But said that Xin Jia returned to the room, Mrs. Jiang was still resting on the couch, Xin Jia told her about Yu Yan's invitation, and asked, "Are you feeling better?" Can I go to the banquet? ”

Mrs. Jiang replied: "Since it is the prince of Yuhou who came to invite you, it is always bad not to go." I'm fine, but if I'm tired, I'll say I'm not strong enough to drink, so I'll quit first. ”

Xin Jia nodded and said, "Then I'll ask Wan'er to serve you to change your clothes." ”

He came to Zhou Chang's room, and Wan Xi and Tai Ji had already learned from Zhou Chang that they were going to Yuhou Mansion. Wan Ji saw Xin Jia calling, and hurriedly got up and went with him.

Here, Taiji was busy changing into Xuanduan clothes for Zhou Chang and wearing Xuanguan, which was the dress of the nobles when they attended major events at that time. And the weekly examination has not yet performed the crown ceremony, so there is no need to wear this dress, just use a silk to tie up the hair.

Zhou Fa saw him on the side at this time, and he also shouted that he wanted to tie his hair like Zhou Kao, and Tai Ji said: "You are not yet the age to tie your hair, and in another three years, I will naturally tie your hair." ”

But when Zhou Fa saw Zhou Kao's radiant appearance, he was envious, and always felt that the reason why he didn't have the demeanor of his eldest brother was because he didn't have his hair tied. So he stood there dejected, depressed and unhappy.

When Zhou Chang saw it, he suddenly scolded with a heavy face: "Zhou Fa! This sudden surprise startled Zhou Fa, and when he saw his father's serious face, he didn't dare to make a mistake anymore, so he responded in a low voice: "Yes, father." ”

Zhou Chang said to him: "You think you have grown up and want to learn to be an adult, don't you?" ”

Zhou Fa didn't understand the meaning of Zhou Chang's words, didn't dare to answer, and still stood with his hands down. I only heard Zhou Chang say again: "Then you should know that adults should always and everywhere abide by the rules, and they can no longer be like children." We are about to go to the Yuhou Mansion for a banquet, you have to give me the rules, you are not allowed to walk around, and you are not allowed to cause trouble. If you make a fuss and misbehave, you will only make people look down on us, remember? ”

"Yui, the child remembers." Originally, Zhou Fa was very excited when he learned that he was going to Yuhou's mansion, and Zhou Chang's words were like pouring cold water on his head, which made Zhou Fa suddenly feel interested.

In fact, Zhou Chang himself is not a person who follows the rules, otherwise he would not have rashly attacked Yincheng twenty years ago. It's just that Zhou Chang knows his second son too well, and knows that Zhou Fa's temperament is most similar to himself, and he only knows a little about all kinds of etiquette, if he doesn't warn him in advance, he will regret it when he gets into trouble.

After a while, Zhou Fa asked Zhou Kao in a low voice: "Big brother, do people have to obey the rules when they grow up?" Is there anyone who can be free from the rules? ”

Zhou Kao saw that Zhou Fa was reprimanded by his father, and he felt pity in his heart, and wanted to enlighten him. Seeing him ask, he also replied in a low voice: "There are only two kinds of people in the world who can disobey the rules." ”

When Zhou Fa heard this, he immediately replied to his excitement and hurriedly asked, "Which two kinds of people are they?" ”

Zhou Kao said: "One kind of person is the Son of Heaven. In the whole world, the Son of Heaven is the most noble, imagine who can control him? The other type of person is the hermit. The hermit lives alone in the mountains, free, and who cares about him? ”

Although the two of them spoke quietly, Zhou Chang still heard it. Although he secretly felt funny in his heart, he still put on a straight face and said, "Kao'er! Why are you talking nonsense? Who told you that the Son of Heaven doesn't have to follow the rules? The Son of Heaven has more rules to abide by than the princes! ”

Zhou Kao knew that what his father said was naturally true, so he didn't dare to say it again. Zhou Fa said: "Is there anyone in this world who can be greater than the Son of Heaven?" ”

Zhou Chang said: "Although no one can be greater than the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven is an example for all the people in the world, so he must abide by the rules." If the Son of Heaven acts recklessly and provokes everyone to follow suit, won't it cause chaos in the world? ”

Zhou Fa was speechless, so he didn't say anything. This Xuanduan Xuanguan is very cumbersome to wear, and Tai Ji was busy for a long time before finally helping Zhou Chang clean up. They went out of the room together, but saw Xin Jia standing under the porch, dressed like Zhou Chang.

