Simultaneous travel: City, infinite evolution

Chapter 248 Betrothal and Naming
"Chen Hong?"

"Sir, is your name Chen Hong?"

"Isn't that the name of the great sage who quelled the plague in Dang County?"

"Could it be..."

"Are they really the same person?"

Fusu was somewhat shocked, but with so many people watching, he could only suppress his emotions, clear his throat, and compose himself.

"The Chen family sent Fusu to pay their respects, wishing to ask your daughter to be their wife."

The usher bowed to Fusu and said, "Please wait a moment, young master, while I go inside to inform the head of the household."

Fusu nodded.

The steward hurriedly entered the Lü residence and reported to Lord Lü.

Lord Lü straightened his clothes and, leading a large group of people from the Lü family mansion, personally went to the gate to greet them. The two sides exchanged greetings.

"I've met the young master."

"I have met the elder."

"Young master, please come in."

"please."

The two men, followed by a large group of people, entered through the gate and headed towards the main hall.

The onlookers outside the gate were so shocked their jaws dropped.

"what!"

"Prince Fusu personally came to act as matchmaker?"

"Who would dare to show such favor?"

"What merit or ability does the humble Lü family possess?"

"Just how beautiful is this young lady from the Lü family that even Prince Fusu would act as matchmaker?"

Everyone's gossip-loving spirit was ignited.

This is big news.

Putting everything else aside, just seeing Prince Fusu's appearance is enough for them to brag about for a lifetime.

It's not just that the topic is so explosive.

Immediately, the people were abuzz with discussion, and the news spread like wildfire.

After entering the main hall, Fusu stood on the west steps facing east.

Lü Gong stood on the east steps, facing west.

Fusu delivered a speech in accordance with etiquette, and solemnly inquired:
"Having heard that your daughter is as beautiful and eloquent as a flower, and possesses both virtue and beauty, the young master of the Chen family admires her and wishes to marry her."

“My son, Lord Lü, is very kind; he has bestowed gifts upon Chen Hong, the head of the family.”

The Chen family, mindful of the rites of their ancestors, sent Fusu to request the betrothal.

(Translation: If you are willing to grant your daughter the honor of marrying my son Chen Hong, the Chen family will, according to ancient rites, send me (Fusu) to propose marriage.)
Lord Lü humbly returned the gift in gratitude:
“My son (daughter) is foolish and incapable of being taught. My son has instructed me to do so, and I dare not refuse.”

Fusu placed the two geese between the pillars in front of the hall.

After bowing again, Lü Gongxing received the goose and handed it over to the steward for safekeeping.

This means that the marriage proposal has been formally accepted.

Since Lord Lü agreed so readily, it's clear that he had already discussed it with Chen Hong.

Fusu simply went ahead with the next step, the "asking the name" ceremony, to save himself the trouble of making a second trip.

"The Chen family envoy, Fusu, may I ask your name?"

"May I ask for the name and birth date of your esteemed daughter, so that we may inform our ancestors and divine the omens of good or bad fortune."

Lu Gong was somewhat surprised, but quickly recovered.

Fortunately, he was prepared and quickly signaled the steward to fetch the betrothal letter.

The woman's father should humbly acknowledge his daughter's shortcomings before formally informing her of the information:

"My daughter's name is Lü Zhi. She was born on a certain day, month, year, and hour. Her mother is surnamed Mou."

"My daughter's name is Lü Su. She was born on a certain day, month, year, and hour. Her mother is surnamed Mou."

This step mainly involves asking the woman's name, date of birth, and the identity of her birth mother in order to divine good or bad fortune.

And confirm whether the children are legitimate or illegitimate, and whether they are married within the same family.

However, it's best to avoid directly asking about someone's status as an illegitimate child, as that would be very impolite.

Therefore, if you ask for the name of the birth mother, you can usually tell whether she was born of the principal wife or a concubine just by hearing her name.

Lu Gong accepted the two birth charts that the steward hurriedly handed over.

He handed over the birth chart containing the name and date of birth to Fusu.

At the same time, in accordance with etiquette, a wild goose was returned to Fusu to show that "courtesy should be reciprocated".

Fusu replied: "I respectfully carry your daughter's letter to the ancestral temple, and I am sure to receive good news."

This means taking your birth date and time back to the ancestral temple for divination.

If the divination result is auspicious, proceed to the next step.

If it is considered unlucky, then politely refuse and stop the marriage process.

But whether something is auspicious or inauspicious is actually manipulated by people.

To put it simply, it's about giving both sides a period of reconciliation.

If both the man and woman believe the other is a good match, they will manipulate the divination result to make it auspicious.

If it's not appropriate, the divination result will be unlucky.

Then the man politely declined.

If the woman is unwilling to marry, she will refuse on the grounds that the divination result is unfavorable.

However, in this process, the woman is still in a relatively weak position.

They usually find out the details during the first step of the betrothal ceremony, and they won't back out unless something unexpected happens.

Having completed his mission, Fusu smiled.

"Congratulations, Master Lü."

"Happy together."

"Young master, please take a seat."

Lu Gong, somewhat apprehensive, reached out to invite Fusu to take the seat.

"Hey, Fusu is a guest, how can he usurp the host's place?"

"Oh, right."

"Fusu also wishes to visit Mr. Chen Hong. May I ask where he should go?"

"I will personally lead the way for you, young master. Please follow me."

"No need, no need. The elder is too old. Just send a boy to lead us there."

"well."

"I have long heard that Young Master Fusu is a refined and benevolent man. Now that I have met him, I am even more impressed by the rumors."

Lu Gong stroked his beard, his face full of admiration.

"It's too praised, it's too praised."

"Fusu takes his leave."

Fusu gestured to his men to bring boxes of things from the car; these were gifts he had prepared for Chen Hong.

