Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1235 Epilogue : A good man should not stay out all night

All the maids around Zhao Jingjing have skills and are reserve talents.

They usually get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen, which means they officially start receiving customers on their own.

The price of virginity is extremely high and is even auctioned.

According to their specific circumstances, the paths they take after marriage are different. Most of them can only become blue-collared women, while a few can be promoted to red-collared women.

There are also those who choose to be prostitutes. They will continue to follow Zhao Jingjing until they develop the strength and fame to have their own courtyard.

For example, the maid sitting next to Shi Huai at this moment officially got married last year.

But she stayed with Zhao Jingjing, continuing to accumulate experience and fame. Occasionally, when Zhao Jingjing was physically inconvenient, or when guests insisted on staying overnight, she would take Zhao Jingjing's place to entertain the guests.

When you are entertaining customers on their behalf, you might get favored by a benefactor who can help you promote your business and suddenly become famous.

The maid left President Shi, took the clapboard and sat in front of the hall.

The maid serving Zeng Xing took out a flute.

Another musician playing the sheng came in.

The other three maids, perhaps because they were too young and their skills were not yet perfect, could not participate in public performances.

Zhao Jingjing herself held the pipa and played and sang short songs.

"Break free from Zhuang Zhou's dream, fly with two wings to the east wind. Three hundred famous gardens, but none of them are available. Could it be that the romantic species scares away the bees seeking fragrance? Fly lightly, fan the flower seller across the bridge to the east..."

In another time and space, this thing should be called Yuanqu.

Its original form originated from drinking games in the Tang Dynasty and was further developed in the Song Dynasty.

Some experts say that Sanqu became popular during the Song and Jin Dynasties because Hu music was noisy and changed rapidly, making it difficult for the languages ​​of the Central Plains and the south of the Yangtze River to adapt, so the new sound of Sanqu came into being.

I can only say that this is one of the reasons.

It is more likely that the audience group is sinking, after all, Sanqu had its prototype in the Song Dynasty.

Poetry has a narrower audience and a higher status.

Sanqu has a wider audience, and everyone from the powerful and wealthy to peddlers and hawkers can listen to it.

It can be understood as an ancient pop song that is aimed at the general public, has lyrics that can be either vulgar or elegant, and has become more popular.

Sanqu is often performed in conjunction with zaju, which makes it more popular among the lower classes.

It is the inevitable result of the secularization of music and poetry.

Zhao Jingjing sang this short song repeatedly, and her voice seemed to become more playful because of the meaning of the lyrics.

After the song was finished, everyone applauded.

Shi Huai said with a smile: "After not coming for half a year, Jingjing has changed his style and has become playful and playful."

Zhao Jingjing said: "We have to try everything, otherwise singing too many elegant lyrics and music will be annoying. If you don't like it, I will sing another elegant song."

"This song may seem vulgar, but it is actually very elegant and full of irony. I wonder which famous artist wrote it?" asked Zhu Shirong.

Zhao Jingjing said: "Wang Heqing of Yanshan Prefecture in Beijing. He was newly appointed a few days ago and sent via telegram. I'm afraid few people in the two capitals have heard of him yet."

Xie Yan was amused by this. Telegrams were actually used to send lyrics.

Zeng Xing asked: "Which dignitary is this song mocking? Or is it the playboy of a dignitary family?"

"I don't know, maybe both," Zhao Jingjing said with a smile, "It all depends on which seat you choose."

"Hahahaha!"

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

There are certain rules for what songs to sing in front of what guests.

Xie Yan and the other four were all scholars, and no matter what they were like, most of them would like satirical songs.

The lyrics of this song are very simple. It is about a big butterfly that emptied all the flowers in three hundred gardens. It is a romantic butterfly. It scared all the bees that came to pick flowers to death. With a light flap of its wings, it blew away all the flower sellers.

It can be understood as a satire on those playboys who act tyrannically in pleasure quarters.

But there is a deeper political metaphor!

The big butterfly refers to corrupt officials. The east wind is the authority of the court or the backer. The three hundred famous gardens represent the wealth of the prefectures and counties. The bees are the hardworking people. The flower seller is a good official who wants to do his job seriously.

As expected, Lu Churen was inspired and said, "Alas, the morals of the world are going downhill, it's time to rectify the administration of officials."

Zeng Xing said: "Last year, we were already rectifying the situation by issuing new laws, and at least we are seeing some results."

Lu Churen curled his lips and said, "Last year, a big butterfly came to Jinling Imperial College and almost blew me, a flower seller, away into the sky."

Shi Huai was surprised and said, "Cunde is a backbone of Jinling Imperial College and is also quite famous in the Imperial Society. How dare the new scholar target you?"

