Chapter 237.1: Wedding 3
“What are you looking at this prince for?” Li Hong Yuan lightly swept him a glance.
Xie Ren Hui quivered. Should say, as expected of the living Enma? But that imposing aura wasn’t malicious and violent, making one fear, but clearly……….that of a sovereign, the ama.s.sed might very deep, carrying might without anger, making one further feel as if giving even an extra glance was blasphemous, and greatly disrespectful. Xie Ren Hui lowered his eyes and restrained his gaze, pressing down the surging emotions in his heart. His gaze once again landed on the second verse Jin Qinw.a.n.g gave. Leaving aside the fact that the verse perfectly matched in sense and sound, the artistic sense far-reaching, exceeding that ordinary first verse by a countless amount, just based on that calligraphy, there was already very few that can surpa.s.s. This was the empty with just good-looks Jin Qinw.a.n.g?
Xie Ren Hui was suddenly a bit worried. Since he’d concealed for that long, exposing it now, wasn’t it……………..
However, since Jin Qinw.a.n.g dared to do this, he certainly must have his own consideration.
Xie Ren Hui picked up the second verse, revealing it to the others.
The original sounds of lively discussion in that split second turned to dead silence. Especially for those where the ins and outs of their words were just full of contempt towards Li Hong Yuan, practically just like having a fish bone stuck in the throat. That complexion was exceptionally interesting. This was the second verse Jin Qinw.a.n.g gave out? This was Jin Qinw.a.n.g’s character? If this is called having no good points, then what about them? This is fake, right? Perhaps they’d long planned this!
Another first verse, Li Hong Yuan followed the same pattern as before, one jug of wine, one line of poetry. That stance was incomparably confident and carefree, outstanding and unruly, yet also carrying an indescribable forthright manner. And those watching the excitement also appeared increasingly quiet.
A hundred some people just meant that there will be a hundred some verses. If unable to match, just drink wine as punishment. However, Li Hong Yuan drank the wine and matched the verses. The verses that were originally prepared, gradually, were no longer taken in order, instead picking from the back. In fact, after mutually looking to one another, quite a few people stepped out of line, rewriting a new verse. If the first verse is too shallow, compared with Jin Qinw.a.n.g’s second verse, it would truly be too embarra.s.sing. Since Jin Qinw.a.n.g had this literary talent, then why not have this fake test, real support, turned into a real test, real support.
Even if it was still believed to be fake, but that calligraphy skill, was it something that can be perfected in a day or two? A month or two? A year or two? Others would misunderstand, but would the people partic.i.p.ating in the palanquin blocking not know whether or not it was fake?
After today, at least these people will have another view towards Li Hong Yuan.
There was more and more rhyming couplets. Li Hong Yuan personally added another stroke of jubilation for his and Jing Wan’s wedding. The shattered wine jars all over the ground, the overflowing wine fragrant, precisely the so-called, ‘having peace year after year[1]‘. Regardless whether it was scholarly learning, or toasting the wine, it all manifest his care towards the bride. It was precisely as what Li Hong Yuan had said himself, he will also win face for his own w.a.n.gfei. When a person that is completely not thought highly of displays an outstanding side, even if it was just for his wife, this face won’t just be ordinarily big.
The initial silence also turned into loud clamoring, especially the people sending off the bride in the back, further feeling very much having face. One has to know, because the elders can’t send off the bride, the ones sending off the bride, if not Jing Wan’s brothers and sisters, then it was just her peers that were very close with her. Truthfully speaking, in the very beginning, they all felt that marrying Jin Qinw.a.n.g was no different from jumping into a pit of fire, and as long as it was someone that was close with Jing Wan, they just didn’t believe Li Hong Yuan was worthy of Jing Wan, even for Head Minister Luo and Luo Old Madam who knew the truth from the start. It wasn’t until some of Jin Qinw.a.n.g’s later conducts that made them have somewhat of a change in view. However, it was still far from enough.
(T/N: No author disses their own ML as much as this one.)
Jing Wan sat inside the palanquin. The food had already been placed back in its original place by her. The situation outside, she although couldn’t see, but quite a few couplets were all recited out loud. Especially afterwards, some people even wrote out former absolute verses[2], and the answer Li Hong Yuan gave out also made them clapped their hands praising. And the rest, Gong mama told to her one by one from outside.
From the interactions with Li Hong Yuan in the very beginning, she just knew, setting aside this man’s frivolous reputation, in other aspects, he definitely wasn’t that devastating of a sight. She knew he was hiding, and also knew he had ambition. Moreover, in front of her, he has never covered up before. She even believed, after marrying, she will learn even more things. Revealing some right now, just the scholarly learnings, and though the person ascending onto that position may not necessarily need to be that outstanding, but as a prince right now, if appropriately handled, it nevertheless can draw in some people to serve him.
