"When a woman comes, her son-in-law will bow to her and let her in. They will be locked together and eat together, and they will eat together. Therefore, they are one body, they share the same dignity and inferiority, and they are close to each other."
——"Book of Rites·Hunyi".
In front of the Zheng family's small house in the west of the city, there was an indescribable commotion.
Many guests who were impatient to wait, after hearing that Zheng Pu had returned to welcome his wife, turned around and stood outside the house with their heads raised, hoping to see the bride's face first. When Zheng Pu jumped off his horse, came to the carriage and bowed in front of him, he asked Yunji'e to greet him.
When the fair-browed Zhang Yan got out of the car, the noise stopped abruptly.
I saw that everyone watching the excitement had dull eyes and dumbfounded expressions.
"Oh, it's beautiful!"
I don't know who it was, but it was the first person to utter a word of praise that woke everyone up, causing the noise to rise again.
"Beautiful!"
"A beautiful woman!"
"As graceful as a startled giant, as graceful as a swimming dragon."
Such compliments made Zheng Pu smile and thank everyone.
When I secretly glanced at the person next to me, I found that his face was calm, with neither a shy look nor a look of joy with crescent eyebrows.
Perhaps she has long been used to it?
Or does she not care about other people's opinions?
Ha, interesting.
Zheng Pu thought to himself, and took the lead in slowly pushing aside the crowd. He extended his hand sideways and invited the Zhang family's daughter to come in.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw a girl walking over, leading the way together with the maid from the Zhang family.
With a smile on her cheeks, she cast her eyes on Zhang Yan's face without hesitation, looking at it carefully with some curiosity.
This move also made Zhang Yan a little surprised.
According to the poetry and calligraphy heritage of the Zheng family in Shifang, there should be no such ungrateful little servant girl to deal with.
When their eyes met, the girl smiled brightly and called out, "Sister-in-law Zhong."
Immediately, Zhang Yan knew who this girl was.
After the two families were granted a marriage by Emperor Liu Chan, the Zhang family learned about the Zheng family in detail and informed Zhang Yan.
She is Zheng Pu’s half-sister, Zheng Yan and Zheng Yuanji.
According to legend, she was similar to me, both lost their fathers when they were young, and were therefore favored by the family. It is not surprising that she would come here in person to take over the responsibility of guiding the little maid.
"Um."
Nodding lightly, Zhang Yan also showed a few smiles.
Walk slowly to the water basin that has been prepared on the side of the courtyard, and perform the ritual of Wo.
Zheng Yan and the Zhang family's maidservant each held a bamboo spoon and scooped water for the newlyweds to cleanse their hands.
He gently raised his hand and let the wide sleeves fall to his elbows. When Zheng Pu reached out to take the water and wash it, from the corner of his eye, he saw the little girl of the Zhang family also rolling up her sleeves, revealing her white and slender fingers.
Like a line of clear water falling, the fingers are interlaced and stretched, seemingly very flexible.
When Zheng Pu saw it, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart.
He also looked at the maidservant who was scooping water. Although she was dressed in wedding clothes, she still wore a long dagger at her waist. She said softly, "I heard from Brother Wenrong that it seems that Mr. Xi is good at dancing with a sword?"
Um?
Hearing this, the little girl of the Zhang family kept moving her hands and tilted her head slightly.
When his eyes fell on Zheng Pu's slender and calloused fingers, Fang Ming's eyes flashed, and he whispered with a half-smile, "I haven't liked red girls since I was a child. I like to dance with the sword and play the piano. Brother Zhong is not my enemy."
.But I don’t know if your husband is my enemy?”
Alas!
You actually made provocative remarks and wanted to compete with me?
Unable to help, Zheng Pu looked slightly stunned.
Immediately, he smiled again.
While wiping the water on his hands with the Ge towel, he whispered in a low voice with high spirits, "If you are an enemy or not, you will know if you find an opportunity to dance together."
In this regard, Zhang Yan did not continue to answer.
Only her eyebrows were curved, causing the smile on her right cheek to bloom.
Entering the main hall, many grease lamps have been lit, making the small house as bright as day.
Zheng Yan, who is as eldest brother as his father, and his mother, Lu, are already sitting at the table. The guests on both sides of the table are all lined up. Wine, grilled meat, preserves and other things are laid out on the table.
The elder brother Zheng Yan, who has always been known for his serious smile, is now sitting upright and stroking his beard, beaming with joy.
Lu, who already had silver hair on her temples, held a scarf in her hand and wiped the corners of her eyes from time to time.
There was a constant smile on his face, and the corners of his eyes were constantly moist.
As a mother, what she looks forward to most and is most gratified is not to learn that Zheng Pu has been granted the title of Marquis and General, bringing more glory to the family. It is to witness with her own eyes that he can get married and raise children safely.
The music of advocacy arose, and joy filled the ears.
After respectfully bowing to their elders, Zheng Pu and Zhang Yan were led to the new house and sat down together.
A maid held a small pottery tripod and placed it gently between the two of them.
Two pairs of bamboo chopsticks were placed on the edge of the pottery tripod; inside the pottery tripod, the stewed mutton was fragrant and steaming.
