Bang bang~~~
A cold half moon was revealed in the night clouds. The ethereal sound of clappers could be heard from the distant streets. Lu Liangsheng and Yang Su did not take a carriage. After leaving the imperial city, they walked side by side down the long street. It was already late at night and there were few pedestrians. The vendors who had been busy all day packed up their tables and chairs and pushed their carts to leave.
Chang'an is a bustling city at night. The warm yellow lights are still shining on the long streets. There are red lanterns hanging high in the brothels, and prostitutes playing strings and singing songs. From time to time, groups of patrons come out from the door and wave goodbye to the women who are seeing them off.
"Two guests outside, please come in and have a seat, drink some wine, listen to some soothing music, and pass the long night..."
A woman in a thin flowery dress came over to seduce him, but Lu Liangsheng smiled and pushed away her hand. Yang Su, who was standing beside him, just laughed and did not try to stop her. It was only when they were far away from the brothel and on the street where the government offices were located that the old man spoke.
"Haha... When I was young, I went to these places with rouge and powder quite often. It's a pity that the prostitute invited the wrong person. Fellow Daoist Lu has female ghosts and demons at home. How could they be interested in such rouge and powder like them?"
Lu Liangsheng was not good at responding to this, so he smiled and said something casually to deal with it. The old man looked at his expression and smiled even more brightly, "I was just joking, don't be offended, Fellow Daoist Lu, my residence is just ahead, please come this way!"
The first mansion on the long street of mansions close to the imperial city belongs to the old man. He was a loyal minister of two dynasties and had a distinguished status. The gate of the mansion alone was impressive. The tall gate was made of copper rivets with golden color, and lanterns were hung high on both sides of the eaves, illuminating the door plaque inlaid with gold edges, on which was carved the words "Duke Yang" like dancing dragons and phoenixes.
Two guardian stone statues holding iron maces and copper whips stand at the gate of the mansion, showing their majesty.
There were already servants and doormen waiting at the mansion gate with lanterns. When they saw their master bringing a scholar back, they hurried forward to greet him. Among them, the servant in charge had a hesitant look on his face. Over there, Yang Su walked up the stone steps and was inviting the scholar behind him into the mansion.
"Friend Lu, what do you think of this old mansion?"
"The Duke of Yue is a distinguished person. Even if his mansion is located in the suburbs, it is still very magnificent. How the mansion is completely under the control of its owner."
Lu Liangsheng has seen many houses, not to mention the distant Zhou Mansion, the Min Mansion, and the Wang Sheng's house in Shunyuan County. Although the house is small, it is elegantly and comfortably decorated. By the way, that Wang Sheng was also a student back then. I wonder if he has passed the imperial examination and become an official as he wished.
I remembered that I saw the second volume of "Illustrated Records of Mountains and Seas" at the other party's home and he gave it to me. Thinking about the time, I realized that more than a few years had passed without me noticing.
As the scene of that year flashed through his mind, the steward waiting at the gate carefully approached Yang Su and whispered something in his ear. The old man puffed his beard and stared blankly at the gate for a moment before he laughed and cursed.
"This little bastard!"
Seeing this, Lu Liangsheng stepped over the threshold and walked to the side, quite curious: "It seems that there are other things going on at the Duke of Yue's mansion tonight. I wonder if I should disturb you?"
"It's okay if something happens, but it's a pity that it's all over."
"What's up?"
Seeing that the old man was willing to talk, Lu Liangsheng couldn't help but ask. If it was good news, he could also go on to say what he wanted to say. He walked through the gate and followed the steward holding a lantern to lead the way into the front hall. Yang Su sat in the first big chair, asked the maid to serve tea and snacks, and instructed the steward to prepare a table of wine and food.
Then he talked about what happened in the mansion just now. The two of them had known each other for many years and did not hide anything.
"... Fellow Daoist Lu, please don't laugh. Just now, the steward told me that one of my concubines eloped with someone else, and my son Xuan Gan was so angry that he led people to chase her. I'm afraid she's on her way back now."
elopement
Lu Liangsheng took a sip of tea and was somewhat surprised to hear these two words, but he could not show it on his face. The old man looked indifferent and did not seem to mind it. You have to know that in a large mansion, even if a concubine is nothing, it is still shameful to elope with someone, not to mention Yang Su, a minister who holds a high position in the court.
