Chapter 219: A Sincere Bow at the Jade Clear Temple [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support

Xu Xu Anmei stood beside Sun Shi,

Watching Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong, who was struggling to steady his breathing, she lowered her head, the corner of her mouth beneath the round fan curling into a faint smile.

Hearing the teasing laughter of Miss Han Wu Niang, Gu Gu Tingyi, and the other young ladies from the Zhang household not far away,

Just as Xu Xu Anmei wanted to lift her head and glare at them in warning, she heard Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong's voice and hastily abandoned the idea.

"Wu Da Da Niangzi, this is your humble son-in-law..."

"Pfft!"

"Hush!"

"Mm!"

"Hahaha!"

"Heeheehee!"

Listening to the rowdy jeering of noble youths like Gu Gu Tingye, Liang Han, and Qiao Jiu Lang surrounding them,

Along with the uproarious laughter of the Wu Da Da Niangzi and young ladies around them,

Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong froze, realizing he had misspoken, and his face instantly flushed red.

Xu Xu Anmei also froze, wanting to laugh, but feeling the gaze of those around her, her face too grew hot, and she hastily raised her round fan higher.

Sun Shi smiled helplessly, glancing at Wu Wu Daniang in the crowd who was silently pleading for rescue,

"Ahem."

Hearing the cue, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong looked up at the smiling Sun Shi and hurriedly said, "Wu Da Da Niangzi, this is a token of my humble nephew's regard; please accept it."

Sun Shi accepted the item, nodded with a smile, and said, "Brother Jiong has worked hard; you are very thoughtful."

Hearing Sun Shi's words, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong immediately bowed deeply with clasped hands, saying, "This is what your humble nephew ought to do."

While Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong was speaking, Xu Xu Anmei caught sight of Hua Lan and Lady Xie crouching to return the courtesy out of the corner of her eye, and she hastily crouched in return.

Then, under the gaze of everyone, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong slowly retreated three steps, before turning and fleeing as if escaping for his life, leaping onto the small dragon boat in just a few strides.

Amidst the laughter swelling once more around him, he lowered his head, sat before the drum, and murmured softly:

"Go, go, go!"

Zhang Shun and the others hastily began rowing.

At this moment, a female official from the Empress's side approached Sun Shi, presenting an exquisite set of carved wooden boxes held in her palms, brimming with auspicious symbolism.

Sun Shi, with respectful demeanor, placed the jade carving inside.

After moving more than ten zhang away from the shore,

Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong looked up, and within his line of sight, Sun Shi had already placed the wooden box into Xu Xu Anmei's hands.

The noble young ladies close to Xu Xu Anmei immediately gathered around her, eager to take a closer look at the jade carving in her hand.

Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong smiled, returning the marker pole in his hand to its original place.

Seeing this scene,

Within Jinming Pool,

Someone fiercely threw their drumsticks into the water.

Immediately, someone on the boat shouted, "Young master, there is still one more round!"

That person on the boat then frantically retrieved the drumsticks from the water.

The various small boats that had just competed for the marker slowly rowed back toward the starting point at the Five Halls Pavilion,

While the female officials hurried with quick steps toward the Waterside Hall.

Once all the small boats had arranged their formations and rested for a while, the female officials returned to the dragon-shaped tower ship.

Listening to the female official's vivid description, the Emperor laughed and said, "Indeed, he was a bit too eager."

Subsequently, the Emperor waved his hand,

Upon receiving the order, a eunuch cried out in a shrill voice, "Begin!"

Over Jinming Pool,

The sound of drums once again rose in clamor.

Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong's small dragon boat remained in the lead,

However, it slowed its pace when still some distance away from the marker.

Afterwards, the two boats competing for the marker sailed together toward the Waterside Hall, where they received their rewards within the colorful awning before the hall.

On the way back to the Xu family tent,

Xu Xu Zaijing was grabbed by Liang Han, falling behind the rest of the group,

As Liang Han, full of enthusiasm, explained his 'business model' to Xu Xu Zaijing.

Xu Xu Zaijing shook his head and said, "Liang Liu Lang, before Your Majesty, it is best not to make too many moves; one careless slip could constitute the crime of deceiving the sovereign."

Liang Han stalled.

Looking at Liang Han, Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Why not request some fine items from the Directorate of Imperial Manufactures, giving the noble families and wealthy households of Bianjing a chance to form a dragon boat team, an opportunity to seek good fortune, with the proceeds used to aid the poor and relieve distress, which would also..."

Liang Han added, "Express gratitude for Your Majesty's benevolent grace..."