Tai Ji said: "I'll go and see if my sister-in-law has done it." After speaking, he opened the door of Mrs. Jiang's room and entered the room, and then closed the door again. Xin Jia and Zhou Chang had no choice but to wait outside Mrs. Jiang's room.

After a while, Zhou Fa waited anxiously, and couldn't help but want to open the door and look inside. But as soon as his hand moved, after all, his heart was weak, so he looked at Zhou Chang and saw Zhou Chang's eyes staring at him. Zhou Fa didn't dare to make a mistake, so he had to stay honestly.

After a while, I heard a "bang", and the door finally opened, and Tai Ji walked out, followed by Mrs. Jiang and Wan Xi. Because there was no blood on Mrs. Jiang's face, she smeared some fat powder, which made her look a little complex. Looking at Wan Xi again, I saw that she lightly swept her eyebrows and tapped her lips, although she only added a little makeup, she also looked more and more bright and moving.

At this time, the bears also walked into the pavilion and said to Zhou Chang: "My lord, the carriage has been prepared." ”

It turned out that Zhou Chang thought that they couldn't ride horses because they wore Xuanduan's clothes, so he had already asked the bears to prepare the carriage. At the moment, Xin Jia and Zhou Chang took a ride, Tai Ji still rode with Zhou Fa, and Mrs. Jiang and Wan Ji were in another car. Zhou Kao and Mane Bear rode horses, leading dozens of guards from the Xin and Zhou families to accompany them.

This Yuhou Mansion is in the northeast of Yucheng, Xin Jia and Zhou Chang both know, so the group went east. After a short time, he came to a junction, but Xin Jia commanded the convoy to go north. Zhou Kao looked forward and saw a city gate at the end of the road, guessing according to the direction, it should be the north gate of Yucheng.

At this time, the pedestrians on the road gradually became scarce, and a high wall was erected on the west side of the road, and although the inside of the wall could not be seen, black smoke could be seen constantly rising from the high wall. In the center of the wall, there is a gate that opens to the east, and there are many Yu soldiers guarding the gate. Zhou Kao was curious and asked Mane Xiong, "Master Huo, what is this place?" ”

Mane Xiong said: "This is the copper smelting workshop in Yucheng, because when casting bronze utensils, you need to make pottery first, and the pottery technology of Yucheng is excellent. Therefore, among the countries west of Taihang Mountain, only Yu can make a big tripod of more than 500 catties. ”

Zhou Kao listened and said secretly in his heart: It turns out that this is the important place where Yu Guo casts bronzes, so it is not surprising that there are soldiers guarding it.

After passing the copper smelting workshop, Xin Jia said to the driver who was driving the car: "From here, go east." Then the coachman drove the horses to turn to the right, and Zhou Kao and Mane Bear also turned their horses' heads, but they heard Mane Bear say, "Ah! Isn't this the Yuhou Mansion? ”

Zhou Kao was taken aback and said, "This, is this the Hou Mansion?" I thought it was a wall. ”

It turns out that a palace wall on the west side of the Yuhou Mansion is connected to the north wall of Yucheng, and it is only a few feet lower than the city wall, so it is no wonder that it will be mistaken for a section of the city wall by Zhou Kao. He looked at the palace wall in the south of the Hou Mansion, which was also connected with the east wall of Yucheng.

Zhou Kao said with emotion: "The person who built this Yuhou Mansion was also a careful person, and he actually used the wall of Yucheng as the palace wall of the Hou Mansion. However, each wall of the palace of this Hou Mansion is two or three miles long, and it is indeed possible to save a lot of costs by making two fewer walls. ”

But Xin Jia smiled and said, "Kao'er, you are wrong." It's not that when the Hou Mansion was built, I wanted to make less two walls, in fact, this Hou Mansion was Yucheng thousands of years ago, and the current Yucheng was expanded on the basis of the wall of the old city. Therefore, when the new city was completed, the original old city was used as the Hou Mansion. ”

