Chapter 24: The Three Beauties of the Imperial Capital

What's not worth it?

Wang Yang was confused and didn't dare to sit down rashly. The fat teenager thought Wang Yang didn't listen to his advice and tried to persuade him earnestly:

"Let me tell you, this trick has been used before. Yin Little Xiao Wu of the Chen Jun Yin family, he also changed his clothes to bump into a carriage, and what happened? His legs were broken! And he went to the officials! Not to mention his father is the Assistant to the Governor (Assistant to the Governor) in the state, even if he were a son of the Yin family, there is no reason to be beaten for nothing! As a result, not only was he beaten for nothing, but he was also caught and locked in prison for six or seven days!"

Wang Yang knew there was a misunderstanding as soon as he heard it. The little fat boy must have seen him dressed ordinarily and heard the Black Man call him "Young Master," so he thought he was deliberately changing clothes. He just didn't know what he meant by bumping into a carriage.

He wanted to inquire about the situation of the Jingzhou gentry, so he didn't explain and sat down, pretending to be shocked: "Assistant to the Governor is a high official!"

The officials of the state government in the Six Dynasties were divided into upper and lower assistants. Officials like Changshi, Sima, Biejia, and Assistant to the Governor were the top officials under the Inspector, also called "High-ranking" or "High-ranking," and their status was respected.

Lu Su once evaluated Pang Tong, saying: "Pang Shiyuan is not a hundred-mile talent, if he is placed in the position of Assistant to the Governor or Biejia, he will begin to show his talent." "Assistant to the Governor" means "Assistant to the Governor." He is in charge of documents for all departments, ranking second only to Biejia.

"So what? I am Le Pang of the Yuyang Le family, son of the Jingzhou Biejia, and I still can't get close!" The fat teenager shook his head, drank a cup of wine, and sighed: "Heaven can see, I am not an old hand like Yin Little Xiao Wu who seeks flowers and asks for willows. I sincerely admire Xie Lady! I have kept a letter in my bosom for two months, but I haven't even had a chance to deliver it!"

"Niangzi" was an honorific for women at that time, like "Miss" in later generations.

Wang Yang found it funny to see the fat teenager pretending to be mature and sighing, and asked curiously: "Who is Xie Niangzi?"

The fat teenager was a bit angry: "I'm doing this for your own good, stopping you and telling you the inside story, and you're still pretending with me? If you want to go, go, no one cares about you!"

This little fat boy seemed to be a straightforward person.

Wang Yang wanted to ask for details, but if he said he was passing by by chance and had nothing to do with this matter, the little fat boy might not be willing to talk to him.

Firstly, if he was just passing by, then there would be no such thing as changing clothes. The little fat boy was a gentry, would he be willing to chat with a commoner?

Secondly, since it had nothing to do with this matter, why would people chat with you? Besides, wouldn't his good intentions of stopping and explaining be in vain?

Wang Yang lowered his voice, his eyes full of sincerity:

"Brother, don't be angry, I really don't know. I'm not a local, I came here because I lost a bet with someone. Thanks to your reminder, otherwise I would have suffered a big loss today!"

Wang Yang saw a pot of wine, a dish of broad beans, and a dish of walnut kernels on the table, so he said:

"I'll treat this table of wine to thank you!" He also greeted: "Shopkeeper! Two more side dishes!"

The Black Man's body trembled. Money was already tight, and the clothes hadn't been bought yet, and the Young Master actually wanted to treat guests!

Sigh, this matter originally had nothing to do with the Young Master. If he wants to treat, let him treat. If he can't pay back the money, I'll fight Third Master Du to the death, and it's best to think of a way to destroy the contract before I die, so I won't implicate the Young Master again.

"No need, no need, what's there to eat here? If it weren't for the geographical advantage, who would come here to eat? After watching Xie Lady, let's go to 'Judixiang' to eat." The little fat boy arched his hands at Wang Yang: "Yuyang Le Pang, courtesy name Zigao."

Wang Yang also arched his hands: "Langya Wang Yang, courtesy name Zhiyan."

Le Pang was shocked: "You are from the Langya Wang family! Then what is Wang Tai to you?"

"Just the same clan." Wang Yang said simply, then pulled the topic back: "By the way, what is going on with that Xie Niangzi?"

"You are from the Langya Wang family, and you don't know Xie Fourth Lady of the Xie family, who doesn't lose the style of Xie Daoyun of the Jin Dynasty? Don't you live in Jiankang?"

Jiankang is today's Nanjing, and it was also the capital of the Southern Qi. It was the gathering place of the top-tier noble families.

Wang Yang's mind turned and said: "I am a distant branch of the Wang family and cannot live in Wuyi Lane."

Wuyi Lane was the gathering place of the Wang and Xie families in the capital during the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties. The Wang and Xie children living there were also called "Wuyi Zhulang" or "Wuyi children."

Wang Yang wanted to use this sentence to show that he was a relatively marginal branch of the Wang family. But he knew only one thing and not the other. In fact, the Wang family branch in Wuyi Lane was not the most noble and prosperous branch of the Langya Wang family, and could only be counted as second-rate.

Of course, the "second-rate" of the Langya Wang family was still a "top-tier" existence compared to the vast majority of noble families. Even in the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yuxi still sighed at Wuyi Lane: "The swallows in front of the Wang and Xie halls in the past, flew into the homes of ordinary people." Using the swallows of the Wang and Xie families flying away to represent the end of the era of top-tier noble families in the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties.

