Chapter 500: Xie Shi, Zhengzheng, and Hualan [Thanks! Bow! Owe 41k]

As they were talking,

the two walked forward and came to the weapon rack on one side.

Gu Tingye pulled the long spear out of the weapon rack, weighed it in his hand, and smiled with great satisfaction: "This was specially made in the palace according to the big spear I'm used to using."

"Look! Want to try?"

Looking at the exquisite long spear Gu Tingye held in front of him, Xu Zaijing danced it with one hand, and the look in his eyes was somewhat similar to Gu Tingye's.

Subsequently, Xu Zaijing used one index finger to support the back of the long spear, looked at the long spear maintaining balance on his finger tremblingly, and nodded approvingly.

"No, Jing Ge'er, how did you find this position?"

Gu Tingye asked in surprise.

Xu Zaijing smiled slightly: "Experience."

At this moment,

A eunuch walked over quickly from the side, bowed, and said: "Oh my, the two young masters are here! Please follow me for a walk!"

Xu Zaijing nodded, returned the long spear to its place, and walked with Gu Tingye toward the entrance of the main hall.

At this time, quite a few people who looked like military captains were already standing around the entrance talking; most were people Xu Zaijing knew, such as Zhu Qinghu, Di Jing, Cao Yi, and others who came from the Western Army.

Among them were four people whose tough temperament was no less than that of Ye Fang, Feng Dabao, and the others, and their attire was also different from the rest.

Seeing Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye approach, Zhu Qinghu, Ye Fang, and the others nodded in greeting.

After the two walked closer, Di Jing pointed at the four people with excitement: "Fifth Brother, these four are from the Northern Guangrui Army; let's find an opportunity..."

As he spoke, Di Jing kept raising his eyebrows, meaning to find an opportunity to compete.

Zhu Qinghu shook his head with a smile to the side.

Xu Zaijing nodded at Di Jing, smiled, bowed to one of them, and said: "Master Gao, we meet again!"

"Greetings, Fifth Brother!"

This person was the personal guard captain of the Ningyuan Marquis's residence, surnamed Gao; he had competed with Xu Zaijing on the boat to Yang Zhou before, and later in Chuzhou, they had even raided a bandit den and killed thieves together.

Having experienced fighting side-by-side, their friendship was a layer deeper.

Seeing Master Gao to the side smiling and talking to Xu Zaijing, and his posture being implicitly lowered, the three Guangrui Army soldiers following him looked at Xu Zaijing with curiosity.

This Master Gao was a personal guard captain who followed the Marquis of Gu in the north; he was arrogant and stern, and he was usually the one to carry out military law.

Back in Bianjing, let alone the useless young masters of the Gu family's fourth and fifth branches, even the steward Qi Sheng beside the Marquis of Gu rarely received a smile from him.

The three looked at each other, their eyes full of the meaning: 'What's going on today?'

At this moment,

A Ministry of Rites official with dark circles under his eyes, bloodshot eyes, and blisters on the corners of his mouth walked over,

Bowed to the group of captains: "Greetings, everyone!" After speaking, he also smiled at Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye.

Afterward, this Ministry of Rites official unfolded the scroll in his hand, which was made of brocade with Xuan paper fixed on it, looked at it, pointed inside the main hall, and said: "Second Young Master Gu, can you see the dancers in the hall?"

Gu Tingye nodded repeatedly.

"After they finish dancing, you and these four must hold your long spears and prepare to go on stage. Where are the spears! Quickly bring the long spears over!"

The Ministry of Rites official said the latter part to the eunuch to the side.

After the eunuch led people to quickly bring the long spears, the Ministry of Rites official reached out toward Gu Tingye and said: "Come!"

Looking at Master Gao and the other four Guangrui Army elites still standing at the entrance, he said: "You four follow too!"

Gu Tingye had already entered the hall and was practicing casually with Captain Gao in the hall.

The Ministry of Rites official walked out again with the scroll.

"Hard work, Master!"

Xu Zaijing bowed with a smile.

Di Jing, Cao Yi, and other captains to the side also bowed and asked after him.

Hearing the greetings, the Ministry of Rites official, who had been busy for who knows how long, had a smile on his face, cleared his throat, and said: "Everyone has a heart! Tomorrow when you enter the hall, just like the rehearsal the day before yesterday, you..."

Afterward, this Ministry of Rites official looked at the formation of Xu Zaijing and the nearly one hundred people entering the venue and nodded with satisfaction.

After Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye, and the others rehearsed the exit again,

At the entrance of the main hall, the Ministry of Rites official pointed to the colorful shed outside the hall and said: "At tomorrow's ceremony, when you all come over, the female officials standing on both sides will dance the 'Ruqu Dance' along with the music!"

As he spoke, this official waved his hand, and music came from the colorful shed under the colorful pavilion near the main hall.

Watching the female officials dancing the rhythmic group dance, Xu Zaijing and the others nodded to show they understood.

Gu Tingye even leaned over to Xu Zaijing's side, looking like someone who had been through it all, and said: "The changes are too big; we didn't have this kind of pomp when we came here as children!"

Xu Zaijing turned his head and said: "The Emperor hadn't recovered the old land of Bai Gao before."

"That's true."

"Alright, everyone, take your time!" After the Ministry of Rites official bowed, he walked toward the performer of the next program waiting at the entrance of the hall.

After Xu Zaijing and the others returned the bow, they walked to the colorful shed to take a look.

At this time, the colorful shed had stopped playing music.

Xu Zaijing was looking at the musical instruments; as for the others, who knows.

The musicians in the front row of this colorful shed were a row of ten people using wooden clappers.

Behind the wooden clappers were two rows of about fifty musicians sitting in a semi-circle holding exquisitely painted pipa; whether it was Wei Fangzhi or Yang Luoyou, both were among them. Although both were famous, their positions were not at the front, which shows the level of these pipa musicians.

Seeing Xu Zaijing's figure, Wei Fangzhi bowed while still holding the pipa.

Behind the two rows of pipa were two konghou, and further behind were three large drums on racks, with colorful flowers and golden dragons on the drums.

Around the large drums was a circle of jie drums; the young girl Zhizhi was actually among them.

The Emperor's birthday banquet is a major event, and this little girl could actually be among them, which clearly shows she has some skills.

Around the large and small drums were musicians playing instruments such as fangxiang (chimes), bianzhong, flutes, and xiao, with the number of people ranging from one to five.

Xu Zaijing took a look, and it was very similar to the kind of orchestra playing in a concert hall in later generations.

At this moment,

Gu Tingye pointed to the side of the musicians playing the xiao and flute, where there were things covered with silk, and said: "Jing Ge'er, what is that?"

Xu Zaijing looked in the direction Gu Tingye pointed and said: "Bugles used in the army."

"Oh! Who is this played for?"

Zhu Qinghu, Cao Yi, and others who heard the conversation between the two looked at each other and smiled.

Afterward, the group walked through the huge square in front of the hall, passed through the Jiying Gate, turned right, and left the palace through the Xihua Gate.

Night,

The lanterns were just lit,

The Chai residence,

Qiusheng Garden.

Miss Yun Mu held a post in her hand, lifted the curtain, and walked in: "Da Niangzi, I'm back!"

In the hall, Chai Zhengzheng, who was directing the flower arrangement of wisteria, turned her head: "Did you get the item?"

Miss Yun Mu nodded and handed over the post in her hand: "The schedule for tomorrow's ceremony just sent from the palace."

Chai Zhengzheng nodded with a smile, unfolded the post while walking toward the table, sat down, and leaned toward the candlelight to read it at a glance.

Suddenly,

Chai Zhengzheng's gaze stopped, and she smiled as she looked at the name of a certain program: "Good!"

The next day,

The Great Zhou Emperor's birthday ceremony.

At the beginning of the Yin hour (5:00 AM).

The sky was slightly bright,

The Rong residence,

Huixue Garden, the lit candles made the room very bright.

A maid walked out of the room carrying a washbasin with slightly rising white steam.

Inside the room,

Rong Feiyan sat in front of the bronze mirror wearing clean white undergarments, Seeing Xi Bu held a horn comb with a warm and jade-like color, standing behind Rong Feiyan to carefully comb her young lady's hair.

Ningxiang stood on the other side, pulled open the small drawer of the makeup box on the table, carefully took out a flower ornament cut from gold foil, and said: "Da Niangzi, shall we stick this one today?"

After taking a look, Rong Feiyan said: "Are there any other styles?"

Ningxiang took out another exquisite pearl: "This one?"

Rong Feiyan looked at the pearl in front of her, thought for a while, and said: "Let's stick with the gold foil from before! Today, most of the madams and noble ladies will probably stick pearls, and there might be fewer sticking gold foil."

"Yes, Da Niangzi!"

Seeing Xi Bu helped Rong Feiyan comb her hair, and Ningxiang began to busy herself applying glue to the gold foil.

