Jiankang, the imperial capital, is surrounded by Qinhuai to the south, Hou Lake to the north, the Yangtze River to the west, and Zhongshan Mountain to the east. It is surrounded by Stone City, Xizhou City, Dongfu City, Baixia City, Nanlangxie County City and other cities. It is heavily guarded and well-garrisoned.
Yin Dun received the news of today's arrival in advance and waited outside Zhuque Gate. He was extremely happy to see his friends again.
After leading Yang Anxuan and others into the Suzaku Gate, the straight and wide royal road appeared in front of them. Royal Road is similar to Tongtuo Street in Luoyang, bustling and lively but completely different.
There are imperial ditches on both sides of the imperial road. Sophora trees and willow trees are planted on the banks of the ditch. Houses stretch along the ditch and are scattered all over the government offices and temples. Various shops are lined up in rows, and the signs are as dense as sails on the Qinhuai River.
The deep courtyard has exposed white walls and black tiles, and the lanes and streets are intertwined like a spider web. Cars and cars are busy, people are surging, hawkers are shouting one after another, and boats are moving along the waterway.
Not to mention Zhang Feng, even Hu Yuan was dazzled and Yang Anxuan also looked at the prosperous imperial capital with admiration.
Yin Dun gently shook his feather fan, pointed at the prospect, and said: "Suzaku Gate leads directly to Xuanyang Gate. To the north of Xuanyang Gate is Da Sima Gate. The seven-mile long imperial road divides the capital into two."
After walking three miles along the imperial road, we passed Taishe and Taimiao, and further on were the residences of hundreds of officials.
Yin Dun did not continue moving forward, but led everyone to leave the imperial road and turn eastward. The road gradually narrowed, but the bustling and bustling did not diminish at all.
It was almost noon, and the restaurants on both sides of the street were busy with people. Some vendors spread their goods directly on the ground to sell. There were merchant ships docked on the shore, selling fish, shrimp, vegetables, and fruits.
Along the way, Yin Dun pointed to the cornices and ridges beside the road and introduced which house was Yu's house and which was Gu's house. Most of them were from famous families in the Sun Wu period.
Yin Youqi has been in Beijing for many years and bought a house in Changping Lane. Although the scale of the house is small, the small bridges, flowing water, whitewashed walls and black tiles convey a strong Jiangnan atmosphere.
Yang Anxuan said with a smile: "My clothes are disheveled today and I'm covered in travel dust. I'll come back to see Uncle Yin tomorrow after washing up. I'll find an inn to stay at first."
Yin Youqi was on duty at the government office and was not at home. Yin Dun saw that there were five people in Yang Anxuan's party and the housing at home was tight, so he did not give in.
Not far from Yin's house, there is Jiaruzhi Inn, where Yang Anxuan and others stayed. Yin Dun was a landlord, and they made an appointment to meet Yin Youqi tomorrow, and then took Yang Anxuan and others around.
Upon learning of Yang Anxuan's arrival, Yin Youqi took leave of absence and waited at home. After the ceremony, Yang Anxuan presented the gift he had brought - Bichun tea.
The smooth movements of the tea-making etiquette reenacted were pleasing to the eye and immediately attracted the attention of Yin Dun and his son.
While sipping tea, Yang Anxuan told what happened after the Yin family and his son left Jiyang.
After learning about the recipe of Bichun Tea, Yang Anxuan told the Yin family, and all the Yin friends laughed and said, "Anxuan and Dun'er are good friends. If you have any inconveniences when you first come to the capital, you can tell Dun'er, and the Yin family will try our best to help."
Yang Anxuan thanked him and went to Xiangyang to visit Governor Xi on the way. He went to Donglin Temple to see Master Huiyuan and mentioned the matter of being accepted as a lay disciple by the master.
Yin Youqi looked at Yang Anxuan with deep eyes and smiled gently: "An Xuan is far more thoughtful than Dun'er. Dun'er may wish to discuss more with An Xuan when encountering problems in the future."
The tone was friendly and natural, and Yang Anxuan felt that Yin Youqi really regarded him as his nephew.
Taking advantage of the time when Yang Anxuan was refilling the tea, all the Yin friends said together: "The officials have issued a document asking An Xuan and other freshmen to enter Guozixue before April 26th. There are still more than ten days. Dun'er will take An Xuan with him these days. Walk around and get familiar with the environment of the capital."
Yin Dun nodded in agreement.
