At this time, the dining table had been set up in the side hall, and the twelve spacious windows were all open. The furnishings did not seem particularly luxurious, but there were half-human-high large Ru kiln vases with white background and blue and white patterns placed in the eight corners, with various fresh flowers inserted in them, which looked simple and warm, yet lively and charming.
The spring light of May outside the window made the weather moist and comfortable. A gentle breeze came from the direction of the lotus pond beside the hall, and with the wind came the sound of gurgling water, accompanied by light-colored gardenia petals and a few green leaves floating on the water. The hall was cool and warm, filled with fragrance. The female members of the family were all refreshed and cheerful, and were full of praise.
Cold dishes and fresh fruits were already served. After Minglan led all the female guests to sit down, she ordered hot dishes and warm wine to be served. She also prepared lighter fruit wine and freshly squeezed fruit juice for the young ladies. Then the maids brought plates and bowls to the table in a continuous stream, and everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating.
It was the first time that the Gu family held a banquet, and Aunt Ge went all out and showed off her best skills. In addition to the usual dishes such as chicken, duck, fish and meat, there were also many delicacies from land and sea. There was a dish of stir-fried duck with wild mushrooms and black fungus, a dish of sweet and sour pineapple spareribs, a dish of bamboo tube sesame silver eel soup, and a dish of braised pork tenderloin with double mushroom sauce. They were particularly delicious and everyone was quite satisfied with the meal.
The women in the Gu family were not as fond of drinking and playing drinking games as the men were. In addition, since there were guests from outside, the women in the Gu family did not want to force Minglan to drink. Also, since their elders and maternal grandmothers were all around, the girls were also reserved and did not suggest playing poetry and drinking games. Everyone just ate their food and chatted politely.
After they had eaten for a while, Minglan asked people to start a play in the small octagonal pavilion in front of the hall. A group of musicians brought drums, flutes, three-stringed instruments and other instruments, and several dressed-up female guests entered the pavilion one after another. After asking the oldest female guest to choose the tune in turn, they started to play the strings and drums, and the actors in oil-painted costumes began to sing softly.
There is a shallow pool of clear water between the hall and the pavilion. A short bridge of five or six steps long is paved with bluestone slabs more than two feet wide. The sound of water is floating, and the view across the water, through the charming flowers and green trees, is as light as smoke. The scenery and sound are both excellent.
After listening for a while, the lady could not help but praise: "These ladies are well invited, the music is well sung, and the arrangement of the place is also very good; it is a feast for our ears and eyes."
After hearing this, Minglan stood up and smiled to thank him. Madam Di Er beside her said quietly, "This is all due to the emperor's kindness. Such a reward is truly a blessing for my sister-in-law."
Mrs. Xuan, who was sitting opposite, quickly took over the conversation and said with a smile, "That requires some thought. If it were me, even if I were given such a good place, I wouldn't be able to come up with such a good idea! After all, my sister-in-law comes from a family of scholars."
Wang was so proud that she couldn't help but smile. Minglan blushed slightly and said modestly, "Sister-in-law Xuan, you are too kind. This idea is not my own. It was originally arranged in this way according to the layout left by the old man Xiong Linshan. I just copied it."
Mrs. Xuan couldn't help but complain, "You are too honest! I'm praising you, why are you letting on so easily?"
Everyone burst into laughter. Minglan lowered her head in embarrassment. Mrs. Bing took the opportunity to say, "I'm so taken with your garden, sister-in-law. I don't want to leave now! This huge house seems so empty. I wonder if I'd be lucky enough to have you as my sister-in-law's companion. It would be more lively if we moved in together."
Minglan smiled slightly and looked at the women of the Gu family sitting at the table. She saw that they were quite uncomfortable. Most of them glared at Mrs. Bing Er with a reproachful look. But Mrs. Bing Er pretended not to know and kept waiting for Minglan's reply.
Mrs. Xuan's face was the most flushed. She was very resentful in her heart that Mrs. Bing was so shameless. She not only embarrassed the Gu family in front of outside guests, but also embarrassed their fourth branch in front of the whole family.
She tugged at Mrs. Bing's arm, forced a smile, and whispered, "What are you talking about? Your parents-in-law are still here, where are you going to move to?" Mrs. Bing, whether she was really stupid or just pretending, actually said, "Why don't we all move over here?"
