"I'm sorry! I'm sorry everyone! I don't know which naughty child threw a firecracker in front of the horse's hooves, which frightened the horse out of control..."
The driver apologized profusely to the crowd.
Jiang Yuntian jumped off the carriage and said: "Fortunately, no one was injured tonight, otherwise it would be unlucky to see blood on this festive day!"
The man in white who flew to save people at the critical moment was a short man wearing a gray mask. He stood up and straightened the little girl, wiped her tears, picked up the candied haws on the ground, and asked softly: "Do you still want it?"
The little girl shook her head, turned around and threw herself into her mother's arms.
"Then I want it."
The man in white dusted himself off, wiped off the dirt on the candied haws, took one from under the mask and put it in his mouth, and left with a clear conscience.
"Hey, little brother, your courageous spirit is worthy of praise. At that distance, even I may not be sure that I can save the person."
Jiang Yuntian came forward to say hello enthusiastically.
The man in white said softly: "It's nothing."
"I always like to make friends with brave people, why don't we find a place to have a drink?" Jiang Yuntian invited.
The man in white didn't say anything, he just walked into the crowd holding the candied haws.
Jiang Yuntian scratched his head.
"It seems that not all people in the world are as generous as Jiang Daxia." Song Che said with a smile.
Liao Heng also smiled and said: "It's a false alarm. Let's go to the poetry meeting as soon as possible. I think it should start soon."
…
Huilanzhai was originally a teahouse, and like a brothel, it was a gathering place for literati.
There are countless talented people and beautiful women in the Jiangnan water town, especially in Suzhou, a gentle and elegant city.
But I haven't had much contact with Song Che. The reason is that the circles are different.
In layman's terms, the ancient circle was a class. Those who entered the official circles were the highest, such as people like He Qiu and Liao Heng, followed by the scholars, and finally the businessmen.
No matter how rich a businessman is, he is still tacky in the eyes of scholars.
The character of a scholar has always been noble, but it is precisely this noble character that makes him look a hundred times vulgar. We are all the same people, why should we be divided into three, six or nine levels?
The front of Huilan Zhai is relatively clean, and the common people are self-aware. All the people coming in and out are Confucian and Taoist gentlemen holding paper fans and wearing praise flowers on their heads.
There are several vendors selling masks, fans, screens, and hairpins at the entrance. There are rules at the Poetry Club. You cannot show your true face when entering or exiting, and you must wear a mask.
"Brother Song, Brother Jiang, how about buying a hairpin? This color is quite festive."
"impossible!"
Jiang Yuntian decisively refused, "How can I, a tall and dignified man, wear something like this on my head? I am not a woman!"
As a modern straight man, Song Che also nodded in agreement. He really couldn't accept it, a big man wearing flowers on his head.
Liao Heng just picked up the hairpin and put it back, sighing: "Everyone has a love for beauty. It is normal for men to wear hairpins."
"I can't accept such disgusting things anyway——"
"Oh, where did this country ruffian come from? He just doesn't understand the customs, but he still shows off his ignorance in the street. Aren't you ashamed?"
As soon as you hear these elegant words, you will know that they are going to hurt you.
Seeing groups of men in Confucian robes and beauties in gorgeous clothes, you can still see their arrogant postures even if they are wearing masks.
The speaker walked in the front, wearing green clothes, a red mask, a big red hairpin, a smelly sachet, and a white paper fan holding a jade tree in the wind.
"I can't bear to hear such weird words!"
What kind of person is Jiang Daxia? He can take action and never makes a fuss. He rolls up his sleeves and goes forward to "take care of things".
Song Che quickly grabbed him, "Forget it, forget it..." If he really wanted to make a move, the other person would cry and call his mother.
Liao Heng stepped forward and asked the young man in a cold voice: "Belittle others in the street and flatter yourself. We have no grace, and you don't necessarily have any grace either, right?"
"Hey! He looks like a person, not like the two people behind him, one is a rough guy and the other is a nouveau riche."
"Mr. Ouyang, don't worry too much about these common people. There are many people in this world who pretend to be like others. Let's just join the poetry club."
"That makes sense, that makes sense."
All the Confucians entered the fasting.
"Oh, why are you stopping me? I won't hit them. When dealing with such people, they will be scared if I yell." Jiang Yuntian complained with his hands on his hips.
Song Che smiled and said: "Since it's a poetry meeting, poetry will naturally decide the winner. Let's go and see how they are really talented and learned."
The three of them entered the fast.
The lobby of Huilanzhai is divided into left and right sides. The left side is for male guests, and the right side is separated by a screen curtain, where all female guests are seated.
Daliang was a very open dynasty. During every festival and event, women could go out of the palace, go to casinos and eat out, so this poetry gathering was divided into men and women, half and half.
There were not many seats left, and there happened to be three empty seats.
"Hey, aren't you the little brother who acted bravely before?"
The fourth seat from the bottom was occupied by the man in white who had saved the little girl on the street. When he left, there were five candied haws left, but now he had only two left.
The man in white glanced at the three of them out of the corner of his eye. He was not polite and did not dislike them, but said nothing.
Jiang Yuntian wanted to come forward to say hello, but Song Che pinned him down on the seat and shook his head to indicate that he should not use his warm face to face his cold butt again.
Soon, the house was full of guests. The doctor who presided over half-closed the door, cleared his throat, and came to the center of the hall:
"On the first day of the first lunar month, the new year begins. Welcome to Huilanzhai..."
After some literate speeches, we officially entered the topic:
"This first month poetry meeting adopts the 'beating system', which is divided into two stages - the first is singing, and the second is couplets. I will come up with a theme for the singing, mainly seven-rhythm poems, and the second five-rhythm poems. Everyone can attack and defend the arena freely. , the one who succeeds in the final challenge will be the 'King of Poetry' in tonight's New Year Poetry Club;
As for the pair, the veteran has little talent and little knowledge, so he can only find a talented man and a beautiful woman to take the lead in making the first couplet. In the same way, if he can defend the match successfully, he will be the 'King of Duel' tonight - please look at the lottery! "
The doctor pointed to the hall, and the servant took off the red cloth, a golden fan, and a golden peony:
"These two gifts are the organizer of this poetry meeting. Boss Liu of Baiyu Tower specially asked the skilled craftsmen in the building to make them with pure gold. The Poet King will get the golden fan, and the King of Dui will get the golden peony!"
Let’s not talk about the honor, but the weight of these two prizes of gold is not a small amount of wealth.
The hall was full of guests, eager to try it out.
"This golden fan belongs to me tonight!"
"What are you waiting for? Let's talk about the theme!"
"Uh... I originally wanted to recite a poem, but you can't wait any longer, so I won't show off here," the doctor paused and said loudly:
"Suzhou in the south of the Yangtze River is good, Suzhou in the south of the Yangtze River is wonderful, so tonight's New Year Poetry Festival will take 'Suzhou' as the theme. There is no limit on humanities, customs, geography, and the subject matter, as long as it is related to Suzhou!"
