A gentleman’s promise is worth a thousand gold.

It was agreed that the Bai family would marry their daughter on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Perhaps because Lu Yi's survey office was just across the street, the Bai family's marriage of their daughter was handled in a rather strange way.

The ceremony took place not at the Bai family mansion, but at Cuiwei Peak next to the Imperial College.

A red sun rises slowly from the east. Under Cuiwei Peak, old plum trees are as strong as dragons, with large plum blossoms blooming and a faint fragrance. The cold wind blows, and the petals flutter like rain, shining with a faint light in the morning light.

On the top of Cuiwei Peak, Bai Changkong and a group of great old friends were sitting upright in simple formal attire.

In the plum forest at the foot of the mountain, there were straw mats spread on the ground. Countless scholars from the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy were kneeling on the mats, listening to a sermon by a middle-aged man with a long beard, handsome appearance, and elegant temperament, at the entrance of the stone steps leading up the mountain.

The middle-aged man with long hair, wearing a simple linen robe and with a loud voice is named Zhu Song. He is the cousin of Prime Minister Zhu Chong, the biological father of Zhu Yu, and the chief academic officer of the Imperial College in the Dayin Dynasty. His status is equivalent to Bai Changkong of the Imperial College.

If Zhu Chong was the face of the Zhu family in the court, then Zhu Song was the Zhu family's signboard among the people.

There is a "Zhu's School" in the city of Haojing, which is spread across every market in Haojing, even in the most remote Jiupin market. The school teaches the common people and the children of the grassroots in Haojing for free, and even provides free writing brushes, inkstones, and breakfast and lunch to poor students.

Zhu Song was the principal of Zhu's School. Countless students of Zhu's School were selected by him to enter the Imperial College for further studies, and then performed brilliantly in the imperial examinations. From then on, they rose to prominence and escaped from their original grassroots class.

Because of the "Zhu's School", as more and more officials and celebrities graduated from the school, the Zhu family's reputation as "descendants of saints" became more and more dazzling, and the Zhu family became more deeply rooted in Dayin.

Sitting cross-legged on the stone steps, looking at the tens of thousands of scholars below, Zhu Song smiled indifferently and told the story.

"You all need to know. Baishan is in charge of the 'ancient rituals'."

"The ancient rituals require self-discipline, that is, to restrain one's own desires, temper one's own integrity, and then 'restore the rituals', which means to restore the most original good virtues of the gentleman and follow the most original flawless ethics of the gentleman." (The explanation of 'self-discipline and restoration of rituals' here has been somewhat distorted according to the demands of Bai Changkong and others!)

"The ancient rituals of Baishan Changzhi should be practiced in person."

"In today's world, people's customs are becoming more and more extravagant and corrupt. Today's rituals are becoming more and more complicated and complex. There are many things, such as the betrothal gift, the name-asking, the betrothal gift, and the dowry. All of them are nothing but material desires. People's hearts are no longer the same as before."

"So, today, Chief Bai Shan used the simplest and purest ritual of 'gathering of the virtuous and in harmony' from the ancient times of our human ancestors to arrange Miss Bai Lu's wedding. He is truly a great sage and is worthy of being the master of 'ritual studies'."

Zhu Song shook his head and praised Bai Changkong's business.

The gibberish he muttered was basically this: Bai Changkong believed that ancient rites were the best, and that the modern rites, where a wedding process could take several months, were nothing but the result of the moral corruption and materialistic tendencies of today's people.

Moreover, Bai Changkong was incorruptible and honest, and he did not have the financial resources to arrange Bai Lu's wedding according to the current wedding ceremony.

Therefore, Bai Changkong took the opportunity of his only granddaughter's marriage to perform the ritual of "gathering of the virtuous and in harmony" from the ancient tribes, in order to spread his own understanding of "ancient rituals" and at the same time criticize the increasingly extravagant and unhealthy trend among the people today.

The so-called ceremony of "gathering of the virtuous and in harmony" is that in the ancient times, among the ancestors of the tribe, as long as a man and a woman fell in love with each other and were judged by the elders of the tribe to be "suitable for marriage", they could get married through a notarized ceremony.

The entire process can be completed in just half a day.

Simple, quick, economical, and trouble-free... Because it is coated with a layer of gold called "self-discipline and restoration of propriety", such a simple yet not minimalist wedding appears to be extremely grand, sacred, and solemn.

In particular, the ritual of "Gathering of Virtues and Elegance" requires a group of tribal elders to gather together to evaluate the man and woman.

Now, in the Caiwei Pavilion on the top of Cuiwei Peak, Bai Changkong, Gongyang Yao, and dozens of great scholars and sages of culture and education in Haojing have gathered here. They will act as "tribal elders" to evaluate the character of Bailu and her future husband and decide whether they are a good match.

A wedding can receive the approval and blessing of dozens of great sages, and be witnessed by tens of thousands of scholars from the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy.

In Merlin, countless young and enthusiastic scholars applauded and cheered, and couldn't help but give their best wishes to Bai Lu and the lucky future husband she had chosen.

Some scholars were even whispering to each other, discussing this topic enthusiastically.

"I also feel that weddings nowadays are too complicated. I'm not afraid if it takes a little longer, three to five months is fine. But the betrothal gifts and the like...tsk tsk, they're too wasteful."

"Brother, what you said is absolutely right. Master Bai's 'Gathering of the Virtuous and Elegant' ceremony, as long as a man and a woman fall in love at first sight and can get the approval of the elders, they can get married. This ancient ceremony is elegant and solemn. It is indeed wonderful."

"Alas, it's a pity that we don't have the blessing to invite so many great sages to judge for us."

"Well, I don't know which of the twelve sages was recognized by Miss Bai Lu?"

