Chapter 17: Visiting Tianxianglou Again
"It's agreed. Your salary is still fifty wen a day, which is equivalent to one and a half liang per month. Your salary will be paid on the fifth of next month. Food is provided but accommodation is not. Do you have any objection?"
The two of them walked leisurely, Xiao Jingling, no, Ji Leng laughed foolishly and nodded continuously.
"You need to change your clothes and get some clean ones. I've asked around. The academy only provides clothes for students, and the bookboys have to bring their own. They can accompany you to study in the academy during the day, but they have to leave at night. Do you understand?"
"I understand"
"Okay, go buy some clothes yourself. I remember you still have 799 coins in your spare money."
Ji Leng's face suddenly fell. He didn't even have work clothes to wear if he followed you. He had to pay for it himself.
Walking into the West Market, Ji Leng picked a tailor shop and bought himself two sets of standard bookboy clothes, a blue coat and a black cap. He looked a bit like a talented scholar who sneaked into the Grand Tutor's mansion to deceive a girl in his previous life.
I always remember that it was the costume of the Ming Dynasty. The aesthetics of this world are very integrated.
The shop owner saw for the first time that the owner was waiting for the servant to buy clothes by himself. Two sales girls were pointing and whispering. Zhao Yushu threw a seductive glance at them. The two girls' faces changed, and they called him a lecher and ignored him. This hurt Zhao a lot. It seemed that he was not a guy who could make a living by his looks.
"Sir, where are we going next?"
“I haven’t been to Tianxianglou for a long time.”
"Didn't you go there three days ago?"
"Didn't I not spend money last time? It always feels weird to enter a brothel without spending money. I have the illusion that I am a gigolo. I will enter the academy tomorrow. I have to change this illusion today, otherwise I will have no interest in studying."
Tianxianglou has no off-season or peak season, it is always crowded
The waiter who greeted the guests felt that the young man in black looked familiar, but then he thought that all the guests here were familiar, so he hurriedly invited him in.
"Take it, serve me food according to this amount." Zhao Yushu bid ten taels of silver. The waiter knew what was going on and led them to a side table in the hall. He served some fruits and tea.
The layout was no different from three days ago, and the girls on the stage in the hall were dancing the same dance. However, it seemed that a few tables had been removed from the left side of the hall, leaving a small empty space. At this time, a group of people were gathered there.
"Ji Leng, go see what they are doing."
Ji Leng trotted over and tried to squeeze into the crowd. Soon he came out with a smile on his face: "They are reading the young master's poems!"
My poems? When did I write poems? Are my poems readable?
After a moment of confusion, Lao Zhao suddenly realized: "That is Mr. Nalan's poem, you can't talk nonsense."
"No one knows Mr. Nalan. Everyone just knows that this is what you read out and what Prince Wang wrote."
"Does it say that it was written by Mr. Nalan?"
"This", Ji Leng smiled embarrassedly: "I don't know it either, I just heard them read it and knew it was the young master's poem"
"I gonna go see"
Zhao Yushu squeezed into the crowd. Before he could read the words clearly, he heard a scholar next to him shaking his head and saying, "This poem is lingering and profound, with a sense of resentment and relief. Who is this Nalan Rongruo?"
Fortunately, Nalan's name was written. Zhao Yushu looked carefully and found that Wang Yuan wrote it at the end of the poem. Nalan Rongruo wrote it.
However, the last five words were written in beautiful handwriting, and were probably added by Yun Gu.
"Hmph, I think this poem is a little too feminine. A grown man writing such a poem like a woman in the boudoir, no wonder he is embarrassed to become famous."
Oh, you little cutie, Nalan Rongruo is known as the best poet after the Song Dynasty. You don't even know Li Bai and Du Fu here, and you still have the nerve to mock him.
Zhao Yushu rolled up his sleeves and prepared to fight back, but the crowd suddenly became quiet, as if someone had made way for him.
"Sir, when it comes to poetry, it's understandable that everyone can express their own opinions, but it's unworthy of a scholar to speak so maliciously."
"Ms. Yun," "Ms. Yun," the greetings rang out. Zhao Yushu turned around and watched the graceful and elegant Ms. Yun approaching slowly. She smiled and returned the greetings.
"Just now I was upstairs and heard Aunt Liu say that Master Zhao had arrived, so I came down to see him. How has he been these days?"
