All your life is gentle

The fifteenth day of the first month of the fourth year of Yongqian (the seventh year of Tianyou).

Along the north bank of "Tian Shao" in the north of Beijing, "Qiu Bo Lane".

As soon as it got dark, the courtyards of each house were empty of precious candles, and the lanterns hung high; the whole street was full of incense and mist, and music and music were everywhere.

For three years since the founding of the country, Hua Rong has devoted himself to building a prosperous Kyoto.Although it is out of Gyeonggi, it is still depressed and desolate. At any rate, the city has returned to five or six points of its former size.To say that it is the most lively, most prosperous and most energetic, it is "Qiu Bo Lane", a famous place for fireworks.No matter how chaotic and peaceful he is, this entertainment cannot be missed at any time.What's more, although the masters of Xirong are a little rough, they are heavy and real in their pockets.The rules of the Qinlou and Chu Houses, greet and send, give birth to Zhang Shuwei, who should be picked up?Those who are willing to pay money are the distinguished guests!

However, at this moment, in the largest and most luxurious brothel "Xiangxuelou" in Qiubo Lane, two groups of distinguished guests are fighting.

First, three or two singled out, from Accord fighting to the lobby, it became a brawl of two or 30 people.Fortunately, no weapons were used, just punching and kicking, the same enthusiasm.The crowd around the audience didn't panic, they squeezed to the stairs obediently, making room for the heroes to display their skills.A young servant stretched out his arm to move the large plum vase with gold and colored painting standing on the ground, but was secretly dragged by the companion behind him.As soon as the two moved away, a fist as big as a vinegar bowl hit it, and there was a loud "clang", and the porcelain bottle fell to the ground and shattered.

The accountant over there looked at the clothes of the person who smashed the bottle, and took a note: a three-foot official kiln snowflake porcelain with gold and seven-color plum vase, 50 taels of silver, at the eldest prince's residence.

The two people on the second floor watched the battle below with cold eyes.Standing is Fu Ding, and sitting is Fu Liu.Everyone in the arena was fighting to the core, and no one seemed to have noticed the appearance of the two princes.

Fu Liuyin laughed twice: "Brother Huang, now you know why Fu Kuang loses money every time, no matter whether he wins or loses?" Fu Kuang is the captain of the eldest prince's personal guard.Because of his disability, Fu Liu is particularly sensitive to etiquette rules.As soon as the father came to the throne, his princely style was more in place than anyone else.He also made a big splash on behalf of Fu Ding, changing "Big Brother" to "Emperor Brother".

After the third point was broken, Fu Ding had already seen that the two sides were fighting evenly on the surface, but every time they came within the effective distance of endangering fragile objects, those guys in the second's house would pull back and dodge.When people on their side stretch out their hands or lift their legs, there must be the sound of "crashing" and "crashing".Really cunning and hateful...

Already holding back his anger, and hearing the provocative words from the third child, how can Fu Ding hold back?With a roar, he kicked off the railing and jumped down, regardless of enemy or friend, he raised his fist and beat anyone he saw.The other guards who had been watching the battle by his side joined the battle formation, and the power comparison became very different.His Royal Highness personally entered the field, who would dare to continue the fight?Ni Jian caught a glimpse of Fu Ding, immediately withdrew his move, and captured him without a fight.Seeing that the captain stopped fighting, the subordinates stopped fighting too.

The guards of the First Prince's Mansion swarmed up to restrain them.These days everyone has a lot of grievances, and it is necessary to take this opportunity to regain some psychological balance. Ni Jian and his gang gritted their teeth and stared at it.

Fu Kuang looked at his master's face, feeling uneasy: Your Highness is angry.

Originally, relying on someone's backing tonight, they deliberately did not let the other party know that His Royal Highness and Third Highness were also in the building, and ordered a group of people to go up and provoke them.Sure enough, the supporter appeared.But why does His Highness seem very dissatisfied with himself?Your Highness will not be angry about such things as fighting, what is the reason... No matter what the reason is, a whip will definitely be unavoidable when you go back...

