Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 193 Jade Lord Heavenly Sound

Xinchun Street, west of Shenjing City.

This was originally just an ordinary street in the western part of Shenjing, but it has become much more popular in the past two years.

There were often carriages and sedan chairs of wealthy businessmen's wives coming in and out, and the wives of officials also often went to this street to do shopping.

To trace back to the origin, a small Xiuniang Perfume Shop opened here two years ago, selling exclusive secret perfumes.

Although this incense shop is just a single room and the space is not large, the owner is very knowledgeable about business and has come up with many wonderful tricks. In addition, the products are exclusive, so the business is very prosperous.

Rumor has it that the owner of the incense shop is an extremely beautiful woman, but she rarely shows her face and very few people have seen her.

In the past two years, this prosperous incense shop has also been coveted by some ruffians. For unknown reasons, the troublemakers have suffered bruises on their faces and noses, or even broken hands and feet, within a few days.

Because no one was killed, these ruffians did not dare to report to the police, and the yamen runners in charge of this street were too lazy to pay attention. The ruffians who caused the accident were not good people, so a few deaths were not a big deal.

All the yamen runners patrolling the streets knew that those shops with prosperous business and long-term operation were often backed by noble people, and some were even the property of officials and nobles.

If an ordinary person with no background had earned so much money, he would have been eaten up by others long ago.

Therefore, outsiders speculated that this Xiuniang Incense Shop probably had some background.

After that, those who had coveted it but were just small fry in the market no longer dared to touch it easily.

Wealth has always been a gathering place in the streets and alleys. In the past year, several clothing stores, rouge, skirts and hairpin shops have opened near Xiuniang's perfume shop, further boosting the popularity of Xinchun Street.

Hongyuan Teahouse, which has been operating on the street for more than ten years, originally had poor business and was struggling to maintain itself. However, a few months ago, the owner seemed to have suddenly come to his senses and saw the trend of Xinchun Street in the past two years.

Most of the teahouse was separated and a new section, Hongyuan Women's House, was opened. It was decorated elegantly and exquisitely. All the staff, from cooks, tea masters to waiters, were women, and they only received female guests coming in and out of Xinchun Street.

In this women's house, whether it is the tables and chairs, or the tea sets and snacks, everything is extremely exquisite and the prices are not cheap, but the business was very good once it opened.

Shenjing City is the largest city in the world, gathering countless wealthy businessmen. Among the scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants have a relatively low social status.

However, the Great Zhou Dynasty was founded when the Yangtze River divided the country into north and south. Most of the old customs of the previous dynasties were lost in the war and chaos. After its rebirth from the ashes, its customs became more open-minded than those of the previous Song Dynasty.

The old rules that merchants were not allowed to wear silk and satin had long been abandoned by the government. Business in the market was flourishing and merchants were living a much more respectable life than in previous dynasties.

In addition, merchants have abundant money, and their families are not bound by many etiquette and morals like those of officials and nobles.

The wives of wealthy merchants who go shopping in perfume shops, rouge shops, and skirt and hairpin shops on a daily basis often go to Hongyuan Women's House to sit and chat. This has become a new trend in Xinchun Street in recent months.

In a private room in the women's quarters, several wives of wealthy businessmen were ordering tea and chatting.

One of the ladies, who was dressed lightly and had a beautiful face, said, "A strange thing has happened recently. Have you heard about it?"

Another person laughed and said, "Madam, are you talking about the matter about the mother of the official in Rongguo Mansion who was posthumously honored?"

"What rare event in Shenjing City right now can be compared to this one? It is being spread everywhere in the streets and alleys."

"This Chengshilang is a rare man in Shenjing City. He is said to look like Pan An, rare in the world. His talent is also amazing. His lyrics are sung all over Jiangnan. But his origin is a bit strange."

"Do you know why his biological mother was posthumously honored and why the story was spread so widely?"

There were always some women who were a little ignorant and asked curiously, "What is the reason?"

But there are also people who know the reason behind it, but they just smile and say nothing, and only listen to others talking about anecdotes and gossip. Don't women just like these trivial matters?

The women in the back house, who were lonely in their boudoirs, loved to talk about such stories and anecdotes about handsome and talented men. This immediately aroused their interest in talking, and the atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous and lively.

The beautiful woman said, "Although this official is a descendant of the Rongguo Mansion, his biological mother was of humble origin and was said to be an otaku."

