Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1211 Epilogue : Wedding Banquet

The son is happy and carefree while his parents are busy with everything.

Xie Yiqin followed the son-in-law Li Chang and greeted the distinguished guests one by one.

Many important officials from the cabinet and ministries arrived one after another. Normally, he would hardly meet any of these bigwigs, but today, they all appeared in large numbers and presented gifts.

But Xie Yiqun still couldn't remember the faces because there were too many people and the time left for him to remember was too short.

"congratulations!"

"Who is this……"

Li Chang, the son-in-law of the emperor and the minister of Zongzheng Temple, was well aware of this and kept introducing it to Xie Yiqin.

The fourth uncle and fifth uncle who were responsible for sending the wild geese into the palace were named Xie Yilian and Xie Yixin respectively.

After Xie Yan greeted the princess outside the inner east gate, he had to return home alone to make preparations. His fourth and fifth uncles had to take on the important task of welcoming the bride, leading the wedding procession and guiding the princess' carriage.

"Brother, we are back."

"Brother, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Xie Yiqin said, "You have walked all the way here and there, you must be tired, go in and sit down to rest."

The men from the Xie family sat alone at a table, so naturally there were some vacancies, which were filled by four county marquises.

The county horse is the husband of a county princess or the son-in-law of a prince.

These unlucky guys are even more miserable than the prince consorts. They are subject to all the restrictions imposed by the imperial court on prince consorts, yet they still cannot enjoy as high treatment as the prince consorts.

Wang Yitong and her daughter Xie Wan ate with the women of the powerful and wealthy families in the women and children area in the courtyard.

The women who can marry the princess need to be carefully selected. Not everyone is qualified, and there is an age limit. They can enter the palace to have a feast today.

The remaining women of power and nobility came to the princess's house for the feast.

Of course, there are also children.

Generally, only one legitimate son is brought along, and even a legitimate daughter is rare, because there are only so many vacancies.

As soon as Xie Wan sat down, she felt as if she was surrounded by stars. Except for her, the table was full of little boys!

There was a little kid of about twelve or thirteen who stood up and bowed like an adult: "My name is Hou Jizhi, but I don't have a courtesy name yet, so I dare not ask for your name."

Xie Wan was usually quite crazy at home, but at this moment, she was actually polite and bowed properly: "My name is Xie Wan. Today's groom is my sixth brother."

"So you are the sister of Mr. Xie," another kid also stood up and bowed, "I am Ge Xiangzu. The current vice prime minister is my grandfather."

Xie Wan quickly returned the greeting, feeling somewhat unhappy, as she felt that the other party was using his power to bully her.

Is it so great that your grandfather was the vice prime minister?

My sister-in-law is a princess!

The other little brats also introduced themselves. This table was quite high-end. Except for Xie Wan, the seven boys were all grandsons and great-grandsons of cabinet ministers.

Little boys are men too, and they also have an inexplicable desire to win.

Xie Wan inherited excellent genes for beauty and was considered extremely beautiful among young girls. Moreover, she was the only girl at the table, yet she attracted the descendants of seven ministers to compete for attention.

Some people tried to get close to her, some told jokes, some acted naughty, and some pretended to be aloof, all trying to attract Xie Wan's attention.

Xie Shisanmei suddenly ushered in the highlight moment of her life.

The little brat named Hou Jizhi said proudly, "I started learning at the age of five. It took me only three years to complete the four-year primary school curriculum, and another two years to complete the three-year secondary school curriculum. Even though I'm only twelve years old, I've already completed two years of university (actually high school) courses!"

"Brother Hou is so awesome!" Xie Wan praised sincerely.

Ge Xiangzu thought that Hou Jizhi had stolen his limelight, so he said sourly, "You are so talented, why don't you go to the Prodigy House of the Imperial College? Did you fail the entrance exam?"

Hou Jizhi sneered, "In order to prevent cheating in the prodigy exam, the late emperor strictly prohibited the close relatives of ministers from studying in the Imperial College Prodigy Hall. Brother Ge, as the grandson of the vice prime minister, don't you even know this?"

"I... I know it, it was just a joke just now." Ge Xiangzu's face turned red.

The youngest kid at the table was only eight years old. He slapped the table and played mischief, but when he found he couldn't attract the little sister's attention, he took out his toys and started playing by himself.

Another nine-year-old kid boasted, "I've mastered five tricks of playing with inflatable balls!"

This immediately drew the disdain of his seatmate: "I already know more than ten tricks."