With this apprehension, it is rare to start thinking about things with your head: these people in front of you have been caught, what should you do next?But in order to fight for a fan, they will fight with each other, and at most they will be beaten to vent their anger.Although his master is the boss, the subordinates have the same status, so they can't really do anything to the other party.

Trembling, he stepped forward to ask for instructions: "Your Highness..."

"Hmph!" Fu Ding didn't bother to talk to him, and looked up at Fu Liu upstairs.

The third prince put on a smirk: "We know that our brothers are talking to Miss Nongqing and Miss Ruoyu inside, but you ruthless slaves dare to make trouble outside, you deserve your cramps." Chong Fuding said, "Brother Huang, the people in your mansion will come back and teach you a lesson. As for them, at least they have to save face for Brother Second Emperor—how about sending someone to invite Brother Second Emperor to come and teach him a lesson."

Fu Ding picked up a personal guard of the Second Prince's Mansion and kicked him: "Go! Call your master here!"

After listening to the guard's trembling report, Chang Sheng asked, "So, it's not that you haven't beaten him before, but it's because you happened to bump into the other party's master, so you were all detained?"

"Yes, Your Highness." He raised his head again to defend himself, "We didn't know that His Highness and His Highness were inside—damn it..." Thinking of the military order, he shut up and said timidly: "Your Highness, we don't have a penny or anything. bad……"

Changsheng smiled: "Let's go, let's get him out first."

On a certain day a few years ago, the first prince and the guards of the second prince's residence were drinking flower wine in this "Xiangxue Tower".

According to the old rules in the past, when guests come to the door, hand out signs, catch up with each other, and have tea circles, you have to do it step by step. Only then do you get the right to ask the girls to accompany you one by one, and set up banquets in the building to drink flowers and wine.But now all these troubles are free.The masters of Xirong only look for your delivery and I will pay for it, and I will give you as much as you want when you are satisfied with the service.Everyone just did what they wanted, and went straight, saving all those stupid heads.

That day, those from the First Prince's Mansion came first and reserved the "Fuyun Pavilion" on the east side.After the second prince's residence, he entered the "Jiangyu Pavilion" to the west.After drinking it for a long time, I don't know which adult from the east yelled at the top of his voice: "Mud legs and bones! Come here to be a master!"

As soon as the words were finished, the curtain on the west side moved, and a large plate of mixed fruits and hundred flavor soups fell on the speaker's head impartially, and the soup was immediately poured down.Ni Jian wiped his hands and laughed loudly: "Ha! A ready-made braised lion's head!" He turned his face and asked his subordinates in a low voice: "What did that guy just say?"

The guard who was asked was stunned: "Captain, you didn't understand?"

Ni Jian giggled and said, "I understand "bad bones". As long as there is such a word, you can hit it right."

All the subordinates nodded: "That's true..."

It turned out that Ni Butou was the captain of His Royal Highness's personal army, and he was a hero of Xi Rong.Although the ethnic groups are different and the language is limited, they are all bold men. They basically belong to the same breed, so they naturally share the same taste.In order to get along with his subordinates, Captain Ni took the initiative to learn the Xirong dialect. Unfortunately, time was short, and he only learned a few percent of the foul language.However, if you apply what you have learned, you will make rapid progress.

He is proud here, and the braised lion head is causing trouble.What else is there to say, a face-to-face meeting directly escalated into a physical conflict, let's start a fight.

At the end of the battle, the second prince's individual combat ability was slightly stronger, while the first prince's side had a large number of people, so it was basically a tie, and each of them closed their teams.

Ni Jian returned to the mansion to report to Changsheng.At the end of the talk, he suddenly became embarrassed: "Your Highness... this, um... this, please take a look at it..." He reached out and fumbled in his pocket for a long time, and took out a crumpled piece of paper, holding it in both hands, respectfully hand it over.

Changsheng took it over and took a look: "...a round table with six pillars carved in pear wood, six high-legged Xiangfei armchairs, three sheepskin silk silk crescent piers, a pair of water-glazed rouge spring bottles, and a plum green autumn leaf appreciation plate Only...a total of 420 taels of silver." Signed with "Honestly Presented by Xiangxuelou" and the date, month, date, there is a large page full of compensation for damaged items.