"The Lady of Rongguo Mansion was very disgusted with the birth mother of Chengshilang. She hated her for bringing disgrace to the Duke's Mansion. Even if the Emperor issued an imperial decree to confer a title on her posthumously, she would not allow her spirit tablet to enter the ancestral hall..."

After hearing these words, the women in the audience could not help but feel indignant. They all said that the young master of the Jia family was truly a man of honor, as he was able to rely on his own abilities to win an imperial decree for his deceased mother.

Isn’t this the son that all women in the world dream of? Whoever can raise a son like this would be willing to die for it!
After a group of women talked about this, the women's sympathy could not help but overflow, mostly sympathizing with Mrs. Du's misfortune and the Jia family's lady's selfishness and tyranny.

……

In the hall of the Ministry of Rites in the capital, dozens of young and graceful dancers were practicing dance music, with instructors shouting and instructing them.

This May is the 65th birthday of the Supreme Emperor. Emperor Jiazhao has issued an edict that a grand birthday banquet will be held in the palace, which will naturally include singing, dancing and vocal music.

After New Year's Eve, the Jiaofangsi would select the most outstanding geishas and dancers to begin performing songs, dances and vocal music for the birthday banquet in the palace.

At this time, the Western clock in the office hall rang three times. The dancers stopped dancing at the same time, and the coach next to them did not stop them.

After a while, the sound of a pipa suddenly came from the room on the second floor.

That was the Pipa Music Room of the Jiaofangsi, where Pipa musicians practiced daily.

A clear and moving pipa sound came from the room.

It is like the heavy rain, like pearls falling on a jade plate, like the chirping of orioles under the flowers, like a spring flowing under the ice, the lingering sound of the clear sound makes people's heart wander.

The clear and graceful sound of nature sang along with the tune:

"Six generations of luxury, spring is gone, and there is no news. I look at it in vain, the beautiful mountains and rivers are no longer what they used to be..."

The sound of the strings is clear, beautiful and charming, penetrating the heart and lingering in the ears.

The dancers and instructors who were performing in the hall were immersed in the moving and beautiful music, intoxicated.

These dancers and instructors are much more knowledgeable about the music of musical instruments than ordinary people, so they naturally have excellent vision.

It was not the first time that they had heard this song "Man Jiang Hong" these days, but every time they heard it, they still couldn't suppress their sense of amazement.

Because the palace held a birthday banquet for the emperor in May, pipa dance music was the highlight.

In order to improve the performance skills of the pipa musicians in the Jiaofang, the Ministry of Rites invited Du Qingniang, the head musician of Jinling Qingyin Pavilion, to be the guest pipa instructor of the Jiaofang Department.

The dancers and instructors in the office all knew that at this time every day, this Qing lady would personally play the zither and demonstrate to the pipa-playing musicians.

Every time this time comes, everyone in the office will stop what they are doing and listen to this rare heavenly music.

For those drummers in music schools who have fallen into lowly music and been bound by bondage all their lives, this is also a wonderful moment they occasionally get in the midst of their busy livelihoods.

This lady, who was famous throughout the south of the Yangtze River and was known for her heavenly voice while playing the pipa, was indeed worthy of her reputation.

In the music room on the second floor, a song was finished.

A tall and graceful beauty, with her hair tied in a high bun, no hairpins, wearing a green Taoist robe, and her every move was elegant and graceful.

She put down her pipa and taught the five or six pipa players present how to play the pipa.

After finishing the work, he went into the inner room alone, where a young maid in green clothes was already waiting.

"Madam, these are the records of local affairs that have just been sent from various places."

The woman in Qing robe took the stack of records from the maid and flipped through them one by one. When she turned to one of them, she stopped and read it carefully.

Her eyebrows were slightly frowned, her eyes flickered, and after a moment, she took out a book with a gray-white cover from the drawer and handed it to the maid in green.

"I have already compiled this secret note. You can add this matter to it and then submit it to Si Gong."

The maid in green took the record that the woman in green robe had just read carefully.

What was recorded on it was something that had been circulating in the market recently: Du Jinniang, the biological mother of Jia Cong of Rongguo Mansion, was posthumously conferred the title of Fifth Rank Concubine by the Emperor. The Dowager Lady of Rongguo despised her background as a courtesan and prevented her spirit tablet from entering the ancestral temple.

After the maid in blue made some notes on the secret note, she left the room to do her work.

The woman in green robe looked at the record on the desk and murmured thoughtfully: "Du Jinniang..."

　Due to adjustments in working hours, daily updates are temporarily adjusted to after 5pm.

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(End of this chapter)