Annual Ceremony

Chapter 48 Autumnal Equinox (Part )

To go to Shuzhong from Guangdong, one must first pass through Guangxi and then Guizhou.

Zhenyi took oranges and traveled west with her family in early spring. They passed through Pingle Prefecture, crossed the Hongshui River, and saw the Guilin landscape that had been described by countless poets.

In April, the day is clear and bright. When you take a boat on the water, you can see green mountains and rippling blue waves wherever you look.

Zhenyi knelt at the bow of the boat and reached out to scoop up the clear river water. The cool water droplets splashed into the breeze, creating a natural and comfortable rhythmic sound.

Zhenyi was immersed in the beautiful scenery, but Juzi was quite nervous. He never approved of children playing in the water, especially in such wild water. He was afraid that Zhenyi would fall off the boat by carelessness, so he lay beside Zhenyi cautiously, holding down half of her skirt.

Wang Xichen stood at the bow, writing poetry with his hands behind his back. Anyone who has visited Guilin must have left some poems. In Orange's opinion, this is like modern people checking in at popular tourist attractions. Modern people check in by taking photos, locating the location and posting them on WeChat Moments, while ancient cultural people used poems to manually locate the location.

Zhenyi wrote poems with her father. Old Mrs. Dong came out of the cabin on crutches and, encouraged by her son and granddaughter, also wrote a poem.

The beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers is a gift from heaven and earth, and the poems and songs inspired by the scenery are people's perception and response to this gift. Such a feeling of harmony between heaven and man is always exceptionally wonderful and sacred. And because it is close to her hometown, Mrs. Dong also became interested and asked Tao'er and Qisheng to set tea and wine on the bow of the boat, and she sat cross-legged to enjoy the scenery with her children and grandchildren.

The old lady drank less wine, and Zhenyi, who had been an adult for two years, was tacitly allowed to drink two glasses of wine. When she was about to pour the third glass, Juzi's claws scratched the glass and it overturned.

Poetry, wine, and mountains and rivers were all intoxicating. The old lady was helped back to the cabin by Mother Zhuo to rest, and Wang Xichen, who drank the most, also returned to the cabin.

Zhenyi also felt a little sleepy, so she simply lay down at the bow of the boat.

The tea and wine we drink today are both simple, but the breeze of late spring and early summer, and this free and unrestrained time, are the most luxurious and precious thing for Zhenyi.

Zhenyi took a short nap, and when she woke up, she was covered with a thin blanket, but the scenery remained the same. Zhenyi, who was a little drunk, was in a daze for a while, then slowly sat up, supported her hands on her sides, looked at the endless mountains and rivers, turned around and asked Taoer to get her paper and pen.

Zhenyi sat cross-legged at the bow, spread paper on the board, and wrote a whole article in a fluent manner.

After dropping her pen, Zhenyi lay back down in the afternoon scenery.

Juzi held down the poem for Zhenyi to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

Looking at Zhenyi who had fallen asleep again, Juzi really hoped that the boat could go slower, so that days like this could last longer and Zhenyi could be more comfortable.

After Wang Xichen woke up, he walked to the bow, picked up the poem that was pressed by the orange, read it carefully, and was slightly stunned.

Or when writing poetry after drinking, the girl's handwriting is somewhat loose and unrestrained, and the content of the writing is also far different from the atmosphere of ordinary boudoir poetry.

Wang Xichen read slowly and in a low voice:
[I draw my sword and want to dance in the room, I am not Nie Yinniang.]

Zhang Qin is waiting for the drum music, I am not a Han girl.

I wish I could travel to the immortal world in my dream and ride on a phoenix.

The peach blossoms and spring waves are green and blue, and light clouds fly across the Three Rivers.

Like riding on butterfly wings to the ocean, or mandarin ducks flying under a six-zhu shirt.

Picking red orchids in the green water, cooking the rosy glow in the purple bowl.

The green bird turned into a parrot cup, and the golden canopy was cut into a lotus dress.

The red and lacquered hair is the only one that never ages, and the vast and cold sky soars with it.

Alas——

The gods have passed away so many times, it's in vain to take medicine for the good stuff.

The corpse is waiting for the autumn grass, who will prepare the golden coffin to bury it in the jade chamber?

It would be better to retreat from the world, drink fine wine, and get drunk for 36,000 times. 】

Wang Xichen repeated the last sentence in a trance: "It would be better to retreat from the world and drink fine wine, and get drunk for 36,000 times..."

Zhenyi was lying on her side, with her head resting on Tao'er who was sitting there sewing clothes, and she was sleeping soundly.

Juzi was sitting next to Zhenyi, dozing off with his eyes closed.

Wang Xichen held the spiritual and transcendent poem in his hand and looked at his daughter sleeping at the bow, his eyes filled with regret.

He could not help but think of the conversation he had with his daughter three days ago about the poems and articles written by the literati in the south of the Yangtze River for the emperor's visit to the south of the Yangtze River. What he did not expect was that Zhenyi's writing showed a clear tone of criticism. She named it "Five-Colored Parrot" and used birds to represent people. The poem goes like this:
【The intricately carved feathers are amazing to everyone, it is hard to imagine a bird like this. The feathers are mixed with the phoenix in the morning sun, but the appearance is dazzling. 】

This is a blatant criticism of those poems and articles that are flowery but not substantial, do not talk about real things or record real events, and only follow the trend.

