Chapter 479

The sun set behind the western mountains,

The sky was still bright,

After the weather turned hot,

There were fruit vendors on both sides of the streets in Bianjing, just like in previous years.

"Fresh peaches~ sweet and juicy fresh peaches~"

"Papaya~"

"Freshly wrapped zongzi, come take a look~"

Amidst the hawking,

On the back of a fine horse on the street, in front of the exquisite saddle, a hand tied with a beautiful hundred-knot cord pulled the reins of the mount gently.

"Whoa~! Fifth Young Master, what is wrong?"

Following on the side, Xu Zaihang looked at Xu Zaijing on the side with confusion.

Xu Zaijing stretched out his finger and pointed to a three-story restaurant by the street, saying: "Brother, that is Uncle's personal guard, Dong Rong, downstairs."

Hearing this, Xu Zaihang stood up on the horse's back, leaned forward, and looked: "It really is."

As he spoke, Xu Zaihang waved and shouted: "Dong Rong~"

Dong Rong, who was about to enter the restaurant at the entrance, looked back, then walked over quickly, bowed, and cupped his hands in a salute: "Greetings, Son-in-law, Fifth Young Master."

"Is Father-in-law here?"

"Replying to Son-in-law, the Master and his old acquaintances from Yang Zhou are drinking and feasting in the building today."

Xu Zaihang looked up at the lively and noisy restaurant, pondered for a moment, then took off the purse at his waist and threw it into Dong Rong's hand: "Hmm! Add a dish for the gentlemen or serve some good wine. Tell Father-in-law that I will not go up."

Dong Rong felt the weight of the purse in his hand and hurriedly bowed: "Yes, Son-in-law."

Xu Zaihang nodded, waved his hand, and left directly with Xu Zaijing.

Watching Xu Zaijing and the other leave, Dong Rong turned and entered the restaurant.

In the private room on the third floor,

The restaurant waiter was serving dishes,

Sheng Hong was wearing casual clothes, sitting in front of the table facing the door,

Sitting opposite him was the person who had handled the Yuan family affair at the Yang Zhou wharf together, Sheng Hong's superior when he was in Yang Zhou—Prefect Master Hong,

And on the side was Master Liu Fuming, who worked at the Court of Judicial Review in the same year as Sheng Hong.

"Gentlemen, please enjoy."

After serving the dishes, the waiter bowed with a tray and exited the private room, closing the door.

Master Hong, with a depressed face, raised his wine cup:

"Come, Brother Sheng, I toast you a cup."

Sheng Hong hurriedly waved his hand: "Eh! My lord, you and I have worked together in Yang Zhou for many years, and you have taken great care of me. How can you call me brother! Just call me as you did in Yang Zhou."

Master Hong shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Now I can no longer bear your 'my lord'. If Brother Sheng does not mind, just call me brother?"

"Brother Hong!"

As he spoke, Sheng Hong raised his wine cup and clinked it with Master Hong.

After Master Hong drank a cup with Master Liu on the side, he sighed: "It is ridiculous to say that since the family affair that disgraced the family occurred, I have not drunk outside for a long time."

Master Liu picked up a dish and said: "Brother Hong, the family affair has spread throughout the capital. It is a blessing that you have not been reprimanded or demoted by His Majesty."

Master Hong nodded, filled his wine cup with emotion, raised it, and said: "It is also thanks to Brother Sheng for saying a few good words for me."

Sheng Hong said with some embarrassment on his face: "Brother Hong was loyal to state affairs in Yang Zhou; I just said some truths. Speaking of which, the promotion of officials in the southeast was suppressed by His Majesty before, and Brother Hong's official career was hindered after entering the capital..."

Master Hong drank a cup of wine in depression, adjusted his emotions, poured wine, raised his cup, and said: "I have made up my mind to follow Brother Sheng's suggestion and go to the old land of Bai Gao, hoping to achieve some results there."

