Di Ming

Chapter 159 Child Prodigy Shoots Willow
Hearing the two women calling out, Zhu Yin, who was weeding in the field, realized that Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong had arrived.

Two young girls, wearing sunshades and delicate spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, stood on the riverbank, their clothes fluttering and their jade pendants jingling. They were a beautiful sight to behold and attracted much attention.

The tenant farmers rarely saw such a refined and elegant young woman. They all knew she was a young lady from a wealthy and powerful family.

They're all here to see the young master.

Zhu Yin wouldn't listen to them and go up. He took off his straw hat, revealing his mud-splattered face, and fanned himself while shouting:
"I'm not coming up; I'll finish work at dusk!"

Pointing to the hillside not far away, she said, "Caiwei is picking mulberries there, and there are delicious ones too. You guys go play over there!"

"Oh dear!" Zhuang Shu stomped her bound feet in anger. "What kind of gentleman are you! Don't you want leeches to bite you? And snakes, toads... I'm scared to death."

Zhu Yin put his straw hat back on, bent over and continued working, saying perfunctorily:

"I'm not afraid! The farmer isn't afraid, so why should I be? You guys go have fun somewhere else."

He showed absolutely no intention of coming ashore to greet the two beauties.

"Child Tiger," Zhuang Shu said softly, her smile sweet and her autumn eyes crinkling, "I personally wrapped some zongzi for you this Dragon Boat Festival and Baba brought them to you. Come on up."

"Besides, the provincial examination is only three months away. You should be studying diligently and preparing for the exam. How can you be doing the work of a servant?"

Tang Rong also said gently, "Yes, little tiger, come on up. We've come from afar to see you, you can't just hang out with those country bumpkins..."

Zhu Yin was displeased, but his tone remained completely calm as he spoke:

"There's nothing wrong with being a country bumpkin. Even the legendary Zhuge Liang is sometimes called 'Zhuge the Country Bumpkin,' isn't he?"

He talked while weeding without looking up.

"Hmph! What a fool Zhuge Liang!" The two young ladies were truly annoyed. They stopped trying to persuade him, simply stomped their feet, shook their heads, and stormed off.

"That little tiger really doesn't appreciate kindness, how despicable!"

"Hmph, the provincial examination is in three months, and he's actually trying to be a peasant by farming! With his legs covered in mud and his body stinking with sweat, is he still acting like a gentleman?"

"Yes, yes. Such a handsome young man, why does he have to learn from country bumpkins and peddlers? Isn't that just degrading himself?"

"But what if the young tiger gets bitten by leeches, snakes, or insects? The sun is so strong, won't he get heatstroke?"

"Huh? Probably not? The little tiger doesn't seem like the sickly type; he's quite robust..."

The two women were torn between criticizing Zhu Yin for his self-degradation and lack of appreciation for good fortune, and worrying that he might suffer from heatstroke or be bitten.

The tenant farmers, however, looked surprised and full of regret.

These two wonderful young ladies, like fairies, came all the way here to see the young master with zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), but he couldn't be bothered to even acknowledge them!

It’s really…

Gu Qiyuan and the others burst into good-natured laughter.

“Young Tiger, you haven’t even reached the age of dancing yet, and you’re already surrounded by love and romance.”

“Young Tiger, you are already favored by women at such a young age. When you grow up, you will probably be as handsome as Song Yu, Pan An, or Wei Jie.”

"Haha! It's hardest to resist the kindness of a beautiful woman! It's surprising that Zhihu has already understood this principle, which is why he keeps his distance."

"Oh? Young Tiger may not really understand; he's probably just a shrew."

"Nonsense! Lady Caiwei is neither a jealous woman nor Brother Zhihu is henpecked. Besides, they are both still young and have not yet consummated their marriages. How could they be acting like shrewish wives?"

Zhu Yin simply laughed off the teasing from the crowd, not taking it to heart.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong left in a huff. When they passed through the mulberry grove, they saw Caiwei picking mulberry leaves and couldn't help but stop.

"Caiwei!" Zhuang Shu called out, "Come down!"

Ning Caiwei poked her head out from the mulberry tree, "Come on up! The mulberries are very sweet!"

She couldn't be bothered to go down and keep those two scheming noble ladies company.