The soldiers, carrying several boxes, along with Fusu and Meng Tian, ​​followed the boy to Chen Hong's courtyard. "Haha, Mr. Chen, congratulations."

"Happy together."

"These are the birth charts of the two young ladies. Please keep them safe, sir."

Chen Hong took the two birth charts and said, "Please sit down."

"I wonder what kind of beauty she is that has won your favor, sir. Fusu is quite curious about her."

Fusu chuckled and joked, "You absolutely must invite me to the wedding!"

"sure."

"Sir, this is a gift from Fusu."

"Oh?" Chen Hong curiously opened the box and saw that it was full of scrolls of bamboo slips.

I randomly flipped through a few volumes.

The Book of Guanzi, The Book of Lord Shang, The Book of Shenzi, The Book of Shenzi, The Book of Han Feizi...

Most of them are Legalist books.

"It seems that when we discussed Qin law last time, he regarded me as a Legalist," Chen Hong thought to himself.

At this moment, Fusu couldn't help but ask, "Sir, your surname is Chen and your given name is Hong?"
But what about Chen Hong, the great physician from Dang County who quelled the plague?

“I dare not accept the title of great sage, but I am indeed Chen Hong, and I did indeed quell the plague in Dang County.”

Chen Hong made no attempt to hide anything and readily admitted it.

He never intended to hide it when he practiced medicine to treat the plague.

There is nothing in this world that allows him to remain anonymous and use an alternate account.

Fusu was overjoyed upon hearing this, exclaiming, "Indeed, it is you, sir!"

"Sir, you are truly a man of great talent."

"Fusu, if I may be so bold, sir, would you be willing to do your part for the Great Qin? For the sake of all the people under heaven?"

Chen Hong shook his head helplessly: "Why are you here again?"

"I humbly request your gracious favor and help the Great Qin."

Fusu pleaded desperately.

"Fine, fine, I'm beholden to those who feed me."

Chen Hong went back into the house and took out two books.

"what is this?"

"Books."

"Is this how a book is written?"

Fusu and Meng Tian were both shocked. They took the book from Chen Hong and curiously explored it.

"This texture...this texture, it's so unique!"

"Take a look," Chen Hong encouraged with a smile. "Books are meant to be turned over."

"oh oh."

The two cautiously tried to turn the pages of the book and took a look.

There were rows of characters, each a size smaller than the characters carved on bamboo slips, arranged vertically.

Occasionally, you can still see a few pictures.

"This this……"

Fusu and Meng Tian were even more shocked.

"What a divine object this is!"

"Incredible, incredible!"

The two read it carefully and gradually came to understand its contents.

The more they read, the more shocked they became, as if they had opened the door to a new world.

"What divine magic is this!"

"If this policy is implemented, the number of scholars in the country will surely increase more than tenfold."

After they finished reading, they returned to the book cover.

One of them was titled: "The Art of Papermaking (First Edition)".

One of them is titled: "A Preliminary Exploration of Woodblock Printing".

Chen Hong used an improved version of papermaking by Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and with slight modifications to suit the times, it became usable.

The raw materials Cai Lun used for papermaking (tree bark, hemp fibers, rags, and old fishing nets) were all readily available waste materials in the Qin Dynasty.

Cai Lun's papermaking process (soaking → crushing → papermaking → drying) was simple, and the necessary tools were already available in the Qin Dynasty.

Whether it's crushing with a stone mortar, weaving bamboo mats, or retting hemp, the basics are already in place.

Even the only difficulty is that the raw materials need to be boiled in an alkaline solution (such as lime water) to remove lignin.

Chen Hongdu has already written down the principles and proportions of acid-base reactions very clearly.

The specific recipe has been given, so making such simple and crude paper is not a problem at all.

Chen Hong even included details on refined division of labor and accelerating production efficiency in his proposal.

Given the extraordinary nature of the Qin Dynasty's Shaofu (Minister of the Treasury), its division of labor, standardization, and strict procedures were remarkable.

Although it can't reach the level of an assembly line, making paper is a piece of cake.

For woodblock printing, Chen Hong chose solid and fine-textured wood as the material for the printing blocks, such as catalpa, pear, and jujube wood.

These woods have a tight grain, are not easily deformed or cracked, and can withstand multiple printings, ensuring the durability of the printing plates and the quality of the prints.

The Qin Dynasty had mastered ink-making technology (used for writing on bamboo slips) and seal carving techniques.

Therefore, ink and carving are not a problem.

The simplest pine soot ink can be used, which is made from the soot collected after burning pine branches and then processed into ink blocks.

Inks can also be made by mixing animal glue and pigments to meet different printing needs.

Chen Hong wrote all of these down clearly.

The carving can be done in relief or intaglio.

Relief carving (or relief engraving) involves carving the strokes of text or patterns into raised areas, making them higher than the surface of the printing plate.

The printing plates created using this method will produce white text or images when printed (if the paper is white).

Intaglio engraving (also known as negative engraving) involves carving the strokes of text or patterns into a recessed area below the surface of the printing plate.

When printed, text or images will appear in black (if black ink is used).

Therefore, with the technology of the Qin Dynasty, woodblock printing was entirely feasible.

With their keen insight, Fusu and Meng Yi immediately recognized the immense potential of papermaking and printing.

It should be noted that bamboo slips are still the mainstream writing medium today.

Although bamboo slips are relatively easy to obtain, you can just whittle bamboo.

However, bamboo also needs to be soaked in medicine and dried to prevent insects from infesting it, and bamboo slips are too heavy and bulky.

Information from a few slightly thicker books could fill a whole truck.

The information content per unit volume is far less than that of thin paper.

It is also not easy to transport.

(End of this chapter)