When Zhou Kao heard this, he suddenly realized. He added: "I can't imagine that the previous Yucheng was only so big, and it was not as good as Qizhou City. ”

At this time, Zhou Chang said to him: "It is rare that a city a thousand years ago could be so big. The city of Puban, which we passed through earlier, is not much bigger than this Yuhou Mansion. You must know that Kasaka was the city of the Son of Heaven at that time. ”

Zhou Kao hurriedly said: "Father, the child is not underestimating this thousand-year-old city. I thought that the Yu people could expand such a small city to the scale it is today, so that we Zhou people would one day be able to build a more magnificent city. ”

Zhou Chang smiled slightly and said, "Well, it's right that you can think like this." ”

At this time, I suddenly heard Mane Xiong say: "Lord Zhouhou, it seems that the prince of Yu Hou is waiting outside the Hou Mansion. ”

Zhou Chang let out an "oh" sound, looked forward, and sure enough, he saw that under the south palace wall, there was a group of people waiting outside the gate of the Hou Mansion, and the person at the head was Yu Yan.

Xin Jia and the others' carriages and horses slowly walked to the front of the Hou Mansion, Xin Jia was about to get out of the car, and heard Yu Yan say to the people around him: "Go and tell the Hou Ye that the VIP has arrived!" The subordinate "Wei Wei" continued to speak, and then went into the house.

Yu Yan waited until Xin Jia and Zhou Chang got off the car, and immediately stepped forward to take a deep look and said, "Two adults, the juniors have been waiting here for a long time. ”

Xin Jia and the two returned the salute, and both said: "There is Lao Shizi to welcome him, why should he be restrained?" ”

Mrs. Jiang, Tai Ji and others also got out of the car and came to him, and Xin Jia introduced Yu Yan again. Yu Yan invited everyone into the mansion, Xin Jia and the others thanked him humbly, and then walked into the Hou Mansion with Yu Yan.

After entering the Hou Mansion, everyone first passed through a large hall, and Zhou Kao knew that this was the temple of the Yu Hou family. At that time, whether it was the Son of Heaven or the princes, their courts were like this pattern of "sleeping in the front temple and sleeping in the back". Yu Yan led everyone around the temple and came to a large courtyard in the center.

Zhou Kao entered the courtyard, and immediately saw that in front of the main hall of the Zongmiao, there were five large round tripods engraved with dragon ornaments, and firewood was burned under the ding, and the boiling water in the dings was boiling, and the white mist was constantly diffused and scattered from the mouth of the ding.

Not far north of these copper tripods, there are all kinds of musical instruments on display. One of them is a chime, and although Zhou Kao knows the name, it is the first time he has seen the real thing. This chime is a half-person high wooden frame, and five chime stones of different sizes hang under the beams of the wooden frame. And next to the chime, there is a wooden frame, on which there are five musical instruments like copper bells, this thing is called Yong, and the chimes of later generations are derived from this, but Zhou Kao does not know, only feels very rare. Other things such as qin, se, sheng, drum, etc., are known in the weekly examination, and there is no need to mention them.

At this time, a middle-aged man wearing Xuanduan clothes and born white and fat led a group of men and women to greet him. When Xin Jia and Zhou Chang saw this person, they all stepped forward and saluted, "Meet Lord Yuhou." Mrs. Jiang, Tai Ji and other people also followed suit, and Zhou Kao saw that Marquis Yu had a short beard under his chin, and the skin on his face was smooth and delicate, and he said in his heart: This person must be used to being pampered on weekdays, but I am afraid that he rarely even goes out of the door.

This Marquis Yu's name is Mengyan, and he was an official in the same dynasty as Xin Jia and Zhou Chang, so they all knew each other. Yu Mengyan returned the salute with a smile and said, "Lord Zhouhou and Lord Yishou, it is really rude for the widow to be unwelcome. ”

Xin Jia said: "Lord Yuhou sincerely invites you, and we are all full of hospitality. At that moment, Xin Jia introduced Mrs. Jiang, Tai Ji and others to Yu Mengyan.

