Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 427 Falling flowers are intentional, flowing water is ruthless

Through the window, Ye Chen saw a large and exquisite carriage surrounded by a large number of soldiers, walking towards the outside of the city.

Among the team, the two people who were riding next to the Jinling government official's carriage had a serious aura, and Ye Chen could even hear the long breaths between the two of them.

Ye Chen was not surprised that these two were first-class masters.Because the intelligence department has mentioned in detail in the situation intelligence of the Southern Tang court, in the Southern Tang court, the original King Zheng—now Zheng Guogong Li Congshan is the main one, and the Maitreya sect led by Guoshi Lou Yanming is the main one. Among the several great figures in the Southern Tang Dynasty, there is this Jinling Mansion Yin Wang Dongyang.

In fact, if it weren't for these people's full resistance to Maitreya Sect, which influenced the decision-making of the Southern Tang Dynasty Lord Li Yu and the court, I am afraid that the Southern Tang Dynasty would have been controlled by Maitreya Sect.Of course, Li Congshan's ability to play such a big role naturally has a direct relationship with Ye Chen.Ye Chen also knew that for this reason, Lou Yanming and Shangguan Bingyun often planned to assassinate Li Congshan, Wang Dongyang and other important figures in the Southern Tang Dynasty.In the beginning, a few people were indeed captured, but these people had considerable influence in the Southern Tang Dynasty and were deeply entrenched, and the financial and material resources of the forces they represented were also very important.After reacting, he was able to win over some first-rate masters for his own use, protect himself and even arrange to assassinate Lou Yanming and Shangguan Bingyun at the same time.

Of course, it would be too difficult for an ordinary first-class master to kill Lou Yanming and Shangguan Bingyun, but similarly, as long as Lou Yanming and Shangguan Bingyun did not do it themselves, it would not be so easy for the Maitreya Sect to assassinate these great figures of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Ye Chen and Liu Zongyang took a carriage and walked out of the city in the magnificent sunset.At this time, the sky was getting dark, and the sound of silk and bamboo in Jinling City had already sounded. Colorful silks were displayed on the boats on the Qinhuai River, and they were lined up in long lines. Gather together in a mighty manner and spread towards Bailuzhou outside the city.
The venue of the Oiran Contest is said to be in Bailuzhou, but it is actually near a large manor between Bailuzhou and Jinling. This place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with vast green areas. The huge meeting place has long been surrounded. Upstairs, boats and boats are connected together.As the floats arrived one after another, the green space outside was already crowded with crowds. All kinds of snacks and juggling were displayed in the grass, and the fire was very lively.

It is actually very simple to go to the venue to watch a performance. The fee is a flower. When you see a girl you like, you can offer it up. A flower is a tael of silver, worth a hundred or a thousand coins.Although the Jinling area in the south of the Yangtze River is rich, a tael of silver is already a lot of money for ordinary people.

There were 7000 to [-] people who came here this time, but only about [-] to [-] people could enter. The rest of the people would probably have fun outside the venue, wait for the competition to end, or go home to sleep halfway.Just imagine, the daily admission fee for these six days alone is tens of thousands of taels of silver, hundreds of thousands of guan.

If we deconstruct it from Ye Chen's point of view, this is a society with a huge gap between the rich and the poor, which is actually much bigger than it will be a thousand years later.But although some people complain about dissatisfaction, most people have become accustomed to too many things, and this situation is taken for granted in the concept of thinking.

For those with families, enjoying the cool and leisure with their families on the lively grassland and river beach outside, it is considered a luxury to spend five or ten pennies.

There are also those who have no money, just come to watch the juggling show, and join in the fun.These people listened to the music coming from the venue, and after a certain girl won the oiran, they were also insanely happy together.I don't know what they are happy about.

Of the 7000 people who went in, most of them were not rich. The poorer talents wanted to be elegant and know some people, and there were also many who gritted their teeth and paid money not to miss such things.The real rich are probably the top six or seven hundred people. It is estimated that in less than a day, they will contribute more than 700% of the income of this event, ranging from tens of taels, hundreds of taels, or even thousands of taels, and occasionally one People in Jinling City often talk about it for days after news spread of the appearance of high-rollers who threw tens of thousands of taels.

When Ye Chen and Liu Zongyang arrived, the floats had already entered, and the gate was filled with a ticket to enter.Among the crowded crowd, the voices of acquaintances waving and saying hello sounded from time to time, and occasionally people who secretly wanted to go in were kicked out, both sides were cursing, pushing and shoving.

On Ye Chen's side, Liu Zongyang had already prepared the tickets, so they walked in without queuing up to buy tickets.

