White-robed Minister

0046 [Ding Xiaomei]

Yang Shu and Liang Wensu called their friends, and by the time they left the school gate, seven or eight classmates had already gathered.

Xu Lai had seen these students in the past few days, but he couldn't match their names exactly.

The group walked out of Xingchun Gate together and saw a pleasure boat moored by Zhixi Bridge.

Ding Zhengchen stood at the bow of the boat and waved to them: "Gentlemen, please board the boat at the side of the bridge. Today, we will enjoy the beautiful scenery of Chrysanthemum Lake!"

Xu Lai and the others bowed and greeted each other, chatting and laughing as they boarded the cruise ship one after another.

Just then, a young girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, stepped out of the boat. She had thick eyebrows, a straight nose, and slightly deep-set eyes.

Like Pianpian, she also wore her hair in double buns. However, she wore a great deal of jewelry, with her hair adorned with pearls and jade, and even a ruby ​​forehead ornament, which added a touch of allure to her youthful face.

The makeup was too heavy, which was not in line with her age and temperament.

Yang Shu was taken aback when he saw this, and then felt both amused and exasperated. He had already guessed what the Ding family meant.

Strictly speaking, the laws prohibit intermarriage between non-Han people and Han people in Guangzhou. The fact that the Ding family has married Han women for generations constitutes a violation of the law, a practice they adhere to by assuming that if the people don't complain, the officials won't investigate.

Now, the Ding family has been recognized for their meritorious service in defending the city, and their descendants are not only registered in the Han nationality, but can also participate in the imperial examinations.

The pursuit becomes different.

The Ding family not only insisted on intermarrying with Han Chinese, but also began to be picky. For example, when marrying off their daughters, they insisted on marrying them to respectable scholars, even if the other family was slightly poor.

Today, the so-called spring outing also carries the connotation of choosing a husband.

That is, gather a group of students from Zizhou and let Ding's younger sister take a look. If she finds someone she likes, she will then inquire whether the other person is engaged.

Perhaps out of inferiority, the Ding family feared that their daughter would not be noticed by the state students, so they gave her heavy makeup and adorned her head with many ornaments before she went out.

The result was a clumsy attempt; the once beautiful young girl now seemed to exude a hint of worldliness.

"This is my younger sister, her nickname is Dingxiang, also known as Xiangxiang," Ding Zhengchen introduced enthusiastically.

Whether it's Dingxiang, Xiangxiang, or Yu Jing's daughter Pianpian, these names are all nicknames, also known as pet names.

Although they also have famous names, they always keep them secret and usually only let their relatives and friends know about them.

After reaching marriageable age but before getting married, a woman would be given another courtesy name, which would also be known only to close relatives and friends. This was known as "waiting to be married in her boudoir."

Ding Xiaomei acted with grace and poise, stepping forward to give a curtsy to everyone while curiously observing and sizing them up.

She took a liking to Liang Wensu at first sight.

Liang Wensu was not only handsome, but also well-dressed and exuded a composed demeanor.

Unfortunately, Liang Wensu didn't fancy her.

The Liang family had been in business for generations and were eager to transform into a scholarly family.

Liang Wensu was in his early twenties and not yet engaged. He planned to make a name for himself in the imperial examinations and then marry into an official family.

A merchant's daughter, and a mixed-race one at that. Ha! Don't even think about stepping into the Liang family's home!

Students from other states who were traveling with her may have been attracted to Ding Xiaomei's beauty, but none of them had any intention of proposing to her.

A student from the prefecture, marrying a foreign woman?

It would be a laughing stock if word got out.

Only when they have wasted their lives to the age of thirty, with no hope of passing the imperial examinations, no wife, and a lack of money, will they consider marrying into foreign merchants.

The beautiful young woman from a wealthy family was selectively ignored by everyone present.

Ding Zhengchen understood this clearly, and his feelings of inferiority only intensified.

He was eager to integrate into the scholar-official circle, but few state students were willing to develop a deep relationship with him. When he hosted dinners, everyone gladly accepted the invitation, but they were all just casual acquaintances.

