Peasant Woman’s Decreed Life as a Wife

Chapter 1026: Chapter 1023: Banquet

Almost all were specifically designated for Lin Mianmian, with only a few useless paintings and calligraphy pieces given to Chu Heng.

Ye Muyu indifferently set down the Lin family’s list of gifts.

She then picked up the lists from other families to look at.

As she had anticipated, except for the Tongpan family whose gifts were quite appropriate, the others were dismissive.

This was enough to show that the rest of the officials were aligned with the magistrate of Yuzhou; these people, tied to the magistrate by interests, would hardly produce useful information unless Chu Heng also became part of the magistrate’s faction. Befriending them would be futile; they simply would not be willing.

Ye Muyu collected all the lists of gifts.

After organizing the lists, she instructed her household to prepare for the festival.

And she had all the gifts from the Lin family that were intended for Lin Mianmian delivered to her.

Yuzhou City was bustling.

That very afternoon, Ye Muyu received an invitation from the Yan family for moon viewing at Cheng Yue Lake, the largest in Yuzhou City, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Not only was the invitation sent to her, but one was sent to Lin Mianmian as well.

Ye Muyu did not stop her, and directly had the invitation sent to her.

The Yan family had profound connections and was closely linked to the Lin family. It seemed that tonight was set to be a perilous banquet.

But she could not afford not to attend. For Chu Heng, the most crucial task at the moment was to manage the flood issue. Failing to complete the Emperor’s task would render him truly incapable of recovery, and now was the time to challenge the Lin family.

Ye Muyu planned not to bring anyone along and called Madam Liu to explain about tonight’s banquet.

“Ah Heng now suddenly holds an office, and it is even more frustrating than when he was in the county,” Madam Liu genuinely expressed.

Ye Muyu smiled and said, “Mother, don’t worry. Enduring hardship breeds superiority. We will keep getting better.”

“You and Father will need to take care of Chu Ziluo and Lil’ Jin.”

“After the Mid-Autumn Festival, you and Father can return to our hometown. It will be just the right time to plant the potatoes.”

When potatoes were mentioned, Madam Liu became quite interested. “Potatoes are like sweet potatoes; once they take root, the common people will have another type of food to rely on.”

“Just be careful, and don’t let the wives of the officials upset you; just ignore them,” Madam Liu warned, concerned that Ye Muyu might be at a disadvantage. She had heard some rumors and seen the disdain in the gift lists from various mansions; she was furious enough on a normal day, let alone now that Ye Muyu was attending the invitation where those ladies would probably be even less polite.

Ye Muyu nodded. “Mother, rest assured, I will be careful and meticulous.”

She sent off Madam Liu.

Ye Muyu did not forget to remind her to check on Chu Jin’s situation.

Only afterwards did she start to choose her attire for the evening’s banquet.

Given Chu Heng’s current official rank, she naturally did not dress up like a peacock, choosing instead a light blue silk dress with a casually placed silver hairpin in her hair.

It was unremarkable, yet entirely appropriate to Chu Heng’s official rank.

An hour before the banquet, Ye Muyu personally made some pastries and instructed Su Mei to notify Lin Mianmian.

After she had packed up the box of pastries.

Lin Mianmian arrived fashionably late, presumably expecting to see Ye Muyu furious.

However, Ye Muyu did not head to the front courtyard until she arrived.

“Let’s go,” Ye Muyu looked at her flamboyantly extravagant outfit, unconcerned. She casually spoke and then headed straight for the carriage.

Lin Mianmian had intentionally dressed up lavishly, hoping to make Ye Muyu angry and to gloat in front of her. Yet Ye Muyu’s lack of reaction felt like a punch landing on cotton, which made her very unhappy.