After performing the customary greetings, Lord Fourth and Ruoyin settled into their seats.
Ruoyin happened to cast a glance at Consort Song and Consort Li.
Consort Song still dressed plainly and with a simple elegance as before, and she seemed to hold no presence.
In contrast, Consort Li’s clothing was high-key. She wore a rose-red garment that was extremely eye-catching.
Her headdress was adorned with all sorts of gilded hairpins, and it gave the feeling that she was trying to outshine her host.
Consort Li was of the Han people, and she was dressed in her ethnic clothing today. The Han clothing could rival the Manchurian clothing.
For example, on this hot summer’s day, Consort Li’s Han clothing exposed her neck as well as her chest. The “string” tying the outfit made her figure look passably exquisite.
The “string” was called that, but it was more accurately a gauzy ribbon that was tied around the front with one end and rested on the shoulders with the other.
Consort Li’s clothing’s shoulders and sleeves were made of a gauzy silk, showing off her figure.
Though Consort Li’s had a well-rounded figure, her fullness did not grow in the right places. Her chest was flat, but her bottom was large.
Thus, holding up her chest with the “string” did not add points to her figure, but squeezing could always make them appear.
On the other hand, Ruoyin was Manchurian and was wearing a lilac Manchurian attire that covered her up completely.
Even her neck was wrapped in a snow-white scarf. Her dress was straight and tubular, burying her good figure within.
Luckily, she had an exquisite figure, so she still looked lithe and graceful even with such an attire.
Shortly afterward, the family feast started.
Consort Li was socially adept. She took the lead to pour a cup of wine and smiled as she said to Ruoyin, “Sister, since it’s your birthday today, I will still give you a toast even though I am still nursing my daughter. I wish for you to give birth to a son soon~”
She was all smiles but dragged out the word “son” a little. Whether or not she meant her words was something only she herself knew.
Heh, such simple words would surely unsettle a person whose stomach showed no sign of pregnancy!
With that said, she finished the wine unhesitatingly.
Ruoyin could tell that there was a hint of insincerity in Consort Li’s words, but she was not that dumb to confront her about it because Lord Fourth was still here.
Thus, she paused, affecting sadness, before immediately expressing an awkward smile. “I’ll have to thank you, then, Sister.”
She then drank half the wine in her cup.
Luckily, she was the birthday girl and also the first wife, which ranked her higher than Consort Li. Thus, finishing half a cup was already good enough.
After Consort Li’s toast, Consort Song was the next to do so. Holding her cup, Consort Song smiled lightly and said, “The Fujin’s subordinate wishes the Fujin good health and vitality.”
With that said, Consort Song tipped her head back and finished the wine too.
“Good. You are considerate.” Ruoyin took a small customary sip of her wine.
She was not trying to discriminate between Consort Li and Consort Song.
She was only behaving like this because Consort Song was of low rank, and she thus had to show a difference in treatment between her and Consort Li. At the very least, she had to treat Consort Li better than she treated Consort Song in front of Lord Fourth.
If not, it would make her seem like she was not following the rules.
After the toasts, the manor’s steward arranged a program for them to watch.
A few opera performers came up and performed “Birthday Greetings from the Eight Immortals.”
The performance of “Birthday Greetings from the Eight Immortals” marked the birth hour for the influential people here.
It was the modern-day equivalent of singing “Unforgettable Night” at the end of important evening parties.
While the performance was going on, Consort Li and Consort Song toasted Ruoyin a few more times, with Consort Li doing so especially as she seized every opportunity to propose a toast.
At first, Ruoyin drank half her cup of wine for every toast, but she ended up giving only a customary sip later on.
Perhaps Consort Li was bored by this, for she did not propose any more toasts.
After the performance of “Birthday Greetings from the Eight Immortals” was over, Lord Fourth smiled faintly and proclaimed his satisfaction. “That was not bad! I’ll reward you!”
