I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 218 Yuan Shu's Coming of Age Ceremony

For the sake of his future, Yuan Shao suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and told Yuan Feng that he would definitely get along well with Yuan Shu, which made Yuan Feng very satisfied.

"My greatest wish is for you brothers to work together. Shao, after a while, I will arrange for you and your elder brother to serve as the two thousand stone county governors. You will first gain experience in this position for three years, and then return to Luoyang."

Yuan Shao's eyes lit up and he was overjoyed.

Skipping the position of county magistrate and becoming county governor directly saves three years. How wonderful is that?

Yuan Feng's arrangement met his needs and he was very happy. But after being happy, there was still one thing that he cared about.

Yuan Feng just talked about the arrangements between him and Yuan Ji, so what is Yuan Shu going to do?
"My elder brother and I have both become county governors, so...what is the tree going to do?"

Yuan Feng looked at the expression on Yuan Shao's face and smiled.

"I have already made up my mind about you and your elder brother, but I have not yet made up my mind about Shu. I am still a little hesitant, but there is no need to rush. Shu has not yet performed the ceremony of coming of age. I will make a decision after he has performed the ceremony!"

After Yuan Feng said this, Yuan Shao did not continue to ask.

He achieved his goal and had new expectations for the future.

The official rank of two thousand stones could at least maintain a balance between him and Yuan Shu to a certain extent. After all, he did not believe that Yuan Shu could easily surpass the rank of two thousand stones and reach the rank of ten thousand stones, a level only available to generals and three ministers.

If that were the case, Yuan Shao would have given up, laid down, and stopped fighting.

If Yuan Shu could really get a position of 10,000 shi and make enough contributions, he would accept it.

Otherwise, we all have 2,000 shi, so who can say that I am not as good as you?

Yuan Shao was so excited.

And Yuan Shu also smoothly entered his adulthood afterwards.

On the tenth day of the tenth month of the first year of the Zhengshi reign, Yuan Feng formally held a coming-of-age ceremony for Yuan Shu.

Although Yuan Shu is only seventeen years old, he is already a real adult in every way.

At every moment in the past, he did things that only adults could do, and even many adults could not do what he could do, so everyone who knew Yuan Shu subconsciously regarded him as an adult rather than a teenager.

In fact, all Yuan Shu needed to achieve adulthood was a coming-of-age ceremony.

As for the ceremony itself, it can be said to be extremely grand.

The participants included not only Sikong Yuan Feng and Taiwei Duan Xing, but also Situ Yuan Wei, who hurried back to Luoyang in ecstasy after learning that the operation was successful.

This means that the three dukes are already complete.

In addition, the first generation of Nine Ministers of the new era also attended the ceremony.

This means that all the three dukes and nine ministers, who represented the bureaucracy and the pinnacle of power in the entire Eastern Han Empire, attended Yuan Shu's coming-of-age ceremony, which shows how grand it was.

And the reason why such an occasion exists is thanks to Liu Kui.

Or there could be a more accurate statement.

It was Liu Kui who personally issued an edict to invite Yuan Shu to hold the ceremony of coming of age in the imperial palace, and the location was in the Chongde Hall. Liu Kui was very "generous" and lent the imperial palace to Yuan Shu so that Yuan Shu could complete the ceremony of coming of age in the imperial palace.

A ceremony of coming-of-age can gather all the high-ranking officials of the entire empire, so it can be said that the ceremony is very grand.

Yuan Shao, who was standing in the crowd, and Yang Biao, who was familiar with Yuan Shu, were both envious.

How could their coming-of-age ceremony be so grand?
But there is no way, who can say that Yuan Shu really deserves this top ranking?
If it were anyone else except him, some people would probably feel it was not worth it, but when it came to Yuan Shu, no one dared to say no.

At this moment, the focus of everyone's attention and the focus of the entire ceremony was Yuan Shu.

Seventeen-year-old Yuan Shu knelt on a cushion with a coiled dragon pattern, the wide sleeves of his black ceremonial robe hanging down like inky clouds.

He heard the rustling of the hems of the clothes of the dukes, ministers, princes and nobles behind him. The sound was very similar to the incessant chirping of cicadas on the old locust tree in Zhixing Academy in summer.

I'm finally coming of age...

Yuan Shu sighed a little.

"On this auspicious month, the Canadian dollar service will begin!"

The host of the ceremony, Taichang Qing Tang Zhen, sang very loudly, and his powerful voice made the bronze lamp trees in the hall tremble slightly.

As the uncle, Yuan Wei appears first.

He walked up the east steps holding a black cloth crown. The jade beads on the seven-tassel crown brushed across Yuan Shu's drooping brows. When the cold hemp touched his hair, Yuan Shu smelled the scent of agarwood mixed with copper rust between the crown and belt.