Wang Xichen was stunned for a long time at that time. He even wondered in a daze, how could his daughter, who was a scholarly person, suddenly become so "sharp"?

Looking at the drunken poem in his hand again, Wang Xichen realized that his daughter did not become sharp suddenly, but during this long journey, during this process of growing up after breaking free from most of the constraints, she finally slowly revealed her original cunning and sharp nature.

In addition, Wang Xichen had to admit that such cunning and sharpness must come from extraordinary talent and understanding.

There was a reason why my father treated Zhen'er differently when he was alive... Just because she was a girl, he, as a father, had never really taken his daughter's talents seriously.

But even if we face it, what can we do?
After a while, Wang Xichen returned to the cabin with mixed feelings. He bent down and came to his daughter's bookcase. Several bookcases were stacked together and used as a temporary desk by Zhenyi. A stack of manuscript paper was placed on it, weighed down with a paperweight.

Wang Xichen sat down cross-legged, put the new poem aside, and began to look through the manuscripts.

He knew that his daughter had recently been thinking about publishing a book about biographies of women.

This matter was finalized by Zhenyi and Qian Yuling in a letter. No one knows who mentioned it first, but the two of them hit it off immediately. Zhenyi started working on this matter in December last year, searching for the deeds of women in the current dynasty and previous dynasties.

For example, "Nie Yinniang" in the poem just now is a legendary female assassin.

For example, on the manuscript paper in Wang Xichen's hand at this moment, there is a poem written by Zhenyi for the small portrait of Liu Rushi.

Turning the pages further, most of them were talented women that Wang Xichen had never heard of. Zhenyi and Qian Yuling had the same idea, regardless of their status, to write biographies and publish books for them so that the deeds and poems of these women could be passed down.

Recently, Zhenyi has not only been busy writing biographies of these women, but has also been thinking about summarizing the calculation and academic studies she has learned over the years.

In Zhenyi's view, in addition to her own insights, summarizing the propositions of predecessors is also an important step in advancing academic research. The process of summarization allows for clearer comparisons and thinking, and she compares this to "mercury gathering" - similar academic disciplines are like scattered grains of mercury. If they can be gathered together, they can be transformed into a bright pearl, allowing people to see a more complete and concentrated appearance of this scientific discipline.

But this is not an easy task. First, one needs to screen, think and analyze the vast number of mathematics books, which is an almost huge project.

Wang Xichen looked at the drawings and figures written on the manuscript paper in his hand, as well as the various dazzling proofs and solutions of the Pythagorean theorem, and felt that it was difficult to even understand them.

He even felt a little proud in his heart, and couldn't help thinking that his daughter not only had talent and understanding, but also had extraordinary studiousness and persistence.

Such a rare and precious child happens to be a girl.

Wang Xichen came to his senses when he heard his daughter's voice outside the boat after she woke up, and put down the heavy manuscript papers.

This journey involves many water routes, and Zhenyi's telescope comes in very handy for viewing the scenery during the day and the stars at night.

The sun, moon, and stars were moving quietly in Zhenyi's peephole, and the landforms and scenery were also moving and changing in it.

This summer, Zhenyi stayed in Guizhou for more than a month. She visited old friends with her grandmother and practiced medicine among the people with her father.

One day, Zhenyi had a sudden idea and proposed to her father that she should summarize her father's views and opinions on medical theory, which could be published as a medical book to help the world in the future.

Wang Xichen immediately waved his hands after hearing this: "I am just a superficial person, how can I mislead others like this..."

Zhenyi was very enthusiastic: "How could it be? My father is very cautious in his medical practice. He never blindly copies prescriptions. Instead, he treats patients according to their symptoms and places. He also always advocates preventing diseases before they happen. Such views should be spread -"

Wang Xichen still waved his hand to refuse, but from that day on, Juzi found him secretly lighting a lamp and reading medical books at night more than once.

Zhenyi simply ignored her father and started writing the first draft on her own, with a sense of recklessness. Wang Xichen saw that there were many omissions in his daughter's writing, and in a hurry, he had to remind her to correct it... After a few times, with her father's half-hearted reluctance, Zhenyi had finished writing a first draft by the autumn. After obtaining her father's consent, she took up her pen and wrote the four words "Medical Prescription Verification Notes" on the manuscript cover.

In addition to these things, Zhenyi also had to talk to her grandmother every day, making her life extremely fulfilling and busy.

So, every night when Zhenyi lay down, Juzi would always massage her arms and shoulders.

Even if life is extremely fulfilling and there are countless new sights to enjoy, a traveler will inevitably miss home. Seeing that they have reached Sichuan and reeds are flying on both sides of the river, Zhenyi picked up her pen and wrote a new poem:
【The small moored boat is on a side road. The shadows of clouds and geese fly obliquely. A few sparse willows, a trace of fading sunlight, a few returning crows. Reed flowers on both sides are like flying snow, and the tide is cold under the sand. The west wind in the water country, the bamboo shed at night, and people are at the end of the world. 】

While Zhenyi was writing the poem, Juzi was at the bow of the boat raising his claws to hit the reed flowers floating in the air.

