Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 696 - 692: The Midsummer Banquet

After returning home, Lin Wanwan naturally had no time for romantic talks with Lu Shouyue. She righteously and sternly listed numerous matters such as taking a bath, attending online classes, and writing novels, refusing his visit.

Lu Shouyue anticipated that Lin Wanwan wouldn’t be affectionate with him at night, but he still felt slightly disappointed by her merciless rejection.

He had just left Anxi, yet Lu Shouyue was already missing those two wonderful nights.

What Lin Wanwan mentioned to Lu Shouyue indeed needed to be done, but the main reason was that she needed to avoid people and travel through time back to the Great Tang.

However, before that, Lin Wanwan wanted to take a look at her newly acquired treasures!

The pound of musk, half a pound of ambergris, a pound of Dragon Brain, and four rhinoceros horns exchanged using sugar were stored away at the Great Tang Manor. Especially, the rhinoceros horn could be a big deal in the modern era.

These are excellent medicinal herbs that must be well-preserved for whenever needed.

As for the exquisite whip inlaid with dozens of rubies, sapphires, and turquoise pieces, along with the mutton fat jade the size of a baby’s fist, they could remain in the modern era.

After carefully examining the treasures, Lin Wanwan divided them into two piles, then started her online class about weaving.

After finishing the online class, Lin Wanwan took a bath, changed into ancient attire, and took the ambergris and other items to travel through time back to the Great Tang.

Exiting the room, little Qingyu was already studying afternoon flower arranging and etiquette lessons, while Xiao Yixun hid in the specially designated alchemy room Lin Wanwan had prepared for her, playing with her poisonous flowers and herbs.

Lin Wanwan herself had a lot to do as she prepared to leave Chang’an.

She had to supervise training over there, inspect the medicinal herbs collected by her people in the Chang’an City pharmacies, and handle invites from others, deciding whether to politely refuse or attend and replying formally—although Lin Wanwan, intent on leaving Chang’an, wasn’t interested in socializing.

Yet, while reviewing the invites, she found one she couldn’t refuse, from Xiao Chong’s aunt—the Princess of Xiangcheng.

Lin Wanwan frowned since the marriage arrangement with Xiao Chong was bestowed by Li Shimin. It could be delayed without completing the six rites, without officially marrying, but it couldn’t be canceled.

The cost of breaking off the engagement was something Lin Wanwan couldn’t afford at the moment.

Thus, this invitation couldn’t be refused.

The summer banquet of gourds and grapes was scheduled just for the day before Lin Wanwan would enter the palace—meaning tomorrow. The Princess of Xiangcheng surely planned well before sending the invite.

The invitation was sent yesterday, but Lin Wanwan used the excuse of gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains and wasn’t home, obviously only seeing it now.

Since rejection wasn’t an option, she had to attend.

The good thing was that Lin Wanwan had attended several noble banquets in Chang’an City, and she wasn’t nervous.

She just felt it was slightly a waste of time, not particularly willing to attend.

She separated this invitation and began writing polite refusals for the others, instructing people to rush them to the city.

Handling these took Lin Wanwan nearly an hour—not because of the quantity of invites, but because writing in classical Chinese was challenging! Even polite refusals must be elegantly written, or else they wouldn’t be polite but offensive.

After finishing, Lin Wanwan instructed Yun Shang and Ji Yue to prepare the gifts for attending the banquet tomorrow.

For such tasks, Ji Yue, trained in both the Nanliang Palace and Great Tang Palace, was quite experienced, while Yun Shang, being Lin Wanwan’s confidante, had a key to the home storeroom.

With these maids, Lin Wanwan could save much effort.

Tomorrow, aside from attending the banquet, Lin Wanwan must spend every moment learning from Elder Sun; once she left Chang’an, such an opportunity wouldn’t come again. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Later in the afternoon, the accountant from the tavern and Soap and Music Workshop brought the daily ledger to Lin Wanwan for review.

Lin Wanwan then spent another half-hour on business.

Both the tavern and Soap and Music Workshop were considered luxury stores in Chang’an City, and Lin Wanwan naturally paid attention to these two enterprises.

The village began to slaughter pigs; with few farm jobs in the midsummer, the village was bustling with the pig slaughtering as though celebrating the new year. Lin Wanwan heard the dying squeals of pigs from her study.

Birds chirping and cicadas buzzing, along with pigs squealing, made the summer countryside lively.

Lin Wanwan recited the recipe of Dongpo pork to Hua Nong, wondering if she could make it.

Lin Wanwan sent someone to invite Daoist Sun to the village for the pig-slaughtering feast, but she didn’t know if he would come.

As the sun set in the west, Daoist Sun and the page sent from the manor to invite him rode into the village.

After finishing her daily tasks, Lin Wanwan sat in her study reading medical books.

After little Qingyu finished her afternoon lessons, she took her little followers around the village, sharing snacks without disturbing Lin Wanwan.

Daoist Sun entered the manor when dinner was almost ready, the timing was just right.

Lin Wanwan immediately put down the medical book upon receiving the notification, heading out to welcome Daoist Sun.

The white-skinned pig, raised naturally, and castrated, had a taste far superior to the native, reincarnation-eating, uncastrated black pig of the Great Tang.

Hua Nong’s Dongpo pork was also prepared successfully; this New Luo Maid indeed possessed some culinary talent.

Everyone in the manor enjoyed the pig-slaughtering feast, and Daoist Sun also praised the so-called "Western Regions" white-skinned pig for its excellent meat quality.

To accelerate the time flow in the Great Tang, Lin Wanwan didn’t travel through time back to the modern world that night but stayed directly at the Great Tang Manor.

The next day she took her maids and servants to Kaihua Square, Xiao Mansion in Chang’an City for the banquet, while Daoist Sun took the Daoist child to nearby villages for free consultations.

The summer banquet of the Princess of Xiangcheng had nothing particularly noteworthy for Lin Wanwan.

Emperor Tang had given the Princess of Xiangcheng tributes from the Western Regions, cold gourds and grapes, but Lin Wanwan, accustomed to the improved varieties of later generations, found them unimpressive.

She merely had one grape, a small piece of cold gourd, and lost interest.

This calm demeanor made others regard her with different eyes.

Attending this summer fruit banquet consumed many of Lin Wanwan’s brain cells due to the numerous noblewomen she had to interact with.

Moreover, she had to acknowledge and engage with Xiao Family’s numerous aunts, which was truly exhausting.

Fortunately, she only had a nominal engagement with Xiao Chong, not a real marriage. Otherwise, she would have had to attend to a mother-in-law in such gatherings.

At the Princess of Xiangcheng’s summer fruit banquet, the Xiao Family’s third house matriarch and the Du Gu clan naturally attended.

The Xiao Family women actually treated Lin Wanwan with respect and care at this banquet, but the number and complex relationships were tiring for her.

She just wasn’t someone willing to engage in these social encounters.

In the afternoon, after having tea, Lin Wanwan bid farewell to the Xiao Mansion’s host and led her maids and servants out of the city back to the manor.

It was a coincidental timing when she arrived home; Daoist Sun also returned from the day’s free consultations, and Lin Wanwan followed him to process medicinal herbs, learning theoretical knowledge along the way.

As for preparations for entering the Imperial Palace tomorrow, Lin Wanwan wasn’t bothered, leaving it all to her maids.