Chapter 19 He's here, he's here! (Includes VIP access...)

Cuiwei Mountain, Lunar New Year's Eve.

The last few disaster victims moved into newly built thatched huts.

The soup kitchen was also moved to the opposite side of these rooms.

For three days, porridge was served three times a day, from morning till night, which was one more meal than farmers usually eat.

The icy complexion on the faces of the disaster victims gradually melted away in the steam of the porridge they ate three times a day, and their skin became rosier.

Instead, the rosy complexion on Xiao Jin's face faded, revealing a pale, sickly look.

Yesterday, he submitted a memorial to his father, the king, which was more than a thousand words long and was delivered to the palace by fast horse.

The gist is: "...With snow disaster ahead and unrest behind, the Prince of Huaiyang's residence is likely to be embroiled in trouble. Although more than a thousand people have been properly settled, it is the New Year season, and the Prince's residence, the state, and the county should work even harder and must not slacken their efforts."

The Prince of Huaiyang had long heard of Xiao Jin's solemn oath to share weal and woe with the people. Upon reading this, he felt even more gratified that his son had grown up and was worthy of his trust.

While the princess was relieved, she was heartbroken when she heard the Prince of Huaiyang read about the miserable plight of the disaster victims suffering from hunger and cold.

The thought that her only son was also drinking thin porridge, sleeping in a drafty thatched hut, not eating meat, and unable to return home at night, had lasted for three days, and she was about to burst into tears.

She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief: "Ah Jin, he's a man made of gold and jade."

The Prince of Huaiyang, still looking at the letter, clapped his hands and exclaimed with a smile, "A gentleman of noble character, with a golden exterior and a pure heart!"

The princess had long harbored a secret plan: she would bring her son back to the palace for the New Year's Eve family banquet, no matter what.

But seeing that the Prince of Huaiyang was overjoyed, he worried that the Prince might suddenly develop a heart that would torment his son.

Especially when she heard the words "a gentleman of noble character," she thought of the phrase "like cutting and polishing jade, like carving and grinding jade," which was also polished on her mother's heart.

The princess consort slammed her head on the ground in grief, drawing the attention of the Prince of Huaiyang.

"I was thinking of playing the drum dance." A smile appeared on her face as she suggested that the female musicians in the manor compose a new tune and sing while playing the drums.

The song titles came to mind on a whim: one was called "Song of Heavy Snow," and the other was called "Saving the World."

"I will immediately instruct them to practice diligently, so that they can be saved for the New Year's Eve banquet to calm my son's nerves."

She gently bit her lip as she spoke the last few words.

Xiao Cheng's mind was entirely on the watch. He only heard the words "heavy snow" and "saving the world," and he was filled with relief, so he nodded.

The princess breathed a long sigh of relief.

However, before she could finish catching her breath, she saw her husband's smile fade and his face darken.

The princess craned her neck to look, and where the Prince of Huaiyang's gaze fell, were the last few lines her son had written on the memorial:

"...It would be better to celebrate the New Year with pork, as this is what the disaster victims wish for."

On a form, only these few words seem to start strong but end weakly, like a dragon's head and a phoenix's tail, difficult to decipher at first glance.

Chang Gui, who delivered the watch, lowered his head and waited to the side, hoping that the Prince of Huaiyang would speak and utter the word "approved".

The mission to save the world is no longer to save the world.

But a son is still a son.

Even if the Prince of Huaiyang was unwilling, he had no choice but to keep quiet in front of his protective wife.

The princess wiped her eyes with a handkerchief for fifteen minutes, weeping as she recounted how her son was so hungry he couldn't even write.

Not a single tear stain could be seen on the handkerchief, but a considerable amount of saliva from the Prince of Huaiyang's earnest pleas had flown onto it.

On New Year's Eve, who would want to sleep on a cold bed in the study?

The following New Year's Eve, before dinner time, thirty slaughtered and fattened pigs were transported to the foot of Cuiwei Mountain.

On this day, it was no longer the servants and officials of the Prince's mansion who were busy, and the hot steam rose not only from under the porridge distribution shed.

The woman took the lead, competing in cooking skills. The man put down his plow and hoe, and picked up his kitchen knife.

This is more lively than any New Year's Eve Xiao Jin has ever experienced before!

The singing and dancing, compared to the clanging and clattering of chopping, lacked power.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and lively conversation, the aroma of the soup, rather than its bubbling broth, was lacking.

Once the aroma of meat from the copper pots reached the heavens, no one could resist it.

