HUS Chapter 28: Welcome Banquet and Dust-Washing
HUS Chapter 28: Welcome Banquet and Dust-Washing
Dec 11, 2025
The welcome banquet was held in the side room of First Steward Li's small courtyard.
Most of the outer estate stewards from the eldest branch's main lineage of the Yu family had come.
Steward Niu Youde, who was responsible for coordinating all matters of the outer courtyard, Accountant Li Damu, who managed the eldest branch's monetary transactions, contracts, and property ledgers, Chief Purchaser Zhao Hongyu, Granary Steward Ma Sanyuan, and Guard Commander Liu Yu.
The guard commander had originally been Cheng Dakuan, but now the former deputy commander Liu Yu had taken over.
As for Cheng Dakuan, after being rescued from the water dungeon, he had remained feverish and was currently recuperating.
As First Steward of the eldest branch, Li Youcai enjoyed the privilege of having meals specially prepared for serving the masters.
In noble clan families, the hierarchy was strict. The food, lodging, and other aspects of servants' lives were strictly differentiated according to their rank with different treatment.
People like Yang Can and the other stewards, administrators, and accountants were considered senior management of the family and enjoyed the privilege of "allocated meals."
They shared the same kitchen as the main family but dined separately. The dishes were all made by the mansion's head chef, though the standards and portions were somewhat lower than the main family's.
Their daily dietary standards were actually equivalent to those of a low-ranking official in the imperial court.
Below them, the servants and maids enjoyed different dietary treatment according to the difficulty of their skills and division of labor.
For instance, a personal head maid like Qingmei had snacks, eggs, preserved meat, and so on included in her daily meal allocation.
Ordinary rough-work maids and servants only had millet rice and pickled vegetables daily, and saw meat only once every ten days.
Today, Li Youcai was hosting a banquet for Yang Can. Though he said he'd have his wife arrange it, in reality, he paid for it himself, and most of the dishes were made by the cook.
This counted as Yang Can's first formal meeting with the outer estate stewards as Second Steward of the eldest branch. Although Yang Can already knew some of them, Li Youcai still introduced him to each one.
Among them, Chief Purchaser Zhao Hongyu and Granary Steward Ma Sanyuan were new people. When introducing them, Li Youcai subtly hinted to Yang Can that these two had been arranged by Young Mistress Suo Zhanzhi, meaning they weren't "his own people."
Yang Can smiled and nodded, thinking to himself, "So these two are actually my own people."
With the death of Young Master Yu Chengye and Young Mistress Suo Zhanzhi taking over the eldest branch, the eldest branch had now split into two factions: one was the Young Mistress's faction, and the other was the deceased Young Master's faction.
However, both sides remained relatively harmonious for now because it wasn't yet certain whether the young mistress was pregnant.
If the young mistress wasn't pregnant, the dismantling of the eldest branch was only a matter of time.
When that happened, these stewards from the original eldest branch would all be assigned elsewhere or simply "cast into the cold palace."
Therefore, before determining whether the young mistress was pregnant, these two factions had nothing to conflict over. They were all waiting.
Even if it was confirmed that Suo Zhanzhi was pregnant, both sides still wouldn't erupt into fierce conflict because they would still have to wait another nine months to determine whether the young mistress was carrying a boy or a girl.
Before then, the young mistress's faction and the deceased Young Master's faction, these old and new forces, were like two brothers suffering the same affliction.
There would be competition between them, but before the situation became clear at the end of the year, there wouldn't be an irreconcilable situation.
"What affairs of our eldest branch will the Second Steward mainly manage in the future?" Accountant Li poured Yang Can a cup of wine and asked with a smile.
Yang Can answered with a smile, "The First Steward has been very considerate of me. Since I've just arrived, the First Steward worried I couldn't handle much, so he assigned me to manage the six major estates and three major ranches that Second Master handed over. Less troublesome, you see."
"Pfft!" Li Damu sprayed out a mouthful of wine. Fortunately, he quickly turned his head away, or he would have ruined a table of fine dishes.
Less troublesome?
The six major estates and three major ranches that Second Master returned were less troublesome?
They were incredibly troublesome, alright?
Every steward present was shrewd. Hearing this, they all looked at Li Youcai. First Steward, you're not being honorable here.
Li Youcai's old face flushed red. He didn't know whether Yang Can was genuinely naive or deliberately playing dumb. He could only raise his cup to cover his embarrassment and said loudly, "The estates and ranches already have established rules. Following them step by step won't lead to mistakes. So I thought I'd have Steward Yang start with the estates and ranches to familiarize himself with the eldest branch's affairs. Our Yu family is rooted in agriculture. As long as Steward Yang doesn't make mistakes, it'll be easier to distinguish himself."
Yang Can raised his cup with a grateful expression, "Thank you for the First Steward's consideration. I'm deeply grateful."
Li Youcai laughed heartily, "I'm getting old and don't have much ambition to compete anymore. I sincerely hope all the stewards of our eldest branch do well. If I take good care of you all today, when you all distinguish yourselves in the future, don't forget this bond of friendship. Come, come, drink, drink."
After Li Youcai finished speaking, he raised his cup and drank it in one gulp. Everyone naturally raised their cups in response.
Understanding without speaking is what makes good friends, after all.
This welcome banquet among good friends lasted until nearly the third watch before dispersing. Among the stewards, those with poor alcohol tolerance were already staggering as they walked.
Li Youcai loved his wine and was thoroughly drunk, slumped over the table sleeping like a dead pig, snoring away.
The two young servants Laixi and Wangcai, waiting in the side room, had long since dozed off.
Yang Can woke them up, lit lanterns, and saw the guests out. Madam Pan, hearing the commotion, also came over.