Now even the lady-in-waiting was displeased. Seeing the angry look on the fourth old lady's face, she was about to start scolding, but Rulan, who was sitting next to Yuan Wenying, suddenly leaned over and whispered in Yuan Wenying's ear: "Didn't you separate a long time ago? Why are you still living together? Are you trying to save money on food?" As soon as she finished speaking, she pushed Yuan Wenying hard and glared at her to shut up.
The voice of this sentence was neither loud nor soft, and seemed to be a "whisper" to Yuan Wenying, but everyone could hear it clearly. The female guests and relatives were immediately happy, watching the good show in the inner house of Gu Mansion with a smile, and they all thought to themselves: Even if they want to move in, they should consider Madam Shao and Zhu who live in the same room as them. Why should it be your turn as a sister-in-law who has separated from the family?
Gu Tingyu is the Marquis, so he cannot move out of the Marquis' Mansion. Gu Tingwei is the Dowager's biological son, so he cannot move either because he has to serve his widowed mother. None of their roommates have made any moves, but the ones from the fourth room are thinking about moving to Chengyuan. They are so shameless!
Rulan's words were met with a momentary embarrassment among the women of the Gu family, save for the Grand Madam and Mrs. Zhu. They couldn't help but glare at Mrs. Bing II. The Fourth Old Lady was especially impressed. Earlier, during their casual conversation, the other ladies had been quite fond of Tingying's graceful demeanor and clear manner. They all had sons and nephews of excellent character and appearance, and with a promising marriage on the horizon, Mrs. Bing II had been so embarrassed. She was now mad at Mrs. Bing II!
Even Mrs. Bing Er, who had a thick skin, could not withstand such a focused gaze and had to lower her head.
Minglan turned her head away without saying anything. She had only recently learned about the hidden story behind the division of the family.
When the treasury silver case broke out, the old man of the Gu family was penniless and feared that the whole family would be destroyed, so he quickly divided the family property, trying to hide some of it. Who knew that a few months later, Bai came into the family and the disaster was avoided. The eldest son, Marquis Gu, was stationed at the border all year round, so the fourth and fifth rooms still lived in the Marquis' Mansion. After Marquis Gu returned to Beijing, the matter of dividing the property and living separately was never mentioned again.
At this moment, Mrs. Lu, who had been listening to the opera with her eyes slightly squinted, suddenly spoke. She hummed weakly: "Alas... I am old and my ears are not very good. I can't even hear what you are singing when you are talking."
The fourth old lady breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly, "It's all because of us that we disturbed you." Then she glared at Mrs. Bing Er, pretended to smile, and said sternly, "Stop talking nonsense and listen to the music!"
As a result, the hall finally quieted down; Minglan secretly shook her head, sighed, turned her head to look at the Penglai-like pavilion on the water, no longer paying attention to them, and calmed down to listen and enjoy the music.
Since there was no stage, most of the female guests ordered opera excerpts.
Old Madam Lu chose the "Disciplining the Son" section from "The Duel" (she heard that her son, who was over fifty, had been acting unruly recently), the old lady chose the "Returning to the Court" section from "The Incident Exposed" (which tells the story of a misunderstanding and subsequent reconciliation between a mother-in-law, a daughter-in-law and a sister-in-law), and Mrs. Wang chose the "Returning the Pearl" section from "The Story of the Lute Player" (after countless philanderings, the husband finally realizes the good in his wife, turns over a new leaf, and lives a loving life together until old age). Then everyone else also chose their favorite pieces.
The one with the highest click rate is "The Story of Liu Yunqiao". Several female relatives each clicked a section. Minglan roughly counted and found that she had almost clicked the entire "The Story of Liu Yunqiao".
This play has been performed continuously for nearly a hundred years since the previous dynasty, and is especially loved by women.
The plot synopsis is as follows: During the middle of a certain dynasty, a famous courtesan met a young scholar who had won the imperial examination. Though they came from different backgrounds, they instantly fell in love. The scholar later redeemed the courtesan and made her a legitimate heir, but his family could not tolerate a prostitute. The courtesan, however, was determined and left a letter, urging the scholar to marry a woman from a higher-class family.
Tanhualang searched for his lover everywhere but to no avail, so he had to obey his parents' orders. Many years later, the newly widowered Tanhualang was appointed as an imperial censor to patrol the border. While patrolling the border, he encountered a large-scale invasion by the Jie slaves. Tanhualang led the soldiers and civilians to resist, but the enemy was numerous and we were few. Seeing that the reinforcements were delayed in arriving, the city was about to be broken and he would be killed. Tanhualang had already put his sword to his neck, but suddenly the Jie slaves' camp was in chaos. Tanhualang seized the opportunity and quickly ordered the soldiers guarding the city to take advantage of the opportunity to launch a sudden attack. Sure enough, they succeeded and the crisis was resolved.
