Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 1233 Postscript 89·La Liang’s family went into the water to persuade Feng Chen to be a good person

Lan Ruoyuan is located in the southwest city of Luoyang and is no longer its original address.

At that time, Li Bangyan couldn't even buy real estate with money, so he could only temporarily rent the space for business. Later, the prince presided over the construction of the Luoyang city wall, and Li Bangyan bought a piece of land in the new city and built it himself.

Nowadays, the Li family is still responsible for running Lan Ruo Yuan, but its shareholding has been reduced to less than 15%.

The share structure of Lan Ruoyuan is extremely complicated, with all kinds of indirect shareholdings and white gloves. Even the Li family who is responsible for the management can't understand it.

Especially when Emperor Dingtai reorganized the army, he cleaned up a group of Luoyang dignitaries. After the coup, another group was purged. Now it is even more chaotic. It is estimated that many ministers of the current government have obtained shares.

"I heard that the person who first opened Lanruo Academy was a cabinet minister?" Xie Yan was very familiar with Lanruo Academy, but he had never heard of Li Bangyan's name.

Shi Huai introduced: "Li Bangyan was not only the founding cabinet minister of the Ming Dynasty, but also the last deputy prime minister of the former Song Dynasty. This person was extremely corrupt in the former Song Dynasty, but became much more restrained in the Ming Dynasty. However, the Qi family was incompetent, and was imprisoned because his family members were corrupt and perverted the law. Implicated in dismissal."

"It seems that at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, corruption was severely punished," Xie Yan said.

Zhu Shirong said: "It's more than harsh. I heard that during the first major case, because too many officials across the country were arrested, one-third of the provinces, prefectures and counties were unable to work."

"I heard that half of the government offices were shut down," Zeng Wei said.

Lu Churen said: "How can it be half? At most one third."

Zeng Wei said: "One-third is also scary."

Shi Huai sighed with emotion: "At the time of Taizu and Emperor Taizong, the officials were clean and honest, and the people were upright and prosperous. I wish I could visit them in person."

When Xie Yan heard that they were nostalgic about a hundred years ago, he couldn't help but shout "Brother Zhu is awesome" in his heart.

When the carriage was about to arrive at Lanruo Courtyard, Zhu Shirong said: "At its peak, there were six Lanruo Courtyards in the country. After Li Bangyan died of illness, the two grandsons divided the family property, which caused a lot of trouble. Except for Luoyang and Hangzhou, there were several other Lanruo Courtyards in the country. Jia Lan Ruo Yuan is all sold.”

"How many are left now?" Xie Yan asked.

Shi Huai said: "There are at least twenty or thirty, but the quality varies, and most of them are arty. The only one in Luoyang that is still run by the Li family."

Xie Yan asked again: "Aren't there any descendants of the Li family who are officials?"

Zhu Shirong said: "There was someone in the Hangzhou branch who had been an official and was involved in a major case in Guangdong decades ago. Not only was he executed, but his family property was also confiscated."

"Since then, Hangzhou Lanruo Academy has gone from bad to worse, and the new shareholders are running the business in a haphazard manner. The orchids and bodhisattvas there are too dusty and not elegant at all." Shi Huai lamented this.

It seems that Vice President Shi likes something more elegant.

"My dear sirs, Lan Ruoyuan has arrived." The coachman reminded.

Luoyang Lanruo Courtyard covers an area of ​​about 20 acres and has a five-story building. But the real essence lies in the isolated backyards.

Zhu Shirong said: "The lower four floors are filled with blue-blooded herders. The fifth floor is dominated by red herders. In the backyard, the pure herders live."

I don’t know when it started to refer to prostitutes as “husbands”, but it didn’t exist until the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

At first, he seemed to be a government official, calling himself or being respectfully called "waiter" by the common people.

Guan, Xiaochen.

Hall, Yamen Court Hall.

In a daze, he transplanted it to a prostitute.

In fact, during the Song Dynasty, palace maids and prostitutes were more often called "Miss". Such as Miss Li, Miss Zhang and so on.

But miss is not a specific title, but an honorific title for young women, which has the same meaning as "little lady". It's just that I'm used to calling prostitutes, and women from good families avoid it.

Xie Yan inquired carefully and found out that the blue shopkeeper was an ordinary prostitute, while the red shopkeeper was a top-notch prostitute. People in the Qing Dynasty claimed that they were prostitutes and not prostitutes, which was just a self-proclaimed profession.

