Every time he drank, Guo Shao would look up at the curtain in front of the side hall door, but he never saw the skirt trailing on the ground again.
For a moment, Guo Shao felt inexplicably lost.
At this time, the servant changed to a glass pot and a crystal glass cup. When Guo Shao looked at it, he saw that the glass container was translucent, not as transparent as glassware, but more delicate and exquisite; it was filled with purple liquid.
Made from Qingzhou grapes, Fu Yanqing said with a smile.
The prince's hair was gray and his face was dotted with age spots, but his appearance was very handsome and his manner of talking and laughing was quite graceful. It was not common for ordinary people to be able to have such elegant tastes and interests at this age.
Guo Shao praised: "Good grape wine deserves a luminous cup."
Fu Yanqing immediately continued: "I want to drink, and the pipa urges me immediately." Guo Shao then responded: "Don't laugh at me sleeping drunk on the battlefield."
Fu Yanqing was smiling, but suddenly his face showed some vicissitudes. His expression was very complicated for a moment, and finally he sighed: How many people have returned from the battles in ancient times
The two looked at each other and laughed. Guo Shao thought: I originally thought that people like Fu Yanqing would not have any sequelae of war, but now he felt that this old man might have some unknown sighs in his heart.
But to some extent, among the ancient frontier poems, this one seems to be free and easy but is actually sad. Guo Shao prefers the resolute line "I'll wear out my golden armor through a hundred battles in the yellow sand, and I won't return until I have conquered Loulan", which is more passionate.
The maid Duoduo gently filled the two glass cups. Guo Shao brushed his robe sleeves with his right hand, raised the glass cups with both hands and said: I toast to King Wei.
Good, good. Fu Yanqing raised his glass.
Guo Shao was about to drink first to show his respect, when he suddenly heard Fu Yanqing say: "Don't worry about the guests being offended. I usually don't use this wine to entertain guests. Because there is too little, it was brewed by my daughter, Er Niang."
Guo Shao held the glass cup in his hand to his lips, and smelled a refreshing aroma of fruit wine. Only then did he look carefully and saw that the wine in the cup was crystal clear and pure in color, which was very beautiful.
He took a sip, and the cool and smooth wine flowed along the tip of his tongue, down his tongue coating, into his throat, and into his heart.
This wine has not one flavor, it has three flavors of sweet, bitter and sour intertwined, yet blended into one unique flavor. They are obviously completely different flavors, but they are naturally mixed together, making people feel that they should have been one flavor. In a trance, Guo Shao saw a graceful and beautiful woman, her jade-white hands gently stirring the grape juice. Spring is warm and flowers are blooming, and the world is full of flowers.
The wine of dreams can fill people with all kinds of fantasies.
According to what he had seen in his previous life, some wines cost tens of thousands per bottle. But if someone offered to exchange a bottle of that expensive wine for the glass of wine in Guo Shao's hand, he would definitely refuse.
At this moment, Guo Shao suddenly found Fu Yanqing looking at his face with a smile, and immediately realized that he had just been intoxicated in front of his master without restraint. He blushed slightly without noticing, and felt very embarrassed.
Guo Shao drank it all in one gulp, pretending to be calm and asked: This wine is really well brewed, there must be some secret recipe
Fu Yanqing smiled and said: "Just select the right fruit, squeeze out the juice, filter it, and then put it into a jar and bury it under the tree. After a few years, you can drink it. If you do it every year, you will naturally have something to drink every year. I don't know exactly how it is done."
Guo Shao asked: Can it be turned into fine wine without adding any ingredients
Fu Yanqing asked him what to add to the wine.
Guo Shao could not answer, so he could only praise again. But he saw that the guests sitting below, although they also had good wine to drink, did not have the fine grape wine brewed by Fu Er Niang herself.
At this time, Fu Yanqing clapped his hands twice, and as soon as the sound fell, the sound of stringed instruments suddenly rang out. Guo Shaomeng thought that Fu Yanqing had installed high-tech equipment such as voice-controlled lights in the house.
As the music played, a group of brightly dressed women filed into the hall. Their rings and pendants fluttered in their lotus steps, their long sleeves covered their faces, and they stood in two rows facing the seat of honor, their steps so small that they seemed to be floating. Then the women tossed their sleeves, revealing their faces, and all of them smiled as they danced gracefully to the melody of stringed instruments and bamboo pipes.
It was snowing outside, but the woman in the hall was wearing thin clothes. Fortunately, there was charcoal fire.
Guo Shao pretended to be interested in watching with Fu Yanqing, and from time to time he persuaded him to drink a glass of wine. He was actually a person who liked beautiful women very much, but at this moment, he didn't know why, he always felt that these young women seemed to be missing something.
Fu Yanqing watched for a while, then left his seat to go inside for a short rest. The maid came forward to help him up, but Guo Shao hurriedly helped Fu Yanqing up with a diligent look, and then took the opportunity to follow him to the side hall.
The woman in the long dress that dragged on the ground must be gone. But Guo Shao followed him to ask Fu Yanqing for a favor. After weighing the pros and cons, he saw that Fu Yanqing still valued him very much, so he thought that he would consider asking him for a favor.