The bonfire in the snow reflected in the sky, making the clear blue sky appear as if it were filled with stars.

Thousands of people drank soup and ate meat, and the folk songs of Yuefu gained their beautiful melody.

And he, Xiao Jin, sat in the very center of this steaming hot place.

My nose is sore.

It smells delicious and makes a pleasant sound.

But every time you put a chopstick down, there's always a faster hand that scoops out a handful of pieces of meat from the bottomless pot of soup.

People all around were like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey.

The meat disappeared before it was even fully cooked. Thirty pigs, weighing six thousand catties, ended up in his mouth only bland soup, like pig bathwater.

Scattered pig hairs floated on the soup, along with falling snowflakes, loud conversations, and spittle from slurping soup.

He couldn't drink any of it.

Even his servant Chang Gui snatched a fist-sized piece of pork knuckle from the tiger's mouth and placed it in the prince's bowl, who hadn't eaten a single grain of rice for two days.

The half-cooked pork had a pungent, fishy smell that seemed to pierce your nostrils and reach right up to the top of your head.

He was in low spirits. He had just put down the bowl when, after thinking for a moment, he picked it up again and handed it to the person next to him.

He couldn't see clearly who took it.

All I could feel was the sweltering heat from the people and pigs hitting me as the half-piece of pork knuckle was cut into eight pieces and ended up in the mouths of countless people.

A strong, muscular man; a feisty woman; a young child under the wing; an old man in the corner.

He finally broke free from the pungent stench of mutton, sourness, and mud, and stood under the porridge stall, in front of a copper pot that was almost empty, with even the broth snatched away.

Before me, all I could see was the August tide.

Thousands of waves rose and fell, surging and churning. Laughter, playful banter, New Year's greetings, arguments, and sighs, like scattered snowflakes, stung his face.

Lin Yu sat on the ground, becoming one of the crests of the wave.

The small waves lying beside him were a group of students from the county school.

He smiled and asked, "The etiquette of dining?"

"Left bowl, right bowl!" a boy whose hair was not yet tied up answered quickly. "That's how I was just now, one bowl in each hand. The bowl on the left was filled with soup, and the bowl on the right was filled with a big piece of pork leg by my father!"

This statement drew gasps of surprise.

He Ji sat down next to Lin Yu and laughed heartily, "It seems that it is indeed true that only when the granaries are full do people know etiquette."

He pointed to the empty bowl in front of him, "Those who don't have two bowls can only eat the meat and soup together."

A child who was just beginning to develop teeth earnestly said to him, "But Master He, you can refrain from drinking."

The smile on He Ji's face vanished instantly.

He glanced at Lin Yuan, who was laughing in the crowd, coughed lightly, and argued that it was because his ceramic bowl had a chip in it, "Just like the front tooth that's fallen out of your mouth, it's leaking!"

The children, however, seemed encouraged and eager to impress Master Lin, who was bestowing the gifts, raising their voices in unison.

"Also, Wuzha eats!"

"Also, do not gnaw on bones!"

He Ji blushed and said, "The one gnawing on the bone is clearly that dog from the Chen family!"

But then a child's voice rang out from the crowd: "The Book of Rites also says, 'Do not—do not throw bones to dogs!'"

Before He Ji could say that he hadn't thrown the bone to the dog, Lin Yu interrupted, asking, "The Book of Rites says, 'When serving one's teacher in officialdom, one should not be intimate with them without proper etiquette.' Do you know what that means?"

The child who had answered first earlier took the lead again this time, saying loudly, "In serving as an official, studying, and serving teachers, one must treat them with propriety."

Lin Yu nodded approvingly, and He Ji nodded repeatedly as well.

“You didn’t treat your teacher with proper respect just now,” Lin Yu instructed the children in a serious tone. “If you really wanted to say those things, you shouldn’t have started by calling him ‘Master.’ You should have addressed him as ‘brother.’ You should have called him ‘elder brother.’”

After saying that, he patted He Ji on the shoulder, "Don't you think so, Brother He?"

Feeling tricked, He Ji turned to the side, intending to give Lin Yu a good whack on the head.

The children understood, exchanged smiles, and shouted in unison, "Brother He, sit like a corpse, stand like an archer!"

Lin Yuan laughed so hard she almost choked, and ended up snuggling up to A Yao.

