Song Residence.
In the back courtyard of a particular compound.
Inside a room, Li Nuo stood in front of a mirror, styling the hair of a daintily carved little girl, whose tender, porcelain face still bore a few teardrops and occasionally hiccupped with sobs.
Beside Li Nuo stood another girl who looked identical to the one in the mirror, arms crossed and pouting, clearly displeased.
Li Nuo now knew that the two young girls beside him, one named Song Ning'er and the other Song Mu'er, were twin sisters and daughters of Song Jiaren's fourth uncle.
The cause of the current situation was that Li Nuo had styled Song Mu'er's hair beautifully, and Song Mu'er had run to show off to Song Ning'er. Ever since they were little, if one sister had something, the other needed it too. The household maids couldn't duplicate this improved version of the Fairy Bun, so Song Ning'er had made a fuss…
As the main culprit, Li Nuo had been captured by the women of the Song Family and brought here to style a hair bun identical for Song Ning'er before he could leave.
If he couldn't satisfy this little miss, no one was going to have a good night tonight.
As Li Nuo's hands skillfully worked, a beautiful bun gradually formed atop the little girl's head. Song Zhen looked at Song Jiaren next to her and exclaimed in surprise, "Jiaren, when did your husband learn this skill?"
His movements while braiding Ning'er's hair were so practiced, even the eldest hairstyling maid in the Song Residence couldn't compare.
Generally speaking, in a grand household like the Song Family, hairstyling was a skill only the specialized maids held. The young ladies might know how to arrange their hair simply but could never achieve such complex styling—let alone a man mastering such a feminine skill to this extent was even more astounding.
Moreover, he was supposedly a fool.
Regarding her aunt's question, Song Jiaren did not respond.
Truth be told, she and her husband… weren't very familiar.
Although they had been married for a month, their combined conversations might not even total ten sentences.
What Li Nuo knew or didn't know, she had no idea.
Before the mirror, Li Nuo placed a bead flower in Song Ning'er's hair, identical to the one Song Mu'er wore, attentively observed the sisters, and adjusted two other bead flowers until he couldn't spot any difference. He then breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "Done…"
Song Ning'er jumped off the chair, looked at Song Mu'er, and then at her reflection in the mirror, a satisfied expression finally emerging on her little face.
At that moment, a maid hurriedly ran in from outside and said, "Miss, Madame, the birthday banquet is about to begin. The master asks you to hurry over…"
…
Song Residence, within the birthday hall.
For aristocratic families, birthday celebrations were a significant affair. This time, for Old Mrs. Song's sixtieth birthday, the Song Family had specially arranged a birthday hall. On the south wall of the hall hung a painting of a hundred longevity symbols, flanked by banners that read, "Clouds carry the divine carriage of the Queen Mother; flowers bloom and golden phoenixes bring the stars of heaven." Above the array was a decorated birthday canopy, embroidered with the Birthday Celebration by Immortals and Buddhas.
The floor of the hall was covered with red carpets, and beneath the front wall was placed a square table bearing birthday candles, longevity peaches, longevity noodles, as well as some fresh flowers and fruits.
A kindly looking elderly woman sat at the foremost seat while the descendants of the Song Family stood respectfully on the red carpet in the middle of the hall, each approaching Old Mrs. Song one by one to offer birthday blessings.
During the birthday greetings, seniority was strictly observed. At the forefront were Old Mrs. Song's five children along with their spouses, followed by three generations of descendants. Song Jiaren's father was Old Lady's third son. Li Nuo and Song Jiaren were in the second to last row of the crowd, immediately followed by sisters Song Mu'er and Song Ning'er.
The greeting process was quite simple. Everyone in sequence approached Old Mrs. Song to present their gifts and say a few auspicious words before taking a seat on the chairs at the side, waiting for the banquet to begin.
Before Li Nuo and Song Jiaren stood two young silhouettes, the same ones that had mocked him earlier in the yard.
These two were likely the children of Song Jiaren's aunt.
And in front of them, in one row, were three males and two females,其中一位, among them was the young man whom Song Mu'er had called "Brother Yu," whom Li Nuo had patted on the head when stroking a dog.
The maids of the Song Family, neatly lined up on both sides of the hall, held trays covered with red silk, under which were the gifts prepared in advance by the Song family.
When it was someone's turn to offer birthday greetings, the maids would hand them the tray, which they then presented personally.