Xie Wan found it very interesting and pretended to be surprised: "Wow, Brother Yuan is really good at playing football."

After being praised by Xie Wan, the grandson of cabinet minister Yuan Huaiyi (the one sleeping in the cabinet) looked like a victorious rooster, holding his head high and saying, "I'm already practicing archery. Even though I'm only eleven years old, I can already shoot a three-bucket bow. My grandfather also said that I'll practice using a fire gun when I'm thirteen!"

Xie Wan asked, "Will Brother Yuan be a general when he grows up?"

The little brat slapped his chest and said, "I want to learn from my grandfather, kill the bandits and serve the country, and become a prime minister based on my military achievements!"

"Brother Yuan is so ambitious." Xie Wan said admiringly.

Now it was Hou Jizhi's turn to be unhappy: "I want to be the top scholar in the imperial examination and become the prime minister when I grow up!"

Xie Wan said: "Brother Hou is very good at studying, he will definitely pass the exam and become the top scholar."

Ge Xiangzu said: "What's so great about that? His grandfather was ranked third in the cabinet, and my grandfather was ranked second!"

Xie Wan was not a real green tea after all. She couldn't stand Ge Xiangzu: "What's the point of comparing the official positions of your elders? If you are capable, you can compete with the brothers from the Hou family in reading and the brothers from the Yuan family in martial arts."

"that is!"

"Sister Xie is right!"

The two little kids, Hou and Yuan, agreed and felt that Xie Wan had touched their hearts.

"Humph!"

Ge Xiangzu didn't know how to respond and could only get angry and show his displeasure.

When he made a face at home, people would immediately come to comfort him, but at this table, he was met with a round of ridicule.

The eight-year-old kid even handed over a toy: "Do you want to play with the Rubik's Cube?"

Ge Xiangzu threw the Rubik's Cube away.

Xie Wan immediately accused: "You bully a child!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone glared at Ge Xiangzu angrily.

Ge Xiangzu felt that he could not make it any longer, so he stood up and ran to the next table and pulled up a child who was about seven or eight years old: "Change seats. You go over there, and I'll sit here!" "Hahahaha!" Everyone laughed.

……

"My name is Xie Yixin, courtesy name Decheng. This is my elder brother Xie Yilian, courtesy name Deqing." Uncle Xie Yixin bowed and greeted them. "May I ask your names?"

The four county horses gave their names one after another.

Their status was extremely low in such an occasion, and they did not dare to show any arrogance, but they could chat with Xie Yiqun's two brothers.

Upon questioning, it turned out that three of them were descendants of founding heroes, namely Bai Sheng, Yang Zhi and Hua Rong.

The Bai and Hua families were extremely poor, and they relied on their descendants to make merit and gain titles, and barely managed to keep the lowest-ranking titles of the direct line. The rich family business established by their ancestors also gradually shrank due to several divisions.

However, Yang Zhi's descendants were a noble family in Kaifeng. Because of their contributions during the Dingtai Dynasty, they had been restored to the title of marquis.

Four years ago, Lord Yang, who had lost his military power, responded to the call to serve the king and made another contribution with the general of Kaifeng. Although he was not promoted to county lord, he was given more fiefdom and food, and regained his military power. If he made more contributions, he would definitely be promoted to county lord.

The fourth uncle, the fifth uncle and the four princes were chatting animatedly when Xie Shizhang came in gracefully with a cane, like a hermit who suddenly appeared in the world.

Everyone stood up to greet him. Xie Shizhang nodded and smiled: "Please sit down."

The guests have arrived and dishes are being served one after another.

Xie Yiqin finally returned to his seat. He had been bowing to the guests and his waist was aching. He quickly took a break because he had to ask his fourth and fifth brothers to toast.

As night falls, the lights on the stage become bright.

The Ming Dynasty abolished the Jiaofangsi and threw all the top musicians into the Hanlin Academy. In addition to performing for the royal family, they were also responsible for the music for important occasions such as court meetings and sacrifices.

The musicians seemed to have high status and often met the emperor and important officials. But today, they were not even qualified to sit at the wedding banquet, and could only open a few other tables after the performance.

Those people that Xie Shizhang once disliked actually had no power!
The guests were eating and drinking, and Yan music performance had already begun on the stage.

Yang Linzhi sat in the center of the stage with a guzheng in front of him, and there were more than a dozen musicians around him playing other instruments.

