Do you know: I’m Xu Jiazi

The sun sets over the western mountains,

The sky is still bright,

After the weather gets hotter,

There are fruit vendors on both sides of the streets in Bianjing as in previous years.

"New peaches~sweet and juicy new peaches~"

"Papaya~"

"Take a look at the newly made rice dumplings~"

In the cry of selling,

In front of the fine saddle on the horse's back on the street, a hand tied with a fine rope gently reined in the mount.

"Xu~! Wulang, what's wrong?"

Zai Zhang, who was following him, looked at Xu Zaijing beside him with confusion.

Xu Zaijing pointed to a three-story restaurant on the street and said, "Brother, downstairs is Dong Rong, my cousin's personal attendant."

After hearing this, Zai Zhang stood up on the horse and leaned over to take a look: "It's true."

As he spoke, Zai Zhang waved and shouted: "Dongrong~"

Dong Rong, who was about to enter the restaurant at the door, looked back, then walked over quickly, bowed and saluted: "I've met my uncle, Wu Lang."

"Father-in-law is here?"

"Back to my aunt, my lord and old friends from Yangzhou are having a banquet in the building today."

Zai Zhang looked up at the bustling restaurant. After thinking for a moment, he took off the purse from his waist and threw it into Dong Rong's hands: "Well! I'll give you some extra dishes or some good wine, and tell your father-in-law that I will Not going up."

Dongrong felt the weight of the purse in his hand and quickly bowed and said: "Yes, uncle."

Zai Zhang nodded, waved his hand and led Xu Zaijing away.

Watching Xu Zaijing walk away, Dongrong turned around and entered the restaurant.

Private room on the third floor,

The waiter in the restaurant is serving food.

Sheng Hong was wearing casual clothes and sitting at the table facing the door.

Sitting across the table was Mr. Zhizhou Hong, Sheng Hong's boss when they were in Yangzhou dock, and they had handled the Yuan family's affairs together before.

Next to him is Mr. Liu Fuming, who worked at Dali Temple in the same year as Sheng Hong.

"You guys, please take it easy."

After serving the food, the waiter took the tray and bowed before exiting the private room and closing the door.

Mr. Hong, who looked gloomy, raised his glass:

"Come on, Brother Sheng, let me toast you."

Sheng Hong quickly waved his hand: "Hey! Mr. Ming, you and I have worked together in Yangzhou for many years, and you have taken great care of me. How can you call me brother! Just like in Yangzhou."

Mr. Hong shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Now I can't bear your 'Ming Gong' anymore. If Brother Sheng doesn't dislike it, can you call me brother?"

"Brother Hong!"

As he spoke, Sheng Hong raised the wine cup and touched it with Mr. Hong.

Mr. Hong had another drink with Mr. Liu beside him and sighed: "It's funny to say that since this humiliating incident happened at home, I haven't had a drink outside for a long time."

Mr. Liu held the dish between his hands and said, "Brother Hong, the news about our family has spread all over Tokyo. It's a blessing that you haven't been demoted by His Majesty."

Mr. Hong nodded, filled the wine cup with emotion, raised it up and said, "Thanks to Brother Sheng for saying some kind words for me."

Sheng Hong said with some embarrassment: "Brother Hong was loyal to state affairs in Yangzhou, I just told the truth. Speaking of which, the promotion of officials in the southeast was once suppressed by His Majesty, and Brother Hong's official career was hindered after entering Beijing. "

Mr. Hong drank a glass of wine depressedly. After calming down, he poured wine and raised his glass, saying: "I have made up my mind to listen to Brother Sheng's suggestion and go to Bai Gao's hometown, hoping to make some achievements there. "

Mr. Liu raised his glass and said: "Brother Hong, I think this encounter is a blessing in disguise! With Brother Sheng's connections, wouldn't you be able to show off your talents in the northwest?"

"Hey, Brother Liu is serious!" Sheng Hong quickly waved his hand.

The three of them drank a glass together and put down the wine cups.

