Chapter 393 The Recognition Ceremony Ends

The auspicious time has arrived.

Madam Shen, Magistrate Shen, and Shen Zheng walked out of the main hall.

"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to grace our Shen residence with your presence. There are two things we've arranged for this feast today," said Old Madam Shen with a smile. "The first is something everyone knows: my good-for-nothing grandson, thanks to our ancestors' blessings, has passed the imperial examination and become a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). Although it's just a small achievement, it's still something to celebrate, so we've invited everyone to join us. The second thing is that my grandson has somehow caught the eye of Madam Sui, and we're planning a family reunion banquet to recognize her as his godmother."

Upon hearing this, many people at the scene gasped in shock.

Before any of them had even exchanged a few words with Lady Sui, the Shen family had already gotten on her side.

Although Magistrate Shen was a seventh-rank official, Lady Sui was also a seventh-rank official. Moreover, everyone could guess that Lady Sui's official position would likely rise further. Most importantly, Lady Sui had a nephew who became the top scholar in the provincial examination. In the future, the Cheng family would have two prominent members, a unique situation in Ping'an County.

"Wanwan, come on up." Old Madam Shen beckoned. "Dashan, you guys come over too."

Cheng Wanwan led the children over. As the elder, she sat down directly, while the children stood in two rows.

Old Madam Shen spoke loudly: "Light the incense!"

The servant stepped forward and immediately lit the incense and candles on the table. Once the incense and candles were burning, the ceremony officially began.

"bye!"

Madam Shen shouted.

Shen Zheng lifted his robe, knelt down on the prayer mat, and kowtowed three times.

Afu handed over the tea, and he respectfully presented it to Cheng Wanwan, saying, "Godmother, please have some tea."

Cheng Wanwan took the tea, sipped it, and then took out a large red envelope and a golden longevity lock from her sleeve. These were gifts she had prepared for the family reunion after asking Old Madam Zhao about them the night before.

Longevity locks are for babies, but even though Shen Zheng is older, he can wear one symbolically.

After the godmother finished giving her gift, the godson also had to give a gift. According to custom, Shen Zheng prepared a hat, a pair of shoes, and a piece of silk fabric.

The gift presentation is complete, and the ceremony is finished.

Next, Cheng Wanwan's four sons served tea to Madam Shen and Magistrate Shen. Then, Cheng Wanwan served tea to her sworn brother Magistrate Shen and Madam Shen. This was not a formal recognition of sworn brotherhood, but this step signified that the two families had become one, meaning that they would visit each other more often in the future.

Madam Shen prepared generous gifts for her four sons, daughters-in-law, and granddaughter.

After a short while, the family reunion ceremony finally came to an end.

Those watching the ceremony looked on with envy.

“The magistrate of Shen County has quietly become one of the same people as Lady Sui. He will surely be promoted next year.”

“Magistrate Shen made several meritorious contributions last year because of Lady Sui. He will be in big trouble in the future.”

"Mrs. Sui was born into a poor family. After becoming sworn relatives with Magistrate Shen, she will surely rise to prominence in the future."

"These two companies will definitely get better and better in the future, which is enviable."

"..."

Grandma Zhao and Grandpa Zhao stood in the crowd and sighed in unison.

They learned last night that their eldest daughter-in-law was going to become godparents to the Shen family. They were excited at the time, but now that they saw this scene with their own eyes and heard the comments from the onlookers, they couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

The eldest son's wife is climbing higher and higher, seemingly getting further and further away from them. The Zhao family has to look up high to even see her back.

This feeling left the two elderly people feeling disappointed.

"Grandpa Zhao, come on, let's sit over there." Shen Zheng walked over with a smile and put his arm around the old man's shoulder familiarly. "Er Gou said you can drink, so I'll have a few more drinks with you today."

Meanwhile, Madam Shen held Madam Zhao's hand and said with a smile, "I've always heard Xiao Zheng mention Grandpa and Grandma Zhao. Meeting them today is especially heartwarming. From now on, our Shen family and the Zhao family are one family. Come, Grandma Zhao, please sit at the main table."