"I don't know about that. But a few days ago, in the Moyun Tower, Lord Tianyang..."
"Shh, shut up, aren't you afraid of being beaten up?"

At the top of Cuiwei Peak, outside the gate of Caiwei Pavilion, on a flat bluestone, Bai Lu, wearing a simple cloth dress, knelt on a cushion, gently stroking the five-stringed harp in front of her, "ding ding dong dong", playing an elegant tune like the sound of flowing water in the mountains.

According to the procedure announced by the Bai family, this is an essential part of the "Gathering of Virtues and Elegant Harmony" ceremony, in which unmarried women demonstrate their talents and let the tribal elders assess whether they are a good woman suitable for marriage and family life.

In the plum forest, there were scholars applauding and praising.

Bai Lu's piano skill cannot be considered the best, but it is also quite good, and can be ranked among the top 100 in Haojing City.

Coupled with her stunning appearance and the halo of being Bai Changkong's only granddaughter, her piano piece won cheers and admiration from countless people.

As she played music on the mountain, scholars from the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy gradually began to sing poems in a loud voice below, in tune with her music.

Outside Merlin, under a huge pine tree, a simple four-wheeled carriage was parked quietly.

Li Zi, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, sat in the carriage with a gloomy face. His eyes were as sharp as knives, staring intently at his most beloved, most doted, and spoiled youngest son Li Erya, who was sitting opposite him.

Li Erya, only eighteen years old, was eight feet one inch tall, had a handsome appearance, and was extremely elegant and romantic.

He was one of the twelve talented people who proposed marriage at the door of the Bai family a few days ago, and he was also one of the twelve talented people who competed in literary talent in Moyun Tower. He was also the lucky man who was spotted by Bai Lu at first sight with his extraordinary performance of a poem about plum blossoms after Lu Yi made a big fuss and left, and was finally selected as her husband.

Li Erya has sincerely admired Bai Lu for many years.

However, Bai Lu and Zhu Yu were very close in the past, so how could Li Erya dare to compete with Zhu Yu?

He really couldn't forget Bai Lu, and thus he tossed and turned, and therefore couldn't sleep at night.

Suddenly, Bai Lu was abandoned by Lu Yi after "breaking off the engagement", and Bai Changkong said that he would marry her from among the talented people in Gaojing, and Li Erya was immediately moved. When he heard that someone had gathered like-minded people and went to Bai's house to ask for marriage, he immediately responded and hurriedly got involved in the matter.

Unexpectedly, he actually won Bai Lu's heart with his talent and character.

Therefore, when the Bai family proposed to arrange his marriage with Bai Lu according to ancient rituals, he agreed without hesitation and told his father the good news as soon as possible.

Li Zi has been busy cleaning up the mess at Sijifang these days.

He was tormented by those arrogant and presumptuous princes and young ladies all day long, and he was almost so angry that he killed someone.

All of a sudden, his most beloved youngest son happily told him that Bai Changkong was going to marry his granddaughter to him, and that it would follow some ancient ritual, and the ceremony would be completed in just one day, and he would bring Bai Lu home!

"Er Ya, you've got to think it over." Li Zi stared at Li Er Ya with a gloomy look: "No one can force you to do anything, not even Bai Changkong. If you don't want to marry, you can learn from Lu Yi now, and Dad will personally send you to the Guardian Palace."

Li Erya stared at her father with eyes wide open in shock: "Dad, what nonsense are you talking about? Miss Bailu is the perfect match for me... Don't worry, when I marry her home, I will treat her well, and next year, I will give you a big fat grandson!"

Li Zi's face twitched. In the past, he always smiled whenever he met someone, and every wrinkle on his old face was soaked with smiles, but now it was covered with frost.

He looked at his beloved son and said sinisterly, "Bai Lu's previous fiancé was Lu Yi, but Lu Yi would rather join the Guardian Prison..."

Li Erya waved her hands impatiently: "Why mention that traitor? He is stupid, why would he want such a good woman like Wei Shuang!"

"Stupid?" Li Zi was so angry that he almost slapped Li Erya's handsome face. "He is stupid. How could he gain the favor of the emperor and even the queen mother in a few days? Even the general has a good impression of him, so he can easily get a dukedom?"

"Do you know that your father has been working in the court for his entire life, but he has only managed to become a minister of the Honglu Temple, and he has not even had the taste of a noble title... If Lu Yi is stupid, then your father? And almost all the civil and military officials in the court, are they all idiots?"

Li Erya was stunned. He looked at Li Zi and shook his head. "Well, he is not stupid. His calligraphy and poems are unparalleled in the contemporary era. So what? Weishuang is mine. I want to marry her."

"Hurry up, Dad, get ready. When Wei Shuang's music stops, we will go straight to Cuiwei Peak."

"I will sing all the way to the top of the mountain, and then recite poems and compose essays in front of those great sages to show off my talent... If you hadn't backed me up, I wouldn't have dared to show off in front of so many great sages."

Li Zi's eyes were filled with murderous intent. He looked at his son who couldn't wait to open the car door and jump out, and walked quickly into the house. He said quietly, "Go, transfer 300 inner disciples to my house and replace all the servants and maids."

"Bai Changkong, you'd better not play any tricks."

"Otherwise, I want you to understand that in my Qiqiao Pavilion, killing those damn great men of culture and education is no different from butchering pigs and dogs."

"They all say that the previous dynasty was destroyed because of the four holy sects of Qiqiao Pavilion, Jiuyin Sect, Feishi Sect, and Tianyu Palace that bewitched the emperor and brought chaos to the world."

"Hey, hey, if you really dare to mess with my child, I will let you know what a true disaster that brings disaster to the country and the people is!"