The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 135
Nanyan Tower is the best restaurant in Tongzhou, one of the best restaurants, and the consumption is naturally not low.The reason why Lu Xiangsheng persistently invited Jia Huan was, firstly, to befriend Jia Huan, and secondly, he wanted to use Jia Huan to enhance his reputation, but when Jia Huan yelled at him, seventy or eighty scholars came. The cost of one tael of silver on the head will cost seven to eighty taels of silver in the end. How can he bear it with his financial resources?So it is extremely embarrassing at the moment!

However, as the saying goes: Once a gentleman speaks out, it is hard to chase after a horse. Lu Xiangsheng can only continue to slap his swollen face to pretend to be a fat man. The lobby on the first floor of Nanyan Tower is reserved.

All present are talented masters who have passed the academy examination. They are full of lofty ambitions, looking forward to the future, and enjoying the turbulence. But seeing the mingling of cups and chips at the banquet, everyone drinks happily, discussing the past and the present, giving pointers to the country, and encouraging words. happy.

Seeing such a scene, Lu Xiangsheng was both happy and worried. The purpose of improving his reputation should have been achieved, but now he only has 30 taels of silver in his pocket, which may not be enough to settle the bill. How will it end then?
"Never mind him. If you have wine today, you'll be drunk today. You'll be sad tomorrow. Let's settle the bill at that time. At worst, we'll sell the mount." Lu Xiangsheng gave up thinking about it, and just drank to his heart's content.

When the wine was in full swing, someone suggested: "Just drinking and not ordering, after all, it's less fun. Why don't I be the ordering officer and issue a new order?"

Jia Huan smiled and said: "Executive orders are good, but there are so many people at the moment, I'm afraid it's difficult to take care of them. It's better to pass the flowers by beating drums. Whoever passes them on will go on stage to perform a talent, or recite poems and songs. how?"

As soon as this remark came out, most people responded immediately, and some people said: "It's a pity that there are no flowers here, how can I pass it on?"

Jia Huan lifted a wine jar and said with a smile: "What's so difficult about it? Just pass it on. Whoever passes it on, take a big sip first, and then pass it on to the next person."

Everyone's eyes lit up, Lu Xiangsheng laughed and said: "The chief of the case Jia wants to make a suggestion, so let me play the drums." After finishing speaking, he was about to leave the table.

Zhang Zhilong immediately stretched out his hand to stop him and said: "Student Lu wait a minute, you are the host, how can I bother you to play the drums, I can do it for you." He quickly left the table and slipped onto the stage.

It turned out that there was a Fangyi stage in the middle of the Nanyan Tower lobby, which was usually used for singing operas, but there was a drum on the stage. Zhang Zhilong quickly slipped up and grabbed the drumsticks in his hands.

"Good Zhang Rugui, you are so cunning!" Several scholars who tried to snatch the position of the drummer couldn't help laughing and cursing, and turned back to the seats in resentment.

Zhang Zhilong laughed triumphantly and said: "Let's talk nonsense, now I am a general, and the sound of drums is an order. Whoever dares to disobey will be fined ten seas first, and then rush off to do the work of serving wine and tea."

Everyone heard the words and had to sit down quickly, Zhang Zhilong knocked on the rim of the drum twice, and then beat the battle drum with all his strength, boom boom boom boom boom boom, it was very rhythmic, it could be seen that he had practiced.

All the scholars present were shocked by the fierce sound of war drums, and their blood surged up. Jia Huan raised the wine jar and took a sip and passed it to Liu Shouzheng. The latter took the sip and passed it on to the next one. , amid bursts of cheers and boos, the atmosphere was unusually warm.

I don't know whether it was intentional or not, when the wine jar was passed to Lu Xiangsheng's hands, the drumming stopped suddenly.Zhang Zhilong laughed loudly and said, "I invite the host, Mr. Lu, to perform for everyone!"

