Xue Guifang?
Su Yu couldn't help but be startled when he heard this. He had also heard about this Xue Guifang.
Xue Guifang specializes in making all kinds of exquisite pastries.
It is said that the first head of the family once made cakes for the emperor's concubines in the palace. Later, he left the palace to retire, settled in Tai'an City, and passed on his craftsmanship to his descendants, who founded Xue Guifang, and it was passed down in this way.
One word stands out for the pastries made by Xue Guifang: expensive, and they were joked by dignitaries as one tael of silver and one tael of cake.
However, the deliciousness of the pastries made by Xue Kwai Fong is indeed highly sought after by dignitaries. Being able to afford Xue Kwai Fong's pastries has become a status symbol.
The box of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes in front of me cost only five taels of silver.
Su Yu couldn't help but be a little surprised. What was the origin of Sister Ya that Kong Jingming mentioned?
This box of pastries is probably enough to cover the expenses of Kong Yangming and Kong Jingming for several months.
With such wealthy relatives, why did Kong Yangming still live in such poverty?
What surprised Su Yu was that Kong Yangming, who looked kind just now, immediately turned extremely livid when he heard the words "Sister Ya".
Kong Yangming said in a deep voice: "Jingming, didn't grandpa tell you? This sister Ya is here. You are not allowed to talk to her, and you are not allowed to accept any gifts from her. Please return this box of sweet-scented osmanthus cake to her as soon as possible."
At this time, Su Yu suddenly came to his senses. The sister Ya mentioned by Kong Jingming did not walk in with Kong Jingming.
If it's a relative relationship, it shouldn't be so loud that they won't even let the other person in, right?
Hearing Kong Yangming's words, Kong Jingming couldn't help but feel a little reluctant on his face.
If it weren't for Sister Ya, he would never have even heard of Xue Guifang.
Kong Jingming couldn't help but said: "Grandpa, Sister Ya asked me to bring you a message. She said she wanted to see you. How about we meet her."
"not see!"
Kong Yangming said angrily: "Jingming, grandpa tells you that a person must have backbone to live in this world. Go and return this box of pastries to her! Otherwise, don't recognize me as grandpa."
Seeing that Kong Yangming was so angry, Kong Jingming couldn't help but shrink his neck and said obediently: "Oh."
Immediately, he looked at Su Yu apologetically and said, "Brother Su, I'm sorry, I have to listen to grandpa and return this box of pastries to Sister Ya. I can't give you a taste."
Su Yu touched his head and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. If I am free tomorrow, I will bring you a box."
Hearing what Su Yu said, Kong Jingming's eyes lit up, he nodded heavily, and then trotted out with the pastries in his hands.
Looking at Kong Jingming's retreating back, Su Yu advised: "Mr. Kong, please calm down. I don't know who this sister Ya is. Why are you so angry?"
"Hey, Xiao Su, I'm really sorry for making you laugh."
Kong Yangming obviously didn't want to mention anything about this sister Ya, and said with a smile: "It's getting late, and I have to make a fire to cook, so you should go back first."
Seeing this, Su Yu nodded with a smile. He was wise enough not to ask further questions, and turned around to leave.
But just at this moment, there was movement outside the door.
A woman wearing complicated clothes, wearing a hat and a white gauze to cover her face, walked straight in with a maid.
Behind the two of them, Kong Jingming anxiously followed in, wanting to stop the two of them.
"Sister Ya, grandpa doesn't want to see you, why don't you go back." Kong Jingming urged.
"Jing Ming, please don't worry about this matter. Sister Ya has a few words with your grandfather and she will leave immediately."
The woman wearing a white gauze hat said crisply, walked around the hole and walked straight into the house.
The woman walked past Su Yu, and the breeze blew, and a fragrance like orchid and musk filled Su Yu's nose.
Su Yu, who had been studying ancient writing all afternoon, couldn't help but feel refreshed, and his fatigue was instantly swept away.
