The courtyard of the Drunken Spring Pavilion is quite large, but there are surprisingly few people.

As soon as you enter the gate, the first thing that catches your eye is the two-storey main building, the first floor is used for cabaret performances, and the second floor is for the embroidery building, which is specially designed for those courtesans and of course for the convenience of staying overnight.

On the side of the main building facing the gate, there are red lanterns of all sizes, which set off the color of the surrounding clouds, which makes people can't help but reverie.

Lu Xiaoxian did not take out the portrait directly as in the past, but entered the lobby of the Drunken Spring Pavilion with his hands in his hands.

As soon as you enter the door, you will be transported to another world, noisy and lively, and the lights are brilliant, in stark contrast to the cold silence of the front yard.

The hall was already bustling with people, all kinds of people, who were busy and having fun, and they came here for the joy of this moment.

Looking around, there was not even an empty table in the huge hall, except for a square table in the corner, where only one person sat at the side, and Lu Xiaoxian walked towards it without thinking about it.

There was a young man sitting at the table, Lu Xiaoxian walked over, and was about to speak with a smile, but he was suddenly stunned.

It turned out that the young man in front of him was none other than Jiwen.

"Ji Zhukuai, why are you, how did you get here?" Lu Xiaoxian looked surprised.

When Ji Wen saw Lu Xiaoxian, he smiled and said, "Master Lu, why can't I come here when you ask this?" Hurry up and sit down! ”

Lu Xiaoxian and Lu Xiaoyi sat down, only to see a small plate of spiced kidney beans, a small wine jug and a delicate small wine glass on the table in front of Ji Wen. There is also a red silk folding fan, I don't know what it is for.

Ji Wen picked up a kidney bean with two fingers, threw it into his mouth, and then picked up the small wine glass and took a sip gently, and the wine was not swallowed, but just held in his mouth, which seemed to have a very aftertaste. It took a while to swallow the wine.

After swallowing the wine, Ji Wen said: "Master Lu, there is nothing to entertain you, you can make do with it!" ”

Lu Xiaoxian coughed lightly, pointed to the kidney beans and wine jug and asked, "Ji Catch, I don't know ...... this wine and food."

Without waiting for Lu Xiaoxian to finish speaking, Ji Wen cut off without looking at him and said, "There are still a few kidney beans left, but the wine is gone, I drank the last glass just now, I'm really embarrassed!" ”

Lu Xiaoxian suddenly couldn't cry or laugh, he knew that Ji Wen would be wrong.

I have been to many Qinglou these days, and I have inquired about the whereabouts of Rouge, and it is the first time that I have sat in the hall as quietly as I did today. wanted to order some wine and food and close to the Jiwen set, but he misunderstood.

"Ji Zhukuai, I want to invite you to drink together, but I don't know how to order these drinks and dishes, can you tell me one or two?"

After listening to Lu Xiaoxian's words, Ji Wen looked the two up and down, "Lu Gongzi, I heard that you are working in the gambling house, didn't you have made a fortune recently, otherwise how could you come to such a place to order wine and food?" ”

"Oh, I'm working in the Dragon Dart Game now!" After Lu Xiaoxian finished the introduction, he asked again: "Ji Yu, why can't you get to this point of wine and food?" ”

Ji Wen smiled: "If I guessed correctly, this is the first time you have come to the Drunken Spring Pavilion!" ”

"It's the first time!" Lu Xiaoxian honestly admitted.

"As far as I know, the highest salary of the executioner of the Long's Dart Bureau is twenty taels of silver a month!"

"Brother Tai is right!" Lu Xiaoxian didn't expect Ji Wen to know so much about the market of the dart game.

"Do you know how much they're worth?" Givin asked, pointing to the food on the table.

"I don't know!" Lu Xiaoxian shook his head and said.

"A plate of kidney beans is one tael of silver, and a small pot of ordinary pine wine is five taels of silver. The two of you have a month's salary combined, and you can't buy a few plates of kidney beans and a few pots of wine, so why bother to slap a swollen face and become fat? ”

When Lu Xiaoyi heard this, his eyes couldn't help but widen: "Oh my God, it's so expensive, what's the difference between this and robbery?" ”

A plate of kidney beans and a small pot of pine Ling wine is worth five or six dollars of silver in the wine shop, but who knows that it has risen tenfold here, how can it not be surprising.

"Of course there's a difference!" Ji Wen pouted and said, "Robbery is against the king's law, but this is legal, and they are all sent to the door voluntarily to pay for it!" ”

Lu Xiaoyi understood, no wonder they went to the Qinglou to inquire about the news of Rouge before, and they would be met with so many blank eyes. Qinglou is a place to spend a lot of money, and it is strange not to pay for it and make people troubled, so it is strange not to be looked at.

Lu Xiaoxian smiled and said sincerely: "It can be regarded as fate to meet Ji Zhu here quickly, and it is customary to talk about money." Just tell me how to order, and I'll ask Yoshiyu to drink this wine! ”

Ji Wen didn't expect Lu Xiaoxian to say such a thing, he nodded silently, picked up a red silk folding fan on the table, raised it above his head and shook it a few times, and soon a man who looked like a guy ran over......

A small plate of wild duck breast, a small plate of braised beef, a small plate of white-cut mutton and a small plate of old vinegared peanuts cost 30 taels of silver, and a jar of 20-year-old "champion red" cost 120 taels of silver.

Although Lu Xiaoxian knew that the wine and food in Qinglou were more expensive than those in the wine shop, he didn't expect it to be so outrageously expensive. Fortunately, he can think about it, and if he comes, he will be safe, and there is nothing to do nearby, so it's good to pass the time casually.