Le Pang heard Wang Yang admit that he was a distant branch of the Wang family, and suddenly had a good impression of him:

"I haven't been to Jiankang either. But I heard that Xie Fourth Lady is very famous in the capital. She is the only daughter of Xie Fei. You know Xie Fei, right? He was just promoted to Secretariat Director (Secretariat Director) this year."

Wang Yang helped Le Pang talk: "So it's the Prime Minister's daughter."

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, except for the Three Dukes, the heads of the Minister and Zhongshu provinces could be called Prime Ministers. Secretariat Director was the head of the Zhongshu province.

Thanks to the fact that the political systems of the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties were mostly inherited, otherwise, with Wang Yang's unfamiliarity with the history of the Southern Qi, he wouldn't even be able to chat smoothly.

The little fat boy liked to talk about this topic very much and said excitedly:

"That's right. Otherwise, even if she is from the Chen Jun Xie family, she couldn't make the Yin family eat this dumb loss! But she is not famous because of her status as a Prime Minister's daughter, but because of her peerless beauty and unparalleled talent. Together with the daughter of the Marquis of Xichang and the younger sister of Shen Pingdong, they are collectively known as the 'Three Beauties of the Imperial Capital'!"

"It is said that the Peng Cheng Princess of the Northern Barbarians was the most beautiful in the world and was most proud of her appearance! After hearing the names of the Three Beauties, she inserted a painter into the diplomatic mission, secretly drew the portraits of the three women. After the mission returned to the country, she brought back three portraits. After she saw the first one, her smile disappeared, after seeing the second one, her expression was listless, and after seeing the third one, her appetite greatly decreased, and she didn't speak for several days!"

Le Pang said excitedly, even forgetting the convention of adding the word "pseudo" before the Peng Cheng Princess of the Northern Dynasty. However, it was just idle talk among the people, so he wasn't afraid of being picked on.

Wang Yang didn't believe this at all, thinking that the person who made up this story did it to "promote our national prestige," so he arranged for the Three Beauties to hit the Northern Princess. However, the fame of the Three Beauties could be imagined.

Le Pang raised his head slightly, as if imagining: "If I could see the Three Beauties, I would be willing to let the Zhongzheng official rank me as third or fourth grade!"

Nine-Rank Official System. Wang Yang thought secretly. It seems the little fat boy hasn't been ranked yet, and naturally hasn't become an official.

"It's a pity. The daughter of the Marquis of Xichang rarely goes out, and General Shen is now the Inspector of Yingzhou, so he must have taken his sister with him. I have no chance with these two."

Le Pang had just finished sighing when someone in the wine shop shouted: "They're here, they're here!"

Everyone held their breath, stretched their necks, and looked out the window. Le Pang also ignored Wang Yang and looked out excitedly.

Wang Yang followed everyone's gaze and saw a delicate and elegant ox cart parked at the entrance of a small alley across the street. Although the cart wasn't big, the cart canopy was made of simple and beautiful satin, and tassels and ornaments hung from the four corners.

The cart body was carved with beautiful patterns, and the lacquer colors flashed with restrained and soft light in the sun.

Four men stood outside the ox cart, wearing green clothes and small hats, with short sticks at their waists, their expressions alert.

After waiting for a while, the ox cart didn't move. It turned out to be a false alarm; Xie Niangzi hadn't gotten on the cart yet.

Everyone sighed in unison, feeling that their emotions had been wasted, and began to angrily investigate the person who "reported false military intelligence."

Wang Yang saw the scene of Le Yue Xiao Pang and a group of teenagers sighing together, and almost couldn't help laughing.

Actually, it's understandable. Where in the ancient times was there such comprehensive audio-visual technology as in modern society, where you can see as many beauties as you want as long as you want to see them? In ancient times, it wasn't easy to even get a glimpse from afar, so it's no wonder these "star-chasing teenagers" were so "fanatical."

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Note: ① In the modern context, the word "Romantic/debauched" (romantic/debauched) is mostly associated with derogatory meanings. This is the result of the narrowing of the word's connotation. In fact, in ancient times, especially in the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, "Romantic/debauched" did not just mean affairs between men and women, but more often described the demeanor of famous scholars. However, Xie An's act of keeping prostitutes was indeed a bit "romantic."

② Some scholars believe that "Lady" specifically referred to unmarried women before the Song Dynasty, which is not necessarily true. Liu Zongyuan's "Sacrifice to the Niece of the Cui Family" begins with "Uncle Zongyuan, sacrificing to the spirit of the twenty-sixth Lady." This niece was married. For example, "Chaoye Qianzai": "Liang Renyu was a general of the Captain, first favored a maid, his wife Li was very jealous and abusive, tied the maid and hit her head. The maid cried out: 'I am humble, not free, Lady locks my neck, how bitter!'" This "Lady" is the maid's address to the mistress, and she is also married. However, the literature cited above is all from the Tang Dynasty. As for the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the literature is insufficient to determine whether "Lady" specifically referred to unmarried girls at that time.

③ The Book of Rites says: "A man is capped at twenty and given a courtesy name." This is the ideal state of the Zhou Rites. But even in the Spring and Autumn period, there were people who didn't follow it, and after the Wei Jin Dynasties, it became even more like empty words. There were many who took courtesy names for children under ten, and even examples of taking courtesy names as soon as they were born. For example, Book of Jin, Biography of Ruan Fu: "When Fu was born, his aunt took Wang Yanshou's 'Rhapsody on the Lingguang Hall of Lu' and said 'Hu people gather on the pillars' and used it as his courtesy name." ===== CHAPTER 25 =====