At dusk in Kyoto, the setting sun and the sunset glow burned half the sky red, burying the capital city in endless red, adding a lot of haziness and poetry to the prosperous imperial capital.
In the midsummer, the morning and evening are the most popular. The morning is cool, but many people cannot enjoy it because they are too sleepy. The evening is different. The heat of the day has dissipated for the most part, and people who have been busy or having fun all day can enjoy such a comfortable evening.
The already prosperous imperial capital became even more lively, with heavy traffic and crowds of people.
Located in Xicheng District, Zuixianlou is one of the most famous restaurants in Beijing. With jade carved railings, flying eaves and painted corners, it looks like flying into the clouds. There is a couplet posted at the entrance of Zuixianlou, the upper couplet reads "King Wen of Zhou stopped his horse when he visited Taigong and tasted the food"; the lower couplet reads "Han Xiao He dismounted his horse when he chased Han Xin and smelled the fragrance".
Zuixianlou has always been a place where literati, scholars, warriors and travelers in the capital go to drink, gather, chat and discuss matters.
Still today.
The restaurant was noisy and packed with people, scholars, warriors and pedestrians sitting at tables of three or five each, drinking and chatting.
If you want some quiet time, you can go to the private rooms on the second and third floors, which are decorated in an exquisite and elegant style and are very comfortable.
At this time, Zhu Ping'an, Li Shu, Hua'er, the naughty kid and the little loli were having dinner in the private room on the second floor.
Linhuai Hou went out to visit a friend in the afternoon, so Zhu Ping'an took Li Shu, Hua'er and others to go boating in Shichahai. When the naughty kid and the little loli Niuniu heard about it, they cried and made a fuss and wanted to go with them, so Zhu Ping'an and Li Shu had no choice but to take them along.
Of course Liu Mu and Liu Dadao followed as well.
Boating in Shichahai and wandering in the sea of lotus flowers is a unique experience.
They spent the whole afternoon fishing and admiring the lotus flowers, and did not return until dusk. When they passed by this store, the naughty kids were complaining about being hungry, and they smelled the fragrance coming from the restaurant and refused to leave no matter what, so Zhu Ping'an took them into the store for dinner.
Li Shu was so beautiful, and her maids Hua'er and Qin'er were also very beautiful. They were like the bright moonlight in the night sky. It was impossible for them not to be noticed. As soon as Zhu Ping'an led Li Shu and the others into the store, they attracted a lot of attention.
Anyone sitting in the lobby who noticed Zhu Ping'an and the others entering the store would be attracted by Li Shu and the others and be amazed by them.
There is such a beauty in the world?!
Then he noticed Zhu Ping'an beside Li Shu. Seeing Li Shu and Zhu Ping'an whispering to each other, it was obvious that the beauty already had a boyfriend, as evidenced by the people around her. As for Hua'er and Qin'er, who were slightly inferior to her, they were obviously maids.
What does a maid mean in this era
In the eyes of some people, maids are just being suppressed and yelling... ... To put it bluntly, they are not the male master's exclusive delicacy, and they can't be enjoyed whenever he wants. These maids will definitely be happy to cooperate. Getting a face and a concubine or something like that is the dream of most maids.
The good cabbages were all eaten by the pigs... ... They even got three juicy cabbages... ..
As a result, everyone sitting in the lobby began to envy, hate and be jealous of Zhu Ping'an.
Zhu Ping'an has an ordinary appearance and a simple and honest face, and is not handsome at all, which makes people even more envious and jealous.
If it weren’t for Zhu Ping’an’s obvious attire of a wealthy family, and the obvious extraordinary skills of Liu Mu and Liu Dadao behind him.
It's not just that they sit at the table and feel jealous.
Li Shuhuaer and the others were disgusted with the lobby, and Zhu Ping'an also didn't like the look of the people in the lobby, as if the good cabbages were eaten by pigs, so he gave the waiter a piece of change and asked the waiter to arrange a private room on the second floor.
Liu Mu and Liu Dadao wanted to stay in the lobby. Zhu Ping'an knew that they would not feel comfortable if they went to the private room. Instead, they would feel more comfortable eating in the lobby, so he ordered a table of dishes for them and let them stay in the lobby.
The private rooms on the second floor have a good environment and are elegantly and exquisitely decorated. They are like a study and a boudoir, combining elegance, refinement and comfort.
A table of food and a pot of tea.
While eating, the gossips downstairs could be heard faintly.
"Lord Yan is truly worthy of being a minister of the state. He was ordered to investigate the theft of the Taicang silver vault and caught more than a hundred corrupt officials. In just two days, he brought more than 700,000 taels of silver and more than 200,000 taels of gold to the Ming treasury..."
"A loyal minister, a precious jade disk of the Ming Dynasty..."
"Hey, have you heard? Yesterday, the Imperial Guards seized more than 100,000 taels of silver and 10,000 taels of gold from the home of the former Minister of the Taicang Treasury. A horse was so exhausted while pulling the gold and silver..."
"Haha, it's not surprising that so much silver was found in his house. Everyone knows how greedy that man is. If you ask me, the most shocking person is Censor Wang. Tsk tsk, before yesterday, anyone who mentioned Censor Wang would have to give him a thumbs up. He is a famous honest official in the Ming Dynasty. He has been an official in the capital for ten years, but he still rents a shabby house. His ten-year-old daughter still lives in the same room with them... There is no other way. Let alone buying a house, Censor Wang can't even afford to rent a big house. I heard that when the people from the East Factory searched his house, Censor Wang, his wife and children were eating porridge with rotten vegetable leaves. Tsk tsk, but no one expected that the people from the East Factory found 18,543 taels of silver in Censor Wang's shabby house, all buried in the yard."
"I heard that two officials in Taicang committed suicide out of fear of punishment..."
After hearing the people downstairs talking so loudly, the maid Hua'er's pouting mouth could tie a bottle of oil to it. She became indignant and said, "Why? It was obviously the son-in-law who found out about the case. The deficit and the account book, the son-in-law has found out all the problems. That Yan Song just stretched out his hand to pick a ripe peach, why does he get all the benefits?"
"That's right. I also feel unfair for my son-in-law." Qin'er nodded.
"Hmph, they are just bullies. My son-in-law has been so hard-working these days, getting up early and staying up late, not eating well and sleeping well, and just eating bread all day. I finally got to the bottom of the treasury deficit, but they got something for nothing and just plucked the fruits of their labor. I'm so angry just thinking about it." Hua'er, the little maidservant with buns, had a puffed-up face.
After Huaer finished speaking, she heard another round of discussion downstairs. After hearing one sentence, her frowning brows danced with joy, "It turns out there are still some people who understand."
"If you ask me, the inspector Zhu Ping'an, who discovered the deficit in Taicang a few days ago, is the greatest contributor. If it weren't for the fact that Zhu was not afraid of power and did not hesitate to take off his clothes to prove his innocence, and insisted on investigating Taicang thoroughly, how could such a big theft case in Taicang be exposed in broad daylight?"
The discussions downstairs reached the private room on the second floor, making the little maid Baozi very happy.
However, the chubby little maid soon puffed up her face again, because similar arguments were soon drowned out by the overwhelming praise for Yan Song.