As they came out of the military equipment depot, the three men rode their horses along the Bian River at a slow pace. Along the way, they saw that all kinds of industries were thriving, with carts and horses passing by in an endless stream. The shops on the street had their signboards raised high: pawnshops, rice stores, cosmetics shops, fabric and silk stores, antique and porcelain shops, as well as bookstores, tea houses, silver warehouses, and ticket offices, all kinds of businesses were mixed together in a row.

  It seems that the prosperous scene before my eyes is just like the "Qingming Shanghe Tu" I saw online years ago, and even the ancient donkey of controversy flashed before my eyes. An unusual feeling arose in my heart: everything before me was so real, but in less than twenty years, this ten-mile prosperity will all be gone, and later generations can only search for this brilliant culture from paintings and lyrics.

  He was lost in thought, and couldn't help but let out a sigh. Suddenly, he heard Lu Qian laughing beside him: "Sir, could it be that you've been practicing martial arts for days on end and are feeling a bit stifled? Since there's nothing going on today, why not go inside and have a drink?"

  He turned his head around and found that his horse was standing in front of a building. He looked up to see three big characters written on it: "Yi Hong Lou".

  Gao Liang let out a wry smile, seeing Lu Qian's strange smile, and hearing Ruan Zhang twirling his mustache without speaking. He knew that he had momentarily lost himself and had carelessly walked to this place, and was sure to be thought of as "nostalgic" by others.

  Hesitating whether to go in and investigate the development of the Song Dynasty's entertainment industry, a fragrant breeze suddenly hits my nose, and a fiery red figure rushes to the front of the horse, grasping the reins with one hand and laughing passionately: "Ah, what good wind is blowing today? High official has actually deigned to visit our Red Mansion!" This woman was clearly an old procuress, her makeup too thick, her age somewhat advanced, but her flirtatious eyes darting about, her waist swaying seductively, still had a few hints of beauty.

  He smiled and said, since you're here, just enjoy it, what's wrong with strolling around the brothel? Among all those Song Dynasty poems, more than half of them came from brothels. In a way, this is also a high-end entertainment venue and cultural center.

  When he saw the official dismount, the two behind him naturally followed suit and also got off their horses. The tortoise public servant quickly came up to take over the reins, nodding his head and bowing respectfully, more so than the parking attendants of later generations. Gao Gang smiled and Lu Qian waved his hand to reward him.

  That old procuress saw the official dismount, a body like charcoal stuck straight up, a silk handkerchief in her hand fluttered, a wave of fragrance floated over, but in her eyes were all grievances: "Official, these days are happy, the girls in the building are thinking of dying for you!"

  It's hilarious to see this scene and dialogue, which I've seen countless times on TV, but now it's happening to me. "Haha, I, Benkei, have recently been practicing martial arts and neglecting all of you lovely ladies, it's truly a sin."

  The old procuress saw that the official was in high spirits today, and she was also overjoyed: "This fortune is definitely not going to slip away, watch me make a profit today." She immediately shouted loudly: "The girls in the building, Official Gao has arrived, all come out to receive him!"

  This shout was so funny that it almost made Gao Qiang laugh out loud, and the lines were really hilarious. Before, they would only joke about this among friends, but today they were actually doing it for real. Lu Qian saw that Yanei was laughing with joy, although he didn't understand the reason, since Yanei was having so much fun playing along, he naturally had to join in on the fun too. When he glanced at Wen Rengan, however, he saw that the man wasn't even batting an eyelid, his face full of righteousness, and Lu Qian couldn't help but silently curse him as a "phony".

  The old procuress accompanied the three of them as they stepped into the building, and all that could be seen below was a large courtyard filled with people drinking, playing dice, gambling, singing, and everything else one might expect. The place was packed to the rafters, with probably over a hundred people present. Before Gao Qiang had even had time to take it all in, he saw a group of women, dressed to the nines, flitting about like birds, their faces powdered and painted, as they surged forward with the force of an avalanche, pulling and tugging at him from left and right amidst great hubbub.

  "This pearl tear fell: 'Inside the government office, how come you haven't come to see me for so long? I'm dying.'"

