Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 234 The Second Commemorative Painting Session of the Isshin-kai

"Chief! Chief! His Majesty has bestowed another calligraphy!!"

Haiyue welcomed the bride back home. Before they even reached the door, they saw a crowd gathered in the alley, all looking on in shock. Zhao Wenhua rushed over, excitedly reporting the news, his face beaming with pride.

"Your Majesty's kindness is something I can never repay!"

Haiyue's expression shifted between surprise and delight, giving a standard response, though she had actually anticipated it.

He had just met Empress Dowager Jiang, and judging from her reluctant expression, he had developed a genuine affection for her adopted daughter, Zhu Yuying.

Otherwise, there would have been no need for the Empress Dowager to come to the Princess's residence. It was already a great honor to have Princess Yongchun escort the bride on her behalf.

Because she regarded Zhu Yuying as her daughter and wanted to support her, Empress Dowager Jiang made a special trip out of the palace and even gave her earnest instructions.

Haiyue was genuinely happy for his wife. Everyone has a heart, and she had no relatives or friends here. If she were to get married alone, she would inevitably feel regret. Now that she has her mother and sister, she has finally experienced the warmth of home again.

But Haiyue also knew that the emperor and the empress dowager were different, and for Jiajing, this was a political marriage.

Now that he has married the Empress Dowager's daughter, he should know which side he should firmly support next.

"May the grand house stand in harmony, may peace and tranquility prevail for a hundred years, may the deer-drawn carriage be pulled together, may our hearts be united for a thousand years!"

When Huang Jin personally presented the Jiajing Emperor's calligraphy to her, Hai Yue glanced at it. While the contents were exactly as she had expected, a thought struck her. She summoned Yan Shifan and whispered, "Donglou, has the painter been invited?"

Yan Shifan looked at the imperial edict with shining eyes and nodded repeatedly: "Mingwei, rest assured, I was prepared!"

I still remember when the Yixin Society was first established, they wanted to hold a simple initiation ceremony, so they found a painter from Qipan Street who originally served the court. The six founding members brought six chairs and lined them up for the painter to paint their portraits.

At the time, Hai Rui and others felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, they were unknown, so leaving their portraits was too arrogant.
However, Yan Shifan realized that this was an excellent way to unite the members of the company, and he frequently invited painters to come, but the time was not right, and so far there has not been a second complete painting.

Now that Haiyue is getting married and Emperor Jiajing has personally bestowed the calligraphy, the perfect opportunity has finally arrived. Seeing Haiyue leading the bride inside, Yan Shifan rushed to the side and brought the painter over: "Old Zhou, can you paint right away?"

This man was no ordinary person. His name was Zhou Molin, and his pen name was Songyan Jushi. He was a painter of the Wu School in Suzhou and studied under Shen Zhou, one of the four great masters of painting and calligraphy in the Ming Dynasty. He was skilled in landscape painting and also proficient in figure painting.

Painters of this caliber are only sought after by scholars of great learning, and Yan Shifan's attitude was initially somewhat polite, but it has changed now.

With the imperial inscription here, let alone the minor Wu School painters, even if Tang Bohu, Wen Zhengming, Shen Zhou, and Qiu Ying were still alive, inviting them all to paint for the Yixin Society would be no problem!
Zhou Molin disliked Yan Shifan's arrogant attitude, but looking at the imperial calligraphy, a fiery glint flashed in his eyes. He quickly said, "Today's 'Gathering of Worthies Celebrating the Auspiciousness' should use line drawing as its framework and dynamic movement as its spirit..."

"Slow down, slow down!"

Yan Shifan quickly stopped him and said in a low voice, "The key is not the guests' congratulations, but our unity of purpose in gathering together. Could you please include all the members of the Unity Society who have gathered today in a painting?"

Zhou Molin was somewhat taken aback: "Yixin Hui?"

"A hundred years of peace and tranquility, a thousand years of unity of purpose—what do you think this 'unity of purpose' refers to?"