The maid helped Fu Yanqing sit down on a chair, and Fu Yanqing also greeted him: "Sit down, General Guo, please sit down."
Guo Shao was more direct and said right away: We shouldn't have troubled Prince Wei, but there is one thing that we really have to ask Prince Wei for help in order to have any hope.
Oh, General Guo, you can go ahead and say it, Fu Yanqing said.
Guo Shao was telling the truth. He would never say that he would never ask for help from others, but he rarely asked for help from others. He would only ask for help when he thought it was necessary, important, and he couldn't do it himself. He would never rely on others for everything.
He said: I have a good friend named Dong Zunxun, his mother's surname is Gao, unfortunately, she was trapped in Youzhou during the war. Now Youzhou belongs to Khitan, it is very difficult to find it again. I know where Mrs. Gao lived before, but I don't know where she is now. The King of Wei has made many friends in Hebei, I wonder if there is anyone he knows who is familiar with Youzhou and has a way to get back.
Guo Shao thought this matter was difficult to handle, after all, Gao Huaide and Dong Zunxun were both high-ranking military commanders with many people under their command. If they couldn't do anything, then this matter must not be that simple.
Unexpectedly, Fu Yanqing clapped his hands and said: It will be easy if we know where they lived before. Last year, a Khitan general from Youzhou came to me and surrendered to me, with some Han soldiers under his command. This man has been in Youzhou since Shi Jingtang led the Khitan southward. If he goes to find him, he will probably be able to find some clues.
Guo Shao was immediately delighted and quickly stood up and said: Prince Wei has helped a lot.
Don't thank me yet, the job is not done yet. Fu Yanqing smiled and said, "By the way, what was the name of that Khitan general? His surname was Xiao. Last year, I forgot his name."
Guo Shao hurriedly said: Wait until King Wei sends a message to General Xiao, and I will send two people to go with him.
Fu Yanqing agreed and said, "That's fine. General Guo should stay in Daming City for a few more days and wait for news. You can live in the palace. The ceremonial hall outside the palace is for entertaining guests, not for friends."
Guo Shao thanked him, and sure enough, the King of Wei did not mention the marriage at all, even though he had already affectionately called him a good friend. Guo Shao also remembered Zuo You's reminder and did not mention it at all.
There was another dinner in the evening, with plenty of wine and meat. Even the generals and staff who came with Guo Shao were invited. There were also many guests sitting with him, praising Guo Shao many times. But Fu Yanqing also just appeared for a while and left the table quickly; the old man didn't seem to like greasy food, nor did he like to make noises.
Guo Shao was drunk and was taken to a wing room in the palace to rest. He was not able to tell east from west. A group of women wanted to help him take a bath. He felt that it was not good to be so unruly in the home of his potential father-in-law, so he sent the women away.
After bathing and changing his clothes, he vaguely heard the sound of a pipa from the north, so he put on his fur cloak and went to the door to listen. There happened to be a servant next to him, and he thought he was hallucinating because he was drunk, so he asked: "Did you hear the sound of the pipa?"
A little girl replied: I heard it, it was the Second Lady playing.
He stopped and listened for a long time. It seemed to be a little far away, and the sound was very soft.
Guo Shao knew nothing about classical music, and had no idea what song he was playing. He was very skilled at playing the bowstrings of the instrument, but he was at a loss. But he still listened attentively, and when he calmed down, he felt that the pearl-like sound had an indescribable elegance, as if a beautiful woman in a fluttering dress was holding a pipa in her arms and expressing her gentle feelings.
It sounds really nice. Guo Shao sighed.
This evening, the outer hall was so noisy and joyful, and the entire Daming city was one of the richest and most prosperous places in Hebei Province; but in such a city and in such a wealthy family, there lived a quiet woman who was content with loneliness, quietness and aloofness, and had hidden herself in the boudoir for twenty-three years without showing herself to anyone.
With the wonderful sound of the pipa, Guo Shao had high expectations for Empress Fu. Empress Fu was a fairy-like woman, with a temperament, knowledge and appearance that were rarely seen in the mortal world. Her sister, who was of the same age, must not be much worse.
The maid's laughter woke Guo Shao up and brought him back from his trance.
Guo Shao looked at the woman who was smiling at him and immediately felt that she was a vulgar woman. He had no interest in her at all. Although he was interested, he did not dare to do anything. He turned and went into the house and asked again: Is there also a lantern festival in Daming City this year
The girl answered clearly: "Yes, every year. Unless the Khitans attack the city, but I heard that the Khitans also celebrate the Lantern Festival, so they will not fight on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month."
Guo Shao held back for a moment, but finally couldn't help asking: I was at Daming Inn, and I heard that the second lady also went to see the lantern festival last year.
No. The maid said with certainty, why would the second lady go to the street
Guo Shao laughed and said: It is true that people in the underworld never think before they brag.
He pulled up his cloak, feeling that he was getting hot after drinking, but the wind would make him even colder. He said, "I'm going to sleep now, you guys go and rest too, don't worry about me."
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