It has been half a year since Li Chouxin arrived in Kyoto. Since he got this permanent official position in front of the emperor, he has nothing else to do except recite poems and write poems when summoned by the emperor. Although he is free and at ease, with wine, meat and flattery, after half a year, Li Chouxin has not felt Satisfied, consciously full of revenge, with nowhere to show it, how can it serve the country and the people just by reciting poems and making comments?
On this day, Li Chouxin was very depressed and took He Yuanjun to the Yunli brothel where they first met, hoping to get drunk before resting.
He Yuanjun saw that Li Chouxin was unhappy and said, "Since ancient times, good things have come to pass. Brother Chouxin, don't be discouraged. With your talent, you will eventually be reused."
Li Chou smiled bitterly and said: "If one poem and one article can bring peace to the world, I will have no regrets in my sorrow. But now, even though I am involved in the court, it is really difficult to fulfill my ambition."
During the conversation, the two of them had arrived at the door of the Yunli brothel. He Yuanjun looked at the bustling brothel and said to Li Chouxin: "Brother Chouxin, I have wine tonight to get you drunk. Why are you thinking so much? I will find you one later." A beautiful girl will help you relieve your worries."
Li Chouxin smiled awkwardly. Although they had been to Yunli brothel many times, they had never stayed here. They just liked the lively and real atmosphere. So he said to He Yuanjun: "Brother He, don't worry about it." My heart is joking, how can I relieve my worries? Du Kang is the only one. In my worried heart, wine is better than anything else."
While chatting and laughing, the two of them arrived at their usual place, sat down, ordered some wine and food, and started eating and drinking.
Although everyone regarded the two of them as weirdos, they didn't want girls in a place like this. Two men drinking together was indeed incompatible with this place, but the madam didn't think so in her heart. After all, it was also a business. There was no way to do it, as long as she had money. Just accept it.
Neither of them cared about the opinions of others, they were just drinking and enjoying themselves.
In an inn on the outskirts of Beijing, a melodious flute sound came from the room. People in the inn were attracted by the melodious flute sound and were curious about who was playing it.
The people in the room were Siyao and Ling'er who had separated from Li Ke in Jinyang, but Si Yao didn't know that Li Ke had changed his name to Li Chouxin.
Coincidentally, the inn where Siyao and his wife lived was right in front of Li Chouxin's yard, only two or three feet apart.
"Miss, do you think we can meet Mr. Li? Along the way, miss, you don't know how many times you have read his name."
After listening to Ling'er's words, Si Yao's face glowed red, she stopped playing the jade flute in her hand, and said: "You girl, how dare you make fun of me. Besides, Mr. Li is very affectionate and loyal. Miss, I How about just missing him?"
"Yes, yes, Ling'er doesn't say it, but Ling'er knows."
At this time, Li Chouxin also asked He Yuanjun to leave the Yunli brothel, and after chatting for a while, they went home.
Li Chouxin returned to the yard. Qinyin and others were waiting as before. Seeing that Li Chouxin smelled of alcohol, Seyu stepped forward and said: "Brother Chouxin, I know you love wine, but you can't do this every day. Recently, you've been drinking more and more." Too much, don’t forget that there are three of us waiting for you at home.”
After listening to Se Yu's words, Li Chou became more awake and said: "Sister Se Yu is right, Chou Xin can't treat you badly." After saying that, he hugged Se Yu's shoulders, his body went limp, and he dropped Se Yu. Go down.
Seeing this, Qinyin stepped forward to help Li Chouxin's other arm and put it on his shoulder.
Zhang Xiaopan, who was practicing on the side, also stepped forward and said: "Master, you who are so drunk every day have almost forgotten us. If this job is not pleasant, then just resign. Let's continue to travel around the world and make waves in the world." Be happy!"
At this time, the melodious sound of the flute sounded again, reaching Li Chouxin's ears. He felt that the sound of the flute was full of emotion, and there was a sense of anticipation of reunion. After listening carefully, it was still somewhat familiar.
A person flashed in my mind.
