Hua Yitang did what he said, and held a ten-day flowing banquet at Hua's 99th house.
Lin Sui'an didn't notice whether Ling Zhiyan had eaten or not, but the average weight of the Jingmen disciples headed by Jin Ruo increased significantly by five kilograms. The five major sects who had just joined the Jingmen followed suit and learned the shameless rice-grabbing technique. Ten to ten, they would not leave until their belly was full every day.
On the day Hua Yitang left Yidu, people from half the city of Yidu came, rubbing shoulders outside Changxuan Gate, not so much to see him off as to watch the fun.
Chi Taishou and Xia Changshi held the sleeves of Hua Yitang and Ling Zhiyan on the left and right, expressing their heartfelt feelings and bursting into tears. Behind them, there were five cao soldiers from Yidu Prefecture, Wu Da and bad guys waiting in line, Hua Ermu Lianhua Yitang couldn't even get close to him, so he was so anxious that he was running around.
Lin Sui'an is much more relaxed here. He has eyes and ears all over the world and can keep in touch anytime and anywhere. He doesn't have the sorrow of "it's easy to say goodbye but hard to see each other", and he even has the leisure to gather together and gossip.
As the No. 1 gossip leader in the Tang Dynasty, Jin Ruo's first sentence was explosive enough: "Yesterday on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Ling Laoliu went to Liu's Powder Shop at No. 25 Xilou Street, Dongshi City and bought a box of rouge!"
Lin Sui'an: Oh!
"Tell me the details."
Jin Ruo smacked his lips, "At that moment, Ling Laoliu specially changed his clothes and brought a bamboo hat. He came out of the Hua family's 99th house and walked into Dongshi in a concealed manner. At that time, it was near Dongshi Guanshi, and the street There were few people in the shop and there were few people in the shop. He walked around several streets in Dongshi - hey, if he hadn't been dressed so eye-catchingly, we Jingmen disciples wouldn't have paid special attention - and finally arrived at Xilou Street. I walked around the outside of Liu's Powder Shop for seven and a half times and finally went in. It took more than half an hour before I came out with a box in my hand. It was the rouge from Liu's Powder Shop."
Lin Sui'an blinked, and Gan Hongying and all the Jingmen disciples also blinked quickly.
"Ms. Liu——" Lin Sui'an called Liu Qingxi over from a distance, and everyone gathered in a circle and lowered their voices, "I heard that Mr. Ling Sizhi bought a box of rouge in your shop yesterday?"
Liu Qingxi covered her mouth and chuckled, "It's the same one I gave to Madam Lin when I attended the ceremony at the Su family's ancestral home last time. It's called Jiangshang Chunchou."
Lin Sui'an remembered that Ling Zhiyan was indeed very concerned about the box of rouge at that time.
Liu Qingxi: "There are forty-six colors of Jiangshang Chunchou. Ling Sizhi tried every color on his wrist. Finally, he chose the flowing cherry and also selected the packaging box. With such carefulness, he must give it away."
Lin Sui'an: "How much does Rouge cost?"
Liu Qingxi: "A box of five coins."
Everyone: "Wow!"
Jin Ruo: "Such a stingy Ling Laoliu is actually willing to spend a lot of money to buy such expensive rouge. Could it be that the person he wants to give it to is——"
Everyone turned their heads, but saw Hua Yitang in the center of the crowd, who was good at dancing and had long sleeves. Ling Zhiyan looked embarrassed, and her eyes drifted to the side from time to time, obviously looking for someone. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, she clasped her fists and saluted, and left the crowd, heading straight towards He walked over with a carriage.
It was Hua's carriage, which arrived late probably because the road was too congested. Her slender hands lifted the curtain, and a woman wearing a white gauze curtain got out of the carriage. Her crimson shawl was flying like clouds, and she was unparalleled in elegance.
The Jingmen disciples were so discerning that they recognized her at a glance: "It's Sanniang of the Hua family."
Elder Lin Sui'an became excited and motioned for Jin Ruo to follow her around to the base of the city wall, hide and squat on the ground, and listen with bated breath. A string of eavesdropping ears from the disciples grew behind her.
Ling Zhiyan strode up to Hua Yimeng, and bowed respectfully first. Hua Yimeng seemed a little surprised, and lifted up her white gauze. Her majestic appearance reflected the sunlight, and all the disciples of the Jingmen gasped. .
