Top Scholar

Chapter 384 The Top Scholar's Bed

After the grand ceremony, the Su family took a boat back to Hejiang County to prepare the wedding venue and bridal chamber.

When Su Lu and his two brothers arrived at their doorstep, their eyes widened in surprise—

The original gate and courtyard walls were gone. A magnificent new gate stood atop five high stone steps. Neatly arranged hanging stones lined both sides of the steps, along with a pair of exquisitely carved drum-shaped stone bases.

The gatehouse has also been redesigned with a gable roof, covered with brand-new gray-blue cylindrical tiles. The roof is a separate frame, creating a spacious porch. Above the door frame, four door studs are set side by side, with a gilded plaque reading "Jieyuan Di" (meaning "Top Scholar's Residence") hanging in the center!
This was no longer just a door, but had become a room. This was what wealthy families called a gatehouse.

"This was built by people sent by my parents," the old man told Su Lu.

"Is the top scholar satisfied?" When the top scholar returned to his hometown, Magistrate Hou naturally had to personally welcome him.

"I'm very satisfied. My parents have gone to so much trouble." Su Lu quickly clasped his hands in thanks.

"Ah, the top scholar has brought honor to our hometown, and this is what the county magistrate should do." Magistrate Hou said with a smile, "It's just that when we were making the plaque, we didn't expect that your brother would also become a top scholar... But it doesn't matter, the county magistrate has already ordered a new plaque to be made that reads 'Double Top Scholars', and we will definitely put it on before the wedding."

"Thank you for your trouble, esteemed parents." Su Lu thanked them respectfully. Actually, he would have preferred to hang a plaque with the inscription "Three-time Juren" (a title for three successful candidates in the imperial examinations), but that would have been a bit risky, so he decided to follow the county's arrangements.

"And did you notice, Scholar Jieyuan, that the county magistrate has also ordered the craftsmen to leave enough space so that once you pass the imperial examination, the eight-character screen wall can be erected immediately!" Magistrate Hou was extremely thoughtful.

"The old parents really have confidence in their students..." Su Lu couldn't help but smile bitterly. He felt like an old general on a stage, covered in flags.

How much luck would it take to defy fate and change one's destiny?

Of course, one shouldn't say anything discouraging at this time, so the whole family happily entered the house.

Then, in the main room, three plaques with black backgrounds and gold characters were hung high – namely, “Jieyuan” (top scholar in the provincial examination), “Juren” (successful candidate in the provincial examination), and “Wu Jieyuan” (martial top scholar in the provincial examination).
These wooden plaques surpass any antique decorations; sitting in this room to receive guests naturally exudes an imposing aura.

Even if the parents of an entire county came, he wouldn't be intimidated at all...

~~
The house had changed a lot. After seeing the county magistrate off, Su Tai finally couldn't help but ask, "Why do I remember the courtyard not being this wide before?"

"Oh, our neighbors have already given us their houses," the uncle explained softly.

"Huh? Where do they live now? Did they move away?" Su Tai asked.

"No, they've already come to live with us," Su Youjin said. "We've been neighbors for so long, it's really hard to refuse them."

“It’s not just the neighbors; there are already more than a dozen maids and servants in the mansion,” the eldest aunt said with a headache. “I feel uncomfortable seeing them idle all day long, but I really don’t know how to manage them.”

“Auntie, professional matters should be left to professionals.” Su Lu smiled and said, “Shall I call Steward Tian over and help you sort things out?”

"That's wonderful!" Auntie was overjoyed upon hearing this. Their business in Luzhou was even larger. The proprietress was pregnant and had a baby this year, so she was basically a hands-off manager. However, the house and shop were in perfect order and not chaotic at all, all thanks to Manager Tian.

~~
A few days before the wedding, the bed is set up.

In this day and age, setting up a wedding bed is not simply a matter of buying a nice bed and putting it up; it is an extremely important wedding ceremony. This is because the wedding bed carries the most important mission of marriage—the continuation of the family line, a smooth marriage, and the prosperity of the family.

