Top Scholar

Chapter 302 Seeing Red
June 25th, dusk.

The Su family's grand wedding procession, led by festive suona horns and drums, headed to the home of Scholar Cheng halfway up the mountain to fetch the bride.

The *Book of Rites* (Yili), in the section on the wedding ceremony of a scholar, states: "The wedding ceremony of a scholar. In all ceremonies, the evening light must be used."

Su Youcai, dressed in a bright red auspicious robe and wearing a black gauze hat with inlaid pearls and wings, rode a tall, pure white horse. Eight flag bearers held red banners embroidered with the character "囍" in front of him, and eight sedan chairs followed behind him, along with male members of the Su family carrying the dowry. They arrived at the Cheng family's gate in a grand procession.

The Cheng family members had already gathered here, laughing and joking as they blocked the gate, asking for lucky money to open it.

Su Youma presented a red winnowing basket filled with loose silver coins and said with a smile, "Can you open the door now?"

"Not enough!" The Cheng family, having already received the money, still refused to move aside.

"What, you want more money?" Su Youma asked.

"The red envelopes are enough, but the groom is known as 'Little Su Dongpo of Erlangtan,' how can we not have him write a poem?" the Cheng family laughed.

Su Youma breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that they were trying to flatter his second brother in a roundabout way. He smiled and said, "Second brother, sing me a song!"

The Su family members also joined in the commotion, but fortunately, this was no problem for the talented brother. After a moment's thought, he loudly proclaimed from his horse:

"Red banners flutter at the head of the Chishui River, and joyous celebrations fill the Erlang Beach."

Let us pour the newly brewed Erlang wine, for today Su and Cheng are one family!

"Excellent! Excellent! No wonder he's a scholar!" The Su and Cheng families cheered loudly. Su Youcai's poems were always easy for even old women to understand.

The Cheng family members gladly made way for them, and Su Youcai dismounted and led his clansmen carrying gifts into Cheng Xiucai's house.

This was also the first time in his life that he had ever stepped through this door...

The eldest son of the Cheng family hurriedly ordered his clansmen to accept the betrothal gifts and then led the groom's clansmen to a banquet.

Su Youcai then entered the hall and kowtowed to Cheng Xiucai, who was sitting in the main seat.

"Your son-in-law greets your father-in-law."

Today, Scholar Cheng was completely different from that day. His face was full of kind smiles as he instructed Cheng Chengcheng, "Quickly, help your brother-in-law up."

The brother-in-law quickly stepped forward and helped Su Xiangong up.

"Go and urge your sister," Cheng Xiucai instructed Cheng Chengcheng.

~~
In the inner quarters, the proprietress, dressed in gold and silver and adorned with a phoenix coronet and wedding gown, had been made up by her aunt, who had both a son and a daughter. She sat upright by the bed, sobbing in front of her mother.

Mother Cheng said with tears in her eyes, "Daughter, when you get to the Su family, you must be filial to your parents-in-law and live a good life..."

"Mom, don't cry." The landlady's eyes also reddened as she wiped her mother's tears, saying, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine at my in-laws' house."

"I'm not worried about you, I'm just happy for you." Mother Cheng held her daughter's hand and said with a smile that made her cry, "My daughter is finally out of the bitterness, and from now on, there will only be sweetness in her life!"

"Yes, yes, sister-in-law is absolutely right! Lanlan's future will be sweet!" The women of the Cheng family said auspiciously together.

At this moment, Cheng Chengcheng's wife brought out a bowl of six glutinous rice balls. Cheng's mother took it, scooped one out, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to her daughter, saying, "Round and full, sweet and happy."

The proprietress ate two glutinous rice balls with tears in her eyes, just as the sedan chair was being urged to move for the third time.

Cheng's mother then covered her head with a veil, and with the help of Sister-in-law Quanfu, she went to the front hall.

After bidding farewell to her parents, the bride was helped by her brother to step over the red-cloth-covered saddle and onto the red felt sedan chair. Inside the sedan chair was a brocade cushion embroidered with mandarin ducks, and there were love knots and candied fruit.

As the sedan curtains were lowered, Cheng Chengcheng patted the sedan three times and said loudly, "Have a safe journey!"