After supplementing this, he continued, "But how much fortune can be won in a single day..."

"Liang Liu Lang, until what date is Jinming Pool open? If a dragon boat team is formed, how can the small dragon boats be used without charge?"

"The eighth day of the fourth month! They cannot be used without charge!"

Xu Xu Zaijing spoke no further, but patted Liang Han on the shoulder and walked toward the front of the procession.

At this time, it had just passed the Si hour (after eleven in the morning).

After watching the marker-grabbing competition,

Some of the noble officials' families returned to their own tents, while others went arm-in-arm to another location to continue gossiping about matters left unfinished.

Xu Xu Zaijing entered his family's tent,

then hurriedly paid respects to the several great ladies seated there.

Liang Han, who had followed him in, copied the example; after completing the bows, he walked to Wu Da Da Niangzi's ear and whispered for a while, receiving from Wu Da Da Niangzi the reply, "Let me think about it."

After accompanying Sun Shi through the meal,

listening to the great ladies and young daughters-in-law in the tent discuss child-rearing topics, Xu Xu Zaijing and Liang Han exchanged a glance, then both rose, bowed, and left the tent.

"Jing Ge'er, the northwest corner of Jinming Pool connects to the fishing spot beside our family's polo ground; shall we go fishing?"

"Let's go."

At this moment, not far away at the entrance of the Qi family tent, Qi Heng also walked out; seeing Xu and Liang, Qi Heng waved, then led Bu Wei and several servants over.

"Jing Ge'er, Liu Lang, where are you two going?"

Since the distance exceeded three li,

Xu Xu Zaijing's party of five or six mounted horses behind the tents, exited the fence surrounding the tents, and proceeded at a slow walk toward the northwest corner of Jinming Pool.

Along the way, stalls set up by merchants were everywhere,

the cries of hawkers filled the ears without cease,

the flow of people was no less than at the previous temple fair,

and pedestrians they encountered, along with the Yamen Runners on duty, hastily made way for the few arriving on horseback.

Just as the group was about to reach the northeast corner,

Qi Heng and Liang Han were looking at items on a roadside stall to their right,

while Xu Xu Zaijing, seated on his horse and scanning the surroundings, saw Hearing Rulan dozing behind a tent on the left, and Minglan practicing something by swinging a pole.

Sensing Xu Xu Zaijing's gaze, Minglan looked over, deftly tossed the wooden pole in her hand aside, and clasped her hands behind her back.

Xu Xu Zaijing guided his horse over and, looking down from above the fence, asked, "Sixth Sister, why haven't you gone to find Sister Sheng Hualan?"

Hearing the sound of Xu Xu Zaijing's voice,

Yunzai outside the tent poked her head out to take a look, then went back inside; soon after, Sheng Changfeng and Seeing Mo Lan walked out,

while Hearing Rulan, who had been dozing behind the tent, looked over and said, "Cousin, Third Brother took us to look; we had gone more than halfway without finding her, so Third Brother, afraid we'd get lost, brought us back."

"Why not send the servants to look first?"

Upon hearing these words,

and feeling Seeing Mo Lan's somewhat disdainful gaze,

Sheng Changfeng beside them froze for a moment, awkwardly scratched his head, then asked, "Jing Ge'er, what are you all up to?"

Liang Han raised the fishing rod in his hand.

"I'm going too!"

Having said this, Sheng Changfeng instructed a Sheng family page to buy fishing rods, then walked over to Qiao Jiu Lang, who was on horseback; the two exchanged a smile, Qiao Jiu extended his hand, and afterward they shared one horse and followed along.

Passing by Gao Da's warehouse where the tower ships were stored,

the group arrived at the northwest corner.

Jinming Pool was open only from the third to the fourth month each year, with no fishing permitted,

so the fish in the pool were naturally not small.

The northwest corner was the water inlet,

and Xu Xu Zaijing, seated on his horse, could see that amid the flowing water of the pool, there were many fish.

Handing the horses to the pages,

an official from the Jinming Pool Garden Office accepted the copper coins passed over by the pages' fishing carts, then promptly presented the small wooden tags permitting angling.

Thus, after casting their lines, everyone sat on camp stools under the shade of trees and leisurely began fishing.

After fishing for three quarters of an hour,

Xu Xu Zaijing glanced at his somewhat depleted bait and empty bucket, then looked at Liang Han's bucket beside him and said,

"Liu Lang, let's change spots."

Half an hour later,

"."