The saying goes, "Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no offspring." Since the bed is the place where children are conceived, the bed-setting ceremony is essentially a "prayer for children ceremony," so it should be taken very seriously.

People believe that if the location, time, and person placing the bed are not in accordance with the rules, it can lead to various misfortunes such as marital discord and infertility.

Therefore, before setting up the bed, one must first consult a geomancer to determine the location and select an auspicious time. It is also necessary to invite a person of good fortune to preside over the ceremony. People who are in mourning, whose birth charts clash, or whose fate is unlucky should avoid the ceremony.

Therefore, the three brothers did not set up their beds on the same day.

Su Lu's latest date was September 26th, two days before the wedding, when the bed was set up.

His bridal chamber was set up in the main room of the fourth courtyard. A huge carved rosewood canopy bed stood steadily in the auspicious position of the room, with the headboard facing southeast, the direction of descendants. The bed was covered with a brocade quilt with dragon and phoenix motifs, and the mandarin duck playful water mattress was folded squarely, with a bright red curtain hanging down to the ground.

It was early in the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), and a dragon and phoenix wedding candle was burning on the candlestick in front of the bed. The candlelight flickered, illuminating the entire room in a red glow.

In front of the candlesticks are porcelain statues of the Two Immortals of Harmony and Union, and in front of the statues is a gilded lacquer plate filled with red dates, longans, peanuts, lotus seeds, walnuts and chestnuts.

Peanuts are available at this time.

At the second quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM), the eldest and most respected member of the Su family, Auntie, dressed in her finest attire, washed her hands with mugwort water in a copper basin, lit three incense sticks, and, together with the second eldest member of the Su family, her younger sister-in-law, bowed three times to the Two Immortals of Harmony and Union, proclaiming in a clear voice:
"Heaven and earth are auspicious, the sun and moon shine brightly. Today, the Su family's top scholar is getting married. On this auspicious day, we respectfully invite the two immortals of harmony to bestow blessings upon the newlyweds, wishing them a harmonious marriage and many descendants!"

Then the younger aunt picked up two lacquered trays, and the older aunt first slowly sprinkled red dates and longans along the edge of the bed, chanting:
"Scatter a handful of red dates, and may you have a son soon; scatter a handful of longans, and may your family be reunited!"

The younger aunt picked up two lacquered trays, while the older aunt grabbed a handful of peanuts in one hand and a handful of lotus seeds in the other, tossing them high into the air so they would scatter across the mattress.
"When peanuts fall to the ground, it signifies a son and a daughter; when lotus seeds are plump, it signifies a united couple!"

The younger aunt picked up the last two lacquered trays, and the older aunt gently scattered walnuts and chestnuts at the foot of the bed, saying:
"Thick walnut shells signify a stable home; plump chestnuts indicate an early establishment of a family business!"

After scattering the fruit three times, the eldest aunt used a peach wood comb to lightly comb the brocade quilt three times, reciting:
"One comb to the end, two combs and your white hair will reach your eyebrows, three combs and your children and grandchildren will fill your house!"

Then my aunt brought Dongge'er in and had him sit on the edge of the bed.

His aunt stuffed a handful of peanuts into his hands and said, "Good boy Dong, sit down and calm your nerves. Your third brother and sister-in-law will have a baby next year!"

Although Dongge'er is only four years old, he is already old enough to understand instructions and can carry them out without any mistakes.

He immediately sat up hard on the bed, making the dried fruit under his buttocks crack loudly.

“Roll around three more times from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed,” Auntie said again.

Dongge'er then lay down and rolled around on the bed, so adorable it was heartbreaking. "One roll brings an early son, two rolls bring a lasting marriage, three rolls bring long life and good fortune," his aunt said, offering one auspicious blessing after another.

There was no other way; as the most blessed person in the Su family, she had installed beds for countless families, and now it was finally her turn.

At the end of the ceremony, the eldest aunt and the youngest aunt scattered the remaining fruit under the bed and behind the curtain, laughing and saying, "May the fruit be scattered everywhere, bringing five blessings to the door!"

