The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 79 Goodwill
The Guanzhong Plain is bustling during the Beginning of Summer season, with people from all over the region busy preparing for this year's planting.

The city of Xianyang is especially lively today because Prince Fusu is about to get married.

Gongzi Gao and his sister Yinman came to congratulate their brother on his wedding.

After entering the palace gates, Yin Man looked around and asked, "Where is my brother?"

Gongzi Gao said, "It should be at Gaoquan Palace."

The brother and sister arrived at Gaoquan Palace but still did not see the brother, but they did see Tian An.

Today, despite it being the elder brother's wedding day, Tian An was seen pointing at two plum trees and cursing.

After listening closely, Gongzi Gao understood what had happened. He whispered to his sister, "So it turns out that these two trees didn't bloom from last winter until the beginning of summer."

Yin Man stepped forward and tugged at Tian An's sleeve.

Upon seeing that it was Prince Gao and Princess Yinman, Tian An immediately put on a smiling face.

Yin Man looked up and said, "Why get angry over a tree?"

Tian An said, "If it weren't for the young master protecting them, we would have chopped them down."

Looking at the brother and sister again, Tian An said, "Young Master is at Zhangtai Palace, about to go to Pinyang to pick up his bride."

With a sinister smile, she asked, "Can I go?"

Tian An said in a low voice, "Just follow this old servant."

The brother and sister were overjoyed when they heard that they could go with them to pick up the bride.

Inside Zhangtai Palace, Fusu, dressed in a black robe and leather belt, with a sword at his waist for the coming-of-age ceremony, bowed after hearing his father's instructions.

Then, accompanied by a group of soldiers and officials, he went to Pinyang under the guidance of the Prime Minister.

Yin Man looked up and saw her brother coming out of Zhangtai Palace. She felt that her brother, who was wearing a black robe and had a sword at his waist, was taller than usual.

Seeing that her brother was about to leave the palace gate, and seeing that Tian An was about to follow, the brother and sister quickly followed.

Stepping out of the palace gates, they arrived at the cleared streets. Fusu glanced back briefly and saw his younger brother Gao and Yinman. He then exchanged a few words with Li You.

Li You slowed his pace, and after everyone on one side had passed, he stopped beside Tian An and asked, "The other young masters and princesses are not here?"

Young Master Gao said, "I will be at the wedding banquet tonight."

After walking for a while, they found carriages and horses waiting ahead. Fusu mounted his horse and said loudly, "Let's go to Pinyang."

Pinyang is Wang Jian's home, and his future wife, Wang Tang'er, is also in Pinyang.

The First Emperor attached great importance to this marriage. The wedding procession alone had more than a thousand people, enough to demolish Wang Jian's residence.

After leaving Xianyang, the group headed towards Pinyang.

The Wang family woman was from Guanzhong, so everything was done according to Guanzhong etiquette. The First Emperor specifically sent Prince Fusu to Pinyang instead of having the Wang family bring his wife.

The group kicked up dust as they headed towards Pinyang on the straight road, with Li You leading the way at the very front. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were an army heading to attack Pinyang.

As the group approached Pinyang, they came across this village.

The villages in Pinyang were no different from those in other counties in Guanzhong, and they looked dark and gloomy. Many people in the village were watching the procession of soldiers who had come to fetch the bride.

Li You and his troops had taken control of the entire village, and Qin soldiers lined both sides of the village road.

Fusu rode ahead on horseback. In this village, the largest house belonged to General Wang.

At that moment, Wang Ben was standing at his door. When he saw the young master riding in, he bowed and said, "Young master."

Fusu dismounted and first performed the rites of a maternal uncle.

Wang Ben smiled and welcomed Prince Fusu into the house. Upon entering, he was greeted by a room full of Wang family relatives.

As Prince Fusu, dressed in a black robe, entered the mansion, all the relatives' eyes fell on this twenty-one-year-old prince.

Fusu walked straight into the main hall and saw the old general Wang Jian, who was already standing there.

The old general was also leading a woman, who was none other than Wang Tang'er, the future wife of the young master.

Fusu once again performed the rites of a grandfather to his father and offered him sweet wine.

Wang Jian laughed loudly, "Very well, young master, please take Tang'er away. There's no need for so much formality in Pinyang. Too much formality will only make you a laughingstock."

The old general's voice sounded very weathered.

Then the old general coughed heavily a few times.

The Wang family relatives around them almost stood up.

Wang Jian placed his granddaughter Tang'er's hand in his son's hand, his voice growing weaker as he whispered, "Let's go, don't be late."

Fusu bowed once more, his gaze fixed on his future wife.

She was dressed in a dark black dress, her hair tied up with a bamboo hairpin, very simple, and without a veil. She was bowing her head, and even her gaze was turned to the side.

