He is in his twenties, about the same age as Xu Hanliang, and the turban tied high on his head represents his status as a scholar.
However, it was still the coldest month of winter, and this boy was dressed in single clothes and holding a fan in his hand, showing off his suave and suave appearance. He really wanted to show his style rather than his warmth.
Xu Hanliang was still in a daze,
"Brother Ziyu."
The man walked directly in front of him, cupped his hands, and said.
"Is Brother Ziyou's condition getting better? A few days ago, someone said that Brother Ziyou has his own destiny, and if he survives a disaster, he will have good fortune in the future. That's what I said. According to me, Ziyou
You don’t have to worry so much, your body is yours.”
"Although Uncle Xu is in prison, he is sitting up straight. That old man Cai Jing is immoral and incompetent. I believe that the officials will understand clearly and give Uncle Xu justice."
After the young man finished speaking, he raised his eyes and looked at Xu Hanliang.
The latter was stunned before he realized. Although his memory was quite blurry, Xu Hanliang vaguely remembered that the young man in front of him seemed to be named Li Zhongwen, who was his classmate and friend, and the word You in Li Zhongwen's mouth was his cousin.
The two were born in the same year, and they met to take the imperial examination. Unfortunately, they were both obviously ignorant.
After many years of failure, Li Zhongwen, who was in his twenties, and Xu Hanliang, both pretended to be scholars, but in fact they had already drifted away from the imperial examination.
I thought that when playing chess, the stinky chess pieces are like each other, and they will fly away when disaster strikes.
Unexpectedly, Lao Xu offended the powerful ministers of the dynasty, and everyone regarded him as a scourge. On the contrary, scholars such as Li Zhongwen did not alienate him because of this, but showed concern for him, which can be regarded as sharing weal and woe.
Shaking his head, Xu Hanliang also handed over his hand.
"Thank you very much for your concern, Brother Zhongwen. I was infected with the cold a few days ago, which worried Brother Zhongwen. Now I'm in good health, so it's no longer a problem. But I don't know why Brother Zhongwen came to visit today?"
Xu Hanliang was quite curious.
Logically speaking, Li Zhongwen, who had just recovered from a serious illness and only wanted to eat and drink until death, should be eating and drinking. There was no reason to come to his small courtyard. If he only came to visit, this would not be justified.
Hearing the sound, Li Zhongwen waved his hand and said with a smile.
"My family won't get in the way, that's what I should do."
"Of course I came to see you today for something important. I thought you were seriously ill and couldn't attend, but I didn't expect that you are getting better now, so I came to see you. Did Brother Ziyou forget about the Changshu Poetry Club?"
Li Zhongwen returned the greeting with a smile, and immediately dragged Xu Hanliang out without looking outside.
Hearing the sound, Xu Hanliang was stunned for a moment, but then he remembered.
He had passed through the soul, and a few days of work were enough for Xu Hanliang to understand the current situation. As for the Changshu Poetry Party that Li Zhongwen mentioned, he also knew two or three points. It was nothing more than a gathering organized by some scholars in Changshu.
The Northern Song Dynasty was plagued by internal and external troubles, and the Jin people almost reached the capital. However, with today's official family feud still unabated, this group of scholars who only knew how to sing and dance did not feel even the slightest bit nervous.
It is said to be a poetry meeting, but in fact it has no technical content.
They are all a bunch of losers who have no hope of taking the imperial examination.
They gather together to have a wild and wild life, and then wait until they are full and have a good time, so they go crazy with the alcohol, and by the way, they diss the arrogant princes who have done nothing at that time.
Typical ostrich mentality.
As for Xu Hanliang, although Lao Xu was flattering, few people knew about it. Everyone thought that Lao Xu was unjustly accused and imprisoned by the prime minister of the dynasty, so he was naturally the first choice to complain.
It's a pity that a serious illness almost killed Xu Hanliang. Now that he is in good health, he naturally wants to come and fight for it.
