The son is cool and playful, while the parents are busy.
Xie Yiqin followed the consort Li Chang and welcomed the distinguished guests one after another.
Many important ministers from the cabinet and ministries arrived one after another. It was difficult for him to meet any of these big shots in ordinary times, but today they all showed up together to pack gifts.
However, Xie Yiqin still couldn't remember the faces because there were too many people and the memory time left for him was too short.
"Congratulations!"
"This is..."
Li Chang, the consort Li Chang, who was the minister of Zongzheng Temple, knew all about this and kept introducing Xie Yiqin.
The fourth uncle and fifth uncle who were responsible for sending the wild geese into the palace were named Xie Yilian and Xie Yixin respectively.
After Xie Yan paid homage to the princess outside the inner east gate, he had to return to the house alone in advance to make preparations. The fourth uncle and the fifth uncle had to take on the important task of welcoming the bride, leading the wedding team and driving the princess.
"Brother, we are back."
"Brother, is there anything else you need help with?"
Xie Yiqin said: "You are all walking back and forth. You must be tired. Go in and sit down to rest."
The men of the Xie family sat at the table alone, so naturally there were some vacancies, which were filled by four officers and horses.
Junma is the husband of the princess and the son-in-law of the prince.
Such unlucky people are even worse off than a prince-in-law. They have all the restrictions imposed by the imperial court on princes-in-law, but they still do not enjoy as high treatment as a prince-in-law.
Wang Yitong and his daughter Xie Wan ate in the women's and children's area of the courtyard with the female relatives of powerful families.
The women who can marry the princess also need to be carefully selected. Not everyone is qualified, and there are age restrictions. They can enter the palace today to have a feast.
The remaining female members of the powerful family came to eat at the princess's side.
Of course, there are children.
Usually only one legitimate son is brought, and even legitimate daughters are rare because there are only so many places.
As soon as Xie Wan sat down, she felt like she was surrounded by stars. Except for her, this table was full of little boys!
There was a little kid of twelve or thirteen years old, imitating an adult, he stood up and bowed: "I, my lord, have not yet given me a name, so I dare not ask the little lady her name."
Xie Wan is usually very crazy at home, but now she is polite and performs the Wanfu ceremony upright: "My name is Xie Wan. Today's groom is my sixth brother."
"It turns out she is Bachelor Xie's sister," another little kid also stood up and bowed, "I am Ge Xiangzu. The current deputy prime minister is my grandfather."
Xie Wan quickly returned the gift, feeling a little unhappy in her heart. She always felt that the other party was using power to overwhelm others.
Is it amazing that your grandfather is the Deputy Prime Minister?
My sister-in-law is still a princess!
Several other little boys also announced their names one after another. The standard of this table was quite high. Except for Xie Wan, the seven boys were all the grandsons and great-grandsons of the cabinet ministers.
The little boy is also a man, and he also has an inexplicable desire to win.
Xie Wan inherited excellent appearance genes and was considered extremely beautiful among girls. Moreover, she was the only girl at the table, which actually attracted the descendants of seven cabinet ministers to compete for her performance.
Some people are flirting with each other, some are telling jokes, some are being naughty, and some are pretending to be cool, all trying to attract Xie Wan's attention.
Xie Sanmei suddenly ushered in the highlight moment of her life.
The little kid named Hou Jizhi said proudly: "I started learning at the age of five. It only took me three years to complete the four-year primary school course, and the three-year middle school course in two years. Don't look at me, I'm only twelve years old.
Years old, but already studied at university (actually high school) for two years!”
"Brother Hou is so awesome!" Xie Wan admired sincerely.
Ge Xiangzu thought that Hou Jizhi had stolen his limelight, so he said sourly to the side: "You are so good, why don't you go to the prodigy dormitory of Taixue? Could it be that you didn't pass the exam?"
Hou Jizhi sneered: "In order to prevent cheating in the prodigy examination, the late emperor strictly prohibited close relatives of ministers from attending the Taixue Prodigy School. As the grandson of the deputy prime minister, brother Ge, don't you even know this?"
"I...I know, it was just a joke." Ge Xiangzu's face turned red.
Among the kids at the table, the youngest was only eight years old. He slapped the table and made mischief. When he found that he couldn't attract the attention of the little sister, he took out his toys and started playing by himself.
Another nine-year-old brat showed off: "I have learned five sets of solutions while playing with Qi Shu!"
This immediately aroused the disdain of the seatmate: "I already know more than ten sets of solutions."