Since he dares to reveal, then naturally there was nothing to be scared of. But, this matter today probably wasn’t within the scope of his plans. Even if she believed in him, she still couldn’t help but worry. This kind of feeling was difficult to control.
Moreover, to already be drinking this much wine now, even if he won’t collapse, it still wasn’t good for the body.
Jing Wan knocked by the window. Gong mama had the window curtain slightly lifted to reveal a crack, “Miss, is something the matter? It isn’t appropriate for miss to speak right now, so how about writing on this servant’s hand?”
Jing Wan nodded, and the veil on her head swayed along with her movement. Extending her hand, she wrote on Gong mama’s hand, ‘Once obtained a verse by coincidence, take to w.a.n.gye to share with everyone. Willow pond locked in smoke[3].’
Gong mama’s scholarly learning although wasn’t that impressive, she was still able to make out the exquisiteness of this verse.
Gong mama walked to Jin Qinw.a.n.g’s side, and at this time, Li Hong Yuan has already finished writing the last pairing.
“w.a.n.gye………”
Even if Li Hong Yuan was unable to be intoxicated within a thousand cups, but drinking jar by jar, over a hundred small jars, and every one, probably just drinking half, this while, he was still a bit dizzy. Fortunately these people also worried that Li Hong Yuan would get drunk, so what they prepared wasn’t strong. “What’s the matter?” As he said this, he absentmindedly used the handkerchief to wipe the excess wine splatters from the corner of his mouth as well as his clothes. Tsk, looks like prior to the kneeling ritual, need to change into another set of wedding clothes. Originally, because he needed to toast during the banquet feast, he’d already prepared two extra sets of clothes.
Gong mama had Jing Wan’s words repeated.
“Willow pond locked in smoke?” Li Hong Yuan repeated in a mutter, and afterwards, took the brush and wrote it down. Probably because he was a bit drunk, his movements in writing became increasingly wild, “Gold, wood, water, fire, earth, the artistic concept exquisite, a great masterpiece. Giving to you all, and pa.s.s on this prince’s words, whoever can pair this absolute verse, bestow ten thousand taels of gold.”
Li Hong Yuan threw down the brush, turning around, and neither quickly nor slowly returned, flipping onto horseback, his posture still upright and straight. The people blocking the procession this while naturally hastily made way. Even if some were still immersed in the that absolute verse, carefully contemplating, wanting to make a second verse to pair with it, they still got tugged by the person next to them, and also hurriedly walked to the side.
On horseback, Li Hong Yuan cupped his hand at them, “You all can come to the qinw.a.n.g manor for a cup of wedding wine.”
“Many thanks w.a.n.gye.” Quite a few people excitedly replied.
[1] 岁岁平安 – ‘Having peace year after year’; the shattered wine jars is representing this, which is basically a pun on the word ‘shattering’ 碎(sui) sounding the same as 岁(sui – meaning year) in the line 岁岁平安 with 平安 meaning peace. So basically he’s shattering the wine jar for peace or 碎碎平安.
[2] 绝对 – ‘Absolute verse’; in the context of couplets, this term means verses that to this day have no match because no one has been capable to coming up with a verse to pair with it. However, of the ones pa.s.sed down through history, a lot have been solved nowadays but will still be called this due to the verse’s high difficulty level. Couplets follow a strict set of rules, so these ones always have some strange conditions and restrictions that make them difficult. They are kinda like word puzzles. The word itself outside of this context just means absolute. There’s a wiki article that explains ant.i.thetical couplets quite well, you can also see the examples of some. It’s really quite hard to follow all the rules while also having it match in meaning and sense when matching couplets.
[3] 烟锁池塘柳 – 烟(smoke), 锁(lock), 池塘(pond), 柳(willow); this is a very very famous verse and considered the ultimate absolute verse (see above footnote) in history. There’s actually a lot of couplets written for it by many famous poets, with varying degrees of praise, some work well but some don’t. Because its composition uses the five phases of chinese philosophy (wood, fire, earth, gold, water) as its components (the radical for each character is literally the five phases, for example, the first character 烟’smoke’ is made up of the characters 火’fire’+ 因’cause’) and describing a quiet pond surrounded by green willows enveloped in smoke, it’s really not easy to make a matching verse that conforms with the five phases and also match the artistic imagery.
Below is a famous pairing, you can see how the radicals match, it’s read from top to bottom and right to left, but I suck at reading calligraphy so I got my mom to read it: 烟锁池塘柳， 炮镇海城楼 (cannons guard the ocean city gate tower); this pairing was once the publicly accepted OTP s.h.i.+p for 200 years due to its popularity. But it’s actually not that good of a pairing because it breaks some of the rules in tonal pattern and the artistic imagery doesn’t match.
My favorite one is this one: 烟锁池塘柳，焰镶沼地枫 (flame inlayed pond with maples in the ground); you can see how the artistic imagery matches very well with the first verse and the tonal pattern is perfect too.
T/N: //dying translator noise