After the battle, when they took inventory, they found out that a woman had spent a large sum of money to buy five hundred cattle, sheep and horses in a hurry, and then set fire to their tails, imitating Tian Dan's fire bull formation, and let the herd of animals rush through the rear of the unsuspecting Jie slaves; the third place winner became suspicious, and after careful inquiry, he found out that the woman was the famous prostitute.
In the end, of course, there is a happy ending, with the talented man and the beautiful woman living in harmony, growing old together, and having many children and grandchildren.
This story is very cliché, but very touching, because the play is based on true events and tells the story of a strange love story in the previous dynasty.
The third place winner was named Gao and his name was Tan. He was a young man from a famous family in Jiangzuo. He was successful at a young age and passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen. He successively assisted three emperors and had a life of ups and downs. He brought benefits to countless people and was later recorded in the official history "Biographies of Famous Ministers".
His wife is even more legendary, as she was indeed a courtesan along the Qinhuai River, later known as "Lady Liuli." Even if such a rather unsavory identity couldn't be concealed from the contemporaries, at least some written accounts could have been used to deceive future generations. Unfortunately, Lady Gao was so famous, and their affair was so tumultuous that even if it wasn't mentioned in official history, it was abundantly documented in unofficial accounts.
At this moment, a light drumbeat suddenly sounded from the octagonal pavilion, gradually accelerating. Four musicians plucked the three-stringed instrument with their ten fingers, as if weeping and complaining, like pearls pouring down the floor. It was thrilling. Minglan looked up at Zhu beside her, then at her sisters-in-law. They all looked excited and intoxicated. Minglan knew that the most exciting part was coming: Gao Tan returned home from the border town and begged his parents hard. Finally, his parents agreed to take Madam Liuli as a concubine. But Madam Liuli refused. She sighed to her lover and said the famous words: "I love you very much, but I also love myself very much."
She said that she had been looked down upon for half her life, and after she escaped from her lowly status, she decided to live the rest of her life with dignity. So she opened a workshop, recruited apprentices, and engaged in business. She had earned a dignified life for herself, and she was living a happy life now.
Gao Tan was determined to marry her, but the Jiangzuo Gao family refused to agree. This matter became known to the whole world, and even the neighbors were keen on talking about it. In the end, Gao Tan resolutely gave up his bright future, resigned from his job, and was expelled from the Gao family's ancestral hall and kicked out of the house.
Then, the couple, who were criticized by the whole world, lived in seclusion in the mountains of Yongzhou, lived in poverty, and supported each other. Gao Tan devoted himself to reading, writing books, and teaching his children, while Lady Liuli led the poor local people to open mountains and mine, and store water for fields.
Ten years passed, and the emperor changed. Gao Tan became famous again for his several magnum opus that rejected Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. Students from all over the world admired him and came to seek his advice. The court issued three edicts to reinstate Gao Tan. After that, he rose rapidly, became a general and a prime minister, returned to his hometown three times, and returned to the court three times. His official position reached the rank of Grand Tutor, and he had countless disciples. Finally, he was included in the "Biographies of Famous Ministers" and the "Temple of Loyal and Good People".
As for Madam Gao, from a singing girl to a lady of the highest rank, Madam Liuli's life is even more legendary than a legend.
When Minglan read this passage (official history + unofficial history), she once asked Mr. Zhuang: "Can mines be opened privately? The government won't intervene?"
"Other mines are not allowed, but Lady Liuli can," Mr. Zhuang said. "This is because this ore is not gold, silver, copper, iron, coal or salt, but a strange kind of 'quartz' that can be fired into glazed glass. The government doesn't even know what it is used for."
Glass! Yes, glass.
Minglan's pupils shrank slightly as she glanced at the open windows around her. They were inlaid with clear and shiny glass. Some were whole pieces of transparent glass, while others were small pieces of colored glass inlaid with floral and bird patterns. The light was brilliant and the hall was bright.
In ancient times when technology was low, Lady Liuli conducted precise experiments time and time again. She first earned some initial capital by firing some small glass gadgets. More than ten years later, she made convex lenses to be used as telescopes or magnifying glasses. More than ten years later, she finally revolutionized the technology and fired large areas of thin, smooth, and strong glass.
This Lady Liuli must have traveled through time—Minglan stared at the glass window in a trance—and judging from her remaining experimental manuscripts, she studied science and engineering.
