The carriage traveled along a wide street for roughly half an hour before stopping in front of a residence.
The Old Lady's birthday celebration had ended, and it should be quite late. For safety, Li Nuo would stay overnight at the Song Residence. Housekeeper Wu escorted them to the Song Residence and then returned home, planning to come pick him up early the next morning.
The sixtieth birthday is one of the most significant birthdays for ancient people. Even ordinary families would make extravagant arrangements, let alone households of the nobility.
This was not Li Nuo's first visit to the Song Family. According to Housekeeper Wu, his father had taken him here once before his marriage, but that was the experience of another Li Nuo.
The entire perimeter of the Song Residence was adorned with red lanterns, symbolizing festivity. The wide street on both sides was filled with carriages and sedans. In front of the main gate, guests clad in luxurious garments were lining up to enter the residence in succession.
At the entrance, an elder greeted Song Jiaren with a smile, "Miss, you've returned. The eldest miss has also arrived and is looking for you everywhere. Please go in quickly..."
On the way over, Li Nuo had learned a bit about the Song Family. The Song Family servant referred to the "eldest miss," who should be Song Jiaren's aunt and the only female among the second generation of the Song Family, who had been married for many years. Old Mrs. Song had five children, and his wife was the offspring of her third son.
Unlike the Li Family, which followed a single lineage, the Song Family could be described as having a large family with extensive enterprises and numerous descendants.
After the two entered the Song Residence, a burst of speculative whispers arose among the guests waiting in line at the entrance.
"That must be Lord Song Song Zhe's daughter. She's really as stunning as a nation's beauty; she truly deserves the name 'Jiaren.'"
"Not only is she beautiful, but despite her young age, she has already reached the Fourth Realm of cultivation. Her future on the Martial Path is boundless."
"It's a pity such an outstanding Phoenix lady is actually marrying a fool..."
"Shh, mind your words, mind your words..."
"What's there to fear? I am a Military Officer; I'm not afraid of Li Xuanjing..."
...
Inside the Song Residence was even livelier than outside.
Just past the main entrance, the courtyard was filled with various birthday banners and screens.
These banners and screens were inscribed with congratulatory phrases for longevity such as "Good fortune as vast as the East Sea," "Longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountains," "May both the sun and moon shine brightly," "May you live as long as the pine and crane."
The birthday banquet had not yet officially begun, and guests scattered throughout the Song Residence, gathering in groups, chattering and laughing. Li Nuo, not recognizing anyone, could only closely follow behind Song Jiaren.
Song Jiaren brought Li Nuo to a table in the courtyard and said, "I'm going to see my aunt. You stay here and don't wander off. We'll go and pay respects to grandmother together in a little while."
Li Nuo nodded, watched her leave, and casually picked up a piece of pastry from the table, putting it into his mouth.
Before the start of the birthday banquet, fruits and pastries were laid out throughout the Song Residence for guests to enjoy.
Not knowing anyone at the Song Residence, Li Nuo, bored and by himself, leaned on the table. He was not actually fond of lively atmospheres; he preferred staying home reading books or sleeping late into the night. However, his wife's grandmother's sixtieth celebration was not an occasion for the younger generation to miss without excuse.
As he was about to take a second piece of pastry, a crisp voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Oh my, I've been looking for you for so long; you're here!"
Li Nuo looked towards the direction of the voice to see a pretty little girl looking at him with a face full of surprise.
The little girl was six or seven years old, cute and attractive, revealing two adorable little tiger teeth when she smiled at Li Nuo.
But Li Nuo looked bewildered. He knew someone in the Song Family?
Seeing Li Nuo's expression, the little girl instantly realized he did not recognize her. She pouted with disappointment and said, "You don't remember who I am? You forgot, last time you visited our home, I even shared my cookies with you!"
The little girl said "our home," indicating she was a member of the Song Family and likely one of the hosts, possibly a child of one of his wife's uncles or aunts.
Sighing, the little girl said, "Well, if you've forgotten then it's forgotten. Let me tell you again, my name is Song Mu'er. This time you must remember, or else I won't play with you anymore!"
It seemed that Li Nuo had not only met this little girl before, but they had also been quite close, he just couldn't recall those past events.
The little girl named Song Mu'er took the initiative to grab Li Nuo's hand and said, "Let's go play shuttlecock..."
Song Mu'er was very fond of this big brother she had only met once, not solely because he was attractive, but also because he was the only person who would play house with her, kick the shuttlecock, and help her with homework.
Her own brothers at home never agreed to play house with her.
Even though the homework he helped her with was all incorrect, leading to her getting smacked on the hands by her teacher, she forgave him since he was willing to play house with her.
Despite being over ten years younger than Li Nuo, the little girl interacted with him quite comfortably.
Li Nuo found this unsurprising. Although his predecessor had been eighteen years old, his intellect might not have matched that of an eight-year-old child. He and this little girl, who appeared to be only six or seven, found it easy to play together.