This ceremony is called "Togong Lao", also known as "Togong Lao".
Let the new husband and wife eat the meat from the same cauldron together to show that they can share joys and sorrows and are of one heart and one mind and are interdependent.
After eating, it is called "uniting". The couple each holds a united cup and drinks facing each other. They drink half of the cup, exchange it and then drink it all. They have the same intention.
After drinking, Zheng Pu stood up and took off the wedding tassel from the Zhang family's daughter's hairpin.
Then came the hair knot.
The two took the small dagger from the little maid's hand, cut off a lock of each other's hair, gave it to the little maid, combed it together with red tassels, and hid it in a box for storage, symbolizing solidarity.
This move also means that from now on, the daughter of the Zhang family will be called "Zheng Zhang".
"Xijun."
After the etiquette process was completed, Zheng Pu stood up first and gently stretched out his left hand.
This is the "hand-holding ceremony".
The two of them need to hold hands and come out of the main hall, not only to signal that the ceremony is complete, but also to thank the guests for coming to the wedding banquet.
Her white hand slowly reached out and gently placed it on the man's hand. When she was held, her face, which had always been calm, finally showed a hint of shyness.
When Zheng Pu saw it, he couldn't help but become stubborn.
As he walked slowly towards the main hall, he gently kneaded her.
He still glanced secretly, waiting for Zhang Yan's reaction.
The footsteps paused slightly, Zhang Yan's expression did not change, and she did not move away.
Only the two people could hear their voices, and they snorted coldly: "Humph, you frivolous people!"
Well.
Is this considered frivolous?
Hearing the sound, Zheng Pu couldn't laugh or cry for a moment, and he didn't dare to play tricks again.
Zhang Bao has said that she has a very strong temperament. If she is teased a few more times and makes her very angry, who knows what will happen?
When they arrived in the main hall, the guests cheered loudly.
At this time, it was time for them to come to the party for fun: to make fun of the newcomers.
"Drink!"
"Half a drink for each other!"
"Husband and wife!"
Various requests that were not too excessive came out frequently from the guests' mouths, making the hall full of laughter and laughter.
However, in such an occasion, sometimes there will inevitably be dissonance.
The flushed-faced guest must have been so drunk that he got carried away. He put his hands on his hands and laughed loudly and shouted: "Women embrace him! Women embrace him!"
Zhang Yan was actually asked to hug Zheng Pu in full view of the public.
As soon as this sound came out, everyone in the hall fell silent.
Zheng Pu was also embarrassed. He was about to signal Zhao Tong in the hall to lead the drunkard out, but he found that Zhang Yan beside him raised her head and fixed her eyes on the dissolute man.
Although there was no hint of annoyance in his eyebrows, the man immediately fell silent.
Perhaps now that he has sobered up, he has remembered that the bride of the Zheng family is the second daughter of the former cavalry general and the sister of the current queen.
"Cough! Cough!"
The man coughed several times and murmured, "I'm drunk! I'm drunk!"
As he spoke, he raised his sleeves to cover his face and stepped back to hide his figure among the crowd.
Likewise, everyone in the hall suddenly burst into laughter.
Some laughed so much that they fell forward and backward, and some laughed so hard that they fell down on their seats and thumped themselves on the ground.
Zheng Pu, who was also amused by this incident, couldn't help but turn his head slightly and said jokingly, "The power of a small glance can actually steal someone's courage!"
Naturally, the answer he received was a sideways glance.
However, after she glanced at it, she blinked. She didn't know what she thought of, but she suddenly smiled like a flower.
He also raised his hand slightly to signal the guests to quiet down.
He said: "It is a great honor for you and me that you come to the banquet. Since you have not yet fully enjoyed yourself, why not ask my husband to sing a song and express your feelings."
Um?!
Hearing this, Zheng Pu suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked sideways.
But I saw Zhang Yan's eyebrows were curved, smiling and angry, and her eyes were full of cunning.
Even if one is upset, the ice melts away in an instant.
Because the Zhang family were relatives and Emperor Liu Chan was present at the marriage, all the elders went to the Zhang family for the banquet, while most of the people who came to banquet at the Zheng family were young.
At the age when you love to laugh the most, after listening to Zhang Yan’s words, how can you still hold back?
"good!"
"Wonderful!"
"Sing it!"
"Zheng Jun, please sing!"
Everyone clapped their hands and praised, shouting and cheering, the sound shook the roof tiles.
"It's inappropriate, it's inappropriate."
With a wry smile, Zheng Pu repeatedly bowed his hands to everyone and begged for mercy, "I've drank too much now, I'm afraid it will be difficult to sing. I also ask you all."
However, before he finished speaking, the guests in the hall started making a lot of noise.
"No way!"
"I've heard about Mr. Zheng's name in Sangyuan for a long time, now I'm going to see him!"
"If you don't sing it, we won't let Zheng Lang enter the new house tonight!"
"The bride has already given her advice. As a good man, how can Zijin make excuses?"
"Haha~~~"
Seeing this, Zheng Pu could only look helpless.
Glancing to the side, he saw Zhang Yan lowering her head slightly, covering her lips with her sleeves with one hand, her eyes narrowed like a crescent moon, and her shoulders shaking slightly.
