Chapter 28

In ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with much more grandeur than it is today. Besides moon-watching and eating mooncakes, people would also worship the moon. Before the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, Yu Xu Zi had already arranged a large incense altar, on which were placed mooncakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, grapes, and other offerings. The watermelons were specially cut into lotus shapes. A statue of the Moon Goddess was placed in the center, flanked by red candles. Additionally, the entire Yu Xu Palace was adorned with various lanterns from front to back.

When the sky was completely dark and a bright, full moon rose into the sky, Fu Yao Zi led everyone in the palace to worship the moon. Afterward, a large homemade mooncake was divided equally among all the people in the palace, and each person enjoyed a piece together.

After eating the mooncakes, everyone gathered in a circle. The moonlight and lantern light illuminated the courtyard of the rear hall, making it bright and clear. People sipped fragrant tea and wine while admiring the bright moon in the sky. After chatting for a while, Wang Feng, always coming up with new ideas, suggested that everyone perform some programs for a Mid-Autumn Festival evening party. His suggestion was immediately welcomed by many of the time-travelers, and Fu Yao Zi and Yu Xu Zi were also quite curious to see what such an evening party would be like. Thus, the time-travelers with more artistic talents began to prepare busily. Long-unused cosmetics were applied to their faces, and modern clothes that hadn't been worn for a long time were put on (since they were mostly summer clothes, it was a bit cold to wear them in this season, but for the sake of artistic expression, everyone was willing to endure it). Those who wanted to sing were busy thinking of lyrics or finding others to sing with, those who wanted to dance were practicing their moves, and those who wanted to perform crosstalk were looking for partners. If it weren't for the fear of causing too much shock, those digital devices that had been dormant for several months might have been brought out to play music as accompaniment. However, Wang Feng secretly recorded the entire evening party with an MP3 player, which later allowed the four people who returned to Liangxiang City to make up for their absence by listening to the recording.

Amidst the bustling preparations, a unique and unprecedented Mid-Autumn Festival evening party began.

The first to come on stage was Hu Xueying, who, in addition to performing, also served as the announcer. She wore a sky-blue strapless top and a pleated skirt that barely reached her knees, with long stockings on her straight, well-proportioned legs and six-inch high heels. Standing on the steps in front of the main hall of the rear palace, her beautiful face, illuminated by the moonlight and lantern light, looked crystal clear and charming. The original Taoists in Yu Xu Palace, except for Fu Yao Zi and Yu Xu Zi, all gaped and stared at her cool and attractive outfit, their eyes almost falling out. Seeing this, Yu Xu Zi hurriedly recited "Boundless Life Buddha" to bring the disciples back from their petrified state. He originally wanted to suggest that Hu Xueying change her clothes, but he saw that her husband, Liang Ziyue, not only wasn't annoyed but also had an appreciative look on his face. Moreover, Wang Xiaojun had once said that due to their long stay abroad, many of their customs, ideas, and items were different from those in China, and there was no need to be surprised by them. So he held back his words.

Hu Xueying, seemingly unaware of the original Taoists' expressions, announced in her sweet, slightly trembling voice (due to the cold from wearing too little for the performance): "The Mid-Autumn Festival evening party of the third year of Yingli (953 AD) now begins. The first program is a song, 'Beside My Bed the Moonlight,' performed by Hu Xueying." She then opened her lips and began to sing the old song by Anita Mui.

"Is it you, hanging high in the sky for a thousand years, watching the partings and reunions of the world?"

"..."

"Beside my bed the moonlight, I wonder if it's frost on the ground. I raise my head to look at the moon, and bow my head to think of home."

"..."

All the original Taoists were familiar with Li Bai's "Thoughts on a Tranquil Night," but hearing Hu Xueying sing it softly, they realized that poetry could be sung in this way. When the song ended, everyone was still immersed in a faint homesickness.

After Hu Xueying finished singing, she felt that the mood of the audience had been affected and quickly announced the next program: "The next program is a crosstalk segment, 'Argument,' performed by Wang Feng and Liang Ziyue."

After the announcement, Wang and Liang walked up the steps and stood on either side. They didn't change their clothes and still wore their Taoist robes. This wasn't because they were lazy, but because they couldn't find any long gowns or jackets to wear. The original Taoists in the audience didn't know what "crosstalk" was, and they watched with great curiosity as the two men walked on stage.

Although Wang and Liang were performing together for the first time, they had both performed at their workplace's holiday gatherings before, and the segment they chose was simple—longer ones could easily involve issues related to the era, so they weren't nervous. Once on stage, they took their positions and began.

"Today's program is crosstalk."

"What? What are you doing?"

"Crosstalk."

"Crosstalk?"

"Yes."

"How do you eat crosstalk?"

"..."

The short segment was over in a few minutes. The audience, whether original Taoists or time-travelers, was laughing so hard they were bent over. The original Taoists, who had never seen such entertainment, were especially amused, some even holding their stomachs. The audience repeatedly asked for more, and after some discussion, the two performed a couple of solo segments. Of course, they chose ones that wouldn't involve issues related to the era.

Subsequently, several more song and dance performances were given. Although the lack of musical accompaniment reduced the effect, everyone still enjoyed them enthusiastically. The original Taoists also began to show interest. In the end, Qingchen performed a sword dance, and Yu Xu Zi played the guqin to accompany his disciple. The graceful sword dance won thunderous applause.