"Duke Yue doesn't seem to care?" Lu Liangsheng closed the tea lid and put it on the table to the side.
"There's no point caring about it. You can't get it back anyway."
Seeing Lu Liangsheng's puzzled look, the old man clapped the armrests of his chair and laughed, "I let one couple go back then, so what if I let another one go? If the two can live in harmony and grow old together, it will be a good deed of mine."
Speaking of this incident, it dates back to the time when he attacked the Southern Chen Dynasty. Almost all the royal daughters of the Chen Dynasty were abducted to Chang'an. Yang Jian rewarded him according to his merits and gave him Chen Shubao's sister, Princess Wenchang. Later, it was learned that Princess Wenchang Chen Zhen had been married during the Southern Dynasty, and her husband traveled thousands of miles to Chang'an to find her.
At this point, Yang Su stroked his beard and sighed, "The Princess Wenchang is beautiful, but her character is as loyal as her name. She didn't eat or drink for a few days. When I heard about her and her husband's past, I let them reunite and return to their homeland in the south... Hey, Fellow Daoist Lu, what are you doing?"
As the old man spoke in astonishment, Lu Liangsheng, who was sitting next to him, stood up from his chair and bowed: "I bow to you for the kindness of Duke Yue."
"You, you."
Yang Su felt a little embarrassed by the scholar's behavior and kept tapping his fingers. At this time, the steward came over and said that the wine and food were ready. The old man then invited Lu Liangsheng to go to the backyard together.
"Let's not talk about the past. Now that Hong Fu has eloped with someone, I can't do anything about it. If I really want to settle the score, I can just go find Han Qinhu tomorrow."
The maid came over and filled the glass. Lu Liangsheng thanked her and continued asking questions.
"Could it be that the man she eloped with was a member of Han Zhuguo's family?"
Over there, the old man stroked his beard and smiled, then raised his glass and clinked it with Lu Liangsheng's: "Who else could have taught such a nephew?"
As he spoke, he gave instructions to the steward who was serving beside him.
"Go to the side yard and call the four guests to sit at the table."
"yes."
The steward bowed and left the room. Yang Su saw Lu Liangsheng's expression and explained, "Speaking of it, these four people are from Southern Chen. They are from the same county as Daoyou Lu and have made achievements. However, they joined my sect. It would be more lively if they were called together."
In fact, the expression on Lu Liangsheng's face was not because the old man invited four retainers to accompany him, but because he remembered that two years ago, when he followed Han Qinhu to the south to quell the rebellion, the other party also mentioned that he had a nephew at home.
Chang'an seems to be quite small, with everyone crowded together.
Listening to the old man's explanation, Lu Liangsheng just nodded and did not continue speaking. Instead, he talked about the main purpose of his visit.
"Duke Yue, what do you think of His Majesty in the past two years?"
"Compared to the previous emperor, it's still a little bit worse."
When the affairs of the court were mentioned, the old man's expression seemed to change. He put down his chopsticks and looked at the young scholar opposite him with burning eyes.
"Friend Lu, you never ask about government affairs, why are you asking about them suddenly?"
The hall was quiet, the candlelight swaying gently in the night breeze blowing in from the door. Outside, amid the chirping of insects, footsteps were heard approaching from afar, and four figures walked across the eaves, gesticulating randomly with their hands.
"What do you three know? The Duke of Yue asked the four of us to accompany him. It's obvious that he has some literati and guests. It's possible that His Majesty has left the palace incognito."
"Brother, what you said makes sense. Maybe tonight will be our chance to turn the tables."
"Speaking of which, the four of us were supposed to be very successful. We finally had a chance to show off in front of the late emperor, but before we could even be summoned, we passed away..."
They chatted in low voices, came to the hall door, and raised their hands together towards the inside.
"We pay our respects to the Duke of Yue, and pay our respects to..."
One of them saw the young man holding a drink and smiling at him across the table, and his scalp tingled and he buried his face in his hands.
Shame on the four of us!!