Life in the world of film and television

On the way to the old house, the maid Xiaochan kept talking to Li Mu about the gossip in Jiangning City: "Son-in-law, have you heard about it?"

Li Mu asked curiously, "What did you hear?"

The little girl said excitedly, "Recently, a lady named Li Shishi came to Jiangning. I heard that she is the most famous courtesan in the capital. She is very famous, even more famous than Lady Qilan! Many talented people in the capital wrote poems for her."

"It is said that she is accompanied by several talented men from the capital this time, including Zhou Bangyan, the leader of the four great talents in the capital. I heard that he is very powerful. It is said that they are here to challenge all the courtesans and talented men in Jiangning."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Really?"

The little girl nodded vigorously: "Yes! Son-in-law, when they compete, if our Jiangning cannot win, will you participate?" There was some hope in her eyes.

Li Mu smiled helplessly: "Why are you worrying so much, little girl? We'll talk about it when the time comes."

Xiaochan could only nod, still hoping in her heart that if Jiang Ning lost, her son-in-law would step in and turn the tide, how impressive that would be.

However, Li Mu might have disappointed her.

These days, the news of Li Shishi's visit to Jiangning to visit a friend has indeed been quite hotly discussed, even overshadowing the assassination of Qin Siyuan by the Liao people.

Now, this incident has become a challenge to Jiang Ning by the capital's most beautiful women, represented by Li Shishi, and the capital's talented literati, represented by Zhou Bangyan.

After all, scholars, talented men and beautiful women... who doesn't like such things, who doesn't like to join in such fun.

Now many scholars in Jiangning have taken action, instigating Qilan, Luo Miaomiao and others to prepare a performance in those days and invite Li Shishi to come and compete with them.

People over there don't know what's going on yet, but the matter has already become a hot topic here.

Although I don't know who is behind the hype and fanning the flames, the Puyang family is probably involved. Qilan represented the Puyang family. Even if Qilan lost, she was standing on behalf of Jiangning and could gain sympathy. Moreover, she was the most beautiful courtesan in the capital, so it was normal for her to lose. Even if the news got out, being able to compete with the most beautiful courtesan in the capital would make people look up to her.

If she wins, there will be more benefits. She will be even more powerful than Qilan, the most beautiful courtesan in the capital. She may even be able to be crowned the most beautiful courtesan in Wu State.

The carriage moved very quickly, and the two talked all the way until they arrived at the Ning family's former residence.

This old residence is located in an alley in the north of Jiangning City. It does not cover a large area and has several main rooms, several side rooms, and a small courtyard.

The Ning family was considered a wealthy family in the past, but this can be traced back to Ning Yi’s grandfather, or even a generation before that.

Grandpa Ning Yi's family was relatively well-off, and he was also an orthodox scholar who had achieved some fame. At that time, the Su family was far smaller than it is now, so the old man Su Yu could make friends with Grandpa Ning Yi. At that time, Su Yu, as a businessman, was probably the one who could marry high. But later, the Su family's business grew bigger and bigger, while the Ning family gradually fell into decline, and the gap became larger and larger.

Seriously speaking, even Ning Yi's father enjoyed a few days of luxury when he was young, but he was the kind of prodigal scholar.

Ning Yi's parents passed away too early. According to the few memories from childhood, Ning Yi's grandfather did leave some family assets. At least the ancestral home is still there. However, Ning's father is a typical prodigal son. Although his family has fallen on hard times, he still develops the temperament of a playboy. He has great ambitions but little talent, and spends money lavishly. Although he is a scholar, he has no knowledge and has never achieved any fame in his life.

In this way, the Ning family, which originally had some foundation, was soon ruined by him. The Ning family's ancestral home was not here, but was sold by Ning's father, so they moved to this alley and their lives fell into decline from then on.

When Ning's father was young, he lived a life of debauchery. After losing all his family property, he couldn't stand the gap and became depressed. However, Ning's father had read some books, and although he didn't have much knowledge, he thought highly of himself.

As a result of the physical and mental torture, he died young.

Ning Yi was more unlucky. He had lived here since he could remember. His family property had long been squandered by his father, and he had not been able to live a good life for many days.

When he was a child, he did not seem to be very smart. His father, who considered himself a scholar, felt embarrassed to let his son become illiterate, so he sent him to a private school since he was young.

It's just that he didn't have a good life since childhood, and naturally he didn't develop the arrogance and character of a scholar, otherwise he would not have agreed to marry into the Su family.