This major is really good, Minglan sighed and was very envious.
A soft cheer rang out in the hall. The female singer's voice suddenly became low and deep, and her eyes contained a message of eternity. Even a pseudo-literary youth like Minglan had to admit that this was a really good show.
Because this play was written by a great talent in the previous dynasty, who was Gao's disciple. When he was seventy years old, he dreamed back to his school days at midnight. At that time, they often saw the white-haired Gao Qin and his wife, walking hand in hand along the river bank, still as loving as ever.
The old man woke up with tears on his face, and with full of gratitude and admiration, he wrote this masterpiece to commemorate his deceased teacher and teacher's wife. The work of a great talent is naturally unique. The melody of "The Story of Liu Yunqiao" is gentle and moving, and the lyrics are elegant and graceful. Many of the words in it can almost be directly put into poetry. It is indeed a rare masterpiece.
Minglan looked at the faces of the women around her. Some were envious, some were worried, and all were filled with emotion. Zhu, who was standing beside her, sighed softly, "Alas... For a woman to achieve the status of Lady Liuli, it's truly worth it."
The existence of Madam Liuli has become a symbol, a symbol, telling women that there are indeed such affectionate men in the world, but they just haven't met them.
For Minglan, Madam Liuli was a signal, telling her that she had a fellow villager.
Minglan had heard some things about Queen Jing'an from her grandmother.
It is known that she came from a prominent family, was born beautiful, and was intelligent since childhood. She could write poems at the age of three and paint at the age of five (probably a transmigration of her soul). Her poems were stunning and brilliant (Tang poetry and Song lyrics). She was chosen as the prince's principal wife at the age of fifteen and was crowned empress at the age of twenty. Old Lady Sheng had visited the palace to see her when she was a girl, but just two years later, the 37-year-old Empress Jing'an passed away.
"Why did she leave so early?" young Minglan once asked.
"Because she shouldn't have entered the palace as empress." Old Madam Sheng's face was filled with nostalgia. "Her character was as pure and spotless as the snow lotus on the cliff. She wasn't gullible, but she treated people sincerely. She wasn't ignorant of tact, but she was disdainful. And those shameful places in the palace didn't just sully her. Humph! Those treacherous people really thought they had won? They all died a miserable death!"
That was the only time Minglan saw her grandmother express such deep resentment and hatred.
The official statement was that a rift arose between the emperor and the empress due to the instigation of a treacherous concubine. The empress then became obsessed with the art of making mirrors and set up a small workshop in the palace. She was busy all day long and no longer cared about palace affairs, nor did she want to see the emperor again.
"Making a mirror?" Minglan asked in surprise.
"Yes." Old Lady Sheng smiled, "Queen Jing'an said that she found a recipe in ancient books that can make a mirror on glass, which is a hundred times better than a bronze mirror. She is very smart, and she will make great progress in just one or two years. It's a pity..." Old Lady Sheng's face darkened. Minglan didn't dare to ask any more questions. Before Queen Jing'an could make the mirror, she passed away.
"She once said that her biggest regret in life was her precocious intelligence and her famed beauty and talent." Old Madam Sheng choked up and said sadly, "What a burden this fame has brought!"
According to Nanny Kong, before Empress Jing'an died, she burned all her poems and drawings from childhood to adulthood, refusing to leave behind a single word or piece of paper.
What follows is an exclusive revelation from Grandma Kong.
Upon hearing of the queen's death, Emperor Wu seemed to have lost his soul. He refused to believe that Empress Jing'an died of illness. He immediately arrested all the imperial doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau and asked them to perform an autopsy. If they could not find the cause, they would kill one after another. They kept killing the tenth imperial doctor. Finally, they found the poison and deduced that it was a chronic poison. Empress Jing'an had been poisoned for almost three years.
In Fengyi Palace, Emperor Wu sat beside the corpse for a day and a night. However, in just a few days, the originally heroic and majestic Emperor Wu suddenly became furious and suspicious. From then on, his personality changed drastically and he trusted no one. Not only did he thoroughly investigate the palace and beat to death nearly a thousand palace maids and concubines, he also uncovered several major cases and imprisoned countless officials for torture.
The Imperial Noble Consort was sentenced to death, and her entire family was exterminated. The Consort Shu and Consort Li were ordered to commit suicide, their fathers and brothers were sentenced to death, and their families were demoted to commoners. Consort Zhuang was imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment, tortured, and then executed. Almost all concubines above the third rank escaped this fate, and the unlucky ones had their families implicated as well. Only one, Xianfei, survived of the four concubines, but she died of fright a few years later. Only one, Wang Chongyi, of the nine concubines escaped, but she also lost her mind. Suddenly, more than half of the harem was empty.
