The First Part: The Ambush Chapter 14: Two Lis

  As soon as this person appeared in his mind, countless phrases flowed through his strong heart, and he involuntarily recited the following verse with the melodious pipa sound: "Jade thin and light, endless sorrow, Nanlou's flute should not be blown. Who knows when the fragrance is gone? Warm wind and slow days, farewell to the plum blossoms."

  Suddenly, I shook my head and loudly recited "Warm wind, late sun, don't let the apricot blossoms fade", a chopstick knocked against the wine cup making a clattering sound, it seems I still have some musical cells left, at least the rhythm wasn't messed up.

  After finishing the song, Gao Gang suddenly found that six eyes in the pavilion were staring at him. Did he have flowers on his face? "Why are you all looking at me like this?"

  The little girl asked with a smile: "Sir, this new poem is something I've never heard anyone sing before. Where did you learn it from? If you know the talented person who wrote it, please introduce us." Lu Qian and He Rang Zhang also nodded in agreement upon hearing her words.

  It's a pity that the talented man and woman don't know each other, although they've been spiritual friends for nearly a thousand years. How can I introduce you to each other? Look at Zhao Mingcheng, who has just returned and is already singing this tune. Li Qingzhao must have married into the Zhao family by now. What method can be used to arrange a meeting, so as to live up to that one volume of "Shu Yu Ci" that was loved in younger years?

  "For a moment, he couldn't get the gist of it, so he raised his cup and said: 'I don't know what talented scholar this is, I just vaguely remember hearing someone sing this tune before. Come on, let's not care who wrote it, in the past, Mr. Xiao Yan had the phrase "a new poem, a cup of wine", today we get to hear a new poem, how can we not have wine? Cheers!"

  The official urged him to drink, and Lu heard that he was favored and surprised, hurriedly raised his cup to flatter him, and all praised the official for being both civil and martial, saying that one day he would surely become a great general or prime minister, and his wealth and honor would be beyond words.

  Gao Jianxiao smiled and just raised his wine cup to his lips when he heard someone from next door sneer: "Does this plebeian also know how to appreciate new words?" The voice was none other than Zhao Mingcheng, who had just shown his face.

  If someone else had said that, Gao Jian might have argued back a couple of sentences. Since he knew Li Qingzhao was present, not to mention calling him a plebeian, even if he called him "a refined gentleman who doesn't know characters", he could only acknowledge it. At this moment, he didn't get angry, and said loudly: "Young Master Zhao, today's new poem is sung for the first time, with clear voice and beautiful words, what a great elegant gathering!"

  Wen Ruan Zhang was secretly shocked on the side: Unexpectedly, at such a young age in the government office, he had such great talent and composure, scolding without being surprised, truly having the demeanor of a great general, making one feel deeply unexpected.

  But then Zhao Mingcheng let out a muffled grunt. As the saying goes, "A fierce fist doesn't hit a smiling face." Since the other person didn't have any anger in him, how could he continue to mock? After a brief pause, another burst of music started up, this time even more familiar - it was a lyric poem called "Like a Dream": "I often recall the evening at Creek Pavilion, drunk and unaware of the way home. When the excitement ended, I returned late in my boat, mistakenly entering the depths of the lotus flowers."

  "Struggling to cross, struggling to cross, startling a flock of egrets and herons."

  The audience was enchanted, applauding continuously and shouting "bravo". The hostess next to him quickly refilled his cup with wine. Indeed, Li Yi'an sang another new song, but this time he became even more unrestrained, drinking cup after cup, three cups in a row. Today, I have the opportunity to hear Li Yi'an sing with my own ears, it's truly a blessing from a past life! This "Surprise of a Flock of Seagulls" had once stirred his emotions as a young man, on spring outings he would throw stones into the reeds, startling countless sparrows. Today, it can be said that the original sound has been recreated, and it seems that he is indeed going to get drunk and lose his way back home.

  This short song is like a dream, and then another tune, the high-pitched sound almost made me jump up, the first sentence was actually "Last night's rain was sparse and the wind was sudden"! The singing of the ages, the good sound of the world, it's over, I didn't expect that this journey through time and space would be to chase stars.

