The 20th day of the first lunar month was known as the Tianchuan Festival. The Tianchuan Festival was a memorial day for the Chinese people to commemorate Nüwa's rescue of mankind. The Tianchuan Festival was also known as the Mending the Heavens Festival. It originated from the mythical story of Nüwa mending the heavens. Legend had it that on the 20th day of the first lunar month, Goddess Nvywa refined a five-colored stone from Mount Kunlun to mend the sky. Yang Sichen remembered that this myth came from Huainanzi's Insight into the Underworld: In ancient times, the four poles were abolished, the nine states were divided, the sky could not cover them, and the earth could not contain them. The fire is bright and bright, but it does not go out, and the water is vast and vast, but it does not stop. Wild beasts eat the people, and birds of prey prey on the old and weak. So Nu Wa refined five-colored stones to mend the sky, cut off the turtle shell to support the four poles, killed the black dragon to cross the river in Jizhou, and piled up reed ash to stop the brown water. The sky is filled, the four poles are right, the brown water is dry, Jizhou is peaceful; After the death of the cunning worm, the people are in charge of the people's livelihood.
At the same time, the Heavenly Crossing Festival was also a festival where the ancient people hoped for good weather, prosperity, harvest, and peace. This was the only folk festival in China where housewives held sacrifices. It reflected the importance of women in family life in ancient times. Due to the decline of women's status after the Song Dynasty and the destruction of traditional Chinese culture by the Yuan Dynasty, the Tianchuan Festival gradually dimmed. The Tianchuan Festival in this era was not as lively as it was in the Han and Tang Dynasties. As for later generations, only some remnants of this custom existed in the Hakka settlements and Taiwan.
According to the Du brothers, because the day passed through the sun and rain was similar, Longyou did not have much rain in a year. People prayed for the heavens to bless "on the day of rain, the house would not have any holes." Every day, they would tie a pancake with red silk thread and throw it on the roof. The meaning was "to mend the sky and leak" or "to mend the sky and wear". It was also a kind of imitation of Nuwa mending the heavens. In some places, the pancakes were torn into small pieces and thrown into the sky to mend the sky, and then scattered on the ground to mend the earth.
There were also some places in Longyou that held archery activities in the suburbs on the day of the festival. Yang Sichen believed that this also implied that Nüwa had inherited the great achievements of killing the black dragon, breaking the feet of the turtle, and saving the people from fire and water.
However, in some places in Jiangnan and Lingnan, women would make sweet rice into round pieces about a foot in size on this day. After frying them in oil, they would stick needles on them, which also meant "filling the sky and wearing".
However, this year, Zheng was pregnant. According to the custom passed down from Song Jiang, she couldn't preside over the sacrifice. This matter could only be handled by Old Master Yang's Mother Wang.
Since the Zheng family was not hosting the ceremony, Yang Sichen did not need to come.
When Yang Sichen first arrived in this space-time, he had heard that Granny Wang had been taken into the room by Old Master Yang when Old Madam Yang was still alive. Later, because Old Madam Yang had passed away, she could not hold a wedding for three years, so she had been delayed from being carried into the room. He had originally planned to officially make her a concubine on an auspicious day after the mourning period in February this year. He didn't expect Old Master Yang to still have such needs at his age. Outsiders couldn't say that there was anything wrong with handing the ceremony to her.
Fortunately, Granny Wang was almost fifty years old. According to the situation of women in this era, it was almost impossible for her to get pregnant again. Otherwise, Yang Sichen would have called a guy who was 12 or 13 years younger than him uncle, and even his own uncle! He felt so aggrieved that he wanted to die! Although Granny Wang had a son, he was already twenty-six or twenty-seven years old and had already married. Granny Wang would only be an aunt in the future, and she wouldn't be considered a proper elder in the family. No one could say anything wrong about Yang Sichen not acknowledging this uncle with a different surname.
One morning, Yang Sichen woke up to find something heavy on his body. He used his hand to push it away and felt that the thing he was holding was still warm. He looked down and saw Zi Juan sleeping soundly on his body. He knew that this girl was exhausted from yesterday.
Yang Sichen glanced around and noticed that there was still some ink on the inkstone on the desk on the other side of the room. He quietly pushed the purple handkerchief away and got out of bed. He walked to the desk and picked up the brush and inkstone before returning to the bed. With a smirk, Yang Sichen began to draw a turtle on Zijian's face. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yang Sichen was done. He put down his brush and inkstone and carefully blew on Zijian's face. When the ink was almost dry, he yawned again, climbed back into bed, and fell asleep in a daze.
Half an hour later, Yanhong and Liu Lan walked into Yang Sichen's bedroom, supporting each other in their high-heels. Yang Sichen and Zi Juan woke up when they heard the commotion.