Lu Churen sighed, "After all, he is a Jinshi official, and I am just a poor scholar. What's the point of showing off my status as a Rose Bachelor? I am a big mouth and I like to say a few words when I don't like something. I guess I said something to offend him."

Zhao Jingjing joined the group chat at the right time, raised her glass and said: "People with high moral character have always been tolerated by filth. Mr. Lu speaks out for justice, which really makes me admire him. This glass of wine is in praise of Mr. Lu."

Lu Churen was immediately delighted, thinking that this famous prostitute had good taste and was a close friend who could truly understand him.

Alas, it’s a pity that I have to go back to Nanjing soon and can’t come here often to talk with Miss Jingjing.

Xie Yan said with a smile: "Professor Lu has been summoned to the capital this time. When he returns to Jinling Imperial College, I'm afraid that the scholar will have a different face."

Lu Churen clinked glasses with Zhao Jingjing, nodded and smiled: "At least he doesn't dare to target me openly or secretly anymore."

Zhao Jingjing immediately obtained useful information and walked over to pour wine for everyone personally.

As she poured the wine, she said in a respectful tone, "It turns out that the five great scholars are studying in accordance with the imperial order. This must be a great cause that benefits the country and the people. I am a humble person and cannot serve the country. I can sing and dance for you to entertain you and drink with you to relieve your worries. This is also a small token of my gratitude. In the future, if you feel bored while studying, you can come to me for a drink."

"Of course, of course." Lu Churen was about to fall into it.

He felt that Miss Jingjing was not only a close friend, but also an extraordinary woman who cared about the affairs of the country and the people.

She is talented and beautiful, gentle and considerate, has a heart for all people, and most importantly, she understands me!
Zhu Shirong and Zeng Xing looked at each other and laughed secretly.

After Shi Huai decided to leave, he quietly reminded Xiao Lu not to believe the lies of the famous prostitute.

Just do it for fun, but never give real feelings to it.

It's obvious that Xiao Lu doesn't often drink and has a simple brain, making him easily fooled by bad women.

I might as well take Xiao Lu to find a prostitute tonight and experience the real land of pleasure.

Zhao Jingjing deliberately poured wine for Xie Yan last, and took the opportunity to stand beside Xie Yan and said, "Jingjing wishes you all good research and successful completion of the important tasks of the court."

"Thank you for your good words, Jingjing!" Shi Huai raised the glass first, as he had the most seniority and was the oldest.

Xie Yan first clinked glasses with Zhao Jingjing through the air, then turned to clink glasses with Alan and reminded him, "Children should not drink too much."

Alan said: "I will be thirteen next month. I am no longer a child."

It would be strange if it wasn’t.

Someone like you would be in the second year of junior high school at most in the future, and if you started school late, you might only be in the sixth grade of elementary school.

Zhao Jingjing finished her cup and saw Xie Yan interacting with the little maid. She felt depressed: Could it be that she was not as good as a little girl? Prince Consort Xie must be a pervert!
What's even more infuriating is that Alan, that little slut, deliberately rubbed against Prince Consort Xie. What's so good about your washboard figure? The Prince Consort has already moved his butt away, and you're still rubbing against him. You're simply shameless.

Xie Yanzhen was just hiding.

He was a little nicer to the girl, which seemed to send the wrong signal, causing her to become extremely proactive.

We have to avoid suspicion.

If the girl wanted to use him to gain fame and spread rumors to the next group of customers, the reputation of Prince Xie's copper smelting would spread.

A chemist can make gold, but he cannot make copper.

It wasn't that Xie Yan was worrying about nothing, but this kind of courtesan was particularly good at taking advantage of the situation to become famous. The woman that Prince Consort Xie liked would definitely charge a high price, and there might even be people lining up to consume her.

I'm making friends with more and more celebrities, and when the day comes when the girl officially gets married, I guess I can just hold an auction - hehe, I'll get ahead of the prince consort and take the first place from this prostitute!
"It's boring to just drink, let's play drinking games." Zeng Heng suggested.

Seeing everyone agreeing, Xie Yan quickly said, "Guess! Dice will work too. I don't know how to use those words."

Several people laughed when they heard this.

Guessing the number is a game of finger-guessing, also known as thumb war, which is a type of gesture game among drinking games.

After Xie Yan traveled through time, he only learned how to play finger-guessing games and dice.

Xie Yan said to Alan, "You are the youngest and cannot drink too much, so you should be the supervisor."

"Chaozong is the one who cherishes flowers." Zhu Shirong said with a smile.

The other two maids volunteered to be the Gonglushi and Lulushi respectively.

The supervisor is equivalent to the commander-in-chief at the drinking table.

The Gonglushi was responsible for pouring the penalty wine.

