Chapter 236 — The Agreement
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
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Gu Yu spent at least three hundred and sixty of the year's three hundred and sixty-five days loitering about the Song household—did Song Yan really need to be so courteous to him?
He was no honored guest worth such fuss!
But with Song Maochun and the others present, he could not vent his displeasure.
If he truly crossed swords with Song Yan, and Song Yan stood firm and refused to come see him, could he really have the man bound and dragged before him?
That would only make him lose face all the more!
Song Maochun and the others had naturally noticed as well. None of them had expected Song Yan to be so forceful, and Song Maochun, knowing he had misspoken, hastily said, "Since Tianci has guests, we'll leave the matter until they've gone." Then he changed the subject and turned to other affairs. "The Yingzhengguo Estate hasn't held a wedding in years. I say we engage the people from Chunfang Studio for this 'four-courses' banquet. Last time when the heir of the Huichang Count's household took a wife, they engaged Chunfang Studio, and everyone praised it..."
The "four-courses" banquet referred to the practice of setting out four kinds of fresh fruit or flour-made pastries for the guests to view before they took their seats; once the guests were seated, the displayed delicacies were promptly cleared away and replaced with four kinds of dried fruits, four kinds of pastries, four kinds of fresh fruit, and four kinds of cold dishes—a custom observed only when great households celebrated a wedding. And the greater the household, the more particular they were about this "four-courses" banquet, to display their wealth and grandeur.
Song Tongchun quickly chimed in, "I also think it best to engage outsiders for the arrangements. Last time when the Donglin Count's household took a wife, they too had outsiders prepare the 'four-courses' banquet—it's all the fashion in the capital now!"
The conversation thus shifted to the banquet for Song Yan's wedding, and the matter was at last glossed over.
Gu Yu, however, asked Song Yan, "Are you sure you can get away with not going to see your uncle?"
"Get away with what?" Song Yan, attended by his personal servant as he changed his clothes, laughed. "Aren't you a guest?"
Gu Yu chuckled, but soon furrowed his brow and said haltingly, "Brother Tianci, I—I asked my aunt. About what reward you might be granted for your marriage. My aunt said the Emperor still hasn't fully recovered, and that now is hardly the proper time..."
"The Empress's concerns are well founded." Song Yan, recalling the scene when the Emperor had fallen ill, still felt a lingering dread, and he admonished Gu Yu gravely. "You should keep a lower profile these days too, and take care not to give the censors grounds for impeachment—you're fifteen this year, old enough to take office. If you make too much of a commotion, it will be difficult for the Empress to speak up for you forcefully. Your younger brother is only three years your junior; every year you delay is a year of opportunity for him. You mustn't be as willful as before."
These were words from the heart.
Gu Yu could not help but be moved.
Song Yan took a copybook and tossed it to Gu Yu. "We don't have to sit the imperial examinations, so scholarship can't be gauged, but whether one's handwriting is good or bad can be seen at a glance. And whether it's the Emperor or the Crown Prince, both are fond of calligraphy. If you practice your writing well, there's only benefit and no harm." He added, "Don't put it off till tomorrow either. Starting now, you'll write three thousand characters for me every day." Then, without further argument, he called Wuyi in to attend Gu Yu in his practice.
Gu Yu accepted the instruction obediently.