Yan Shifan laughed and said, "Naturally, it is the academy established by the groom, the second-place scholar of this imperial examination, in Sanya, together with me, who utterly defeated Yan Donglou of the White Lotus Society, within the Imperial Academy! To cultivate a single mind to become a person, to cultivate a single mind to deal with the world, and to cultivate a single mind to be loyal to the emperor!"

Zhou Molin understood and frowned: "This is definitely not something that can be accomplished in a day."

"Then please take your time painting, sir. As a master painter, your skill in depicting the beauty of nature has long been unparalleled in Nanjing. This painting, 'Wholeheartedly Celebrating Happiness,' will surely become a legendary tale!"

Yan Shifan encouraged him repeatedly, then went off to attend to his work: "I have to go to the front hall, so I'll leave everything to you, sir. After the ceremony, I'll definitely take a good look at your masterpiece!"

Seeing that the person had disappeared, Zhou Molin had no choice but to spread out a large sheet of Xuan paper on the table. He had freshly ground Huizhou ink, along with cinnabar, azurite, and other colors, in his brush and inkstone. After a moment's thought, he picked up his brush and began to sketch.

Yan Shifan's request was to paint people, but he still started with the main hall, his ink lines flowing like dragons, quickly outlining the contours of the wedding hall—

The carved moon beams and the intertwined branches of the lamp bases, in their varying density, reveal a touch of festivity. Even without the sound of drums and music, one can see the newlyweds formally performing the three-bowing ceremony.

Worship heaven and earth!
Two thanks to the high hall!

Husband and wife say goodbye!

As Haihao and Zhu Lin were beaming with joy, the groom's appearance was also captured on paper. Through just a few words, Zhou Molin had already figured out who the groom was and naturally focused on describing him.

Once the figure was captured perfectly, leaping off the page, he then turned to the assembled guests:
There's Hai Rui raising his cup to drink, his robes billowing in the wind; there's Zhao Shichun clapping his hands and laughing heartily, unrestrained and carefree; there's Su Zhigao stroking his beard, deep in thought, the smile lines at the corners of his eyes like chrysanthemums…

Zhou Molin sketched quickly with light ink, and with each stroke of his brush, the expressions of the people leaped off the paper. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, Yan Shifan, who was stealing the fruit, was the most humorous.

On the other side, after performing the three-bowing ceremony, Haiyue led Zhu Yuying into the back hall.

Here, he first lifted the veil, revealing a face as beautiful as jade, and then performed the rituals of washing hands, sharing food, and drinking from the same cup.

The first two ceremonies originate from the tradition of "sharing food and drinking from the same cup," which simply means washing hands and starting to eat, symbolizing that the couple will become one and live together from now on.

The nuptial ceremony is well-known, where newlyweds drink from a shared cup, using a gourd vessel made of two halves, each holding one half to drink from.

The sake in the gourd cup rippled slightly. Haiyue took a sip and indeed tasted bitterness. He looked up and saw his wife's gaze piercing through the flickering candlelight, as gentle as a spring breeze. They smiled at each other, needing no words.

The bitterness of the gourd and the spiciness of the sake had already transformed into a myriad of tender feelings in that smile exchanged between them.

The couple drinking the nuptial wine together symbolizes sharing joys and sorrows. However, compared to other couples' ceremonies, both of them have come from humble beginnings and have already experienced the taste of sharing joys and sorrows.

While others drink from the same cup as a vow, they seem to be renewing it.

"This drink is a bit late!"

After drinking it all in one gulp, Haiyue untied the red ribbon that had been tied to Zhu Yuying's head beforehand, then cut a strand of hair from each of their heads, tied them together, and put them into a brocade pouch.

I cut my cloud-like hair, and you parted your strands. We found a secluded spot, and tied our hair into a knot of love. We became husband and wife, our love unwavering.

This concludes the basic rituals of the wedding ceremony.

Next came the exciting moment of entering the bridal chamber.

Of course, before that, we also need to go out to see off the guests.

But just then, a deafening cheer suddenly erupted from outside.

