Song Residence.
In the backyard, within a certain courtyard.
Inside a room, Li Nuo stood in front of a mirror, styling the hair of a little girl who looked delicate like a porcelain doll. The girl's tender face, as soft as a peach, still had a few teardrops on it, and she occasionally sobbed quietly.
Beside Li Nuo stood another girl who looked exactly like the one in the mirror. She crossed her arms, pouted, and wore an unhappy expression.
Li Nuo now knew that the two little girls beside him were Song Ning'er and Song Mu'er, twin sisters and daughters of Song Jiaren's fourth uncle.
The incident began when Li Nuo styled Song Mu'er's hair beautifully. Song Mu'er then flaunted it in front of Song Ning'er. Growing up, whatever the older sister had, she also had to have. The maids at home, however, didn't know how to do this modified fairy bun hairstyle, so Song Ning'er became upset...
As the culprit, Li Nuo was caught by the women of the Song family and brought here, needing to style Song Ning'er's hair into an identical bun before he could leave.
If this little lady wasn't satisfied, no one would have a good night.
As Li Nuo's hands danced up and down, a beautiful bun gradually formed atop the little girl's head. Song Zhen glanced at Song Jiaren beside her and exclaimed, "Jiaren, when did your husband learn this skill?"
His adeptness at braiding Ning'er's hair surpassed even the oldest hairdressing maid in the Song Residence.
Typically, in a wealthy family like the Songs, the art of hairstyling and braiding was exclusive to specialized maids. The young ladies of the house might be able to form simple buns, but absolutely not such complicated hairstyles. It was even more unbelievable for a man to master a woman's craft to this extent.
Not to mention, he was supposed to be a fool.
Song Jiaren did not answer her aunt's inquiry.
To be honest, she wasn't very familiar with this husband of hers...
Though they had been married for a month, their conversations combined might not even total ten sentences.
What Li Nuo could or couldn't do was something she had no way of knowing.
In front of the mirror, Li Nuo placed a bead flower identical to the one on Song Mu'er's head on the same spot on Song Ning'er's head. He then carefully examined the two sisters, adjusting the positions of two other bead flowers until he couldn't find the slightest difference before he heaved a sigh of relief and said, "All done..."
Song Ning'er jumped off the chair, looked at Song Mu'er, then checked herself in the mirror, finally showing a satisfied expression on her little face.
At this moment, a maid hurriedly ran in from outside and said, "Miss, Fourth Lady, the birthday banquet is about to begin, and the master wants you all to go over quickly..."
...
Song Residence, inside the longevity hall.
For great families, celebrating birthdays was a very ceremonious affair. For the Old Lady's sixtieth birthday, the Song family specially arranged a longevity hall. On the south wall of the longevity hall hung a "Hundred Longevities" painting, with couplets flanking it saying "Clouds Carry the Queen Mother to the Celestial Palaces, Flowers Bloom as Golden Phoenixes and Heavenly Stars Arrive." Above hung a longevity banner embroidered with a "Birthday Celebration by Immortals and Buddhas."
On the floor of the longevity hall lay a red carpet, and beneath the front wall sat a square table holding longevity candles, a peach shaped longevity bun, longevity noodles, and several fresh fruits and flowers.
A benevolent-looking elderly woman sat at the most prominent seat. The Song family's children stood respectfully in order on the red carpet in the center of the hall, coming forward one by one to offer birthday greetings to Old Mrs. Song.
Birthday greetings followed the order of seniority. Standing at the forefront were Old Mrs. Song's five children and their spouses, followed by the third generation of the Song family. Song Jiaren's father was the third son of the Old Lady, and Li Nuo and Song Jiaren stood in the second-to-last row among the crowd, with Song Mu'er and Song Ning'er behind them.
The process of offering birthday wishes was simple. Everyone proceeded according to the established order, presented a gift to the Old Lady, said a few auspicious words, and then could take a seat on one of the chairs at the side, waiting for the banquet to begin.
In front of Li Nuo and Song Jiaren stood two young figures, two of the three who had just mocked him in the courtyard. These two should be children of Song Jiaren's aunt.
The row in front of them had three men and two women. Among them was the young man called "Brother Yu" by Song Mu'er, whom Li Nuo had patted on the head like a dog.
Maids of the Song family stood uniformly lined up on both sides of the longevity hall, each holding a tray covered with red silk. Beneath the red cloth covered the gifts prepared in advance by the Song family members.
When someone's turn came to present birthday wishes, the maids would bring the tray to them, which they would then personally offer.
