Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 63 The Concubine's Brother
Entering Pingkangfang from the north gate and turning east, there are three winding red-light alleys, which was where the prostitutes of Chang'an gathered, and it was also the place where the knights-errant and literati of Kyoto lingered.

Brothels in Chang'an were divided into three categories.

Nanqu is the residence of the highest-level singing girls. There are countless pavilions and towers in the song, and many flowers, strange rocks and bonsai are planted, which is extremely elegant.

On Nanqu Street, there are two buildings facing each other, one named Chunfeng Tower and the other named Qingfeng Tower.

Chunfeng Tower is a brothel, while Qingfeng Tower is a restaurant.

Di Renjie stood between the two buildings, looking at the debauchery and extravagance in Chunfeng Tower, and was quite shocked.

This was the first time he felt the most luxurious side of Chang'an City. Laughter and music kept coming from the building, as if it was another world inside.

Di Renjie stood still for a moment, turned around, and slowly walked into Qingfeng Tower.

This restaurant has very good business, and the people in it are divided into three categories.

The first category is the rich man who just came out of Chunfeng Tower and wants to get rid of the smell of powder on his body so as not to be discovered by his wife when he returns home.

The second category is the poor people who want to go to Chunfeng Tower but are short of money and can only sit by the window to satisfy their eyes and drink wine while enjoying the beauty.

The last category is the down-and-out people.

They no longer have any desire for beauty, they only hope to get drunk, numb themselves, and temporarily forget the pain in reality.

Gao Youdao is such a person.

He was already extremely drunk, and a shop assistant was trying to persuade him to go home, but he was acting like a drunk and refused to leave.

Seeing his messy hair and untidy beard, Di Renjie found it hard to connect his current appearance with the elegant and arrogant Gao Youdao of the past.

Gao Youdao's right index finger and middle finger were stepped on and deformed, and half of his little finger was missing, making it difficult for him to hold a pen.

Di Renjie said, "Waiter, don't worry about this. I'll take care of him."

The shop assistant smiled and said, "Are you his friend too?"

Di Renjie's eyes flickered. "From what you said, he has other friends?"

The shop assistant smiled and said, "Isn't it? I wonder who this Gao Alang was in the past, to have so many wealthy friends."

Di Renjie sat down next to Gao Youdao and said, "Can you tell me who his wealthy friends are?"

The shop assistant rubbed his fingers and said, "Well..."

Di Renjie took out a string of hundred-wen copper coins and shook them in his hand.

The shop assistant's eyes lit up and he said hurriedly, "He's a young man, very handsome. You can tell at a glance that he comes from a wealthy family and is very generous."

Di Renjie asked, "Anything else?"

The waiter laughed and said, "There was another person. It was only a few years ago. At that time, Gao Alang had just come to our restaurant. He was drunk and penniless, and that person came to help him pay the bill."

Di Renjie asked, "But it's the third year of Yonghui?"

The shop assistant said, "That's exactly what I was surprised about. Do you know?"

"Go on."

"Well, there's actually nothing much to say. Gao Alang didn't know what was good for him and beat that guy up."

Di Renjie frowned and asked, "Why beat him?"

The shop assistant said, "I can't remember clearly. Maybe he went crazy. He was just crazy to begin with."

Di Renjie asked: "What happened next?"

"Hey, that young man is also very good-tempered. Not only is he not angry, he also comes to help him with his accounts every day. We even bought him a house for him to live in. We are so envious of him."

Di Renjie asked, "Is he staying here?"

"Really not. Gao Alang went crazy again and threw the key into the ditch. Humph, it's really frustrating to compare yourself to others. If someone gave me a house, I would be his son."

Di Renjie said, "Stop talking nonsense. What's the name of the man who delivered the house?"

The shop assistant frowned and said, "It's been too long, I can't remember clearly."

Di Renjie shook the copper coin in his hand again.

"You really can't remember?" he asked.

The shop assistant banged his head hard, and after a long while, he exclaimed, "Oh, I remember now, my last name seems to be Bai."

Di Renjie was slightly startled and asked, "Is his name Bai Xiaojie?"

The shop assistant said, "Then I don't remember. He didn't say his name. Gao Alang called him Bai."

Di Renjie's eyes flashed for a moment, he picked up Gao Youdao, threw the copper coins in his hand to the shop assistant, turned around and strode away.

"This is his wine money, the extra is a reward for you."

The shop assistant took the copper coin, grinned, and said, "Come again!"

……

Di Renjie strode out of Qingfeng Tower and was about to wake Gao Youdao up and ask him where he lived when he suddenly saw a young man riding towards him.

He had met this young man once before; he was Concubine Zheng's younger brother, Zheng Mingyu. When Zheng Mingyu rode over, he also saw Di Renjie.

Although he recognized it, he turned his head away and pretended not to see it.