Yin Youqi vaguely mentioned the situation of the emperor, the king of Kuaiji, and the nine ministers of the three provinces, and said: "The situation in the capital is so complicated that it is difficult to describe it at the moment. It should take some time for An Xuan to enter the Guozixue. With you, With your intelligence, you can quickly figure things out, and you can experience the warmth and cold more clearly on your own, so I won’t go into details.”
Yang Anxuan said with a smile: "I will definitely ask Uncle Yin for help."
Yin Youqi sipped the tea slowly, his eyes flickering, as if he had something to hide.
Yang Anxuan looked at the face and guessed that it was probably related to Yin Huizhen's entry into the East Palace. It was really inconvenient for him to say more about this matter, so he picked up the tea cup and drank tea seriously.
Yin Dun broke the silence and said: "In February, the official department selected officials. Brother Gongsun chose the county magistrate of Lu County, Xuzhou as he wished. He went to take office happily."
Yang Anxuan heard the dissatisfaction in Yin Dun's words. It's no wonder that Gongsun He relied on the help of the Yin family to get promoted, but then he stood up and did nothing when the Yin family needed his help. Who would like a short-sighted and heartless person.
It is said that every three years, more than a thousand people are selected by the Central Committee of each state, and only those with a grade of five or above are eligible to be selected by the Ministry of Personnel, so there are only more than 300 people.
There are too many monks, and the number of vacant official positions in various places is limited. Only about a hundred people can be selected as officials from more than 300 people. Gongsun He can choose the county magistrate, and the Yin family should have a lot of help.
Gongsunhe's choice to leave will definitely disappoint the Yin family, but after all, Gongsunhe is the son-in-law of the Yin family, and the Yin family has cultivated it with all their strength, so they cannot simply give up.
Yang Anxuan smiled, changed the subject and asked, "Brother Yin, how about studying at Guozi?"
He groaned, and Yin Dun smiled bitterly and said: "Guozixue exists in name only. Most of the more than a hundred students are stubborn and stubborn. The children of wealthy families are arrogant and extravagant. People like Yu who come from inferior families are quite discriminated against in Guozixue." , and some people flatter wealthy families in order to gain profit."
"By the way, An Xuan, when Chen Zhi learned that you were going to school, he threatened to humiliate you several times. Yu heard that he spent money to entangle some of his disciples, and he wanted to take revenge when An Xuan entered school."
Yang Anxuan smiled and said: "The mob is vulnerable, just let your horse come over."
Yin Youqi took over the topic and said: "Chen Zhi is nothing to worry about. I am worried that among the people he is entangled with are children of wealthy families, An Xuan must be careful when taking action. Otherwise, he will hurt them and provoke the revenge of the families behind these people. The gain will not be worth the loss. .”
Yang Anxuan responded respectfully: "My nephew understands and will act according to the opportunity."
The Yin friends all saw that Yang Anxuan's expression was dull, and they didn't know if they really listened to it.
However, Yang Anxuan's reputation was known to the Emperor and King of Kuaiji, and the Yang family had troops and horses. Unlike the Yin family, they did have the capital to compete with those dandy boys.
The opportunity for the Yin family to change their destiny is right in front of them. If Zhen'er can become the crown prince's concubine, those in the Imperial College will no longer dare to suppress Dun'er, and the Yin family will become a prominent family in the state, and even a top-ranking family. No. .
Thinking of this, Yin Youqi no longer hesitated and said: "I have sent the sugar frost sent by my father to the palace through connections. The emperor tasted it and gave it to the Queen Mother for consumption. Empress Dowager Li liked it very much and has issued an order to serve it as a tribute. I have to thank An Xuan for everything."
Yang Anxuan smiled and said: "It's just a transaction. Yu took five hundred taels of gold, and Tang Shuang has nothing to do with Yu."
"My father wrote in a letter saying that the three clans have decided to divide 20% of the profit from the frosting to be used as a dowry for Zhen'er. I deeply agree." Yinyou Qi looked at Yang Anxuan with deep meaning.
Yang Anxuan secretly agreed that ginger is still old and spicy, and sugar frosting will be punished for its huge profits. When Yin Huizhen enters the East Palace, no one will dare to make plans for sugar frosting.
Yin Youqi continued: "In March of this year, the prince entered the East Palace. In April, the emperor issued an edict to select concubines for the prince. He ordered officials of the fifth rank and above to have women of suitable age in their families to participate. I intend to send Zhen'er to the palace. .”
Seeing that Yang Anxuan's expression remained unchanged, all Yin friends thought that if Ru Dun'er had guessed, Yang Anxuan would have known about the Yin family's plan.
Yang Anxuan calmly cupped his hands and said: "Miss Yin is smart and smart, she will definitely be selected for the East Palace."