  Then "thick sleep doesn't dispel the leftover wine", as if seeing a beauty suddenly wake up, with starry eyes half-covered and cherry lips slightly open, hearing about last night's wind and rain, her heart is nervous and worried. "Borrowing to ask the person rolling up the curtains, but saying that the begonia is still the same", although slightly relieved, she can't put it down after all. When she gets up after finishing her morning makeup, she only sees the beauty's painful tears, stamping her feet and scolding the heartless heavens, "Do you know? Do you know? It should be that the flowers are broken and the leaves are beautiful".

  "Huh? That's not right!" Gao Qiang listened all the way and had already forgotten his emotions, but couldn't help shouting: "Why isn't it green and fat, red and thin?"

  Only the pipa's four strings vibrated next door, and a soft, beautiful female voice exclaimed in surprise: "It should be so, green is fat and red is thin!"

  Gao Feng was shocked upon hearing the news and only then realized what had happened. He couldn't help but feel puzzled in his heart: "This is really strange, could it be that I actually wrote the ending of this poem?" If this gets spread around, who knows how many Li Qingzhao fans will chase me down to scold me.

  "Who is this talented individual? May I have the pleasure of meeting him?"

  Gao's heart was filled with great joy, thinking to himself: "Ah, Sister Li, Sister Li, in this life I can finally meet you in person. Even if it means returning to the Song Dynasty or going back to the Qin and Han Dynasties, I would still wait for you to emerge from your seclusion!" Although his heart was filled with wild joy, he didn't dare to be presumptuous towards the beauty. He quickly adjusted his clothes and hat, took a few sips of clear tea to dissipate the effects of the wine, and respectfully said: "I am Gao Qiang, I don't dare ask for your esteemed name, sister?"

  He thought that next would be a talented and beautiful couple, seeing each other for the first time, reciting poetry and singing in harmony, but unexpectedly Zhao Mingcheng said coldly: "Gao Nei, with your extraordinary talent at such a young age, such a good poem is probably just a lucky coincidence, let's not see each other again!"

  A basin of cold water was poured over his head, and it was as if "the top of the skull split into eight pieces, and seven thousand icy snowflakes poured in", drenching Gao Gang from head to toe, leaving him speechless for a moment. As soon as he heard the four words "Flower Age", he knew that Li Jie would never want to see him again, and what decent woman could bear to see such a lecher? As for the clever phrase just now, it must have been attributed to someone else's work, perhaps Li Jie was regretting that a talented scholar had fallen into the mundane world.

  At this time, there was only one thought in my mind: The pervert is not my fault!

  Just then, the woman let out a soft sigh, full of regret and longing. She was so distraught that she wanted to travel through time and space to hunt down the scoundrel who had stirred up trouble and run away with his tail between his legs. Suddenly, the little girl spoke up in a gentle voice, "Alas, this sister is truly talented, with such beautiful words and phrases. Unfortunately, once you enter the prime minister's estate, it's like entering the deep sea - who knows when we'll see each other again?"

  One word awakened the dreamer, and upon listening carefully, he found that the next room had fallen silent. It was clear that they had paid the bill and left. He hastily got up and ran to the window, stretching his head out as far as possible to look down. All he saw was Zhao Mingcheng walking out with another slender scholar, but there was no one else in sight - where was Li's sister?

  Zhao Mingcheng was very respectful to the scholar, smiling and asking him to get on the carriage first. Gao Gang saw the man lower his head, bowing as he entered the carriage, and suddenly thought of a phrase: "The most gentle is that one lowering of the head."

  Suddenly enlightened: "Pig head, pig head, isn't that bookworm Li sister? She's a married woman who wants to go out and have fun, and she comes to this kind of place, what else would she wear besides men's clothes?"

  I'm so frustrated I want to bang my head against the wall! Li Qingzhao, Yi An Resident, my idol since childhood, Sister Li, I've traveled through time and space for 900 years and still can't see you!

  He was indulging in self-pity when the carriage curtain suddenly lifted, and a pair of autumn-water-like eyes scanned the upstairs, only to pause briefly on Gao Qiang's face. Before he could react, Zhao Mingcheng had already entered the carriage, the curtain dropped, and the inside and outside were isolated. The sound of horseshoes faded away, leaving Gao Qiang punching his chest and stomping his feet in distress.