Xie Wan found it very interesting and deliberately pretended to be surprised: "Wow, brother Yuan is really good at playing football."
After being praised by Xie Wan, the grandson of the cabinet minister Yuan Huaiyi (the one sleeping in the cabinet) was like a victorious rooster. He held his head high and said, "I am already practicing archery. Even though I am only eleven years old, I can already shoot."
Three Dou Bows. Aweng also said that when I am thirteen years old, I will practice fire guns!"
Xie Wan asked: "Brother Yuan will be a general when he grows up?"
The little kid slapped his chest: "I want to learn from my ancestors, kill thieves to serve the country, and become prime minister based on my military merits!"
"Brother Yuan is so ambitious." Xie Wan admired him.
Now it was Hou Jizhi's turn to be unhappy: "But I want to take the top prize and become prime minister when I grow up!"
Xie Wan said: "Brother from the Hou family is very good at studying, and he will definitely get the top prize."
Ge Xiangzu said: "What's so impressive? His grandfather ranked third in the cabinet, and my grandfather ranked second in the cabinet!"
After all, Xie Wan is not really green tea. She can't stand this Ge Xiangzu: "What's the point of having an official position compared to the elders? If you are good, then compete with the Hou family brother in reading and the Yuan family brother in martial arts."
"that is!"
"Sister Xie is right!"
The two little kids Hou and Yuan agreed, feeling that what Xie Wan said touched their hearts.
"snort!"
Ge Xiangzu didn't know how to deal with it, so he could only show his anger and show off his face.
When he was showing off at home, someone immediately came to coax him. But at this table, he attracted a burst of ridicule.
The eight-year-old kid even handed over the toy: "Do you want to play with the Rubik's Cube?"
Ge Xiangzu threw the Rubik's Cube away easily.
Xie Wan immediately accused: "You bully children!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at Ge Xiangzu angrily.
Ge Xiangzu felt that he couldn't survive, so he got up and ran to the next table, picking up a seven or eight-year-old child: "Change seats. You go over there, I'll sit here!"
"Hahahaha!" Everyone laughed endlessly.
…
"I thank you Yixin, whose courtesy name is Decheng. This is my elder brother Xie Yilian, whose courtesy name is Deqing." The fifth uncle thanked Yixin as he bowed to him, "May I ask for your surnames?"
The four officers and horses reported their names one after another.
Their status was extremely low in this situation, and they did not dare to show any arrogance, but they could chat with Xie Yiqin's two brothers.
Upon questioning, three of them were actually descendants of the founding nobles, namely Bai Sheng, Yang Zhi, and Hua Rong.
The Bai family and the Hua family were in extreme decline. They relied on their descendants to re-establish their meritorious service and advance to the feudal ranks, barely retaining the rank of the lowest rank in their direct lineage. The rich family fortune built by their ancestors was also shrinking due to several family divisions.
However, the descendants of Yang Zhi were from a wealthy family in Kaifeng. Because of their meritorious service in the Dingtai Dynasty, they had been restored to the position of marquis at that time.
Four years ago, Marquis Yang, who had lost his military power, responded to King Qin and gained another meritorious service with the Kaifeng General Soldier. Although he did not become a county official, he was granted the title of Shiyi and Shishi, and regained military power. If he performed meritorious service again, he would surely be promoted.
As the county official.
The fourth uncle and the fifth uncle were chatting animatedly with the four officers and horses, and Xie Shizhang walked in gracefully on crutches, like a master hermit suddenly appearing in the world of mortals.
Everyone stood up to greet him. Xie Shizhang nodded and smiled: "Sit down."
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The guests have arrived, and dishes are being served one after another.
Xie Yiqin finally returned to his seat. He had kept bowing to entertain guests before, and now his waist was already sore. He quickly took a break, and then he had to take his fourth and fifth brothers to toast.
Night gradually fell, and the lights on the stage were bright.
The Ming Dynasty abolished the Jiaofang Department, and all the top musicians were thrown into the Hanlin Academy. In addition to performing for the royal family, they were also responsible for music for important occasions such as court meetings and sacrifices.
The musicians seem to have a high status and often come into contact with the emperor and important ministers. But today when they came to the wedding banquet, they were not even qualified to sit at the table. They could only open a few tables after the performance.
Those people whom Xie Shizhang once disliked actually had little energy!
The guests were eating and drinking, and Yanle performances had already begun on the stage.
