A Thousand Hills

Chapter 22

It was the first time for Xie Mo to go out in such a life, and she still had some expectations in her heart. She had heard from her mother that life outside was not easy.However, this is the case in any dynasty or generation you want to come to. There are rich families and poor families.

On the second day, after getting up, Xie Moru took a walk in the garden to exercise as usual, when Xie Bai came, Xie Moru said, "I haven't had breakfast yet."

Xie Bo was really convinced, and said, "Of course I'm going to treat you to breakfast, so pack up quickly and go to Songbaiyuan to greet you, and we're leaving now."

Xie Moru said to him, "I didn't make it clear yesterday." He went into the house to change clothes.Jingwei brought tea, Xie Bai sat in the yard drinking tea, before finishing a cup of tea, Xie Moru packed it up.Since she was about to go out, she wore a simple woman's bun with a delicate gold silk corolla on it, which was both neat and expensive.She is wearing a long dress of Hao gauze with dark flowers of the same color on a light purple background, a black brocade belt around her waist, and a piece of suet jade hanging on it.With two maids, wisteria and sycamore, the cleaning is quite simple.

Xie Bai nodded slightly, and took Xie Moru to Songbaiyuan.

Xie Shangshu also got up early today when he was resting, and was boxing in the courtyard. Seeing Xie Bai and Xie Moru coming, Xie Shangshu stopped his fists, took the handkerchief from the maid's hand to wipe off the sweat on his forehead, and said with a smile, "You guys I came here early, so we happened to have breakfast together." As the head of the family, he was naturally happy to see his children and grandchildren in harmony.Especially Xie Moru was indifferent to everyone in his family, it would be great if he could get closer now.Even Xie Shangshu plans to take care of this granddaughter more.Although Xie Moru's future is unknown, she already has such qualifications.Such a person, if you call her mediocre, she may not even be mediocre.The years are long, don't bully the young and poor.

Xie Bo smiled, "Come here and say hello to Mom and Dad, I'll take Mo Ru out to eat later."

Mrs. Xie was obviously in a good mood. When she heard the words in the room, she smiled and said, "Go. It's just that she doesn't go out more often than you. She hasn't eaten outside. You have to make arrangements and go to a clean place with few people. , don’t ask someone to bump into her.”

"It's all written down." Xie Bai responded with a smile, saluted Xie Moru, and left.

Xie Shangshu laughed, "It's better to get along with the second child."

Mrs. Xie thought about the coolness in the morning, so she let her husband into the house, and said, "Abo is still a child at heart, and likes to coax their sisters to play." However, in the past, Xie Bo liked Xie Moyou more, but now he obviously prefers Xie Moru up.

Xie Moru thought that Xie Moyou would go together, but Xie Moyou did not go with him, Xie Bo helped Xie Moru into the car and rode by himself.Xie Moru looked out through the screen curtain, although it was still early in the day, there were already many people coming and going on the street, in cars, sedans, donkeys and mules, of course more people were walking on two legs.Xie Moru compared the appearance of the horses pulling his own carriage, and deduced that the one with long ears is a donkey, and the one with ears between the horse and a donkey is a mule. According to the book, a mule is born from a donkey and a horse, and has no ability to reproduce... There is also a kind of cattle that can plow the fields and grow horns.

Wisteria listened to the noisy sounds on the street, and there were long and short yelling sounds, thinking of her girl's love of tranquility, she said, "The street is full of excitement, but it's a bit noisy."

Not wanting to thank Moru, but said, "This is the way to be fresh."

The place where Xie Bo brought Xie Moru was naturally good. Xie Moru glanced at the signboard with gold letters on a black background, and suddenly stopped in his tracks. Xie Bo asked, "How about this word?"

Xie Moru looked at the three words "Taipingju" in the golden light, and felt that the word was familiar. Looking at the signature, there was only one word "Mu".Ah, Xie Moru instantly understood that this plaque has a lot of origins.She still couldn't remember why this word was familiar, but she didn't prevent her from making a comment on this shitty word, so she said with her hands behind her back, "These words are written horizontally and vertically, wide open and closed, full of sharpness, quite grand, The shape is ordinary, but the spirit is somewhat extraordinary."

Xie Bo clapped his hands and smiled, "Not bad."

The waiter at the side of the shop bowed to say hello and said with a smile, "Girl has good eyesight, this is written by the great grandfather, who liked to eat our steamed stuffed buns since he was a child! After eating eighteen big buns from the small shop, it was majestic and straight into the imperial capital, and the world has been peaceful since then!" While fluently introducing the history of this shop, while leading people inside, Xie Bo asked for the private seat on the second floor.

The little second hand quickly served the tea, and Xie Bai said, "Just put the buns in one drawer, and you can look at the rest."