Ayao, tickled by Lin Yuan's touch, laughed and tilted her body, asking, "What are they all talking about? I'm so confused. They were just talking about the Chen family's dog, how did it become a corpse? Did that dog die after eating the pig bone that Master He—Brother He—gave it?"

Lin Yuan clutched her stomach and sighed, trembling, "Thank goodness, we're not exactly gentlemen, so we don't need to sit as upright as those being sacrificed."

Everyone burst into laughter, pushing and shoving, causing Master He's rice bowl to roll twice on the ground, turning the half-inch gap into a two-inch one.

Ayao asked in surprise, "Sister, you've been to school?"

Lin Yuan's laughter caught in her throat, making her face flush slightly.

She pulled the hood of her sheepskin coat over her face, saying, "I only learned a few characters at home."

"No wonder Master Lin is fond of you!"

Ah Yao's next sigh was inaudible through the howling wind and her hood.

Xiao Xun also said that.

Lin Yuan finished grinding the ink in the Zichen Pavilion of the Jiaofang Palace. Seeing Xiao Xun engrossed in his books, and without giving any further instructions, she squatted down and quietly took her leave.

"return."

Xiao Xun glanced at the inkstone. "If this little bit of ink runs out, will I have to grind it myself?"

Lin Yuan saw the flying dragon carved on the edge of the inkstone, half of its scales submerged in the ink pool, and thought to herself, even if ink were splashed on silk to paint, it would be enough to complete a masterpiece several feet in size.

But since His Majesty had spoken, she dared not object. She could only return to her desk and stand there, waiting for the "dip of ink" to dissipate.

As the setting sun streamed into the room, it gilded the person engrossed in reading with a layer of gold dust, transforming the jade pen rest and the brush resting on it into a real, undulating stone mountain—completely still.

Lin Yuan was feeling bored and drowsy when she heard Xiao Xun tell her to look for the Classic of Mountains and Seas on the bookshelf.

She walked toward the bookshelf, thinking to herself that she had sorted through her books these past two days and had never seen the Classic of Mountains and Seas here.

Hesitantly, a voice came from behind: "Third floor, eighth from the left, just pick any book."

It really is the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

However, Lin Yuan was puzzled. Just now, His Majesty's voice sounded displeased, so why did he suddenly become so childlike and want to read such a children's book?

But she soon brought back the thickest volume of silk book.

"There are quite a few paintings on it. If you have some free time, take a look."

Lin Yuan was taken aback. She was a little younger than His Majesty, but she was long past the age of looking at pictures.

She accepted the promise.

The book, made of silk, was only one scroll, but it was large and thick, like a piece of cloth pressed down on an arm.

She couldn't help but wonder what wrong she had done to deserve such punishment. She should ask the eunuch Wang later.

"Sit here and watch."

“But this is the imperial desk.” She looked at the seat Xiao Xun pointed to and said hesitantly.

Xiao Xun sneered: "You're afraid of this desk, but aren't you afraid of disobeying me?"

Lin Yuan quickly shook her head and said, "I'm not afraid."

"Hmm?" He frowned.

Lin Yuan blushed: "Since it was His Majesty who said it, then this servant is no longer afraid of this desk."

She placed the heavy silk scroll in one corner of the imperial desk.

For some reason, the empty seats were very close to Xiao Xun.

She tried to pull it further away, but the bronze deer mat at each of the four corners was thin and frail, clearly unsteady.

She secretly regretted that she had been out of her mind and had unintentionally arranged two seats under the emperor's desk, so close together.

Xiao Xun was engrossed in his book, and she dared not make a sound, lest she disturb him or annoy him.

As she hesitated, she heard a cold voice again: "Aren't you going to sit down? Standing there, you're blocking my light."

Lin Yuan sat down next to him with a "whoosh".

She sat on pins and needles, not daring to move an inch. If they stretched out their hands, they would almost be shoulder to shoulder.

The people around them, however, remained completely unperturbed.

The hall fell silent for a while longer.

Lin Yuan looked at several paintings of the Siyou Kingdom and gradually relaxed.

Si Yousheng longed for a man, but did not take a wife. A commentary in the *Liezi Tianrui* states: "The man longed for a man, but did not take a wife, and thus felt moved." ②

Lin Yuan thought aimlessly, "Si Shi doesn't need to marry; he can have children simply because of the connection between heaven and man. His Majesty must be extremely envious."

She turned her gaze with pity to the emperor who was a homosexual but had no children.

Of course, I only dared to catch a glimpse of his hand.

His hand remained almost motionless on the desk—he was completely absorbed in what he was watching.

