(8)
After that, Zhao Kuo watched each strange figure enter the city and pass the customs, but he sat in front of the carriage and waited for a long time - no one came to search and question him, and no one allowed him to enter the city. It wasn't until the scoundrel who had just had an argument with him followed up and reported to the officers and soldiers nearby that he had collided with the gray-covered carriage outside, committing an act of lawlessness, that the guard leader came over to say a few words to Zhao Kuo. talk.
After the depressed coachman's heart-to-heart explanation, the black-faced scoundrel finally gave up his blackmail plan due to the situation. In the end, he could only say harsh words to himself, load up his goods and go into the city in dejection.
Almost as soon as the broker left, the officers and soldiers responsible for delivering the message appeared at the city gate, bringing the news. He walked up to Zhao Kuo and said, "Uncle Su is currently hosting a banquet at Yumantang. It is inconvenient to come to greet him in person, so he sent a boy to lead the way."
After saying that, the responsible messenger stepped aside, greeted the person behind him, and introduced: "This is 'Mrs. Xiang', the top Qin girl in Yumantang. On weekdays, many nobles are rushing to get it." 'A rage for a beauty'? Now that Mrs. Xiang has come to greet you in person, it is really a great honor for the young master!"
"Where is it..." Zhao Kuo replied politely, while not forgetting to look at the woman in front of him. Her figure was well-proportioned and slender, with a thick bun on top of her head, which seemed to crush her narrow and tender body, even though she had been trying hard to straighten her back. A blue gauze dress framed her silhouette, dotted with little yellow flowers, and she wore a dress as fresh as a green field underneath. Slightly open eyebrows, yet energetic, and confident gestures are a symbol of his status.
The four words "elegant and noble" cannot completely sum up her appearance. After all, Zhao Kuo has seen a lot of so-called elegant people, and most of them are rotten and beautiful. However, this mature young man would not be reckless and sarcastic in person, even though he already knew that this was probably another story about the daughter of an official family who fell into the world of mortals.
Mrs. Xiang saw that Zhao Kuo was distracted for a moment, so she bowed and said hello first, and then said, "Mr. Zhao, Mr. Su has asked me to come to greet you... Excuse me, can you go on your way?"
After a while, the coachman answered yes. Then he followed Mrs. Xiang's sedan into the city gate and went straight to Yumantang.
Although Cangzhou City is prosperous, it is not wealthy. You can tell one thing or two by seeing that there are no bricks and stones on the ground, and it is still covered with sand and dust. The rutted footprints on the road are still clearly imprinted on the ground no matter how long it has passed, as if they can never be erased and are deeply embedded in the earth.
When passers-by saw the beautiful sedan passing by, they all stopped to look at it, and they all knew it was Mrs. Xiang's sedan. Zhao Kuo saw that this woman seemed to be very famous and couldn't help but be more curious about her story. With such a mood, he disguised himself as a truck driver and followed Mrs. Xiang to the door of Yumantang.
At this time, people gathered in Yumantang, which was very lively. In the midst of such singing and dancing, changing cups and changing cups, no one might notice that the guard boy in front of the door was having a lively fight with a little man who looked like a beggar. But Zhao Kuo noticed: the little beggar hugged the guard boy's thigh tightly and begged for something.
For this reason, after Mrs. Xiang stopped the sedan and got out of the car, he asked: "Mrs. Xiang, for such a young child, Yu Mantang can't even bear to give away leftovers?"
"Mr. Zhao misunderstood." Mrs. Xiang glanced sideways at the little beggar, and then replied: "The beggar has been harassing me for several days, not because he wants to satisfy his hunger, but because he wants to meet Mr. Su's friends. , Tao Wuyong, Senior Tao. It’s strange to say that this banquet was set up to welcome Senior Tao, and this beggar just happened to show up. Who knows if others have any intentions? "
"You just want to see someone, why should you turn him away?" Zhao Xiaomei said in agreement.
Mrs. Xiang was frightened when she saw a little girl suddenly come out of the gray-covered truck, and then five people came out one after another. However, she quickly corrected herself and replied righteously: "Zhao Master, are there many people hiding in your 'truck'? All in all, everyone has nothing to do with each other, so it's better not to meddle in other people's business."
As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Xiang turned around and entered the door of Yumantang, forcing Zhao Kuo and others who had just arrived to follow quickly.
Yumantang was full of literati and poets who came to drink and have fun. While enjoying the performances of singers and musicians on the stage, they drank and composed poems for fun. People who are willing to spend a lot of money will bring a famous actress to perform alone for them. In the past few days, Su Qing had hosted a special banquet, and all the food and drinks were charged to his account, so the number of people was greater than ever before.
Mrs. Xiang led Zhao Kuo and others all the way to Su Qing. At this time, Su Qing was very drunk. He held the beauty in his left hand and the wine in his right hand. He sat in the chic wing and confided in the old man across the table.
"Dad Tao, if I hadn't stayed in Cangzhou waiting for my friends to come, I might never have seen you again in this life... Look at you, you're so old, hahaha..."
"Nonsense!" Although the old man with gray beard and hair wore a turban and wore simple and neat clothes, he still couldn't hide his wild personality and character. "Although your father and I like to travel, I still go back to Cangzhou every year." Damn, it’s obvious that you have forgotten your roots, I’m afraid you’ve forgotten me, old man! Wuwuwu…”
Before Tao Wuyong could complain for a long time, Mrs. Xiang stepped forward to greet her respectfully: "Master Su, Master Zhao, they have arrived..."
"Why is Su Qing here too?" The girl hiding behind Zhao Kuo said: "Listen to his drunken words... Could it be that it was your brother who made the agreement a long time ago?"
Su Qing opened her drunken eyes, shook her head, looked in the direction of the viewer, and said, "Dad Tao, look at that girl, does she look like..."
"Um..." Tao Wuyong looked at Xiaomei Zhao for a moment and replied: "In my dim old eyes, I feel that the girls all look the same. Isn't it ok if you like her?"
After hearing this, the younger sister suddenly blushed with embarrassment and scolded the other party for not knowing what he was talking about. Then she asked Zhao Kuo: "I knew it was impossible for my brother to come to Cangzhou just to help Mr. Bai, huh!"
Seeing his sister running outside so angrily, Zhao Kuo hurriedly caught up and explained: "Master Su is from Cangzhou. He is very common in Cangzhou, sister!"
Bai Feng, Murong Yan, Ajuan and E Feiying just stood there and were at a loss. They could only see the two drunkards in the wing yelling crazy things, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing. It was really funny.
Seeing that Su Qing was extremely drunk, Mrs. Xiang suggested that his friends come back to meet them another day. She immediately arranged a house for them to stay, and then left first.