Li Nuo did not follow the little girl, and with a hint of apology, said, "I can't today; I have to go pay respects to grandmother later."
The little girl hugged his arm and gently shook it, saying, "Just for a little while, is that okay... just for a little while..."
Such a cute little girl was hugging his arm and acting like a spoiled child, Li Nuo found it really hard to refuse her, but he was also worried that if they went too far, his wife wouldn't be able to find him when she returned. So, he said, "Playing with you is okay, but we can't go too far..."
The little girl pointed to an open space not far away and said, "Let's go there!"
Li Nuo turned to look, and the spot was only about a dozen meters from where they were. Paying attention all the time, he shouldn't miss anything.
The little girl led Li Nuo, bouncing and hopping, to that open space, then took out an exquisitely made shuttlecock from the small bag she carried, and said to Li Nuo, "It's like last time, I'll throw the shuttlecock to you, you kick it to me, and then I kick it back to you..."
Although it was already evening, the entire Song Residence was lit with so many lanterns that it was as bright as day. The little girl tossed the shuttlecock over, and Li Nuo lightly kicked it back to her.
As the shuttlecock flew over, Song Mu'er didn't rush to kick it back but cleverly sidestepped. When the shuttlecock was about to fall to the ground, she gently lifted her foot, lightly touched it with the sole of her shoe, and the shuttlecock immediately changed direction, drawing a beautiful arc in the air and flying back toward Li Nuo.
Seeing the shuttlecock flying toward him, Li Nuo suddenly had a peculiar feeling in his heart.
Then, the little girl opposite him opened her small mouth in surprise.
The shuttlecock, following the movements of the brother opposite, spiraled and danced in the air, never falling to the ground. Each movement he made while playing with the shuttlecock was graceful and effortless. Some techniques she saw him use were even new to her.
Li Nuo was also somewhat surprised at that moment. When the shuttlecock flew toward him, he had the feeling that everything was under his control.
Such a difficult and seemingly magical freestyle shuttlecock playing technique was not something he knew how to do, and it was very likely that his predecessor didn't either. Therefore, the reason was quite clear. Of the four pages of illustrations in the Law Code, only the page of Assistant Minister Zheng's concubine was illuminated. Could it be that her specialty was playing shuttlecock?
In this era, women didn't have many entertainment activities. Football and shuttlecock were the most common, whether it was the daughter of a wealthy family or a girl from a smaller household, they could all play.
However, to play shuttlecock so well that it would illuminate the Law Code—this woman had some real skills.
After playing by himself for a while, Li Nuo kicked the shuttlecock back, but Song Mu'er was so engrossed in watching him play that she momentarily forgot to catch it, and the shuttlecock fell to the ground behind her.
Before she could pick it up, several voices suddenly came from the side.
"Eh, isn't that the idiot from the Li Family?"
"He's here tonight too."
"It's the Old Lady's birthday banquet, what's he doing here, doesn't he fear making a fool of himself..."
Three young men walked over from one side, one of them casually took a piece of candy from a table, walked up to Li Nuo, and teased, "Little idiot, imitate a dog barking for us. Do it well, and we'll give you candy..."
Li Nuo looked at him and asked, "How does a dog bark?"
"You just learned it last time, and you've already forgotten? You really are an idiot." The young man shook his head without thinking much more, and said, "Woof, woof..."
"Make the sound again."
"Woof, woof, woof, woof..."
"Keep going."
"Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof..."
Li Nuo reached out and gently patted his head, laughing, "Good boy..."
Many guests in the courtyard heard the noise and looked in their direction, wondering what the young master of the Song Family was up to, strangely barking like a dog?
The young man whose head had been gently stroked by Li Nuo finally realized what had happened after snapping back to reality. A flush of embarrassment and annoyance immediately rushed to his face, and he angrily said, "You little idiot, you dare to make fun of me?"
If it had been someone else, he would never have barked like a dog, but who would be on guard against an idiot?
In a state of humiliation and anger, he stretched out his hand to grab Li Nuo's collar, but at that moment, a small figure stepped in front of Li Nuo.
Song Mu'er stretched out her arms to block him and said crisply, "Brother Yu, you can't bully him..."
Song Yu, annoyed at his own family member siding with an outsider, said, "Mumu, stand aside, I need to teach this idiot a good lesson!"
Song Mu'er clenched her little fists and said, "If you bully him, I'm going to hit you..."
Upon hearing her words, Song Yu's body trembled, and he immediately stepped back in alertness.
Although Mumu was only six years old, she had genuine Second Realm cultivation. She started following Jiaren in her training when she was two, and had already developed her Inner Breath. A child did not know how to pull her punches; one hit from her little fist could break several of his bones.
"Little idiot, just you wait!" After dropping a harsh word at Li Nuo, he and the two behind him slunk away.
Li Nuo watched them leave and thought to himself that he didn't seem very welcome in the Song Family.
But thinking about it, he supposed that if he were a member of the Song Family, he probably wouldn't show a good face to the idiot who married the family's proud Phoenix.
At that moment, Song Mu'er