As soon as they entered the room, Yanhong and Liu Lan looked at the two people who were about to sit up on the bed. They were stunned at first, then they pointed at the purple handkerchief and laughed until they were swaying back and forth. For a moment, they didn't notice and sat on the ground again. They gritted their teeth in pain.
Zi Juan was baffled. He turned to look at Yang Sichen and saw that Yang Sichen was trying his best to hold back his laughter. His face was flushed red. She quickly got off the bed and walked to the bronze mirror to look inside…
" Ah!" Zi Juan covered her face and ran to the copper basin. She started splashing water on her face and then wiped her face with a towel.
Yang Sichen couldn't hold it in any longer when he saw Zi Juan run to the basin. He hugged his stomach and rolled around on the bed laughing.
……
An hour later, Yang Sichen was wearing a long dress and a half-sleeved shirt with disheveled hair. He was wearing high-heels and was holding a copper basin full of water with both hands above his head. He stood on a two-foot-tall stool and did not dare to move. He looked at the four servant girls with a bitter expression as they shared his breakfast in front of him.
At the beginning of the morning, Yang Sichen finally couldn't take it anymore after staying up for more than an hour. He said pitifully to the four maids who were sitting at the side doing needlework,""Sisters, I really know my mistake this time. I swear that I won't do this again. Please spare me!”
The four servant girls saw his pitiful look and looked at each other again. Their anger from before had subsided quite a bit. In addition, Yang Sichen was their master after all, so the four servant girls still had some scruples and did not dare to go too far. Thus, Zi Juan jumped onto the table and took the copper basin from Yang Sichen's hands. Zi Xiao supported herself with a small stool while Yanhong and Liu Lan worked together to help Yang Sichen down.
Yang Sichen fell to the ground as soon as his feet touched the ground. Yanhong and Liu Lan quickly carried him to the bed and laid him down. Then, they used their hands to gently pinch Yang Sichen's legs and massaged him.
After fifteen minutes, Yang Sichen finally recovered and sat up on the bed. Zi Juan pouted and walked to Yang Sichen with a plate of snacks in her hand. She angrily placed the snacks on the table in front of the bed and said with a pout,""Eat, Miss. Sister Liu Lan went to make tea for you, and Sister Yanhong went to prepare clothes for you.”
"What clothes?" Yang Sichen asked in surprise. I'm wearing this set of clothes well. Why do you want to change?"
Zi Juan rolled her eyes and said,"My young miss!" Do you really not understand or are you just pretending? Have you ever seen a young lady wearing a single piece of clothing for several days in a row?”
"Where did you get so many clothes for me?" Yang Sichen asked curiously.”
Zi Juan replied," It's Sister Yanhong's. Sister Yanhong is going to get married in the future. She started making clothes a year ago. However, she was worried about her identity as a servant girl in the residence and never dared to wear it. I didn't expect that this time, it would be easy for you." Miss, your figure is about the same as Sister Yanhong. Her clothes only need to be slightly altered to suit you. Sister Liulan is too tall, so her clothes are too big for you. It looks baggy and unsightly.”
Yang Sichen thought to himself, Alright! This time, he owed Yanhong a huge favor! So he said very sincerely," To be honest, I rarely treat Sister Yanhong and Sister Liulan as my subordinates. Seeing how you dressed me up like this, if it was another master, I'm afraid he would have already found someone to sell you to a brothel." The two of them have served me for four to five years. I have some feelings for them. To be honest, I really treat them as half sisters. What does my sister want me to do? As her younger brother, how can I refute her? Besides, it was not a big deal to dress up in women's clothes in her own room.”
Zi Juan didn't say anything after hearing this. She just hugged Yang Sichen and buried her head in his arms.
Yang Sichen patted Zijuan's back and said,""After I change my clothes, let's first make the wax mold for Zixiao's mask. In the afternoon, let Yanhong and Liu Lan go out with me and find a jewelry shop to make the mask. The day after tomorrow, Zi Xiao would be able to wear a mask and go out with them. She would also be more at ease. It was more convenient for me to wear women's clothes to the jewelry shop than men's clothes. After all, if a woman was picky about jewelry, others wouldn't say anything. What do you think?"
…………
Fifteen minutes later, the four maids helped Yang Sichen change his clothes. After he combed his hair and put on makeup, Yang Sichen said softly to the four of them,"Liu Lan bought beeswax yesterday morning. I originally wanted to make the wax mold for the Zixiao mask yesterday afternoon, but you guys messed around for half a day yesterday, so this matter was delayed. The day after tomorrow, we sisters are going out for a walk, so this matter can't be delayed any longer.”