To be honest, they were certainly among those who killed Empress Jing'an, but many of them were indeed innocent. However, Emperor Wu at that time was like a mad beast, biting whoever he saw, and no one dared to persuade him. Fortunately, Empress Jing'an had a young son, Wendun, who was the late Emperor Renzong, and Emperor Wu finally listened to his advice.
This bloody storm lasted for three years. At the end of the Wu Dynasty, the emperor even began to believe in the sorcerers and held sacrifices at the altar all night to summon spirits. However, the emperor was not a fool. After killing many charlatans, he was almost in despair.
Late one night, he suddenly woke up from a dream, rode his horse all night to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, ran to the coffin of Empress Jing'an and cried bitterly, muttering nonsense, and then rode back to attend court in the early morning. From then on, this became a habit.
Hearing this, Minglan couldn't help but sigh - if she had known this would happen, why did she do it in the first place!
The imperial physician had asserted that with Emperor Wu's health condition, he would have no problem living to his seventies or eighties; however, no matter how healthy his body was, it could not withstand cosplaying Huang Lao Xie every day; once, Emperor Wu caught a cold and had a low fever, and no ministers inside or outside the court could persuade him to do so. He still rode all night to visit his wife at the Xiaoling Mausoleum. When he returned the next day, he had a high fever and died soon after.
Minglan felt deeply saddened when she heard this story, but Old Lady Sheng felt very relieved when she told it!
Because of this, the appearance of mirrors was delayed by several decades. It wasn't until a few years ago, when the new emperor ascended the throne, that the relics of Empress Jing'an, sealed by two generations of emperors, were finally released. The emperor ordered the craftsmen of the Imperial Household Department to work according to Empress Jing'an's manuscripts, and soon a mirror that was clear enough to be seen was produced. Although the process was laborious and not yet widely available, Gu Tingye, the emperor's right-hand man, was immediately given a large standing mirror and two small hand mirrors inlaid with pearls and jade enamel.
Lady Liuli and Queen Jing'an, two completely different reincarnations, Minglan believed they were both very lovely people, but unfortunately, one succeeded while the other failed. These are the two fellow villagers Minglan has been able to confirm so far.
In addition, there was a strange incident more than ten years ago. The daughter of the then Minister of Revenue became absurd after a serious illness, and kept clamoring to open a shop to do business. After she came of age, she became entangled with several princes and even young men from aristocratic families. Her behavior was unruly and unrestrained, and she often incited young men from aristocratic families with wild and rebellious words.
Her reputation was so bad that everyone avoided her like she was dirty. No one asked her to marry until she was 20 years old. Her father's career was cut short and her sisters couldn't marry into good families. Later, she was imprisoned in the ancestral temple, but she escaped and sold herself to a brothel, becoming an Oiran. She declared, "If Madam Liuli can do it, why can't I?"
However, she never met a Gao Qin, but instead met many men like Yuan Zhen. After having fun with her, the men left and spread the news of their romantic affairs with the self-degrading daughter of a wealthy family, ruining the reputation of the entire family.
In the ancient patriarchal system, a woman with both parents and elders alive was not qualified to "sell herself". As soon as her family found her, they took her back, and then there was no news of her anymore. It was said that she was drowned in a pond.
Minglan wondered whether this crazy behavior was the kind of brain-deadness that comes from time travel or the kind that existed in ancient times. Because there was no definite evidence, she couldn't be sure whether she was from the same hometown as her.
It seemed as if it was destined, and she knew that she would probably never meet her fellow villagers again; among her fellow villagers, some were famous all over the world, while others were unknown, and she probably belonged to the latter.
In other words, in the same era and in different places, there are fellow villagers like her who live seriously and hard, dare not shock the world, dare not take risks, live seriously, strive to take responsibilities, integrate into this society, and live a peaceful and comfortable life.
This is also good.
Thinking of this, Minglan suddenly chuckled. This smile fell into Zhu's eyes, which seemed both unfamiliar and strange. When Minglan's eyes were shifty, she bit her lips with her pearly teeth, as if she was harboring an interesting secret, secretly hiding it and enjoying it alone. The corners of her eyes and eyebrows were filled with a strange charm, a little bit of malice, and a little bit of mischief.
Zhu lowered her head and thought to herself: No wonder my second brother is bewitched.
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