Early in the morning, Yu Huanzhang came to see An Yan and kept knocking on An Yan's door.
"Brother Wei! Get up!"
An Yan slept a little late last night reading a book, and when she was woken up by the sound like an alarm clock, she felt very irritated.
An Yan opened the door for him and said helplessly: "Brother Huanzhang, disturbing people's dreams is not what a scholar would do."
But Yu Huanzhang laughed and said: "The sun is getting late outside the window, my dear brother is sleepy, and his good time is wasted. What a pity!"
"Will Shi Shi leave so early?" An Yan asked.
"You don't have to go so early to the Poetry Fair. Didn't Brother Yan just come to Luoyang? I want to take you around the city."
"Brother Huanzhang, wait for me to get dressed, wash up, and have some breakfast."
Yu Huanzhang said, "Brother Yan, please wash up quickly. The food at home is not delicious. Let's go out to eat."
An Yan was urged to put on clothes, Xiangyun and Zhenniang brought water and toiletries, Yu Huanzhang looked at the two women for a while, and suddenly said: "Brother Yan, these two maids are quite pretty. "
Xiangyun and Zhenniang blushed immediately when they heard this.
An Yanze said, "Brother Huanzhang should have something better in his house."
Yu Huanzhang curled his lips and said: "There are good ones, but they are not mine."
His father was strict with him, and he only had a few male servants to serve him. Although his father was strict, his upbringing was not very strict. The stricter his father was, the more rebellious he became in his heart.
After An Yan finished washing and put on his headband, no one would notice his short hair.
After leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion with Yu Huanzhang and getting on his carriage, Yu Huanzhang directly ordered the groom: "Go to Fangzhen!"
"Where is Fangzhen?" An Yan asked.
Yu Huanzhang smiled and said: "Fangzhen is not a town, but a shop. Brother, I will take you to try our Central Plains specialty, spicy soup!"
An Yan: "...it's hot in the afternoon, why don't we have something light?"
Yu Huanzhang laughed loudly: "You don't have this delicious food in Yanzhou, how can you not taste it!"
The groom drove through the streets of Luoyang. Although it was early in the morning, the city was already lively. Shops were open for business, tea stalls and wine shops had set up their awnings outside their doors early, and workers inserted thick bamboo poles into the holes in the ground.
Fangzhen Hot and Spicy Soup Shop is a two-story attic shop. During the breakfast room, business is extremely hot. Standing at the door of the shop, An Yan can feel the heat coming from inside.
A bowl of spicy spicy soup in the morning will make you feel heartbroken all day long. If it's winter, it's okay, but it's hot summer, and An Yan really doesn't have any desire.
"This is good stuff. Brother Yan, you must have never tasted it."
Yu Huanzhang took An Yan directly to the second floor, sat down at a window seat, and skillfully asked the waiter to order. Not long after, two steaming bowls of spicy soup were brought up, plus a fried cake and a A meat box, a fried bun, and two tea eggs.
Compared with the first floor, the second floor seems quieter. The clothes of the guests here are also more expensive, and the prices on the menu are probably different.
Seeing Yu Huanzhang directly kicking his legs on the chair beside him without any image, with an extremely bold and unrestrained posture, An Yan felt that he was much closer to him, and couldn't help but smile: "Brother Huanzhang's appearance is no different from the guests below. "
Yu Huanzhang saw that there was no contempt in An Yan's eyes, and he immediately chuckled and said, "Brother, I usually eat on the first floor. I only went up to the second floor when I brought you here today. I'm afraid you won't be used to it down there."
As he said that, he glanced at the guests around him and whispered to An Yan: "The people eating here are too busy, which makes me uncomfortable. Why are you pretending to be drinking spicy soup?"
It was really surprising to hear these words coming from a rich young man like him. An Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard the words. He immediately picked up the spoon and took a mouthful of it and put it in his mouth.
"Hiss...hot!"
Yu Huanzhang said happily: "Brother Yan, don't be in a hurry when drinking this stuff."
He put the peeled tea eggs into An Yan's bowl, then picked up a spoon and took out a mouthful, blew gently on his mouth, and then slowly sipped it into his mouth.