"Thank you Sister Yun for your concern. I'm doing fine." Old Zhao shamelessly called Sister Yun, taking advantage of the crowd around him.
"It's noisy downstairs. If you don't mind, would you like to go upstairs and chat for a while?"
Oh my god, the boss of Tianxianglou, the most popular restaurant in Dongdu, invited me into his little house the second time he met me. Am I envious? Am I convinced?
The gloom that was looked down upon by the two girls from the tailor shop in the afternoon was swept away. I, Zhao, can still eat gigolo with this face.
"Excuse me for bothering you." Zhao Yushu followed Yun Gu upstairs with his head held high. Passing by the confused Ji Lengshi, he whispered generously, "Eat your meal by yourself."
Yun Gu's room was very clean. In the small living room there was a small table, four small stools, a small bed that was barely visible behind a screen and a desk by the window. There was nothing else.
There were only two people in the room. In his previous life, the innocent boy Lao Zhao entered a girl's boudoir for the first time. He sat on a small stool and felt a little cramped.
"Don't be nervous, sir. I'm already old and I won't compete with young girls."
Lao Zhao's face fell. The other person's words sounded like self-mockery, but in fact they were clearly telling him not to have any bad ideas. If he had any ideas, he could go downstairs and find a girl.
"Haha, Sister Yun is joking."
Yun Gu picked up the wine pot on the table and poured a glass for Zhao Yushu: "My daughter is weak and cannot drink strong liquor. This is the fruit wine I brewed myself. It is not famous. I drink a few glasses occasionally to relieve my fatigue. You have a big exam tomorrow, so you should not get drunk. Just drink a few glasses of this."
Lao Zhao thanked him hastily, took the cup and drank it all in one gulp. He felt the coolness in his mouth, the moistening of his throat, and the comfort in his stomach.
"Good wine!"
Aunt Yun smiled and poured another cup: "I invited you here mainly because I have two things to ask you. I hope you don't mind."
Zhao Yushu was startled: "Sister Yun, please speak."
"Now, let me ask you, if life were like the first time I saw this poem, would it really be written by Mr. Nalan?"
Zhao Yushu was stunned: "Why does Sister Yun ask this?"
Yun Gu blushed slightly: "I haven't read much, but I have read many poems by famous poets of all dynasties. I have never heard of a Mr. Nalan. I would like to ask, is it really not written by you, young master, in your name?"
Zhao Yushu smiled bitterly: "To be honest, I also hope that I wrote it, but Zhao really can't be a fraud who steals the reputation."
Yun Gu's eyes dimmed. "What a pity! It's really my lack of talent and knowledge that I missed such a great talent. But I heard from Aunt Liu that day that the young master asked her if she knew anything about the emperor and the imperial concubine. If she didn't know, this poem would only have four lines. I dare to ask, what is the rest?"
Lao Zhao raised his head and said with some emotion: "This is a very long story."
For half an hour, Lao Zhao tried hard to explain the story of Emperor Minghuang of Tang and Concubine Yang to Yun Gu, but he had to avoid mentioning the current Li Tang royal family, saying that this was Mr. Nalan dreaming of a non-existent dynasty and this lingering love. Of course, he didn't care about the fact that the Emperor Tang lost half of his country and finally put the blame on his woman. This is not a history story.
"After the conversation at Mount Li, the night is half over, and the rain and the bell never stop crying. How could I compare to the unfaithful man in brocade clothes, who once wished to be together forever. What a sad and beautiful sentence, and what a hateful unfaithful man!" Yun Gu's eyes were blurred with tears, and she picked up a silk handkerchief to wipe away her tears.
Oh my god, sister, your reaction is a bit strong. I won't trigger any S-level plot again, right? Don't involve me in the grudges and hatreds of you big shots. Lao Zhao is a little panicked.
Yun Gu quickly realized that she had lost her composure and wiped away her tears hastily: "Sorry to have embarrassed you, sir. Can I write these words down?"
"Of course, of course"
"Sir, please wait a moment. The second thing is that someone asked me to ask you. Forget it, I'll let her do it herself." Yun Gu was probably a little embarrassed, so she got up and went out in a hurry. Not long after, the door opened again, and a girl with a nice figure and a blue-purple long skirt walked in.
"I am Liu Rulan, paying my respects to you, sir."