The recorder of the law judges whether the rhythm of the drinking order is correct. If it is wrong, the music will be played for the order and the person will be punished with drinking. If it is not a song, the recorder of the law is also responsible for selecting the song for drinking.

In the first game of finger-guessing, Lu Churen lost.

Alan took out the command flag in a serious manner: "Mr. Lu violated the order and should be punished!"

Lu Churen cupped his hands and said, "I admit my guilt."

He took the command flag in his left hand and held the wine glass in his right hand, waiting for the execution - the punishment of drinking. The maid who was in charge of recording the law randomly picked a tune from the collection and said, "Order me to give him the song 'Wu Ye Er'."

Zhao Jingjing picked up the pipa and began to play the Shang-tune ditty "Wu Ye'er".

The music started, and everyone nodded their heads. After a section was played, they shouted, "Drink, drink!"

As the music played, Lu Churen tilted his head back and drank it.

The licker actually wiped his mouth and said: "With Miss Jingjing playing music and all my friends accompanying me, this glass of penalty wine is the most enjoyable drink I have ever had in my life."

In the third round of finger-guessing, Zhao Jingjing lost.

A maid was about to play a piece of music, and Zhu Shirong rolled up his sleeves and said, "I will play the pipa."

Xie Yan thought that the ancient game of finger-guessing was also interesting, and one could even order songs to accompany the drinking.

No wonder it is called cipai and qupai, it is probably derived from the brand of drinking games.

As they drank more, they started talking nonsense.

Zhao Jingjing would interject from time to time to liven up the atmosphere, and even Xie Yan felt that the drinking session was very enjoyable.

I don't know how long he drank, but Lu Churen fell down drunk.

Shi Huai stood up shakily: "It's getting late, we should go back. Put it on my account."

Zhu Shirong supported the unconscious Lu Churen and pointed to the side room in the courtyard and said, "We can't...stay over there tonight."

Both of them were summoned to the capital from other places, and it was too late and they were too lazy to go back to their temporary residence to rest.

Zhao Jingjing asked: "Should we choose someone to serve you?"

This is asking Zhu Shirong whether he wants to call a prostitute to spend the night with him.

"No...no need." Zhu Shirong waved his hands repeatedly. He just wanted to lie down and sleep.

Lu Churen was helped to the side room. When he left the room, he still closed his eyes and shouted, "Miss Jing... Miss Jing... I... drank it!"

Xie Yan, on the other hand, didn't drink much. He found himself quite good at playing finger-guessing games.

Originally, Xie Yan was going to pay, but since Shi Huairang was the one keeping the accounts, he was too lazy to argue about it.

Zhao Jingjing escorted them out, looked at Xie Yan, who seemed to be hesitant to speak, and finally bowed and said, "Goodbye, my three lords."

As soon as they left the courtyard, Zeng Xing said, "Let's go to Hong Gongren."

"There's a second game?" Xie Yan asked in surprise.

Zeng Heng chuckled and said, "The second one was even more intense. I was so attracted to Zhao Jingjing, but I was too lazy to spend time talking about love with her, so it was easiest to just find a famous prostitute to sleep with."

"I can't do it anymore, you guys go." Shi Huai was already over fifty years old. He might be able to survive if he hadn't drunk any alcohol, but after drinking so much, there was no way he could fight anymore.

Zeng Heng winked at Xie Yan, "If Chao Zong returns to Zhao Jingjing's courtyard, he will be able to stay with you tonight, and he won't have to sleep alone in the wing room. She was so drunk that she didn't even bother to hide it. Her eyes looked like they could eat you up."

Shi Huai laughed: "Chaozong is really lucky. He was born with a handsome appearance. We mortals can't compare to him."

Xie Yan said: "I still have to go back and report to the princess."

Zeng Heng whispered, "Come quietly next time, I'll cover for you."

"Let's talk about it next time." Xie Yan said ambiguously.

The three of them walked together to the inner courtyard hall, and their followers hurried over to support them.

Xie Yan and Shi Huai wanted to go home, but Zeng Xing ran to the fifth floor excitedly to find the red-haired prostitutes. If the red-haired prostitutes were not available, the blue-haired prostitutes on the third and fourth floors would also be fine.

Damn, Brother Zeng is awesome.

When he came to the street and felt the cold wind, Xie Yan suddenly became much more sober.

As for the matter of seeking pleasure from prostitutes, it was enough to experience it once, and Xie Yan felt that he would never do it again.

There's no point in being hypocritical.

There are so many sincere sisters in the family.

When they got back to the princess's house, the princess was still awake and was anxiously waiting for him to come home.

"Sister is pregnant and needs to rest early." Xie Yan quickly expressed his concern.