"Lift the sedan chair!" Su Youpeng, the groom's best man, announced loudly.

The wedding procession then returned home with music and fanfare, followed by twelve boxes of dowry sent by the Cheng family.

It was already dark, but the entire Erlangtan area was brightly lit. Every household on both sides of the road hung up big red lanterns, and people from both clans held torches to light the way home for the bride and groom!
Along the way, the wedding procession scattered grains and cereals from time to time to ward off evil spirits and pray for blessings, until they arrived at the groom's house.

The eldest aunt, considered the groom's "blessed person," stepped forward, lifted the sedan chair curtain, and helped the bride down from the chair. After bowing to the sedan chair god, they stepped over a brazier. The groom then used a silk ribbon wrapped with a red embroidered ball to lead the bride into the main hall.

The ancestral tablets for Heaven and Earth were set up in the hall, and the old man and woman sat upright in the hall.

The master of ceremonies, Tian, ​​loudly announced the ritual: "First bow to Heaven and Earth! Second bow to the parents! Husband and wife bow to each other—"

The newlyweds kowtowed according to custom.

Su Youpeng then called out loudly, "Send them to the bridal chamber!"

The groom then escorted the bride to the bridal chamber in the outer room of the east wing.

In just a few days, the room was completely transformed, with new beds and furniture. Large red "囍" (double happiness) characters were pasted on the walls, and dragon and phoenix candles burned on the table. The bed was covered with brand-new red silk bedding, sprinkled with red dates and peanuts.

The women of the Su family gathered together, keeping the bride company.

A lavish wedding banquet has been set up outside. Chef Hu, who came all the way from Luzhou, along with more than a dozen assistant chefs, used all their skills to prepare a feast of abalone and shark fin for the entire Erlangtan community!
The small Erlangtan was packed with distinguished guests today, with members of the Su and Cheng clans sitting together, laughing and chatting by candlelight, playing drinking games and drinking as if they were one big family.

The wedding banquet lasted until midnight, when the moon had already set in the west, before everyone finally dispersed, thoroughly enjoying themselves…

~~
Su Youcai staggered and was helped into the bridal chamber by his brothers.

He skillfully closed the door, keeping his brothers who wanted to make a ruckus outside.

Su Youcai's gaze fell on the bright red figure sitting at the head of the bed... The proprietress's red veil was still up, and the embroidered shoes peeking out from under her skirt, decorated with delicate mandarin ducks, were gently tucked into the hem. Like all brides, she was uneasy. Seeing the bride like this, the groom naturally had to give a proper response. Su Youcai took a deep breath, reached for the silver scale rod on the table, and gently lifted a corner of the veil. The veil slowly slid down, first revealing the proprietress's slightly lowered eyelashes, then her rosy cheeks.

The proprietress clutched a silk handkerchief embroidered with intertwined branches in her hand. She looked up with a mixture of shyness and delight, and the moment her eyes met Su Youcai's, she couldn't look away.

They gazed at each other tenderly for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter at the same time, unable to continue their act any longer.

"We're an old married couple, why pretend?" Su Youcai laughed.

"Ugh, you promised to act like a bride and groom." The landlady lightly punched him.

“Then after you make eye contact with me, you should quickly look away and steal glances at me out of the corner of your eye, showing both nervousness and anticipation,” Su Youcai laughed. “That’s the correct reaction when you first meet the groom.”

"You know a lot," the proprietress glanced at him.

“That’s how it’s always portrayed on stage.” Su Youcai immediately reacted and tried to salvage the situation, “But our Su family has never had arranged marriages. The wedding night is probably always like this. For example, the last time, the third brother and Cuicui bickered all night on their wedding night.”

~~
Outside the window, Su Youma, who was eavesdropping, was unhappy.

"It's fine if you talk about me normally, but why do you have to insult me ​​on our wedding night?"

"Shh...this is what you're used for," Su Youjin whispered.

~~
In the bridal chamber.

"Second Brother, you really know how to talk," the proprietress laughed.

"Still calling me Second Brother?" Su Youcai feigned annoyance.

"Husband..." the landlady said shyly, changing her address this time because she was genuinely embarrassed; she had never called him that before.