Then he picked up a piece of fried cake with chopsticks and ate it happily.
While An Yan was sipping spicy soup, he looked out the window casually. He saw the bustling people, the vendors shouting along the street, and the calm and comfortable smiling faces. This was clearly a scene of a prosperous age.
But he thought of the numb and dull eyes and the withered, black and thin hands outside the city...
Which one is reality and which one is the human world?
An Yan's mood was complicated, and he couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. He had no appetite at all, but he still drank the bowl of spicy soup.
Yu Huanzhang smiled and said: "What, my brother didn't lie to you?"
An Yan exclaimed: "Excellent!"
Yu Huanzhang said loudly: "Second servant, keep accounts."
The waiter on the second floor heard the sound and immediately bowed and responded: "Okay, Mr. Yu, please walk slowly!"
People of Yu Huanzhang's status never need to pay for meals in Luoyang City. They are all recorded in the account until the end of the month when the clerk goes to the house to settle the bill. Even if someone deliberately overwrites it, the family with a big business will not care about such a small amount of money. .
After getting on the carriage, Yu Huanzhang said: "Go to Huxi Garden."
There is a Yunhu Lake in Luoyang City, so named because Huxi Garden is located to the west of Yunhu Lake.
Most of the people living near the lake were rich people, and it was obviously much quieter here. The carriage stopped in front of a noble-looking and elegant attic.
Yu Huanzhang and An Yan got out of the car and came to the door. Yu Huanzhang took out an invitation and handed it to the doorman.
"Master Yu, please." The doorman said respectfully.
"How many people are here?" Yu Huanzhang asked casually.
"Almost half of the guests are here."
The interior of the attic was elegantly furnished, and the walls on both sides were all filled with poems. An Yan read one at random, which was far inferior to the ones he had recited in his previous life.
Come to think of it, everything that can be handed down from generation to generation is a fine product.
Of course, you can also become famous if you write a song like "Looking from a distance, a rock looks big, but looking up close, a big rock."
Go up to the second floor and pass through the screen. There are already several people here.
"Brother Huan Zhang!"
"Brother Ziye, brother Zhiyuan!"
Everyone present knew Yu Huanzhang, and they all stood up and came over to greet him warmly.
They were not as good as Yu Huanzhang, their father was a fourth-rank official, and their uncle was the internal history of Feng Pavilion and the prime minister of the dynasty!
"Brother Ziye, do you have any new works?"
"It will be released next month, and I will give it to Brother Huanzhang first!"
"Hahaha, I'll look forward to it then."
After some polite greetings, Yu Huanzhang called out An Yan again: "I will introduce to you all that this is my good brother, An Yan. He is from Chang'an and is especially good at poetry and music."
Listening to Yu Huanzhang's introduction to him, An Yan thought to himself that except for the right name, nothing else was right.
When he was drinking spicy soup just now, Yu Huanzhang clearly knew that he was from Yanzhou, so how could he become a person from An'an?
"It turns out to be Brother An, nice to meet you!"
"I must see Brother An's literary talent later!"
An Yan put on a smile and handed everyone one by one. He didn't have any literary talent. He could copy a few poems, but he was worried that he wouldn't be suitable for the occasion. Moreover, he had already set up a persona with Yu Jingtang who had never read a book.
Is it possible that the whole sentence "Looks like a rock from a distance" is really necessary?
Yu Huanzhang took An Yan to a seat and whispered to An Yan, "People here are very particular about their origins. If you say you are from the small place of Yanzhou, they will look down on you."
An Yan smiled and said, "When did I become interested in poetry and music?"
But Yu Huanzhang laughed in a low voice: "You will fall in love with those ladies when they come out."
A maid came to serve tea and snacks, a faint aroma filled the air, and a faint cloud of smoke wafted from the incense burner nearby.
An Yan also saw several servants carrying several large things up front and back. Below was a solid wooden barrel, and above was a hollow wooden frame. There was also an ice cube the size of a bench inside, which was placed in the corner of the room.