Yanhong looked at Flowing Mist and asked,"Young Master, do you have any plans?”
Yang Sichen's face fell when he heard Yanhong's words. He pointed at his own face and said helplessly,""Forget it, just call me Miss. Look at me, I don't look like a young master now!”
The four servant girls looked at each other and revealed awkward expressions.
Seeing this, Yang Sichen waved his hand and continued,""Sister Yanhong, you know what we need to prepare. Bring Liu Lan to my study and bring the things over. Us sisters can do it in the bedroom. I can't go out and meet people dressed like this. Zi Juan, take Zi Xiao's pulse again and see if the red spots on her face can withstand the temporary heat brought by the melted beeswax. Zi Xiao, you can rest assured and lie on my bed with the right side of your face facing up. If this method doesn't work, we'll think of another way. If it really doesn't work out, I'll go out tomorrow afternoon and buy you a bamboo hat.”
The four maids nodded and went to do their own things.
After the time for an incense stick to burn, Zi Juan released Zi Xiao's wrist and said,""Miss, Sister Zi Xiao is fine. It was just that his body was afraid of the cold and could not withstand the cold. It was not a problem for him to suffer a little heat. However, don't use too hot wax. It's not easy to heal blisters.”
Yang Sichen nodded and rolled up his sleeves. He picked up a piece of paper the size of half a palm from the table and carefully covered Zi Xiao's right eye with it after wetting it, saying,""Zi Xiao, close your eyes and relax your expression. Don't move. If you feel uncomfortable when pouring the wax later, say it quickly.”
When Zi Xiao heard Yang Sichen's words, she nodded obediently and then closed her eyes. Yang Sichen took the opportunity to stick the wet Xuan paper on Zi Xiao's right eye, covering most of the right side of Zi Xiao's face and some of her hair on the upper right.
Yang Sichen stuck three more sheets of wet Xuan paper before stopping. He carefully squeezed out the air bubbles, causing the wet Xuan paper to stick tightly to Zi Xiao's face, revealing the rough shape of Zi Xiao's face through the wet Xuan paper.
Zi Xiao's lips twitched as a reply. Yang Sichen carefully poured the melted beeswax onto the wet Xuan paper and blew on it while he poured it over. After pouring the beeswax, he waited for a while before carefully dripping ice water on the surface of the wax mold to speed up the hardening of the wax mold.
Half an hour later, Yang Sichen carefully removed the wax mold and the wet Xuan paper from Zi Xiao's face and placed them into a bucket of cold water.
Yang Sichen let out a long sigh of relief and started preparing the wet Xuan paper…
After an hour, the five of them had made four wax masks.
Yang Sichen took a look at the wax mold in the bucket and heaved a sigh of relief. He picked up a wax mold and carefully removed the layer of wet rice paper stuck to it, carefully examining his work.
The wax mold was only about three inches and seven centimeters square, and its thickness was less than one centimeter. It looked like it would break easily in his hand. Yang Sichen hesitated for a while before saying,"I originally planned to let the sisters directly engrave some patterns on the wax mold, but I didn't expect this wax mold to be so untouchable. He could only give up. However, according to the current situation, the mask made of silver was not very light. It was estimated to be six taels heavy. Even if the eye was dug out, it would not be very light. I'm not afraid of extra silver, I still have more than seventy taels of silver, but the problem is that wearing purple silk is still too heavy. I should use red copper. It's lighter, but it's still more than four taels. Moreover, red copper is too soft, it will change shape with a little effort, and it won't last long.”
Yang Sichen paused for a moment before continuing,""Sisters, since we can't carve patterns on the wax mold directly, let's discuss if we can draw a good pattern. When the time comes, we can ask the craftsman to carve it on the mask according to the pattern and grind it thinner. This way, we can reduce the weight of the mask. After he was done, he found a box and wrapped the wax model with cotton. Be careful, don't break it. It was very torturous to make this kind of thing.”
The four maids nodded and found a pen and paper, then started drawing in Yang Sichen's bedroom.
After a quarter of an hour, the four maids finished drawing. Yang Sichen looked at it and was quite satisfied. He said,""In the afternoon, I'll bring Yanhong and Flowing Mist to the east of the city to take a look. But the road is too far. We can't walk that far in these high-heels. Yanhong and Zijuan will rent a better carriage outside and stop at Xingde Teahouse. After Zijuan returned, Flowing Mist and I split up to go to Xingde Teahouse. If someone is looking for me, don't hide it. Just tell them openly that I'm out. The more he concealed it, the more people would be suspicious. He was going out to order jewelry this afternoon. It was better to wear the purple gauze set of clothes. It was more convenient to do things if he wore more luxurious clothes.”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]