Upon hearing this, Ruoyin followed in his footsteps and rewarded the performers as well.
After this opera performance was over, another one began. This one was “The Peony Pavilion.”
During the meal, Ruoyin felt that her appetite was perhaps diminished by the summer heat, and thus, she drank a bowl of yellow mushroom chicken soup.
She grabbed some quick-fried fragrant escargot and steamed pork ribs with glutinous rice but ate only a piece of the latter before she felt sick of it and stopped eating.
The quick-fried fragrant escargot was fresh, tough, and just the right size, which suited Ruoyin’s preferences well.
Perhaps it was because the kitchen cooked the escargot well, or because Ruoyin was adept at eating it, for she consumed them one after another without any embarrassing sounds.
Lord Fourth was sitting very close to Ruoyin, having almost lost his spirit to Ruoyin’s morning seduction.
He gave a casual glance around and noticed that a particular woman was eating escargot vigorously. Her captivating red lips ate them one after another elegantly.
Just as Lord Fourth was looking at Ruoyin, Consort Li rose embarrassedly and leaned over to try to grab some of the escargot in front of Ruoyin.
Her arms were a little short and could not reach the dish. Also, because she was afraid that her chest would be exposed, she was using her other hand to cover it.
However, she did not cover up seriously but spread her fingers out and even pressed them against her chest tightly, causing her to expose herself even more.
Upon seeing this, Ruoyin understood what was happening immediately. She then said to Qiao Feng by the side, “Hurry and bring Consort Li the quick-fried fragrant escargot.”
She was almost done with the dish anyway, so there was no harm in doing so.
“Understood!” Qiao Feng replied and moved the dish toward Consort Li.
Consort Li sat back on her seat but still maintained the position of her hand against her chest. “Thank you, Sister,” she said with a smile.
Ruoyin smiled back but did not say anything. She thought Consort Li’s behavior comical.
There was nothing to hide if she was already dressed like that.
Moreover, Consort Li did not cover herself well, and doing so only called attention to herself.
Earlier, Ruoyin had sneaked a glance at Lord Fourth discreetly and observed that Lord Fourth did not look at Consort Li deliberately.
However, Consort Li’s behavior was too eye-grabbing, so not noticing her was not an option. Thus, Lord Fourth had gotten an eyeful anyway.
Without the escargot, Ruoyin’s appetite disappeared, so she simply sat upright on her seat and watched the opera.
As she watched the performance, she heard Lord Fourth give an order in a rather imposing tone to the subordinates. “Why aren’t you exercising your eyes? Scoop some rice for your Lord, and give a bowl to the Fujin in passing as well.”
The corner of Ruoyin’s lips twitched. She stared wide-eyed as a subordinate scooped a bowl of rice and brought it to her.
She was sure Lord Fourth did this deliberately. Though he said that giving her the rice was supposed to be “in passing,” the main point of it was actually giving her the rice, right?
She thought this was so because Lord Fourth had already eaten a bowl of rice but she had not touched hers at all.
Ruoyin turned to look at Lord Fourth, but he was unsmiling, and she could not tell what he was thinking.
However, this was not the first time Lord Fourth had forced her to eat so imposingly. He was so mean~
Ruoyin looked at the rice in front of her but only picked at it, eating only a few grains every mouthful. She really did not have any appetite.
Consort Li was envious of how Lord Fourth paid attention even to the Fujin’s meals.
Consort Song’s gaze shifted mildly.
The family feast ended at eight in the evening. Even though Ruoyin drank only a little bit of wine, her white skin showed her blush easily as the alcohol took effect on her. She looked mesmerizing like that.
Just then, Lord Fourth stood up. Casting a glance at Ruoyin’s half-eaten bowl of rice, he ordered Qiao Feng as he walked toward Yi Lan Villa, “Hold your mistress.”
Qiao Feng nodded and went up to hold Ruoyin up.
Just like that, Lord Fourth brought Ruoyin back to Yi Lan Villa.