Zhao Tong and Zhang Di walked out of Yanfu Hall, Zhang Di bowed and led the way.
After walking a long way, Zhang Dicai said flatteringly: "Your Majesty has been granted the title of King of Qin today. He is honored and rewarded. He is an extraordinary family member. I am honored to be served by this little man."
At this moment, Zhao Tong no longer acted cautiously in the palace. Wei Wei smiled sadly and said: "Zhang Yaban, why have you been studying recently? Where did you get these words?"
Zhang Di said in a low voice: "The official family is well-educated, and they spend their days writing and painting. If you don't read some books as a villain, I'm afraid you will be rejected by the official family sooner or later."
Zhao Tong said: "Guan family, have you been there recently..."
Having said this, he stretched out his hand and made a gesture.
Zhang Di was stunned when he saw this, and then he changed into a knowing smile and whispered: "The officials go there at a fixed time every month, probably only for one or two days, so they will definitely go."
Zhao Tong nodded and said: "I have brought back a lot of good things from Huaixi. I want to go to the empress and send some to the eldest empress. Since I have to choose a horse today, I have to wait for another day. I can't enter the palace in one day. twice."
Hearing this, Zhang Di pursed his lips and did not answer.
Zhao Tong continued: "Young ones, I have to give it to you. My fifth sister, Hu'er, and my nine brothers are some of them, but they have to choose by themselves. I will let them go to the house one day, and you can just go with them."
Zhang Di immediately said: "Your Majesty, how dare a villain do this? A villain doesn't dare."
Seeing that he understood what he meant, Zhao Tong stopped talking and continued walking forward. At this time, he saw an empty place in the palace garden.
He stopped here for a while. The empty field was a polo ground. He often came here to play polo when he was in the palace. It was a good season now, but there was no one on the field at the moment.
Seeing this, Zhang Di hurriedly said: "There was a game yesterday. It lasted for a whole day. It was so lively. As a result, the team led by His Highness Ninth Prince won the first place. We all have a rest today."
Zhao Tong nodded. Polo matches were often held in the palace. Not only the princes and concubines participated, but also the empresses and concubines sometimes played.
Next to the polo ground is the Tiansi Prison. When you walk past, there is a young chamberlain on duty standing in front of the door to greet you.
Then he went straight to the Tiansi Prison. The horses in the Tiansi Prison have independent stables. Some only have one, and some have three or five, depending on the breed and temperament of the horse.
Zhao Tong is also familiar with this place. Before he opened the mansion, the Zhaoye Jade Lion was raised here. After he opened the mansion, he took it away directly, so there is no original horse here.
There were jade signs hanging outside each stable. Some of the exclusive horses were not on the side he entered. The jade signs outside the exclusive horse stables all had their owners written on them, but here were the horses without owners.
Zhao Tong looked around as he walked. Some of them were famous horses in the horse book, while others had no names. They were given nice nicknames and engraved on the brands.
In fact, Zhao Tong is not short of horses, but now he has to choose. He had fallen in love with a horse owned by Xiao Wang Xianfei before.
The little Wang Xianfei was called Wang Yuegong. She was seven or eight years older than him, but she was only twenty-five or sixty-six years old now. She was fair and plump. When she was a child, she held him and rode on the horse together.
The horse was called Zhui Feng, and it was a kind of famous horse. It was a rare light blue-grey color with a purple spot on its forehead. It was very handsome.
Zhao Tong watched as he walked. Every year, the Western Army would send some horses. Emperor Daojun did not keep all of them. Some of them were directly rewarded, and the rest were taken to the Tiansi Prison.
Zhang Di whispered from the side: "Your Majesty, there is a good horse in front of you. It was sent from Hedong Road. The officials haven't had time to see it yet, and there is no owner at the moment."
"Huh?" Zhao Tong said, "Most of the people coming from Hedong are Liao horses."
Zhang Di said: "It is the Liao horse. It is different from those Xia horses and Fan horses. I heard that the charging power of the Liao horses is stronger than those of the Xia horses and Fan horses."
Zhao Tong nodded. The Liao Ma's initial charging speed was indeed stronger than that of the Xia Ma and Fan Ma, but its endurance was a little weaker than the other's. The two were offset by each other, but overall they were almost the same.
