At least in this small town, a dinner party is not like a banquet of urban aristocrats, where there are too many rules at every moment.
"Sorry, there is no hostess here." Baron Artai watched the guests take their seats one by one, raised the wine glass in his hand, and said with a smile, "According to custom, you should all kiss the ring of the hostess, but here are only the boots of the male host. "
The guests present burst into laughter, except for some scribes and scholars who adhered to etiquette and were restrained. They did not dare to laugh too unrestrainedly for fear of being looked down upon by their peers.
The four members of the association sat at the backlit right table, together with the scribes and scholars, and at the left table were the knights and squires. They were dressed formally or casually, and used lead and copper tableware.
The lords and nobles near the barony and their families sit at the main table and use silver tableware. Most of them are old nobles, that is, like Baron Atai, they have converted to paganism. There were several servants standing behind the table and a small fireplace. It was almost the warmest place in the hall.
There is also an empty long table, on which is placed the famous Kexi dish prepared in advance: roasted suckling pig, which is a piglet that has just been weaned. Several kinds of spices are used in just pickling it, so this famous dish also occupies It cost one-third of the entire banquet and placed it vertically in the upper middle position, which not only does not block the view, but also allows people to see the color of the suckling pig at a glance.
As the chef took out the plate, he opened the belly of the suckling pig and cut out several parts horizontally and vertically. Then, under the eyes of everyone, the chef raised the plate high like a sacrament and slammed it down. With loud shattering sounds, the banquet reached its climax as soon as it started.
"Honor our God." Baron Artai stood up and said loudly.
Several converted lords glanced meaningfully, smiled, and responded to the ambiguous words.
"Honor our God."
"Honor our God."
"Honor our God."
There were also several new nobles, who were pure Yawen people. They did not try to correct them, but just whispered "Honor the King of Kings."
"There is a miracle in the Holy Land! A priest, he went to heaven!" A drunken fat lord said loudly: "Father Christopher, everyone says he is a saint, and at worst he is a blessing!"
Baron Artest's Adam's apple was visibly trembling with excitement, but he still stopped and said, "Aubrey, it's not the right time to talk about this, drinking."
Seeing the faces of the Yawen people beside him, the fat lord changed the subject wisely and said, "I heard that a bard said that the emperor of Deschanel was assassinated."
"What?!" Several lords and nobles at the main table turned to face each other, and the family members couldn't help but pricked up their ears.
"That Emperor George, he went to inspect the construction site and was drowned."
The nobles had their own business to talk about, and the guests at the main table immediately started chatting and talked about the situation they had heard.
Sitting on the long table, Chen Yi enjoyed the delicious food under the wooden fork. Everyone would get a piece of grilled fish, grilled venison, and mutton paste. Compared with the shabby food at home, it was already extremely rich.
Chen Yi glanced at the other people at the table. They were motionless with the wine glasses in front of them. This was what Cassim had warned before. Apart from them, the other scholars and apprentices only took a sip.
A dinner takes two rounds or more. The end of the first round of dinner is marked by the bards, two poets who play the lute. They have to sing two epic poems, one at the beginning of the meal and one after the meal. . Chen Yi cut the meat slowly, scooping out a spoonful of gray mutton paste from time to time, and it was clear that it was fresh lamb.
I don't know how long we ate, but after the bard finished singing "The Song of Owanu", the first round of dinner was over.
"Go to the side hall." Qasim patted Chen Yi on the shoulder.
Chen Yi nodded slightly and stood up from the table.
Not only those who studied occult science, but also some other guests stood up to move their bodies and solve their needs. The dinner was divided into rounds to give the guests some rest time.
Following the leadership of Cassim, about twenty scholar apprentices headed to the side hall.
In front of the side hall door, Zoe and three maids stood.
Qasim stepped forward and took his wife's hand.
"Good evening, scholar-apprentices, this is my wife, Zoe, and hostess of this seminar."
Zoe stepped forward and saluted them.
After returning the gift, Chen Yi followed the hint in Kasim's eyes, took the lead and took Zoe's hand. She was wearing silk gloves and an emerald ring.
Chen Yi kissed the gemstone on the ring ceremonially, then quickly put it down without looking at the hostess.
Someone took the lead, and even a countryman knew how to do it. Everyone gave the kiss of peace as a courtesy and crowded into the side hall in an orderly manner.
The side hall is not big, but it can still accommodate more than twenty people. There is a fireplace with newly added firewood and blankets. As soon as everyone enters the door, they see a long table with trays of star stones placed on it. .
The scholars walked to both sides of the long table in a familiar manner and looked at the styles of the star stones in advance. A few patiently introduced this common activity to the apprentices around them.
Zoe stood in front of the table and announced: "Before the seminar officially begins, we have to conduct an entertainment activity first. As you can see, we have prepared five plates of star stones..."
Unlike Kasim's nervous eyes, Zoe was obviously very familiar with this kind of scene.
After introducing the rules, Zoe asked the maids to come forward and put away the four plates of starlight stones, leaving only one plate on the table. They picked them out one by one and arranged them on the table.
Chen Yi's eyes lit up and he glanced around at the scholars and apprentices. This was his chance to twist the copper coins of misfortune.
Everyone gathered around and gave in to each other. Only Idlei and some other apprentices who didn't have much experience were eager to give it a try.
"These are the spring constellations." Zoe introduced. The spots on the surface of the starstone can be identified as the approximate time of year.
A scholar picked up a piece, identified its light spots, and said, "This must be the constellation Jupiter, with four stars and a rectangular geometry."
The maid handed over the knife, and the scholar cut the starlight stone in front of everyone.
The cross-section of the Starlight Stone was exposed to everyone, and there were five silver spots, arranged in a square.
"Unfortunately, it's an ashlar seat." Zoe announced, shaking her head.
The scholar smiled awkwardly at the others, coughed twice, and picked up other stones.
Chen Yi carefully took out the copper coin of misfortune.
Walk a little behind the crowd and make a small arc.
Two apprentices and a scholar selected the star stones and told them the corresponding constellations. After analyzing them all, none of them were correct and they couldn't help but shake their heads.
Chen Yi walked forward and glanced at the star stones.
Standing next to him was a scholar in blue robes. He was white-haired and his name was Munro. Cassim had introduced him and he was the most famous among everyone present.
Munro grabbed the telescope, holding one with seven spots on the surface, and looked carefully.
He grabbed the starlight stone for a long time, turning the stone constantly, frowning.
In the end, Munro shook his head and put the star stone back to its place.
Chen Yi thought for a while and picked up the star stone.