He seemed to be overjoyed.
Alas, that’s all.
After closing his eyes for a moment and thinking, Zheng Pu calmed down, raised his hand to stop the noise of the guests, and said loudly, "Since you are so affectionate, I can't cheer you up, so I'll just sing a song!"
"This is a great thing to say!"
"Wonderful!"
Everyone cheered loudly and quickly gathered their clothes and sat down to wait.
Zheng Pu did not sing immediately, but slightly tilted his head towards Zhang Yan and asked softly, "Xi Jun is good at playing the piano, can you play "Yilan Cao" for me?"
A slight heat blew against her ears, making Zhang Yan, who was still enjoying herself, stiffen involuntarily.
For a moment, there was no answer.
Zheng Pu was also a little surprised, and he misunderstood, thinking that Zhang Yan had never learned this music before, so he exclaimed, "I drank too much, and I wanted to let Mr. Xi play the piano in front of everyone."
After saying this, he wanted to call out the musicians in the hall to encourage him, but was interrupted by Zhang Yan.
She came to her senses.
"Okay, I will care for you as your husband."
Nodding lightly, she raised her hand and waved to the maidservant, with a sound like an oriole coming out of the valley, "Bring me my harp."
Well, "Yi Lan Cao" was written by Confucius.
In the past, when I was traveling around the world, I couldn't find a job for my talent, knowledge, and ideas, so I hurt myself at the wrong time, so I excused myself to Xianglan and expressed my sorrowful feelings about being old and unrealistic.
The melody is extremely sad and vicissitudes of life, so it is not suitable for singing during banquets.
However, what Zheng Pu wanted to sing was the revised version of "Youlan Cao".
Because in his dusty memory, Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty changed the lyrics of "Yilan Cao" to "Youlan Cao", which was sung by a diva in the 21st century and became the theme song of the movie "Confucius".
The songs are the same but the words are different, and the sadness and vicissitudes of life have also turned into emptiness and indifference.
When she was young, the Zhang family's maid brought a harp, placed it on Zhang Yan's knees, and gently played with it.
"Ding dong."
The sound of the piano sounds just like the sadness and desolation of the original song, with no way to be sad and no way to be angry.
It also shocked all the guests.
Anyone who can come to the banquet is not a mean person with different literary skills, and they naturally know "Yilan Cao".
Therefore, it is also surprising and inexplicable.
With Zheng Pu’s current career prospects, is he still worried about being untimely?
But when Zheng Pu closed his eyes and opened his mouth, he sang with a different charm to the sound of the piano. It was a kind of indifference after sadness, and it was also the relief of Orchid's self-preservation, which made the whole style of music magically become leisurely.
.
The orchid blooms, spreading its fragrance.
It is surrounded by many incense, and its fragrance is faint.
If you don't pick it but wear it, why will Yu Lan be hurt?
As days and years pass, I travel in all directions.
King Wen dreamed of a bear, and the Wei River was full of waves.
Pick it up and wear it, it will be full of fragrance.
The snow and frost are lush and blooming in winter,
A gentleman's care will lead to the prosperity of his descendants.
As the last word fell, Zhang Yan hooked her little finger and ended the song with a "dong" sound.
Needless to say, the crowd shook the roof tiles again.
Some quick-thinking people, already thinking of visiting again the next day, copied this message and went home.
Zhang Yan, who had finished playing the piano, had her eyes flashing with brilliance. When she fell on the person beside her, she suddenly no longer felt that this person was not tall or strong enough.
After Zheng Pugu finished singing, he stood up and bowed his hands, saying, "Please enjoy this, please do as you please."
Then, amidst the understanding laughter of all the guests, she took the hand of Zhang Yan, whose face was full of shyness, and slowly walked to the new house.
After the guests have enjoyed themselves and the ceremony of thanking the guests has been completed, it is time for the last part of the evening ceremony.
Naturally, when the newlyweds left the table, the fun for the guests was not over yet.
They can still stay at this banquet, accompanied by Zheng Yan, the head of the Zheng family in Shifang, singing and drinking to their heart's content. They can also go to the wall and window curtains of the new house to have some fun.
"Hanshu" says: "On the wedding night, eavesdropping on the bride's words and behavior outside the window, for fun."
Hundreds of years ago, the Han Dynasty had the custom of having a wedding ceremony.
It's a pity that Zheng Pu was already prepared for this.
The extremely majestic retinue stood a foot away from the door of the new house, so that the guests could not listen to the door. But outside the window curtains, they saw the Zhang family's dowry servant girl standing outside the window holding a dagger, vigilant.
Looking around.
It was considered as an end to their thoughts.
Let those stubborn guests who are following you sigh greatly when they see you.
"That's it! That's all! Zijin has been on guard for a long time, so let's drink!"
"Alas, Mr. Zheng of Sangyuan has done too much! He has done too much!"
Everyone felt sorry and then dispersed.
Zheng Pu and Zhang Yan, who moved into their new house, started another different kind of competition of "I know your depth, and you know my strengths and weaknesses".
The taste is not enough to be explained to outsiders!