"Dong dong."

"Enter."

Dong Rong bowed and walked in, saying a few words in Sheng Hong's ear.

After Dongrong left, Sheng Hong smiled and said to the two of them, "My son-in-law just got out of school and bought this delicious meal for us."

Mr. Hong looked embarrassed: "This, how can this be done!"

Sheng Hong waved his hand and said, "It's okay."

With that said, the three of them continued to exchange cups.

It's getting dark,

Mr. Hong also drank too much to relieve his sorrow at this time: "I just found out about my daughter. I really wanted to beat her to death, but her mother tried her best to stop her, so I had no choice but to let it go."

Master Liu nodded and said, "When Brother Hong goes to his hometown of Bai Gao, thousands of miles away from Beijing, he will just find a good family."

Mr. Hong exhaled: "Speaking of which, I am also ashamed of Old Mrs. Bai. This marriage is still held by Old Mrs. Bai and Mrs. Gu Hou. Who knows. Alas!"

Sheng Hong asked with some confusion: "Brother Hong, you came to Bianjing not long ago, how could your niece do this?"

Mr. Hong punched the table hatefully and said depressedly: "Brother Sheng, you should know that my eldest wife has some relationship with the Wei family of Fu'an Hou. After coming to Beijing, she often hangs out with cousins ​​from the Wei family, the Ma family, the Sha family and the Han family. The girls went outside the city to play polo."

"After all this time, it's because I lacked discipline on her. Alas!"

Mr. Hong shook his head and drank another glass of wine.

Mr. Liu nodded: "The families who play with the Korean public boys all like to play polo."

In fact, after what happened to the Hong family's daughter, the general story of what happened was spread.

Today's conversation is nothing more than telling things over again.

Bianjing,

Dunjiaofang in the outer city,

The big house of the Sheng family,

Backyard,

The eldest lady, Mrs. Li, was calculating accounts by candlelight.

"Crack."

The ledger was closed forcefully.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

Pinlan, who was talking quietly to her sister Shulan, asked.

"fine."

, Mrs. Li got up and walked out directly after finishing speaking.

Come and stand in the courtyard,

"Go, send someone to call Mother Bian."

"Yes, madam."

While waiting,

There are unknown insects chirping softly in the yard,

Just to the faint noise of the market coming from outside the yard,

Soon a lantern came over.

"Lady."

The woman bowed and said.

Mrs. Li glanced at the candlelight in the room and whispered: "What's going on with the Sun family? It's only been a few months and nearly 1,500 guan of silver has been spent."

"Back to the eldest lady, Grandma Sun said that my future uncle will participate in poetry gatherings in Bianjingzhong, and sometimes ask Confucian scholars for advice. He often comes to the accounting office to withdraw some money."

"The older girl agreed."

Mrs. Li took a deep breath and was about to say something when the sound of walking came from the moon gate.

After a while,

Sheng Wei took Sheng Changwu and his personal entourage into the yard.

Mrs. Li waved to Mama Bian, and Mama Bian turned and left.

"Chang Wu, is your father drinking again?"

The muscular Sheng Changwu nodded.

Sheng Wei, smelling of alcohol, waved his hand: "It's okay, I didn't drink much! Why did you call the Bian family here at this hour?"

Mrs. Li hesitated to speak.

"Um?"

Sheng Wei asked with a frown.

Mrs. Li looked back at the room and said softly: "The scholars of the Sun family have spent a thousand and fifteen guans in the past few days since they came to Bianjing."

Sheng Wei put his hands behind his back and said, "It's not much. That scholar Zhuang in Brother Hong's school needs more than three thousand strings a year."

Mrs. Li frowned and looked at her officials, and said with some shame: "These are the expenses Sun Xiucai spent attending the Poetry Society."

Sheng Wei was stunned: "Before, the Sun family was afraid of people gossiping, so they didn't live in our house. We rented it to another family. Now that we have spent all this money, we still haven't hired a husband?"

Mrs. Li nodded.

