"Bow to heaven and earth!"
"Bow to your parents!"
"Husband and wife bow to each other!"
In front of old lady Chen's death, Chen Jing and his wife formally got married and were then sent to the bridal chamber. The head of the family, Chen Mingding, personally handled Mrs. Chen's funeral.
Chen Mingding was open-minded by nature. He knew that he could not let the newlywed Chen Jing and his wife down, so he let the guests celebrate according to the wedding banquet, but after all, someone died.
The guests in the room were very conflicted.
With such a big thing happening to the Chen family, they can't just leave. They have to stay here and follow the etiquette. However, with both a happy event and a funeral happening at the same time, no one is comfortable. They can't celebrate or mourn.
Soon, something strange happened in the Chen residence. In addition to the original red silk ribbons, the servants also had white cloth ribbons on their waists. The red lanterns in the yard were not taken down, but the red dragon and phoenix candles in the main hall were replaced with white candles. Tomorrow, this main hall would definitely become a mourning hall.
The atmosphere in the Chen residence was unprecedentedly depressing. Even the usually carefree grand secretaries became extremely restrained. They didn't know what to say, for fear of saying something wrong and breaking a taboo.
At this time, being happy would be disrespectful to Madam Chen, and being sad would be offending the new member of the Chen family.
At first, everyone just ate the food in silence without even drinking the wine, but soon, an even stranger scene occurred.
This was clearly a wedding banquet, but the scholars at each table began to discuss the saints' classics, scripture meanings, and policy essays. Each of them was like a student in an academy, quoting extensively and weighing every word carefully.
Fang Yun listened for a while, held his forehead and lowered his head. This atmosphere was simply unique among the Ten Countries. If it happened in an ordinary wealthy family, it would definitely be published in the "Wen Bao" as a laughing stock, but if it happened in a semi-saint family, it could not be published.
Zhao Hongzhuang was unusually well-behaved. She lowered her head, kept playing with her fingers, and didn't say a word.
The people at Fang Yun's table were too high-ranking. They talked about peace in the world and the way of the saints. Even if they just said it casually, it had the power to push people away. Fang Yun, let alone a juren, would not be able to interrupt even if he became a jinshi.
There was another Hanlin standing by, who was even more cautious than Zhao Hongzhuang. He kept his mouth shut for fear of accidentally saying something he shouldn't.
Fang Yun listened carefully at first, but the more he listened, the more confused he became. The difference in their realms was too great. It took him about thirty breaths to figure out a sentence, but thirty breaths were enough for several university scholars to say four or five sentences.
Moreover, sometimes when talking about profound principles, the voices of the scholars completely turned into a strange and ethereal sound. Although they could understand every word, they could not understand what they meant when they were put together, and they would be forgotten in the blink of an eye, as if the brain of the scholar could not bear the power of the scholars.
Fang Yun quickly changed his strategy and no longer tried to understand. Instead, he recorded the words of several university scholars in the Qishu Tiandi, and would study them slowly later.
Fang Yun silently recorded it. The communication between the great scholars was extraordinary. The scholars did not need to understand it, but even if they could remember it, it was a valuable asset. It was almost like listening to a lecture by a great scholar.
The conversations among these university scholars were close to the realm of "discussing the Dao". Occasionally, a few words would cause Fang's qi and blood to surge, and even his palace of literature would tremble slightly, and his talent would flow chaotically.
Fang Yun was not afraid and continued to record.
The starlight of Wenqu in the Wen Palace slowly calmed the turmoil in the Wen Palace and suppressed all the discomfort.
The Hanlin sitting at the same table didn't change much at first, but soon he was sweating profusely, and finally sighed. He wiped the sweat off his face, lowered his head silently, and raised his head again after a long while. This repeated.
As the university scholars were talking, the dishes on the table would occasionally tremble slightly, and sometimes the dishes on the table would make a slight rustling sound when they spoke a word.