Haiyue's heart skipped a beat. She stepped out and heard screams all over the streets and alleys. Yan Shifan's voice was the clearest: "Good news! Good news! Great victory in Annam! The Ming army has utterly defeated Mo Ni! The Ming army has utterly defeated Mo Ni! Hahaha!"

The lobby and surrounding area immediately erupted in a clamor.

Haiyue also showed a genuine look of joy.

It has been over a year since they entered the capital and brought news of the internal strife in Annam.

The imperial court first dispatched the Embroidered Uniform Guard to secretly investigate the situation, then mobilized the Guangxi Wolf Army to demonstrate its power in the border region, and finally launched the war under the pretext of upholding the legitimacy of the Le dynasty and suppressing rebellion.

This cautious, step-by-step approach, while seemingly mature and prudent, actually exposes the dire state of military preparedness.

If it were the Yongle Emperor's reign, they would have already marched in and crushed all those who dared to resist.

So even though she knew that the Ming Dynasty's response was much more timely than in history, causing Mo Dengyong, who had only recently usurped the throne, to be beset by internal and external troubles and at a loss for what to do, Haiyue was still worried about the risk of defeat.

Two members of the Yixinhui were also absent from the wedding.

One is Gui Zai, whose father Gui E passed away last year and he is still observing mourning in his hometown;

Another was Yu Dayou, the newly appointed martial arts champion. After achieving his academic success, he immediately went south to join the Ming army's campaign against Annam.

Although it is unknown whether Yu Dayou has made any significant contributions, the initial victory has brought joy and encouragement to everyone.

For the bride, it is a great joyous occasion.

Regardless of whether her surname changed, Mo Dengyong was her mortal enemy. Just as Hai Yue pointed out incisively at the time, after the last King of Annam of the Lê clan was assassinated, the throne might still be retained, but it was inevitable that the power would fall into other hands. Since the Lê clan's rule had ended, she was even less willing to see the traitor who murdered the king and usurped the throne occupy Annam!

Now, the good news is also a congratulatory message for the wedding. This wedding night will leave even more beautiful memories.

"Red candles illuminate the dressing table, where mandarin ducks are happily paired."

"The news of victory spreads throughout the land, and we are delighted to hear of the triumphant return of our heroes."

"Hahaha! Perfect for the occasion!"

Just as the scholars were writing couplets, Zhou Molin added a stroke to the corner of the painting: a fast horse riding on auspicious clouds, with a red flag fluttering on its back, echoing the red silk of the wedding hall.

"This is a blessing from Heaven for the Ming Dynasty, a double celebration! This 'Wholehearted Celebration of Happiness' painting is destined to become a masterpiece for posterity!"

The red candles burned past midnight, and the first draft of the painting was finally completed.

The paper is filled with figures.

The newlyweds were elegant and graceful, and the guests each had their own unique charm. Even the palace lanterns hanging from the eaves seemed to float and shimmer amidst the ink and color.

September 28th, the ninth year of the Jiajing reign.

The Yixin Society was established with six members: Haiyue, Hairui, Yan Shifan, Lin Daqin, Xu Jie, and Zhao Shichun. They specially commissioned an artist to paint a group portrait as a memento.

April 8th, the eleventh year of the Jiajing reign.

Thirty-six members of the Yixin Society, including Hai Yue, Hai Rui, Yan Shifan, Lin Daqin, Xu Jie, Zhao Shichun, Su Zhigao, Gui Zai (missing), Yu Dayou (missing), Wang Shenzhong, Tang Shunzhi, Chen Shu, Xiong Guo, Li Qidong, Gao Jie, Xiong Luo, Sang Qiao, Jia Shiyuan, Lin Hua, Gu Sike, Gao Shiyan, Lü Huai, Xin Tong, Tang Guoxiang, Fan Qin, Zhang Yu, Xie Shaonan, Bai Yue, Lu Qifan, Jiang Xin, Zhang Ming, Li Yankang, Pan Zizheng, Sun Jixian, Ying Mingfeng, and Zhao Wenhua, attended the wedding ceremony. Thirty-four of them were present and a group portrait was specially commissioned to be painted as a memento.

(End of this chapter)