My sister is busy.

“Caiwei, you…” Zhuang Shu said crisply, “I know you’re good at farm work and you run fast up the mountain, but we’re guests, how about we take a break? Pick a basket of mulberries.”

Ning Caiwei shook her head. "Come down at dusk, then you can come up. Pick the mulberries yourself if you want."

Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong were suddenly speechless to discover that Ning Dajiao was actually very similar to Zhu Yin in personality.

This discovery greatly upset Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong.

"Go upstairs and pick some mulberries to eat," Zhuang Shu instructed her maids.

"Yes!" The two women's maids lifted their skirts and slowly climbed up the mulberry slope to pick some mulberries.

Then it comes down and is presented to the master.

"Sweet, delicious," Zhuang Shu said, her anger subsiding.

Tang Rong smiled and said, "They are very sweet, much fresher than those sold in the city. Ah, farm girls are lucky, at least they can eat fresh mulberries."

The maids all looked strange when they heard the phrase "farm girls are indeed blessed".

The two women ate the mulberries like little mice, then had someone bring out zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and deliver them to the rice paddy bank where Zhu Yin was working.

A maidservant of Zhuang Shu, carrying a string of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), walked to the edge of the field and called out:
"Young master! These are rice dumplings that my wife made herself. I've put them here!"

Zhu Yin gave the maid a deep look and smiled, "Alright! Please thank your wife for me!"

The maid said, "My mistress has another message for me to convey. She said that in this year of the imperial examination, young master should study hard and focus on the essays required for the imperial examinations!"

Zhu Yin nodded, glanced at Zhuang Shu not far away, and said, "Understood. I will prioritize the imperial examination. Thank you, Fourth Sister."

Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong boarded the carriage, the bells jingling, and traveled far along the sunny side of Lishui in no time.

Another hour later, as dusk approached, Zhu Yin and the others finally went ashore to wash their feet in the river.

Ning Caiwei and the other women also came out of the mulberry grove.

A group of impoverished scholars sat together by the river, immersing their mud-covered feet in the cool waters of Lishui, or letting their hair down into the clear waves.

Everyone felt fulfilled and relaxed after their work, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

On the Lishui River, the sound of oars echoed as a small boat paddled along the middle of the stream.

Han Shang couldn't help but recite: "The waters of the Canglang River are clear, they can wash my hat tassels. The waters of the Canglang River are muddy, they can wash my feet."

Zhu Yin couldn't help but recite:

The Lishui River flows vast and boundless, while the green mountains stand serene and tranquil.

The setting sun shines brightly, and wisps of smoke rise gently from the chimneys.

The traveler returns home alone, the boat sails silently.

A humble gentleman, enjoying the fleeting years.

…………

Early the next morning, Zhu Yin led his men to the riverbank and held a willow-shooting game on the sunny side of Lishui.

Along the riverbank, there is a willow grove that stretches for dozens of feet. The grove consists of old, lush willows, which is perfect for the game of shooting willow branches.

Those who came to participate included not only members of the Zhu family, but also scholars from the Xuan Society, nearby villagers, and Zhu family tenants. Moreover, everyone brought realgar wine, wore mugwort crowns, and hung mugwort tigers.

Even the poorest tenant farmers' women wore their best clothes.

Although it was the first time that the willow-shooting event was held on the south bank of the Lishui River, there were more than a thousand people on the riverbank, making it a very lively event.

It is evident that Zhu Yin had already gained considerable prestige in his hometown.

Because of the large number of people, it even attracted small vendors.

Along the riverbank in the willow grove, fist-sized balls of mugwort, filled with broken silver or copper coins, had already been arranged and hung on the willow branches.

Among these hundreds of small embroidered balls made of mugwort, the largest contained one tael (approximately 50 grams), and the smallest contained only ten copper coins. They were hung from far to near, with an average of two qian (approximately 6.7 grams) of silver inside.

These are the prizes for the willow-shooting game.

Ning Caiwei spent several dozen taels of silver just on these prizes. She's truly a generous and virtuous wife.

Along the riverbank surrounding the willow grove, many bamboo mats were set up, on which were served free tea, zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), mung bean soup, and realgar wine…

Below the riverbank, a high platform was erected, upon which were placed incense burners, offerings, river lanterns, and other items, prepared for the purpose of commemorating Qu Yuan.