Then a woman's startled cry came from inside the hall.

It turned out that this young master had simply picked up his future wife around the waist and quickly walked out of the mansion.

The woman from the Wang family married the son of the First Emperor, becoming his wife and his youngest son. Later generations would refer to Wang Jian as the Duke of Pinyang.

Fusu mounted his horse, embraced his wife, and proclaimed loudly, "Li You!"

"The general is here!"

"Lead the team well and return to Xianyang."

"The last general takes command!"

Li You rode his horse through the streets.

Gongzi Gao noticed that Li Xiaoling was deliberately raising his voice and speaking with great momentum, and even the escorting soldiers made their footsteps a little heavier.

Inside the rear hall of Zhangtai Palace, the hall was somewhat dimly lit.

A palace attendant came to report, whispering, "The young master has returned from Pinyang."

Ying Zheng looked at the bamboo slips and asked, "Is everything going smoothly?"

"very smooth."

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng slowly stood up and then walked out of the rear hall.

At this moment, Zhangtai Palace was already filled with guests, who were sitting there chatting and laughing. Grand Commandant Meng Wu said to Feng Jie beside him, "Once the young master arrives, Wang Jian should also be here."

Then someone ran outside the hall and announced loudly, "The young master has entered the city."

Upon hearing this, people inside the hall began to discuss it again.

When the First Emperor arrived at the main hall of Zhangtai Palace, the hall fell silent.

Everyone sat upright, and the once noisy hall returned to silence.

Before long, someone shouted loudly outside the palace gate.

Fusu took his wife's hand and walked towards Zhangtai Palace.

Realizing his wife's hands were still trembling, Fusu whispered, "Did you see the reply I sent you?"

Wang Tang'er nodded slightly, though her expression was still somewhat stiff.

Fusu then said, "From now on, we are husband and wife. I will face everything with you. Don't be afraid."

Wang Tang'er took a deep breath, gripped her husband's hand tightly, and tried to keep her hand from trembling.

This was the first time Wang Tang'er had walked this road from the palace gate to Zhangtai Palace, and it was also the longest road she had ever walked in her life.

After walking for a while, Zhangtai Palace was still in sight in the distance. At the foot of the steps of Zhangtai Palace, armored soldiers and many Qin officials stood on both sides.

Wang Tang'er had a feeling that people were so insignificant in front of the lofty Zhangtai Palace.

Suddenly, she felt her hand being gripped tightly. She looked up slightly at her husband, who was holding her hand. His hand was warm and strong. She remembered her grandfather's words.

Wang Tang'er knew she couldn't be cowardly; her eyes were resolute. This was a path she was determined to walk no matter what.

The couple walked all the way to the bottom of the steps of Zhangtai Palace, where they first burned incense and offered prayers. This was called "reporting to the temple" to inform their ancestors.

The people of Qin valued law over etiquette, so there were not many formalities at this wedding.

Fusu, holding his wife's hand, climbed the steps one by one, and the Zhangtai Palace was right in front of them.

As he took the last step onto the stairs, Fusu looked at his wife's expression and whispered, "Don't be afraid."

Wang Tang'er perked up and whispered, "I'm not afraid."

"Your father and grandfather are both watching you from behind."

She was about to turn around and look.

Fusu hurriedly said, "Don't turn around."

Upon hearing what the young master said, Wang Tang'er froze, her neck stiffening as she tried to turn her head.

In fact, Fusu didn't know whether Wang Jian and Wang Ben were behind her. He only said that to keep her from being afraid. There are many ways to encourage someone, and this is one of them.

It's like when you were learning to ride a bicycle in your past life, the person holding the bike behind you would always give you a white lie.

The two stepped into the hall, walked among the officials, and finally approached the First Emperor, where they bowed to him.

Afterwards, Wang Tang'er was sent to Gaoquan Palace by several palace maids.

Fusu stayed at Zhangtai Palace, toasting and offering wine to the guests, or personally pouring wine for them.

Later, more and more people came to the main hall, until General Wang Jian and Wang Ben also arrived.

This was the first time Fusu felt drunk. By the time the guests left, it was already late at night.

Fusu sat on the steps of Zhangtai Palace, letting the cold wind sober him up.

At this moment, the First Emperor was no longer in Zhangtai Palace, and the palace maids and eunuchs were tidying up the main hall.

Tian An brought over a basin of hot water, which was steaming. He soaked a cloth in the hot water and handed it to him, saying, "Young master, please wipe your face."

Fusu took the hot towel, wiped his face, and felt much better. He said in a low voice, "Let's go back."

After walking a few steps, Fusu's drunkenness had mostly subsided. Nowadays, alcohol can make people drunk, but it is also digested quickly.