"Don't use jewelry with these dangling hairpins; the weight makes my hair uncomfortable. Use these ones that are fixed on the hair bun."

"Yes, Da Niangzi!"

"For clothes, just bring these cyan, light green, and light purple ones."

Listening to Rong Feiyan's words, Seeing Xi Bu waved to the little maid to the side, and the little maid walked out holding the clothes.

When Rong Feiyan left Huixue Garden,

The sun had already shown its head in the east.

At the second gate of the Rong residence,

The Madam of the Marquis of Hou Fu Chang looked at her daughter who came out with the maid and said with a smile: "My child is indeed good at dressing up; she looks six parts as elegant as your elder sister!"

Rong Xian, who was usually not very reliable, also nodded at this time and said: "Which young master wouldn't be dazzled when seeing my younger sister!"

"Shut up! How can you talk about your younger sister like that?"

The Marquis of Hou Fu Chang to the side reprimanded.

Rong Xian felt embarrassed.

Two quarters past the Chen hour (before 8:00 AM).

The Great Zhou Imperial City,

The West Gate, Xihua Gate,

Was as joyous as the other palace gates.

Standing on the palace wall,

One could hear the sounds of opera and cheering coming from near the colorful pavilions set up by wealthy squires or officials and nobles on the streets nearby to celebrate the Emperor's grand birthday.

Around the palace gate,

The imperial guards used red-decorated barriers to mark out a large open space, making it convenient for the imperial clan, nobles, and officials queuing to enter the palace this morning to park their carriages and horses.

The sound of carriage wheels,

The sound of hooves,

The sound of 'whoa' was endless,

Carriage drivers wearing new clothes and looking well-groomed pulled their exquisite carriages to a stop near the palace gate.

From time to time, men and women dressed in solemn and magnificent clothes stepped off the carriages and walked toward the palace gate.

On the side of the road some distance from the palace gate,

In a carriage that was queuing,

Miss Yun Mu lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the open space behind the barriers along the way,

Her gaze fixed, Miss Yun Mu put down the carriage curtain and said to Chai Zhengzheng in the carriage: "Da Niangzi, I saw Young Master Qingyun feeding the horses; it seems the Xu family's young master should have already entered the palace."

Chai Zhengzheng, who was wearing a simple pearl makeup for the first time, had a smile in the corners of her eyes and nodded slightly with a light movement.

"Da Niangzi, you don't have to be so careful; we used the best glue, it won't fall off easily."

Chai Zhengzheng blinked and whispered without moving her lips: "It's better to be careful, to save having to stick it again."

Miss Yun Mu nodded.

Chai Zhengzheng continued:

"If this glue is really this good, I'll use it to stick the arrow feathers on my arrows in a few days."

Miss Yun Mu pursed her lips: "You are really willing."

Soon,

The carriage gradually arrived near the palace gate,

When Chai Zhengzheng got off the carriage, she looked up and saw her mother, Madam Chai, who was sitting in the carriage in front, standing and talking with Sun Shi, who was accompanied by her two daughters-in-law.

Beside them were the Marquis of Xu and the Master of the Chai family talking with smiles.

"Since when was the Xu family's carriage in front of ours?"

Listening to Chai Zhengzheng's whispered inquiry, Miss Yun Mu shook her head: "This servant didn't notice."

After getting off the carriage and walking closer, Chai Zhengzheng bowed to everyone.

"It's been so long, this is the first time I've seen Da Niangzi Zhengzheng dressed like this! Good, very good!" Sun Shi said with a smile to the side.

Xie Shi and Hualan behind Sun Shi also nodded with smiles.

"Thank you for the compliment, Madam; Zhengzheng does not dare to accept it."

"You deserve it, you deserve it!" Sun Shi smiled.

Madam Chai smiled and looked at her daughter: "Sister Sun, shall we go in?"

"Let's go."

The two master couples of the Chai and Xu families walked in front, while Chai Zhengzheng walked behind with Xie Shi and Hualan.

Chai Zhengzheng turned her head to look at the brows of Xie Shi and Hualan and whispered: "The two elder sisters are actually sticking red petals?"

Hualan smiled and nodded: "Yes! These petals are lighter! Neither of us dared to use this pearl makeup, fearing that if it wasn't stuck firmly and one fell off, we would feel heartbroken."

Chai Zhengzheng smiled: "My maid said they used a new and good glue! I'll try it for the two madams today; if it's good, I'll send some to you!"

Then Chai Zhengzheng looked at the faces of Xie Shi and Hualan and said sincerely: "It's a pity that the two madams don't use this pearl makeup with your complexions."

