So what if I traveled through time? I'll continue to roll in another place

A few days later, the former Marquis Gongshun, now the Duke of Shun, held a routine banquet and invited many wives of noble families and famous ladies in the capital.

When the invitation was sent to the Zhou family, Lu Jiayan was among the invited guests. The person who delivered the invitation even instructed Lu Jiayan to go.

Lu Jiayan had never attended a banquet since she traveled through time. The banquet at Shunguogong's house was interesting and the food was exquisite. Xiao Yueshan also wanted to take her to experience it.

Today's banquet was as lively as before. The theme of winter was snow-viewing, and many red plum blossoms were decorated on the table to contrast with the white snow.

Of course, the banquet of Duke Shun also includes the final high-end shopping session. On display today are a large number of ivory ornaments from Yueyun. The furs and coats that the owners of the weaving shops did not bring in the summer can now be taken out for display and sale.

Xiao Yueshan had watched a Korean drama called "Little Misses" before. In the drama, someone asked the heroine: If you have money, what would you like to buy? The heroine replied: A winter coat. In winter, it is easy to see whether a person is poor or not. In summer, you can barely dress like others, but winter clothes are too expensive.

Now that industrially mass-produced down jackets and woolen coats are no longer available, Xiao Yueshan can feel it more intuitively: the first feeling of being poor is cold, and winter is the season when class distinctions are most clearly defined.

The ladies from the prominent families at the banquet were dressed more gorgeously than each other. The furs of the fox eyes, mink ears, silver needles, sea tigers, as well as various fire foxes, black foxes, silver foxes, white foxes and other unknown animals were dizzying.

Winter clothes are all heavy, so golden jewelry is essential to match the clothes.

After entering the palace, they took off their fur coats and put on silk and cotton clothes that were thicker than those in autumn and needed to be made anew. A new set of clothes took time, effort, money and materials, and the financial resources of the court officials were truly reflected in their wives' dressing.

After all, the Xiao family had been officials for generations, and although their clothes were not outstanding, they still had a few fox fur coats that were worth showing off. Xiao Yueshan gave Lu Jiayan a new white fox fur coat, and the two of them were basically dressed the same inside and out, so they didn't stand out among the crowd.

Ladies of lower rank or less affluent families were dressed very simply, mostly in grey-brown rabbit fur or sheep fur. They took off their fur coats when they sat down to the table, and some of the ladies seemed to be wearing skirts and jackets for autumn banquets, which were slightly thinner than others.

Madam Yu also attended the banquet, but Xiao Yuerong did not attend because she was pregnant.

Although the ceremony was similar to the Lotus Viewing Banquet, after the imperial inspection and the rebellion of Chu Changning, many of the guests at the banquet were replaced.

Gongshun Marquis Ruan Chen had just been conferred the title of Duke of Shun. When he held his first banquet, almost all the wives of princes and ministers in the capital were present.

The first was still Princess Shu Rongxue of Prince Jin. The second seat was the Prime Minister's wife whom Xiao Yueshan met for the first time. The third seat was the wife of Duke Dingguo who seldom came out to socialize. Several grand princesses and eldest princesses also sat in order.

Next are the wives and daughters of the Duke of Wei, the Duke of Yi, the Duke of Xin, and the Duke of Gu, as well as the female relatives of the six ministers.

There were many seats in the hall. Sitting next to Xiao Yueshan happened to be Guan Li, the wife of Zheng Yibin, the councilor of the Ministry of Public Administration. Her little face was flushed, and she greeted Xiao Yueshan happily when she saw him.

"Sister Xiao, you are here too!" She saluted. "Who is this?"

"This is my husband's cousin, Miss Lu, who just came from her hometown in Chengzhou." They had discussed it yesterday. The Xiao, Yu and Ji families are all in the capital, and only the Zhou family's hometown is in Chengzhou. Giving Lu Jiayan this identity is the best explanation.