  Wen Yan Zhang saw the official looking so dejected and thought he was heartbroken because a wonderful songstress had been taken into Zhao Ming Cheng's household. He wondered how to help the official alleviate his sorrow. As he turned his eyes, he saw the young girl still sitting there with her pipa, although she was only 12 or 13 years old, she was bright-eyed and had a beautiful smile, a true beauty in the making. He stepped forward and said to Gao Qiang: "Official, I think this young songstress is very talented and has great potential, if we invite a renowned teacher to instruct her, she will surely become one of the top courtesans in the capital in the future. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to buy out her contract?"

  The strong emotions were in turmoil, and upon hearing the words "training" and seeing that little girl's face still with a hint of childishness, my heart couldn't help but burn with anger: You good-for-nothing Wen Ruan Zhang, looking like a noble hermit, reading sacred books, yet teaching me to play Lolita cultivation! Why don't you go be a Shota yourself?!

  It's just that these words are muttered in my heart, but saying them out loud is likely to cause a stir. Moreover, what Wen Ruan Zhang said isn't entirely unreasonable. Looking at this little girl, she's naturally lovely and already quite endearing at such a young age. When she grows up, it'll be even more so - she'll definitely be the object of contention among various philanderers. It's better to bring her into the manor, where she can at least have a healthy environment in which to grow up.

  "Little official, what's your name? Are there any other people in your family?"

  The little girl's face turned red, and she had obviously heard Wen Ruan Zhang's words earlier. She said in a low voice: "I'm reporting to the official, my original surname is Wang, my father is Wang Yin, and he was a dyer by trade. I lost my parents at the age of five, and the neighbors sent me to a Buddhist temple. An old monk shaved my head and said that I had a wise root and could be a disciple of Buddhism, so everyone calls me Shifu."

  Gao heard it and was taken aback, thinking to himself that the art of giving nicknames in the Qinglou industry of the Song Dynasty is really rotten. As for him, he's just called Shifu. However, there's no need to bother with these things. He smiled and said: "Official, I think you sing well and play the pipa well. I'd like to buy your freedom and bring you back to the mansion to study various performing arts. What do you think?"

  The little girl didn't seem surprised or excited either, she just lowered her head and said: "As long as it's what you want, I won't disobey."

  Wen Ruan Zhang then called the old procuress, and after a short while, the old procuress slipped in with a smile all over her face, saying: "High official, I don't know if the girls have served you comfortably?"

  Gao Jiang had not seen Li Jie, was in a bad mood and didn't feel like talking, so he called Wen Ruan Zhang to discuss the matter of redeeming Wang Shi.

  That old procuress immediately burst into tears and wailed, saying that the official had taken a liking to one of her girls the day before. She complained that business in the tower was slow, the entertainment industry was declining, and many high-class courtesans were either retiring or getting married. She claimed that she had no choice but to let this young and inexperienced girl entertain guests out of desperation. The procuress then offered to train the girl herself and invite the official to come back on a auspicious day to "initiate" her.

  Luo Li Luo said a lot of nonsense, but Gao Qiang was too lazy to listen. He simply waved his hand and Lü Qian observed the situation, naturally understanding what was going on. He slapped the table and said: "So much nonsense, just say how much is the ransom?"

  The old procuress was frightened and hastily said: "Five hundred taels." But she didn't say another word.

  The official wants to redeem himself, so he naturally won't haggle with you. However, the old procuress also doesn't dare ask for more. The price of 500 taels is reasonable. Gao nodded in agreement and Lu Qian went to handle the formalities.

  That old procuress held the silver in one hand and grasped Wang Shi's wrist with the other, tears streaming down her face without a hand to wipe them away: "My child, once you arrive at the yamen official's residence, be sure to serve him well and don't tarnish the reputation of my Hong Lou brothel!" Gao Fang couldn't help but chuckle inwardly - it seemed this old procuress still had a strong sense of branding, only one could wonder about her after-sales service.

  The old lady said: "This ransom, according to the rules, is for a girl who goes out of the building. You must follow my surname, and from now on you will no longer be surnamed Wang, but Li."

  His real name is Wang Shishi, but he changed his surname from Wang to Li. Isn't that: Li, Shi, Shi?