Tsk.
Su Yu couldn't help but secretly praise him.
Although I don’t know what the woman wearing a white gauze hat looks like, the scent alone is enough to make the man feel uneasy.
Su Yu couldn't help but look her up and down.
The person who came here was wearing a complicated costume with colorful patterns of flowers on it. It was beautiful. Just from the weaving skills, you could tell that this costume was expensive.
Although most of her body is covered by heavy clothing, it can be seen from her curves that this woman has a pretty graceful figure.
"What are you doing here?"
Seeing this woman, Kong Yangming's face turned pale and he said: "You are not welcome at my home, please leave quickly, otherwise I will be rude."
"You're welcome?"
The woman wearing a white gauze hat sneered and said: "How are you going to be rude? Believe it or not, if this girl took off her clothes and shouted an indecency, do you think the government will believe you or me?"
When Kong Yangming heard this, he said angrily: "You, you, you are an immoral woman."
As he said that, Kong Yangming looked around for weapons to drive him out.
"Hmph, so what if it's immoral?"
The woman sneered: "In our line of work, why do we care about this?"
Seeing Kong Yangming coming forward with a stick and preparing to drive him away, she immediately got down on her clothes, exposed half of her white shoulders, and then shouted: "It's indecent."
The movements of Kong Yangming's hands suddenly stagnated, and then he hurriedly covered Kong Jingming's eyes and kept saying: "See no evil, see no evil."
"Do you still want to be shameless?"
At this time, Kong Yangming turned his head and said angrily.
He never expected that this woman would be so unscrupulous in order to achieve her goal.
Seeing Kong Yangming's angry and helpless look on her face, the pretty face under the woman's veil couldn't help but look a little proud.
"Miss."
The maid who was following her saw that Su Yu was still glancing at Xiang Xiang's shoulders, so she couldn't help but give a reminder. Her eyes indicated that there was someone else next to her, and she tugged on the clothes she had taken off.
Only then did the woman notice that there was a strange man standing in the room.
And his eyes were resting on his fair and fragrant shoulders.
"Smelly man, what are you looking at? Do you believe that this girl dug out your eyes?"
The woman cursed in a clear voice while hurriedly putting on the clothes she had taken off.
Didn't you take it off yourself just now?
Will it seem like I don’t respect you enough if I don’t watch?
The corner of Su Yu's mouth twitched, and he was filled with curses.
Su Yu couldn't help but be curious about this resolute and bold woman in front of him.
What is her background?
Judging from her clothes, she must be of high status.
It's just that this rich girl from Tai'an City has received a good education, so she shouldn't be so bold in her behavior, right?
"Xiao Su, as a Zhenwu Guard, don't you care about this kind of thing?"
At this time, Kong Yangming remembered that there was a Suppression Guard in the house, and hurriedly said: "This woman broke into a private house without permission, Xiao Su, as a Suppression Guard, you are supposed to protect the people's property from infringement, why don't you arrest her quickly!"
Su Yu: "."
Whose turn is it for the Zhenwu Guards to take care of something like this?
If we really want to take care of it, the Zhenwu Division must have 40,000 people.
"Mr. Kong, it's not that I won't help you, but the Zhenwu Guards don't care about these trivial matters." Su Yu said with a bitter smile.
Kong Yangming: "."
Seeing this, the woman's mouth under the veil couldn't help but twitch with a hint of pride.
"Then she broke into my house without permission and I can't do anything about her?" Kong Yangming asked angrily.
You can use a stick to chase her away, as long as you are not afraid of her yelling at her for molestation.
Su Yu cursed in his heart and said, "How about I stay here for a while to see what her purpose is, and then I can send her out personally?"
When Kong Yangming heard this, he blew his beard and glared: "I have nothing to talk about with her."
"Mr. Kong, maybe you don't care about money, but at your age, don't you care about the future of your grandson Jingming?"