Chang Sheng said: "I told you to find opportunities to learn from others, but I didn't tell you to smash things."

His Highness's expression showed no joy or anger, and Captain Ni felt even more guilty, and admitted his mistake: "Your Highness, please take care of this money first. Turn around, turn around—" Gritting his teeth, "Just deduct it from my monthly salary."

"Forget it this time." Chang Sheng smiled, "If you want to get someone hooked, you have to put some bait. I can't just leave it alone..."

Ni Jian patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, Your Highness, you must pay attention next time, you must pay attention."

Chang Sheng glanced at the list again, and suddenly asked: "Does both companies have this list, or are you the only one who is so righteous?"

"Both, both." Captain Ni was a little proud, "Fu Kuang has more than one page in his hand—I think it is at least twice as many as ours..."

"You guys are so honest, let others ask for prices and blackmail them on the spot? This Xiangxuelou is quite courageous!"

"Cough, we were going to leave after the fight. How could we know, cough! The top card in Xiangxuelou, who was called Qingqing's fantou, suddenly rushed to the door and stopped him, cursing and crying, and shouting to sue him. Yu Zhuang, turned around and untied the belt hanging beam. The bustard didn't hold back, so Fu Kuang had no choice but to go up to save people."

When Ni Jian said this, he explained: "I heard that as long as His Royal Highness enters the Xiangxue Tower, eight times out of ten times, this will be cleared. How dare Fu Kuang let her die. Just go up and hold her back. Ladies—" Hey, "this lass, rolled into Fu Kuang's arms and wiped tears... Those girls and slaves also wailed, and the old bustard came up and kowtowed, begging us to give us a way to survive...I have fought countless times in my life. Counting today is so useless..."

Changsheng couldn't laugh or cry, and the bill was thrown on his face: "A bunch of heroes fell into the hands of pink-headed prostitutes, and people made fun of them. It was a shame to throw them at grandma's house. I lost money and paid for your entertainment, but I have no money to pay for it." You have been blackmailed. Next time, you will bet there by yourself, and you don’t have to come back! Alright, let’s ask Zhuang Lingchen to pay the money today.”

Ni Jian withdrew in despair.

Changsheng thought to himself: There are so many strange people in the city, it is true.

Since then, under the leadership of the captain, the second prince's personal guards have worked hard to practice the kung fu of retracting and releasing freely.Later, he reunited with the first prince's personal guards in Liuxiang, Huajie, and fought several encounters, but he did not bring back the bill.Occasionally someone was injured, butler Zhuang sighed while calling for medical treatment.In order to save money, the guards learned a lot of insidious moves from the captain.Later, gradually, no one was injured.

Changsheng was going to Xiangxuelou to protect the people, Zhuang Lingchen said: "His Royal Highness let Brother Qin follow."

Qin Xi just came back from Chuzhou.

"Well, tell him to change clothes and cover up."

Before going out, the housekeeper Zhuang called Qin Xi back: "The other party is eyeing each other. Let's lure the snake out of the hole. The most important thing is to guard against it. Don't let it bite back. Brothers Qin and Ni are all veterans, if they have any tricks, they will definitely escape. But the two Dharma Eyes. Just remember one thing: Be sure to follow His Highness's side, and don't be negligent..."

The second prince dressed lightly, brought a few personal guards, and walked on horseback.

After leaving Baishifang, cross the double-curved bridge, turn into Qiubo Lane, and see Xiangxue Tower.

Although he has to stay in Beijing for two or three months every year, this is the first time for Changsheng to come back to this place.

Changyang was changed to Shunjing, Yongjia Palace was changed to Kaitai Palace; Shuangqu Bridge is still called Shuangqu Bridge, and Qiubo Lane is still Qiubo Lane.

It coincides with the 15th Lantern Festival. Although it is incomparable with the old days, it is also very festive for officials, businessmen, common people, prostitutes and restaurants, and every household to cook glutinous rice balls, tie colored balls, and put up lanterns.

