Taiping Inn

There is a widely circulated saying in the Western Regions: "Loulan City is a good place."

This is a very simple and true statement. Loulan City is indeed a good place. No matter from which angle, anyone can find their place here. The only drawback is that if you want to gain a foothold in Loulan City, you need a lot of money.

The Western Regions, a barbarian land in the eyes of the Central Plains, is also regarded as a remote place by the grassland people. There are no moral rules of the Central Plains, nor the doctrine of affection and righteousness of the grassland. They are only interested in profit.

The palace official has been here once, so she has a deep understanding of Loulan City. As soon as she saw the shadow of Loulan City, she talked about everything in Loulan City with Li Xuandu, and what she mentioned most was the women in Loulan City, regardless of the fact that she herself was also a woman.

When the palace official talked about women, it was completely a male tone, as if she was a familiar customer who had experienced the world for a long time, and stealing fragrance and jade was just a piece of cake.

The two entered the gate of East City smoothly. Loulan City was a prosperous city, protected by various forces. The gates were open day and night, but this was only the rule of East City. The gates of West City were very strict, and no one was allowed to enter.

According to the palace officials, although the buildings in West City were full of exotic styles, they were very bright and clean, which easily reminded people of Xijing, Dijing, Jinling and other places, but West City was very deserted, with few pedestrians and no human feelings. East City was the other extreme. Most of the houses in East City were dilapidated, and there were also a large number of temporary shanties. The streets were not as straight as those in West City, but were twisted into snakes by various sheds and stalls facing the street. The streets in West City were paved with bluestone slabs, and there would be no water even on rainy days. Most of the streets in East City were rugged and uneven. If it rained, there would be puddles and mud. But East City has an advantage that West City does not have anyway, that is, East City is very lively and crowded. People of all kinds gather here, including people from the Central Plains, grasslands, Western Regions, Kunlun slaves, Hu people, barbarians, black-haired, red-haired, yellow-haired, brown-haired, like a hodgepodge.

Li Xuandu rode a camel through the long city gate. The first thing that caught his eye was a wine shop. The wine seller was a woman. It seemed that this had become a routine in wine shops and inns. A beautiful proprietress was necessary to attract business. In Li Xuandu's eyes, the proprietress was not ugly, but the years had left indelible marks on her face. But in the eyes of a group of drunkards, the proprietress was like a fairy. From time to time, drinkers took the opportunity to buy wine to approach and chat with them. Some of them drank directly at the counter after buying wine, while looking at the little thoughts of taking advantage of a little advantage. However, the proprietress was a battle-hardened person. She had a sense of measure and knew how to advance and retreat properly, and always disappointed these guys who were not interested in wine.

Then they walked forward, past the wine shop and there was a brothel. Several Hu girls in thin clothes stood at the door, posing and showing their navels, shoulders, arms and collarbones. This surprised Li Xuandu, who came here from the world of etiquette in the Central Plains. He wondered what a Taoist master would think if he came here. Would he criticize them? Or become a guest? Or would he criticize them while being a guest?

At the same time, Li Xuandu also paid attention to the pedestrians coming and going. They were all kinds of people. Some walked on foot, some rode camels like them, and some sat on sedan chairs carried by many people. They were dressed in the same way. Some wore coarse linen clothes, and some wore silk and satin. Maybe many of these people were from West City who came to East City for fun. After all, although West City was good, it was too boring and far inferior to East City.

The palace official reached out and pulled Li Xuandu's sleeve, raised his hand and pointed at a gorgeous Hu Ji not far away, and whispered: "Do you want to try something new? Don't worry, I won't mind."

Li Xuandu immediately became alert. He didn't know what tricks the palace official was going to play, but he must be careful. Moreover, he would never believe that a woman's words were not true to her heart in some things, so he shook his head and replied: "I mind."

The palace official did not expect such an answer, and laughed, "Does Zifu have mysophobia?"

Li Xuandu did not answer, but just said: "Besides me, Susu will also mind."

The palace official said: "I really don't know whether to say that you are henpecked? Or are you calm in the face of temptation?"

Li Xuandu just laughed it off.

The palace official stopped teasing Li Xuandu and pointed to a deserted street not far away, saying, "I'll take you to a good place."

Li Xuandu looked over and found that the street was a little deserted compared to other streets. It extended all the way to the bottom of the city wall. Many shops were simple sheds built against the city wall, which were very simple.

The palace official did not wait for Li Xuandu's reply and went directly in that direction. Li Xuandu had to follow behind.

The two walked into the street one after the other. At this time, the sky was getting dark, but lights were lit all around. The lamp oil and candles seemed to be free, which actually created a bit of the momentum of a city that never sleeps.