After Qingchen bowed and left the stage, Hu Xueying returned to announce the next program: "The next program is a song, 'When Did the Moon Appear,' performed by Zhu Xiaoyuan."

Wearing a white long dress, Zhu Xiaoyuan gracefully walked up the steps and began to sing the song by Faye Wong.

"When did the moon appear, I raise my cup to the blue sky. I wonder what year it is in the celestial palace. I wish to ride the wind and return, but I fear the cold at the height of the jade buildings. Dancing and playing with my clear shadow, how can it compare to being on earth?"

"Turning around the vermilion pavilion, lowering the embroidered window, shining on those who cannot sleep. There should be no resentment, why is it always full when we part? People have joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, the moon has its waxing and waning, this has been hard to perfect since ancient times. May we all live long, sharing the beauty of the moon from afar."

When the song ended, although Su Dongpo's poem was full of enthusiasm and a positive spirit, the time-travelers fell into silence. While the original Taoists could still share the moon with their families from afar, these time-travelers could only share the moon with their families for a thousand years, with no hope of ever returning home. They could only gaze at the moon in the sky, recalling the familiar faces of their loved ones.

After a while, Yu Xu Zi suddenly remembered something. The lyrics Zhu Xiaoyuan had sung seemed to be a poem in the "Shuidiao Getou" style, and it was a very high-quality poem. Although he wasn't an expert in poetry, he could tell the quality of a poem. He recalled the lyrics and became even more convinced that it was a poem, a wonderful one. However, he couldn't remember who had written it, so he stood up and approached Zhu Xiaoyuan, who had returned to her seat, and asked, "Sister Zhu, if I heard correctly, the lyrics you just sang are in the 'Shuidiao Getou' style. This 'When Did the Moon Appear' is a masterpiece. However, I can't remember who wrote it. It's not right to forget the author of such a masterpiece. If you know the author, I hope you can tell me."

This question stumped Zhu Xiaoyuan. As a fashion designer, she knew nothing about ancient poetry. She only knew the song because she liked Faye Wong. She had no idea who wrote the lyrics and didn't know how to answer, so she instinctively looked at her husband, Zhao Dawei. Zhao Dawei, sitting next to her, knew that the lyrics were written by Su Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty, but it was the early Later Zhou Dynasty, far from Su Shi's time. Moreover, he remembered that Su Shi wrote this poem in his middle age, which wouldn't happen for another hundred years. At this time, even Su Shi's grandfather might not have been born yet. If he said it was written by Su Shi, Yu Xu Zi would surely ask who Su Shi was and why he had never heard of such a talented poet. He wouldn't know how to answer.

Unable to think of a way to explain, he looked at Zhang Weixin, who was sitting a few seats away. He knew that Zhang Weixin was the most knowledgeable about history and ancient literature among the time-travelers and hoped he could help. In fact, as soon as Zhu Xiaoyuan started singing, Zhang Weixin had been silently blaming the fashion designer. He thought, "Why did you have to sing this one? The previous songs were fine, like 'Beside My Bed the Moonlight,' which was a poem by Li Bai. Singing Su Shi's poem might attract the attention of one of these literate Taoists." However, since she had already started, Zhang Weixin couldn't interrupt her and had to think of a way to smooth things over, but he couldn't come up with a good solution. When Yu Xu Zi asked Zhu Xiaoyuan about the author, Zhang Weixin knew he would have to handle it. Seeing Zhao Dawei looking at him, he kept his face calm and pretended to sip tea. Yu Xu Zi misunderstood and thought the poem was written by Zhang Weixin, so he asked, "Could this poem be written by Brother Zhang?"

This made everyone pause, and Zhao Dawei, like a man grasping at a lifeline, quickly agreed, "Brother, you guessed right. This poem was indeed written by Brother Weixin."

After hearing this, Zhang Weixin, who had been trying to think of a response, couldn't hold back and sprayed the tea he had just sipped. He turned to look at Zhao Dawei with a very conflicted expression, wondering why his good friend, who had always been friendly with him, would do this to him. Zhao Dawei ignored his look and acted as if it were true. Even worse, his so-called brothers, who usually called him by his name, also loudly agreed. Even Wang Xiaojun, his closest friend, nodded to Yu Xu Zi with a smile, which Zhang Weixin thought was a sinister smile.

After mentally cursing these "traitors" a thousand times, Zhang Weixin had to stand up awkwardly and bow to Yu Xu Zi, "Yes, this poem was written by me two years ago while I was celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival abroad. The words are clumsy, and I apologize for any offense."

Yu Xu Zi waved his hands, "Brother, you are too modest. Such a wonderful poem cannot be called clumsy. In my opinion, although poetry and lyrics are different, your talent in lyrics is no less than that of Li Bai and Du Fu in poetry."

Hearing his words, Zhang Weixin was at a loss. If he disagreed, Su Shi's reputation was no less than that of Li Bai and Du Fu. If he agreed, wouldn't he be considered a great poet on the level of Li Bai and Du Fu? How would he face similar situations in the future? He couldn't keep copying, as it went against his values. After much thought, he could only vaguely agree and change the subject, managing to get Yu Xu Zi to let it go. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and gritted his teeth, planning to have a serious talk with his "good friend" later.

However, the poetry performance, though it had put Zhang Weixin in an awkward position, did help to ease the homesickness. The party continued, and everyone performed more programs until the moon was high in the sky and it was the third watch of the night before they returned to their rooms to rest.