The woman wearing a white gauze sneered: "He wants to become a military guard. If you don't have money, will he have a chance to become a warrior in this life?"
"snort!"
Kong Yangming said calmly: "I don't need to worry about it. Xiao Su came here today to ask me for advice on ancient writing, and promised me that as long as I teach him ancient writing, he will give me a pound of blood energy powder as a reward."
Hearing Kong Yangming's words, the woman's tone couldn't help but hesitate, and then she looked at Su Yu in surprise.
A pound of blood energy powder is worth thousands of taels of silver. Why spend so much money to learn ancient writing?
Is this too much money and no place to spend it?
But after a brief moment of surprise, she sneered again: "So what if he gives you a pound of blood energy powder as reward?"
"Even if this pound of blood energy powder can make Jingming's blood energy reach the ninth level, where will the Yuan Jing he needs for subsequent cultivation come from?"
"As long as Jingming doesn't gather the warrior cyclone before turning eighteen, he will have no chance of becoming a Suppressing Martial Guard."
"Or are you going to delay him like this for the rest of his life?"
Kong Yangming's eyes struggled for a moment, then he shook his head and said calmly: "You don't need to persuade me anymore. Whether Jingming can become a warrior depends on his own destiny."
"I was able to compose that poem because I was at a high-spirited age and accidentally composed that poem. Now that I am old and exhausted, I can no longer compose poems like that one."
Hearing Kong Yangming's words, the woman couldn't help but be startled, and then said unwillingly: "I don't need you to compose a poem that is better than that poem. I can accept it even if it is slightly worse."
"As for the reward, you can rest assured. I am willing to pay a thousand taels. If you think it is less, the price can be negotiated!"
Kong Yangming shook his head and said: "Go back. Just as you said, at my current age, I no longer care about face. How can I make fun of my grandson's future?"
When the woman heard this, although she was unwilling to do so, she could only lead the maid back helplessly.
Looking at the back of the woman and the maid walking away together, until the two disappeared at the door, Su Yu couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Kong, where is this woman from and what is her purpose here?"
Mr. Kong sighed softly and said, "Well, this matter must start when I was young."
Immediately, Mr. Kong began to tell some stories that happened when he was young.
After listening to everything Kong Yangming said, Su Yu couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
It turns out that when Kong Yangming was young, he was an enthusiastic scholar and wrote a poem for the girl he admired. The name of the poem was Zui Yiren.
Zuiyiren caused a small sensation at the time, and then someone expressed their intention to pay for the poem.
In order to marry the girl he liked when he was young, Kong Yangming had no choice but to sell Zui Yiren for one hundred taels of silver.
Then Kong Yangming used the one hundred taels of silver to marry the girl he liked back home.
But at this moment, he discovered that the drunken beauty he created ended up in a brothel, and was adapted into the lyrics of a song, and the name was also changed to drunken rouge.
The girl who sang that song, Rouge, also became famous during that time, and her fame even surpassed that of the oiran of the Jiaofang Division at that time.
At that time, Yanzhi was hailed as the first courtesan in the Wei Dynasty. The price for her reception even reached an unprecedented one thousand taels of silver a night, and she also needed to make an appointment to queue up.
When Kong Yangming learned about this from his friend, he was almost so angry that he passed away.
A poem I wrote for my wife was sold because of the issue of betrothal gift.
But in the end, this poem was compiled into a song and became one of the repertoires played by brothel girls to entertain dignitaries.
This made Kong Yangming, who was proud and arrogant at the time, so shy that he didn't even dare to go out, because the strange looks from others made him feel ashamed.
He reads books from sages and has never even set foot in a romantic place. How can he tolerate the poems he wrote becoming a bargaining chip for a prostitute to increase her worth?
This also caused Kong Yangming to be laughed at for a long time.
Later, the oiran from the Jiaofang Division also visited Kong Yangming's house, hoping that Kong Yangming would be able to express his literary thoughts and compose another poem that could rival Drunken Rouge, even at the cost of his own life.
