As the scene shifted from the lively family reunion to a strange quietness, everyone's thoughts seemed frozen, including Cheng Mo's. With a puzzled expression, Cheng Mo quickly stepped forward to support Mr. Tong, saying, "Please, Mr. Tong, don't be so formal. Today, I've come up the mountain only to accompany General Huo and his party. I am sworn brothers with Ziqiu, Tong Chen, and others. We've come to congratulate the joyous meeting between the Tong and Huo families. Just call me Cheng Mo."
The originally festive atmosphere turned eerily quiet at Cheng Mo's words. Tong Bei rubbed his forehead in silence, then quickly stepped forward to take Mr. Tong's arm, leading him toward General Huo. "Grandfather, today is Uncle's first visit to our manor. It's a big occasion for the Tong family. Let me handle the greetings for Cheng Mo and Ziqiu. Please accompany Uncle inside."
"All right, General Huo, please come inside." Tong Bei's words snapped Cheng Mo out of his reverie, and he smiled warmly at Mr. Tong before stepping into the manor.
"Ziqiu, is everything arranged? If you need any help, just let me know," Ziqiu and Tong XiangBei conversed as they walked inside.
"Everything's taken care of. Since you're familiar with the guests, you can entertain them. Cheng Mo's presence might make everyone uncomfortable, so I'll take him to do some work and join the banquet later. Hehe."
"You're mischievous. Don't worry, I'll take good care of them. I'll head up first."
"Okay. See you later. Um, Chang Mo, let's—" XiangBei turned around and noticed that Cheng Mo hadn't moved from where he stood. Despite walking quite a distance, he was still rooted to the spot, with two squads of guards holding their horses behind him, also hesitating to move. "Cheng Mo, please come inside."
After calling him, Cheng Mo still didn't move. Perplexed, XiangBei walked back a few steps to his side. "What's wrong? Why aren't you coming inside?"
"You can accompany your buddy, inside. Everyone there is familiar with each other. What do I care? I'm just an irrelevant prince here to mooch some drinks."
"Are you throwing a tantrum like a child? What should I call you in front of so many people? Chengmo? Amo? Or Big Brother Mo?" It's only been a few days, and this guy's chuunibyou is acting up again. XiangBei was a bit annoyed.
"Big Brother Mo! Just call me Big Brother Mo." Chengmo immediately laughed, his whole face glowing like it had absorbed all the remaining sunlight.
Alright, he's just too much of a sucker for good looks. Faced with such a handsome guy, XiangBei couldn't stay mad. Softly, he said, "Stop messing around. If you don't move, they won't dare to move either. Let's go inside now, there are so many people here. I'll call you Big Brother Mo in private from now on, okay?"
"Okay!" Chengmo's little jealousy was just a momentary thing. But when he saw the two of them go inside without noticing him, he felt embarrassed standing there. As soon as he had a way out, he hurried inside, leaving XiangBei puzzled. Was he that straightforward?
"Wait," XiangBei caught up with him, pulling him towards the banquet hall being prepared, "They're all chatting in the main hall. If you go in, everyone will be on edge. I need to arrange the banquet, so just follow me and help out, okay?"
"Sure, Big Brother Mo will listen to you." Chengmo grinned mischievously, but Subei couldn't be bothered to argue with him right now.
Thankfully, he knew when to behave. With a whisper, XiangBei gave him a side-eye and continued walking forward. Chengmo's indecent little gesture hadn't been noticed by the high-born ladies, much to his relief. He happily followed XiangBei inside the door.
The benefits of Chengdian bringing up the new tools and manpower to the mountain earlier in the morning were fully evident now. In the center of the hall was a wooden round table with a diameter of four meters, covered with a wine-red cloud brocade tablecloth embroidered with flowers. Twelve sets of turquoise-colored cups, plates, bowls, and dishes, along with silver-headed ivory chopsticks, were arranged along the sides. In the middle was a bamboo and wooden round board with a diameter of over three meters and a thickness of three centimeters. Subei guessed it was mounted on an iron ball bearing. On top of it were three high-necked glass wine flasks, three double-eared translucent ceramic wine flasks, and three long-waisted white jade wine flasks.
"Greetings, Your Highness, greetings, Miss," said Duo'er, who was arranging the setup with her team. "These are the round tables we rushed to make today with Uncle Li according to Miss's banquet drawings. The tableware and wine flasks were sent by Uncle Zhong from Fuhai Tower. The glass flasks contain grape wine from the northern regions, the ceramic flasks contain honey wine from Miss's estate, and the jade flasks contain pear blossom liquor from Zebei Manor's cellar. Aunt Li and the others have set up a table for female guests in the side hall and two accompanying tables in the outer hall. Towards the courtyard, a bamboo pavilion corridor has been set up today, with a long banquet table laid out for fifty people. The stone courtyard has already set up a bonfire, so it won't be cold even if the mountain wind picks up at night."