When the reed flowers have all bloomed, another autumnal equinox has arrived, and it has finally arrived in Shu.

When the boat was about to stop, someone on the shore waved from afar. Zhenyi helped her mother out of the cabin. The usually calm old lady Dong's eyes were wet with tears before she could even see the old figure on the shore.

Old Mrs. Dong has not been back to her mother's home in Sichuan for many years. Today, her gray-haired and disabled brother personally brought his children and grandchildren out to greet her.

Old Mrs. Dong had many brothers and sisters, but now only one elder brother and one younger brother are still alive. She hadn't seen her flesh and blood for many years. When they met again, they all had gray hair and wrinkled skin. When their eyes met, they trembled and supported each other, unable to help but feel sad and cry.

Regardless of the purpose of this trip, Zhenyi was very happy and touched to see her grandmother reunited with her family after a long separation, and of course, so was Juzi.

The Dong family was not considered wealthy in Shu, but they were very prosperous. Their descendants either held minor official positions or engaged in business and managed farmland, and they lived a lively and stable life.

Before she got married, Mrs. Dong was a very independent girl in her family. She was good at reading, writing, and dealing with people. She also had a good relationship with her brothers and sisters. When Wang Zhefu was an official, the Dong and Wang families also supported each other.

Old Mrs. Dong's elder brother and younger brother now have prestige in the Dong family. Everyone in the Dong family warmly treats the old aunt who came back to Shu to visit relatives. When talking about the current decline of the Wang family, most of them just sigh helplessly in private and think about whether they can help, but there is no reason to add insult to injury.

They lived like this for more than a month. After catching up on the past and talking over the difficulties, Mrs. Dong discussed with her son and decided to choose a boy for Zhenyi named Dong Xiu. He was the second grandson of Mrs. Dong's younger brother. He was nineteen years old and two years older than Zhenyi.

Dong Xiu was born with a handsome appearance, good character and good academic performance. His father's porcelain business was doing very well. His family's expectation for him was that he could study hard and pursue a career in politics. If that was not possible, he would follow his family in business.

Orange couldn't help but think - this is just like the most enviable college student who is able to attack and defend himself if he can't study well and can only go home and inherit the family property.

In addition to the above considerations, in the eyes of Mrs. Dong, the most valuable thing is Dong Xiu's attitude towards Zhenyi.

Old Mrs. Dong brought the little girl back to visit her relatives and privately revealed her desire to get married. About five or six days ago, Dong Xiu accidentally learned about this from his parents, so he plucked up the courage to express his feelings in a subtle way.

Before this, Dong Xiu was quite picky about marriage, which gave his mother a headache.

As a scholar, Dong Xiu frankly admitted that he admired and was amazed by Yu Zhenyi's talent and thought she was completely different from the women in Shu.

His mother, Shen, began to have doubts in private.

Shen had another suitable candidate for daughter-in-law, who was her niece, and she loved her like a half daughter. Shen believed in Feng Shui and horoscopes very much. She had already secretly compared the horoscopes of her two children, and they really couldn't be more well-matched... But her son was very stubborn, and refused to fulfill her wish.

It was already dark. In the bedroom, Shen's husband, Mr. Dong San, heard her mention the horoscope and said helplessly, "No matter how harmonious the horoscopes are, if people's hearts are not harmonious, it will be useless."

"He is young and ignorant! He has become a bookworm!" Shen was sitting beside the couch in her middle clothes, pointing and saying, "Just liking the talented and beautiful women in Jiangnan, talented women, what's the use of a woman's talent? It's just good-looking, but it may not be suitable for daily life! If she really wanted everything, she wouldn't have come all the way to our house to discuss marriage!"

"You should be more polite..." Third Master Dong: "If the old man hears this, he will definitely use his abacus to break our backbones."

"If I dare to ask the old man to listen, I won't just tell you in private!" Shen: "Anyway, I think this girl is not so easy to serve. I'm afraid that the old lady sent a little girl here, and we have to serve her well!"

"Listen to what you are saying. You are obviously prejudiced, so you naturally dislike her..." Third Master Dong simply lay down: "Let's not talk about whether she is willing to be your daughter-in-law, so don't rush to pick her."

"It's best if you don't want to..." Shen lay down, pulled the quilt over her, and turned her back: "I don't want to serve some talented lady."

On the other side, Zhenyi had just tucked in the corners of the quilt for her grandmother after she had helped her grandmother take her medicine and lay down.

Old Mrs. Dong did not rush to bed, but asked her granddaughter to sit down beside the bed and started talking to her.

　(Most of the poems in this chapter are from Zhenyi's "Defengting Chuji", but the specific time and background of the poems cannot be verified. In addition, in order to connect the story line of this article, the time and background may be deviated. However, it is true that all the poems were written by Zhenyi, including Zhenyi's poem for Liu Rushi's portrait, the biography of women, and the medical book for her father.)
See you tomorrow~
　
(End of this chapter)