Xie Yilu woke up suddenly, as if someone stepped on his foot in the dark, and he was not breathing well, accompanied by the burning smell of alcohol in his throat, when he opened his eyes, there were messy cups and plates , The bowl of water smooth noodles that I asked for before I died drunk, reached out to touch it, it was already cold. He covered his mouth and retched twice, "Kacha", there was a crisp sound on his right hand, "Kacha", followed by another sound, someone was cracking melon seeds.
"Oh, Mr. Liu..." Diagonally opposite, there was a boy's voice of narrowing his throat, and his delicate and lazy laughter, sometimes tense and sometimes slow, with a hint of slutty.
Xie Yilu looked to the right, in the gray sky of dawn, the light of a candle that was about to burn out, an arm that looked like a lotus root, wearing a golden bracelet, a pink face the size of a palm, and a flowery hair, the boss A white peony was crushed so much that the bun was crooked.
He looked at others, and they also turned to look at him, big eyes like water waves, thin willow eyebrows, thin lips covered with rouge moved, showing a little smile: "Are you awake?"
With a disrespectful tone, but a bit of familiar intimacy, Xie Yilu nodded: "What time is it?"
"It's about five o'clock," the boy dressed as a woman said unhurriedly, using the half-south and half-north Nanjing dialect, cracking the melon seeds as he spoke, "Master Butang will be back first."
Fourteen or fifteen? Xie Yilu guessed that it was the young man who gave the man wine with a red scarf and green sleeves: "It's time to break up."
"Separate?" The boy seemed to have heard some joke, his brows raised high, "I know the people in the Ministry of War, if they can leave at this time tomorrow, it will be considered fast."
Xie Yilu followed his slightly raised little fingertips to look over the mat, it was crooked, one or two were awake, and they were also singing crookedly with their arms around each other, their clothes buttons were unbuttoned, and their mouths were open. With a straight face, one mouthful of "heart and liver".
"Is there any water?" Xie Yilu turned his face away.
The boy let go, and a small handful of black melon seeds fell on the side of the table: "Hey, come out to play, there is wine but no water." He turned around and looked at Xie Yilu curiously, "They said you were demoted from Beijing. "
Xie Yilu didn't bother to chat with him: "It's good to have wine."
"Who did you offend?" The boy picked up the flagon, poured two cups shallowly, and placed them a little farther away, "Let's make a round, and if you win, I'll feed you a drink."
Xie Yilu was a little annoyed, he got up to hold the wine, but the boy took advantage of the situation and leaned into his arms, which made him fall into a trap. , I didn't want to cause trouble on the court of love and moon, so I asked calmly: "What is it?"
"Nanjing boxing, you don't know how to do it," the boy heard his displeasure, but pretended not to hear it, and leaned against him softly, Xie Yilu was afraid that he would not be able to hold his hand, so he turned his hand over, When he flipped over, he rested his head in his palm, and rubbed his fluffy hair and soft face back and forth, "But what about Beijing boxing, I don't know..."
He looked at Xie Yilu with a pair of fiery eyes, which made him a little at a loss: "Xie, a certain sixth-rank chief, why do you... entangle with me?"
The boy said softly: "I think you are handsome, isn't it?"
Xie Yilu's face turned red, Beijing's official circles also entertained, and they were also called Xiaochang at banquets, but there was no such bold Xiaochang in Lianzi Hutong. Call him wanton, but in fact he is presumptuous. Call him presumptuous, but he doesn't please People think: "You are overstepping the rules!"
The boy burst out laughing: "Good brother," he stuck up Xie Yilu's stiff arm, "Nanjing is a place where gold is sold, there is no reason and no rules," he bullied him closer and closer, so close that he almost stuck The corner of Xie Yilu's mouth, "There are only four words commonly used in this place," he paused, and in a weak voice, he blew hot air between his lips and teeth, "Wine, sex, wealth, breath..."
This face is beautiful and smart, not a bit worse than Jiao Niang, Xie Yilu was stunned, then abruptly withdrew his hand, stood up flickeringly, knocked open the chair and walked towards the door, the carved door was closed tightly, he raised his hand and pushed , The chilly wind in early spring is blowing head-on.
The crescent moon was still hanging on the corner of the eaves, and there was a bird song of "cuckoo" from the plane tree. Xie Yilu pushed the door behind his back to death, tilted his head, and saw a silhouette sitting alone on the left-hand corridor, thin, tall and straight. I recognized it: "Master Qu?"
The figure stood up, and the tunic with the collar fluttered in the breeze: "Thank you, sir."