Changshu Poetry Club...
Xu Hanliang shook his head. He didn't have time to waste time with a group of scholars who only knew how to complain. But after holding his chin and thinking about it, Xu Hanliang still agreed.
"That's very good. Brother Zhongwen, please be patient. I'll be back as soon as I go."
Xu Hanliang cupped his hands and immediately entered the small kitchen. When he came out, two jars of seasonings had been put into his arms. The two of them left the small courtyard and directly got on the carriage hired by Li Zhongwen.
If things were going as usual, the little maidservant would probably not be able to let her husband behave like this.
When you have just recovered from a serious illness, you should be recuperating.
But a gathering of literati and prostitutes was a huge event. In the heart of the young lady, it was the highest-level thing that could be imagined, so much so that even though the little maid opened her mouth several times, she didn't even utter a single word of rebuttal.
The carriage was for hire.
Xu Hanliang was burdened with huge debts and had nothing to lose. Li Zhongwen, a scholar, was born in a much poorer family.
But literati have always cared about a certain face.
Half an hour later, the carriage stopped at the top red building on the edge of the West Lake. Here is the most famous brothel in this area, the red boat. It arrived a little late. At this time, the entire red boat was already booked.
There are many scholars who are giving advice.
"That's where the word comes from. Are you feeling better now?"
"Don't worry. Our bodies are like grass, maybe lighter than a feather, or heavier than Mount Tai. Mr. Xu is upright and upright, and you don't have to worry about the temporary prison disaster. Officials who care about the people will definitely give justice to Mr. Xu."
"Don't be concerned about the meaning of the word, but cherish it."
Following the boatman's guidance, the two boarded the cruise ship. Many literati looked over and bowed their hands to Xu Hanliang. Some of the faces were familiar, while others had only met a few times in Xu Hanliang's memory.
The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, but each of them is very sincere.
"Thank you."
Xu Hanliang returned the gift with his hand, his face frozen with laughter, but his eyes fell on the red boat.
With a typical Song Dynasty exaggerated architectural style, there are lights and colorful decorations everywhere, and countless young ladies wearing light gauze may be the staff of the red boat, and charming laughter can be heard from time to time.
Any modern man would probably take a second look at the ancient brothel, which is no less tempting to the people of a certain island country than flying fields and new lands.
Xu Hanliang is no exception.
Following Li Zhongwen's guidance, he found his position and stared at the charming women passing by. He thought that the Changshu Poetry Fair might have attracted most of the prostitutes in the place.
This is inevitable.
Although the world was plagued by internal and external troubles, and the powerful enemy Jin Kingdom was eyeing them, the valiant writing style of the Northern Song Dynasty did not affect this group of scholars at all. They only knew that the Northern Song literati who stood on the moral high ground and scolded Fang Qiu commanded the country with their mouths.
And the character of a scholar is naturally inseparable from romantic affairs.
In order to gain fame, brothel girls will inevitably fall in love with such a poetry gathering, even if it is a gathering of a group of stinky chess players. Xu Hanliang stopped thinking about it after watching it for a long time, and instead became concerned about tonight's dishes.
Stir-fried vegetables, this is something Xu Hanliang never thought of.
As far as he knew, although stir-fried dishes were popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties, most of the food in the Song Dynasty was still steamed and grilled. Stir-fried dishes were somewhat high-end. Unfortunately, among these literati and poets, everyone was chatting and laughing, and the poetry meeting had not yet begun.
, but no one moved their chopsticks.
"Time is running out. Does Zhongwen know when this poem will begin?"
After waiting and waiting until it got dark, Xu Hanliang couldn't help but say.
"This is my fault. Brother Ziyou probably doesn't know that today's Changshu Poetry Fair is slightly different from the past. Brother Ziyou was seriously ill a few days ago. Maybe he doesn't know whether there will be a big shot in our Changshu this time, maybe more.