One of his servants saw Gao Youdao and said to Zheng Mingyu, "Young man, it seems to be Master Gao."

Zheng Mingyu was startled, turned his head to look, quickly dismounted, and came to Gao Youdao.

"Mr. Gao? Mr. Gao?"

Di Renjie asked, "Young Master, do you know Brother Gao?"

Zheng Mingyu glanced at him and said, "He and I are close friends, with similar ideals. How could I not recognize him?"

Di Renjie asked, "If that's the case, young master, do you know where he lives?"

Zheng Mingyu said, "He is staying at the Bodhi Temple. I wanted to help him buy a house, but he refused."

Suddenly he sighed and said, "Alas, there are not many people in this world as noble as him."

Di Renjie and Zheng Mingyu immediately sent Gao Youdao back to the guest room in Bodhi Temple.

Gao Youdao was lying on the bed, Di Renjie and Zheng Mingyu were sitting on a chair and standing by the window respectively. The scene was quite awkward.

After a while, Zheng Mingyu, still young and impatient, asked, "I wonder how Di Shaoqing knew Mr. Gao?"

Di Renjie said, "He and I took the same exam."

Zheng Mingyu sarcastically said, "Oh, so Di Shaoqing must be more knowledgeable than Gao Langjun, which is why he was able to pass the imperial examination and enter the officialdom."

Di Renjie said, "My talent and learning are far inferior to Brother Gao's. Moreover, with Brother Gao's talent, he could have passed the imperial examination, but unfortunately, his luck was not on his side."

Zheng Mingyu was surprised, looked up at him, and his liking for him increased greatly.

He was the third child in the family, and his quota for officialdom through family ties was occupied by his elder brother, so he was forced by his family to study since he was young and to take the imperial examinations to become an official.

As a result, Zheng Mingyu disliked studying and had no good feelings about being an official.

Later, he met Gao Youdao by chance and admired his talent. After learning about his experience, he felt extremely sympathetic towards him and hated the darkness of officialdom.

He had secretly used his connections to try to help Gao Youdao get justice.

As a result, the Chu Mansion sent a chief clerk to warn his father, asking him to control his son and not to investigate Gao Youdao's affairs any further.

When Zheng's father saw that his son had offended Prime Minister Chu Suiliang, he became furious and beat Zheng Mingyu with a stick. If it were not for his grandmother Li's protection, Zheng Mingyu would have been beaten to death.

After this incident, although Zheng Mingyu did not dare to intervene, he continued to secretly support Gao Youdao.

Hearing Di Renjie admit that he was not as good as Gao Youdao, he smiled and said, "Di Shaoqing is indeed an open-minded person."

Di Renjie asked, "I wonder how the young master knew Brother Gao?"

Zheng Mingyu looked at Gao Youdao and sighed, "I came across a poem he wrote by chance, and I began to admire him. In the eyes of the world, he's a slovenly drunkard, but in my eyes, he's a godlike figure."

Di Renjie said, "Brother Gao's talent is indeed worthy of such an evaluation."

After all, the two were not familiar with each other, and for a moment, they looked at each other in silence.

Just as the two were in an awkward situation again, there was a knock on the door.

Di Renjie went over and opened the door, only to see a young scholar standing outside who looked vaguely familiar.

The scholar opened his eyes wide, stared at him for a while, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Bingzhou Di Huaiying!"

Di Renjie finally recognized the man, laughed out loud, and said, "Du Yijian from Xiangyang!"

Like Gao Youdao, this person was also an examinee in the third year of Yonghui, but also failed.

However, Gao Youdao was admitted to the "Tongbang" because he offended someone, while Du Yijian was not well educated and had no powerful people to recommend him to the "Tongbang".

Du Yijian looked Di Renjie up and down with a teasing smile on his face.

"I recently heard that there was a man named Di Renjie who appeared to the emperor in a dream and was promoted ten levels to become the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple. I was wondering if it was you, but now that I've met you in Chang'an, it seems to be you without a doubt."

Di Renjie smiled bitterly and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Please come in."

The two entered the house together. Du Yijian was slightly stunned when he saw Zheng Mingyu.

Zheng Mingyu stood up suddenly, his face full of disgust.

"Mr. Di, I'm leaving first. When Mr. Gao wakes up, please say hello to him for me." He bowed to Di Renjie and strode away.

Di Renjie glanced at Du Yijian and said, "Brother Du, do you know that young man?"

Du Yijian touched his nose and said with a wry smile, "Do you know the identity of this young man?"

Di Renjie nodded.

Du Yijian sighed, "This kind of aristocratic family kid who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth has a different temperament from us. He doesn't like people who are officials, and he hates those who are keen on fame and fortune even more."

Di Renjie thought to himself, "No wonder he suddenly changed his attitude when he heard that I was Shaoqing that day."

(End of this chapter)