But these people were all kicked out by Kong Yangming, and they vowed never to write poetry again, just to prevent their poems from revealing their romantic status again.
Until now, even if Kong Yangming wanted to write poems comparable to Zui Rouge for his grandson, he was unable to do anything.
He has long passed the age when he was a scholar, and he can no longer write a sensational poem like he did when he was young.
Also because of being drunk with rouge, he has always felt guilty towards his wife, and he has never been too cold towards women in Fengyue Place.
Su Yu was secretly stunned. It turned out that the song "Drunken Rouge", which is still sung by Goulan women today, was actually composed by Kong Yangming.
The song "Drunken Rouge" also made the brothel girl named Rouge at that time become the first courtesan in the Wei Dynasty.
This shows how much energy a poem can arouse in this era of underdeveloped information.
The rouge girl may not be as beautiful as the oiran girl from Jiaofangsi, but so what?
When a person's fame is big enough, even if the oiran has an alluring appearance, he will be overshadowed.
Now that many years have passed, does anyone still remember the oiran who was in the same period as Rouge?
But after so many years, even though Rouge has grown old and faded or even passed away, her name still lives in people's hearts because of this poem.
"Is Kong always angry that the price of his poems is too low, or is he angry that his poems were adapted by Rouge?"
Su Yu said with a smile: "Anyway, that drunken rouge song at least allowed Mr. Kong to marry the girl he likes. Otherwise, without the one hundred taels of silver, the girl you like might marry someone else. Thinking of this, Kong You should be happy."
Kong Mingyang was startled when he heard this. He had never thought about the problem from this perspective.
At that time, he was just a poor boy from a poor family, but his wife came from a wealthy family.
As Su Yu said, if he didn't have the one hundred taels of silver, his wife might really be married to someone else by her father-in-law.
Thinking of this, the knot he had held in his heart for many years suddenly became clear at this moment.
Although he lost the poem, at least he got the girl he loved back home.
If it's because of money problems that you can't marry the girl you like, then that's the real regret in this life, right?
Thinking of this, Kong Yangming chuckled and said: "Xiao Su, what you said is right. I did not lose when I exchanged this poem for the one hundred taels of silver. Unfortunately, these years, I have been short-sighted and failed to see the long term. I care about some false reputations." and face, and never looked at everything I got because of this poem."
"Then the girl who just came to see you, who is she?" Su Yu couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know either."
Kong Yangming shook his head and said: "She calls herself Xiaoya, and the white gauze covers her face. She has never shown her true face to others, and I don't know her origins."
Thinking of what the woman had just done in the room, Kong Yangming blew his beard and glared, snorting coldly: "But since she paid a lot of money for poetry, and she has a wild temperament, she must be a woman in a romantic place, and she wants to borrow a poem to praise her. Increase one’s own reputation”
At this point, Kong Yangming couldn't help but remind him: "Xiao Su, you must not have too much contact with this kind of woman. You just saw it. She took off her clothes in public. It is simply... it is simply degrading to the gentlemen. If you marry her back home, The ancestors will be fuming with anger!”
Is it considered an insult to show your shoulders?
Then if you go to the place where I lived in my previous life and look at the girls wearing AC shorts on the street, you will be so polite.
I think this is the progress of the times.
If they don’t wear them, where can I see them?
Su Yu cursed in his heart and said with a smile: "What Mr. Kong said is absolutely true. It's getting late, so I'll come back tomorrow to bother you."
Looking at Su Yu's retreating back, Kong Yangming couldn't help but sigh, turned around and looked at the spotless incense seat in the room, his eyes seemed a little sad and said:
"Madam, I didn't expect that the knot in my heart for many years would finally be resolved today."
"Even if I had to do it over again, I would rather exchange that drunken lady for money and marry you than exchange it for a false reputation and an invisible face."
"I, Kong Yangming, am lucky to have you as my wife."
(End of chapter)