Sheng Wei shook his head and said in a particularly stern tone: "How do you care about this?"

Mrs. Li looked troubled: "Here, I am a woman who doesn't know about studying."

Chang Wu on the side said in a deep voice: "Father, mother! Chang Bai and Chang Feng from my uncle's school, as well as several children from the Duke's family, have all passed the college examination and become scholars."

"I heard from my second grandmother before that those people have to sit in class at Mao hour every day and have been studying hard at You hour."

"As for the Sun Xiucai you found for eldest sister, I have never seen him work so hard!"

After saying that,

Chang Wu, who was also drunk, rubbed his sleeves.

Mrs. Li said: "But, after all, he became a scholar at the age of twelve. After he became a scholar, the fortune-telling Taoist priests all over the world said that he was the prime minister!"

Chang Wu shook his head and wiped his forehead: "We should find the Taoist priest and ask him to give Sun Xiucai another hexagram!"

Sheng Wei looked at his eldest son angrily and said, "What nonsense? How can we find such a wandering Taoist priest after so long?"

Chang Wu curled his lips and said: "Father, you have stayed in Beijing for a long time and you have seen a lot. Which one of the Jinshi who passed the imperial examination did not study hard! Look at the people in the school at the second grandmother's house. The young master of the Qi family and Chang Feng passed the imperial examination. He's not much older than Sun Xiucai!"

Sheng Wei also studied in Bianjing with Sheng Hong when he was a child.

The place where I first studied was the private school of Ling Guogong Lu’s family.

But because the students in the private school were too dirty, he went elsewhere.

Sheng Wei pondered for a moment: "It is common for people in their twenties and thirties to pass the imperial examination. Don't be too anxious! Let's see again!"

"Father, I still remember that you told me that Uncle Hong's articles by Sun Xiucai are not as good as Brother Feng's. Have you sent any of the articles that Zhuang Xuexue has pointed out these days?"

Sheng Wei shook his head: "I've been busy with my family business these days, so I haven't asked about this matter yet."

"Mother?"

Mrs. Li shook her head in embarrassment: "I sent it a few times in March, but Sun Xiucai stopped sending it after reading the comments sent back."

After hearing this, Sheng Wei said: "Oh! Brother Hong will take a rest in two days. I will go and talk to him again."

inside the house,

by the window,

Pinlan, who was standing by the table, held the teapot with her hand in mid-air and began to pour herbal tea by herself.

"Pinlan, the tea hasn't been poured yet?"

"Sister, here we come."

A few days later,

It's time (ten o'clock in the morning)

Chaoyun Pavilion,

Gorgeous doorway and colorful downstairs,

Liang Han dismounted sideways with a smug look on his face.

Following him, several Bianjing boys who were close to him raised their eyebrows.

Then, these Bianjing boys looked at one of them with a smile on their faces.

A young boy took the horses of Liang Han and others away.

Liang Han took the fishing cart with him and walked to Qiao Jiulang who was surrounded by everyone.

Holding Qiao Jiulang's shoulders, Liang Han looked at the tall wooden stairs of Chaoyun Pavilion and said, "Jiulang, do you know why I brought you here, brother?"

Qiao Jiulang looked at the expressions of other people on the side, shook his head and said, "Liu Lang, why?"

Liang Han patted Qiao Jiu on the shoulder and said, "You'll know when you come in."

After Liang Han finished speaking, the teenagers around him smiled maliciously.

Afterwards, everyone entered the building.

It's morning now,

The wooden building of Chaoyun Pavilion does not have the appearance of people living in a state of debauchery and revelry like after dark.

There were only a few musicians playing their instruments gently in the building.

On the stage where the female musicians danced in the evening, only the opera troupe was adjusting their instruments. The whole building looked quite elegant.

At this time,

A mother in the building blinked her dry eyes and brought someone over: "Oh, Mukuro, why are you here at this time! The girls are all resting!"

Liang Han smiled and waved his hands and said, "That's okay. I heard from Mother Ruan that you have a housekeeper here who is called 'Little Yun Niang'?"

