Welcoming Feast

Night, Dingxiang Restaurant.

In the spacious banquet hall, more than a dozen tables were arranged in a fan-like spread, yet only a few assistants directly under the Judicial Assistant Magistrate and the constables under Zhao Wuwei sparsely occupied four tables in the corners.

At the Round Table in the center, Sun Shaozong alone sat in the seat of honor. His imposing figure swayed in the candlelight, carrying an air of bleak solitude.

How could the atmosphere at a feast like this possibly become lively?

"Chief!"

A short, sturdily built constable leaned close to Zhao Wuwei's ear and said uneasily, "Looking at things today, Prefect Sun may not be able to keep his footing in the yamen. Us brothers..."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Shut that filthy mouth of yours!"

Zhao Wuwei barked the rebuke harshly, but inside, he too was a bundle of nerves. He had originally thought that, at worst, those officials might refuse to show Sun Shaozong any respect. Who could have imagined that not even a single clerk from the various offices would show up?

Even when the former Judicial Assistant Magistrate and Liu Zhizhong had been at each other's throats, the officials beneath them had never so uniformly taken sides.

Could it be...

Had he truly backed the wrong horse?!

Zhao Wuwei faintly regretted his choice, but remembering what Sun Shaozong had said that afternoon, how could he dare entertain divided loyalties?

Besides, now that they had already come, leaving halfway through would only make them unwelcome on both sides.

And wasn't everyone else thinking the same thing?

They stared hungrily at the platters before them, wishing only that they could swallow several pounds of regret medicine.

Just then, a servant hurried to the head table and bent to whisper a few words into Sun Shaozong's ear. Sun Shaozong immediately rose and smiled. "Gentlemen, an honored guest has arrived uninvited. Why not come with me to greet him?"

Upon hearing this, everyone assumed he had invited reinforcements.

A Welcoming Feast was generally an internal gathering, and outsiders were not supposed to attend—but given the awkward state of affairs, it would already be a blessing if they could smooth things over. Who cared whether the guest was an outsider or an insider?

Thus, the constables and assistants hurriedly followed Sun Shaozong with smiles plastered across their faces to greet the "uninvited" honored guest.

They had all assumed that the visitor would be either a military commander with old ties to the Sun family or the descendant of some noble house. Yet when they reached the entrance, they saw a middle-aged civil official seated in a four-man official sedan chair, dressed in crimson robes and a jade belt, wearing a four-ridged golden crown!

As everyone stood there in astonishment, the middle-aged official stepped down from the sedan chair, clasped his hands, and laughed heartily. "Worthy brother, who would have thought that after we entered the capital together on the same ship, we would end up serving in the same yamen? This old brother has not even assumed office yet, but I could not wait to drink a few cups at your Welcoming Feast!"

Serving in the same yamen?

Those quick-witted enough to catch the implication were instantly overjoyed.

The slower ones had not yet figured out what was happening, but that did not matter, because Sun Shaozong immediately revealed the answer.

He too laughed heartily as he stepped forward and bowed deeply. "This subordinate, Sun Shaozong, pays respects to Lord Vice-Prefect!"

This middle-aged civil official was none other than Jia Yucun, the incoming Shuntian Vice-Prefect—no wonder those who had guessed his identity were ecstatic!

After all, within Shuntian Prefecture, the Vice-Prefect was the only one qualified to stand on equal footing with the Prefect. He also controlled the evaluations, rewards, and punishments of every official, high and low. With such a connection, even if the entire yamen turned against Sun Shaozong, he could still stand as firm as Mount Tai!

Zhao Wuwei was so delighted that he nearly blew snot bubbles. He secretly thought that his eye for talent was indeed unmatched; with this wager, he had hit the winning hand outright!

So he hurriedly led the others forward to pay their respects.

"Ah."

Jia Yucun raised an eyebrow in feigned displeasure, reached out to pull Sun Shaozong upright, and scolded, "I have not yet taken office, so why go through all this? I came today to drink at my worthy brother's Wedding Feast, not to flaunt my official authority!"

Of course, that was merely talk. If he truly had no intention of flaunting his authority, why had he come wearing full official dress?

The two chatted and laughed as they made their way back into the banquet hall. Seeing that the hall was utterly empty, Jia Yucun could not help uttering an "Eh?" He asked curiously, "Why do I not see a single colleague? Could it be that I arrived too early?"

Now that was professional acting!

With that expression and that tone, who could have guessed that the two had already held a secret discussion for over half an hour that afternoon?

Sun Shaozong silently gave him his approval and played along with a smile. "Liu Zhizhong may be unwell—while the other colleagues may perhaps have remembered the time of the Welcoming Feast incorrectly."

Distinguishing Liu Zhizhong from the others had also been part of the response Sun Shaozong and Jia Yucun had planned that afternoon.