Si Yao? No, no, no, I must be overthinking it. Since Si Yao had already decided to stay in Jinyang and would never appear here now, he must be unhappy and missing his old friend.
"The sound of the piano is whispering. When you hear this song, do you feel like you are meeting old friends? Why don't you sisters also take out your musical instruments and play it to respond to the sad and beautiful sound of the flute and give this lonely person some comfort. "
After listening to Li Chouxin's words, the two took out the harp and played with it in the courtyard, because they knew that when Li Chouxin heard the sound of the flute, he must have thought of Ziwei and the others, but they didn't know that the person Li Chouxin was thinking about was Siyao.
The sound of the piano sounded, and his thoughts suddenly surged. Li Chouxin was fascinated by the sound of the piano and the harmonious singing of the flute.
Si Yao in the inn was also curious about the sudden sound of the piano. He thought that the sound of the piano matched the sound of his own flute, and it must be played by someone with good attainments in music, so he didn't listen. Stop and continue following the player.
After finishing the song, Si Yao was still not finished with her thoughts. She just felt that she was so lucky to have such a close friend in this bustling Kyoto during such a long night.
However, Qin Yin looked at Li Chou Xin's melancholy face but did not intend to continue playing. Instead, he walked to Li Chou Xin and said, "Brother Chou Xin, you are missing your sisters again. Qin Yin can't bear to see your brother look so sad, so let's stop here tonight. Why don't you let me and Sister Seyu serve my brother tonight, which can be regarded as relieving Brother Chouxin's worries."
When Li Chouxin heard what Qinyin said, he quickly said: "Don't you feel sorry for your two sisters? I know that Chouxin is thinking about old friends tonight, but I still want you sisters to serve me. This is inappropriate."
Seyu said: "Brother Chouxin, why should he be so unconventional? What's the difference between my two sisters and Sister Ziwei? We are all sisters. If they are not around, it's not a bad idea for the two of us to take their place in serving Brother Chouxin." .”
After hearing this, Li Chouxin still didn't dare to tell the story about Si Yao. After all, he promised everyone when they parted that he would no longer have anything to do with other women. If he said it now, the two sisters in front of him would definitely fall out, and it would be troublesome to coax her. So he said: "That's all, then tonight's worries will be your sisters'."
"Hey! Xiao Pan discovered that Master and Master no longer take Xiao Pan seriously. She is so shameless in front of Xiao Pan."
Seeing Zhang Xiaopan say this, Qinyin replied: "Xiao Pan, master and master are adults, there is nothing to be embarrassed about in your own home. When you grow up, master will look for you, and then you will marry a wife." Understood."
But Zhang Xiaopan pouted and said: "Oh, Xiaopan doesn't want to marry a wife, women are too troublesome!" After Zhang Xiaopan said this, he ran away, leaving Qinyin angry.
In the inn, Siyao saw that the sound of the piano had stopped and looked at the window dreamily, missing Li Chouxin more and more.
At this time, Li Chouxin entered the room surrounded by the sound of musical instruments and whispers, and there was laughter and laughter for a while.
The next day, Li Chouxin did not enter the palace, because although this official position was personally granted by the emperor, he could not get involved if he went there. Unless summoned by the emperor, he would just go to the ministers to fill in the numbers, which was quite comfortable. And this is also the reason why Li Chou is melancholy.
Zhang Xiaopan practiced in the courtyard early in the morning as usual. He had made great progress in the past six months. The masters in the world were no longer Zhang Xiaopan's opponents.
Li Chouxin dragged her tired body out and saw Zhang Xiaopan practicing hard. She was very satisfied and said to Zhang Xiaopan: "Xiaopan, come here, I have something to give you."
Li Chou went into the room, took out a secret book, and handed it to Zhang Xiaopan at the door.
Zhang Xiaopan picked it up and took a look, only to see the words Qinglian Qi Transformation Technique. He had doubts in his heart and said: "Master, my disciple knows the Qinglian Qi Transformation Technique, but Xiaopan has been following you for so long and you haven't taught it to me. Why don't you teach it to me today?" Pass it to Xiaopan?"