Master Liu raised his cup and said: "Brother Hong, I think this encounter is a blessing in disguise! With Brother Sheng's relationship, can you not show your skills in the northwest?"

"Eh, Brother Liu, you speak too solemnly!" Sheng Hong hurriedly waved his hand.

The three drank a cup together, and when they put down their wine cups,

"Knock, knock."

"Enter."

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

After Dong Rong left, Sheng Hong smiled and said to the two: "My son-in-law just finished school and bought this feast for us."

Master Hong looked embarrassed: "This, how can this be!"

Sheng Hong waved his hand: "It is fine."

As he spoke, the three continued to drink.

The sky was already dark,

Master Hong was also drinking a bit too much to drown his sorrows: "Just knowing about my daughter's affair, I really wanted to beat her to death, but her mother blocked me desperately, so it could only be left unsettled."

Master Liu nodded and said: "After Brother Hong goes to the old land of Bai Gao, thousands of miles away from the capital, just find a good family."

Master Hong exhaled: "Speaking of which, I am also ashamed of Old Master Bai. This marriage was still mediated by Old Master Bai and the Marquis Gu's wife. Who knew... Sigh!"

Sheng Hong asked with some confusion: "This, Brother Hong, you have not been in Bianjing for long, how could that niece..."

Master Hong slammed the table hatefully and said in depression: "Brother Sheng should know that my wife has some relationship with the Fu'an Hou Wei family. After entering the capital, she often went to play chuiwan and polo outside the city with the Wei family's cousins, the Ma family, the Sha family, and the Han family's young ladies..."

"One thing led to another... It is also my lack of discipline for her. Sigh!"

Master Hong shook his head and drank another cup of wine.

Master Liu nodded: "The families that play with the Han Duke's boy all like to play polo."

In fact, after the Hong family daughter's affair, the general process of the matter had already spread.

Today's conversation was just saying the matter again.

Bianjing,

Outer city Dun Sect Ward,

Sheng family main house,

Back courtyard,

The main wife, Li Daniangzi, was calculating accounts under the candlelight,

"Clap."

The account book was closed forcefully.

"Mother, what is wrong?"

Pinlan, who was whispering to her sister Shulan, asked.

"Nothing."

After Li Daniangzi finished speaking, she stood up directly and walked out.

Arriving in the courtyard and standing still,

"Go, send someone to call Bian Mama over."

"Yes, Daniangzi."

During the waiting time,

Unknown insects were chirping softly in the courtyard,

Along with the faint noise of the marketplace coming from outside the courtyard,

Soon a lantern walked toward this side.

"Daniangzi."

The woman bowed and said.

Li Daniangzi looked at the candlelight in the room and said in a low voice: "What is going on with the Sun family scholar!? It has only been a few months, and he has spent nearly 1,500 strings of cash."

"Replying to Daniangzi, Sun Mama said that the future son-in-law wants to participate in the poetry gatherings in Bianjing, and sometimes needs to consult great scholars for knowledge, so he often comes to the account room to draw some money."

"It was all permitted by the eldest young lady."

Li Daniangzi took a deep breath, and just as she was about to say something, the sound of walking came from the moon gate.

Before long,

Sheng Wei brought Sheng Changwu and his personal guard into the courtyard.

Li Daniangzi waved her hand at Bian Mama, and Bian Mama turned and left.

"Changwu, did your father drink again?"

The sturdy Sheng Changwu nodded.

Sheng Wei waved his hand with the smell of alcohol: "It is fine, I did not drink much! Why did you call the Bian family over at this hour?"

Li Daniangzi stopped speaking.

"Hmm?"

Sheng Wei asked with a frown.

Li Daniangzi looked back at the room and said softly: "Since the Sun family scholar came to Bianjing, he has already spent 1,500 strings of cash."

Sheng Wei put his hands behind his back and said: "It is not much. That Zhuang scholar in Hong's school costs more than 3,000 strings a year."

Li Daniangzi frowned at her husband and said with some shame: "These are all expenses for Sun scholar to attend poetry gatherings."