Rich people will indeed enjoy it. With these pieces of ice, the room will cool down in a short time. Otherwise, how can you still be in the mood to write poetry in the heat of noon?
Yu Huanzhang and An Yan talked endlessly about the development history of the Xiyuan Poetry Society, as well as who usually came, and even gossiped about these people to An Yan.
During the conversation, I learned that there are only three types of people who can participate in the Xiyuan Poetry Society. One is the son of an official, the other is a new scholar, and the third is a person with a reputation for talent.
For the children of officials in the first li, the grade of the elders in the family should not be too low, and those below the fifth grade cannot come.
New Scholars who meet condition 2 must be among the top ten on the list.
As for the talent name in condition three, it is completely subjective.
Only then did An Yan realize that the Xiyuan Poetry Club was a gathering of officials and young ladies. As for the children of wealthy merchants and the famous courtesans from Luoyang that An Yan had previously thought about, they were not qualified to enter.
However, I learned from Yu Huanzhang that even high-ranking officials are just pretending to be noble. There are not many people who really like poetry. They either come here for Wenren Jinping or come to play with whom. Everyone has slept with each other in private...
Hearing this, An Yan clicked his tongue. Looking at the elegant and gentle men standing there, there was something sanctimonious about it.
After thinking about it, An Yan asked, "Then Wenren Jinping is the same as those people..."
He cares a little about his fiancée. If his private life is as chaotic, he cannot accept it.
"Of course Wenren Jinping is different!" Yu Huanzhang suddenly glared.
"She is a truly talented woman. The original purpose of establishing this poetry club was to make friends with talented and learned people."
An Yan smiled and said, "If that's the case, why do we need to set up this so-called door frame? If we only focus on talent and learning, there will also be many people from poor families."
Yu Huanzhang frowned and said: "If there was no threshold, wouldn't all the three religions and nine streams come here? What would become of the West Garden Poetry Conference?"
"Wouldn't it be better to change the threshold to poetry questions, and those who meet the standard in solving the questions can enter?" An Yan said.
After thinking about it, Yu Huanzhang still shook his head: "If you are really knowledgeable, you can just take the exams and gain fame."
As he spoke, he suddenly sneered: "What can be determined by a question? If word spreads about it, wouldn't everyone in Luoyang City want to solve this question? Let them feel that by solving the question, they can have a glimpse of beauty and beauty. What did Wenren Jinping think?"
An Yan was speechless, but he understood Yu Huanzhang's thoughts in his heart. He seemed bohemian and informal, yet very "sober".
Just like at Fangzhen spicy soup shop, he looked down on those people on the second floor who were pretentious because his status was more noble than the people on the second floor, so he had such disdain.
He is willing to eat with the common people on the first floor because he is willing to do so. It is because he is willing to sit with the people on the first floor, not because the people on the first floor can sit with him.
The idea of family status is engraved in the bones of a person of his origin.
Even if Wenren Jinping really wanted to meet talented people, if he lowered the threshold, these high-ranking officials' children would not come.
How is a "talented person" defined? There will be all kinds of rumors when the time comes. If Wenren Jinping is willing, will her family agree?
Thinking about it this way, the door frame of the Xiyuan Poetry Club is actually very wide. It is probably the bottom line for people like them, and perhaps there should be no third article.
As for the children of wealthy businessmen that An Yan had previously thought about?
None of them are short of money. They can go to the spicy soup restaurant to eat tea eggs for two cents each, and they can also spend a lot of money in the best restaurant in Luoyang. In their eyes, those wealthy businessmen's children are just using their money. Bronze stink pretends to be a lowly person.
Oiran?
If a woman who has money can sleep with her, if Luoyang really has a courtesan who is the most beautiful in the city, most of the young talents present will become like-minded.
They are just playthings, how can such people deserve to sit with them.
An Yan didn't say much and heard Yu Huanzhang chatting about gossip.
About half an hour later, people came one after another. Not all of them would get up and greet them. Some people he didn't bother to pay attention to. When they greeted him, he only gave "hmm". Regardless of the other person's embarrassed look.