The man persisted in his fan, and slowly walked out from the dark corridor. The moonlight first shone on a brand-new plain silver belt at his waist, then on the sixth-grade egret patch embroidered on his chest, and finally on his youthful and heroic face.
Qu Feng, whose name is Simu, was transferred to the Nanjing Military Department with Xie Yilu this time, and is also the head of the sixth grade: "Are you awake?"
The two were not familiar with each other, it was the first time they spoke at the reception banquet just now, but now Qu Feng was talking to him in vernacular, Xie Yilu was a little surprised, but he was not polite: "You can't drink well."
Qu Feng smiled brightly, revealing two small canine teeth on one left and one right, looking childish: "Let's practice, Nanjing is no better than Beijing, drinking capacity is the first appearance."
A gust of west wind blew, and the thick clouds covered the moon, and the pine branches "rustled", probably because he had been drinking, Xie Yilu was so casual that it was almost reckless: "Why don't you sit in the house?"
Qu Feng didn't mind, and pouted bluntly: "Over there," he rolled his eyes, "I can't stay."
Seems to be the same kind of people, Xie Yilu took a step forward and stood by his side: "Listen to the accent, are you a local?"
"People from Yingtian Mansion, they used to be in the Ministry of Rites, and they were in charge of the temple priests. This time they are regarded as mediocre."
There is a habit in him, and Xie Yilu can figure it out in a few words, a natural and free and easy son's habit: "From the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of War, it is considered a step forward."
Qu Feng's eyes are very beautiful, narrow and long, with the tails of the eyes pointed up. With these eyes, he took a casual look at Xie Yilu: "From the Beijing Metropolitan Procuratorate to the Nanjing Military Department, Brother Xie is on the way down."
Xie Yilu didn't make a sound.
"I heard that he offended Quan Dang (3)?"
Xie Yilu stretched out the index finger of his left hand and pointed towards the sky: "Offended the 'ancestor' of the Supervisor of Rites."
Qu Feng was very interested, and in the early spring, he shook his folding fan "shua": "What's going on?"
"I came from the Jiashen list. This list was hand-picked by him. Everyone else went to thank you, but I didn't."
Qu Feng raised one eyebrow in admiration, and his eyes were as bright as stars when he looked over: "You have courage."
Xie Yilu hurriedly waved his hands: "It's not comparable to you people from Nanjing, even Youjiu's little singing is full of wantonness."
"The one here?" Qu Feng was puzzled, and pointed at the carved door with the fan handle, "Which one?" After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized, "You mean, don't you mean the one wearing peony flowers?"
Xie Yilu didn't expect him to guess right, and Qu Feng changed his free and easy attitude just now, and lowered his voice cautiously: "Then it's not an ordinary song, there is someone surnamed Zheng behind him to support him."
Xie Yilu leaned closer to him: "Which one is surnamed Zheng?"
Qu Feng grabbed his hand, with five cold fingers, as if grasping his heart: "The most eunuchs in the world are Beijing and Nanjing, not to mention Beijing, but in Nanjing..." As he spoke, he thanked him. Yilu tugged into the distance, "There are two big pens, one is Liao Jixiang, the weaving eunuch who is the fourth-rank admiral, and the other is Zheng Xian, the guarding eunuch of Tianling Gai in Nanjing."
Xie Yilu couldn't say why, but a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.
"You said that Xiaochang, surnamed Guo, named Xiaozhuo, is Zheng Mi's..." Qu Feng shook his hand from his sleeve, held up a little finger, and shook it meaningfully, "I'm spoiled!"
It's not that Beijing doesn't have eunuchs playing small songs, but under the emperor's feet, nobles rarely take such a risk. Xie Yilu was puzzled: "Since Da Dang is pampered, why come out..."
Even though it was dark, Qu Feng still looked around anxiously: "You have the right to think that what I said was drunk," he leaned closer, and grabbed Xie Yilu's ears, "Guo Xiaozhuo is Zheng Mi's eyeliner, who specializes in Listen to the sound in the official seat!"
Benzoin was smoked on Qu Feng's body, and it was still too sweet to be cloying after overnight, Xie Yilu felt a little uncomfortable being next to him: "No wonder..."
He thought of Xiao Zhuo's phrase "these people from the Ministry of War", obviously he didn't pay attention to the officials, but what about his lingering and almost explicit teaser, Xie Yilu thought, it was really because he was "handsome"
Qu Feng was still talking, when suddenly there was a sound at the small corner door not far in front, the door latch was pushed left and right twice, and with a "creak", it was pushed open from the inside out, first a monk in cassock came out, and then a group of people dressed in official uniforms came out. , the first pair carried white lanterns with the word "Weaving" written on it.