Zhu Tangxi repeatedly told herself not to get angry, but when she smelled the alcohol on the man, she couldn't help but frown.

It's that kind of expression that says, you know I'm pregnant, yet you're still fooling around so late.

Zhu Tangxi took a deep breath and thought to himself: Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, it’s normal for men to flirt with each other.

Xie Yan felt more and more guilty: "I'll help my sister go to bed."

"Yeah." Zhu Tangxi responded.

She came to the bedside and finally couldn't help asking, "Who did you meet at Lanruoyuan?"

Xie Yan said: "Zhao Jingjing."

Zhu Tangxi said unhappily: "I knew it was her!"

Xie Yan actually wanted to ask if her ex-husband had also been there.

Forget it, dog’s life is more important.

Xie Yan immediately criticized: "Zhao Jingjing seems gentle and pure, but in fact she is hypocritical and you can tell at a glance that she is not a kind person."

"Where does the kindness in Lanruoyuan come from?" Zhu Tangxi said disdainfully.

Xie Yan took the opportunity to change the topic from Zhao Jingjing: "There are many people with miserable lives. The one who poured wine for me tonight was a Persian girl. She used to be the daughter of a wealthy family, but unfortunately she encountered war and her family was destroyed."

Zhu Tangxi's attention was indeed diverted: "Are you attracted to that Hu Ji?"

"She will only be thirteen years old next month. She is still a little girl. Why can I like her? I just feel pity for her." Xie Yan said frankly because he was telling the truth.

Zhu Tangxi said, "You didn't like that Hu Ji, but you even asked about her birthday?"

Xie Yan complained: "She said she would be thirteen next month, and I didn't ask when that would be."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and showed three fingers, and swore an oath without any psychological burden: "I, Xie Yan, swear here that I will never set foot in Lanruoyuan again in this life. If I break this oath, I will be punished by heaven..."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhu Tangxi finally got angry.

I'm not angry at Xie Yan for being a prostitute, but I'm angry at him for saying such things.

What if it comes true?
Xie Yan took the opportunity to hold the princess's hands and said lovingly, "I went there this time purely out of curiosity, just to see what she has to offer. All the women in the world combined cannot compare to a hair of yours. With your presence, there is no room for anyone else in my heart."

Zhu Tangxi was fooled by this trick, and it worked every time. Not only did he calm down, but he also laughed: "My sweat hair is so thick?"

Xie Yan leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Sister, your hair is very fine. The hair all over your body is fine. Especially there, it's fine and soft, very beautiful."

"You're talking nonsense again. You're really annoying." Zhu Tangxi has gotten used to it and can't stand his teasing any more. She thinks of embarrassing things for no apparent reason.

Finally got it done.

Xie Yan helped her take off her clothes again: "Sister, go to bed early. I smell of alcohol. I will take a shower and come back to accompany you."

Zhu Tangxi said, "Take a bath and go to Qingluan's room. You will definitely not be able to hold back after being seduced by the foxy girl today. I will let Zifeng accompany you another day, but you are not allowed to go to that kind of place again."

"I promise not to go again." Xie Yan expressed his opinion quickly, and at the same time he was secretly happy that he turned a disaster into a blessing and unlocked another maid.

Alas, the princess is so gullible. I must never let her down in the future.

Xie Yan waited for the princess to lie down on the bed and covered her with a quilt personally before turning around and going out to the bathroom to take a bath.

Just as he reached the door, the princess' voice came from behind him: "Liu Lang!"

"What's wrong?" Xie Yan turned back.

Zhu Tangxi asked: "Do you really like that Hu Ji?"

Xie Yan quickly explained: "No, I just felt sorry for her."

"Oh, that's okay." Zhu Tangxi muttered a few words, and no one knew what he was saying.

Xie Yan felt as if he had been pardoned and went out happily.

Fortunately, I didn’t listen to my bad friend Zeng Heng. If I had stayed in Lanruoyuan tonight, it would not have been so easy to go home.

Princess sister is so nice to me.

When Xie Yan thought of Zi Feng's broad mind, he felt hot all over.

Oh, what happened to me? My mind is full of pornographic things. I need to do more serious things in the future.

Xie Yan, Xie Yan, you are a gentleman, and also Brother Zhu’s successor who traveled through time and space. You should set higher ambitions.

However, it seems that lofty ambitions do not conflict with the young ladies.

Just as he was thinking about it, Miss Qingluan came and asked with concern: "Liu Lang, is His Highness angry?"

Before Xie Yan could answer, Zi Feng came running over and said, "Just now I heard that you smelled of alcohol, so I have already prepared a bath for you."

Xie Yan couldn't help but sigh, in this kind of damn life, even the most resolute will will be worn down.

I am so pitiful.

(End of this chapter)