Zhang Zhilong is kind, he gave Lu Xiangsheng the first chance to show his face, after all he gave money.

Lu Xiangsheng took a big gulp, stood up and clasped his fists together and said: "Then I will show my shame first, and show everyone a set of Lu's sword skills." After speaking, he jumped onto the stage.

The stage was not low, it was estimated to be about 1.5 meters, and Lu Xiangsheng jumped up, his movements were light and agile, obviously he was a practitioner, and there was a burst of exclamation immediately.

At this time, a servant came onto the stage carrying a big knife. Lu Xiangsheng reached out to take it, drew the knife out of its sheath, and casually held the knife in his hand, and suddenly the cold light shone.Jia Huan couldn't help but whispered secretly, this big knife probably weighed several tens of catties, but he didn't expect that the tall and thin Lu Xiangsheng had such amazing arm strength.

At this time, I saw that Lu Xiangsheng had already danced, but seeing the light of the knife and the aura of the knife, he could tell that it was someone with fists and embroidered legs, which aroused everyone's applause.

Seeing the excitement, Zhang Zhilong couldn't help beating the drum accompaniment. Lu Xiangsheng stepped on the drum and danced faster and faster. The more he danced, the more excited he was. , Sure enough, people can't be judged by appearances, hey, it seems that Lu Xiangsheng, the famous general in the late Ming Dynasty, was also good at using big swords, what a coincidence!

At this time, Lu Xiangsheng suddenly chanted loudly: "Whoever saves the armored soldiers in Tianhe will travel with gold and iron horses. Is it a scholar's career to ask for tassels? Relying on a knife to sing and wish peace."

For more than 80 years since the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty, the world has been peaceful, swords and guns have been put into storage, horses have been released on the Nanshan Mountains, and the martial arts have gradually declined. However, since the Tartars suddenly came to the south some time ago, the martial arts of the Great Jin seem to have been awakened again. Even scholars They all became popular with swords and chanted frontier poems.

What Lu Xiangsheng was reciting at this moment was a frontier poem written by himself. Although the level was not high, it was quite ambitious, and it immediately attracted bursts of applause, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

Lu Xiangsheng put the knife back into its sheath, sweating like rain, and clasped his fists together, feeling a little proud of himself. He is well-known in Shunde Mansion for his dual cultivation of civil and martial arts, but not here in Tongzhou. This time he passed the No. 5. Now that he has performed a sword skill again, his reputation has been earned. Although he spent a lot of money, it is obviously worth it!

Lu Xiang got off the stage, and the game continued. After a round, the wine jar finally stopped in Jia Huan's hands, and everyone booed immediately: "Jia deserves his name as the leader of the case, hurry up and perform on stage."

Jia Huan calmly played the song "House of Flying Daggers" on stage, which also won applause.

The drink didn't end until the afternoon, when the autumn rain also stopped, a group of scholars broke up drunk and left Nanyan Tower with each other's support.

Lu Xiangsheng was also seven or eight points drunk at the moment, came to the counter and asked, "How much did the shopkeeper spend in total?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said: "82 taels and three hundred coins, the three hundred coins are free."

Lu Xiangsheng suddenly sobered up, took out the purse from his waist, and said in embarrassment: "I only have 30 taels here, and the rest will be settled later by selling the horse. I hope the shopkeeper will accommodate you." Made a bow!
The shopkeeper said with a smile: "Mr. Lu, there is no need to be like this, the account has already been settled."

Lu Xiangsheng looked stunned, and hurriedly asked: "The bill has already been settled, who settled it?"

"Young Master Jia Huan, the chief case in this court examination." The shopkeeper said with a smile.

Lu Xiangsheng was stunned for a moment, with mixed emotions in his heart, both grateful and ashamed. He thought that Jia Huan deliberately recruited so many people to make himself a fool of himself, but he didn't expect them to settle the bill secretly. Measure the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain.

(End of this chapter)