Yu Mengyan also invited a middle-aged lady behind her to come forward and introduced: "This is the widow's wife. The woman saluted Xin Jia and the others, and said, "The concubine is the daughter of the Youyu family, and her father's surname is Di (Note 3: During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, women were respected by their father's surname. And the custom of wives following their husband's surname was a matter after the Han Dynasty). ”

Xin Jia and the others were all in awe, and also saluted the woman: "It turned out to be Mrs. Di, disrespectful, disrespectful. "This Youluo clan is a famous family in ancient times, and the mother of the merchant's ancestor is named Jian Di, which is said to be from Youlu's family, which can be said to be famous all over the world.

Then Yu Mengyan called a young girl beside Mrs. Di and said, "This is the little girl." Yue'er, come and meet the two uncles. ”

The girl stepped forward and saluted Xin Jia and the others. Zhou Kao saw that Yue Fei had a round face, which was somewhat similar to Yu Hou, but her apricot eyes and pink face were pretty, although she was not as beautiful and refined as Wan Xi, she could also be called a round jade and a delicate flower. He secretly thought: Yu Hou's daughter is called Yue Fei, so there is no doubt that Yu Hou must be surnamed Fei.

Xin Jia looked at Concubine Yue and praised: "Of course, Yu Shizi is a talent, but I didn't expect Miss Concubine Yue to be born so standard." Lord Yu Hou gave birth to a pair of good children, he is really envious of others! ”

Yu Mengyan smiled: "Lord Yi Shou praised it falsely. The little woman is stubborn, although she is in her age, she has not been allowed to be married, so she has not done the gift of the courtesy. ”

Xin Jia said: "With Miss Yuefei's qualifications and appearance, why is Lord Yuhou worried about not being able to find a fast son-in-law who rides the dragon?" ”

Yu Mengyan arched his hand and said, "Cheng Daren Ji Yan." Then he turned sideways, made a gesture of invitation, and said to Xin Jia and the others: "A feast has been set up in the court, and I invite you to sit in the hall for a while." ”

Everyone followed Yu Mengyan to the court, and saw that the banquet in the hall was divided into two columns, east and west, with the guests' seats in the west and the host's seats in the east. Zhou Chang saw that there were exactly seven banquets for the guest seats, and thought in his heart: It seems that Marquis Yu has already inquired about the number of people in our party and is very thoughtful.

So a group of people sat down, and Xin Jia sat down to find that there were three layers of banquet under him. At that time, the feast was generally two-tiered, with the lower layer being called the feast and the upper layer being called the feast, and the princes could spread two layers of mats on the feast to show their status. Xin Jia is in charge of the position of the guard, and has not yet inherited the throne, and the Marquis of Yu arranged it like this, which is to entertain Xin Jia with the courtesy of the princes.

Yu Mengyan exchanged a few words with everyone and said, "Everyone, please wait for a while, and let me go first." After saying that, he and Yu Yan got up and went out, leaving Mrs. Di and Concubine Yue to accompany them in the hall. It was the custom of the time to sacrifice before the feast, in order to show that the ancestors were not forgotten.

At this time, the Yu Hou Mansion belonged to the Yu Clan, and put the sacrifices that had been slaughtered and cut in advance into the five round tripods. At that time, the sacrifices used were generally cows, horses, sheep, pigs, dogs, etc., which were boiled into soup in the ding, but no seasoning was added, which was the so-called "big soup". After the sacrifice is completed, the seasoning is added to the "big soup", which can be used as a feast delicacy. At the same time, there is also the wine man who offers the sacrificial Qi wine in the temple. There are five kinds of Qi wine, namely "Pan Qi", "Liqi", "Angqi", "Tiqi" and "Shen Qi", collectively known as "Wuqi". In addition, the sacrifice also uses "preserved meat", that is, dried meat and meat sauce, which are also specially responsible for the "wax people" and "the people of the rice". Zhou Kao saw all kinds of servants and servants in the Marquis Yu's mansion shuttling back and forth, and the number of people was probably not less than one or two hundred, and he was also very emotional.