Li Chou said quietly: "Before, I saw that you had practiced the Flying Elephant Technique, the Heart-Inducing Technique and the Sword Moves, but the foundation was not stable. If you practice this secret book again, I am afraid that you will be overwhelmed and become obsessed with it. But now it seems that you have already mastered all the skills you have learned before." You have almost learned it, now is the time to teach it to you. Maybe by now you have practiced this method and come into contact with the Galaxy Luojiutian earlier than Master."
After hearing what Li Chouxin said, Zhang Xiaopan was filled with joy and didn't know what to say. He just said excitedly: "Thank you, Master. Xiaopan will go practice now." Then he ran into his room holding the secret book as if he had found a treasure.
At this time, Qinyin Seyu also came out, and Li Chouxin turned around and looked at the two satisfied people with a pampered look on their face.
"Brother Chouxin, please take us out to play. You haven't taken us out much these days."
Li Chouxin looked at Se Yu's coquettish look and agreed.
Not far after going out, the three of them were attracted by a commotion on the street.
A group of people gathered together on the street and were listening to what the people inside were saying. When the three of them got closer and listened, they understood the reason.
It turned out that Li Yi, the son of the prime minister, was going to hold a poetry treasure hunt competition at Huichuan Building, the largest restaurant in Kyoto. The prize turned out to be a calligraphy work by Zhang Jiuyan, which was extremely hard to find. For a time, everyone on the street started talking heatedly after hearing the news.
Li Chou thought to himself, he didn't expect Li Changji's son to be so vassal. Thinking that Li Yi must have a secret connection with Huichuan Tower, Li Chou smiled and whispered to Qin Yin beside him: "This The Poetry Treasure Hunting Conference is fake, I’m afraid making money is real, so just don’t watch it.”
After Li Chouxin finished speaking, she took the two of them away.
Si Yao in the inn was also attracted by the noise outside. She listened to the talk outside by the window and also heard about the poetry treasure hunt competition.
Ling'er spoke quickly at this time and said: "Miss, do you think Mr. Li Ke would go if he were here?"
Si Yao's eyes lit up, and she suddenly remembered all the things that happened in Ciyu Tower that day, and couldn't help but fall into a flash of memories.
"Miss, miss, what are you thinking about?"
"Ling'er, are you saying that if Mr. Li Ke were here, he would also go to this treasure hunt competition?"
"Miss, Ling'er just said that. It's unknown whether Mr. Li is in Kyoto or not."
However, Ling'er's words seemed to give Si Yao hope. She would go to this poetry conference whether Li Ke was there or not. Maybe she would meet Li Ke. If not, she should go and experience the literati in the capital. After all, this was a banquet hosted by the prime minister's son, and most of the attendees were celebrities with real talent and knowledge.
On the street, Qinyin said to Li Chouxin: "Brother Chouxin, are you really not going to this poetry conference? I think brother, you have been a little depressed recently, why not go and have a look, maybe you can get something unexpected."
"Forget it, what other unexpected gains can there be? It's Zhang Jiuyan's calligraphy and writings. Although they are valuable and hard to find, I have experienced a lot of arty gatherings in the past six months and it is very boring." Li Chouxin said.
Seeing that Li Chouxin was like this, Seyu also stepped forward and said: "Brother Chouxin, Seyu thinks what sister said makes sense. Maybe going can help you regain your grace. That's the brother Chouxin we know."
Li Chouxin looked at the two sisters strangely, thought for a while and then said: "I'm afraid of you two sisters, okay, I'll go! It's just that I have offended the prime minister a lot these days, so Li Yi naturally knows that, if he goes like this , it is inevitable that he will make things difficult for you."
Qin Yin said: "This is not easy. Brother, look, there is a mask seller on the street. Who can recognize you when you are wearing a mask?"
Li Chouxin saw that it was a good idea, so he picked a mask and prepared to attend the banquet tonight.