Ling Zhiyan took out the rouge box and offered it with both hands, "Ling has been offended many times before, and I hereby apologize."
Hua Yimeng was stunned, "When did you offend me?"
Ling Zhiyan's Adam's apple rolled rapidly, and with Lin Sui'an's hearing, he even heard the sound of him swallowing saliva, "During the battle in Taoyuan Township... Sanniang's sleeve was torn in one place... Ling, Ling..."
Hua Yimeng suddenly realized, "Ling Sizhi took off his coat and put it on me. He was helping me. Why should I offend him?"
Ling Zhiyan's entire neck turned red, she raised her hands higher and buried her head between her arms, "I hereby apologize!"
Hua Yimeng tilted her head and stared at the top of Ling Zhiyan's head, blinking, "Ling Liulang, do you know what the meaning of a man giving a woman rouge is?"
Ling Zhiyan raised her head, "Huh?"
Hua Yimeng: "Has Ling Liulang given rouge to other women?"
Ling Zhiyan shook her head.
"Then why did you give me rouge?"
"Of course it's to make amends."
"Then why is it a farewell gift instead of a farewell gift?"
"...Because last time I saw Madam Liu, she gave Madam Lin a box of rouge. The color was nice, and I thought you would like it..."
"..."
Lin Sui'an held his forehead, Jin Ruo was miserable, "Ling Laoliu, you are such a laoliu!"
Hua Yimeng stared at Ling Zhiyan for a while, then reached out and took away the rouge, and raised the corners of her mouth, "Okay, I'll take it."
Ling Zhiyan breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up, and clasped his fists again.
Suddenly, Hua Yimeng took a big step forward. Ling Zhiyan was frightened and hurriedly backed away, but Hua Yimeng grabbed her back.
Hua Yimeng raised her head and smiled sweetly, "From now on, you can only give rouge to me, not other women."
Ling Zhiyan's eyes were straightened and her tongue was a little uncontrollable, "...Okay."
Hua Yimeng laughed out loud, covered the fence again, said hello in Hua Yitang's direction, turned around, got in the car, and headed back to the city.
Ling Zhiyan stared blankly in the direction the carriage was leaving. After a long time, she came back to her senses and frowned, wondering, "...Does she like this Rouge?"
Lin Sui'an was stunned, "Can't you understand this?"
Lord Ling Sizhi is too straight!
Jin Ruo glanced sideways: Master, what shame do you have to criticize others?
"I've seen Mrs. Lin!" A voice suddenly came out from behind. Lin Sui'an looked back and was shocked to see that it was Hua Ermu who led a group of Hua's disciples to kneel down, "What are you doing? !”
Hua Ermu: "Before, I and other juniors were too blind to see the mountains, and we were rude to Mrs. Lin. We must make up for it today!"
As he said that, the descendants of the Hua family kowtowed three times towards Lin Sui'an with lightning speed, and shouted: "The descendants of the Hua family pay homage to Lady Lin!"
Lin Sui'an was unable to stop him, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air. Hua Ermu and the others had uniform and sincere smiles on their faces, with no intention of getting up.
Lin Sui'an: "..."
"When the ancestors receive gifts from the younger generation, they should give red envelopes." Hua Yitang walked over, waving a small fan, smiling so hard that his eyes narrowed into crescent moons. Mu Xia followed closely behind holding a big tray and put the The gold leaves in the tray were divided.
Everyone in Hua Ermu shouted, "Thank you, Mrs. Lin! Thank you Grandpa Fourth!" and ran away.
Lin Sui'an: What do these guys want to do?
Hua Yitang came over and said, "You are my partner. Based on your seniority, you are naturally their grandma."
Lin Sui'an rolled his eyes and said, "It's obviously a porcelain affair." He carried Qian Jing and left.
Hua Yitang stopped fanning and puffed out his cheeks, "You don't understand this?"
Jin Ruo, who was watching the whole process, expressed his great sympathy:
Even though the Hua siblings have two attractive faces, they can only return home in vain when they meet the master and Ling Laoliu, a pair of sleeping dragons and phoenixes!
Ten miles outside Yidu City, not surprisingly, there is also a "Ten Mile Pavilion".
Shiliting has two official roads, one going north to Andu and one all the way east to Dongdu.
