Painter

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: A Night of Fish and Dragon Dance ([-])

The person upstairs was wearing a crimson-colored spring shirt, with handsome facial features and a refined demeanor, but his skin was slightly darker, and he looked in his prime.Li Chan nodded to the man from a distance, but she didn't have any impression of this face.

But since the other party kindly invited him, he let the boy lead the way and entered the red sleeve move.

At this time of year, spring is supposed to be chilly, but when the little fish and dragons meet, the little chill in the street will be dissipated by the popularity, even if you wear thinner clothes, you will not be cold.There is even more warmth in the red sleeves. Walking through the gate under the row of light boxes and stepping into the threshold, you will be hit by the fragrant wind and hot air.

There are charcoal basins and clay stoves for cooking wine everywhere in the lobby. On the qin platform, there is an elegant woman playing the sheng and playing the qin.As soon as the eyes swept over, they saw a large area of ​​snow and frost.

Li Chan took a few glances at the scenery of the Snow Country, then looked away impatiently.Fortunately, Hongxiuzhao's predecessor was the Jiaofang Secretary after all, and it mainly served celebrities and refined scholars. Even if it was a romantic place, it had to be lewd but not lewd.In the lobby on the first floor, nothing more exciting could be seen.

Sao Qingniang nodded and followed Li Chan without looking aside.

Nie Kongkong was generous, growing up in a place like Gantang Lane, she was used to romantic scenes.When she was ten years old, she was often asked by the dumb mother to wash the fish maw, buy Lingxiang, and cook Bizi soup. She even remembered how long a fish maw would last and what the Bizi soup tasted like.

Seeing that Li Chan's gaze was on the verge of closing, she couldn't help but guess in her heart whether he was used to these scenes too, so she whispered: "Qing Niang, Qing Niang?"

"Ok?"

"Uncle often come to this kind of place?"

Sao Qingniang smiled slightly, "What do you think?"

Nie Kongkong looked at the back of Li Chan going upstairs, and muttered: "Since Uncle is a swordsman, he shouldn't be like ordinary people, only thinking about wine, sex and wealth."

The shape of the fifth floor of Hongxiuzhao is a Chinese square and an outer circle. When you go upstairs, you will see a square lobby, which is cleverly divided into four or five areas by screens, railings and steps, and people drink in each area.

Around the lobby, there are eight private rooms, which are separated by a corridor. When you arrive here, the environment is much quieter. Although you can still hear the yelling from the street, it is no longer noisy.

Walking through the quiet house corridor and coming to the outer edge of the fifth floor, one can see a circle of railings under the eaves. The corridor is about ten feet wide and can fit a simple table. There are already many people in brocade clothes and embroidered hakama Drinking and having fun.

Walking along the railing for a while, Li Chan looked down and saw various peddlers and entertainers in the streets and alleys.If you look further away, you can only see the faint lights between the overlapping buildings and the faint shadow of water and light boats on the East Canal of Yequan.

During the Xiaoyulonghui, the most outstanding entertainers in Changlefang will gather around Hongxiuzhao. It can be said that you can probably see all the excitement tonight from this upstairs.

The servant led Li Chan to a door and stepped aside.

The door is open, but the view is blocked by a paulownia screen.Li Chan walked around the screen, and saw the dark-skinned man sitting on the coffee table, where there were refreshments, wine and food, and a young lady was pouring wine for him.

Nie Kongkong recognized at a glance that the nobleman was Hongxiu Zhao's top card, Shen Yushuang, so he couldn't help being very curious about the man's identity.When the man saw someone coming in, he smiled and said, "Come and sit down, both of you."

Li Chan sat down at the coffee table and said with a smile, "Thank you for the invitation, sir, I don't know how to address you, sir?"

The man smiled and said, "Li Lang should recognize me, why don't you guess?"

Li Chan thought for a while, but couldn't remember when she had seen this man.

The man laughed again and said: "It's okay if you can't guess it for a while, listen to the piano music first, and if you can't guess it later, you will be punished with alcohol. Bullying Shuang."

He motioned for the nobleman to play the piano, the nobleman gave a gentle smile, sat behind the piano stand and raised his hands to brush the strings, the sound of the piano came from his fingertips.The man closed his eyes and listened carefully, and tapped his finger on the table lightly.Li Chan simply stopped guessing, broke off a piece of tea cake and sipped it slowly while listening to the music.