The spectators responded in unison, "Auspiciousness, auspiciousness!"

~~
After the bed is set up and before the wedding, it cannot be empty, so Su Lu must sleep on it every night, and he cannot sleep alone; Dong Ge'er must accompany him...

That night, Su Lu slept in the same bed as his younger brother.

This was the first time they had ever slept together. After staring at each other for a while, Su Lu asked, "You don't wet the bed, do you?"

“Replying to Brother Jieyuan,” Dongge’er hurriedly shook his head and said timidly, “I haven’t wet myself for a year now.”

"Oh, that's quite impressive..." Su Lu asked curiously, "But why do you talk like an old man?"

“That’s what the teacher said,” Dongge’er said. “The teacher also said that the top scholar is the reincarnation of the God of Literature, and I’m very uneasy about it…”

"What's there to be afraid of?" Su Lu asked.

"Isn't Wen Kui Xing just a big blue-faced monkey?" Dong Ge'er whispered.

"Hahaha!" Su Lu couldn't help but burst into laughter, then suddenly his face lengthened, and he bared his teeth and claws at Dong Ge'er, saying, "That's right, I am the big monkey!"

Dongge'er was finally amused and started laughing heartily, looking a bit like a four-year-old.

The two brothers laughed and joked on the bed for a while, making Dong Ge'er extremely happy. Su Lu then let him go: "That's more like it. Children should act like children."

"The master said that this is not proper," Dong-ge'er whispered.

"It's not too late to be more mature when you're older," Su Lu said with a smile. "Be careful not to turn into a little old man and have a big beard all year round."

"Ah?" Dongge covered his mouth in fear. "I don't want to become like Grandpa."

"Then you should play as much as you want! Study? Study my ass!" Su Lu urged him.

"But the teacher said that diligence leads to mastery while idleness leads to ruin," Dongge'er, at his age, still believed in his teacher.

"Are you going to listen to me or him?" Su Lu asked.

“I’ll listen to Brother Jieyuan,” Dongge’er said after thinking for a moment. “The teacher is a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar), you are better than him.”

"That's right." Su Lu happily rubbed his head; what an adorable little guy.

“But my mother…” Dongge’er said worriedly.

"It's okay, I'll take care of it for you." Su Lu took it upon himself to handle it.

"Brother, you're so kind," Dongge'er exclaimed happily.

"Of course," Su Lu said with a smile.

"Why are you so good to me?" Dong-ge'er's thirst for knowledge was still quite strong.

“Because we’re brothers. I have to treat you the same way my older brothers have treated me,” Su Lu said gently.

"Mmm..." Dongge'er then hugged his arm and fell soundly asleep.

~~
The next morning, his aunt came over to wake Dong-ge up.

Su Lu made a shushing gesture, indicating that his aunt should come out with him.

"Auntie, let Dong-ge sleep until he wakes up naturally. He's still growing," Su Lu said after they came out.

“But the day’s work starts in the morning, so he has to read in the morning,” the aunt said.

“You’re trying to force growth,” Su Lu said seriously. “You’ll ruin this promising seedling.”

"Ah?" Auntie exclaimed in surprise, "Is Dong-ge'er a promising student?"

"Of course. But if you keep messing with it, even the best material will be ruined," Su Lu threatened her.

"I'll never dare to do it again." How could Auntie dare disobey Wen Kuixing? She quickly raised her hands in surrender, then looked pleadingly at Su Lu and said, "Then what should we do? Just stop caring about him?"

"Do things appropriate for your age. Right now, he should be enjoying good food and fun," Su Lu said in a deep voice.
"When Dongge is seven years old, I will send him to Mr. Zhang for his first lessons. After Mr. Zhang finishes teaching him, I will teach him myself."

"Okay, sure!" The aunt was so excited she almost kowtowed to Su Lu. Then, she asked hesitantly, "Will this cause you any trouble?"

"What are you saying? He's my own brother, if I don't teach him, who will?" Su Lu said matter-of-factly.

P.S. This was posted first and revised later; the pace was fast, right? Please vote with monthly tickets!!

(End of this chapter)