First, it was meant to turn the tables and take the opportunity to isolate Liu Chongshan. Second, Liu Chongshan was, after all, one of the three chief officials. If he really appeared and began contending with Jia Yucun on equal footing, the performance would become difficult to maintain.

"Since that is the case."

Jia Yucun turned around and smiled warmly at the constables and assistants. "Then I must trouble you all to notify them again. Tell them that this official awaits them here—this official also wishes to use Brother Sun's Welcoming Feast to get acquainted with all our colleagues in advance."

With the words "awaits them" from him, what official in the entire yamen would dare not show up?

Zhao Wuwei and the others answered with renewed vigor. Leaving only three or five people behind to attend to things, the rest scattered in all directions to deliver the message to the officials' homes.

About half an hour later, people began arriving at the banquet hall one after another. The lower-ranking clerks naturally took their seats quietly at the lower tables, while those with official rank had no way to hide. They could only brace themselves and step forward to greet the Vice-Prefect and the Judicial Assistant Magistrate.

Jia Yucun merely continued chatting and laughing with Sun Shaozong, paying little attention to anyone else. No matter who arrived, he only said a cool, "Sit," with nothing further—but it was precisely this air of ignoring everyone else that made them feel as uneasy as though sitting on pins and needles.

Seeing the hall packed with a bustling crowd, even Chen Zhichuang from the Experience Department had taken a seat at the lower table with an ingratiating smile.

Only then did Sun Shaozong smile faintly and say, "Brother Yucun, most of the people are here now. Shall we begin the feast?"

"Hold on."

Jia Yucun waved a hand instead. He swept his gaze across the minor officials at the tables and suddenly asked in a loud voice, "Who was responsible for preparing today's Welcoming Feast?"

At that single question, the banquet hall fell so silent that a pin drop could have been heard!

After a long while, someone at a nearby table rose, his head covered in cold sweat. Trembling, he said, "It... it was this subordinate... Zhou Da, an inspector from the Criminal Division."

An inspector was merely an unranked minor official. Forget the Vice-Prefect—even Sun Shaozong could crush him with ease!

If he had not relied on the civil officials presenting a united front this time, he would never have dared involve himself in such a matter—but who could have expected a Vice-Prefect to suddenly appear halfway through and support Sun Shaozong?!

At that moment, Zhou Da regretted his choice to the depths of his guts.

"Since you were responsible for preparing the Welcoming Feast, it would have been one thing if you had failed to wait here in advance—but how did you even get the time wrong?!" Jia Yucun's face grew darker as he spoke. Finally, he slammed his palm on the table and shouted, "Could it be that when handling murder cases in your daily duties, you are just as careless and negligent?!"

Thud!

Zhou Da dropped stiffly to his knees. He opened his mouth to plead his innocence. "My lord, please see clearly, this lowly one truly..."

"Zhou Da!"

Lin Delu, a secretary, sprang to his feet and cut off Zhou Da's words with a stern rebuke. "How did you handle this matter?! You nearly caused every colleague in the yamen to miss Lord Sun's Welcoming Feast!"

The emphasis in his words lay on "every colleague in the yamen." What he truly meant was to remind Zhou Da that if he told the truth, he would offend all their colleagues from top to bottom!

If Zhou Da had held a seventh- or eighth-rank post, he might not have feared such a warning. But he was only an unranked petty official.

After weighing his options, he could only grit his teeth and say, "I beg Lord Vice-Pect to forgive me. This subordinate was muddleheaded for a moment, which caused such an error."

"Hmph."

Jia Yucun snorted coldly, and Zhou Da trembled three times. Just as he thought disaster was about to befall him, Sun Shaozong said with a smile, "Brother Yucun, this is only a private feast, not important official business. Let him off this once—how about punishing him with three cups of wine?"

Hearing this, Zhou Da was so moved that he thanked him repeatedly.

But when the three cups of wine were set before him, they turned out to be three half-jin bronze goblets. Nor did they contain the mild Rice Wine normally served, but genuine strong sorghum liquor!

Zhou Da's face immediately changed again, but under Jia Yucun and Sun Shaozong's watchful gazes, how could he dare refuse?

He could only pinch his nose and pour the three goblets of liquor down his throat one after another.

After finishing that jin and a half, he staggered as he tried to step forward and offer his respects. Yet the moment he bent over, he plunged straight beneath the table. He mumbled a few incoherent words with his mouth full of dirt, then fell completely silent.

"Bring the dishes! Serve the wine!"

In the dead silence, Sun Shaozong gave a shout.

Food and wine were brought out in an endless stream. Everyone raised cups and exchanged drinks, each appearing "overjoyed," yet not one of them dared glance at Zhou Da.

Thanks to reader "Wan Xiaobao" for the tip.