The palace official came to the largest shop. There were two big men guarding the door. Judging from their appearance, they were very fierce and ferocious. They exposed their upper body and many scars, which could intimidate others.

In addition to maintaining order, the two gatekeepers were also responsible for confiscating the guests' weapons to prevent them from fighting in the store.

After both the palace officials and Li Xuan got off the camel, they opened their hands and signaled that they did not carry weapons, and then entered the store smoothly. As soon as he entered the door, Li Xuan felt a huge noisy wave coming towards him, with shouts, curses, the sound of smashing the table, and the sound of dice constantly hitting inside the dice cup.

Li Xuandu immediately understood that this was a gambling house. Is this a good place that the palace officials said? But I saw the palace official walking straight through the gambling house. I didn't expect that there was another world behind the gambling house. It was a restaurant lobby. There were many tables for people to sit and drink, in the position where they were originally a storyteller. , transformed into a high platform, three Hu Ji, who were wearing veils but exposed her arms and waist, were twisting her waist on the high platform. The drinkers under the high platform would applaud from time to time, and would also put the copper coins in their hands to the Throw it off the stage. If a rich man throws a gold coin or Taiping money from the Central Plains, the beards will salute and thank the guest.

It was obviously not the first time the palace official came. He took Li Xuandu straight to a remote corner. As soon as he sat down, a friend came forward to ask. The palace official first stretched out two fingers and then made another gesture. The man had already It was understood and turned around and left.

Li Xuandu sat opposite the palace official, and his impression of this place was not bad or good. He was a person who liked quietness, but he was very quiet and thoughtful. It would be different if he occasionally came to such a very noisy place. Feeling that, no matter what, these places are very popular. However, Li Xuandu Ye was sure that Qin Su must hate such places. She hated both noisy and hustle and bustle, as well as these people who seemed to be unfair.

The lights are brightly lit here, filled with tables of all sizes, and there are all kinds of drinkers sitting. The guys are busy and not messy.

Soon, the guy who asked the palace official went back and had an extra tray in his hand, with several plates of exquisite side dishes, two luminous wine glasses, and a delicate crystal bottle, which seemed to be filled with the Western Regions. wine.

It was not until this time that the palace official said, "The wine here is a unique one. It's not that the quality of the wine is. The key is that it has a complete range of varieties. You can drink Fenjiu, Huadiao, and Yellow Wine here, or on the grassland. Of course, popular spirits are also indispensable for the specialty of Western Regions wines and ale wines. I heard that they have also produced a new cider, made of a fruit called "Apple". There is no such fruit in the Central Plains. The wine is so sour, I haven't tasted it yet."

Li Xuandu said, "Are you here to drink?"

The palace official asked back, "What if it is?"

After that, she didn't care whether Li Xuan agreed or opposed it. She picked up the crystal bottle, pulled open the crystal bottle plug on it, and poured wine into the cup in front of Li Xuandu.

While pouring wine slowly, the palace official said, "You must pay attention to the wine utensils when drinking. You should use the wine glass if you drink Fenjiu. You should use a jade cup. Ancient people have a poem saying: "The jade bowl contains the light of amber." It can be seen that jade A bowl of jade cup can increase the color of the wine. As for wine, of course, you need to use a luminous cup. An ancient poem says: 'Grape wine is luminous cup, and you want to drink the pipa immediately. Don't laugh at me when you are drunk on the battlefield. How many people have returned from war since ancient times? 'Grape wine is in full bloom After entering the luminous cup, the color of the wine is no different from blood, and drinking is like drinking blood. It also echoes the words "I am determined to eat the meat of the barbarians when I am hungry and drink the blood of the Huns when I laughed and talked about thirsty," is not great?"

After saying that, the palace official just filled a glass of wine, not a drop, not a lot, and then she gave the luminous glass filled with wine to Li Xuandu again, "Drink!"

This "drink" is really as good as a man, and he is a little generous, which makes Li Xuan inexplicably remember Hu Liang. He was also so bold when he drank Hu Liang and drank together.

Thinking of the old friend, Li Xuan became interested. He picked up the wine glass and drank the bloody wine inside in one sip. He felt a little bitter and a little astringent. After the bitterness, he slowly smelled sweet and sour. It is similar to the feeling of being spicy and mellow after drinking Fenjiu.

Li Xuandu looked at the bottom of the cup and looked at the palace official.

The palace official was not polite, so he poured himself a cup, and he drank it all in one go, and he also took a picture of the bottom of the cup.

Just like that, the two of them started drinking one cup after another. After a while, the crystal bottle was empty, and Li Xuan didn't even feel anything, but the palace official was already flying on his cheeks, which was particularly bright and charming under the lights.

With the level of a palace official, of course he won’t get drunk easily. But there is an old saying that everyone is drunk without drinking.