Zhang Di trotted over at this time and arrived in front of the stable first. Zhao Tong walked closer and saw that it was a blank jade sign with no name engraved on it.
He glanced inside and saw a crimson horse with smooth coat and shiny skin, and an extraordinary shape. He couldn't tell for a moment whether it was a famous horse or not, and said, "This is the best one!"
Zhang Di hurriedly responded when he heard the words, and then went to prepare the eight-treasure saddle and bridle. When everything was ready, he could wait at the palace gate.
Originally, there were a set of rules for receiving royal horses. Even the horses had to be dressed up, covered with brocade, with red flowers on their hairpins, and a pair of royal eight-treasure saddles and bridles, so that the recipients could enjoy this on the way home. A great honor given by the emperor.
But how could Zhao Tong care about this? He glanced at the sky. What if the little eunuchs finished their work and couldn't wait until dusk? He couldn't wait any longer, so he led the horse directly out of the palace gate. No one dared to ask.
Outside, Huang Gu was boredly bragging about his sword skills with the palace gate guards. When he saw Zhao Tong leading the horse out, he hurriedly took the reins and said, "Young Master, is this a reward from the officials?"
Zhao Tong nodded, got on the original yellow horse, said "go home" and said no more.
Many people were waiting in front of the palace, and some ceremonial scenes were created to welcome his triumphant return.
Zhao Tong took a look and saw that even some people from Broken Jade Tower had come over, mixed with people from the mansion, fearing that there would be no less than 180.
He saw Xiao Niang's figure behind the crowd. The two looked at each other. Xiao Niang blushed and ran away. Zhao Tong smiled, dismounted and walked into the house surrounded by everyone.
After catching up with the wind and washing away the dust, a banquet was held to celebrate. With Qi Hongyu and Jian Suyi, the two maids of the palace, everything was naturally done properly, and the excitement lasted until the willow shoots in the moonlight.
Zhao Tong called Zhu Xiaoyi, and now Zhu Xiaoyi is very powerful in Dongcheng, with no less than a few thousand people under his command.
Of course, these dirty clothes are not all beggars. Only a small number of old people who can't do any work will beg on the streets. The rest go to Heshang City to sell their strength. Because they are so tense, even those gangs Don't dare to bully easily.
Zhao Tong whispered a few words to Zhu Xiaoyi. Zhu Xiaoyi clicked his green bean-like eyes and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, Xiaoyi will definitely handle this!"
Then there was a silent night, and the next day came in a blink of an eye.
Zhao Tong didn't go to court or go to the palace. He just spent the whole day leisurely in the palace, looking at the flowers and birds, playing with swords, guns and sticks.
He thought about Emperor Yidaojun's temperament. The matter of moving Qin to the throne may not be announced to the court today. Since they have begun to plot against each other, it will most likely be announced at the celebration banquet.
When the time comes, the target of public criticism will play into the hands of the Dao Lord and Emperor.
At dusk, Zhu Xiaoyi came over. After reporting in the study, Zhao Tong asked people to change clothes. Then he called Huang Gu and Su Shi, ordered ten guards, and after leaving the palace gate, went straight to Fan Tower.
Fan Tower was originally called Baifun Tower, but later it was renamed Fengle Tower, also known as Fan Tower.
Fanlou is located at the northeast end of Yu Street, where Mahang Street and Rendian Street meet, near Baotou Market and not far from Donghua Gate in Miyagi City.
This location is one of the two busiest places in the inner city of Tokyo, the other is near Shubashi.
Fanlou is the first of the seventy-two restaurants in Tokyo. It consists of five buildings in the east, west, south, north and middle. It has a three-story roof and five floors facing each other. It has a flying bridge sill, light and dark connections, and beaded curtains on the forehead. , the lights are shining, the heights are undulating, the eaves and corners are staggered, and it is magnificent.
Every night, the lights inside and outside the building are bright and brilliant, making it a grand scene in Tokyo.
Although restaurants are prosperous in the city, Fanlou is the most famous in the world and has always attracted countless wealthy businessmen, princes, princes, literati and poets to come here for entertainment and banquets.
Fanlou has the best kabuki musicians in Tokyo, and the Song Dynasty stipulates that geishas are allowed to accompany wine, banquets, travel, sing, dance, and play. People who come to Fanlou are not just for a late-night snack. , meals, but for singing and dancing.