Hearing Liang Han's words, Qiao Jiu's eyes widened, and she turned around and walked out.

As a result, he was blocked by several people around him.

Chaoyun Pavilion's mother waved her handkerchief and said with a smile: "Mother Ruan is really well-informed. To tell the truth to Liu Lang, we do have a Qinghuan here, but it is a bit difficult to see you young masters today."

Liang Han was stunned: "Why is that? Haven't you started accepting customers yet?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Qiao Jiu next to him.

The mother smiled awkwardly: "This"

"Here, as you say, I can still talk to you in Bianjing." Liang Han continued.

"Hi, there is a customer who spent some money on this 'Little Yun Niang' in our building. After drinking yesterday, he asked the girl to sleep with him. Oops~ The girl didn't obey, so she was slapped on the face. It’s still swollen now!”

Liang Han regretfully looked at the others except Qiao Jiu, and was about to say something and leave when Qiao Jiu in the crowd said, "How much money did this guy spend to sleep with this girl?"

"A lot of money is worth a thousand dollars."

After the mother finished speaking,

Liang Han smiled and said to Qiao Jiu: "Compared to you, he is really far behind. How did you deal with that person?"

Hearing this, Chaoyun Pavilion's mother looked at Qiao Jiu with regret in her eyes.

That Yun Niang who worked under Mother Ruan squeezed almost five or six thousand guan from Qiao Jiulang, but she envied them.

"So you called me here just to tease me?"

Qiao Jiu frowned.

Liang Han said with a bad smile: "What else? I'll treat you later?"

Qiao Jiu: "Me!"

Looking at the noble young man in front of him after he finished speaking, he covered his yawn with his handkerchief. The brothel mother continued: "We didn't dare to deal with that guest, so we invited him to the guest room and sent a girl to sleep with him. Who Let people say that I still have some relationship with Yongyi Hou Mansion? "

"What?"

Liang Han and others were surprised.

At the entrance of Chaoyun Pavilion,

Sheng Wei got off the carriage, looked at the middle-aged man with a smile on his face and said, "Outside the Tian Yuan, why are we here?"

"I heard that Brother Sheng's ancestral home is Yangzhou. This Chaoyun Pavilion is quite elegant during the day. Today there happens to be an opera troupe from the south. Let's listen and chat at the same time. It's considered an elegant thing."

Sheng Wei nodded: "Tian Yuan is interested, please."

"please."

The two of them talked and entered the building.

Under the guidance of the steward in the building, he walked towards the second floor.

There was a shout from a young man whose voice was changing.

"I grew up with Xu Jiawulang, why haven't I seen you?"

"You thief, what kind of relative are you from the Hou family? Tell me!"

"Don't ruin the good reputation of my brother Wulang!"

During this period, a man trembled and said: "Let go! I have no enmity with you, so don't grab my quilt!"

The steward who was guiding them forced a smile and said: "The two distinguished guests are the children of several princes in the capital and are having fun in the building. Please come here."

"Brother Sheng?"

Tian Yuan smiled and looked at Sheng Wei, the big customer, and said doubtfully.

Sheng Wei waved his hands with a straight face: "Let's go over and take a look."

When walking that way,

I happened to hear someone say: "You thief, you want to sleep with someone for spending thousands of dollars, you are so crazy."

"You, you are really degrading to gentlemen! Give me back my clothes!"

Hearing this,

Looking at the brothel woman running out of the room, covering her chest,

Sheng Wei's face became very ugly.

"You have been visiting a brothel, and you still talk to me politely. You are really degrading politeness."

A young man retorted loudly.

At this time, Sheng Wei came over.

Qiao Jiu at the door looked sideways at Sheng Wei and the others and asked, "What are you doing?"

In the room, someone who was holding the quilt by Liang Han listened to Qiao Jiu's voice and looked around. When he saw Sheng Wei clearly at the door, the man trembled: "Sheng, I, Yue, is not."