Those who can come to Taipingju to eat are either rich or expensive, Xiaoer recognized Xie Bai, and smiled respectfully, "Young Master Xie, please wait a moment, I will come right away." He bowed down.Xie Moru asked, "Is it because his buns are not very tasty?"

"Taste the steamed stuffed buns. The best thing he made earlier was the chicken wontons. The taste is first-class. It's a pity that it's not time to eat shrimp, otherwise the shrimp cooking section is also a must. Hedi Capital City , this dish is the most authentic at his house." Xie Bo smiled, "Because Taiping lives there, but if anyone comes to the imperial capital, he will definitely come to his house to sit." He asked again, "How do you feel when you come out?"

Xie Moru nodded seriously, "That's right, there are many things I haven't seen before. It turns out that there are many women walking around in the street outside."

Xie Bo sipped his tea, "Ordinary families are busy with food and clothing. If the money earned by the man cannot support the whole family, the woman will also work to make money." Seeing Xie Moru kept looking out, Xie Bo followed suit, and saw nothing unusual Yes, ask, "What are you looking at?"

Xie Moru raised his chin to signal out the window, and said, "That bleating white thing with horns on the street is a sheep, right?"

Xie Bo almost sprayed the tea, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Haven't you seen the sheep?"

"I've seen it, I've seen it in the painting."

Xie Bo sighed, "Now I feel that the matter of referring to a deer as a horse may be because Zhao Gaozhen can't tell the difference between a horse and a deer."

Xie Moru said earnestly, "I have never seen a real deer, I must have seen a fake one in the painting. The horse has long been recognized, and the one pulling the cart is a horse. The one with long ears is a donkey, and the ears are longer than a horse and shorter than a donkey's." Mules are shorter than horses and taller than donkeys. There are several types of sheep. Goats have short and straight horns, and sheep have curved horns. There are yellow sheep and black sheep on the grassland. Some people like to use the skin of unborn lambs to make clothes. This kind of lambskin is called Yidouzhu. There is also a kind of precious sheepskin called black purple lamb, which is produced in Ximan. It is said that the hair is thin and short, flexible and fine Not to mention keeping warm, when the sun shines, the color is purple like a streamer in the black, so beautiful."

Look, the joke is that the little girl is ignorant, and she has seen very little, but she keeps reading books every day, and she has a lot of theoretical knowledge.Xie Bai hurriedly said, "You are so knowledgeable."

Xie Moru glanced at him, "Yeah, tyranny to look down on people."

Xie Bo laughed out loud.For a while, Xiao Er presented a table full of breakfast snacks.Fortunately, the store uses small cups and small plates, and there are ten or twenty kinds of them, all of which are served in palm-sized fine porcelain utensils, which are very delicate.

Xie Bo first put a small steamed bun on the plate in front of Xie Moru. Xie Moru thanked him, picked it up and took a bite. He felt that the smell of oil was too strong, and the fragrance of green onion and ginger was too strong, so he couldn't help frowning. Xie Bo smiled, "His family's Steamed buns, it is said that the taste was the same when Taizu ate it 50 years ago, and it has never changed. Just try it, and other things are good.”

Xie Moru focused on tasting the chicken wonton recommended by Uncle Xie, and it was really smooth and delicious, with an outstanding taste.Xie Moru said, "This restaurant is really good. If you want to make chicken wontons with this taste, you must use live meat. No wonder it is so famous."

Second Uncle Xie pointed to a few slices of meat in red sauce on a snow-white porcelain plate, and said, "Try this, it tastes good too."

Xie Moru shook her head, "The sauced meat is not tasty." She rarely eats sauced meat, bacon, ham, etc. Xie Moru has always believed that fresh meat should be fresh and delicious.

"Try it first, this one is definitely different."

Uncle Xie persuaded him so, Xie Moru had no choice but to take a bite out of one piece, quickly took two pieces of crystal pears and ate them to suppress the taste of sauced meat, "It tastes the same no matter what tastes good."

The table is full of food, in fact, you will be full if you taste a few.

Their uncles and nephews have used it up, and the servants downstairs are full, Second Uncle Xie asked Xie Moru, "Can you walk?"

Xie Moru said, "I don't even get tired from walking in the garden for an hour."

Second Uncle Xie smiled, "Let's walk there. There are many girls on this road. If you have never been out, take a look at the street scene. If you want to go shopping or see something, just tell me." , now it is common for women to go out.My niece reads a lot, and it's not bad to take a look at the market.

Xie Moru nodded.

It was the first time for Xie Moru to see shops on the street, such as ready-to-wear shops, shoe and hat shops, book shops, silver houses, tea houses, wine shops, foot shops, etc. It was extremely lively.It was the first time she saw any shop, so it was inevitable that she would look at it a few times, and sometimes she would ask about the price.I still lingered in the bookstore for a while and bought a few sets of books.