This ceremonial crown, which has been passed down for three generations, was used not only by Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei, but also by his grandfather Yuan Tang. It was fumigated with sandalwood from the Yonghe period when Yuan Tang performed the crowning ceremony, silently witnessing the inheritance of three generations of a century-old family.

According to the content of the ceremony, noble sons like Yuan Shu need to be crowned three times.

The first time was a black cloth crown.

The second time was a leather cap.

The ceremony of adding a leather cap is the most complicated.

Eight servants brought rhinoceros armor and a red bow. In the green smoke rising from the gilded Boshan furnace, Yuan Wei's wife Ma Lun, on behalf of Yuan Shu's deceased mother, personally fastened the jade belt with coiled dragon pattern around his waist to help him complete the ceremony.

Tang Zhen continued to sing the ritual words with great diligence.

"Respect your dignity and be prudent in your virtues..."

As he sang, Yuan Feng, as a father, presented the third crown - the Juebian, completing the last ceremony for Yuan Shu.

When the nine-tasseled official hat was put on, Tang Zhen shouted with full energy:

"The ceremony is completed!!"

The tail end of Tang Zhen's voice was blown towards the North Palace by the sudden north wind. Yuan Shu straightened the slightly tilted hairpin on the right side of his robe, making him look more solemn and dignified.

The exquisite glazed tiles on the eaves of Nangong Palace are reflected in the newly polished copper mirror on the lacquer table.

For the sons of officials and scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the ceremony of coming of age was an indispensable part of life. It could be simple and easy, or solemn and complicated, but it had to happen once and for all.

Originally, Yuan Shu felt that this ritual did not have much significance, but after participating in it personally, he realized that the significance of the ceremony of capping might be to give people a sense of ritual and participation, so that people know that they have become adults.

No longer a teenager or a boy who does not need to bear too many responsibilities.

From this perspective, Yuan Shu thinks that the ceremony of coming of age is actually quite good.

Moreover, at this coming-of-age ceremony, Yuan Feng also helped Yuan Shu with a small favor.

He formally approved Yuan Shu's request to change his name and allowed him to change his name.

"I remember that when you were nine years old, you were not satisfied with your name. You mentioned to me many times that you did not like the word "Shu" and wanted to change your name to "Shu". At that time, not only me, but also many elders in our clan were dissatisfied with you. They felt that you were acting recklessly and ignorantly. They felt that as a child, how could you understand the expectations of the elders.

At that time, I thought so too. I felt that you could not understand the considerations of the elders. I thought that when you grew up, you would naturally understand. Now it seems that you have indeed grown up, but you still insist on your own opinion. In this case, I will no longer insist on it. You can change this name. "

Yuan Feng had not mentioned the matter of allowing him to change his name to Yuan Shu before, but brought it up suddenly, as if he wanted to give Yuan Shu a little surprise.

Yuan Shu was very happy about this. In a sense, this could be considered a wish he had wanted to fulfill for many years.

He didn't want to follow the Skeleton King's old path.

I don't want to become a twisted second-rate warlord.

He wanted to go his own way and live a new life, so to show this, he decided to change his name.

And now, his request to change his name has finally been approved.

From then on, he was truly Yuan Shu.

As the name change was implemented, another problem also surfaced.

That is how to determine Yuan Shu’s courtesy name.

Now that he has reached adulthood, he should have a courtesy name so that people can use it to address him in the future.

In this era, calling someone by their first name is almost like cursing. Considering how much people care about their real names in this era, it is not convenient to call someone by their first name even if you are cursing them.

For example, when Ma Chao wrote the manifesto to denounce Cao Cao, he did not call him by his name, but called him Meng De.

Therefore, choosing a courtesy name for Yuan Shu is the most important thing at the moment.

In this matter, Yuan Feng, as the father, has the final say, but he said he would pool ideas and ask everyone to brainstorm together to choose the most appropriate courtesy name for Yuan Shu.

Suggestion after suggestion was put forward and rejected.

Finally, Cai Yong, who was invited to attend the coming-of-age ceremony, was inspired by Ma Riti and came up with a very good idea.

"In the second year of Duke Zhao of Jin, it is said in Zuo Zhuan that Han Xuanzi of Jin came to propose marriage, and the duke offered him a feast. Han Xuanzi presented him with a gift of a horn bow. After the feast, they had a banquet at Ji's house. There was a fine tree there, and Xuanzi praised it. Wu Zi said, 'How dare you not plant this tree in your vassalage, so that you will not forget the horn bow.' So he presented him with a gift of a sweet tangerine.

Ji Wuzi cultivated good trees to show his ambition, and Yuan Sikong raised good men to fight for the country's crisis and eliminate treacherous officials, eliminating insects for the country and restoring order. These are truly loyal and righteous deeds. If the whole family is loyal and good, why not use Jia as the name? "

(End of this chapter)