The Qiubo Lane is more lively than usual.The tradition of the Great Xia Kingdom has always followed the east wind and the south wind when it comes to eating, drinking, and having fun.Therefore, this fireworks resort is completely Jiangnan style.Flying eaves and painted buildings, winding sills and corridors, vermilion households flowing with gold, screen windows dyed green...everywhere is beautiful, delicate, elegant, clean and exquisite.Compared with the grandeur and majesty and solemnity of the imperial palace, this is the gold-selling cave, the gentle township, and the tomb of heroes that make people linger intoxicated.

"No wonder the boss and the third son run here every day..." Changsheng walked, his thoughts became trance.

——As if just yesterday, and as if a long time ago, I have been to such a beautiful place.The night was dark and the lights of thousands of houses were on. The man looked back from the building and smiled silently at himself.Like farewell, like waiting, like greeting.

"Your Highness, we're here." The guard leading the way stopped and respectfully asked the second prince to dismount.

woke up.Think about it, although the scenery here is somewhat similar to the old Tongcheng, but the first time I saw that city was after the massacre.When have you seen the truly prosperous and beautiful Tongcheng?Dongping also went back and forth several times, but the scenery of the harbor was very different, not to mention that every time he came and went in a hurry, he never had a chance to pay close attention.So... where do these specific and subtle impressions come from?Since the first day of acquaintance, I have never seen him in such a beautiful and romantic environment.Why... as soon as I closed my eyes, I felt that he should stand with his back under the eaves somewhere?

The longer the parting time, the less he dared to think about the past, the less he dared to assume his present, and the less he dared to think about the future.Only then did I understand that it turns out that staying together is only for a moment forever, and only lovesickness lasts forever.Fortunately, I didn't understand it at the beginning, so I turned around and raised my legs, and never looked back.So I decided to just let it go temporarily and don't think about it.However, this decision is more torturous than any lovesickness, causing people to toss and turn, and it is difficult to sleep and eat.Unbearable, one day, he suddenly dreamed of meeting him before.From then on, I forgot all the helplessness and entanglement, and only left in my heart the elegant and reserved young man who has never experienced hardships.

I imagined it so many times that I didn't realize it was real.Many times, I thought nothing happened in between.It's just that, being ignorant, I know that there is such a person in the shadow of the moon in the Jiangnan Yanliu Feixu inclined bridge...

As soon as he stepped into the gate of Xiangxue Tower, he heard the third child's hypocritical laughter: "Second brother, you and the first brother finally returned to Beijing, and the younger brother wanted to express his affection, but he never had a chance. If it weren't for today The servants are reckless, I'm afraid they won't be able to invite you, but it's too embarrassing..."

All sorts of realities are coming.Changsheng thought: Forget it.Just turn the world upside down and tell me he exists.

Glancing around, he said with a loud smile, "Nonsense. It's obviously the elder brother and the third younger brother, you just care about your own happiness and don't want to take me with you. If it wasn't for the servants who happened to get together to play around, when would you think of me as a brother?"

Walked over and saluted Fu Ding earnestly: "I've met my elder brother. The people below don't understand the rules, and the younger brother should apologize to the elder brother. Tonight, it's all mine."

Fu Ding made a haha: "Second brother, you are not good at this, you like to be prudish too much. Let's have a good time tonight, let's see how long you are pretending..." Nodding, the guards let go, let go Kai Ni Jian and others.

Fu Liu gave both sides of the fight a look: "You slaves, just stay outside. If anyone dares to disturb the fun, I will tear his bones apart." He turned his face and greeted, "You two emperor brothers, let's still drink ours. Brother Er Huang probably hasn't seen the two most beautiful girls in this building yet, hurry up and get acquainted..." As he said, he signaled the guards to push him into the Accord.Fu Ding and Chang Sheng went upstairs one after the other.The two personal captains each followed with their confidantes.