Yang Linzhi was sitting in the center of the stage, with a guzheng in front of him. There were more than a dozen musicians around him, playing other instruments.
The zither music sounded and the guests looked towards the stage.
This song is called "Phoenix in Flight", in which the phoenix and the phoenix fly in love while played on the guzheng, and hundreds of birds follow them on the other musical instruments.
This is a festive song that praises love and blesses marriage. It was composed by Yang Linzhi more than ten years ago and has now become a must-play at wedding banquets.
Yang Linzhi likes this kind of lively works, and is often despised by others for being extremely tacky. But he can't help but like the royal family, the powerful, the rich, and the common people.
Therefore, he has now become the boss of the mainstream music industry, and important large-scale events are always inseparable from him!
As soon as the song was played, the atmosphere was lively and instantly made the wedding banquet more atmospheric.
"Pah, pah, pah!"
After "Phoenix in Flight" played, all the guests put down their chopsticks, applauding the musicians and celebrating today's wedding.
Next is another festive Yanyue, and the number of instruments played has increased to more than 30.
The third program turned into a drama, which was also a lively comedy.
The actors on the stage made jokes, the dignitaries in the audience laughed, and even Prime Minister Deng Gongwu kept laughing.
It’s rare to have some free time, so why worry about it?
Taking advantage of the excitement, the prince-in-law Li Chang took the three brothers Xie Yiqin and toasted everywhere.
When the guests were tipsy, an official from Zongzheng Temple who was organizing the wedding banquet came over and said, "It's time for the old gentleman to play the piano."
Xie Shizhang was also drunk and staggered when he walked. The Zongzheng Temple official quickly helped him and began to worry that the old man was going to mess up.
The stage has become quiet, but the guests in the audience are even more lively.
Some people were talking loudly, some were drinking wine, and some even got drunk and ran to vomit.
There were not many guests left who cared about what was being played on the stage.
Many musicians retreated backstage. Most took the opportunity to rest, while some were preparing for the next performance.
"Dong dong..."
The sound of the piano did not cause any reaction in the noisy wedding banquet. Most of the guests were drinking happily and did not even know that the performer had been changed.
But the musicians who were resting backstage all turned their heads to look over.
They are experts and can hear things with just a few notes.
"Who is this?" asked a Hanlin piano master.
Yang Linzhi said: "Xie Consort's grandfather was the last luther player entertained by King Tao during his lifetime. If I remember correctly, this qin should be Chun Lei presented by King Tao."
Chun Lei, a treasure collected by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, is known as the first item in Wanqin Hall, and was later taken to Wangchuan Valley by Li Qingzhao.
The musicians listened to the music with different expressions, some looked intoxicated, while others looked disdainful.
Xie Shizhang played "Feng Qiu Huang". No matter how later generations evaluate Sima Xiangru, anyway, ancient people praised this love.
Xie Shizhang had already entered a state of drunkenness. He seemed to be recalling a certain relationship of his. Not only was his technique at its peak, but his music was full of emotion.
The seven cabinet ministers, the chief and deputy privy envoys, the chief and deputy general envoys, the censors on the left and right, as well as the princes, princes, and consorts, were sitting closest to the stage at this moment.
Most of them were still feasting and having fun, but a few of them looked at the stage because of the music. Then they closed their eyes and listened. The music seemed to penetrate the din of the wedding banquet, reach the listeners' ears and touch their souls.
"Is this a new musician who has entered the Hanlin Academy?" Deng Gongwu asked.
Cabinet minister Yuan Huaiyi was drinking heavily and asked in a daze: "What?"
Deng Gongwu said: "It's okay, please continue drinking."
"Come on, come on, guess what, today the princess is getting married, no one is allowed to hide from the wine!" Yuan Huaiyi laughed heartily, he had no interest in listening to the piano.
Moreover, he was sluggish and sleeping during the cabinet meeting, but now he was in high spirits at the banquet, and seemed determined to get all the other cabinet ministers drunk.
Cabinet minister Zhang Yu waved to Yuan Huaiyi: "After listening to this song, I will guess the number with you."
Yuan Huaiyi felt quite bored and could only turn around and look at the stage, watching the silly old man playing the piano above.
Xie Yiqin had already followed the prince-in-law Li Chang and went around the audience to offer a toast.
When he returned to the table, he saw his old father playing. One-third of the dignitaries at the tables near the stage had stopped drinking and were listening attentively.
At this moment, the old father whom he resented seemed to be shining brightly.