Xie Yilu could tell at a glance that those people were eunuchs, one of them was walking in a green suit, without a patch, and had a worn long knife hanging from his waist.
Those people also saw the two of them, and looked over here frequently. Qing Yusa bid farewell to the monk respectfully, and led them out along the main road, knocking the jade pendant on the gold belt while walking.
"Who is it?" Xie Yilu asked in a low voice.
"Weaving bureau," Qu Feng turned half sideways, as if he didn't want to fight, "the one in the lead is called Zhang Cai."
As he got closer, Xie Yilu could see clearly that Qing Yusa named Zhang Cai was obviously still a child, with phoenix eyes and a small mouth, about the same age as Guo Xiaozhuo, with a round chin, a little chubby and cute.
As the moonlight shone, one could clearly see that the material he sprinkled was woven gold silk, and he raised his head a little arrogantly, like a real imperial court official, passing by without squinting, and the clanging jade pendants followed the golden silk. The red candle flame slowly drifted away.
"A man from Liao Jixiang," Qu Feng put away his folding fan, meaning to go back, "He's from Korea."
There are many eunuchs in Beijing who paid tribute to North Korea. Xie Yilu was not surprised, but rather curious about the monk: "Why is there a monk here?"
"This is the courtyard of Lingfu Temple. The front is cleaned up to make a garden, to receive banquets and welcome guests. After passing through that gate," Qu Feng pointed to the corner gate where Zhang Cai came out just now. "The back is the meditation room."
Xie Yilu couldn't laugh or cry: "This temple can make a living."
"The wine we ate and the dishes we ordered were all cooked by monks." Qu Feng smiled brightly, and wrapped his sleeves affectionately, "Let's go, go back and continue drinking."
As soon as he talked about drinking, Xie Yilu got a headache: "I can't do it," he avoided Qu Feng's hand, turned around, and took a few steps to escape, "I'll go first, and you tell them that I'm drunk. fall down."
"Have you brought a sedan chair?" Qu Feng saw that he was funny, and smiled, revealing a pair of small canine teeth, which was very playful, "Sit in mine, the one with the blue soft curtain is on the left hand when you go out the gate!"
Xie Yilu stepped back and cupped his fists at him: "No need, Yingfeng Sansan Sanjiu!"
The night is just right, and the moon is just right. This is another elegant garden. There are strange rocks along the way, and there are flower window ponds. When you calm down, you can still hear the pine wind. On the first day in Nanjing, accompanied by alcohol, Qu Feng, Guo Xiao Zhuo and Zhang Cai seem to be people in a dream.
Walking out was a long street, at the intersection there were already early-rising businessmen setting up wonton stalls, he looked back, and there was indeed an old stone monument erected in front of the garden gate, with the words "Lingfu Temple" vaguely engraved on it, a small temple Standing in a busy city like this, it is no wonder that he manages some secular business.
He walked leisurely, along the moss-covered courtyard wall, turned his head inadvertently, and saw a deserted stone lamp at the narrow alleyway close to the base of the wall. Against white light.
He leaned over to look at it, it looked like paper, it was stuffed there, he picked out a piece at random, he glanced at it inadvertently, but it was frozen like an electric shock, a very beautiful handwriting, the corners were as strong as a jagged old pine, and he let it go The thread is like a wild crane in the cloud, when it hides the front, it suddenly falters, and when the front is exposed, the pen moves like a cloud of smoke, without clothes or shoes, and the iron draws silver hooks.
Xie Yilu was stunned, and took out all the papers, and unfolded them one by one. Most of them were "Mei Zuoxun is a countryman, and Song is a companion", "The wind and cloud in the sky are like a dream, but the time in the world is like a flow." There is only one piece of poems in this category, which is written roughly with grief and indignation, with two big characters written in a single book: difficult to sing.
Difficult to sing! A thin piece of paper contained the sadness of a scholar, Xie Yilu's eyes were hot, and tears were about to come down, and his heart was a little bit better, so he was so emotional.
Holding the pile of papers, he turned around in place like a fool, turned around and stomped his feet, and ran to his home. His home was located in Santiao Lane, Xi'anmen. The paper was spread in the study, and I wrote more than ten or twenty sheets in a row, and finally there was a lovely one, which was the two characters of "listen to the truth" in cursive.
Putting down the pen, he carefully folded the words, put them on and ran out.
(3) Pang: It originally refers to the ornaments on the earlobe of ancient women. Later, because the official hats of military eunuchs in the Han Dynasty were decorated with gold pendants and mink tails, it was used to refer to eunuchs.