Chapter 140: Banquet Gathering

Wu Chong briefly met with the scholars and then departed.

He had been introduced by Wu Anchizhi. When Wu Chong came to the water pavilion earlier, he greeted the scholars one by one. Both Zhang Heng and Wang Guan were well-acquainted with him and exchanged several words with him. For the unmarried scholars among the group, such as Zhang Yue and Liu Ji, he only offered a few brief remarks, much like a casual physiognomist reading their faces.

Yet, do not underestimate such a brief physiognomy. Judging people can be considered a supreme branch of learning. Judging someone solely by their appearance is certainly one-sided and incorrect, but gaining a rough general impression from a single glance—while perhaps not entirely accurate—still carries a high probability of correctness. An official like Wu Chong, with two decades in officialdom, could be said to have "seen countless people," whereas Zhang Yue had only "seen countless films."

As Wu Chong left, Zhang Yue thought to himself: Following Zhang Heng’s words, did this mean he simply did not take a fancy to them?

After the tea break came the banquet. The company moved to another location. As Zhang Heng walked beside Zhang Yue with a grave expression, he looked at the plain fabric robe Zhang Yue was wearing and could not help asking, "Why did you not wear a better robe to come here?"

Zhang Yue looked down at his own robe and replied to Zhang Heng, "This is already my best robe."

Seeing Zhang Heng's astonished look, Zhang Yue hurriedly explained, "Most of my robes were purchased some time ago. Recently, I have been growing taller, so my old robes have gradually become too short. As for this one, it was actually given to me by Liu Zhiwei."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heng said, "So that is how it is."

Without hesitation, Zhang Heng took off his own outer garment and draped it over Zhang Yue, wearing only a single inner robe himself as he said, "Just take this one and wear it for now."

Zhang Yue was silent for a moment, ultimately accepting Zhang Heng's kind gesture.

The banquet was held on a high tower within the Wu residence. The structure was surprisingly three stories tall. Ascending to the top and gazing into the distance, one could take in the scenery of the Bianjing outer city at a single glance. Everyone praised it as a truly magnificent vantage point.

When the company reached the summit, the pavilion was open on all four sides, making it an ideal spot for appreciating the scenery. Stepping onto the tower and looking straight ahead, Zhang Yue beheld the myriad lights of Bianjing City, the rolling stretch of the outer city walls, and, on the edge of the sky, a bright moon accompanied by countless stars.

Standing by the railing of the tower, facing the cool night breeze, Zhang Yue leaned against the balustrade to gaze at the moonlight and the thousands of grand buildings of Bianjing. The sense of wandering in a strange land was a persistent shadow, and at this very moment, how many others must be feeling this same sentiment while facing the moon?

There were more than a dozen other scholars present, all renowned talents of Bianjing City; some were married, while others were unmarried, yet they had all gathered together in one place. Although Zhang Yue currently held the status of a scholar at the Imperial Academy, he had yet to produce any prominent essays, poems, or lyrics, and thus his reputation remained obscure. Consequently, when others introduced themselves, it was usually, "Oh, you are the Brother Ge who wrote that poem about the pelican," or "I have long admired your name; your Ci poem to the tune of *Wuanxi Sha* has long been sung in the pleasure quarters of the capital."

People made acquaintances in this manner. As for Zhang Yue, others would introduce him as "Zipian’s so-and-so" or "Zihou’s so-and-so." Zhang Yue did not pay too much mind to this and took his seat.

Each person was allotted a single table, attended by young maidservants. Wu Anshi and Wu Anchizhi sat facing south, while those who held official posts sat facing east. Those without official titles sat on the western side, arranged in order of age. Since Zhang Yue lacked an official position and was the youngest, he naturally sat at the lowest-ranked seat.

Seated on a brocade footstool while everyone else was busy chatting and laughing, Zhang Yue was quite at ease. Unnoticed by others, he swept through the delicacies on his table like a whirlwind. This was Zhang Yue's first time attending such a banquet, and he had to admit it was extremely high-end.

The utensils were all exquisite—silver chopsticks and silver bowls—and strictly adhered to the rule that "for every offering of wine, two dishes shall accompany it." That is to say, when the host raised his cup to toast, after a single cup was drained, two dishes would be served right after.

The dishes themselves were secondary, but the arrangement severely tested the culinary staff. A prominent official family like Wu Chong's maintained two separate teams of chefs, with one group stir-frying dishes on the side so that two courses could be served smoothly after every toast. The highest standard involved one cup of wine with four dishes, whereas ordinary banquets featured merely a single dish.