As I was walking, I smelled a bad smell, Xie Moru looked around, and said to Xie Bai, "Second Uncle, is this next to Gong's room?"

Xie Bai felt that he was not as happy as he was today in half a year. He laughed and took Xie Moru's hand and walked a few steps forward. He pointed to the frying pan and said with a smile, "This is also a famous snack, stinky tofu."

Xie Moru hurriedly dragged Xie Bo away, and she would raise her sleeves to smell it from time to time, feeling that her clothes were stinking.Xie Bo laughed, "It just smells bad, but it tastes good."

"I've seen it in books, but I don't know how smelly it is." Xie Moru secretly sighed, there are people in the world who dare to eat such a terrible thing.Also, from what her second uncle said, it's possible that her second uncle ate it!

Xie Bo laughed all the way, so that Xie Moru reminded him worriedly, "Second Uncle, you should be careful, I read in the book that there are really people walking past with a smile."

Xie Moru is a serious person, she is serious when she speaks, so naturally she couldn't be more serious.But Xie Bo felt that it couldn't be more interesting, and couldn't help laughing out loud again.Xie Moru always looked at Xie Bo with a smirk, it was not good to go for a long walk in the street, so he dragged Xie Bo to go quickly, otherwise it would be embarrassing if acquaintances saw him.

After walking two streets, it is the Wenwan shop that Xie Bai often goes to.

It is a first-class shop that Xie Bo can go to often, and the things in it are still good, but it is not as good as Xie Moru thought.In fact, Xie Moru didn't want to think about it, she was born in the Shangshu Mansion, even though she was a translucent child, the cost of the Rhododendron Courtyard has always been on the same level as the Songbai Courtyard, and the decoration utensils of the Rhododendron Courtyard are only better than the Songbai Courtyard. It was worse than Songbaiyuan, she felt that the things in other shops were ordinary and it was quite normal.

Xie Bo went there often, and the shopkeeper came over to greet him personally. Xie Bo smiled, "Bring my niece over to have a look."

The shopkeeper’s surname is Cui. Seeing that Xie Moru is not very old, I went to introduce it to her, “Girl likes this paperweight. Alas, girl has a good eye. Look at this jade color, this carving, this is not what it is today, 800 years ago. It was used by Emperor Wu of the Dafeng Dynasty. It is a high-quality ancient jade. Miss, you have a good eye. This is a natural fate. It is also a blessing for this thing to catch a lady's sight."

Xie Moru pursed her lips and said, "Let me see for myself."

Shopkeeper Cui knew that these rich men and women had their own temperaments, so he stopped talking and smiled, "Success, just tell me what you fancy."

This shop has everything from the four treasures of the study to pen holders, brush washers, ink beds, inkstone drops, water bottles, arm rests, paperweights, printing boxes, seals, etc. Xie Moru glanced at it and said softly to Xie Bai, "Is there still the calligraphy and painting of the table screen person last time?"

Shepherd asked, "Don't you like these?"

"It's not good." Xie Moru knew how to save face, so he kept a low voice, "The ancient jade he mentioned doesn't look like ancient jade to me. Ancient jade doesn't look like this." Xie Moru had never seen a fake one, but she saw it Really.Ancient jade, jadeite, official kiln porcelain, bronze, and famous stones are all common in her life. If you say something is good, what is good about it, and if it is not good, what is bad about it?Xie Moru may not be able to say it, but she has a feeling, she can feel that this thing is not as good as what she usually uses.So, in Xie Moru's view, it was bad.Xie Bo smiled and said to shopkeeper Cui, "Did you hear that, my niece said that your jade is fake, not ancient jade."

Shopkeeper Cui chuckled, and immediately understood that the girl was young and had high eyesight, so he hurriedly said, "The ancient characters are fake, and the jade is real. Nowadays, people come and go all the time, so I dare not put precious ones. Master Xie is not an outsider, I really got a good thing recently, and I will show it to you two for appreciation."

Xie Bai smiled and asked, "Don't be too busy, does Li Churong have any new works?"

Shopkeeper Cui smiled, "Coincidentally, I sent two paintings a few days ago, my lord, take a look." He took them out himself, one of which is a bamboo forest, and one of drinking alone under the moon.

After Xie Moru had seen it, he asked about the silver and ordered the shopkeeper to wrap it up, so there was nothing else to catch his eye.Xie Bofang asked, "Old Cui, what treasure have you got?"

Shopkeeper Cui smiled, "Then invite the adults and the girl to sit upstairs." He led them upstairs.The upstairs was tidied up quite elegantly, with a faint aroma. The clerk brought the top-quality incense slices. The shopkeeper opened the three-tier cabinet and took out a brocade forging bag. When he opened the bag, there was a long mahogany box inside, and a painting scroll inside the mahogany box.The shopkeeper carefully opened it, and Xie Bo blurted out, "The picture of the green pines and bright moon in front of Xue Dongli!"