Seeing Yang Can trying to pull Li Youcai up, and Li Youcai so drunk he was unconscious, soft and completely impossible to pull up.
Pan Xiaowan said irritably, "This damn ghost drank so much again. Don't bother with him. Just let him sleep here for the night."
Yang Can said, "It's not quite appropriate to leave Elder Brother Li here. Don't worry, sister-in-law, I can manage."
Seeing this, Pan Xiaowan went around to Li Youcai's other side. She and Yang Can each lifted one of Li Youcai's arms over their shoulders, finally managing to pull him up.
The two expended considerable effort before managing to carry Li Youcai into the main room, around the screen, and into the bedroom.
"Sister-in-law, let go. I'll lift elder brother onto the bed."
As Yang Can spoke, he moved his arm around Li Youcai's shoulder. He wanted to change position, support Li Youcai under the armpit, and place him on the bed.
Unexpectedly, Madam Pan released her grip a bit late. When Yang Can reached out, the back of his hand brushed firmly against something soft.
Hiss~ Yang Can got a fright and quickly withdrew his hand. This really wasn't Pan Xiaowan trying to take advantage of him. Touched by him, she instinctively also loosened her grip. With both of them letting go simultaneously, First Steward Li had no one holding him anymore.
First Steward Li's face wore a vacant silly smile. He swayed in place, then pitched forward. His forehead went "thunk," hitting heavily against the edge of the bed.
Yang Can was startled. That hit was really too hard. However, numbed by alcohol, Li Youcai didn't feel any pain at all.
He slid softly down along the bed, using the footstool as a pillow, and fell peacefully asleep with a bruised and purple forehead.
"First Steward, wake up, sleep on the bed..."
Yang Can still wanted to drag him onto the bed, but Pan Xiaowan said impatiently, "Alright, alright, don't bother with him. Once he's had two jin of horse piss, not even thunder can wake him."
As Pan Xiaowan spoke, she pulled Yang Can up. Her seductive eyes instantly seeped with misty moisture, "Uncle, were the food and wine used tonight to your satisfaction?"
Uncle? Although Pan Xiaowan's form of address wasn't wrong, the way she pinched her voice when calling him made it sound strange somehow.
Yang Can said stiffly, "The food was extremely delicious."
Pan Xiaowan said, "Then... which dish was most to uncle's liking?"
"Uh... all... they were all quite delicious..."
Madam Pan said softly, "Sister-in-law made that Qiang Zhu and Ti Hu. I wonder..."
"Good, extremely good, very delicious. That Qiang Zhu was spicy, fresh, and fragrant, most appetizing.
Especially that Ti Hu. After drinking, having a bowl of it sobers you up and refreshes the spirit. Excellent, excellent."
"Qiang Zhu" was essentially boiled meat slices, a dish developed after the fusion of Xianbei and Qiang cuisine.
As for "Ti Hu," it was yogurt made from refined milk fat.
Not all yogurt was called "Ti Hu." Only yogurt with the finest ingredients and best taste was called Ti Hu.
Pan Xiaowan giggled, raised her hand to tidy the hair by her temples, and said with seductive eyes, "If uncle likes eating them, just tell sister-in-law whenever you want to eat them."
There was still someone lying on the floor! Yang Can felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, "Oh, good, good. Thank you, sister-in-law. Elder brother, he..."
"Don't worry about him. Even if he slept in the courtyard, he'd be comfortable."
As if to prove her point, Pan Xiaowan kicked Li Youcai's buttocks. Li Youcai grunted a couple of times but still slept sweetly.
Yang Can laughed dryly, "In that case, little brother will take his leave."
Yang Can lifted his leg to leave, but Pan Xiaowan followed behind him like a shadow.
Reaching the corridor, Yang Can quickly turned around, "Sister-in-law, please go back."
Pan Xiaowan's watery eyes glanced at Yang Can, "Sister-in-law only finished tidying up your residence this afternoon. You don't know where things are placed. Why don't sister-in-law come over and accompany you... to look for them together?"
"No need, no need. Little brother only has a few things. It's also getting late. Sister-in-law, please go back."
Pan Xiaowan said, "Actually, sister-in-law can also make a milk pastry that tastes even better than that Ti Hu. Would uncle like to try it?"
She put both hands behind her back, speaking intimately while thrusting her chest out high, practically telling Yang Can the original source of that milk pastry.
"Hehe, no, no. Little brother is already full. No, I mean, little brother can no longer hold his liquor."
"Hehe, today is uncle's appointment. That dead ghost held a welcome banquet for you. Let sister-in-law wash the dust for you."
"No, no, another day, let's talk about it another day!" After Yang Can finished speaking, he fled in panic.
My goodness, First Steward Li married such a young delicate wife but doesn't feed her properly? Why is she so hungry, like a mother wolf?
Seeing Yang Can flee like the wind, Pan Xiaowan couldn't help but giggle. Her face still showed seductive charm, but her eyes gradually grew cold.
"The Suo family really is willing to sacrifice. To extend their hand into the Yu family, they even gave up one of the 'Three Beauties of Suo.'"
The Three Beauties of Suo were an accolade given by the frivolous young men of Longshang's noble families to the three most beautiful young women of the Suo family.
These three beauties were: Suo Xianxiang, Suo Zuigu, and Suo Zhanzhi.
Pan Xiaowan suddenly laughed softly again, "It's just a pity that Yu Chengye was killed by his second uncle. If Suo Zhanzhi fails to become pregnant, I'm afraid the Suo family's efforts this time will come to nothing."
"Alas..."
Pan Xiaowan sighed softly, raising her eyes toward the bright moon in the sky, "If the eldest branch is dismantled, I'm afraid I... will also become a useless discarded piece."
[NEXT CHAPTER]