This middle-aged woman was none other than the famous Li Qingzhao. She was extremely famous even in the Song Dynasty, but at this time she was in the most depressed, hesitant and depressed period of her life.
Just in March this year, her collection of paintings, calligraphy, and epigraphy stored in a friend's home were swept away by thieves, and all her and her husband's lifelong efforts were wiped out.
Li Qingzhao suffered a serious illness and was just recovering from the illness. Her family was so poor that they had no rice to cook, and everything they could sell had been sold. She had no choice but to ask for help and see if she could find something to do.
But Li Qingzhao was not well-received by others, and she repeatedly hit the wall, which almost made her despair. Today, she came to the prime minister Lu Yihao for the third time, hoping that the court could repay her husband Zhao Mingcheng's salary for the last few months, as well as the salary after his death.
Funeral money.
The Song Dynasty was an era of literati, and no official disliked talented women. However, there are two main reasons why a talented woman like Li Qingzhao, who is famous all over the world, is so depressed and ignored.
The first one is of course age. Literati all like to recite poems to the moon and be full of interesting young talents. Li Qingzhao is too old. She is already forty-six years old. Even Zhang Ruzhou, who later married her, peeked at her wealth, not her wealth.
pretty.
When Zhang Ruzhou discovered that she was already destitute, he hurled harsh words at her and punched her.
But age was not the main reason for her repeated setbacks. The main reason was her political stance. After four years of wandering around the entire court and the emperor, she finally found a foothold in Lin'an and finally began to enjoy a peaceful life and regain the joy of life.
But she didn't understand the current affairs and kept writing letters and shouting, 'Northern Expedition! Northern Expedition! Northern Expedition!'
She was like Xianglin's sister-in-law in the Southern Song Dynasty. When she saw anyone, she wanted the other party to support her political stance, to expedition to the Central Plains in the north, and to dare to resist the Jin Dynasty.
So much so that all the court officials kept a distance from her, for fear of getting too close to her, and they were labeled as anti-gold.
The poem "Summer Quatrains" was written by Li Qingzhao when she passed by Gaixia the year before last and had been kept in her bookcase. No one in Lin'an knew about this poem. Today, someone actually recited this poem in the Prime Minister's Mansion, which of course surprised her.
But after thinking about it, Li Qingzhao felt relieved. Her husband had read this poem to some friends in Hongzhou, and perhaps it was spread around then.
Chen Qing said apologetically: "I am Chen Qing, the commander of the Western Army. I have admired my wife's poems for a long time. I have taken the liberty to meet you today. Please don't blame me, madam!"
Although Chen Qing was a bit presumptuous, Li Qingzhao was not disgusted. She heard that the other party was a general of the Western Army, and she immediately became interested.
"Which army of the Western Army does General Chen belong to?"
"I am a general under the command of King Dutong of the Eight-Character Army."
"I know that you moved from the Taihang Mountains to fight in Shaanxi and defeated the Jin soldiers at Monk Plains at the beginning of the year, which brought hope to the people of the world!"
"What hope do you mean, madam?"
"Restore hope to our homeland."
Li Qingzhao smiled slightly: "The general should be from the anti-golden faction!"
Chen Qing nodded, "Every soldier of our Eight-Character Army is a staunch anti-gold faction, so I have always admired my wife's persistence."
Li Qingzhao smiled bitterly, "In the two years I have been in Lin'an, this is the first time someone has praised me for my persistence. To be honest, I am almost desperate."
"Despair? Why did Madam say this?"
At this moment, a group of young men came over, and Chen Qing recognized at a glance that the leader was Wang Bo. Although he was expelled from martial arts, it seemed that he was not affected at all now.
"Brother Bo, I rented the boat in Fengle Building for one night. Let's go and have fun together tomorrow?"
"I have an appointment with my friends to go to Fengle Building tomorrow. How about two days?"
"That's okay. I'll wait until Brother Bo decides which night to book!"
"Qi Yun, how much does it cost to rent the boat in Fengle Building for one night?"
"It's not much, just five hundred guan. There are more than a dozen top-notch beauties for you to play with."
"Is Su Mi here?"
"Sanlang is still thinking about Su Mi? That woman is not something that ordinary people can afford. Last time Liu Bao offered her a thousand gu, even if she asked for a night of pleasure, she couldn't even get it."
A group of people were talking and laughing, and stopped in front of the pavilion.
Wang Bo looked at Chen Qing with a half-smile but said, "What a coincidence! General Chen is here too?"
Chen Qing stood up and smiled at Li Qingzhao: "Madam, let's go for a walk over there!"
Li Qingzhao also hated Wang Bo and others, so he quickly stood up and followed Chen Qing from the other side.
After walking more than a dozen steps, I faintly heard someone joking: "I didn't expect this kid to have such strong tastes?"
As soon as Chen Qing turned around, he looked at Qi Yun sharply. Wang Bo poked Qi Yun, the short fat man, with his elbow, and said with a teasing smile: "Don't make me angry, I'll give you an arrow when I turn around!"
Everyone laughed together.
Li Qingzhao calmly said to Chen Qing: "General, you don't have to be like these dandies!"
"This group of eunuchs' children is quite large. They are drunk and dreaming all day long, making Lin'an a mess."