When the song was over, the man looked over with a smile. Li Chan raised the wine cup and drank it in one gulp, shaking the bottom of the empty cup, "I admit defeat."

The man laughed, dipped his finger in the tea, wrote "Xu Yingqiu" on the table, and teased: "When Li Lang wrote my name, I wasn't as famous as I am now."

Li Chan was taken aback, "Mr. Xu knew me because of the cat play candle picture?"

Xu Yingqiu said with a smile: "It's a pity that I didn't expect to meet Li Lang tonight, and I didn't bring the cat play candle picture. I have already completed half of Li Lang's poem, so I should invite Li Lang to taste it. But Although the poems and paintings have not arrived, the wine is indispensable, so I offer a toast to Li Lang."

Li Chan and Xu Yingqiu drank and listened to music, played a few games of throwing pots and shooting, and then left the private room to watch the little fish and dragon meeting by the veranda.During the conversation, half an hour passed without knowing it.

Looking down from upstairs, it is clear at a glance which side is lively and which side is deserted.The popularity of the Qionghua puppet show is still at its peak, and on the stage in Washi, the one-fold "Flying Sword Slashing the Lake Jiao" also attracts many tourists.In addition, those who use silk fishing line to play fairy rope, those who play face-changing, and those who play tricks and illusions are all very popular.

But Nie Kongkong's eyes were not on these juggling arts, she propped up the railing with both hands, and looked at Yequan Dongqu West Archway from a distance, beside the stone monument under the dim light, there was a woman holding a pipa.

On the side of the railing, Li Chan said, "I haven't seen a few people playing the piano."

Xu Yingqiu said: "To attract people's attention, you must be new, strange, strange, and dangerous. Look at "Flying Swords and Slaying Lake Jiao", although it is a play, the highlight in it is actually the strange scene of hanging ropes flying into the sky. It’s just a scene. Playing the piano and music is an elegant art, so you have to calm down and listen.”

Li Chan said: "There are also novelties in the qin music. Have you ever heard the five dan seven tones?"

Xu Yingqiu said with a smile: "Back then, Xue Jian's qin, Han Xuandi's poems, and Zhao Ying's sword were known as the three wonders of Xuandu. Who didn't know? This red sleeve move is where Xue Jian became famous. Now there are two more in the red sleeve move. The treasures of Dazhenlou, one is the 'Dragon Song' played by the previous emperor, and the other is Xue Jian's 'Xuan Xiang'."

"Mysterious elephant?"

"Li Lang doesn't know?"

"Xu Lang might as well talk about it."

"This matter is quite tortuous. It is said that in the past, the envoys from the southern Shenpeng Kingdom came to Dayong for a pilgrimage, and there was also a musician named Tsurutori who came with him. Tsurutori and Xue Jian had a very happy talk. Xue Jian not only passed on his music He also gave him the Xuanxiang pipa that he carried with him. Guess what, after a few years, this Tsurutori came back to Xuandu with the envoy, brought the Xuanxiang pipa, and said that his music skills were unparalleled in the world. The servant is also amazing, none of the more than a hundred musicians in the Jiaofang Division is his opponent. It was Xue Jian who made the move, and the song "Farewell to the Crane" made Hetori go away ashamed, and left Xuanxiang again."

After listening to Xu Yingqiu's story, Li Chan asked, "Have you ever heard Xue Jian play music, sir?"

Xu Yingqiu shook his head, "This person died young. His descendants are also not well-known, and it seems that they have switched to other careers."

Li Chan said: "Where is the Xuanxiang Pipa now?"

Shen Yushuang, who was standing next to him, replied: "Since Li Lang knows the five dan and seven tunes, he should also know that the ordinary pipa has four strings and twelve frets, but the Xuanxiang has five strings and 25 frets. No one can play it, so it is naturally shelved."

Li Chan said: "I heard that there are still people in Xuandu who can play the five-stringed pipa."

Xu Yingqiu looked surprised, "Who is it?"

Li Chan said: "If Mr. Lang wants to hear, please do me a favor."

(End of this chapter)