Chapter Forty-Five: Bustling Xiangguo Temple

  Yue Fei left Liang Wang's mansion and went straight back to the inn, where he saw his brothers sleeping soundly. He didn't disturb them and lay down on his own bed, falling asleep in his clothes.

  The next morning, if it weren't for the voices of people talking downstairs waking them up, the brothers wouldn't have known what time to get out of bed. Jiang Zhen knew that his brothers had drunk too much the night before and were sleeping very soundly, so he didn't have the heart to wake them up.

  Yue Fei, despite staying up late and losing sleep, was the first to wake up. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and saw that none of his sworn brothers had woken up yet. So he went over to their beds one by one to urge them: "Get up! It's almost noon already. We still have a lot of things to take care of!"

  Zhang Xian and Tang Huai woke up, looked at the sunlight shining on the bed through the window, scratched their slightly disheveled hair, and smiled awkwardly: "Drinking too much is a mistake, it's better to drink less in the future."

  "Niu Gao, Wang Gui, you two still haven't gotten up, the sun is about to set." Zhang Xian shouted.

  Wang Gui woke up, rubbed his eyes and saw the sunlight coming in, shouting: "Oh heavens! The sun is really setting soon."

  "Getting up so early, I haven't slept enough yet."

  "You're good at eating and drinking, and you're also good at sleeping. Look outside, the sun is high up in the sky, what time do you think it is?" Yue Fei scolded.

  "Hah, with so much good wine and food, it would be a waste if I didn't finish them off completely!"

  The brothers came downstairs, washed and dressed, and Boss Jiang Zhenzi warmly welcomed them with a smile: "Gentlemen, did you sleep well last night? It's simple here, all hard beds, I'm really sorry. How about this, from now on, you can eat and stay at our store for 50% off?"

  "No need to be so polite, you're also running a small business and it's not easy. My brothers and I will pay for our food and lodging as we should, no discounts needed, lest other customers gossip and you lose business." Yue Fei said.

  Zhang Xian, Tang Huai and Wang Gui all begged Jiang Zhenzi to treat them equally.

  Jiang Zhenzi had no choice but to give up.

  "Shopkeeper, bring us some food and dishes, we brothers will eat and then go out to gather information." Yue Fei said.

  "Uncle Yue, would you and your friends like some more wine?" Jiang Zhenzi asked.

  "Everyone got drunk last night and the hangover hasn't gone away this morning, let's not drink anymore, getting drunk will lead to trouble outside." Zhang Xian took over the conversation.

  Jiang Zhenzi agreed and went to prepare. Before long, the dishes were placed on the table, and her brothers wolfed them down in an instant.

  "Brother Jiang, could you keep an eye on our luggage upstairs? We're going out for a stroll." Yue Fei said.

  "Don't worry, everyone, I'll take care of everything, nothing will go wrong." Jiang Zhenzi replied.

  The brothers walked out of the store and headed east. The capital was indeed a prosperous place, with people coming and going on the streets, flowing endlessly. The vendors' cries were incessant, and the citizens' attire was more particular than in other cities. Moreover, there were merchants from Daliao, Xixia, Da Jin, Tubo, and Huihe who came and went, truly making it a place where "all five elements and eight trigrams are present, with people from all over the world gathered here."

  As they arrived at the front three-forked road, pedestrians branched out in all directions. Yue Fei stopped his footsteps, and Niu Gao asked: "Big brother, there are two paths ahead, which one will be more fun to take?"

  "Niu Gao, you only know how to have fun. We didn't come to the capital to sightsee, we came to seek fame and fortune." Zhang Xian said.

  As they spoke, two handsome young men appeared in front of them. One was wearing white silk and was nine feet tall with a round face that was both pale and delicate, with regular features. The other was wearing red satin and was eight feet tall with a sleeping silkworm eyebrow and a Guan Gong face. The two young men were holding hands and chatting and laughing.

  "Brother, I heard that the Dasheng Temple in the capital is bustling. Why don't we go somewhere else to take a stroll?" said the pale-faced young man.

  "Go if you want to go, as long as my younger brother is happy, it's okay to play wherever." Hong Lian said.

  Niu Gao listened to their conversation and also wanted to go to Xiangguo Temple to see the excitement.

  "Big brother, since they've gone, why don't we go take a look too? We've never been to the capital city before, it's good to broaden our horizons and have something to talk about when we get back home." Niu Gao said.