Li Mu and Xiao Chan opened the door with the key and walked into the courtyard. Apart from some fallen leaves, the courtyard was quite clean. There was no sense of desolation caused by weeds after the courtyard had been abandoned for a long time.

This was all thanks to Su Tan'er, who knew that this was his old residence, and every one or two months, she would arrange for maids and servants to come and clean it up, remove weeds, and sweep up dead leaves.

Li Mu walked around the yard. Xiaochan, with a headscarf on her head and a rag and broom in her hands, had already started cleaning the yard inside and out.

Walking into the room, Li Mu looked around casually and, based on his memory, pulled out an old small wooden box from under the bed.

I opened it and took a look. There wasn't much inside, just some small gadgets or childhood toys. They looked tattered and like waste, but they did have some commemorative significance.

Li Mu rummaged through it and, as expected, found a few small pieces of loose silver and more than a hundred copper coins, which he had deliberately hidden before to deal with some emergencies.

There were some worn-out books in the box, including a volume of Thousand Character Classic filled with annotations, probably those he had used when studying as a child.

After looking through the small box, Li Mu had nothing to do for a while, so he found a rag and was about to wipe the table when Xiao Chan beside him hurriedly stopped him and reached out to snatch the rag from his hand.

"Son-in-law, how can you do this job! Just leave these to Xiaochan. If you feel okay, you can go around or talk to your acquaintances and friends."

Li Mu smiled helplessly: "Okay!"

It is still cold in early spring, but the sun is shining brightly today, and the warm light spreads over the courtyard and the bluestone alley outside.

After standing in the courtyard for a while, Li Mu took the Thousand Character Classic he had learned when he was a child, walked out of the courtyard with boredom, and came to the alley. He looked around and saw courtyards and houses lined up one after another, with a few old trees dotted between the black tiles and green walls. Although he was a taciturn and nerdy boy when he was a child, he still had some impression of these neighbors around him.

However, the alley was quiet at this time, no one was around, and he was too lazy to socialize. He sat quietly on the bluestone bench at the door, flipping through the Thousand Character Classic in his hand aimlessly, thinking about what to do to kill time, when he suddenly saw a man and a woman walking towards the alley.

They were said to be a man and a woman, but in fact both of them were dressed in men's clothes.

The woman had an oval face, a pointed chin, a cherry mouth, and wore white Confucian clothing. Although she was dressed like a man, she could be recognized as a woman at a glance. She was also very pretty, even stunningly beautiful.

"Could this be Li..." Li Mu thought to himself.

Over there, a man and a woman were walking in the alley, stopping and starting, pointing at the courtyards one after another. Suddenly, the woman saw Li Mu sitting on a bluestone bench, flipping through a torn book in his hand. She felt that he looked a bit like a figure in her memory, but she was not sure about his temperament and demeanor. The woman walked quickly to the front, suddenly stopped, hesitated for a moment and asked, "Sir, is this courtyard behind your home?"

Li Mu looked up and said, "Hmm! Who are you?"

The woman smiled and said in surprise: "Ah, so you are really Xiao Ning..."

The woman said happily: "My last name is Wang. I lived here for two years when I was a child. You often sat on this stone bench to read. My home is over there." Then she pointed to another rather exquisite courtyard.

When she said that, Li Mu actually had an impression. According to his memory, when he was a child, there was indeed a rather elegant family living in that yard. There was a very beautiful little girl. They often met and talked to each other, but they were not very familiar with each other. He didn't even know her name.

After living there for two or three years, I moved away.

Could it be that the little girl is the young Li Shishi?

At this time, another figure walked over quickly. It was the man. He said as he walked, "Brother Wang, why are you walking so fast... Who is this..." and looked at Li Mu.

The woman kept it a secret and pointed at Li Mu and asked, "Hezhong, do you still recognize this young master?"

The man named Hezhong probably didn't hear the previous conversation clearly. He looked at Li Mu for a few times, then looked at the back yard. He seemed to remember something, and after a while he said, "Could it be... the little nerd... um... what's his name..."

The woman surnamed Wang frowned slightly: "He is Xiao Ning."

The man suddenly realized, patted his forehead and said, "Yes, my name is Xiao Ning. Look at my memory."

As he said this, he walked forward with a warm look on his face, and even patted Li Mu on the arm in a friendly manner.