Just like Jiangnan in the late Qing Dynasty, various "book apartments" were proliferated. At first glance, they might have been thought of as places for storytelling or reading. In fact, it is a high-end small brothel. The prostitutes inside call themselves "cishi", also called "sir" and "husband".

"Xueshi Shi, Xueshi Zhu, and Xueshi Zeng, please come quickly, but the three of them haven't been here for half a year!"

The person in charge of the reception was a boy, who probably stayed in the brothel all year round, and this place was in the southwest corner of the city. He didn't even know the famous Prince Consort Xie.

The boy looked at Xie Yan and Lu Churen: "I'm sorry for my blindness, but I dare to ask these two gentlemen their names."

Shi Huai introduced: "This is Bachelor Xie, and this is Bachelor Lu."

"Thank... thank you, Prince Consort?" The young man looked at Xie Yan's waist.

But Xie Yan didn't wear the hibiscus jade pendant. After all, he was here to drink flower wine this time.

Such a young bachelor, and his surname is Xie, is probably the prince-in-law.

The young man was very discerning and hurriedly greeted everyone and asked, "Are your gentlemen going to the fifth floor or going to the inner courtyard to relax?"

Shi Huai asked: "Which waiter in the inner courtyard is free?"

The young man said: "My husbands came early, Guo Chen and Guo Li are both free."

Zhu Shirong asked: "Where is Zhao Jingjing?"

"What a coincidence. Mr. Zhao has been in poor health these past few days," the young man said with a confused look on his face, "How about I ask some of my husbands for help?"

As long as blue and red herdsmen can afford the money, that's fine.

The poor people have to put on airs. Even if they are lucky enough to meet, they will just play the piano, sing, drink and dance.

Xie Yan asked in a low voice: "Is Zhao Jingjing the number one prostitute in Luoyang?"

Zhu Shirong winked: "I heard that he is a descendant of the royal family of the previous dynasty. Although I don't know whether it is true or not, people flock to him."

"Isn't the main focus here is Bodhisattva Man and Hu Ji?" Xie Yan was a little confused.

Zhu Shirong explained: "Whether it is Bodhisattva Man or Hu Ji, even if they can dance and write, after all, they lack a trace of scholarly charm. Most of them are red shopkeepers."

Shi Huai recalled the past and said:

"The business is no longer working anymore. Forty years ago, I was still a young man. At that time, there was a Bodhisattva Man from Xina. He was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He was also gentle, virtuous, well-behaved and smart. He could be a man for men just by drinking and chatting. Relieve worries."

"That Bodhisattva is a courtesan from the Qing Dynasty, and she has been the number one prostitute (famous prostitute) in the two capitals for ten consecutive years. How many high-ranking officials have spent a lot of money just to have a drink and chat with her."

"What a pity. By the time I become famous, she has already married a business woman, and I haven't had the chance to meet her yet."

Well, Vice President Shi still had Bai Yueguang when he was young.

Zhu Shirong said: "It is not difficult to train a woman from a feudal state to become a court lady. What is difficult is to win the recognition of countless customers. Therefore, operators like to take shortcuts. Women from a feudal state are good at singing and dancing, so they are the most suitable to be prostitutes. ”

In a word, today’s entertainment industry is too complicated!

It is difficult to achieve the top level by relying solely on appearance, poetry, singing and dancing, and it must also provide sufficient emotional value. Being able to chat is more important than the previous ones.

The boy invited them to the foyer in the backyard to have tea, and quickly ran inside to help with questions.

Not long after, he came back and said, "Guard Zhao has just recovered from his illness, so I'm going to invite some of my husband."

Where does poor health and recovery come from?

It's just that I was drinking with a group of young men last night, and someone got drunk until midnight and smashed all the furniture in Zhao Jingjing's room.

This kind of group of people come to meet the waiter for a drink, and there is basically no physical relationship. At most, only one of them stayed for the night, while the rest went to find the red and blue shepherds to sleep with.

And Zhao Jingjing's conditions for retaining people were very harsh. She didn't like any of the young men last night.

But the young masters were drunk, but they didn't care. The leader insisted on sleeping with Zhao Jingjing, and got into trouble, smashing things crazily and yelling curses.

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Zhao Jingjing was also angered and pointed at the young master and said, "You want to smash my courtyard door? Next time your father comes, I'm afraid he won't be able to find a way in. I'm drinking with you tonight for your father's sake!" Do you think you can enter my yard if you want?"