The shopkeeper gave a thumbs up, "Thank you for your good eyesight!"

This picture of green pines and bright moon, just from the name, must be felt to be a landscape painting of green pines and bright moon, but in fact, there are neither green pines nor bright moon in this painting. He, a beauty in brocade, this is an out-and-out picture of a beauty.

There must be a reason for a painting of beauties to be given such a weird name as Qingsong Mingyue.

First of all, explain the word Qingsong. These two characters are very simple. Xue Dongli, who painted this painting, was named Qingsong.What's more, the beauty in this painting has a very special identity, Princess Mingyue, the sister of the last emperor of the former dynasty.Don't think that the last emperor of the previous dynasty was the king of subjugation. This Princess Mingyue is not a princess of subjugation. The previous dynasty was destroyed after the death of Princess Mingyue.According to legend, when the Emperor Taizu heard that Princess Mingyue died quickly, he first sighed three times, then laughed three times, saying that something would happen.After that, all kinds of tyrants rose up one after another, and the world was in chaos.The reason why this painting is called Qingsong Mingyue Picture is because Xue Qingsong made it for Princess Mingyue.

Both Xue Qingsong and Princess Mingyue are well-known. This painting is a rare treasure no matter in terms of history, culture, or the painting itself... However, Xie Moru said, "This picture of Qingsong and Mingyue..." She I remember when I was reading a book, there was a line of small characters in the blank space: The princess is bestowed with a bright moon picture, sigh.It can be seen that this picture of the bright moon was once given to a certain princess, so how could it be left outside.Xie Moru frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled again, at the end of the previous dynasty, the building will collapse, no matter which princess's mansion it is in, there will be no eggs under the overthrow of the dynasty.It is thought that Emperor Taizu led his troops to attack the imperial capital, and the clan and nobles of the previous dynasty did not survive, so this picture came out in exile.

Having figured this out, Xie Moru was about to take a closer look at the painting when the shopkeeper introduced him, "Master Xie, look at the painting on it..." Xie Bai smiled and rolled up the painting, slowly put it away, and said, " Old Cui, I'm going to be a son-in-law, but you gave me a painting of a subjugated princess, it really doesn't look like you did it."

Shopkeeper Cui was taken aback for a moment, and said in his heart, a baby is a baby, who cares whether the princess of the subjugated country is not the princess of the subjugated country!As long as it is a treasure, let alone a princess of subjugation, even if it is dug out of a grave, no one will still snatch it.However, there are not many other things in this imperial capital, and there are most dignitaries and dignitaries.Shopkeeper Cui has to deal with these people, and he knows that there are many strange people.Anyway, he didn't worry about buyers for this thing. Seeing that Xie Bai was a little displeased, he didn't say any more, and said with a smile, "Oh, look at me, I'm getting older, and my brain just won't work. I'm going to offend you, my lord. Damn it, damn it !” Said another sentence of apology.

Xie Bai smiled, he was originally easy-going, so he didn't take it seriously, ordered the servant to pay the money, and left with the two paintings bought by Xie Moru.

After leaving the Wenwan shop, Xie Morufang said, "Second Uncle, Princess Mingyue can't be regarded as the Princess of Subjugation."

Xie Bo held Xie Moru's hand and smiled, "Even if Princess Mingyue dies in front of her, others don't think so."

Xie Moru said "Oh", pursed his lips, and said softly, "If Second Uncle likes that painting, you might as well buy it, don't worry about me."In terms of personality, the second uncle is not a cautious person, a painting is just a painting, so it doesn't involve court affairs.Furthermore, when shopkeeper Cui just took out the painting, the second uncle was obviously pleasantly surprised. After seeing it, he rolled it up and said that it was an ominous painting.If the second uncle really cared about auspicious things, he wouldn't have brought the table screen of the Hongmen Banquet to show her off.Therefore, there is nothing wrong with painting, and the second uncle really likes it. Then, even if you don’t buy it, it is in line with the behavior of a person who loves painting if you appreciate it carefully.The second uncle took a cursory look at the picture scroll and put it into a scroll. At that time, besides the second uncle, it was her and the shopkeeper Cui. The shopkeeper Cui is a person who sells paintings, so I wish the customers could see more. Then, the problem must be her. body.

No, it was her birth body.

Not directly related to her, but likely indirectly.

Hearing what Xie Mo said, Xie Bo smiled, "Nothing can be hidden from your eyes."

Xie Moru turned his face slightly and looked at Xie Bai.Xie Bai said, "I didn't look at it much. Another reason is that the painting is a fake."

"Then the second uncle has seen the real thing, or does he know where the real thing is?"

"Correct."

(End of this chapter)