Chapter 27 Unexpected Political Commentary, Erotic Songs, Phoenix, and Ah Cai's Work Injury...
The older gentlemen ignored the mischievous children, letting them play until they were bloodied and bruised, while they continued drinking Xingyang Cave Spring Wine and throwing divination blocks on the other side of the screen, waiting for the Li family's wedding procession.
The group chatted about the wars in Goguryeo, the emperor's dragon boats and water palaces, and the extravagant prosperity of Luoyang. They also secretly lamented the heavy corvée labor and the boiling resentment among the people. As the conversation flowed, they began to openly ask about the mysterious disappearance of Han Shi'e after his involvement in Yang Xuangan's rebellion, a question that even Li Keshi was clueless about. When the topic of the Grand Canal came up, the two sons-in-law and uncles of the Changsun family were again at odds. Wang and Li offered much criticism, while Changsun Chang and Changsun Cao largely defended the emperor.
Changsun Cao even moved Lu Bo's chessboard aside, dipped his finger in wine, and sketched Yang Guang's grand plans on the table, explaining to everyone the various conveniences of the future.
"The bones stuck in the riverbed and the corpses under the dragon boats have no future," Li Keshi listened attentively and answered frankly.
“If those terrible rumors are true…” Changsun Cao brushed away the wine stains and said awkwardly, “Your Majesty did not need to be in such a hurry.”
Changsun Qingyu coughed a few times on the other side of the screen, reminding her husband, brother-in-law, and uncle to stop talking.
The grooms then realized that today's topic had crossed the line. Firstly, it was inappropriate to discuss it at the wedding, and secondly, they feared that walls might have ears and that some treacherous servant might report them to the authorities, or that a loose-lipped guest might spread the word, which would be extremely unfortunate.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, while several adults were arguing endlessly about the corvée labor on the canal, Li Dazhi held his pipa horizontally and began to play the music of the Qi Dynasty's Kucha, which was quite moving.
A group of boys mischievously gathered around Li Dazhi and began humming the "Catching Song" in the tune of the Qi Dynasty's Kucha: "Wearing yellow mulberry clogs and cattail shoes, with silk threads tied at both ends in the middle. When I was young, I pitied my mother; now I pity my son-in-law. Why not marry early to save for the family?"
Li Keshi and his wife, Changsun Qingyu, breathed a sigh of relief, remarking that although their silly son lacked refinement, at least he had learned to help his parents out of trouble, which was commendable.
Wang Wan frowned and said, "The melody is pleasant to listen to! But what kind of shameless lyrics are these! Hey, Dazhi, aren't you shameless?!"
"No, I don't want it anymore." The scepter on the pipa string was pressed harder.
“Let the children sing for fun,” Mrs. Gao said with a smile.
“Young ladies, believe it or not, when we were young in Ye City, we played the piano worse than them and sang even more wildly.” Madam Zheng shook the half-leaning Old Madam Gao. “Right, Aunt?”
"I don't believe it unless you two elders personally perform and sing for us!" Lady Xianyu was initially unable to speak due to the torment of pregnancy symptoms, but after sitting with the old ladies for a long time and feeling slightly better, she regained her lively nature.
“No, I am much more refined than you,” Old Madam Gao retorted to Madam Zheng with great vigor.
Everyone laughed along and began to tell stories about the groom's family, such as how Lady Dou advised Emperor Wu of Zhou to treat the Turkic empress well when she was six years old, and how the Duke of Tang inherited his title at the age of seven and was deeply favored by Empress Wenxian.
The former Princess of Lanling was no longer concerned with appearances, but she was unwilling to lose face to the Gao family: "You all say the groom is perfect in every way, which is certainly true. But our A-Jing is equally good in terms of background, looks, talent, and even filial piety. How is he not good enough for him? A-Jing, you must not underestimate yourself!"
Changsun Qingjing playfully bowed to Madam Zheng and said, "Of course I will listen to my aunt. Let Acai spend more time doing my makeup and let the groom and his party wait patiently. I'll just stay home a little longer."
"Old Madam Zheng is right. My brothers and I will definitely play a trick on the groom when he comes to marry into the family, and we will not let him take my sister away so easily," Changsun Wuyi said solemnly as he peeked out from behind the screen.