Not long after entering, Ye Chen saw Chen Jun and Chen Feng brothers from the Chen family in the crowd, along with a few friends of them. Ye Chen had heard of it before, and they were probably wits with some minor fame. .When this side looked over, the other side had already looked over, Chen Jun and Chen Feng suddenly showed surprise, and enthusiastically brought their friends over, greeted each other with Ye Chen and Liu Zongyang, and chatted with each other for a few words.Chen Qing, who was dressed up by Ye Chen, now has a great reputation, which is very good for Chen Jun and Chen Feng, and he does not neglect his friends.This made the Chen family brothers really feel a sense of face.After a few words, Chen Jun and Chen Feng also knew that the person their cousin was dating was not someone they could get along with, so they politely said a few words and left.

Afterwards, Ye Chen saw the guards of honor of several high-ranking officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and compared them with those of the Great Song Dynasty in his heart, thinking that these officials in the Southern Tang court really paid more attention to ostentation and face.

After a while, there was finally room at the door, and the flow of people decreased a little, but at this time Liu Linxuan's boat had not arrived, so Ye Chen chatted with Liu Zongyang and looked at it casually.Instead, he met two talents Liu Zongyang knew. The two sides introduced each other and greeted each other before going out to play together.

The venue on October NO.18 is actually relatively wide. After all, if more than 100 girls perform on the same stage in turn, it will be almost dawn tomorrow after the performance.

When participants enter through the fenced door, the first thing they will see is the renovated manor, restaurant, etc. Most of the buildings are original.Drinks, tea and meals are also provided here, and there are various resting places. The surrounding rocks, water beaches, circular stage, etc. are all arranged differently. Ye Chen thought that this is simply like an antique theme park.

The stage is set up in seven places, including the building and boat waterside pavilion, the teahouse dance hall, the small building in the river bay, the small inn against the mountain, and the round big drum in the center. There are also arrangements for which girl will perform on which side and when.Usually the order is drawn by lot, but there are also some deliberate adjustments. For example, the performance time of the four heads of the line or some girls who are recognized as more popular will be staggered. Try to avoid the four heads of the line performing everywhere at the same time, so that people do not know To see who's situation.

The building boat painting boat is naturally a place for the girls to rest. There are also various large and small sheds around the venue. It is also the site of various brothels. You can only go in and meet the performers if you are invited.The surrounding restaurants are probably fragrant, and the better poems will be hung up to cheer for a certain girl.To lay flowers on the stage is not to throw them up on the spot, and there will naturally be someone next to them to register.

"To be favored by Brother Fu, Ms. Qiao'er is the most likely to win the Oiran Competition. Last time, Brother Fu wrote a poem for Ms. Qiaoer, which is like a delicacy. After reading it, it will last for several days , Brother Fu's poems are admirable, come, give Brother Fu a cup."

It's night, the fireworks are over, and the performances on the various stages have actually begun. The crowd gathers and disperses in the venue, and goes to the favorite stage to watch the performance.And on the nearby Qinghe Tower, Fu Ruojin was having a rest with several people.Among these people, Fu Ruojin was the head, and the main one was Miss Biqiaoer who loved Xiangyue Tower. Fu Ruojin racked his brains these days to write some good poems for her to help her gain popularity.

In fact, just looking at his talent in poetry, Fu Ruojin is a veritable Jinling talent.If he was not from a merchant family, his family background is not as good as that of a scholarly family, but it should be comparable to Liu Linxuan.

At this time, several people praised each other a few words, and after a while, a pretty girl from the brothel came over to say hello.Fu Ruojin had also written poems for her before, and she had finished her performance, so she came over to thank her and had two glasses of wine with her.She obviously had some interest in Fu Ruojin, but she also knew that the other party was pursuing Bi Qiaoer now, and after a while she felt that there was no hope, and she had other things to do, so she left.

Occasionally, there are mothers and girls coming up to thank the Qinghe Tower, which can be regarded as lively. After the first wave of enthusiasm, some friends poured wine and said: "It's enviable, Brother Fu is there. Favored by beautiful people."

Fu Ruojin smiled, and sighed slightly: "So what if the beauty is favored, the beauty I favor has never favored me."

The people next to him knew that he was talking about Bi Qiaoer, and also knew that the latter had always kept himself as a jade.But four months ago, Fu Ruojin collected enough money and wanted to redeem Bi Qiaoer as a concubine, but the latter did not agree, and later said that if she was a regular wife, she could still consider it. Although Fu Ruojin liked Bi Qiaoer, he pursued her wholeheartedly. Naturally, he would not marry a brothel woman in his official career, not even an oiran.In fact, Bi Qiaoer also knew this, so she said that on purpose.At that time, this incident caused quite a stir in the circle of talented scholars and beautiful ladies in Jinling.

Someone talked about this matter again, Fu Ruojin was also open-minded, and he spoke it naturally, others admired him and praised him for being able to afford it and let it go.One of his friends knew that he was not open-minded, so he came over with a smile after a while and said in a low voice, "Ruojin, I'm afraid you don't think so in your heart."

"What if it's not like this?" Fu Ruojin clinked glasses with him calmly, and drank in one gulp.

"Then who exactly does Bi Qiaoer like, can you figure it out?"

(End of this chapter)