At such times, many people show completely opposite expressions, either pain or joy.
Those who are happy are those who didn't understand at all, while those who only have a vague understanding are suffering.
After a while, even though no one had done anything, the peels of the oranges on the table blossomed like flowers.
The cooked shrimps on the plate jumped gently, their shells peeled off to reveal the tender white shrimp meat, and even the mud intestines peeled off automatically.
The hairy crab is even more straightforward. It uses its claws to open its abdominal shell, revealing the plump crab roe with a unique fragrance that overwhelms all other crabs in the world.
"Inspired by the principles of righteousness, spiritual objects offer themselves." Someone muttered in a low voice.
Afterwards, the peanut kernels that had obviously been fried took root and sprouted. In just a quarter of an hour, they became exactly the same as the peanuts in the ground. There were piles of shelled peanuts hanging under the green leaves.
The people outside the courtyard could no longer sit still. Some people who were eager to make a breakthrough in their literary status did not care about their decency and walked quickly to the door.
Fang Yun was not polite at all. He ate the orange he had offered first, then peeled the plate of fresh peanuts in shells and shared them with Zhao Hongzhuang.
Some people couldn't help but look at Fang Yun. If such a strange phenomenon appeared in a small place, it would definitely be regarded as a good omen by local officials and worshipped for a period of time. Although this strange phenomenon was not so precious in the semi-saint family, no one dared to take it casually.
A few young people were a little displeased, but those who were older and more educated nodded slightly. Scholars should have this kind of courage. They must never take the words of people of higher status as the golden rule that cannot be violated. They should eat boldly when they should. The holy way of such people is actually more pure.
In the end, Fang Yun and Zhao Hongzhuang shared all the dishes that produced strange phenomena, and people outside the courtyard were extremely envious.
After half an hour, the atmosphere at the banquet finally eased a little, and many people breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Mr. Zhuang from Kangshe suddenly stood up, walked to the door, and said softly, "Fang Wenhou, may I ask you a favor?"
Several university scholars were discussing literature and had to stop, and the others who were listening and learning immediately looked at Mr. Zhuang with displeasure.
Mr. Zhuang shuddered, and the tone of his last few words changed.
Fang Yun said, "Brother Zhuang, what do you want?"
Mr. Zhuang bowed and said sincerely, "What happened to the Chen family has made us feel uneasy. A festive wedding banquet has become like an icy cave, and no one wants to see it. Fang Zhenguo, you have always been a great talent, and you are the top new talent in my Jing country. I hope you can write a poem to help the Chen family out of the siege. Especially today is Brother Chen Jing's wedding. Brother Chen Jing and I once studied in the academy together. I can't bear to see his wedding become so miserable."
Everyone immediately understood that this was an opportunity to attack Fang Yun!
No one dared to write poetry at this time. How could they be worthy of the old lady if they wrote about celebration? If they wrote about sadness, what would Chen Jing and his wife do? So everyone just talked about the meaning of the classics or policy essays. This was the most correct way, which would neither make the atmosphere awkward nor embarrass the Chen family.
Mr. Zhuang chose to make this request at this time, and his intention was too obvious.
If Fang Yun agrees, his literary reputation will be damaged if he fails to do a good job. If he refuses, Mr. Zhuang's request is reasonable. If Fang Yun refuses, he will lose the demeanor of a role model for scholars. The Chen family will not blame him, but it will be a loss of face. Some people may even think that Fang Yun does not care about the reputation of the Chen family.
Almost all members of the Chen family were furious. If this person really wanted to help, it would not be a big deal, but he was clearly using the Chen family's misfortune to attack Fang Yun. If it were not for the inappropriate moment to get angry and it was related to the Chen family's face, they would have kicked Mr. Zhuang out long ago.
Many people looked at Mr. Zhuang, but those with higher academic titles and older people looked towards where the young Duke and Yi Mingtian were.