Sheng Wei was startled: "Before, the Sun family was afraid of gossip and did not live in our house, and we rented another one for them. Now that they have spent this much money, they still have not hired a teacher?"

Li Daniangzi nodded.

Sheng Wei shook his head and said with a particularly stern tone: "How did you manage this?"

Li Daniangzi looked embarrassed: "This, as a woman, I do not understand these things about reading."

Changwu on the side said in a deep voice: "Father, Mother! Uncle's school's Changbai, Changfeng, and several children from noble families have all passed the academy examination and became scholars."

"I heard from the second grandmother before that those few sit in the hall at the exact hour of Mao and study diligently until the exact hour of You."

"And this Sun scholar you found for the eldest sister, I have not seen him be so diligent!"

After finishing,

Changwu, who also drank alcohol, smoothed his sleeves.

Li Daniangzi said: "But, he became a scholar at twelve after all. After he became a scholar, the wandering fortune-telling Daoist said he was the root of a prime minister!"

Changwu shook his head and wiped his forehead: "Should find that Daoist and let him calculate another hexagram for Sun scholar!"

Sheng Wei looked at his eldest son with annoyance: "Nonsense, such a wandering Daoist, how to find him after so long?"

Changwu curled his lips and said: "Father, you have stayed in the capital for a long time and seen a lot. Which successful candidate did not study hard! Look at the few in the second grandmother's school, the age of Qi family's young master and Changfeng passing the academy examination is not much older than that Sun scholar!"

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

The place where he studied at the beginning was the private school of the Ling Duke Lu family,

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

Sheng Wei pondered for a moment: "This imperial examination, it is common to take it until twenty or thirty, do not be too anxious! Let's see!"

"Father, I still remember you told me that Uncle Hong said Sun scholar's articles did not look as good as Brother Feng's. Have the articles pointed out by Zhuang scholar been sent over these days?"

Sheng Wei shook his head: "I have been busy with family business these days and have not asked about this."

"Mother?"

Li Daniangzi shook her head with difficulty: "Sent a few times in March, Sun scholar did not send them back after reading the comments."

Sheng Wei said after listening: "Sigh! In two days, Hong will be on break, I will go 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 cold tea for herself.

"Pinlan, is the tea not poured yet?"

"Sister, coming."

A few days later,

The exact hour of Si (10:00 AM)

Chaoyun Pavilion,

Under the gorgeous colored building at the entrance,

Liang Han dismounted sideways with a proud face,

And raised his eyebrows at the few Bianjing youths who were good friends with him.

Subsequently, these few Bianjing youths looked at one of them with smiles on their faces.

A servant led away the horses of Liang Han and the others,

Liang Han took his personal guard and walked to the side of Qiao Jiulang, who was surrounded by the crowd.

Putting his arm around Qiao Jiulang's shoulder, Liang Han looked at the tall wooden building of Chaoyun Pavilion and said: "Jiulang, do you know why brother brought you here?"

Qiao Jiulang looked at the expressions of the others on the side and shook his head: "Sixth Young Master, why?"

Liang Han patted Qiao Jiu's shoulder and said: "You will know when you go in."

After Liang Han finished speaking, the youths around smiled maliciously.

Subsequently, the crowd entered the building.

It was morning at this time,

The wooden building of Chaoyun Pavilion did not have the appearance of debauchery and paper-intoxicated dreams after dark,

Only a few musicians were playing instruments lightly in the building,

On the stage where female musicians danced at night, only the opera troupe was testing instruments, and the whole building looked quite elegant.

At this time,

A mama in the building blinked her somewhat dry eyes and brought people over: "Oh my, Sixth Young Master, why did you come at this time! The young ladies are all resting!"

Liang Han smiled and waved his hand: "That is fine, this young master heard from Ruan Mama that you have a 'Little Yunniang' here who is a clean official?"

Hearing Liang Han's words, Qiao Jiu's eyes widened, and he turned to walk out.

