The Princess of the State laughed, "Good, let’s go eat. Mingming, go call Han Tianci and those other rascals. Tell them all to come to the dining hall for the meal. Check if your father and uncles are around too, so they can join us in the dining hall!"
This meal brought together several Marquesses and Marchionesses, as well as the young masters and misses of the household, both legitimate and illegitimate.
Not a single aunt had come.
Children of relatives who were staying at the Princess of the State’s Residence also attended.
At the men’s table, Han Tianci was the guest of honor, sitting beside Chu Yu.
The two of them were whispering to each other, chatting very animatedly.
At the women’s table, the Princess of the State assumed the seat of honor, with Yun Jinnian sitting to her right.
Qu Mianke was seated beside Yun Jinnian.
At first, Qu Mianke thought she would be sitting next to the Princess of the State, but unexpectedly, the Princess took Yun Jinnian by the hand and asked her to sit beside her.
This almost left her unable to save face.
The Marchioness Zhpngyong sat next to the Princess of the State, which had been the unchanging rule for many years. Next to her was the Marchioness Zhongyi, followed by the Marchioness of Trust and Loyalty, and then the Marchioness of Ritual and Loyalty.
Next was an empty seat, reserved for Yuwen Ming.
And Yuwen Ming should dish for the Princess of the State. That was something she had to learn this year.
This was the rule of the Princess Residence: any daughter preparing for marriage must learn the proper courtesy of dishing and rules from the Marchioness Zhongyi after getting engaged.
All the other legitimate daughters, illegitimate daughters, and daughters-in-law sat at different tables.
"Let’s start the meal!"
It was only after the Princess of the State spoke that everyone picked up their chopsticks.
The Princess of the State served a dish into Yun Jinnian’s bowl, "Jinnian, try this ’Treasure Delicacy.’ Your sister Ming always favors you. On normal days, when this old lady wants to have it, she makes up all kinds of excuses not to let the kitchen prepare it. The moment you come, she immediately orders the kitchen to make it. This girl is too biased!"
Yun Jinnian smiled, knowing full well that the Princess of the State’s words were far from true.
After tasting the dish and swallowing, she set down her chopsticks and said softly, "Princess, you might be wronging sister Mingming!"
"While this ’Treasure Delicacy’ is indeed delightful, becoming more fragrant with every chew, as Your Highness has aged, your teeth are naturally not as good as when you were young. Sister Mingming, out of concern and filial piety, would prefer not to serve it to you. But according to my guess, Mingming has definitely made this ’Treasure Soup’ in deep filial respect for Your Highness!" Yun Jinnian said, pointing to an exquisite porcelain bowl to the side.
The Princess of the State just smiled without saying a word.
The four Marchionesses also started smiling.
Yuwen Ming ladled some ’Treasure Soup’ into a bowl in front of the Princess of the State, "Grandmother, at last someone has proven the granddaughter’s intent, and I finally feel vindicated!"
The Princess of the State smiled, "All right, all right. I appreciate your filial piety. There’s no need for you to serve today, go sit down and eat!"
"Thank you, Grandmother!"
Yuwen Ming bowed deeply and took her seat.
She felt somewhat deflated not to be seated next to Yun Jinnian.
She did not like Qu Mianke, her cousin once removed. On the surface, she appeared amiable, but she was actually the most cunning and arrogant, particularly disdainful of her, although they both held the title of Commandery Princess.
"Let’s eat, let’s eat!"
The Princess of the State, being elderly, didn’t eat much, but she served Yun Jinnian several times, then stuck to soup.
She casually called out to Qu Mianke, "Mianke, you eat too!"
"Auntie, I’ve been eating, you should eat more!" Qu Mianke replied with a smile, feeling utterly choked up inside.
Yuwen Ming also served Qu Mianke several times, "Cousin, try this!"