One hour later,

Liang Han glanced sideways at Xu Xu Zaijing's bucket, then at his own bobbing float,

and he lifted his rod early, intending to come up empty,

but seeing the fish wriggling on the hook, Liang Liu Lang turned his head aside;

he could no longer look at Xu Xu Zaijing triumphantly, for that would be too cruel.

Xu Xu Zaijing watched the large black fish swimming back and forth near his float, drew a deep breath, and steadied his mind,

then turned and scanned the area, pointing to some idle green tiles by the wall behind them.

Brother Qingyun was just about to go over when Bu Wei waved his hand and said, "Brother Brother Qingyun, don't move; I'll do it."

Xu Xu Zaijing took the green tile and gave it a light tap on the ground.

He tossed the fragments of the green tile in his hand.

A moment later, Xu Xu Zaijing waved his hand,

and Brother Qingyun, Bu Wei, and several other pages hastily netted up several large fish that had turned belly-up, then delivered the fish to a nearby stall where, after some processing, they were cured with salt.

With his mind now calm, Xu Xu Zaijing continued fishing and actually caught three more fish.

Shen hour, exact mark (4:00 PM)

Xu Xu Zaijing and the others returned to the tents by the shore, and on the way, each of the three Lans was given one live fish.

The imperial carriage departed Jinming Pool to return to the palace.

The servants of each household on the bank hurriedly began to tidy up.

On the road back to Qu Yuan Street,

Chu Zhan did not ride Brother Qingyun's horse again; instead, he sat on the rear carriage step, holding two large fish for Shu Bo.

The fish were too large, so Xu Xu Zaijing did not take them.

Looking at the large fish, Chu Zhan smacked his lips, then glanced at Shu Bo.

He knew Shu Bo's cooking skills; once prepared, these fish would feed the two of them for several days!

"Hehe."

That evening, Shu Bo cooked the fish meat, and it smelled very fragrant.

But in less than a day, the fish meat vanished from Chu Zhan's sight and appeared on a certain Mama's table.

The next day,

Xu Xu Zaijing did not go to the Qionglin Garden south of Jinming Pool,

but went with his elder brother to the Sheng Family Academy.

Xu Xu Zaijing and the others would take the Prefectural Examination next month.

In early March,

on the second day after the Emperor watched the hundred performances presented by the various armies at Baojin Tower,

the main branch of the Hu Yan family stepped forward and delivered the engagement proposal of the Hu Yan family's eleventh young master.

The negotiations for the marriage between the two families began.

Although Marquis Marquis Yongyi was about to leave the capital,

the Xu family did not treat Xu Xu Anmei's marriage hastily because of this,

but proceeded step by step through the proper procedures,

thus maintaining their full dignity and posture.

Xu Xu Anmei was also locked in the courtyard by Sun Shi and began preparing her dowry embroidery.

One day in mid-March,

after finishing morning exercises,

when Xu Xu Zaijing went to the Sheng family,

a drizzle began to fall from the sky.

Although it was early morning, before the Mao hour, and still raining, flower vendors were already singing and selling their wares early in the streets and alleys.

The sound of their singing and selling was unique and pleasant to hear.

Hearing the sound of their singing and selling,

Xu Xu Zaijing lifted the carriage curtain.

Looking at the fine rain outside that seemed about to wet his clothes,

in the drizzle, a flower vendor carried a shoulder pole; wooden planks were laid across both ends of the pole, and on each plank were tied three or four bamboo baskets filled with fresh flowers.

Xu Xu Zaijing, inside the carriage, tapped on the carriage body.

The carriage stopped; he told Brother Qingyun to buy out all of that flower vendor's goods.

Looking at the vendor's somewhat pale beard,

Brother Qingyun gave a bit extra when paying.

During the exchange with the flower vendor,

people of Bianjing holding oil-paper umbrellas were occasionally walking westward on the street.

Listening to the conversations between those walking together, it turned out they were heading early to continue to Jinming Pool and Qionglin Garden outside the west city wall.

Amidst the flower vendor's words of thanks, the carriage moved away.

Sheng Family

Jin'an Study,

Sister Sister Xiaodie happily entered holding a bouquet of fresh flowers.

A young maid had appeared beside Wei Wei Shuyi, currently taking the handkerchief from Wei Wei Shuyi's hand.

"Wei Wei Xiaoniang, look, are these flowers truly fresh!"

Wei Wei Shuyi turned her head, looking at Sister Sister Xiaodie with surprise in her eyes and said:

"Why were the flowers delivered so early today?"