It was a cool October day and the fallen leaves were rustling. Lady Xueqiu was sitting in the ten-mile pavilion, holding her pipa in her arms. After Yingying saluted, she played the song "Autumn Moon Remains with You".
This is the first time that everyone has heard this piece of music in its entirety—perhaps also the last time—the tune is as tearful as the waning moon at the bottom of a well that is nostalgic for the free sky.
After the song was played, everyone looked a little sad.
Ling Zhiyan got on her horse, lifted the reins and clasped her fists, "When we go here, the green mountains will always be there and the green water will always flow. I hope you will take more care of me——"
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by everyone.
Hua Yitang: "If you are short of money, you can go to Hua's Bank to borrow money, and Hua will give you a share of the profit. Isn't that interesting?"
Jin Ruo: "If you miss us, send the letter through the Jingmen channel, and the fee will be 30% off."
Fang Ke: "Interesting corpse, keep the autopsy grid."
Lin Sui'an: "If someone bullies you, I will fight them back for you when I return to the East."
Ling Zhiyan stared back blankly, her eyes flashing with water, her throat moving, as if she had a thousand words to say, but in the end she didn't say a single word, she turned the horse's head neatly, raised the reins, and galloped away alone.
Hua Yitang sighed: "Ah, ah, tell me, you guys are sensationalizing for no reason. It almost makes Liu Lang cry."
Jin Ruo: "No, compared to us, Ling Laoliu is too miserable. If it were me, I would cry too."
Lin Sui'an silently glanced at the lineup here. There were two four-horse carriages and eight horses. They were all "Snow Flying" sponsored by Hua Ermu. They had snow-white coats and were fat and strong. Although their appearance was not as good as that of Zhenzhujun, But it is also one of the best horses, fifty gold a horse.
The four people of Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu are each responsible for driving a two-wheel truck. Pots, pans, medicinal materials, fresh fruits, snacks, felts, carpets and awnings are all available. Hua Yitang's clothes alone are enough to fill a large truck, which is so majestic. On the road, the golden bells rang and the wheels rolled, showing off as much ostentation as possible.
Fortunately, Mu Xia had the foresight to plant the Hua clan's special flags in advance. When the bandits on the road saw the Hua clan emblem, they knew they were not to be offended, so they all stopped their flags and gave way to the road.
From Yidu to Andu, we need to pass through three cities, Yicheng, Pancheng and Liucheng. It takes about twenty days to walk. The journey is so long that we can only kill time by chatting. This chat is so important that Lin Sui'an collapsed. It was discovered that the geographical knowledge stored in her brain was not correct again.
Lin Sui'an: "Isn't Andu in Shaanxi? Why is he in Taiyuan?"
Eta: "Pigman, Shaanxi is another name for Longxi!"
"ha?"
Jin Ruo had no choice but to say, "Master, after all, you are also the Lord of Qianjing and the face of our Jingmen. It would be too embarrassing to tell anyone like this a fool."
Lin Sui'an scratched his head, "So, Andu is actually the territory of the Jiang family in Taiyuan?"
Jin Ruo: "Do you still need to ask?"
Hua Yitang waved his fan proudly, "The places chosen by the saint for me are indeed Feng Shui treasures."
Lin Sui'an: My dear, you have just stepped out of the tiger's den and into the wolf's den!
Jin Ruo took a mouthful of sugar cake and said, "I haven't been able to contact the people at the Jingmen Branch in Andu. My future is uncertain now that I'm in Andu!"
Fang Ke, who closed his eyes to rest his mind, snorted, "It doesn't matter, a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water, and there are too many lice to bite it."
Everyone was amused by Fang Ke's cold humor and continued to drink tea, eat fruits, nibble dried meat, chat and nap, singing and laughing all the way to Yicheng.
In terms of administrative level, Yicheng belongs to Shangxian County, which is at the middle and lower level of the ten-level counties in the Tang Dynasty. However, as long as the name "Yicheng" is mentioned in the Tang Dynasty, everyone knows it.
More than thirty years ago, Yicheng was just a small border town, located on the national border of the Tang State. Beyond the border was the Tuzan State, which had coveted the territory of the Tang State for many years. The Tuzan clan was good at nomadic herding and had powerful cavalry. They harassed the Tang State's borders all year round and committed robberies. The people on the border were miserable. Until thirty-two years ago, the Wan clan of Qingzhou sacrificed half of their clan in battle in Yicheng. Nearly 10,000 Tuzan cavalry were killed, which was known in history as the Great Victory of Yicheng.