First to be served on the table were ring-shaped pastries, jujube towers, and assorted fruits—appetizers meant to be eaten while the host had not yet offered a toast, allowing everyone to line their stomachs. However, Zhang Yue unceremoniously swept them all clean. After all, according to the rule, drinking a cup of wine meant two dishes had to be removed, and whatever could not be eaten would simply be thrown away. As an advocate of cleaning his plate, Zhang Yue naturally felt that the bad habit of wasting food was deplorable.

Therefore, Zhang Yue showed no restraint. Life as an Imperial Academy student was akin to living in a destitute temple; to borrow a phrase from *Water Margin*, his mouth was so bland it felt as though birds were about to hatch in it. Seeing such a lavish banquet, how could he bear to miss it?

The wine served was lamb-fleece wine. This type of lamb-fleece wine was the finest variety in the Great Song Dynasty, second only to the imperial brews, and required tender lamb meat during its brewing process. How much did a pitcher cost nowadays? Just over eighty cash per pitcher, something even ordinary commoners could afford.

With a single cup of wine down his throat, the servants on either side presented the dishes. The beautiful maidservants beside him cleared the empty plates from Zhang Yue's table and served two new courses.

After three rounds of drinks, everyone began to loosen up and urged one another to drink. Zhang Yue had an exceptional capacity for alcohol; whenever someone brought a cup to toast him, he did not hesitate to drain it in one go. Seeing this, everyone praised Zhang Yue's forthrightness.

However, a few people who noticed that Zhang Yue emptied every single plate laughed quietly to themselves.

"Brother San has a wonderful capacity for wine, and a fine appetite as well?" a scholar sitting next to Zhang Yue asked with a hint of teasing.

Zhang Yue smiled and replied, "I am just at the age where I'm growing muscle and bone, so I must eat more! Have you never heard the saying 'a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home'?"

Hearing this, the other person burst into loud laughter and said, "Brother San, you are truly a man of genuine temperament! Come, I will toast you a cup!"

Zhang Yue smiled, raised his cup, and drank with him.

The wine cups held only thirty to fifty milliliters or so, which certainly was not enough to make Zhang Yue drunk. The pretty maidservant from the Wu household standing nearby saw this and, though maintaining proper etiquette, repeatedly pursed her lips in muffled laughter.

"Today we are surrounded by distinguished guests, do not just focus on eating and drinking!" Zhang Heng could no longer stand by and came over to offer a word of warning.

Zhang Yue picked up a meat pie and took a hearty bite as he said, "I have been toasting others, and I have been conversing with people at the other tables too!"

Zhang Heng shook his head, instantly feeling a wave of helplessness. Had he known it would come to this, he would have been better off pretending not to know Zhang Yue at all.

As for Zhang Dun, he was drinking alongside a group of good friends. Having ranked first in the Kaifeng Prefecture examination, he was naturally one of the most prominent figures at the banquet next to Zhang Heng, and many people brought their cups to toast him. Zhang Dun had a formidable capacity for alcohol; despite receiving so many toasts, he showed not the slightest trace of intoxication. Indeed, he truly lived up to a drinking capacity honed over long periods in the pleasure quarters.

By now the banquet was in full swing. With the talented scholars gathered together, someone proposed that they write some poetry to match the cheerful atmosphere of the wine. Everyone present applauded the idea.

Wu Anshi then proposed a theme: chanting the moon.

Someone immediately laughed and remarked that the Mid-Autumn Festival had just passed, during which everyone had already written quite a few poems about the moon, yet here they were writing about it once again.

Wu Anshi smiled and said, "Only when there is no moon do we need to chant the moon; otherwise, it would not be enough to display everyone's talent."

At this, the company chuckled. Wu Anshi added with a smile, "No using pieces you composed in past years. Anyone who repeats an old work or fails to produce a poem shall be penalized with three cups of wine. Any style of verse is acceptable."

Another person laughed and said, "The wine of the First Young Master Wu's household is so fine that even if I deliberately fail to write a poem, I am willing to drink three cups myself."

Roars of laughter erupted from the crowd.

At that moment, the maidservants nearby immediately presented paper and brush.

By this time, Zhang Yue had filled his stomach to the brim. He noticed one of the maidservants looking at him with a smile.

"Young Master, please take up the brush!"

Zhang Yue said, "With my belly full of food and wine, where am I supposed to find the inspiration to write poetry?"

The maidservant smiled and said, "It is simply because Young Master has eaten too much. You can just go to the railing to walk it off."

"That works too," Zhang Yue replied.

With that, the maidservant supported Zhang Yue as he stood up. Taking steps toward the railing, he found two or three other scholars who had also failed to write poetry walking over to join him by the balustrade.

Together, they paced back and forth while gazing at the bright moon hanging in the edge of the sky, racking their brains to search for poetic lines.