"It was sent in by Han Han Wulang of the Xu family; the Old Lady sent some over by messenger."

"Oh! Sister Sister Xiaodie, bring that wood-fragrance flower over."

Hearing Wei Wei Shuyi's words, Sister Sister Xiaodie hurriedly handed the flower over.

Wei Wei Shuyi took the flower, walked to the dressing table, trimmed it slightly with scissors, then handed it back to Sister Sister Xiaodie, directing her to pin the flower into her hair bun while looking into the prism mirror.

"Wei Wei Xiaoniang, this flower looks so beautiful when pinned on."

Although Sister Sister Xiaodie was already accustomed to Wei Wei Shuyi's aesthetic sense, she was still momentarily dazzled.

Inside Shou'an Hall,

Wei Wei Shuyi, holding Sheng Changzhen, followed Wang Wang Ruofu into the front hall.

Seeing the flower pinned in Wang Wang Ruofu's hair that matched her clothes perfectly,

Mama Fang and Mama Cui exchanged surprised glances.

Seeing the Old Lady scanning Wang Wang Ruofu with approval, Mama Liu on the side cast a grateful glance at Wei Wei Shuyi.

When Sheng Changzhen was learning to walk on the laid-out carpet,

inside the Sheng Family Academy,

Master Zhuang strolled in at his leisure.

Gazing at the fresh flowers on the desk, he too picked one, snapped off the somewhat long stem, and tucked it behind his ear.

Inhaling the floral scent, his face was filled with rapture.

"Who sent these?"

Hearing Master Zhuang's words, Xu Xu Zaijing raised his hand and called out.

Amidst Master Zhuang's lecture,

Mo Lan took out a carefully thread-bound blank booklet with a blue cover and placed it on the table.

Holding her brush, she looked at the overcast drizzle in the courtyard and the various fresh flowers in the lecture hall, then softly chanted:

"Passing through the flowers, I rarely look back; half due to cultivating the Dao, half due to you."

Just as she intended to inscribe characters in the blank space on the cover,

a paper ball struck her head; turning around, she saw Ru Lan covering her mouth and laughing.

Ignoring Ru Lan, Mo Lan calmed her qi and wrote the two characters 'Mo Yuan'.

After finishing, she nodded in satisfaction.

An hour later,

Master Zhuang was resting on his couch,

and while Xu Xu Zaijing and the others were discussing the model essays for the prefectural examination that Master Zhuang had assigned,

Mo Lan, holding a flower in her hand, looked at Ru Lan who was closing her eyes to rest; she patted Ru Lan's hair with the hand holding the flower,

and took the opportunity to slip the flower into it.

Ru Lan woke up, frowned at Mo Lan, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Seeing Mo Lan say nothing, Ru Lan snorted.

Qi Heng, hearing the exchange, looked over,

but was immediately amused by the sight of Ru Lan's head with its 'single outstanding branch', and burst out laughing with a 'puchi' sound.

Ru Lan, bewildered, returned a smile: "Hehe."

Others also looked over,

and sounds of 'puchi' laughter continued unabated.

Ru Lan blinked her eyes in confusion,

while Sheng Changbai, with a solemn expression, pointed to the top of his own head.

Only then did Ru Lan realize; frowning, she swiped at her head, then threw that flower at Mo Lan.

Before late March had even arrived,

after classes ended in the evening,

Xu Xu Zaijing took Seeing Seeing Qingcao in a carriage,

the wooden box held in Seeing Seeing Qingcao's arms containing exchange tickets for a small portion of the gold from Xu Xu Zaijing's savings,

and they arrived at the entrance of the famous Wang Family Brocade Shop on the Imperial Street outside Xuande Tower!

Seeing Seeing Qingcao looked at this magnificent shop with its carved beams and painted pillars, then looked at the wooden box in her hands, and then glanced at Xu Xu Zaijing.

A quarter of an hour later, Xu Xu Zaijing and Seeing Seeing Qingcao walked out from inside,

the wooden box nowhere to be seen.

A rather portly Squire followed closely behind Xu Xu Zaijing, bowing with a face full of joy and an attitude of extreme respect, saying:

"Young Master, rest assured; I, Wang Wang Hanqing, guarantee with the reputation of my family's several-decades-old shop that these finished garments will definitely be delivered to your residence before the deadline!"

The Shopkeeper following behind kept nodding.

"The Squire is thoughtful; your family's great-grandfather also originated from the Imperial Silk and Brocade Bureau in the capital, so I trust you."

A flash of surprise passed through Wang Wang Hanqing's eyes; he bowed even deeper, and his smile became even more sincere.