It is considered elegant for officials, literati, and poets to come here to watch singing and dancing. As long as they don't lose their temper and do unspeakable things inside, they will not be condemned.
Therefore, although Fanlou was just a restaurant, its business was extremely prosperous, because it relied not on food, but on the women who accompanied the banquet, sang and danced. The literati wrote poems and lyrics, and relied on these singing, dancing, and musical performances to become famous. They killed two birds with one stone and complemented each other.
Regarding Fan Lou, there are poems as evidence:
The singing and dancing in Liangyuan are full of romance, and the wine is like a knife to relieve sorrow. I recall how much fun I had as a young man, going to the Alum Tower with lights on late at night.
At this moment, Zhao Tong and his party arrived in front of Fan Tower.
Fan Tower has a total of five floors, divided into east, west, south, north and middle. The five floors face each other, with flying bridge railings, light and dark, bead curtains embroidered on the forehead, and candles shining brightly.
Some of the buildings are just for ordinary drinking, some have a variety of songs, dances, and music, some have juggling, and some have flower rooms.
Among them, the west building is the Yage, and the south building has a lot of singing and dancing. Zhao Tong led everyone to the door of the west building.
The west building of the Fan Building is the most luxurious place, which ordinary merchants cannot afford. It is full of spacious pavilions, where you can sing and dance alone to entertain, recite poems and lyrics, and be extremely romantic.
The lights were bright in front of the west building door, and three young men and three maids came to greet them.
Huang Gu and Su Shi both changed into scholar's Confucian robes according to Zhao Tuo's instructions, and the guards also wore casual clothes, with their swords hidden inside.
The group of people was invited to go upstairs, and was greeted by a woman. She spoke in all directions and went straight to the most expensive third floor, choosing the Accord at the back to enter.
This pavilion is spacious and luxurious, even comparable to the Gonghoumen Pavilion.
Inside are soft blankets, tables on the floor, vases with green feathers, and various decorative accessories.
The woman introduced herself as Mei Niang, and as she spoke, she ordered some wine and food.
This is not the first time for Zhao and others to come to Fanlou, but they have never revealed their identities.
At this time, the guards were guarding outside the door. Huang Gu, Su and Shi followed Zhao Tong's words and became just acquaintances, each sitting behind the flower table.
Zhao Tong did not look at the brand, but just ordered the most expensive food and wine, which made Mei Niang smile from ear to ear.
After the food and drinks were ordered, there was dancing and music. Mei Niang said, "Do you know the young master well? Who do you want to call to accompany him?"
Generally, those who come to the West Building of Fanlou must order some singing and dancing, or accompany them with drinks.
Zhao Tong glanced at Mei Niang, smiled slightly, and said: "Ask Zhao Yuannu to come over, and arrange ten or eight others to perform well in singing and dancing."
Zhao Yuannu was one of the two great oirans in Fanlou, and the other oiran was Li Shishi.
When Mei Niang heard this, she was happy at first and then worried. What she was happy about was that when she saw these people, they were from a rich and noble family, and they could not be said to be children of the yamen. Their words and actions were extremely generous, but she was worried about the oiran Zhao Yuannu.
She said: "I'll tell you the truth, sir. I can thank you for everything else. But Madam Zhao has a guest right now. I'm afraid I won't be able to meet you tonight. Please forgive me."
When Zhao Tong heard this, the smile on his face disappeared. Su Shi next to him slapped the table: "What kind of guests are as distinguished as our young master? Why don't you hurry up and fetch us!"
When Mei Niang heard this, she couldn't help but smile apologetically: "It's not that I'm trying to shirk you. Madam Zhao does have guests there. She just entered the Hua Pavilion not long ago."
Huang Gu also said: "I asked you to go as soon as you asked, why are you talking nonsense!"
Seeing that the three of them were arrogant, Mei Niang could only comfort her with words, saying: "You three young masters, sit down for a moment and drink first when the food and wine are served. I'll go and have a look over there to see if there are any free people in the pavilion over there that I can invite."
Su Shi said: "If you have any free time, don't worry about the neighboring pavilion. Just ask her to come over!"
Mei Niang hurriedly agreed, said a few pleasant words, and then walked out in small steps.
(End of chapter)