Ding Zhengchen invited everyone to take their seats. Fine wine and snacks had been laid out inside the boat, and Ding Xiaomei sat next to him.

The cruise ship sailed north along the East Moat, then turned into the North Moat and soon headed towards Chrysanthemum Lake.

Chrysanthemum Lake Cloud Reflection is one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Guangzhou in the Song Dynasty.

This is an artificial lake, dug during the Three Kingdoms period. Its original purpose was to solve the city's drinking water problem, but now it has been completely transformed into a tourist attraction.

Its specific location is south of Liuwang Mountain (Yuexiu Mountain) and north of Guangzhou City. This large area was entirely an artificial lake, which gradually dried up by the end of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Xu Lai had been studying intensively at school for nine days, and today he finally had a day off to go out. He had absolutely no interest in discussing academic matters. Since he hadn't eaten breakfast, he grabbed some dried meat and fruit and stuffed them into his mouth.

Ding Xiaomei had been observing everyone, and now her attention was focused on Xu Lai.

First, only Xu Lai was not wearing a long robe or a long shirt; he was actually wearing a short shawl, the kind worn by commoners.

Secondly, Xu Lai didn't care about his image at all; he didn't say anything and just focused on eating.

Ding Xiaomei thought to herself: This person must be both poor and ignorant. If it weren't for my brother's introduction, I would have thought he was a pageboy.

During the conversation, one of the students mentioned the new principal, Chen Cigong: "I really cannot agree with Mr. Chen's philosophy of Li, which goes so far as to attribute everything in the world to 'rites.' Even benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and trustworthiness are manifestations of rites. It's simply absurd!"

Xu Lai immediately became interested and, chewing on some dried fruit, asked, "Oh, what did he say?"

Yang Shu and the other two inner students picked up the conversation and started complaining as well.

However, Li Gou, Chen Cigong's cousin-in-law, believed that propriety was the way of humanity, the highest standard for all behavior and life. Law, morality, ethics, human feelings... all were components of propriety.

He said that clothing and food are basic human desires. But clothing and food are not enough, and when desires are not satisfied, conflict inevitably arises. In order to maintain order, the ancient sage kings created a system of rites to resolve disputes.

To resolve disputes, we must satisfy people's desires and ensure that the people are well-fed and clothed.

But desires are never satisfied. After solving the problems of food and clothing, people want more, so the system of etiquette becomes more and more complicated.

Therefore, ritual has two characteristics and functions:

First, etiquette must address basic human needs; otherwise, society will collapse. For example, if large numbers of people starve or freeze to death, who the hell would still care about etiquette? Who the hell would follow the rules?

Secondly, etiquette must suppress human desires for extravagance and luxury; otherwise, social order will collapse. If everyone resorts to any means to satisfy their desires, it will inevitably harm the basic needs of another group, and social order will gradually crumble.

Therefore, whether it is the imperial court's systems and laws, moral principles such as benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and trustworthiness, or various social ethical concepts, they are all different manifestations and components of "rites".

Xu Lai listened with great interest and couldn't help but praise, "This makes perfect sense!"

"What kind of logic is that? Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are all on the same level. How can propriety be placed first?" Even Yang Shu couldn't accept it.

Another student said, "Do you know how Mr. Chen implemented his rites? He wanted to implement the equal-field system and restore the well-field system!"

"Well……"

Xu Lai was speechless.

He could guess Li Gou's thoughts: the state should reclaim the land and distribute it equally among the people. This would not only ensure that the tiller owned the land but also eliminate the potential problems caused by land annexation.

But it's clearly wishful thinking.

Because population is constantly changing, land must be redistributed periodically as the population continues to grow. This is an extremely difficult task, and no regime can accomplish it.

Any one of them!

When Wang Anshi implemented his reforms, he clearly did not believe in this approach.

However, he accepted Li Gou's "rites" and extended them to the basic ideas of the reform, namely, to solve people's basic desires and suppress their extravagance and debauchery—the Green Sprouts Law belonged to the former, and the Market Exchange Law belonged to the latter.

The cruise ship had already entered Juhu Lake, but the students inside were arguing more and more fiercely, debating endlessly about Li Gou's theories.