They walked all the way to Gaoquan Palace, where it remained quiet. Fusu stepped into the hall, came to the memorial tablet of Empress Dowager Huayang, and paid his respects and burned incense.

After entering the bedroom, Fusu closed the door, leaving only the couple inside.

The candlelight illuminated his wife Wang Tang'er's face, which showed a hint of tension.

Fusu saw the gourd on the table; it was a gourd cut in half, meant for the couple to drink together.

The hall was so quiet that they could hear each other breathing. Fusu thought she was a brave wife; even though she was afraid when she walked towards Zhangtai Palace, she was still able to walk up step by step.

Everyone has moments of fear, but the ability to face those fears is enough to demonstrate courage.

Fusu poured the wine and handed her the other half of the gourd.

This ceremony is called the nuptial cup ceremony. Before drinking the wine, she whispered a sentence, saying, "From now on, Tang'er and the young master will be together..."

Before she could finish speaking, Fusu interjected, "Sharing joys and sorrows."

After saying this, the couple drank it all in one gulp.

When she wrote to Nong Li, her letter was somewhat reserved, but in fact she was very brave.

The next day, when Fusu woke up, he saw that she had cut off a small lock of their hair. She sat by the bed and did this while whispering, "This is called tying the hair."

Fusu sat up, about to get off the bed.

Wang Tang'er hurriedly draped an outer garment over the young master's shoulders. She was a little flustered, and after draping the garment over him, she couldn't find where his belt was.

Fusu picked up the belt from the shelf next to him, fastened it skillfully, and said, "It's alright, you'll get used to it slowly."

She nodded slowly, then bent down to sit down again, her brows furrowing slightly as she handed her husband his shoes.

The shoes were brought from home, which was also a kind of gift.

After putting it on, Fusu tried it on again and said, "It fits quite well."

She laughed and said, "I knew it couldn't be too small."

"Young master, you can eat now."

Most likely, it was the palace maids outside who heard the conversation inside the hall and called out.

After the couple had dressed, they came out together.

Tian An still cooked breakfast for them: a pot of noodles enough for the couple, some bitter greens, and a fish.

As the couple ate their meal, Wang Tang'er said, "Everyone says the food here is delicious, and it really is."

Upon hearing this, Tian An smiled.

Fusu could tell that the old man was smiling very happily.

Wang Tang'er looked up and saw the bookshelves in the hall. She hadn't looked closely when she came, but now that she looked around, she was surprised to see so many books. The bookshelves were arranged in three rows.

The hall was originally quite spacious, but with these books, it actually felt smaller.

After the meal, Fusu ate dates, and the couple went to pay homage to the past Qin kings.

Along the way, Fusu told her about things in the palace.

“Pinyang has a lot of dates. If you like them, I will have someone send more over. You can’t possibly eat them all.”

Fusu smiled and said, "Alright."

In the morning, the couple paid homage to the Qin kings of past dynasties at Xianyang Palace.

In the afternoon, he would have to face Wang Ben and his wife who came to visit him.

Fusu and Wang Ben were discussing matters of state, while Wang Ben's wife was talking to Wang Tang'er.

"This year's planting went smoothly in all counties. Everything was fine in Weinan. However, some problems arose in Xingping, Wugong, and Fufeng counties. There were disagreements over the boundaries of the fields, which caused conflicts among the people in the three counties."

Fusu asked, "Is it a big commotion?"

"Fortunately, a fight didn't break out."

While he said no fight had broken out, Wang Ben's implication was that a fight was imminent.

Fusu stood outside the hall for a moment, pondering, and then said, "I will inform Li You to go there, and also have Cheng Miao go to help Zhang Cang. How is Lou Jing's matter of quitting drinking?"

Wang Ben said, "I haven't drunk any alcohol for two months since I came to Guanzhong."

At this point, Wang Ben saw the young master enter the hall and take a book from the bookshelf.

Fusu handed him the book and instructed, "This is a governance strategy I wrote. Have Lou Jing write a detailed plan and give it to me when it's finished."

Wang Ben replied, "This subordinate obeys the order."

Seeing the mother and daughter emerge from the palace, Wang Ben and his wife bid farewell. After seeing them off, Fusu was still thinking about Lou Jing's matter.

Noticing the way his wife was looking at him, Fusu said, "They are all small matters in various counties of Guanzhong. They are not difficult matters, but they are still troublesome."

Wang Tang'er said, "I want Grandpa Tian to teach me how to pull noodles."

Fusu really wanted to say that he had taught Tian An how to make pulled noodles, but faced with his wife's interest in learning, he said loudly to the figure tidying up inside the hall, "Tian An, prepare more noodles."

While his wife was learning how to pull noodles, Fusu was looking at the documents that had just been delivered.

The young master has always been diligent in his duties, even after his recent marriage.

(End of this chapter)