Xie Shi smiled: "Da Niangzi Zhengzheng really knows how to talk!"

Chai Zhengzheng said solemnly: "Zhengzheng is just speaking the truth!"

Once these words were spoken,

The smiles on the faces of Xie Shi and Hualan became even brighter.

Hualan looked at her mother-in-law in front and smiled: "Then we thank Zhengzheng in advance."

"Madam, you are too polite."

The group walked straight through the Xihua Gate,

Walked for a while, then turned left into the Jiying Gate,

In the square in front of the hall,

Only then did the group, under the guidance of the eunuchs, bow or wave their handkerchiefs to bid farewell and separate, going to their own positions.

At this time, the Emperor and Empress had not yet arrived,

The atmosphere in the hall was quite relaxed,

Chai Zhengzheng had just walked a few steps with her parents when she saw Gu Tingyi, the fifth young lady of the Zhang family, and other young ladies from noble families standing and talking.

The flower ornament on Tingyi's brow was outlined with vermilion flower juice, which was very bright and beautiful.

The fifth young lady of the Zhang family did not stick a flower ornament, nor was it the pearl makeup like Chai Zhengzheng's, but she tied a cyan-white hairband on her forehead with a ruby embedded in the middle and gold silk rolled edges, full of heroic spirit.

After Chai Zhengzheng walked closer,

Gu Tingyi glanced at the Xu family and said: "Zhengzheng, why did you come in with Hualan and the others?"

"It was a coincidence that we were one after the other, so we came together."

"Oh!"

"Sister Tingyi, the flower ornament you drew on your brow is rare!" Chai Zhengzheng said with a smile.

"Right!" Gu Tingyi raised her eyes and looked at her forehead proudly and continued: "It was drawn for me by Qingzhi, the clever maid beside my sister-in-law!"

"Look, Da Niangzi Feiyan and the young ladies of the Dou family are here."

A noble lady from another family whispered to the side.

Chai Zhengzheng looked at the noble lady who spoke; it was from the Du family of the Duke of Yan, and Chai Zhengzheng smiled and nodded politely.

Then she looked at the entrance.

After looking, the three young ladies exchanged a speechless look; the reason was none other than that the two young ladies of the Dou family stood with Rong Feiyan, who walked in with her chin slightly raised and full of pride, looking like a young lady with two maids dressed in magnificent clothes.

After entering the door, Rong Feiyan scanned the hall,

Her eyes lit up when she saw Chai Zhengzheng and the others not far away, and she walked over with a smile.

On the other side of the hall,

Sheng Hong stood beside a group of civil officials, listening to them talk with a full face of smiles, nodding in agreement from time to time.

It was also his first time attending a ceremony of this level.

It was because Sheng Hong had the opportunity to enter the Ministry of Personnel and had been promoted over the years; otherwise, as a fifth-rank official before, he would not have been qualified to sit in the main hall.

Not far from Sheng Hong,

Wang Ruofu had a standard smile, talking to the official's family members who gathered around from time to time, and Rulan beside her also wore a smile somewhat like Wang Ruofu's, smiling at the young ladies beside several official's family members.

"Wang family? Is the Madam from the Wang family that opened up the border in Hehuang?"

Listening to the question from the official's family member to the side,

Wang Ruofu smiled tactfully: "Not really, my father is enshrined in the Taimiao..."

"Disrespect, disrespect! Who is your husband?"

"Ministry of Personnel, Sheng Hong!"

"Oh, oh!"

After one question after another, the attitudes of the official's family members beside Wang Ruofu became more and more kind.

"Mother."

Hualan clutched her handkerchief and walked over with a smile.

"Sister." Rulan walked over and hugged Hualan with a smile.

An official's family member who noticed the direction Hualan came from looked at the position of the dukes where Sun Shi was, then looked at Hualan, who was dressed in magnificent clothes and wearing exquisite jewelry, and whispered uncertainly: "Are you... the second Madam of the Marquis of Yongyi's residence?"

"Madams, greetings." Hualan smiled, let go of Rulan, and bowed to the several official's family members around.

This was an acknowledgment.

Once these words were spoken, the expressions of the official's family members around changed when they looked at Rulan beside Wang Ruofu, and they whispered to each other from time to time.

Afterward, two more madams asked Wang Ruofu about Rulan's marriage.

After talking for a while,

A eunuch came into the hall, and soon everyone in the hall began to take their seats, waiting quietly for the arrival of the Great Zhou Emperor and Empress.

(End of chapter)