Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 54 Young Lady

After ordering their drinks, Ji Yun led Lu Beigu to the table and introduced him to the man there.

"This is my classmate from the state school, Han Ziyu, who comes from the Han family of Luzhou."

The Han family of Luzhou?

Lu Beigu was somewhat bewildered. This wasn't the Tang Dynasty where you needed to memorize the list of heroes before going out. How was I supposed to know who someone was if you told me about a certain clan?

Judging from Ji Yun's appearance, this so-called "Han family of Luzhou" seems to be quite famous.

At the very least, their family should be much more prestigious than Zhou Mingyuan's, since Ji Yun treated Zhou Mingyuan and his son with indifference, but showed considerable respect to these two.

Indeed, this was the case. The Han family was very famous in Luzhou, possessing a vast amount of industry and land, and had some of the demeanor of a powerful family from the past.

The reason why such large families could form in Luzhou without being punished by the government is because this place is different from the other prefectures in the Sichuan Basin.

As Lu Beigu observed along his journey to Chengdu, Luzhou was home to a large number of Liao people in addition to Han Chinese.

The Liao people of Luzhou are scattered among surnames such as Luo, Hu, and Gou, forming dozens of tribes. They engage in farming in villages, but because their customs are very different from those of the Han people, armed conflicts often break out between them.

During the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, no one had the energy to manage this area. In order to compete with these Liao tribes, large families naturally emerged among the Han people.

The saying goes, "The Han family is known for its literary talents, while the Xian family is known for its martial prowess." Counting from the early Tang Dynasty, the centuries-long conflict between the Han and Liao peoples has naturally given the Han and Xian families a special status in the region.

The Han family is the only Han Chinese family in Luzhou that can be compared to the Xian family.

Back to now.

Han Ziyu was in his early twenties, with a fair complexion and an air of nobility that came from years of pampered living.

"This is Lu Beigu, whom I've mentioned to you before."

Listening to Ji Yun's introduction, Han Ziyu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Lu Beigu, and said, "I have long admired Young Master Lu's name. Ji Yun often mentions your book 'The Milky Way,' saying that it is exceptionally well-written."

Since he didn't really know who the other person was, Lu Beigu could only offer polite words.

"Thank you for your kind words, but I am unworthy of them."

The young woman next to Han Ziyu was much younger, wearing a light blue dress and a single pink and white magnolia flower in her hair, making her look elegant and refined.

"They're probably siblings?" Lu Beigu thought to himself.

The reason for his conjecture is quite simple; it was derived using reverse reasoning.

At that age, the Cheng brothers and Zhang Zai were taking the imperial examinations just like him, while Zhu Xi was still far from being born, so Neo-Confucianism was not yet in its formative stages.

Therefore, in addition to participating in public festival activities, women in the Song Dynasty were also allowed to go out under certain conditions, and were not so restricted as to be confined to their homes.

For married women, if they need to go out, they will mostly choose to wear a veil.

The so-called veiled hat originated during the Yonghui period of the Tang Dynasty. It was a tall, wide-brimmed hat with a thin, transparent veil around the brim. The purpose was to maintain distance when interacting with the opposite sex and to avoid secret exchanges.

The scholar-official class would have strict requirements on this, and some women in the city would also pay attention to it, but rural women would definitely not care about these things. You can't expect someone who is a laborer working in the fields or in the mountains to wear such a hat that would easily make them sweat.

For girls who have not yet reached marriageable age, the constraints of etiquette are relatively relaxed. Under the premise of adhering to the separation of men and women, as long as they are accompanied by male figures such as their fathers, grandfathers, or elder brothers, they do not wear veils or show their faces in public.

Judging from the young age of this young woman, they are most likely siblings.

"This is my younger sister, Third Sister," Han Ziyu introduced.

As expected. In the Song Dynasty society at that time, although there were no major requirements for young girls to appear in public as long as they were accompanied by someone, they could not tell strange men their names and could only be addressed by their nickname or birth order.

"Greetings, Brother Lu."

The young lady was very polite; she rose, clasped her hands in front of her abdomen, bowed her head and kneeled, and performed a full curtsy.

"Greetings, Third Sister."

Lu Beigu returned the bow, which was considered his way of greeting Han Sanniang.

The drinks hadn't even been served yet, and we couldn't just sit there in silence, so Lu Beigu asked, "Do you two come to the Fawang Temple Buddha Bathing Festival every year?"

“That’s right,” Han Ziyu replied. “The Dharma assembly is grand, and we come to pray for blessings every year.”

"Brother Lu, do you come to visit every year? Are you a local from Hejiang?"

Faced with Han Ziyu's question, Lu Beigu answered frankly: "No, I am from Gulin and study at Hejiang County School. To be honest, I have never seen the Buddha Bathing Festival at Fawang Temple before, but I have heard of it for a long time."

Seeing that Lu Beigu was dressed simply but spoke sincerely and without any hint of servility, Han Ziyu nodded in approval.

Putting aside talent and learning, Ji Yun certainly didn't waste time introducing them to second-rate people, just in terms of his demeanor.

"Oh," Han Ziyu said, "Then Brother Lu, you mustn't miss the Buddha Bathing Festival. The celebration starts in the morning with a parade through the streets, and after noon, the temple also holds a Zen gathering. I heard that many monks from other temples in Sichuan have come this year."

The other party seemed to come from an extraordinary family and was naturally a distinguished guest of the temple. When he mentioned these things, he did so in a matter-of-fact manner and did not intend to show off.

However, it goes without saying that there must be a threshold for holding such activities in temples after the Dharma assembly, and it is impossible for just anyone to participate.

Ji Yun then added, “Brother Han is a great benefactor of Fawang Temple, which is not the same as me, a mere “benefactor”. Therefore, he will definitely be invited to the Zen gathering.”

In the Song Dynasty society of today, the term "great benefactor" specifically refers to a pilgrim who donates a large sum of money or land to a Buddhist temple. The temple would then inscribe the pilgrim's name on a merit stele to commemorate their virtue.

Those who donate a lot are called "donors" (檀越), while those who donate a little more are called "meritorious donors" (功德主).

Lu Beigu nodded. The other party did indeed seem to come from an extraordinary family, probably even wealthier than the Ji family, a prominent bookseller.

Just then, the old man brought over a bowl of perilla tea, followed by a plate with a small tea cake on it. The tea buds were tightly curled and arranged, and the whole tea cake gleamed with a dark green luster in the rough earthenware plate.

Lu Beigu studied it carefully and it seemed to be similar to the modern-made ones.

The old man, holding a small blue stone mallet and a fine sieve, asked, "Would you like to try my hand at making tea, sir?"

"will not."

Lu Beigu answered honestly, then asked Ji Yun, "Do you know how?"

"How could I? I can drink!" Ji Yun exclaimed in surprise.

"Let me do it."

At this moment, Han San Niang took over the task. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing a section of her fair arm, placed the tea cake on mulberry paper, and carefully crushed it with a mallet in her hand.

Then they began to brew tea, whisking it with a tea whisk to create a frothy, snow-like tea soup.

Gradually, the aroma of tea unfolds on the surface of the water along with the fine watermarks.

(End of this chapter)