And the musicians in the Hou Mansion have also come to the courtyard to play their own instruments. The song played, but the weekly examination is unheard of. He sat beside Taiji at this time, and asked in a low voice, "Mother, I have never heard this song, I don't know what it is called?" ”

"This song is called 'Shao' music, with a total of nine que, which is said to have been handed down from the time of Emperor Shun. It was a Yu Ren's song, and I only heard it once or twice when I was in Yincheng. Tai Ji pointed to one person and said, "You see that the one who plays Feng Xiao is the chief musician of 'Shao' music, and the rest of the musicians are accompanimentists." Therefore, 'Shao' music is also called 'Xiao Shao'. ”

Zhou Kao saw that there were about a dozen of Feng Xiao's tubes, which were arranged in order of the length of the tubes, and they were tied together like phoenix wings. This is the so-called "pan flute" in later generations, also known as "uneven". Together, there was already a man and a woman holding a heron feather in their hands, dancing in the courtyard, their posture was light and elegant. The two dancers sometimes run and chase, sometimes cross their necks and linger, or separate or merge, if they are separated. Zhou Kao looked at it for a while, and suddenly said to himself: "This is the image of the phoenix coming to the ceremony." ”

Wan Ji was sitting at the head of Zhou Kao's right, and although Zhou Kao's voice was very small, she still heard it. Wan Ji turned her head and glanced at Zhou Kao, but she happened to be looking at Zhou Kao. Zhou Kao didn't know what he meant, so he said, "Cousin, am I not right?" ”

Wan Xi shook her head, but did not answer. She thought to herself: My cousin is so smart, she can see the meaning of this dance at a glance.

After a while, Feng Xiao's voice changed, and the sound of the chime was great, and then he saw a large group of dancers rushing out. Some of these people wore feathered crowns, and some wore animal skins, and surrounded the phoenix and the phoenix in the middle. They kept turning in a circle, from time to time running high and low, as if they had the intention of bowing to the two people in the circle.

At this time, Zhou Fa snorted and said: "This group of people pretend to be birds and beasts, but they don't know what the hell they are messing with. What's the point of turning and turning like this? ”

Wan Xi looked at him and said with a smile: "This is the meaning of the collection of beasts." The phoenix in the center represents the descent of the saint, and the birds and beasts around it symbolize the deference and support of the subjects of the world to the saint - this saint is Emperor Shun, and the Shao dance is used to highlight the merits of Emperor Shun. ”

Zhou Fa sighed and whispered to Wan Xi: "Father originally said that he was coming to the Yuhou Mansion for a banquet, but how did he know that he had been here for so long, but he was just watching people dance and play. When we were drinking and feasting, we didn't have these boring rules. ”

Wan Xi smiled and said, "Cousin is hungry? The etiquette of these drinking and feasting has been the same since ancient times. Bear with me a little while. "At this time, the day has come, everyone in the hall has not eaten a grain of rice, and Zhou Fa is young and weak, so he can't support it.

But Zhou Kao was thinking in his heart: Does the saint in this Shao dance refer to Emperor Shun? Then the birth of a saint should be an auspicious omen. Why did my father divinate the omen of "the destiny of heaven is in the west, and the saint is born", but he said that the good luck is unpredictable?

When Zhou Kao was thinking about it, he suddenly heard Xiao Sheng's sound weakening and the drum sound gradually rumbling, he was shocked in his heart, and said secretly: How can this drum sound faintly contain the intention of killing? Looking up, the phoenix and the beasts in the courtyard were gone, replaced by a group of samurai armed with short shields. These warriors were constantly changing formations, sometimes as if they were marching, sometimes as if they were arranging, sometimes as if they were setting up an ambush, sometimes like a charge. Xin Jia and Zhou Chang both looked at it with smiles on their faces, fascinated.

Zhou Fa kept complaining: "This dance is not as good as the phoenix just now, which is called getting worse." ”

Wan Ji said: "This paragraph tells the story of the southern barbarians who did not accept the teachings of Emperor Shun, and Emperor Shun led his troops to pacify Sanmiao. ”

While the two of them were talking, they saw Yu Mengyan and Yu Yan coming out of the temple and walking towards the court. Wan Xi said: "Look, Marquis Yu is here, it seems that the sacrifice has ended." ”

That Yu Mengyan came to the hall and said, "The sacrifice has been completed...... Zhou Fa heard that his heart was secretly happy, but he heard Yu Hou continue: "Please make a gift of sorrel to thank the guests." ”

As soon as these words came out, Zhou Fa only felt that his eyes were black, and he almost fainted to the ground.