Guan Li thought that maybe the Zhou family wanted Zhou Yao to help his sister find a marriage in the capital, so she didn't say much. She also bowed to Lu Jiayan, and the three of them sat down together.

"Sister, you didn't believe me before, but now you do?" Guan Li came over and said before the meal started.

"It's not that I don't believe my sister." Xiao Yueshan said with a smile.

"Look, things are different now, and the atmosphere at the banquet has changed." Guan Li said softly, "I heard that the reason why Marquis Gongshun was awarded the title of Duke was because of his suppression of the rebellion."

"Oh?" Xiao Yueshan pricked up his ears, wanting to hear more details.

"That's right. Teng Daisheng, who started the rebellion, was the governor of Yueyun. The Gao family transferred troops from the Right Army Protectorate and entered the capital along with the Fengshan Stone from Yueyun."

Guan Li was still so well-informed. She spoke with great excitement and Xiao Yueshan listened attentively.

"Where did General Shou's troops come from to suppress the rebellion?" She raised her eyebrows. "They were the caravans that the Gongshun Marquisate brought from Yueyun every month to bring rare treasures. They followed them closely to the capital to protect the emperor without anyone noticing. What they sent was exactly this batch of ivory."

Guan Li picked up the teacup and took a sip, then looked up at Xiao Yueshan's reaction. She saw that she was listening attentively and seemed to be very interested.

"The Ruan family has many eyes and ears in Yueyun, and there are countless caravans and businesses. The deployment of troops from various states in Yueyun Prefecture cannot be hidden from the Ruan family."

"It seems that Duke Shun is really a hidden talent." Xiao Yueshan agreed softly.

"Who said it wasn't?" Guan Li lowered her voice. "I also heard that Yao Pei, the commander of the Right Army Governor's Office, had grasped the rebels' movements in advance and reported the matter to the court in a timely manner. Prince Jin originally intended to confer the title on the Yao family, but the Yao family refused."

"Why?" Xiao Yueshan asked curiously.

"The Yao family said that the Ruan family contributed more to suppressing the rebellion this time, so they deserve the title. They were just supporting the family from the sidelines and don't deserve such an honor." Guan Li exclaimed in amazement, "The Yao family's move is really smart. It not only shows their humility and that they will not step forward in the court for the time being, but also remembers their favors with Prince Jin and the Prime Minister."

Xiao Yueshan secretly admired in his heart that the power struggles in the court were really unfathomable.

"I heard that your sister's husband has made great achievements in Xizhou. If he rises to prominence in the future, don't forget me." Guan Li smiled brightly, "I am optimistic about your sister's family, and you are also a person who has my temper."

This... Guan Li is really a nosy person. Xiao Yueshan just came back from the palace and saw Zhou Yao's letter, but she didn't expect Guan Li to know so much about it. Is her carrier pigeon connected to 5G?

Now that all the ladies were seated, their gossips temporarily stopped.

Most of the guests at today's banquet are from the families of the heroes who suppressed the rebellion. Even if they did not receive direct rewards, they were able to take up positions after being dismissed from their posts due to the rebellion, so everyone at the table is in a joyous mood.

Duke Shun Ruan Chen is considered the MVP of this rebellion suppression, and the Princess of Jin and the Prime Minister's wife are here to bring glory to the wife of Duke Shun.

Lady Kong Xiping, wife of Duke Shun, stood up as the host of the banquet and gave a speech: "This banquet is to thank all the sisters for their care for my family. Although it is a cold winter, your enthusiasm remains unabated. I hope you all have a great time!" As soon as Kong Xiping finished speaking, everyone at the table raised their glasses to celebrate.

After five dishes had been served and three rounds of wine had been drunk, the nosy lady began to express her urge to listen to some opera.

The wife of Duke Shun naturally agreed readily, and soon a group of graceful women came in one after another. For a moment, melodious music filled the entire hall.