The old bustards, slaves, girls, and servants who were present collectively came back to their souls in an instant, and they were busy working together, adding wine and delivering food, and responding attentively.The girls toasted and passed chopsticks, and leaned over to make fun of; those who were not at the table played or sang, just to make fun of it.For a while, the powder and fragrance are greasy, and the laughter is noisy.

In the "Hanfen Pavilion" where the three princes lived, the situation was even more beautiful.Fu Ding pulled Ning Qing into his arms, tore off half of the tube top, and reached in to pinch and rub it.Ning Qing chuckled coquettishly, her waist twisting like a snake.Opposite Ruoyu turned his head.Fu Liu forced her to come over: "Why haven't you seen progress? You sisters have been serving our brothers together a lot, and no one will see this mourning look!"

Ning Qing panted again and again: "Your highness, your highness, Ruoyu's sister is thin-skinned... In her heart, in fact, she admires His highness very much..."

Fu Liu squinted: "Oh? Ruoyu, tell me, what do you admire about me?"

Ruoyu bowed his head and lowered his eyebrows, bit his lips and hesitated for a long time, and finally said in a low voice: "Your Highness...you must force me to say it...my, my..." His cheeks became dizzy, and his voice became smaller and smaller, "I began to think that ...Who knows, who knows, His Highness is so mighty..."

"Haha..." Fu Liu laughed wildly, and pressed her onto his lap, "If you are still willing to tell the truth, just focus on this, and this prince will like you. Come, let you have a good taste of might... "

Changsheng shook his head: "Third Brother, Miss Ruoyu is full of deep affection and kindness, you should learn to be sympathetic and cherish the jade, don't make it like a hungry tiger meets a sheep and a fly sees blood, wasting her exquisite thoughts."

"Huh? Listening to Brother Two Emperor's words, it's very good."

Fu Ding sneered: "The second one is just pretending to be full without eating. Why don't you show it to us? What is pity and pity?"

"That being said... how about asking the eldest brother to let the soft jade and fragrance in his arms to the younger brother to take pity on?"

Fu Ding was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly: "So you've taken a fancy to her! My brother, let's talk about it, take a big detour—I say you're a prudence, but you still don't admit it." Let go and make clear, " Go, relieve the boredom of the Second Highness." He casually hugged another prostitute and continued to rub her.

Changsheng got up and bowed to Ningqing: "I have heard the name of the girl for a long time, and today I can see the beauty of heaven and man. Sansheng is lucky."

Suddenly, a polite man came, making Qing almost blush.After straightening her clothes, she stood up and said softly, "Your Highness loves you wrongly, and I dare not be a servant." Tingting took two steps, sat down beside Changsheng, raised her wrists that bullied Shuang Saixue, and poured wine from the pot.

The performance of the two of them was really effective.Fu Liu snorted and asked Ruoyu to push him into the inner room.Fu Ding hugged three of them in one go, and went behind the screen.

Ning Qing said: "This is Ruoyu's sister's house, and the slave's house has another shabby room in the backyard. I don't know if His Highness would condescend and move, and allow the slave's house to serve you a cup of tea?"

"Alright."

As soon as she entered her boudoir, Ning Qing threw herself on the bed, covering her face and crying loudly.

Changsheng sat down, waited for her to cry enough, and sighed: "The girl is really a hero among women. That girl Ruoyu endured humiliation and endured humiliation, she can bend and stretch, and she can also be called a heroine."

Ning Qing wiped away her tears: "Your Highness speaks seriously. I didn't expect His Highness Second Highness to be such a person. I can't complain that I came to the door for the first time today. It's our sister Fubo..." He said, crying again, "The four famous flowers of Xiangxue Tower, "Huifeng clears the sky, if the rain is like ice." His Highness and His Highness the Third Highness came back, sister Huifeng didn't respond to a word, and died on the spot... Later, His Highness asked the three of us to serve together, and His Highness the Third Highness was beside her Look. Girl Ru Bing couldn't bear this, so she danced the sky spoon the next day... It is said that fireworks are low-quality, how dare you say the word shame? It's just spoiled and raised, and it's such a waste, It’s true, it’s true..." Tears were dancing in my eyes, and the pear blossoms were raining.