The sound of the zither rang out, and the guests all looked towards the stage.

The song is called "Phoenix Flying". The guzheng plays the sound of a phoenix and a phoenix flying in love, while other instruments play the sound of hundreds of birds following them.

This is a festive piece of music praising love and blessing marriage. It was composed by Yang Linzhi more than ten years ago and has now become a must-play piece at wedding banquets.

Yang Linzhi likes this kind of lively works, which are often despised as vulgar, but the royal family, the powerful, the rich, and the common people like them.

So, he has now become the boss of the mainstream music industry, and important large-scale events are always inseparable from him!
As the song started, the lively atmosphere instantly made the wedding banquet more lively.

"Clap clap clap!"

After the performance of "Phoenix Flying", all the guests put down their chopsticks, applauding the musicians and celebrating today's wedding.

Next was another festive Yan music, and the number of musical instruments increased to more than 30.

The third program turned into a drama, which was also a lively comedy.

The actors on the stage were making jokes and the dignitaries in the audience were laughing. Even Prime Minister Deng Gongwu was laughing constantly.

It's a rare opportunity to have some free time, why bother thinking about troubles?

Taking advantage of the excitement, Prince Consort Li Chang took the three brothers Xie Yiqin to toast everywhere.

When the guests were slightly tipsy, an official from the Zongzheng Temple who was in charge of the wedding banquet came over and said, "It's time for the old gentleman to play the zither."

Xie Shizhang was also very drunk and staggered as he walked. The official from the Zongzheng Temple hurried to support him, worrying that the old man was going to mess up.

The stage had gone quiet, but the guests below were even more lively.

Some people were talking loudly, some were playing guessing games and drinking, and some even got drunk and ran to vomit.

There were few guests left who cared about what was playing on the stage.

Many musicians retreated backstage, most of them took the opportunity to rest, while some were preparing for the next show.

"Dong dong..."

The sound of the piano did not cause any reaction in the noisy wedding banquet. Most of the guests were drinking and were not even aware that the performer had been changed.

But the musicians who were resting backstage all turned their heads to look over there.

They are experts and can hear something from just a few notes.

"Who is this?" asked a Hanlin zither player.

Yang Linzhi said: "Xie Fu Ma's grandfather was the last zither player entertained by Prince Tao during his lifetime. If I remember correctly, this zither should be the Spring Thunder zither given by Prince Tao."

Spring Thunder, a treasure collected by Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty, was known as the best piece in Wanqin Hall and was later taken to Wangchuan Valley by Li Qingzhao.

The musicians listened to the music with different expressions, some looked intoxicated, while others looked disdainful.

The piece Xie Shizhang played was "The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix". Regardless of how Sima Xiangru was evaluated in later generations, the ancient people sang praises to this love story.

Xie Shizhang had long been drunk, and he seemed to be recalling a certain relationship of his. Not only did his skills reach their peak, but his piano music was also full of emotion.

The seven cabinet ministers, the chief and deputy privy councilors, the chief and deputy privy councilors, the left and right censors-in-chief, as well as the princes, dukes, and princes-in-law were sitting closest to the stage at this moment.

Most of them were still feasting and having fun, but a few looked towards the stage because of the piano music. Then they closed their eyes and listened. The piano music seemed to penetrate the noise of the wedding banquet, reaching the listeners' ears and touching their souls.

"Is this the new musician who entered the Hanlin Academy?" Deng Gongwu asked.

Yuan Huaiyi, a cabinet minister, was drinking heavily and asked in a daze, "What?"

Deng Gongwu said: "It's okay, please continue drinking."

"Come on, guess the number. Today is the princess' wedding, and no one is allowed to avoid drinking!" Yuan Huaiyi laughed heartily. He had no interest in listening to the piano.

Moreover, he, who was listless and sleepy during the cabinet meeting, was now full of energy at the banquet, and seemed determined to get all the other cabinet ministers drunk.

Zhang Yu, the cabinet minister, waved his hand to Yuan Huaiyi and said, "I will play guessing game with you after you finish listening to this song."

Yuan Huaiyi felt quite bored and could only turn around and look at the stage, watching the silly old man playing the piano.

Xie Yiqun had already followed the Prince Consort Li Chang and went around the entire venue to toast.

When he returned to his table, he saw his old father playing the piano. A third of the dignitaries at the tables near the stage had stopped drinking and were listening intently.

At this moment, the old father who made him feel resentful seemed to be shining brightly.

(End of this chapter)