After Si Yao decided to participate in the poetry meeting, she also made preparations and sent Ling'er to the street to buy a fox mask.
The three of them didn't wander around for long before returning to the yard.
The sun was setting, and the number of pedestrians on the street had not decreased. It was still very lively. It was still Kyoto, but it was very different from ordinary small towns.
After getting ready, Li Chouxin put on her mask and headed towards Huichuan Tower.
Si Yao also left the inn one after another.
When they arrived at Huichuan Tower, it was just as Li Chou thought, this bullshit poetry treasure hunt competition was clearly a way to make money in the name of a poetry gathering.
The person at the door was not someone from the store, but an entourage who claimed to be from the Li family, that is, the person behind Li Yi. Standing at the door, he collected the fee from those who came to participate in the poetry meeting. Everyone who entered to participate was one hundred taels of silver.
Li Chou also understood that it was not that everyone was stupid, but that everyone knew that Li Yi was the son of the prime minister. If he could please Li Yi, he might be able to show off his talents in front of the prime minister. This mere one hundred taels of silver is nothing, even five. There will definitely be people coming for a hundred taels, and there will be an endless stream.
Li Chouxin didn't think too much and entered Huichuan Building after paying the admission fee of one hundred taels.
As soon as he entered, Li Chouxin found that the restaurant was indeed as its name suggested. There were all kinds of literati and bachelors gathered inside, all eagerly waiting for the poetry meeting to begin.
Li Chouxin found a seat and sat down. At this time, Si Yao also walked in wearing a mask. He looked around and stopped at Li Chouxin, so he walked up.
"This young master, the little girl looked around. Only the young master and I wore masks, and he is only one person. I wonder if I can sit at the same table with the young master?"
The voice sounded familiar to Li Chouxin, and after looking at her appearance, she couldn't tell that the person in front of her was Siyao. She said politely, "It doesn't matter, I happen to be alone without a companion. If the girl doesn't mind, let's sit together."
Si Yao was also puzzled. The voice was somewhat familiar, but both of them were wearing masks, so it was not easy to inquire further, so he sat down at the table.
The two of them sat at the same table without speaking, as they seemed to be thinking about something.
However, Li Chouxin spoke first: "Do you also like poetry, girl? Since you are here, why do you cover your face with a mask?"
"Young master is joking. Although my daughter also knows some poetry, she has other purposes for coming here tonight. She is just a woman and it is not convenient for her to show up on this occasion, so she is wearing a mask. Besides, isn't the master also wearing a mask?"
"What the girl said is that I just came to see the excitement, and because I look ugly, I put on a mask to avoid being laughed at by others."
Si Yao looked at the person in front of him with some interest and a sense of familiarity, but it was hard to ask more questions at this time.
Li Chouxin also felt the same way.
At this time, Li Yi walked out surrounded by everyone, his face full of the proud look of making a lot of money.
"Everyone has been waiting for a long time. The poetry conference will start soon. Someone, come and present tonight's treasure!"
After Li Yi spoke loudly, the servants lifted up a wooden frame and placed it beside Li Yi.
Li Yi said: "Everyone, please take a look. This is the calligraphy of Zhang Jiuyan, a great calligrapher today. But it is hard to find. I got this from my father after begging him for a long time. Whoever wins tonight's poetry competition will win." That’s who the calligraphy will belong to.”
As soon as Li Yi finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to unfold the calligraphy and presented it in front of everyone. There was a commotion below.
"Is this Zhang Jiuyan's letter? Even if you can't win, you can still be worthy of the one hundred taels of silver if you get a glimpse of it."
"This is actually Zhang's cursive calligraphy. It is just like the legend, with superb skills and the words are like flying dragons!"
Li Chouxin also looked at the calligraphy. The calligraphy was indeed very charming. It seemed that the rumor that Zhang Jiuyan's calligraphy was based on cursive script was not groundless. Even people who didn't know calligraphy could tell that the calligraphy was not simple and beautiful. .