Faintly, one can still hear the noise of dragon boat races being held upstream and downstream for the Dragon Boat Festival.

Many pedestrians on the official road, and even passing officials and merchants, were attracted by the commotion and stopped to watch and find out what was going on.

They were all surprised to learn that it was a willow-shooting ceremony and a sacrifice to Qu Yuan.

As a result, more and more people came to and from the willow grove.

At some point, a seemingly ordinary carriage was also attracted by the crowd and left the official road, stopping outside the willow grove.

Although the carriage was ordinary, it was accompanied by several attendants with swords.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man with a refined air, dressed in a Taoist robe, stepped out. Holding a scroll, he asked an elderly man in a gentle tone:

"Old man, what are you doing here?"

Seeing that the man looked like an official, the old man from the countryside didn't dare to be negligent and bowed respectfully:

"In response to your question, sir, this is the wealthy Zhu Xiaozhuang, a prominent family in our village. He is holding a Dragon Boat Festival archery competition, and many students from the Imperial Academy have come to participate."

"Huh?" Upon hearing the words "Imperial Academy," the middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and led his men into the willow grove. Sure enough, they saw many scholars among the willows.

He immediately became interested and simply sat on the stool that the servant had brought over, watching the spectacle with an air of nonchalance.

He was eager to see what was so special about this willow-shooting game, and why even students from the Imperial Academy were joining in the fun.

Seats were set up in the willow grove, laid out on the ground. Zhu Yin and the others sat cross-legged on the mats, most of them dressed in arrow-patterned clothing and wearing camp hats.

The archery uniform and camp hat were special attire worn by students and officials of the Imperial Academy during archery ceremonies. While all students of the Academy possessed this uniform, it was rarely used, or not used for archery practice.

In fact, students of the Imperial College were required to learn horsemanship and archery in the early Ming Dynasty.

Nanyong had a special "small training ground" where students practiced riding and archery skills and held archery ceremonies.

Unfortunately, after the early Ming Dynasty, civil officials came to power, and the military declined. Even the martial spirit of the Imperial Academy was completely lost.

Although the archery ceremony still exists in name due to ancestral traditions, it is not actually held, valued, assessed, or promoted; it exists in name only.

Thus, the tradition of horseback archery was abandoned, and scholars only knew how to study.

Zhu Yin had been in the Imperial Academy for more than half a year, but he had neither been organized to cultivate the academy's vegetable garden nor to practice archery in the small training ground.

It's as if the Imperial Academy never had anything to do with farming or archery.

Therefore, Zhu Yin, in his capacity as the head of the society, organized members of the society to participate in the willow-shooting activity in Lishui, which was both novel and inspiring for everyone.

They've rarely even touched a bow and arrow.

Nowadays, many scholars in the Ming Dynasty regard archery as an activity for warriors and disdain to do it (or are unable to do it).

Yet they were complacent because they were physically weak, not ashamed but proud. Scholars considered frailty and thinness to be beautiful. The so-called "too thin and graceful" even became an aesthetic fashion.

Strong masculinity has been distorted and belittled into "vulgarity, barbarity, and baseness".

In Zhu Yin’s view, while foot binding among women in the Ming Dynasty was indeed a morbid phenomenon, wasn’t the pursuit of a delicate, pale, and thin physique by scholars also a morbid phenomenon?
The imperial court and local government offices were controlled by these "pale, thin, and weak" civil officials, and the Ming Dynasty became sick.

One of the aims of the Xuan Society was to revive the martial spirit and rebuild the aesthetic of male masculinity and strength, so naturally, they would take the opportunity to organize archery ceremonies.

At the quarter-hour mark, a drum sounded, and bows and arrows were immediately presented, with bow strength ranging from three dou to one shi.

Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty did not ban the use of bows and arrows; otherwise, without bows and arrows, how could the archery ceremony be held?

Zhu Yin took a soft bow with a capacity of three dou (a unit of dry measure), and Ning Caiwei also chose a soft bow with a capacity of three dou.

That's right, today's archery ceremony is open to all, regardless of gender.