After the great victory in Yicheng, the vitality of the Tuzan country was severely damaged. Coupled with the civil strife in the country, the national fortune declined and the country fell two years later. The Tang State took the opportunity to regain the lost territory, and after more than thirty years, the Tuzan territory was incorporated into the Tang State's territory and finally became unified.
The Wan family in Qingzhou became famous in one battle, and they rose from an unknown military family to a wealthy family. At their peak, they were as famous as the Ling family in Xingyang. Unfortunately, there was no war in the country, and the Wan family had no place to use it, and gradually became weak, and finally Only fell below the five surnames and seven sects.
Lin Sui'an looked at the famous "Yi City" in front of him. The city walls were built of black rocks and towered into the clouds. After years of wind and frost, the outer rock walls were already somewhat mottled. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, they looked like a man holding a sword. Generals holding halberds and wearing broken armor were stationed majestically in the rolling hills.
As people enter the city gate, they are faced with a long street that is ten feet wide. The bluestone slabs on both sides are uneven, and a large number of horse hoof prints can be recognized. It was probably the only way for marches in the past.
Times have changed, and now the marching road is crowded with sellers, vegetable vendors, clay pots, meat chopping boards, glutinous rice soup, fresh meat porridge, duck pears, goose eggs, feather dusters, and printmaking burdens.
The printmaking cart is the most distinctive. The vendor carries two baskets. One basket contains the print molds, which are two-foot-square carved wood boards. The other basket is filled with rolls of printed prints. If you want Just pull out any roll. If you don’t want it printed, you can just choose a mold and print it now. There was an endless stream of people buying paintings, and almost everyone in the market had one.
It was the first time Lin Sui'an saw someone selling paintings like this. He was really curious and jumped out of the car to take a look.
As soon as the painting vendor saw the carriage behind Lin Sui'an, he knew that he was either rich or noble, and introduced him enthusiastically: "Young lady is from out of town, right? This version of the sacred painting is unique to our city of Yicheng, and the printing models are all open." The polished peach wood and the ink used are also a specialty of Yicheng, which can ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune. Buy a pair and stick it on the door to keep your home safe!"
Lin Sui'an understood clearly: It should be the prototype of the door god.
"What patterns are there?" Hua Yitang also got out of the car, walked behind Lin Sui'an and asked, "How to sell it?"
Vendor: "This young man doesn't know something. You can't say buy a painting of a god, but say please. The paintings on this painting are all gods in the sky."
Lin Sui'an was happy, "What kind of gods are there? Is there a God of Wealth?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The vendor pulled out a roll of prints and handed it to Lin Sui'an. "Look at this, you two. Today, the most popular god of wealth in the Tang Dynasty is the Iron-blooded God of Wealth. He can not only make money, but also kill demons and protect the world. Peace!”
Lin Sui'an was confused after hearing this. Why did the God of Wealth sound so weird? When he unfolded the print and took a look, he was stunned.
The deity in the painting is dressed in a long robe with wide sleeves, flying mantles, lotus flowers on his feet, and rays of light on his body. His appearance is half handsome and half heroic. It is impossible to distinguish between male and female. The most outrageous thing is that the orchid fingers of his left hand are holding a palm-sized piece. Gold leaf, holding a four-foot-long meat cleaver in his right hand, the painting style is very inconsistent.
Lin Sui'an: "..."
Hua Yitang: "..."
The vendor was still explaining enthusiastically, "This Iron-Blooded Flower God of Wealth once slayed the demonic dragon in Qingzhou, gave him the fairy drink of Baihua Tea, and protected the people in Qingzhou from living and working in peace and contentment. His merits are immeasurable. It is said that anyone who is destined to meet this god will be rich." Noble, glorious life!"
Lin Sui'an looked at Hua Yitang silently, his eyes twitching: The person in this painting seems to be you——
Hua Yitang tapped the knife in Flower God's hand with his fan, laughing so hard that his shoulders shook: "The other half is you."
small theater
On the way back to Dongdu, Ling Zhiyan silently ate dry food, recalling the aroma of Muxia's barbecue and Eta's tea-making skills, and sighed with great resentment.
The ancients did not deceive me: it is indeed easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality! :,,