"Master Li, may I ask what the theme of tonight's poem is?" someone asked impatiently.
Seeing that everyone was in high spirits after reading Zhang Jiuyan's calligraphy, Li Yi said: "Tonight's poetry conference has no fixed theme. For this poetry conference, I specially invited the world-famous poet Mr. Ouyang Qing. There is only one rule for tonight, that is Mr. Ouyang Qing composes a poem, and everyone competes with each other with poems. If he surpasses Mr. Ouyang Qing, he will win. No matter how many poems Mr. Ouyang Qing writes, it all depends on his happiness until he admits defeat. Otherwise, you will not win. Calculate the winner.”
"Look, it's still up to Mr. Li. The poetry meeting was held and the money was collected, but there is absolutely no plan to send this letter away. With Mr. Ouyang here, let alone a few poems, even if the last one is published , then no one can match it, and there is only one winner in the end, and that is Young Master Li." Someone on the side whispered.
Si Yao also said to Li Chouxin: "Master, this is too shameless. This Ouyang Qing is a famous poet. Who can compare with him?"
Li Chouxin smiled and said, "So what about Ouyang Qing, we will find out later."
Ouyang Qing and Li Chouxin were familiar with him. They had met him at the Xunyang Poetry Festival. At that time, he was impressed by Li Chouxin's poetic talent. Li Chouxin couldn't help but smile when he thought of this.
Si Yao was stunned and didn't understand the person in front of him. He only felt that judging from these unruly expressions, he looked a bit like Li Chouxin.
At this time, Ouyang Qing stepped forward and said: "The bright moon hangs high today. Since ancient times, many people have written about the moon. Why not follow the cliché of this first poem and use the moon as the title!"
After Ouyang Qing finished speaking, he composed a poem, which said:
The moon is full in Xijing and the fireworks are flourishing.
Looking across the intestines from the Beauty Bridge.
But when I see everyone coming, they are all passers-by.
Only melancholy and ripples remain.
Everyone took a breath, this poem was not written about the Wangfu Bridge in Kyoto. Over the years, countless beauties have shed tears on the bridge, but they have not been able to hope for their sweethearts, especially on the days of the full moon, but they can only watch. Although Kyoto is prosperous, it is always difficult for people to be happy.
In just a few words, Ouyang Qing's poem vividly describes the longing for reunion. He is truly worthy of being a world-famous poet.
However, there are still some people who are unwilling to give up, and there are many people who come forward to confront the Tao. Such as:
A piece of moonlight is white,
Thousands of miles are covered with frost.
I don’t see Chang’e coming.
All I can see is starlight.
There are also people who write about homesickness, such as:
There is a moon in Xijing,
My hometown is in the south.
The bright shadow shines on me,
There is no way back.
Although there are many kinds of poems emerging one after another, no one can surpass Ouyang Qing. From time to time, some people make everyone burst into laughter just because they cobble together a piece of poetry.
Li Yi was very satisfied and said, "Is this the end of tonight's poetry meeting?"
At this time, the masked man next to Li Chouxin stood up and chanted:
Last night the sound of the piano was as heavy as dew,
Hang down all the hundreds of bushes today.
It’s hard to see off an occasional guest from a foreign land.
Inviting you to drink with the moon is a natural meeting.
As soon as this poem came out, everyone was surprised. It was unbelievable that a woman could write such a poem. They were all curious about this woman wearing a mask and asked to take off the mask to see her face. However, they were Si Yao declined.
Li Chouxin on the side was very excited when he heard this poem, because this poem was written by him as a gift to Si Yao, and the person in front of him not only had a similar voice, but also knew this poem. It was probably Si Yao, but Li Chouxin still didn't recognize each other in time, after all, this was not a good time.
Ouyang Qing also said at this time: "This poem is indeed outstanding, but compared with the next one, it is just the same. It cannot be regarded as a winner."
Li Yi continued to talk and laugh, and asked everyone to continue to compare poems. Seeing Li Yi's proud look, Li Chou decided not to hold back any longer, so he stood up and chanted.