Many of the besieging civilians also wanted to try their luck and see if they could shoot a small ball.

The archery master was Shang Yang. Among the members of the Xuan Society, Shang Yang was one of the few who was skilled in archery. This was because he had served in Hu Zongxian's staff for many years, accompanied the army on many expeditions, and was proficient in both horsemanship and archery. He had even killed Japanese pirates several times.

He doesn't need to participate in this archery ceremony; he can just be the archer.

According to him, Xu Wei was also a skilled archer. Not only was he an excellent archer, but he was also quite adept with a sword, having personally killed bandits, a feat that belied his scholarly nature.

"Please, leader, shoot first!" Shang Yang said solemnly.

"The leader of the society?" The middle-aged scholar who was watching the commotion looked surprised. He didn't expect that this young boy was the leader of some society.

Moreover, he seemed to hold considerable prestige among the scholars.

Could it be him?

The middle-aged scholar immediately thought of a name: "Zhu Yin, Zhu Zhihu".

I heard that this child is a prodigy from Nanjing University. He entered the Imperial Academy at the age of ten and his calligraphy, essays, poetry, music, and chess skills are already quite remarkable.

Yes, the age matches, and he's a scholar from Nanyong. He's most likely the one known as the child prodigy, Little Tiger.

But Zhu Yin could actually shoot arrows?
If it's him, he really is a little tiger.

The middle-aged scholars became even more interested, eager to see if the young boy could hit the target.

At this moment, Zhu Yin, dressed in a small-sized arrow-patterned robe, calmly stood up, holding a three-dou soft bow, wearing a pair of wooden clogs, and walked to a shooting position.

He drew an arrow from his quiver with practiced ease, clearly showing he was no stranger to archery.

The middle-aged scholar nodded in agreement. Just by watching Zhu Yin's movements, he knew that this young man was sure to be a skilled archer!

Zhu Yin drew his bow and nocked an arrow, easily drawing the three-dou soft bow to its full draw.

Upon seeing this, everyone couldn't help but cheer.

Why, you ask? Well, although the Three-Peck Bow is a soft bow, Zhu Yin is only eleven years old. For an eleven-year-old to be able to draw a Three-Peck light bow at full strength is already quite remarkable!
Unbeknownst to them, Zhu Yin practiced Qi family martial arts every day, making him much stronger than his peers.

He was confident that by the time he turned eighteen, he would be able to easily draw a full bow.

With a "whoosh," Zhu Yin's arrow shot out and struck a small mugwort ball on a willow tree ten feet away.

in!
"Excellent!" Gu Qiyuan and the others couldn't help but cheer. "We never imagined that Zhihu was not only good at archery, but also an expert archer!"

But before the cheers had even faded, Zhu Yin fired his second arrow.

With a "whoosh," it hit the ball, which was further away, this time at least twelve zhang away.

"Truly excellent archery!" The middle-aged scholar watching the spectacle couldn't help but clap his hands and cheer.

Hearing the scholars shout "Young Tiger," he immediately knew he had guessed correctly.

That's the rising star, the child prodigy from Nanyong.

As a martial man from Shanxi, he was also skilled in archery, and when he served as a county magistrate, he even personally led troops to suppress bandits.

But he knew that his archery skills were inferior to this child's!
The child is just not strong enough to use a light bow. But in terms of accuracy and skill, he's better than me.

Zhu Yin couldn't help but turn around and saw a middle-aged scholar with an air of dignity sitting under an old willow tree not far away. He was clearly an official.

That kind of authority from someone in a superior position simply cannot be concealed.

Zhu Yin was a former intelligence agent, and he had done his research on the bigwigs in Southern Zhili.

Although he had never met this person, he vaguely guessed that he might be one of those people, and probably not one of them.

Zhu Yin pretended not to see it, and instead drew his bow and shot a third arrow with fluid grace.

"Whoosh!"

The third arrow traveled even further, hitting the ball fifteen zhang away.

"it is good!"

"color!"

"The young tiger is truly a tiger cub!"

"Alas, this young tiger has the spirit of Li Guang and Yang Youji!"

When everyone saw Zhu Yin fire three arrows in quick succession, each one farther than the last, and each arrow hitting its mark perfectly, they cheered continuously.