The crowd mocked, "If it were up to you to block the door, your older sister would have been taken away long ago!"
Changsun Qingjing, however, was thinking about how to send a note to Li Shimin, reminding him to be lenient and not to snatch the bamboo cane back and injure the relatives and distinguished guests who had come to help her, a poor orphan girl.
As the guests from the Gao and Changsun families were chatting and laughing, Changsun Wuji, busy welcoming them, invited Wang Wude to the main hall to pay his respects to his elders. The young men, upon seeing the lynx "Kuzhi" behind the two, were so excited that they abandoned their masks and pipa and swarmed forward to tease this majestic hunting companion.
Wang Wude introduced himself as a young friend of Gao Zhili, who had come to offer his congratulations. Everyone was touched by his unwavering support in attending the wedding of Gao's adopted daughter during the Gao family's time of hardship, and naturally held him in even higher esteem. Furthermore, Wuji specifically mentioned Wang Wude's arduous efforts to retrieve the "kuzhi" (traditional goods) that had almost been smuggled out of Daxing by merchants. During the banquet, everyone was even more grateful for his kindness towards Gao Shilian, and no one cared whether he was a member of the Taiyuan Wang clan, the Langya Wang clan, or the Wuhuan Wang clan.
Changsun Qingjing dismissed Wang Wude's half-truthful remarks with a smile, secretly praising his thoughtfulness. In short, this guest, invited under the guise of his uncle's status, certainly earned him a lot of face.
Madam Gao thanked Wang Wude and invited him to join her in waiting for the groom. Wang Wude, however, bowed towards the bride's quarters inside the pavilion and announced loudly, "Having heard of Lady Changsun's virtuous and noble character, I have made an appointment with the master of ceremonies to present a grand gift on the auspicious day of her wedding!"
As everyone was puzzled, Wang Wude took an orange bird from his robes, let out a long cry, and released it into the air. A golden beam of light leaped into the barrier, circled the room several times, and reminded everyone of the legendary phoenix.
"Luo Fu Feng!" Li Keshi exclaimed in surprise.
Everyone knows that Li Keshi, who has the unpleasant nickname "Bird Thief," is knowledgeable about all kinds of rare birds in the world, so it is not easy to arouse his amazement. It can be seen that this young master Wang came with great sincerity.
The palm-sized phoenix, gleaming with a fiery luster, plucked at the colorful clothes of the ladies before folding its wings and landing in the bride's arms.
"Is this a young phoenix?" Changsun Qingjing carefully picked up the delicate Luofu Phoenix, gently stroking its smooth, shimmering back and scratching its pinkish-white belly. "You're so beautiful!"
"It seems to have been trained to find the place that most resembles a flowering tree." Wang Wan leaned closer and fiddled with Luo Fufeng's folded tail feathers. "This little phoenix has decided that you are its parasol tree!"
Uncomfortable from being teased, Luo Fufeng pecked at Wang Wan's finger in annoyance. Wang Wan withdrew her finger and gently tapped Luo Fufeng's head: "You're so fierce! I'll lock you in a cage if I don't want to!"
Luo Fufeng turned around and preened its feathers with its beak. It fluttered a few times in Changsun Qingjing's palm, circled the bride's colorful headdress several times, and landed steadily on the top of the headdress, as if it were the most beautiful part of the headdress.
"This bird, though small, is quite intelligent; it found the most beautiful lady in this house in no time," Lady Xianyu exclaimed.
As the guests marveled, the commotion of Changsun Wuyi and his group of young men came from outside the main hall.
"Hold it tight, don't let it run around!"
"I'm too light to weigh it down."
"Grab its tail."
"Its tail is so short and slippery, how can I catch it!"
"Oh dear! You scared the lynx away!"
"Someone, catch Grasshopper! No, catch Kuzhi. It's rushing towards the main hall."
"Sister, parents, uncle! The lynx has gone mad!"
Immediately afterwards, a huge tuft of brownish-yellow fur suddenly burst into the main hall, overturning the chessboard, knocking over cups and saucers, crushing the colorful fruits that had rolled all over the floor, leaving the room in a mess and filled with screams.
The thinner "Kuzhi" skillfully bypassed the obstacles and rushed towards Changsun Qingjing with a mournful whimper.