As the banquet began, men and women sat at separate tables. Grandpa and Grandma Zhao sat at the main table, and many people came over to offer them toasts, dispelling the sense of loss in the hearts of the two elderly people.

At the main table for the men, Magistrate Shen sat in the head seat, followed by the magistrates from various counties, as well as Old Man Zhao, Master Yu, and Shen Zheng. The magistrates didn't talk about politics, but rather about agricultural matters. After all, it was spring plowing season, and Old Man Zhao had a lot to say about rural issues.

The old man took a sip of wine and said slowly, "It's the end of March now, and the village is plowing and preparing the fields. This step requires patience. The oxen plow slowly, and you can't rush them, or they'll get angry... The oxen pull the wooden plow back and forth in the field a few times, and the field will gradually become level... There aren't many oxen in our village, and every household is taking turns, so we have to work late into the night. The oxen need to rest, but we can't. We have to keep working in the fields..."

None of the county magistrates had ever heard of these things before, and they listened with great interest.

Shen Zheng sat on the side, feeling very bored. He quietly stood up and went to the next table, where his classmates Cheng Zhao and Qian Hui were all. When scholars gathered together, they would recite poems, songs, and essays from the Book of Songs. Each of them quoted classical texts and were a talented scholar.

"Is everyone almost finished eating?" Shen Zheng said with a smile. "The crabapple blossoms in my backyard are in bloom. Would you like to move to another spot to enjoy the flowers and have some drinks?"

Zheng Wangfeng stood up and said, "Then let's appreciate the flowers and compose poems, and then the county magistrates will judge who is the winner today."

As he spoke, he glanced at Cheng Zhao.

He was outshone by Cheng Zhao in the provincial examination, and this time, during the flower viewing, he was determined to outshine Cheng Zhao no matter what.

Cheng Zhao did not refuse: "The end of March is when the crabapple blossoms are in full bloom, let's go take a look."

Shen Zheng led the way, and a dozen or so scholars walked together toward the backyard. Everyone was eating and drinking in the front hall, and there were hardly any people in the backyard.

Several weeping crabapple trees are in full bloom, their branches laden with colorful, graceful blossoms. A gentle breeze blows, and petals drift down, carpeting the ground in crimson—a truly beautiful sight.

These literati were suddenly inspired, and one by one they began to compose poems and couplets. The servants had already prepared brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, and the literati wrote down their best works.

Shen Zheng had drunk quite a bit of wine, and his mind was a complete mess. He had only suggested coming to admire the flowers, so why was he suddenly asking for a poem?

He moved closer to Cheng Zhao, then glanced at Zheng Wangfeng. Both of their poems were so wonderful that if he were to write one, he would probably be ridiculed.

After all, out of so many of them, only three of them passed the imperial examination and became scholars. If he, a scholar, could produce poems that were inferior to those of the other students, where would he put his face?

Shen Zheng gulped down a large glass of wine, then hiccuped and said, "I'm going to the restroom."

Qian Hui sneered: "Brother Shen, you're trying to escape by peeing, aren't you? Don't think you can get away with it just because you ran away. We'll be here waiting for you to come back and write your poem."

Shen Zheng rolled his eyes and walked into the backyard with the wine jug in his hand.

The backyard of the county government office was full of crabapple blossoms. As he walked, his steps became unsteady. Seeing a large rock ahead, he lay down on it, raised his wine jug, and poured wine into his mouth, mumbling, "I'm so happy today! I'm a top scholar now, haha! I have a godmother, hahaha... Drink, drink..."

He drank and drank until he lost consciousness.

Just then, a beautiful figure emerged from the crabapple blossoms.

This is a young lady dressed in a luxurious manner, wearing a light blue dress, with an oval face, almond eyes, and red lips, exuding the air of a well-bred lady.

A maidservant was with her, looking around and asking, "Didn't Miss Fu say she came here to admire the flowers? Where are they?"

Because the scholars were admiring the flowers over there, the young ladies found another secluded spot to admire the crabapple blossoms. However, the mistress and servant walked around but didn't see any other young ladies. As they were searching, they saw a person lying on a large rock not far away...