Chang Sheng thought about it for a while, and said, "If you don't mind, Miss, I'll come and have a seat from time to time."

From the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the second prince, Fu Sheng, wandered around the Xiangxue Building every night, and had secret meetings with Miss Nong Qing in the "Wan Zhao Xuan".

It's rare for the prudish second child to fall in love with someone, and Fu Ding is very generous to find another new love.Although Ning Qing has a good appearance, Ye Yan is not the best when it comes to being promiscuous, and she doesn't feel too sad when she throws her hands away.

Ten or so days passed, and every evening, when the weather cleared, I would set up the jade on the chessboard and light up the incense pills, which has become a habit.

The second prince entered Wanzhaoxuan, most of the time he played two games of chess and occasionally listened to a piece of piano.Sometimes I do nothing, just ask her to pick a book from the shelf, turn to where it is, read it slowly and listen to it, and spend the night like this.Ning Qing was very satisfied with this long-lost quiet and beautiful atmosphere, and was very wise not to ask why and why this Highness came.Maybe, the other party is just like me, just wanting to stay in this quiet and beautiful place.

Once, in the middle of the article, I stopped, but the other party did not respond for a long time.After all, she was not reconciled, and sighed quietly: "If your Highness thinks that the servant's face is disgusting and annoying, please speak up."

Changsheng came back to his senses: "I'm sorry, I remembered something else." He brought the torreya wooden chess jar on the table to his face, "Come with me for the next game."

As an oiran of a famous building, playing piano, chess, calligraphy and painting are all skills for housekeeping.It's just that Ningqing puts the most effort into singing, dancing and piano, and her chess skills are not high, but she wants to accompany others for entertainment.This game of victory and defeat, if a prostitute plays too well, it will affect the business.However, after all, he is a veteran in the Fengyue field, even if his level is limited, his vision is not bad.After so many days of confrontation, I lost a lot of times, and occasionally won, but I still couldn't figure out the opponent's way.I feel that he may be similar to myself, or he may be so advanced that it is unimaginable.

At the end of the game, the opponent won by a narrow margin.The oppressive feeling that he couldn't use his strength and could not help following him still remained in his heart.Ning Qing looked up at the second prince, and couldn't help but said: "Your Highness is in the game, but his heart is out of the game, he doesn't care about winning or losing, and I admire you."

After Changsheng heard this, he smiled slightly: "Nongqing, you are a smart woman. Who in the world can really stay out of the game? It's just that your game is here, and mine is in another place, you can't see it. "

"Your Highness is too modest. It's because my family is small, but Your Highness is big. My slave is short-sighted, and I can't appreciate His Highness's vision."

Changsheng laughed, pushed the plate up and stood up: "Nongqing, I am very happy to stay with you. It's getting late, come back tomorrow."

Send the second prince out, and make Qing sit under the lamp, resting his chin and concentrating.

It's been a long time since I've seen such a first-class character, a modest and gentle gentleman.Such a demeanor and conversation, I can't believe it also came from the Xirong royal family.It's just...it's been a few days, not to mention skin-to-skin relationship, not even the slightest bit of ambiguous words; serving wine and tea, no one touches - what on earth is he doing here?

Changsheng walked on the double-curved bridge, and saw countless red gauze lanterns hanging from the window sills on the south side of Qiubo Lane.There is a thin layer of ice on the lake, and the lights and shadows are reflected on the ice, like a ghost in the night, and the beauty is full of splendor.

Suddenly asked Ni Jian behind him: "I remember Zhuang Lingchen mentioned the Mid-Autumn Festival in August last time, saying that Bai Qi presented a water puppet show into the palace?"

"It seems that there is such a thing. Why did Your Highness think of asking this?"

"Aren't you waiting impatiently for the other party to make a move? I think it's coming soon."

"Your Highness?"

"We've given enough opportunities, if we don't do anything, I will leave Beijing next month." Changsheng stared at the lake, "I guess..." He raised the rein and urged the horse to speed up, "Go back and explain in detail."