sbdcsierra Chapter 209: Purification at the Waterside
Chapter 209: Purification at the Waterside
On the morning of March 3rd, everyone got up early. After having breakfast at Zhong's house, a large group of people went out.
When you arrive at the main street of Yuzhou Prefecture, you will see a constant stream of people. If you observe carefully, you will find that these people are in groups of three or five, and they all seem to be going in one direction.
Everyone in the Ye family looked at the Zhong family with some confusion, and then listened to Zhong Dingyi's explanation.
"On the third day of the third lunar month, people in Yuzhou Prefecture would go to the Haitang River in the south of the city. They would break off a willow branch or pick a spring flower and wash themselves in the water in order to purify themselves from bad luck and pray for good health."
Everyone found it novel when they heard it, but Mr. Cai nodded and added.
"The Shangsi Festival, also known as the Spring Bath, falls on March 3, when the seasons change. The earth has experienced a long winter, and the yang energy gradually recovers, while the yin energy has not completely disappeared. During this period, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and people are more likely to get sick in this season. Therefore, people usually burn incense and bathe on this day to exorcise disasters and diseases and pray for good health."
After hearing what Mr. Cai said, everyone nodded. It turned out that there was such a custom on the Shangsi Festival.
"However, our country is vast, and the customs of Shangsi Festival vary slightly from place to place. In the north, the weather is often warm and cold, so on this day, people mostly bathe and burn incense. In Yuzhou, where there are many rivers, the weather is already quite warm, so people go to the rivers and streams to purify themselves by the water. However, behind these activities are people's good wishes to purify themselves from disasters and diseases and pray for good health."
"Then let's go to the Begonia Creek and take a look."
After hearing Mr. Cai talking about the customs of the Shangsi Festival and seeing people going in groups of three or five towards the south of the city, Wulang made a proposal to everyone with some excitement.
Seeing that no one objected, Wu Lang pulled Lian Xiaolong and ran at the front of the team.
Even if Wu Lang and Lian Xiaolong didn't know the way, they just had to follow the crowd south without worrying about getting lost.
In order to make it easier for everyone to go out of the city and purify themselves in the water today, in addition to the South Gate, the two gates in the southeast and southwest corners of Yuzhou City were also opened.
The group walked through several streets and arrived at the city gate in the southeast corner. After passing through the gate, they saw people crowded outside the city, all moving towards the direction of Haitang Creek not far away.
There were vendors on both sides of the road selling wreaths woven with willow branches and various vine branches.
It could be seen in the crowd that many young men and women were wearing various kinds of wreaths. Wu Lang and Lian Xiaolong were standing in front of the wreath stall, unable to move.
Seeing this, Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng walked towards the wreath stall. Erniu also followed with Fang Xiaomei, and Zhong Yunfeng and Fang Xiaotong followed closely behind. The only young man left was Lu Tingfeng, who stood behind Mr. Cai without moving.
All the elders had smiles on their faces, but they didn't dare to go forward to join in the fun, so they stood not far away and waited.
"Boss, how much is this wreath?"
Seeing that everyone looked excited, Ye Changyan asked the vendor about the price.
"Young man, I have a wide variety of wreaths on my stall. There are five-cent ones, ten-cent ones, twenty-cent ones, and fifty-cent ones. You can pick whatever you like."
The vendor was quite clever. Seeing that Ye Changyan and his group were all teenagers and children, two of whom were dressed gorgeously and appeared to be from wealthy families, he just quoted a price in the hope of making a few more bucks.
"Boss, please tell us specifically which one is five cents and which one is fifty cents, so we can choose."
Ye Changyan saw through the other party's little thoughts at a glance and asked the vendor.
Seeing that he failed to scare the young man, the vendor smiled and began to introduce himself to everyone.
"This kind of wreath made of pure willow or vines costs five cents each. A wreath made of a single flower branch, such as peach blossom, crabapple blossom, or redbud, costs ten cents each. A wreath made of a mixture of peach blossom, crabapple blossom, redbud, or other flowers costs twenty cents each. Orchid wreaths and wreaths with peony flowers are a little more expensive, at fifty cents each."
Ye Changyan thought the price was not cheap, but the wreaths on the stall were very well made. There were many flowers on the wreaths, with few withered ones. Even the more delicate peach blossoms and weeping crabapples looked so gorgeous.
After hearing the price quoted by the vendor, Zhong Yunfeng hurriedly spoke to the crowd.
"Everyone pick one you like, I'll pay for it."
Wu Lang and Lian Xiaolong cheered when they heard it, and hurried forward to pick up the wreaths and try them on.
Wu Lang chose one at first sight, a wreath of purple bauhinia flowers and pink weeping crabapple flowers. He gently put it on his head and turned to ask everyone.
"Does it look good?"
Seeing that Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng both nodded, Wu Lang decided with satisfaction that he would take this one.
Wu Lang knew that his elder brother and elder brother Liang were both very talented in studying, and he also hoped that he could study as well as them, so he trusted Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng's vision.
Seeing that Wulang picked out the wreath he liked at once, Lian Xiaolong hurriedly pulled Wulang to help him choose. Wulang took out a wreath with peony flowers and put it on Lian Xiaolong's head. The child, who was a few years old, suddenly looked a little top-heavy.
Lian Xiaolong saw that everyone was laughing and knew that Wulang was teasing him. He quickly took off the peony wreath on his head and looked at Erniu for help.
Erniu looked at Lian Xiaolong's skin color and face shape, and helped him pick out a wreath of only weeping crabapples. She put it on Lian Xiaolong's head, which immediately made Lian Xiaolong's skin look much whiter. The wreath also matched Lian Xiaolong's round face very well.
Seeing that everyone was smiling, Lian Xiaolong naturally knew that he would look good in the wreath, so he decided to take the pink wreath.
Seeing Erniu also choosing at the stall, Ye Changyan pulled Liang Jingcheng over and asked him to help him pick one as well.
Liang Jingcheng was a little surprised to see Ye Changyan also wanted to pick a wreath, but when he saw Ye Changyan choosing on the stall with a smile on his face, Liang Jingcheng reached out without hesitation and picked up an orchid wreath decorated with three colors of yellow, pink and white at the innermost part of the stall.
When Ye Changyan saw the simple and elegant wreath, he was instantly impressed by Liang Jingcheng. Ye Changyan was afraid of damaging the simple and elegant wreath by extending his hand, so he squatted slightly and put his head close to Liang Jingcheng.
Liang Jingcheng was a little surprised for a moment. Ye Changyan's action seemed to want him to put the wreath on him. Seeing everyone's expectant eyes, Liang Jingcheng gently put the wreath on Ye Changyan's head.
Ye Changyan then raised his head and looked at Liang Jingcheng, as if asking Liang Jingcheng how he looked wearing the wreath.
Liang Jingcheng saw Ye Changyan's bright eyes looking at him, which seemed to be shining with dazzling light. Then he saw that the elegant and quiet orchid wreath just covered Ye Changyan's forehead, revealing two thick sword-like eyebrows. Liang Jingcheng felt his throat a little dry and couldn't help swallowing.