A trace of pain flashed across Yin Youqi's face, and then he stretched out his hand to stroke his beard to hide it, and said: "Zhen'er sacrificed a lot for the Yin family, and these two cents of bonus are compensation. Dun'er, go and get two of Zhen'er's paintings from the desk in the study. Here comes the little statue.”
The portrait is about three feet long, and one depicts Yin Huizhen walking in the snow in search of plum blossoms: the person in the painting is holding red plums, her skin is like snow, and she looks back and smiles very charmingly. There is a line of words written in the blank space on the side, "The snow loses three points white, and the plum blossoms are fragrant." The other picture is a picture of flute playing: Yin Huizhen is sitting on her knees on the ground, with the horizontal flute on her lips.
The artist's skills were exquisite, and the people in the painting were so lifelike that Yang Anxuan seemed to have the ethereal flute sound echoing in his mind, and he couldn't help but sigh.
Yin Youqi pointed to the picture of playing the flute and said: "An Xuan, there is still one poem missing from this picture. After seeing the painting, Zhen'er proposed that she would like to ask An Xuan to write a poem for it to add color to the painting."
That day when she was playing the flute before leaving, Yang Anxuan felt Yin Huizhen's deep affection. She had a rough fate, and she had to go to the palace to accompany the idiot prince for the sake of the family, which made her feel sad even if it was unintentional.
Looking at the figure in the painting who was about to play the flute, Yang Anxuan blurted out: "The clouds are like the clothes and the flowers are like the face. The spring breeze blows the threshold and the dew is thick. If we hadn't seen her at the top of the jade mountains, I would have met at the Yaotai under the moon."
…………
In the backyard, Yin Huizhen saw the scroll that had been delivered, with the newly inscribed verses on it. Reciting "Meeting Under the Moon at the Yaotai" softly, Yin Huizhen's melancholy face burst into a smile. She knew that this was the title written for her by Mr. Yang.
Just like the phrase "Snow loses three points in white", Yin Huizhen was touched by the poem and recited it softly over and over again until her lapels were wet with tears.
The maid serving beside him hung the painting on the wall for fear that the scroll would be wetted by her tears.
Yin Huizhen sat cross-legged under the painting, looking at the woman in the painting longingly. She is so lucky in the painting to be accompanied by Yang Gongzi's beautiful poems, but she can only look at it with envy, letting her heartache invade her over and over again.
For a long time, Yin Huizhen ordered someone to fetch a flute, sat under the portrait and played "Farewell" intermittently, which was heartbreaking.
This song "Farewell" was spread by the eldest brother in the brothel, and the sound of "Farewell" could be heard everywhere outside the Changting Pavilion outside Jiankang City.
Yin Huizhen has some grievances. This song "Farewell" was given to her by Young Master Yang. Why did her eldest brother spread it to everyone in the world? This song that was originally exclusive to her no longer belongs to her.
…………
Accompanied by Yin Dun, Yang Anxuan rode a horse through the streets and alleys of the Royal Road to appreciate the majesty of the capital; went boating in the Hecha Harbor to appreciate the beauty of the small bridges and flowing water; and was intoxicated among the gardens and lakes to appreciate the beautiful scenery. …
At dusk, the lights on both sides of the Qinhuai River lit up. Reflected in the water waves, they looked like long meandering dragons, taking away the brilliance of the bright moon.
Yang Anxuan and others took a painted boat down the river. The boats were like shuttles, and there was constant traffic. The Goulan restaurants on both sides of the strait were filled with singing and laughter, and the sky was filled with excitement.
Seeing the woman with fluttering clothes, smelling the sweet fragrance of powder, and listening to the melodious string songs, Hu Yuan was already dazzled and intoxicated by the various charms of the Qinhuai River.
Yang Anxuan and Yin Dun stood side by side, their long sleeves fluttering, making them look as elegant as jade. The women in the brothels on both sides of the Taiwan Strait all fell in love with him when they saw him, waving their fans in their hands and calling out sweetly.
Yin Dun turned his head and looked at Yang Anxuan's face. The young face shines red under the light, his eyes are still clear, with appreciation and joy, and a faint smile appears on his lips, just like always.
The lanterns reflected the water, the boat floated in the waves, and the cool river breeze blew on his face. Yang Anxuan's eyes passed through the glitz and glamour.
The scene in front of me was like an underwater phantom, shaking and flickering. No one would have thought that the lights would eventually burn into a raging fire, turning everything in front of them into nothingness.
The wind and moon of Qinhuai River are like a dream, and I am intoxicated in it tonight.