One by one, the second generation of the Song Family came forward, and Li Nuo took the opportunity 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 Lord Father-in-law, named Song Zhe, a thin middle-aged man, but Li Nuo did not see Song Jiaren's mother.
The second generation of the Song Family all had partners, even Song Zhen's husband was there, only her own Lord Father-in-law was alone.
After the elders finished giving their birthday wishes, it was the turn of the third generation youngsters.
A young couple walked hand in hand up to Old Mrs. Song, respectfully saying, "Grandson Song Lin, granddaughter-in-law Wang Yan, wish Grandmother a long life of a hundred years, and health and happiness."
The gift they presented was a pair of golden Buddhas.
Next, another young person, holding a painting, stepped forward smiling and said, "Grandson Song Qi, wishes Grandmother a bright sun and moon, and everlasting youth like the pine and crane."
Old Mrs. Song took the painting, examined it for a moment, then with a delighted expression, said, "It is Zhao Meng's 'Yao Pond Holy Mother Birthday Painting'. Wasn't it said that this painting had been lost? Where did you get it?"
The young man said, "This painting was obtained by chance, as long as Grandmother likes it."
Old Mrs. Song handed the painting to a maid standing by to hang it on the wall, then looked back at the young man saying, "You, when will you bring a granddaughter-in-law for Grandmother? That would make me happy…"
…
As the Song Family descendants each went up to give their birthday greetings, Li Nuo also gained some understanding of this large family.
The Song Family was indeed flourishing. Song Jiaren's great-uncle had two sons. His other uncle had two sons and a daughter. Song Jiaren's parents had only one daughter, twins Song Mu'er and Song Ning'er, who were daughters of Song Jiaren's fourth uncle, Song Hao.
That was the entirety of the third generation of the Song Family.
Among this generation, from the line of the eldest uncle, Song Tai, Song Lin and Song Qi each sent a pair of Jade Buddhas and a birthday painting. From the line of the second uncle, the couple Song Jin presented a pair of pearls as big as pigeon eggs, truly a rarity, while Song Yu brought a pair of Longevity Peaches, reportedly cultivated by the hands of a master from the Agricultural School, believed to cure all diseases and prolong life.
Whether the peaches could really prolong life, Li Nuo didn't know, but even from such a distance, he could smell the refreshing fruity fragrance and even heard the sounds of two young girls swallowing behind him.
Though not strong in combat, the Agricultural School did have some expertise in agriculture.
Song Yu's sister, a woman named Song Qian, presented Old Mrs. Song a Buddhist scripture she had copied by hand. While it might not have been as valuable as other gifts, it won in sentiment, and Old Mrs. Song liked it very much.
Song Qian's husband, a slender young man with a scholarly air, presented Old Mrs. Song with a birthday poem, which also drew much applause.
The Song Family, a General's famous family, had descendants who either pursued the Military path or practiced the Martial Path, with few studying the Confucian school. They were good with weapons but not with words and literature, so this birthday poem was indeed a refreshing change, receiving unanimous praise.
According to the order, it was next Li Nuo and Song Jiaren's turn.
Their gift, which Li Nuo knew about from the cart ride, was a pair of exquisite Jade Ruyi.
Li Nuo had already figured out the pattern: if a descendant of the Song Family was married, the birthday present for Old Mrs. Song was usually in pairs and given in the name of both spouses. If still single, one just needed to give one gift, though they could also do like Song Qian, each giving their own gifts.
Li Nuo's congratulatory gift had already been prepared by Song Jiaren; he merely had to wait for the banquet to start.
After Song Yu stepped away, it was then the turn for Li Nuo and his wife Song Jiaren.
At this moment, the gaze of many guests turned their way, and the noisy chatter inside the hall quieted down considerably.
The name of Song Family's proud daughter had been known throughout Chang'an for over a decade.
Of course, her husband, had been famous even earlier.
However, the reasons behind their fame were different. Song Jiaren was famous for both her looks and her talent in the Martial Path, whereas Li Nuo was famous for being a fool, and to this day, countless people still lamented this marriage.
It was like a toad lusting after swan meat, or fine vegetables fed to a pig.
Other than being reasonably handsome and having Li Xuanjing as his father, he was generally useless.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, a maid brought over a tray covered with red silk cloth. Song Jiaren held it single-handedly, slowly lifting the silk, just as she was about to step forward, her step faltered slightly.
Li Nuo glanced over and also slightly furrowed his brow.
Underneath the red silk on the tray, instead of a pair of Jade Ruyi, there were two long, rectangular stones.