The large, brown cat rubbed its face too enthusiastically against its young mistress's, then curled up pitifully in Changsun Qingjing's arms.
Seeing that the newcomers were hostile, Luo Fufeng danced gracefully on the ceremonial crown, seizing the opportunity to escape the lynx's malicious claws, and vanished without a trace. When it reappeared before the guests, it perched on a roof beam, hanging upside down and observing coldly.
"Ah, you jealous little lady, you scheming lynx, you just can't stand the beautiful Luo Fufeng, you have to chase it away before you're satisfied?" Qingjing happily rubbed the lynx's no longer round cheeks, her heart filled with the joy and relief of having it back. The girl's radiant face and that tuft of brownish-yellow fur clung together.
Changsun Wuji entered the enclosure and forcibly dragged the lynx away. When the elders saw Changsun Qingjing's crooked, multicolored ceremonial crown, his blurred forehead, and the fallen flower ornaments on his dimples, they couldn't help but laugh and scold this beast for causing trouble.
The mother, Madam Gao, quickly instructed her maid, A-Cai, to redo the bride's makeup.
"There must be some harmless accidents during the wedding procession so that the newlyweds will remember it for a lifetime," said Madam Gao, fearing that anyone might complain about bad luck, and she quickly reassured everyone. The women of the Gao family, who had experienced many ups and downs in their lives, remained completely calm and composed, displaying a nonchalant and carefree attitude.
Changsun Qingjing wholeheartedly agreed.
The only one who seemed somewhat dejected at the gathering was A-Cai, the maid who had gone to the Li family last night to set up the felt tent and was now doing the makeup for the mischievous bride for the second time. She seemed to have lost all her strength, and weariness permeated every part of her body.
Knowing she was tired, Changsun Qingjing squeezed the clever maid's hand: "I'm sorry, A-Cai. I won't do anything rash this time. Ah, I remember now, you personally decorated my Jili's Qinglu, it must be breathtakingly beautiful."
Ah Cai was greatly encouraged by the young lady's heartfelt words. She mustered her spirits to wipe away Qing Jing's old makeup, evenly applied dragon powder, and then carefully drew the forehead yellow and face, outlined the willow eyebrows, and blended the slanted red.
Madam Gao and Madam Xianyu stood quietly behind A Cai, pointing and chatting.
"The lynx's pounce has inspired A-Cai, making the bride's makeup even more radiant!" Lady Xianyu took the bronze mirror and held it up to Changsun Qingjing.
With his head and neck held in place by A Cai, Changsun Qingjing could only glance at the bronze mirror out of the corner of his eye, and could not see clearly. He could only mumble incoherently echo the elders' praises.
At this moment, the brief chaos in the main room ended. The lynx was tied up in the back garden, the phoenix was put back in its birdcage, the floor was cleaned again, and the chessboard and cups were restored to their original state.
The older gentlemen inevitably chatted about whose family had been demoted or exiled, whose titles or official positions had been stripped; the energetic children played the game of pitch-pot; the married women reminisced about the amusing anecdotes of their weddings, and the unmarried girls appraised the bride's new makeup. Amidst the clamor, an unspeakable anxiety and restlessness permeated the air.
"Gentlemen and ladies, the wedding procession is almost here!" A servant who had been waiting at the gate for a long time rushed to report.
"Young men!" Changsun Qingyu called out with a smile, "Each of you take a bamboo cane and block the gate tightly!"
"Blocking the door!"
"Let's give the groom a hard time!"
"Anyone who dares to step forward will be punished by drinking three cups of wine!"
These mischievous boys, who were so naughty that they were hated by everyone, finally had a chance to prove themselves. Grabbing bamboo canes, they went around trying to stop the wedding procession.
"Wait, the bride hasn't done her lipstick application or put on her floral decorations yet!" This was truly the most embarrassing and helpless moment in A-Cai's life.
The sound of the bamboo cane striking and the children's laughter drowned out the little maid's anxiety.
The author's note: Here, "Luofu Phoenix" is interpreted as "Tonghua Phoenix," referring to a red bird with a long tail that likes to hang upside down to suck nectar from tung flowers. It is a very cute and docile bird that can be used as jewelry.
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