As the second generation of the Song family stepped forward one by one, Li Nuo made sure to remember their names: Song Jiaren's eldest uncle, Song Tai, second uncle, Song Lian, aunt, Song Zhen, fourth uncle, Song Hao, and Song Jiaren's father, Li Nuo's own Lord Father-in-law, named Song Zhe, a thin middle-aged man. However, Li Nuo did not see Song Jiaren's mother.
Every one of Song family's second generation had their partner beside them, even Song Zhen's husband was present, only his own Lord Father-in-law was alone.
After all the elders finished their birthday wishes, it was the turn of the younger third generation.
A young couple walked hand in hand in front of the Old Lady, respectfully saying, "Grandson Song Lin, granddaughter-in-law Wang Yan, wish Grandma a long life, and health full of blessings."
Their gift was a pair of golden Buddhas.
Next, another young man walked forward with a scroll in hand, smiling as he said, "Grandson Song Qi, wishes Grandma brightness from sun and moon, longevity like pines and cranes."
The Old Lady examined the painting with delight, saying, "This is Zhao Meng's 'Yao Pond Holy Mother Birthday Painting,' wasn't it lost? Where did you get it?"
The young man replied, "This painting is something I obtained by chance. As long as Grandma likes it, that's enough."
Old Mrs. Song passed the painting to a maid standing by and instructed her to hang it on the wall. Looking back at the young man, she said, "You, when will you find a granddaughter-in-law for Grandma? Then, Grandma will be very pleased..."
...
As the Song family's offspring came forward one by one to wish happy birthday, Li Nuo gained a somewhat basic understanding of this numerous family.
The Song family was indeed populous. Song Jiaren's eldest uncle had two sons, her second uncle had two sons and a daughter, her parents had only one daughter, and Song Mu'er and Song Ning'er were twin daughters of her fourth uncle, Song Hao.
This was the entirety of the third generation of the Song family.
Among the younger third generation, from Song Tai's line, Song Lin and Song Qi respectively presented a pair of jade Buddhas and a birthday painting. From Song Lian's line, the Song Jin couple gifted a pair of pearls as big as pigeon eggs, rare treasures for sure, and Song Yu gave a pair of longevity peaches, reportedly cultivated by a powerful figure from the Agricultural School, which were said to cure all ailments and extend lifespan once eaten.
Li Nuo wasn't sure if the peaches could truly extend life, but from such a distance, he could already smell their enticing fragrance. He even heard the watery sounds of the two little girls swallowing behind him.
The Agricultural School might not have the best combat skills, but they sure knew a thing or two about planting crops.
Song Yu's sister, a woman named Song Qian, offered the Old Lady a hand-copied Buddhist scripture. Though less precious than the other gifts, it demonstrated thoughtfulness and was very well-received by the Old Lady.
Song Qian's husband was a frail young man exuding scholarly charm, who offered a birthday poem to the Old Lady, drawing many cheers.
The Song family hailed from a famous general's lineage, with its members rarely studying Confucianism; they either pursued military arts or martial arts. Writing a birthday poem thus was a unique move, earning universal praise.
According to the order, it was now the turn of Li Nuo and the Song Jiaren couple.
For their gift, which Li Nuo already knew about from the carriage, they were giving a pair of exquisite Jade Ruyi.
Li Nuo had figured out a pattern: the gift-givers of the Song family, if married, would offer paired gifts to the Old Lady, in the name of both husband and wife. If single, they'd only give one item, though they could also choose, like Song Qian, to present individual gifts with their spouse.
Li Nuo's gift had already been prepared by Song Jiaren; all he had to do was wait for the banquet to start.
After Song Yu stepped back, it was Li Nuo and Song Jiaren's turn.
At this moment, many guests turned their attention toward them, and the noisy discussions in the longevity hall diminished significantly.
The fame of the Song family's prideful daughter had spread across Chang'an more than a decade ago.
However, her husband was even more famously known earlier on.
It's just that their reasons for fame were different; Song Jiaren was known for her looks and her martial talent, while Li Nuo was famed for his foolishness. There were countless people who pitied this marriage to this day.
It was akin to a toad eating swan meat, good vegetables going straight to the pigs.
Apart from his decent looks and his father being Li Xuanjing, he was seemingly useless.
Under everyone's gaze, a maid approached with a tray hidden beneath red silk. Song Jiaren lifted the tray single-handedly, slowly unveiling the silk, preparing to step forward when she hesitated slightly in her movements.
Li Nuo's eyes scanned the surroundings, his brows furrowing slightly.
On the tray, under the red silk, lay not a pair of Jade Ruyi, but two long-shaped stones.