Li Qingzhao sighed softly, "They are just trying to steal the limelight. In fact, the entire Lin'an is rapidly transforming into Tokyo Bianliang. There are more than a hundred restaurants under construction at the West Lake at the same time, and there are hundreds of boats owned by dignitaries.
It’s under construction. In the past, luxury stores in Bianliang were opened in Lin’an. Anyone who talks about the Northern Expedition now is a sign of stupidity and ignorance of current affairs. This is what I mean by despair.”
Chen Qing felt a little ashamed. He almost invested in a restaurant by the West Lake.
Li Qingzhao glanced at him and smiled: "How is the situation over there with the Western Army? Are there any plans to retake Guanzhong?"
Chen Qing nodded, "Now we will stabilize the defense first, and then gradually counterattack. In fact, the officials also have this idea, otherwise they would not have appointed me as the envoy of Qinzhou."
Li Qingzhao gently flipped his hair and his eyes brightened, "Hey! Sometimes I also want to go to the northwest to do my part to fight against the Jin soldiers. In Lin'an, the sounds of chaos are everywhere, which is chilling."
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "If Madam is willing to come to the northwest to support the anti-golden movement, we warmly welcome her."
Li Qingzhao said sadly: "My top priority now is to support myself. I couldn't find anything to do if I wanted to. I only make a living by washing clothes for two maids who have been with me for many years."
Chen Qing knew that Li Qingzhao was forced to marry Zhang Ruzhou because she was desperate and her life was extremely difficult. If there was any hope that she would not take this step, he was full of sympathy for this talented female poet.
"How about I find something for Madam to do!"
Li Qingzhao's eyes lit up and he quickly asked: "What did the general want me to do?"
"Copy the book!"
This job is good and suits him very well. Li Qingzhao smiled and asked, "What book are you copying?"
"Any book will do, preferably the classics of pre-Qin scholars, various art of war, "Hanshu", "Old Tangshu", "Zizhi Tongjian", etc. The price is one penny per word. This activity
Are you willing to take it?"
Li Qingzhao immediately understood that the price was so high. General Chen was actually funding himself in disguise!
"I understand the general's intention, but it doesn't have to be this way!"
Chen Qing shook his head, "I don't like to read printed books. I like to read manuscripts with good calligraphy. It's just too unfair for my wife to be a copywriter."
Li Qingzhao was extremely embarrassed, so she stopped being pretentious and agreed immediately, "It is also an honor for Qingzhao to be able to copy a book for the general!"
Chen Qing took out ten taels of silver and gave it to her and said with a smile: "This is ten taels of silver. Please sort out the articles and poems written over the years, madam, and make a copy for me. The price is really too low, so I will give it to you."
Take advantage!"
...........
Ten taels of silver can currently be exchanged for fifty guan, which is a real help to Li Qingzhao, otherwise she would be kicked out of the house by her landlord.
Li Qingzhao was grateful again and again, and left in a hurry without staying at the Prime Minister's Mansion. She was not here to celebrate her birthday, she just wanted to ask for her husband's salary, and there was not much hope. However, she did not expect to meet Chen Qing, who solved her imminent livelihood crisis.
.
"Good nephew!"
Chen Qing turned around and saw Hu Yanzhengyan rushing over, accompanied by a fat black man. It was Zhang Ruzhou who was plotting against Li Qingzhao.
"Why is Third Uncle here?"
"Where is layman Yi An? He was still in the pavilion just now."
"She went back. She was copying books for people. Others were eager to ask for books, so she had to rush back."
Zhang Ruzhou was stunned for a moment, "She's copying books for others? No way!"
"Why not?"
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said, "Her family is very poor now, so she still needs to eat, right?"
Zhang Ruzhou's eyes widened, "My family is so poor, what are you kidding me, General Chen?"
Chen Qing said calmly: "In March of this year, all the ancient paintings and inscriptions she had stored in her friend's house were swept away by thieves. Decades of hard work were gone. She reported to the official and couldn't find her. For such a big thing, you don't want to
Know?"
Zhang Ruzhou was completely stunned, "Well... I have something else to do. Let's talk about it in detail!"
Looking at Zhang Ruzhou's dejected figure, Huyan Zhengyan asked with a smile: "Is the collection of layman Yi An really gone, or is it to cut off Zhang Ruzhou's memory?"
"It's true that there is none. He can go to the government and ask. If he wants to covet the wealth of layman Yi An, he is making a big mistake."
Huyan Zhengyan smiled and said: "Not only Zhang Ruzhou is desperate now, but all the people who want to marry their daughter to you are also desperate. I really don't understand what you think. If the house is gone, who would still want to marry their daughter?"
for you?"
Chen Qing laughed and said, "When the Song Dynasty moves its capital back to Bianliang, Tokyo, the house in Lin'an may not be so valuable!"
Huyan Zhengyan curled his lips, "How is that possible?"
"Everything is possible. Third uncle, it's better not to be so sure and leave some escape routes for yourself."
Huyan Zhengyan was shocked and doubtful. At this moment, the housekeeper hurried over, clasped his fists towards Chen Qing and said, "General Chen, my master is here to invite you!"