After hearing this, the young master ran away in despair.

Zhao Jingjing was so angry that he announced that he would not welcome guests for three days.

She is qualified to stage a show.

There is more than one powerful person covering it!

"Madam, thank you, Prince Consort, for coming in." A maid ran over quickly.

Zhao Jingjing asked hurriedly: "Is he really as handsome and charming as the legend says?"

The maid smiled and said: "He has a face like a crown jewel, a tall and straight posture, and an extraordinary bearing."

Zhao Jingjing said to his personal maid: "Alan, go and drink with your consort, and pay more attention to some of his subtle habits."

"yes!"

The maid named Alan is actually an Orchid from the Middle East.

The kingdoms of Tianfang are at war all the year round, so the scale of human trafficking is huge. Not only women and children are trafficked, they also sell adult men.

Alan is thirteen years old this year. Because of his outstanding appearance, he is highly regarded by Lan Ruoyuan. So from the age of ten, she was assigned to be a maid next to Zhao Jingjing.

Firstly, he followed Zhao Jingjing to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and secondly, he followed Zhao Jingjing to become familiar with the powerful.

By the time he reaches the age of fourteen or fifteen, he will definitely be somewhat famous, and then it will be time to officially leave the cabinet.

This is a mature training system, and the training cost is much lower than that of Li Bangyan, who strives for excellence. Of course, it was also widely criticized by Chairman Shi's people, who believed that Lan Ruoyuan had abandoned its fine traditions.

Xie Yan and the other five were invited to sit down, but they did not see Zhao Jingjing himself.

Five young girls came out and each sat down next to a guest: "My wife just got up and hasn't had time to wash up yet. Please don't blame me, gentlemen."

Xie Yan took a look at the five girls. The youngest was probably only twelve or thirteen years old, and the oldest was only fifteen or sixteen years old.

The law prohibiting child labor is not strictly enforced!

Although Xie Yan didn't plan to stay here for the night, he could still happily accept a hug like Shang Kli's.

Seeing Alan at this moment, he was a little reluctant to do anything.

Forget it, just drink and listen to music.

"What's your name?" Xie Yan asked casually.

Alan knelt down and poured wine for Xie Yan: "My name is Alan, my humble surname is Zhao, my maiden name is Pilan. I haven't written a word yet, and I'm waiting for you in my boudoir."

"How old are you?" Xie Yan asked again.

Alan said: "I will be thirteen next month."

Damn it.

It was definitely child labor, and Xie Yan wanted to report it.

The child labor ban was only enacted last year!

Xie Yan looked at the other four people. The most sullen Lu Churen had already started to reach out, holding the maid's little hand and pouring wine together.

Too greasy and unsightly.

Of course, Lan Ruo, the most popular personal maid in the hospital, is not allowed to hug or hug her guests at most, nor is she allowed to put her hands under her clothes.

This is an unspoken rule, and customers will generally abide by it - if they are in a hurry, they will not come to the inner courtyard, there are many prostitutes on the fifth floor.

"Where is your hometown?" Xie Yan asked.

Alan recalled: "I can't remember clearly. When I was a child, I lived in a big house and was served by servants. Then one day, rebel soldiers came in and my mother hugged my brother and ran away with me."

"We were all captured and taken to many places. I only remember Baghdad, which was a very big city. Later we stopped at a big port... Oh, I shouldn't have said so much, please forgive me, my dear."

Alas, poor little girl, she used to be a lady from a wealthy family.

Xie Yan guessed that she came from the Zengi Sultanate that was destroyed not long ago. Although this country inherited the legacy of the Seljuks, it has been fighting with foreign enemies for a long time, and has also been fighting a small-scale civil war for a long time.

It may also come from the Rum Sultanate, the greened Byzantine homeland. If it came from there, the little girl's brother might have been castrated to become a eunuch, or become a slave playmate of a Byzantine noble.

"Do you miss home?" Xie Yan asked.

Alan was startled when he heard this, and hurriedly lowered his head to cover up: "No. The Ming Dynasty is richest in the world, not comparable to overseas vassal states, and I am very happy here."

Pulling good people into the water and persuading prostitutes to become good are two major hobbies of men.

Xie Yan felt that this little girl was quite pitiful, and she was innocent, so he wanted to help her escape from the devil's den and live a good life.

At this moment, soft footsteps sounded, and the top performer Zhao Jingjing finally came out.