She couldn't help but glance to the side and saw the hands turning the pages of the book.

It turned out that her elder brother had taught her manners at home.

When she was young, her older brother suggested that he teach her to read and write.

Lin Yuan asked, puzzled, why.

She was very busy every day, feeding the pigs, cutting pig feed, helping her mother at the stove, and playing house with the neighbors, Ah Jin and Ah Yin, using dust as food, smear as soup, and wood as meat.

Lin Yu couldn't explain why she insisted on learning to read.

However, all the women he knew were literate, and not only were they literate, they were also well-mannered, knew poetry, and were skilled in playing musical instruments.

“If you can read and write, then more people will like you,” he said after thinking for a moment.

Lin Yuan wasn't moved. She was illiterate and didn't read, yet many people still liked her.

However, Lin Yuan's eyes lit up soon after Lin Yu said, "There is a thousand bushels of grain in the book."

Despite having learned countless characters, Lin Yuan had searched through almost every book on the shelf, but still couldn't find the millet in the book. On the contrary, the more she read, the hungrier she became, and the number of cakes her mother had left on the stove dwindled exponentially.

Fortunately, with consecutive years of good harvests, the family had more pigs and cattle, and although the millet in the bowl wasn't a thousand bushels, it was still a thousand liters.

Father was all smiles every day. With extra money and grain, he bought a carriage and horses, and sent Lin Yu to study poetry and literature under a learned scholar who lived in seclusion in the city.

I heard that the scholar surnamed Cheng had lectured on the classics at the Imperial Academy during the reign of the late emperor, and had also discussed the differences and similarities of the Five Classics with twenty-two other scholars at the Shiqu Pavilion.

The final version was designated by the emperor as the "True Five Classics" and used by the Imperial Academy and local schools for generations.

Later, he retired due to illness and lived in seclusion on a desolate mountain five miles away, hiding his identity.

After retiring from public life, Master Cheng never accepted disciples or set up an altar to teach. However, he once met Lin Yu by chance and discovered that Lin Yu had potential for enlightenment, so he agreed to teach him.

Lin Yu was overjoyed, tears welling up in her eyes.

He, who never played children's games, went home that day and played house with Lin Yuan, Ah Jin, and Ah Yin.

He arranged their food and soup in order, saying, "This is the Zhou ritual."

"What is the Zhou Rites?" Lin Yuan thought it was something like a thousand bushels of millet.

"These are the rituals established by the Duke of Zhou."

"Who is the Duke of Zhou?" Ah Yin asked.

Lin Yu explained: "The Duke of Zhou, whose surname was Ji and given name was Dan, was the son of King Wen of Zhou and the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou. He assisted the young King Cheng in governing the country and initiated the Cheng-Kang era of peace..."

Eight-year-old Lin Yuan was filled with awe and longing upon hearing this. Ah Jin and Ah Yin listened to Lin Yu's words with their heads up, and needless to say, they were also lost in thought.

A person named after an egg must be someone who knows best how to manage grain and how to run a household.

She knew of a merchant in the market named Zhang who raised chickens and sold eggs; everyone called him "Egg Zhang."

With the meager profits from selling chickens and eggs, he built a large mansion; his chicken farm was as spacious as a typical three-courtyard house.

According to the law, merchants are not allowed to build auspicious beasts such as lions, tigers, and lion-like creatures in front of their houses. He took a different approach and asked a stonemason to carve two perfectly round eggs to ward off evil spirits and protect his house.

His father jokingly recounted after a few drinks that Egg Zhang's original intention was to carve two chickens, but the stonemason's price was a hundred times higher. Following the principle of "valuing profit over intention," he naturally gave up on the idea.

If a rooster can symbolize a remarkable achievement, then an egg can certainly represent abundant wealth.

The two eggs on the left and right, along with the narrow, tall, black lacquered archway in the middle, have become a unique sight in Yongping Township, on the western outskirts of Chang'an.

...

Thinking of this, Lin Yuan couldn't help but smile slightly.

"You've been to school?"

Xiao Xun's voice reached her ears.

Lin Yuan then realized that her gaze had lingered on that scroll of gifts for quite some time.

How long will it take?

It shouldn't be that long ago.

After all, the scroll in Xiao Xun's hand remained stuck on that one page.

“Well, when we were young, we were together…” She was about to say “brother”, but then she changed her mind and said, “We learned from our father, and I know a few words.”