"Xiao Ning, do you still remember me? It's me, Yu Hezhong. I used to live over there. We used to play together when we were little. I remember that we asked you to come out to play, so you were often punished to copy and recite books. But later I went to the capital with my parents. I didn't expect to see you again after so many years."

Li Mu actually knew this Yu Hezhong. They had played together when they were young. However, just like his nickname "little bookworm", he was a loner when he was young and had few friends. He carried this book around with him every day and especially liked to sit on the bluestone bench at the door with the book. His relationship with Yu Hezhong was just ordinary.

He smiled and said, "Yu Hezhong...of course I remember, but you have changed a lot over the years."

Yu Hezhong also said with emotion: "I have experienced a lot in these years, and the changes are indeed quite big. But Xiaoning, I remember that you were still...still a nerd back then, and now your temperament has completely changed."

The two chatted for a while, and the woman next to them also joined in. The three former neighbors, now reunited after a long separation, were quite emotional.

As the conversation got heated, Yu Hezhong began to talk about his experiences over the years.

"Xiao Ning, you don't know that I was still very young, just twelve or thirteen years old. Because my father was promoted to the head of the Ministry of Revenue, I had to go to the capital with him. I was unfamiliar with the place at the time, and I made a lot of jokes when I first arrived in the capital."

"Now, after living in Bianjing for so many years, I have gradually gotten better and adapted to the life there. However, Xiaoning, the atmosphere in the capital is still different from that in Jiangning. If I have the chance one day, I will go to the capital to take a look."

"Then let me host you and show my hospitality..."

After talking for a while, Yu Hezhong glanced at the woman next to him and suddenly said, "Actually, the biggest surprise of this trip to the capital was the reunion with Miss Li... and Miss Wang. Miss Wang was the host of the capital, and when I went to the capital that year, Miss Wang took good care of me."

After a conversation, Yu Hezhong also introduced himself. Although he did not pass the imperial examination, through his father's relationship, he now got a job as a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue. Although his potential is not great, he will never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of his life.

The three of them were chatting and laughing happily. Yu Hezhong had a sense of superiority in his words at the beginning. After all, he had just returned from the capital and had a job. His father was also an official, so it was normal for him to feel superior.

However, Li Mu's clothes were all made of expensive fabrics and were very exquisitely made. Most people couldn't afford them. In addition, he had a good temperament and his words and deeds were extraordinary. His sense of superiority gradually disappeared, and the way he addressed him changed from Xiao Ning to Brother Ning.

However, compared to He Zhong who was still immature in the ways of the world, this former girl next door seemed much more knowledgeable.

While Yu Hezhong was talking incessantly, she listened calmly with a smile on her face, occasionally agreeing with a word or two.

But the amazing thing is that whenever Yu Hezhong showed off, if it was only about himself, she would smile and nod, adding icing on the cake. If it was about Li Mu, with preaching or unpleasant words, her eyes would always stay elsewhere, slightly showing a distracted look, and would not make any hint of agreement.

If this kind of subtle control is only demonstrated once or twice, it is not a big deal. However, if it can be done so well every time, it is really rare.

This is not something that can be represented by good upbringing or even a smooth personality. It means that there are enough opportunities and enough exercise for these qualities to be gradually developed.

In this era, women don't have many opportunities to show their faces. Just like Su Tan'er, she is well-educated, has a good grasp of people's hearts, and is good at manipulating people, but she is a little sharp and not smooth compared to this woman.

Li Mu chatted with two old neighbors for a while. It seemed that they were about to turn around and leave when Xiaochan came out curiously and asked, "Son-in-law, who are you talking to?"

The two of them were stunned for a moment, and didn't seem to pay much attention to Xiaochan's address.

Yu Hezhong asked: "Brother Ning, could this be my sister-in-law?"

Xiaochan blushed: "No! I am a maid at home."

Knowing that she was a maid, there was no need to formally introduce herself to others. After Xiaochan greeted her, they chatted for a few more words before formally saying goodbye.

Xiaochan looked at their receding figures curiously: "Son-in-law, who are they?"

Li Mu said: "Former neighbor."

Xiaochan said with a little vigilance: "The man just now was dressed as a woman, and he was very beautiful."

Li Mu smiled and said, "I know. She was very pretty when she was little. Why do you care about her?"

Xiaochan pouted and said, "I'm doing this for the young lady, so that the brother-in-law won't have a childhood sweetheart someday." She giggled and ran away.

(End of this chapter)