So, Zhu Yin was also a skilled archer.

Unbeknownst to them, Zhu Yin developed a passion for archery in later generations. After arriving in the Ming Dynasty, he spent half a year with the Jurchen tribes, practicing horseback archery almost daily with them.

After returning to the Central Plains, he did not neglect his archery skills. He was surrounded by archery masters such as Qi Jiguang, Lancha, and Mehe.

It would be strange if his archery skills weren't good.

Not only him, but Ning Caiwei, after practicing archery with the Jurchen girl Galo, also became quite skilled.

After shooting three arrows, Zhu Yin caught a glimpse of the middle-aged scholar's admiring expression out of the corner of his eye. Then, looking at the scholars of the Xuan Society, whose expressions were a mixture of admiration and shame, he spoke with the air of a precocious child:

"I don't have a talent for archery, I just have a martial spirit in my heart!"

"Our Great Ming Dynasty conquered the world through military force. Emperor Taizu drove out the Tartars and restored the Central Plains. He did not rely on poetry and literature, but on his illustrious military achievements and the clash of swords and the thunder of horses."

"The imperial court governs the country through culture and education, but forgetting war is dangerous. How can we neglect military affairs?"

"Our dynasty has enjoyed more than two hundred years of prosperity, but our martial arts have declined, and our people have forgotten how to fight. As a result, we are still plagued by the southern Japanese pirates and the northern barbarians."

"We scholars, though we have endured hardship for ten years, cannot cool our burning passion. We cannot merely study the classics; we must also strengthen our bodies and serve the nation in peace!"

"We are practicing archery here to uphold the archery etiquette of our dynasty and promote the six arts of a gentleman. This is much better than some of our classmates who spend their days indulging in the pleasures of the Qinhuai River."

"Everyone has their own ambitions. They live a carefree and unrestrained life on the Qinhuai River, spending money like water. We scholars from humble backgrounds should adhere to the principles of a gentleman and wait for our time to shine."

"Good!" The middle-aged scholar finally stood up after Zhu Yin's words. "Although you are young, you have the heroic spirit of ancient scholars!"

Zhu Yin seemed to only then notice him, his expression startled, his gaze somewhat blank, though he still bowed respectfully and said, "This junior, Zhu Yin, has been unruly in his words and actions, I apologize for making you laugh, sir."

The middle-aged scholar stroked his beard and laughed, "What do you mean by 'unseemly'? Young Tiger, your insight surpasses that of most people. It's a pity that many people are just pretending to be confused."

He made no attempt to hide his admiration.

He had been transferred to Nanjing for less than two months, and very few people knew him. He also didn't think that any of the students present knew him.

Zhu Yin said, "I am ashamed of what you have said. I am too embarrassed to admit that I do not know your name."

The middle-aged scholar waved his hand, "I was just passing by and took a look out of curiosity. There's no need to mention my name. If fate allows, we shall meet again in the future."

He can't say his name.

But he was concerned about something else: "You just said that there's a classmate from Nanyong who frequents brothels every day? Who are those people?"

Zhu Yin chuckled inwardly, but his expression remained solemn as he shook his head and said:
"I'm sorry. It's not convenient to tell you that, sir. Although they frequent brothels, they are, after all, my junior classmates. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not speak ill of others, so I can only say no."

"Haha!" the middle-aged scholar laughed. "Well said, 'No comment!' I didn't realize you had any sense of loyalty! Fine, I won't ask you anymore."

After speaking, he nodded, glanced at Gu Qiyuan and the others, and then turned and left.

Zhu Yin watched the middle-aged scholar's retreating figure and subtly revealed a slight smile.

Well, that's fine. Wang Ruifang was already in trouble. Adding fuel to the fire and stomping on her will only make things worse.

.........

Meanwhile, the middle-aged scholar boarded the carriage and headed straight into the city.

He entered the city and suddenly ordered, "Head east to the Qinhuai River! I want to see which students are still fooling around in brothels during the Dragon Boat Festival!"

P.S.: I'm tired, goodnight, rolling around on the floor... I want to throw a tantrum. This book isn't slow-paced, it's just the style, this is the kind of thing it's meant to be. Those who think this book is slow-paced don't understand its focus.

(End of this chapter)