Lin Yuan only discovered that her brother's name was not on the family register before entering the palace. She did not know the reason, but she was well aware of the implications, and she never mentioned Lin Yu to Li Shun.

Li Shun had met her brother, but those early memories had long been swept away by time, leaving only fragments of Lin Yuan and the fragrant cakes that Qin Shi had made for over ten years.

"You've been reading this book for quite a while; it seems you really enjoy reading."

Lin Yuan originally wanted to say that it was because the illustrations in the book were so good.

Xiao Xun reached out and closed the silk scroll of the Great Wilderness Scripture in front of her, then pushed the gift in his hand in front of her.

Her face flushed red. Had she been staring at the gift in his hand for a long time?

But he was clearly engrossed in the book, so how could he know that she had been reading for a long time?

She nodded shyly.

Because I saw the corners of Xiao Xun's mouth curve up.

He rarely smiled.

Lin Yuan suddenly realized that there was some truth to what her brother had said when he coaxed her to study.

Xiao Xun pointed to one of the passages: "Can you understand these?"

Lin Yuan shook her head: "No."

"Are there any characters you don't recognize?"

He asked very patiently.

This tone inexplicably reminded Lin Yuan of her elder brother, and she couldn't help but reply, "These two sentences, 'Men precede women,' signify the relationship between strength and gentleness."

Xiao Xun asked in surprise, "You recognize the characters, and you pronounced them correctly. So why don't you understand?"

Lin Yuan recalled how her brother had taught her to read this "Book of Divination" when she was ten years old, and how she had enjoyed it very much.

When she played house with Ah Jin and Ah Yin, everyone wanted to be the bride.

When Ah Jin's sister married a clerk, the country lanes were crowded with people from several villages. She squeezed to the front and carefully counted the colors on her wedding dress. There were five colors in total: blue, crimson, yellow, red, and green. It was dazzling to look at.

Not to mention, the book also mentioned Naji and Nazheng, and those few words reminded her of Ajin's house, where lacquered wooden chests were laid out all the way from the house to the entire yard, along with a pair of wild geese, and cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs.

However, when she read the phrase "men precede women," no matter how her brother explained it, she insisted that "women precede men."

Because, without a mother, where would an elder brother come from?

Even the father was born to the stepmother, who was also a woman.

Lin Yu couldn't persuade her otherwise, and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, women come before men. In your brother's heart, A-Yuan will always come before anyone else."

She's grown up now and no longer acts unreasonably.

She pondered slowly and said, "Men are not necessarily strong; they also have their weaknesses. Women are not necessarily gentle; they can be strong. Women can also be gentlemen. Besides, strength does not necessarily prevail over gentleness. Therefore, men are not necessarily superior to women."

She forgot to look at Xiao Xun's expression.

After she finished speaking, she didn't dare to look anymore.

Her heart pounded like a drum in her chest, and in the now silent hall, she vaguely heard... the sound of bells.

No, it's the mournful cry of cicadas in autumn and the rustling of falling leaves.

Those voices contained a chilling laugh, as if they came from the heavens, or as if they were a self-mocking outburst from the soul: "You really dare to say that."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare again," she muttered to herself, feeling dejected.

My body froze, chilled by the coldness in that smile.

“I asked first. Answer however you want.” It was Xiao Xun’s voice. “Besides, what you said isn’t entirely unreasonable.”

Lin Yuan was certain that the voice did not come from the underworld or the heavenly court before she came to her senses.

Xiao Xun did not seem to be angry.

“Strength and gentleness should not be distinguished by gender. Throughout history, there have been many strong women, such as Ehuang and Nüying, Fu Hao, Tai Jiang and Tai Si, Queen Jiang of Zhou, and Wu Yan’s daughter.”

Laughter followed, "And you too."

Lin Yuan's face flushed red from those words and the tingling breath the speaker left near her ear.

"Why is your face red, sister?" A-Yao's voice reached her ears.

"It was the wind," Lin Yuan said in a muffled voice, pulling the sheepskin hood over her head even tighter, leaving only her eyes visible.

It's still cold on Cuiwei Mountain, but the snow has stopped for a while and the wind has died down.

She saw snowflakes the size of goose feathers flash by in mid-air.

"Oh, is it snowing again?"

When Ayao looked up, she couldn't see anything.

"Sister, you must be seeing things. It's probably just the hot breath we're blowing out of our mouths."

Ayao tilted her head and, through her exhaled breath, caught a glimpse of the handsome young master in the distance.

An arrow flew past Xiao Jin's eyes.