  "Yes, big brother, why don't we go to Xiangguo Temple together." Zhang Xian, Tang Huai and Wang Gui echoed in agreement.

  "Alright! Let's just take a look and leave, don't stir up trouble." Yue Fei cautioned.

  Four brothers responded with a voice and followed the two young men to Xiangguo Temple.

  In front of the Temple of the Minister, there is a vast expanse of land. There are all sorts of people from different walks of life, doing business, holding fairs, storytelling, and performing acrobatics. It's bustling with activity. The brothers looked left and right, and wherever it was lively, they would rush over to join in the fun.

  "Good! Good!......" Only heard the applause in Xianguo Temple, the applause was like thunder, very lively.

  "Big brother, it must be more wonderful inside, why don't we go in and take a look." Zhang Xianzheng asked.

  Yue Fei nodded, and his brothers pushed through the crowd and walked in.

  Upon entering the hall, I saw a storyteller standing on stage, vividly recounting the story of Yang Family Generals' Eight Tigers Invading Youzhou, with great flair and expression.

  The seats below were filled with listeners, and the two young men in red and white sat in the front row. The storyteller seemed to be very respectful of them.

  Yue Fei and others sat down in the back row, listening intently to the storytelling.

  The Emperor Taizong of Tang made an imperial visit to Mount Wutai to offer incense, and was led by Pan Renmei to watch the transparent spirit tablet. What he saw was the dressing tower of Empress Xiao in the remote state of Youzhou in the northwest border region. On top of the tower, five-colored rays of light were emitted, dazzlingly brilliant.

  "What place is that? I want to go and have a look." Taizong asked.

  "Your Majesty, that is the dressing tower of Empress Xiao of Liao." Yang Laolao Gong replied.

  "We want to go and have a look," said Emperor Taizong, "I wonder if it's possible?"

  "Your Majesty, absolutely not! That is a land of tigers and wolves. You are the Son of Heaven, how can you personally take risks?" The old official hastily stopped him.

  "We took Taiyuan by storm, and the Liao people were so frightened that they lost their gall. Now the Great Song is growing stronger every day, how dare the Liao people make any rash moves?" Taizong said.

  "Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, is rich and owns all four seas. What about Youzhou? I, your humble subject, can take orders to go there and move Empress Dowager Xiao and others away. How dare their small country in a distant land offend the Heavenly Dynasty?" Pan Renmei stepped forward and said.

  Taizong was delighted when he heard this. Lao Linggong still wanted to dissuade him, but Pan Renmei took the opportunity to memorialize: "Yang Ye is arrogant and does not put Your Majesty in his eyes; we should imprison father and son as a warning to others."

  Taizong listened to the slander and had Yang's father and son detained, sending Pan Long to Liaobang to deliver the imperial edict.

  Tianqing Liang Wang received the imperial edict and consulted with the military strategist, withdrawing from the dressing building and secretly gathering 1 million troops from the 72 islands to ambush on all sides. Pan Long returned to Wutai Mountain and reported the withdrawal of the Liao army to Taizong, who was overjoyed upon hearing the news and immediately left Wutai Mountain with his ministers for Youzhou. Liang Wang welcomed Taizong's arrival in person and invited him into the dressing building. Then, under pretext, he prepared a banquet and left.

  Taizong was delighted by the beautiful scenery of Shuangerlou and became complacent. At this moment, a cannon sounded, and the 72 islanders who were hiding around shouted and rushed towards Youzhou, surrounding the city of Youzhou and making it impossible to escape. Taizong saw this situation and lost his composure for a moment. Fortunately, Huaiyin Ji, the king of Jing Shan, came out with a decree and met with Tianqing Liang Wang, claiming that he was going back to the capital to retrieve the jade seal to present to the Liao state. Liang Wang believed him and let him leave Youzhou. Jing Shan Wang arrived at Xiong Zhou, transmitted the imperial edict, released Yang's father and son, led his troops to Youzhou to lift the siege, and rescued the emperor. This is the story of the eight tigers raiding Youzhou and the Yang family generals. If you want to know what happens next, please listen to the next episode." The storyteller stopped here, clapped the cloud board, and paused.

  The two young men sitting in front took out silver ingots from their bodies and each rewarded them with two taels of fragmented silver.

  The storyteller accepted with gratitude and said: "Thank you, young master, for your kindness. Welcome to come again next time."

  The two princes left the main hall and went outside. Yue Fei and others saw that the storytelling had come to an end, so they gave some tips to the storyteller and walked out too.