Chapter 674: Preparatory Work

The betrothal gifts for Zhi have already been sent; after receiving that marriage contract, Zhi was so moved that she cried on the spot. She had waited for this day for far, far too long. Her peers were already having their second children, yet she had waited until this age just for Yulong.

Fortunately, Zhu was also a reasonable person. The main point was that his daughter was marrying Bai Yulong, the son of the King of this nation and also the future successor of this nation. Most importantly, Baifeng was his own boss; he could not possibly have any objections regardless. The main thing was that he had also waited too long; he was even more anxious than his daughter. After all, where else could one find such a good son-in-law?

His own daughter was Bai Yulong's Primary Wife, the head wife. It was possible that Yulong would have more than one wife in the future, which was normal, but as long as his daughter gave birth to a son, then he would be the future successor of Huaxia. His own grandson would be the King of the nation. Just thinking about it made Zhu feel a bit itchy; this matter was still a bit too fantastical.

Everything was settled the moment he received the betrothal gifts from Baifeng. The gifts were even delivered by Baifeng personally, which could be said to have demonstrated Baifeng's sincerity. Of course, the main reason Baifeng went personally was because Zhu's status was very high—a Marquis of the nation, granted the surname Yang. To reflect the importance he placed on his son and the importance he placed on Zhu, Baifeng went personally. If it had been the daughter of an ordinary person, Baifeng absolutely would not have gone.

Yulong's wedding date was just six days away. It was not any special day; it was mainly because, without a calendar, it was simply impossible for Baifeng to know what day it was now.

Baifeng was also very clear about how difficult it was to calculate a calendar. He also knew that he did not have that ability. After all, in his past life, even with his study of Traditional Chinese Medicine and his interest in I Ching, relying on existing data, he had never learned how to calculate a calendar.

Furthermore, in later generations, there were many countries that used the Agricultural Calendar, but among other countries, not one could calculate a calendar; they all used the ones calculated by the Purple Gold Mountain Observatory. Some people therefore joked that those countries stole the New Year, so let them steal it; if the Purple Gold Mountain Observatory did not release it, they would not even know which day to celebrate the New Year.

Throughout Chinese history, there existed a special institution, the Imperial Observatory. Of course, the names in each era were different, but during the period of rule by the Tatars, the person in charge of the Imperial Observatory was actually a Westerner for several generations. Later, a doctor with wide-ranging hobbies suddenly appeared in the West, calculated the Gregorian calendar, and to this day they still cannot explain those missing days. Why is this? The entire West suddenly developed from a barbaric era into a brilliant civilization, appearing with many people who held multiple positions, were talented, and could do anything, and the fields involved could be said to be completely unrelated. The Age of Discovery brought them economic development; true civilization came very suddenly, just like how Baifeng suddenly descended into this era and brought these pieces of knowledge.

Now, Baifeng knows what an "auspicious day" means, but he cannot calculate it. As for the concept of the obliquity of the ecliptic, he also has no impression of it anymore because too much time has passed; he only remembers the term.

He set aside time to write the knowledge he remembered on paper as a precious treasure to leave for future generations. But when he actually put pen to paper, he discovered he had already forgotten eight or nine tenths of it. He could not even remember many simple elementary school Mathematics formulas, and they could no longer connect with the junior high knowledge he could remember. As for high school Mathematics, forget it; he hadn't understood it when he was in school. After so many years across two lives, even with the formulas placed in front of him, he couldn't understand them.

He had already pinned all his hopes on Qingyun and Jinyun. He only hoped that these two names were not passed down through generations. The almanac was calculated in this era; if it were again a case of falsely using the name of Huangdi and only being calculated in later generations, then Baifeng's expectations of so many years would come to nothing.

The wedding venue was already being decorated. Wu had completely retired; Baifeng had issued him retirement documents. He could receive half of his working salary as a retirement pension, ensuring that his later years would not be difficult, which could be considered as reflecting Huaxia's treatment of the descendants of meritorious officials.

Of course, even without any retirement pension, they would not live a difficult life. A vast amount of land, abundant family assets, and successful descendants could all ensure Wu's future life was affluent. "Filial" was written into the laws; as long as they were the parents who raised you, then the children must continue to support them after they lost their ability to work.

Baifeng did not engage in that set of blind filial piety; it was too stupid. He wouldn't even be willing to promote it. Take, for example, the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars; most were just stubborn fools and morons, perhaps even created to generate topics and gain fame. Would a normal person go looking for fish in Winter, not using tools to break the ice, but using their own body to melt it? Even a child with Down syndrome wouldn't do that, right?

Baifeng was more willing to believe that these were classic cases of historical hype, and very successful ones at that, catering to the era. Not only did they profit themselves, but they also let their names remain widely spread in history.

Baifeng would not let such things happen. If something similar really appeared, Baifeng would have people check to see if that person had a problem with their brain.

Wu had retired, and the Ministry of Rites had been completely handed over to Zhigui. The main reason was that there was no one else in Huaxia who could be relied upon. Because of the new establishment of the music troupe, the Establishment System and management scope of the Ministry of Rites had also become much larger; it was no longer just a simple group of people sitting at a card table, and at least there was work to do on a daily basis.

Facing such an extremely major event, Zhigui could be said to have summoned his full spirit. If this matter were handled beautifully, then he would have glory before his colleagues and would no longer be that fake Minister without status or a voice.

If he messed it up, he would have no face to continue working and would just resign and go home to farm. After all, the Crown Prince of Huaxia could not hold two weddings for one marriage, right? If a wedding was not handled well and errors occurred, calling a halt on the spot and starting over, or saying let's do it again in a few days? Then his own life would have to start over.

Zhigui looked at and studied that director's list every day, never letting it go for a single moment, fearing that he might miss something.

The venue alone consisted of three locations: one in the courtyard of Baifeng's house, used to entertain those Marquises and Counts; one outside the courtyard, for those of lower Nobility and other officials; and one in the plaza, used for the commoners to celebrate. For the Crown Prince's wedding, the whole country had to celebrate, and everyone could participate. For those who really had no place, gathering together to have a lively time could also be considered celebrating for the Crown Prince.