Yi Mingtian sensed the anger of the Chen family and panicked. He whispered, "Brother Zhuang, what are you doing? Come back immediately!"
Mr. Zhuang lowered his head and said nothing.
The young Duke had a blank expression on his face, and he didn't even turn around to look at Mr. Zhuang. He kept playing with the small wine glass in his hand.
Fang Yun remained silent.
Mr. Zhuang lowered his head even lower and said, "I hope that Lord Fang Wen can help us out of this predicament. On our behalf, we wish the Chen family peace."
The atmosphere in the Chen family became even more weird, and everyone's eyes were focused on Fang Yun.
Fang Yun said slowly: "Confucius said: Poetry can inspire, can be observed, can be used to gather people, and can be used to express grievances. So I will throw out a brick to attract jade and boldly write a poem to comfort the guests."
"Pen and ink are ready!" a member of the Chen family said hurriedly, and breathed a sigh of relief.
The great scholar Zhang Hu waved his hand casually, and all the dishes on the table in front of Fang Yun disappeared immediately, leaving the table clean and mirror-clear.
"I have pen and ink." Fang Yun said, taking out pen, ink, paper, inkstone, water and other things from the Yinjiangbei, and Zhao Hongzhuang ground ink for Fang Yun.
Fang Yun picked up a five-purple and five-goat brush, which was both hard and soft.
Fang Yun picked up the brush and dipped it in ink, holding the brush in the air, and said: "The dead are gone, gone and can never return. We should respect the wishes of the dead and wish the newlyweds well."
A few people frowned, feeling something was wrong.
A slight curve appeared at the corner of the young Duke's mouth and then quickly disappeared.
Fang Yun picked up his pen and started writing.
"Red lights and silver candles shine brightly, and the matchmaker and the impermanent man raise their cups together. Today, misfortune turns to good fortune, and all the mourners congratulate the bridegroom!"
As soon as this poem came out, almost everyone felt like a huge stone in their hearts had been lifted off their shoulders and they felt much more relieved.
All members of the Chen family looked at Fang Yun with gratitude. This poem was a mixture of sadness and joy, but in the end sadness turned into joy, especially the line "Today's disaster has turned into good fortune", which defined the matter and swept away the haze that had been weighing on the Chen family, fully achieving the purpose of "bringing happiness" in this wedding banquet.
Otherwise, the enemies of the Chen family would certainly slander the Chen family's family traditions and force Madam Chen to die at the wedding of the legitimate son.
Right Prime Minister Cao De'an sighed and said, "'The matchmaker and the impermanence raise their cups together' is a very good line. Madam Chen is as brave as a man and she is over a hundred years old. When she passed away, the matchmaker and the impermanence raised their cups together to see her off. This is a happy funeral, as the bad things have turned into good things."
"Mrs. Chen lived a full life, had a happy and complete death, and saw her children and grandchildren get married. Of course, it was a happy funeral!"
"As expected of Fang Zhenguo, he can show his literary fame and help others in difficult situations. This is rare, rare."
Everyone praised it.
The originally stagnant atmosphere in the Chen family began to loosen.
Just as everyone was talking, a slight voice was heard, but no one paid attention.
Yi Mingtian turned his head to look at the young duke's right hand. His hand was clenched tightly. Several pieces of broken porcelain from the cup fell to the ground. Then, drops of blood flowed out of his hand and dripped onto the white porcelain pieces, like bright peach blossoms blooming.
In the main hall, a Chen family Hanlin bowed to Mr. Zhuang and said, "Thank you very much for your suggestion to let Fang Yun help my Chen family out of this predicament. When my Chen family handles this matter, we will definitely reward you two handsomely."
The Chen family is a semi-saint family.
Mr. Zhuang trembled, rolled his eyes, and fell limply to the ground, fainting.
"You're in the way!" The great scholar Zhang Hu waved his sleeves, and Mr. Zhuang was swept up by the strong wind and flew out of the Chen family. (To be continued...)