you or the Old Matron to concern yourselves with us.”
Li Mingze’s heart was on the verge of bursting from all the shock and unanswered questions.
Master Tan Yin, the Crown Prince of Ning, and the Yongle Princess—three figures who should have had no connection whatsoever with the Li family—had all appeared on this night, acting in unison. They each sent gifts and assured they would not disturb the proceedings. How could he possibly not care? Any one of these individuals was someone the Li family could scarcely afford to offend.
“Master Li, may I have a word in private?” Just as Li Mingze was at a loss, the young man from the Princess Manor stepped forward and addressed someone at the back of the room.
“Yi’er?” Li Mingze turned back to glance at Li Yi, then at the two representatives. A brief moment of confusion crossed his face before it gave way to a sudden understanding.
“Second Uncle, Grandmother, I’ll step out for a moment,” Li Yi said awkwardly before heading toward a quiet corner.
The steward from the Crown Prince’s Manor and the young man from the Princess Manor both followed him.
“Yi’er… there’s so much about him we don’t know,” the Old Matron murmured as she watched the three figures leave.
At that moment, everything that had happened tonight suddenly made sense.
Master Tan Yin, the Crown Prince of Ning, the Yongle Princess—why had these individuals, who should have had no ties to the Li family, appeared at her banquet? It was clear that even after twenty years apart, she knew far too little about her grandson.