At the end of March,

Xu Xu Zaijing and Xu Zaizhang did not attend school.

Early in the morning, they accompanied their mother Sun Shi, their aunt Xu Shi, and their sisters-in-law Xie Shi, Sheng Shi, and sister-in-law by marriage Ni Shi to the Yuqing Temple outside the city.

They gathered with the sisters-in-law of the Sun family at the Xishui Gate, and the group proceeded with great fanfare.

Just after leaving the city, before even reaching the foot of the mountain, Sun Shi and the others disembarked from their carriages.

Xu Xu Zaijing and Xu Zaizhang also dismounted from their horses.

The whole family and their relatives walked together toward the Yuqing Temple.

Although they did not go so far as that Da Da Niangzi of the Feng family, Duke of Chengguo, who kowtowed with every step to pray for a Child-Giving Granting Guanyin for her daughter, the fact that the group began walking from outside the city showed their sincerity.

By the time the group reached the foot of the Yuqing Temple mountain, the various Da Da Niangzi, accustomed to a life of luxury, were already exhausted.

Yet they gritted their teeth, climbed the mountain, and reached the Yuqing Temple.

Upon entering the grand hall filled with curling incense smoke and imposing atmosphere, just as Sun Shi and the others had offered incense, kowtowed, and gone to draw lots for peace,

Xu Xu Zaijing lit the stick of incense in his hand, inserted it into the censer,

and sincerely knelt on the prayer cushion, praying from the bottom of his heart that his father and brothers would return safely from this journey out of the capital.

When Xu Xu Zaijing finished his three kowtows, a gentle breeze blew, and the green smoke rising from the incense sticks in the censer drifted away slowly just as it did on ordinary days.

At dusk,

a carriage flying the small flag of 'Wang Family Brocade' drove through the gate of the Xu residence.

The next day,

early in the morning,

Di Jing opened his eyes in the personal soldiers' quarters and said, "What is going on? Has Jing-ge'er stopped practicing in the mornings now?"

"Perhaps he's just warming up."

Ye Fang rolled over and mumbled.

At that moment, a morning breeze blew in accompanied by the sound of a door opening.

Brother Qingyun's voice rang out from the doorway:

"Big brothers, come out to collect your items."

Di Jing and the others were startled; they all stood up and began putting on their clothes.

A moment later,

the personal guards arrived at the horse track,

where they happened to see Xu Xu Zaijing drawing his bow to shoot an arrow.

"Thwack!"

The heavy arrow embedded itself in the target not far away.

Soon, Ah Lan ran up to the crowd carrying a wooden man-shaped target on his shoulder.

Di Jing and the others gathered around,

and upon examining the arrow in the target, they knew well the power of Xu Xu Zaijing's great bow.

Then, after untying the armor from the wooden target and looking at the thin cotton armor inside, they touched the excessively thick, luxurious silk undergarment beneath it,

and the crowd glanced at a thick stack of identical silk undergarments nearby,

exchanging surprised looks,

"Shall we try them on?"

Before Xu Xu Zaijing could finish speaking, everyone began taking off their clothes.

After putting them on,

the crowd excitedly punched each other's chests.

On the last day of the third month,

as dusk fell,

Marquis Marquis Yongyi was about to depart the capital.

Xu Minghua was eating dinner with his family in the main lady's courtyard.

Zhu Zhu Qinghu was keeping Da Da Niangzi company.

Di Jing, Feng Feng Dabao, Ye Fang, and their group of personal guards were eating at Hearing Shu Bo's stall under the glow of lanterns.

Chu Zhan was busy serving dishes,

while Feng Feng Dabao closed his eyes, savoring the stir-fried chicken and rabbit meat, and sighed with feeling, "In the future..."

"Slap!"

Chu Zhan slapped the back of Feng Feng Dabao's head; looking at Feng Feng Dabao, who glared back in anger,

he said, "Hearing Shu Bo forbids careless talk."

Di Jing patted Feng Feng Dabao.

Having eaten and drunk their fill,

when it came time to pay the bill, Hearing Shu Bo collected from each person table by table.

"Hearing Shu Bo, why aren't you giving change?"

a guard from Hou Fu asked.

"Shoo, shoo! I have no small change to give! We'll settle it next time!"

The personal guards laughed indifferently and then returned to Hou Fu together.

Once all the personal guards had entered the mansion gates,

Hearing Shu Bo cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, heaved a sigh, and said, "It's good that they're worrying about my not giving change."

(End of Chapter)