Ding Zhengchen stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "In early spring, Chrysanthemum Lake is so beautiful. Why not drink wine, enjoy the scenery, and compose poems in response? Brother Jiezhi, your poetic talent is outstanding. Why not show off your skills?"

Yang Shu waved his hands repeatedly: "With Xu Sanlang here, how could I dare to make a fool of myself?"

Liang Wensu asked in surprise, "Sanlang not only writes excellent essays on righteous principles, but he's also proficient in poetry?"

"Haha, you don't know..." Yang Shu started to say but then swallowed his words, turning to Xu Lai instead, "Sanlang, can you tell me those two poems?"

Xu Lai nodded: "Okay."

Yang Shu stood up and said, "None of you know this. Last winter, Xu Sanlang was summoned by Minister Yu. Because he hadn't formally studied poetry and prose, and said he planned to take the county examination, Minister Yu asked: 'The county examination topic is poetry and prose; compose a poem for us.' Do you know what poem Xu Sanlang wrote? It astonished Minister Yu, who considered him a prodigy!"

Is this even possible?

Everyone's interest was piqued, and they urged Yang Shu to speak quickly.

Yang Shu added fuel to the fire, saying, "Back then, Cao Zhi composed a poem in seven steps, but Xu Sanlang didn't hesitate and immediately picked up his pen to write a poem called 'New Thunder'."

"Gentlemen, listen to my verses: Creation is silent yet full of feeling, for every winter's end brings the promise of spring. A thousand reds and ten thousand purples are arranged, awaiting only the first clap of thunder."

"how?"

After listening, everyone pondered the matter carefully.

Ding Zhengchen hurriedly asked his younger sister to grind the ink and presented paper and pen with both hands: "Please, Sanlang, leave your poem."

Ding Xiaomei, who had previously regarded Xu Lai as a poor student, was surprised and began to re-evaluate him. She quickly prepared the ink and brought it to Xu Lai.

Xu Lai smiled and wrote out the entire poem "New Thunder" with a flourish of his brush.

Those who hadn't understood before came over to look at the poem and then praised it repeatedly.

"What a beautiful poem!"

"If this were decades ago, when the practice of submitting examination papers still existed and the names of candidates were not concealed on the examination papers, Xu Sanlang could have passed the imperial examination with just this poem."

"What a beautiful line, 'A thousand reds and ten thousand purples are arranged, awaiting only the first clap of thunder.' After seeing this, Master Yu, wouldn't you immediately recruit Sanlang to study at the prefectural school?"

"Brother Xu is indeed a man of exceptional poetic talent."

"..."

Hearing the praises from the crowd, Ding Xiaomei stared at the poem again and again. When she looked up at Xu Lai, she couldn't help but feel shy.

This Xu Sanlang seems even more handsome than before.

Xu Lai received everyone's praise, and Yang Shu felt honored. He continued, "Back then, we were traveling by boat back to Qingyuan, and at night we reached Xukou Town. The three of us composed poems to express our aspirations and feelings. Do you know what poem Xu Sanlang composed?"

With the performance of "New Thunder" just now, everyone's expectations are even higher.

Yang Shu walked over, picked up a brush, and quickly wrote down the poem "Night at Xukou Town on the River, with Yang Shisanlang and Yu Liulang".

[Do not ask how many autumns lie ahead, for I sing all the way to Qingzhou. A young man should bear lofty ambitions, aspiring to be the best among men.]

At this time, everyone present was considered a teenager, with an average age of only about twenty.

When they read the line "A young man should aspire to reach the clouds and consider himself the best among men," they felt a surge of pride and excitement, as if the poem had expressed their own feelings.

That's what I think too!

Which of us scholars from the state academy is not first-rate among men?

Ding Xiaomei looked at Xu Lai again, then turned to Liang Wensu, thinking: I must have been seeing things before. How could Liang Jun compare to Xu Sanlang? Sanlang has a dignified and imposing presence, but he is so thin because his family is poor and can't afford meat. He'll be fine if he eats more meat in the future.

Then she thought: He's so pitiful, he can't even afford a simple robe. I have plenty of pocket money, I can buy him clothes. How should I give them to him?