As a result, he was blocked by the few people around.

The mama of Chaoyun Pavilion smiled and swung her handkerchief: "Ruan Mama's news is truly well-informed. To tell the truth to Sixth Young Master, we do have a clean official here, but it is a bit inconvenient for her to see the young masters today."

Liang Han was startled: "Why is this? Has she not started receiving guests yet?"

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

This mama smiled with a look of difficulty: "This..."

"This, just say it. We can still speak a few words in Bianjing." Liang Han continued.

"Hi, it is just that a guest spent some money on this 'Little Yunniang' in our building. He drank alcohol yesterday and wanted the young lady to accompany him to sleep. Oh my~ the young lady did not follow, so she was slapped by someone, and her face is still swollen now!"

Liang Han looked at the few people besides Qiao Jiu with regret, and just as he was about to speak to leave, Qiao Jiu in the crowd said: "How much money did this guy spend to want this young lady to accompany him to sleep?"

"Counting everything, it was only about a thousand strings of silver banknotes."

After this mama finished speaking,

Liang Han smiled and said to Qiao Jiu: "Compared to you, it is really far behind. How was that person dealt with?"

Hearing this, the look in the eyes of the Chaoyun Pavilion mama toward Qiao Jiu was full of regret.

That Yunniang under Ruan Mama had squeezed almost five or six thousand strings of silver from this Qiao Jiulang, which made them envious.

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

Qiao Jiu frowned and said.

Liang Han smiled wickedly: "Otherwise? We treat you to a guest?"

Qiao Jiu: "I!"

Watching the noble youth in front of him finish speaking, the brothel mama, who covered her mouth with a handkerchief and yawned, continued: "We did not dare to deal with that guest, so we invited him to the guest room and sent a young lady to accompany him to sleep. Who told him to say that he has some relationship with the Marquis Yongyi Mansion?"

"What?"

Liang Han and the others said in surprise.

At the entrance of Chaoyun Pavilion,

Sheng Wei got off the carriage, looked at the middle-aged man with a smile on his face on the side, and cupped his hands: "Master Tian, why did we come here?"

"I heard that Brother Sheng's ancestral home is Yang Zhou. This Chaoyun Pavilion is quite elegant during the day. Today, there happens to be an opera troupe from the south. Let's listen while we talk, which can be considered an elegant affair."

Sheng Wei nodded: "Master Tian is thoughtful, please."

"Please."

As the two talked, they entered the building.

Under the guidance of the manager in the building, they walked toward the second floor.

The high shouting voice of a youth in the voice-changing period came.

"I grew up with Fifth Young Master Xu since I was a child, how have I not seen you!"

"You thief bird, what kind of relative are you to the Hou Fu! Speak!"

"Do not tarnish the good reputation of my Fifth Young Master brother!"

During this period, a man said with a trembling voice: "Let go! I have no grudges with you, do not pull my quilt!"

The guiding manager smiled reluctantly: "Two distinguished guests, it is the children of several Marquis Mansions in the capital playing in the building, please this way."

"Brother Sheng?"

Master Tian looked at Sheng Wei, his big customer, with a smile, and asked in confusion.

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

When walking toward that side,

He happened to hear someone say: "You thief bird, you want to sleep with someone after spending a thousand strings of money, you are really wishful thinking."

"You, you are really disgracing the literati! Give my clothes back to me!"

Hearing this sentence,

Watching the brothel woman running out of the room holding her chest,

Sheng Wei's face became very ugly.

"You are already visiting a brothel, and you still talk to us about literati, you are the one who is really disgracing the literati."

A youth retorted loudly.

At this time, Sheng Wei walked over.

Qiao Jiu at the door turned his head and looked at Sheng Wei and the others: "What are you doing?"

Inside the room, the person whose quilt was grabbed by Liang Han listened to Qiao Jiu's voice and looked over. After seeing Sheng Wei at the door clearly, this person said with a trembling voice: "Sheng, I... Father-in-law... No."

(End of chapter)