  That smiling face was saying: "Sir, you've made great progress in your martial arts training these past few days. Just feeling this strong arm will tell you that."

  On the left, a fragrant kiss was offered: "Madam, Huahong used new rouge today, would you like to try some?"

  On the right side, Double Peaks stuck close: "Inside the mansion, willow green has learned a few new moves in the morning and evening, don't you want to try?"

  The women were passionate like fire, competing with each other, and soon the quarrel escalated into a fight. The level of conflict continued to rise. Gao Qiang was trapped in the midst of it all, his head spinning, when suddenly Lu Qian let out a low roar, rushed forward, and with a wave of his arms, the women scattered like fallen flowers, not one of them able to stand their ground, thus relieving Gao Qiang from the encirclement.

  He straightened his clothes and called over the old procuress, "I'm saying, that one, whoever it was, is this really a girl from your establishment? I almost didn't survive the ordeal, you're treating guests like this at the House of Joy?"

  The old procuress hadn't even responded when Lu Qian added another sentence: "If you can't serve the official well, then don't think about opening this brothel!"

  The old procuress was frightened, and hastily forced a smile: "Your Honor, the girls have not seen you for many days, they miss Your Honor dearly, and in their anxiety... cough, I hope Your Honor will be magnanimous and forgive them."

  Gao Jian waved his hand and said: "There's nothing fun to do in the government office today, I just want to find a quiet place to drink some wine and listen to a few new songs, you arrange it."

  The old procuress was surprised in her heart, how did this evil spirit in the brothel come to play with literature today? However, the tastes of rich people often change, and she had seen many things before, so she hurriedly smiled and said: "This is easy, sir, please go upstairs to the elegant pavilion, I'll call a few talented and beautiful officials to sing for you."

  The old procuress led the way, and the three of them went up to the second floor and entered a beautifully decorated room. This place was indeed vastly different from downstairs. A screen stood in front of the door, painted with a beautiful woman by a skilled artist. Her silk dress was lightly tied, her sash floated gently, a round fan half-covered her pretty face, and her two slender eyes threw out hints of affection.

  As I turned around, there was a small pavilion with a round table in the middle, surrounded by several soft stools. The windows were covered with fine silk from Jiangnan, and a palace lantern hung down from the ceiling. On the wall was a hanging scroll with a poem, which was "Rainy Bell" by Liu Yong. When I looked at the signature again, it was actually written by the original author himself! Gao Gang was secretly shocked, thinking that this brothel had a big style, and just this one poem was worth thousands of gold. However, Liu Yong had always been fond of entering brothels in his lifetime, and this poem might have been written to send to some girl in this building.

  The madam saw the official looking and nodding, secretly delighted in her heart, and quickly wiped the handkerchief on the soft cushion a few times. She invited Gao Qiang and the others to sit down, then went out to make arrangements. Before long, wine and dishes were served at a high price, filling up a round table, and several girls came in under the madam's leadership to accompany them for drinks. When asked about their names, they were all the likes of Cui Lü and Qing Hong, who had just entered the pleasure grounds and still had some childishness in their demeanor, which made it easier for Gao Qiang to accept.

  Gao Liang chose three, ordered them to sit down and pour wine. Lu Qian shook his head repeatedly, saying that he must call another one, let Gao Liang be surrounded by people on both sides, making him laugh and cry at the same time. He thought to himself: Is this how leaders are supposed to be treated?

  After a brief commotion, everyone took their seats. Just as they were about to start drinking and toasting, a little girl came in, small in stature, with a tender face, clearly not yet fully grown, holding a pipa that was almost half her height.

  The girl came in and saluted Gao Qiang with a slight bow, saying crisply: "Greetings, Master, greetings, gentlemen." As soon as her voice fell, the three of them suddenly felt half their bodies go limp, feeling as if all 180,000 pores on their skin had opened, and they couldn't help but feel extremely pleased.

  Gao Qiang smiled and said: "Judging from your voice, your singing style must be good. First pick a few familiar songs to sing."