After listening to Yu Huanzhang's introduction, he learned that it was not that these people were from lower backgrounds, but that he could not understand these people. There was a man whose father was a fifth-rank official. Everyone ignored him, but Yu Huanzhang was able to talk happily with him. .
As for the people Yu Huanzhang disliked, they all had a common characteristic: they all came for Wenren Jinping.
After knowing the reason, An Yan felt a little displeased when looking at these guys.
The crowd on the second floor suddenly became noisy, and new people arrived at the stairs.
Yu Huanzhang looked sideways and frowned, muttering: "Why is this bastard here? I shouldn't invite him."
An Yan looked towards the stairs and saw a tall, young man surrounded by people. He was quite handsome, but there was a faint hint of anger between his eyebrows.
"Brother Juan Shi, I didn't expect you to come to the poetry meeting."
"How could you not come if you are so beautiful? Hahaha."
When Yu Huanzhang heard this, he spat in a low voice: "Bah, Wenren Jinping will invite him? He's just dreaming, so he came with his idiot."
This was the first time An Yan heard Yu Huanzhang utter dirty words. He looked at the man being admired by the stars and asked, "Who is that person?"
Yu Huanzhang frowned, then picked up the teacup and said, "Shentu Junshi, his father is General Shentu Ying, the general of the Hussars."
"A disgusting guy!"
General Hussar, the highest military officer, and a duke, his status in Xuantang should be second only to the royal family.
If you hold military power, you may be more noble than an ordinary royal family.
"What a great official." An Yan couldn't help but say.
Yu Huanzhang was disdainful: "What's so great, my uncle is also the internal history of Feng Pavilion and minister Zuo Pushe and Duke Wei!"
An Yan didn't know that Yu Jingtang had so many titles. From this point of view, Yu Jingtang and Shen Tuying, one was the head of the civil service and the other was the head of the military.
However, in such a peaceful era, Shentu Ying should not have military power in his hands. Compared with Yu Jingtang, his influence would be infinitely reduced.
An Yan suddenly thought that Xuantang's army was not an ordinary army, but special soldiers equipped with various magical weapons and armor.
Maybe the reality is different from what you think.
Shentu Junshi suddenly walked towards Yu Huanzhang and An Yan.
Yu Huanzhang sat quietly sideways on his seat and drank tea. From the corner of his eye, he looked at his figure getting closer and closer, as well as the people lined up behind him.
"I heard crows cawing in the trees just after I left the house. I really should have checked the almanac in advance to avoid encountering any wild dogs." Yu Huanzhang suddenly spoke, as if speaking to An Yan beside him, but the voice was so loud that everyone present was shocked. Can hear.
The smile on Shentu Junshi's face turned cold in an instant, and he lost the courtesy he used to treat others: "Yu Huanzhang, you don't have a long memory. If you don't hide when you see me, is it because you didn't get enough of the beating last time? Yu Huanting isn't even here. Luoyang, you still don’t know how to behave with your tail between your legs?”
Yu Huanzhang said angrily: "It's extremely vulgar! Is it possible for a country boy like you to come to this poetry meeting?"
A smile suddenly appeared on Shentu Junshi's face: "You think I don't want to come here, but Jinping personally invited me, how can I refuse?"
Yu Huanzhang was so angry that he jumped up instantly, his face flushed red, he pointed at Shentu Junshi's nose and cursed: "You bastard, how can you call Jinping?!"
How could Shentu Junshi bear it when someone pointed his nose at him and scolded him like this? Veins were popping out from his forehead. He already had a tall and thick figure, and with his hideous and ferocious face, he looked a bit scary.
Upon seeing this, An Yan stood up quietly to prevent the other party from suddenly making a move and causing Yu Huanzhang to suffer.
The rest of the people stood on the sidelines and watched. Everyone in the circle knew that Yu Huanzhang and Shentu Junshi would not deal with them, and no one of them dared to help.
Just when the tension was at stake, a crisp chime sound suddenly sounded in the attic, interrupting the depressing atmosphere.
A female attendant came out from behind the screen and said, "Gentlemen, please take your seats. The poetry concert has begun."