"Yes, my wife!" Su Youcai replied happily.

He picked up the wine pot on the table, filled the nuptial cup with wine, handed half to his wife, and held the other half for himself.

The two men intertwined their arms, each drank half a cup, then exchanged cups and drank the other's half cup in the same manner, to show that husband and wife share joys and sorrows.

After drinking the nuptial wine, Su Youcai looked at the wedding bed, which was covered with peanuts, red dates, longans, and chestnuts, and said with distress, "How are we supposed to consummate our marriage like this?"

The proprietress was about to sweep the dried fruit off the bed when Su Youcai grabbed her hand and slowly pressed her down onto the wedding bed: "This is more exciting... uh, more lucky..."

In the bridal chamber, red candles shone brightly, filling the room with the warmth of spring.

~~
Inside the Zuoshun Gate of the Forbidden City, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

The scorching sun baked the floor tiles until they were burning hot. Twenty officials, their wrists tied behind their backs and dressed in prison uniforms, were forced to kneel on the ground by guards in brocade robes.

The executioner stood solemnly behind them, holding a jujube wood stick as thick as a bowl. The tip of the stick still bore the dark red residue from the previous court beating.

A palace gate divides the Forbidden City into two worlds—the inner and the outer.

Outside the palace gates, officials holding memorials knelt on the ground, their dark hats forming a dense, silent yet stubborn rock.

Currently, high-ranking officials in the court have been brought down. Although this group is large, it is mainly composed of officials wearing blue robes or even green robes.

Zhu Liu, a newly appointed scholar from last year, was also among them. His knees were pressed against the hard brick surface, and his back and head were almost smoking from the heat. His white knuckles gripped the edges of the memorial so tightly that they wrinkled, but his body stubbornly remained motionless.

Kneeling beside Zhu Liu was an official in his thirties, wearing the robes of a sixth-rank official. The man had a thin face with slightly prominent cheekbones, and his eyes, though not large, revealed a wisdom that saw through the ways of the world and the hearts of men.

"Dejia." The man's voice was very low, with a hint of urgent persuasion, "You are still in the training period of a junior scholar, not yet an official of the court, why bother getting involved in this mess?"

“Now that Brother Bo’an has come, how can I stand idly by? You are speaking out for the censors, which is to uphold your conscience; I am kneeling with you, which is to uphold our friendship,” Zhu Liu said calmly.

“Alas…” Brother Bo’an sighed softly, “How fortunate I, Wang Shouren, am to have such a close friend as Dejia.”

As the two were whispering to each other, a servant came out and took away all their memorials.

"The censors may report on matters based on hearsay, but they shall not punish officials who speak out!" the officials protested indignantly.

"It's no use talking to me, just wait." The little eunuch snorted, carrying the memorials into the palace gate, passing through the officials who had been forced to kneel on the ground, and arrived in front of a huge parasol.

"Godfather, all the petitions pleading for leniency have been received," the young eunuch reported respectfully, kneeling on the ground.

Under the parasol was a round-backed chair, upon which sat an old eunuch in a python robe, his face full of wrinkles and his eyes triangular. He was none other than Liu Jin, the newly appointed eunuch in charge of ceremonies.

Liu Jin didn't even lift his eyelids, coldly ordering, "Write down the names of all those pleading for mercy. First, beat those twenty vicious dogs that bite indiscriminately. After that, deal with these 'accomplices' in turn!"

"Yes," Qiu Ju, the Eastern Depot commander, replied, then asked in a low voice, "How do we fight?"

"How else can we fight? Fight with all our might!" Liu Jin snorted.

"Yes, sir!" Eunuch Qiu responded, then stepped forward and said in his hoarse voice, "Execute them!"

The guards in brocade robes stared intently at Eunuch Qiu's toes. Seeing that he was standing with his toes turned inward, they knew perfectly well that this meant they were going to beat him to death...

They then used court rods to pin the twenty officials to the ground. The jujube wood rods swung up with a whistling sound, but when they hit the officials' backs, they made a dull thud like beating a drum!
Each blow landed silently, and no blood seeped from the officials' bodies, yet blood flowed from their mouths and noses…

End of this volume

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(End of this chapter)