The arrowhead grazed one of the handles of the copper pot and landed steadily in the pot, which had a diameter of three feet.

The tiny collision sound was almost imperceptible.

Xiao Jin snapped out of his daze, breaking out in a cold sweat. Before he could even call for his officers, he gripped the Qin King's sword tightly with one hand and, with trembling hands, took out the feathered arrow.

Gilded arrowheads.

He recognized the print on it.

Those were arrows from the Imperial Guards.

He looked in the direction from which the arrow had come.

Two unfamiliar carriages were parked outside the group of people sitting around.

The gray curtains, unadorned with embroidery, were extremely understated, making it impossible to discern which noble family they came from.

The horses pulling the carriage were all of the same color, their coats as black as satin. They were Ferghana horses.

A man in a black robe with a jade belt around his waist stood with his head slightly lowered, bowing to the side, holding a quiver in his hand.

The carriage curtain was halfway open.

The embroidered cuffs fluttered gently in the wind, and when they were lifted, a golden arrow could be seen resting on the carved bow, which was drawn to its fullest extent.

A note from the author:

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Haha, he's here! He's finally here after all these chapters! Can our reunion be far behind? And can the crematorium be far behind? [Let me see!]

The text will be available for purchase next Monday, with three chapters totaling 15,000 words to be updated at midnight. After that, updates will be daily, and there is plenty of draft material.

Thank you so much for your support and unwavering companionship over the past few days. This chapter and the next three chapters will be available for purchase, and red envelopes will be given away in the comments. The chapters after the purchase will be more interesting than those before, so please don't let them accumulate too much before they become available.

Here's a pre-order for "My Fifth Year as Empress," please add it to your favorites!

A domineering and arrogant daughter of a powerful minister VS a cunning and scheming puppet emperor

After drinking a cup of poison, Huo Yu woke up to find the sunlight warm and illuminating the golden hairpin with the mountain motif beside her bed, as well as her dark robe with its blue and white hues.

She returned to her fifth year as empress.

It is spring.

At this time, her relationship with Emperor Xiao Zhan also melted away like the winter snow that had been there for years, from mutual respect to harmonious love.

However, in the dead of winter that year, her father, the powerful minister Huo Yan, passed away.

The Huo family was guilty of numerous crimes, including embezzlement, selling official positions, and so on. Some were sentenced to death, while others were imprisoned.

Huo Yu, as a daughter of the Huo family, went to the cold hall of Zhaotai Palace.

With the Huo clan's influence in the court eliminated, the emperor seized power and changed the era name to "Yuanguang".

The door to the Jiaofang Palace opened.

The footsteps grew closer.

A corner of a black robe appeared behind the screen.

Xiao Zhan carefully held the medicine, which he had cooled by blowing on it, and brought it to her lips.

As Huo Yu gazed at the smiling face emerging from the misty steam, she unconsciously gripped the brocade quilt tightly with both hands.

*Still a fictional character

*1V1 between male and female leads, SC (sex couple)

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①歠: chuò, to drink soup. 流歠: soup dripping.

②The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Great Wilderness East Classic: "There is a country called Siyou. Emperor Jun begat Yanlong, Yanlong begat Siyou, Siyou begat Sishi, who did not marry; and Sinu, who did not marry." This means that Sishi and Sinu did not marry due to the gender separation system, and reproduced only through mutual attraction.

③胾: zi, a large piece of meat. This sentence comes from "Han Feizi: Outer Chapters, Left Upper".

④ In the Han Dynasty, one sheng was equivalent to 200 milliliters today, one dou was equal to ten sheng, and one hu was equal to ten dou, which is about 20 sheng today. One zhong = 64 dou (6 hu 4 dou), and one hu is nearly one shi. However, hu is a unit of volume, while shi is a unit of weight.

⑤ This law was actually made up by the author. Everyone can read it for fun, but please don't believe it [please].

In addition, the "rites" mentioned in this chapter refer to the "Xiao Dai Li Ji" (Record of Rites by Dai the Elder) from the Western Han Dynasty.

The five colors on the wedding dress come from the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Chapter on Carriages and Clothing," which states, "Officials with a salary of 300 shi or above are dressed in five colors: blue, crimson, yellow, red, and green." 300 shi refers to the salary of an official.

The duties of a county-level official were roughly equivalent to those of a modern-day Ministry of Personnel official, and their salary was around 300 shi (a unit of grain measure). County-level officials also had officials with salaries around 100 shi.