  The girl responded, turned her hand over, plucked the pipa a few times, ding-dong, ding-dong, paused for a moment, and then began to sing: "The courtyard is deep, how many feet, willow trees pile up smoke, the curtains are countless, jade saddle carved horseback riding, high building can't see the Zhangtai Road." She only sang half a verse, the small pavilion was filled with clear sounds, like the first cry of an oriole, the swallows welcoming spring, and the outside sounds were gone for a while.

  "Good!" Gao Jiang tapped his chopsticks against the wine cup and shouted in approval. He actually remembered this poem, it was Ouyang Xiu's famous work "Butterfly Lovers", he had memorized it since childhood, and even the name of a soap opera came from it, so it was extremely familiar to him.

  Just as the applause from this side had barely subsided, a voice from next door also called out in praise: "Good song, good singing!" As soon as the voice was heard, the person appeared, and with a sweep of the curtain, a man emerged from behind the screen, his face full of joy, saying: "This official is truly a great singer!"

  What's going on here? The artistic exchange atmosphere is so good that anyone can just enter someone else's private room?

  When the newcomer saw Gao Qiang, he was also stunned for a moment. The smile on his face suddenly changed to disdain: "Hmph, I thought it was someone else, but it's actually High Official Gao. How surprising that you have an interest in music today, can you even understand the lyrics?"

  Even if this official had a bad reputation in the past, couldn't he just listen to a few tunes? However, knowing his own identity, he still dared to be so arrogant in front of him. He must have some backing. Suppressing his anger, he said: "This young master, barging into someone else's place without any reason, should at least report your name first?"

  "That person sneered and said: 'The official is indeed a nobleman who forgets things easily, can't even remember me Zhao Mingcheng?'"

  Zhao Mingcheng? Isn't that the son of the current Prime Minister Zhao Ting? No wonder he's so arrogant, it turns out he's an even bigger princeling than me. But according to my memory, Zhao Mingcheng should still be studying at the Imperial Academy around this time. Looking at his attire now, he should still be a commoner: "Oh, it's Young Master Zhao, please forgive me for being slow. However, since Young Master Zhao has come upon hearing the music, it seems we're fellow music lovers, why don't we listen to the melody together?" Gao Qiang smiled like a flower.

  Zhao Mingcheng snorted and didn't even bother to look at him, turning around and walking away. Fortunately, he still remembered his manners as a refined person and bowed slightly before leaving.

  He smiled slightly and didn't bother to respond, instead calling out to the little girl to continue singing: "Rain slants and wind rages at dusk in March, doors closed at sunset, no way to keep spring from departing. Tearful eyes ask the flowers, but they don't speak, scattered red petals fly over the swing."

  "Great! The lyrics are great, the melody is great, and the singer is even better!" Gao Jiang shouted loudly again, but actually there was another sentence that wasn't said: It's best if the neighbors can hear but not see! Lu Qian and Wen Ruan Zhang also followed with applause.

  The little girl blushed and thanked her, just about to sing the next one, when suddenly a pipa sound came from next door, followed by the same tune: "How deep is the courtyard?" The singing voice was gentle and clear, compared to the bright and beautiful voice of this little girl, it had a different flavor.

  The scene below is different: "Cloudy windows and misty pavilions, spring is late, for whom are you withering and losing your beautiful appearance? Last night's dream was good, it should be the southern branch that has sprouted."

  "Hmm?" Gao Qiang found it amusing, this Zhao Mingcheng was indeed interesting. On his side, they were singing "Courtyard Deep", and he also had someone sing "Courtyard Deep". Was he trying to one-up him? But the songstress did sing well.

  He then turned to the little girl and said: "Can you sing this tune? Come on, sing one too, and compare with your sister."

  "Who would have thought that the little girl shook her head and said: 'Sir, I don't know that song of Linjiang Xian, this singing tune is not the sister in the building, it must be the young master himself brought his own song girl, singing his own new lyrics.'"

  "Oh, that's strange." Gao Gang was puzzled in his heart. This poem sounds familiar, he must have read it in the Complete Song Ci, how could this little girl say she didn't know?

  Racking his brains, he suddenly thought of a name: "Li Qingzhao!"

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