Lu Xiaoxian didn't rush to take out the portrait of Rouge, and chatted with Ji Wen with great interest while drinking and eating.

"Master Lu, I broke the bill today, I remember your love!" At this time, Gwen changed his large glass, and no longer tasted the wine in his mouth as he had just done, but drank it all in one go.

Lu Xiaoxian smiled slightly, and changed his title: "Brother Ji is polite, it is my blessing to be able to recognize Brother Ji." ”

As he spoke, he saw a man dressed as a forty-year-old scholar appear in front of the railing on the second floor and coughed lightly, and somehow, the hall fell silent.

He waved at the people in the hall and said aloud: "Thank you for coming, the girls are coming downstairs soon, please wait!" ”

Through the antique carved hollow window on the second floor, the pink light yarn sways with the wind, and the bursts of rich fragrance come to the face between the flying bursts, after the light yarn, several wonderful shadows can be seen hazy, the ring fat swallow is thin, the posture is different, the style is thousands, like a colorful butterfly dancing, under the closer look, all willow eyebrows are charming, the spring is hidden under the eyes, the posture is exquisite, the smile is smiling, and the heart is hooked.

Ji Wen was very familiar with the Drunken Spring Pavilion, and took the initiative to introduce Lu Xiaoxian: "This person's name is Cheng Ke, and he is the owner of the Drunken Spring Pavilion, I don't know where he came from. It is said that he and Princess An Le and Princess Taiping can talk, anyway, he is a master with a backstage, otherwise he would not have made Zuichun Pavilion so prosperous! ”

"It seems that Brother Ji is a frequent visitor to the Drunken Spring Pavilion?" Lu Xiaoxian asked with a smile.

Giwin's eyes flickered: "Me! It's a regular customer, but it's not a regular customer! ”

"What do you mean by that?" Lu Xiaoxian asked curiously.

"Qinglou is a place where flowers gather, they all make up and greet the door, compete for beauty and laughter, sing and twilight, and shake their hearts, which naturally attracts countless prodigal sons like me who chase bees and butterflies, so I am a frequent visitor."

"What do you mean by not being a regular?"

"Lu Gongzi doesn't know that not everyone who comes to the Qinglou can go upstairs and enter the room and enjoy the smiles and preferential treatment of the beauties!"

"Why is that?" Lu Xiaoxian became more and more strange.

"Everything you do in the Qinglou requires a fee, and it can even be said that there is no boundary. For example, if you want to invite a courtesan to eat and drink, you must first pay the bustard mother a certain amount of silver, and in order to create an environment where you can eat and drink with beautiful women, you also have to spend a lot of money on good food and wine. It costs money to offer incense and flowers or sing a song before the feast, and those who run errands in front of you must also be rewarded. The things that need to be purchased in the Qinglou cannot be measured according to the market price outside, and only those who have thousands of dollars and a lot of silver can come in and be happy. ”

Speaking of this, Ji Wen's face showed a hint of self-deprecation: "The prodigal son of Dengtu who does not have enough money cannot live happily here." I'm just a fast catcher, and I only have a few taels of silver a month, so I'm not a regular customer, at best I'm just a spectator! ”

At this time, the courtesans had already begun to go downstairs, and the sound in the hall was quieter, but it was more mocking, and the chaos was like ants and flies, and the noise was like finches and bees, and everyone took advantage of the interval to take a breath, drink tea, eat wine, and wait for the carnival to begin.

Ji Wen pointed to the woman who started and said to Lu Xiaoxian: "Her name is Qiu Lian, she is the Oiran of the Drunken Spring Pavilion, not only is she beautiful and moving, but also full of poetry and books, especially good at singing and dancing, and she leads Qunfang to sit in the hall every night. This Qiu Liansha is strange, she sings, dances, drinks, laughs, but she doesn't sleep, those children of the scholar family, rich businessmen and high-rollers spend a lot of money, she doesn't even look at it. ”

Lu Xiaoxian looked at it, Qiu Lian was only seventeen or eighteen years old, of medium stature, thin and light, smiling like a flower, and making the guests bee collect honey.

"Three brothers, can you let me sit here!" An abrupt voice came.

Lu Xiaoxian and Ji Wen followed the sound and saw a middle-aged man standing in front of them. I saw that he was tall, with a slender face, a high nose bridge, big eyes, a long beard, and an elegant temperament. Although he spoke an authentic Chang'an accent, he looked obviously an outsider.

There are not many people from outside the territory of Chang'an, and you can see them everywhere on the streets, including Turks, Uighurs, Tocharians, Sogdians, Persians, Great Cannibals, Tianzhu people, Silla people, etc., and it is not a new thing to see people from outside the territory in Zuichun Pavilion.

At this time, the hall was already full, but there was an empty seat at their table, if it weren't for his helplessness, he would probably not have come here.

"You may be seated!" Lu Xiaoxian smiled slightly, "If you can meet here today, we are all friends!" ”

The man thanked him, said nothing, and sat down.

Lu Xiaoxian asked the guy to bring a wine glass, filled the wine for the man, raised his glass and said: "Meeting is fate, my name is Lu Xiaoxian, a glass of respect for my brother!" ”

"Thank you Master Lu, my name is Ashina Xian!" The man nodded, and drank it down.

"Ashina Xian!" Ji Wen's heart moved when he heard this name, and he asked suspiciously, "Brother Tai's surname is Ashina, could it be that he is from the Turkic Khan line?" ”