In a loft room in Xinlinxuan, Wang Yizheng explained to the slender lady what kind of wine and food she wanted. Shang Cheng didn't understand what "The Return of the Wild Goose" and "Twilight Bird Throwing into the Forest" meant, and he didn't bother to ask, so he just sat on the chair and turned his head to examine the few calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wooden wall. He quickly recognized that both words were the handwriting of acquaintances. One is the four main scripts "Meijian Liangfeng", and the other is Li Bai's "Xuanzhou Xie Guanlou Farewell School Book Shuyun" copied in Chinese letters. Whether it is a large or small character, the structure is very plump, and the strokes are also very rounded, all of them look chubby, and they are completely the same as Chang Xiu. He pursed his lips secretly. He has only been back in Beijing for more than half a month, and he has already seen the ink treasure of this Ministry of Industry squire many times in several places. Alas, I don't know how many fat characters Chang Wenshi have in the city.

Wang Yi had already ordered all the dishes, turned his head and asked him, "What kind of wine do you drink?" ”

Shang Cheng wanted to say "any kind of wine", but suddenly remembered the drinks with a very low alcohol content that he drank in Beijing the first two times, as well as the imperial tribute wine with a similar taste to sour vinegar, he temporarily changed his mouth and asked the slender lady: "Is there any Yanshan liquor?" ”

The slender lady lowered her head and replied softly: "Yes." There are three kinds of Yanshan Huo liquor, and two kinds of new liquor from the Ministry of Industry Xifang, which one do the guests want? ”

“…… Ministry of Industry. ”

Wang Yi interjected: "The two liquors of the Ministry of Industry are the same as one catty first. The dishes you just ordered, you cooked them carefully and carefully; Let's start with a few side dishes to accompany the wine. After a pause, he asked again, "The show lady of the inner garden, are you Liang Feng here today?" If she is here, I will ask you to bring a message and invite her to come and sit down for a while. ”

"Back to Yigong's words, Xiu Niangzi is not here. I heard that she has not returned to Beijing since she returned to Yanshan in April to get out of the music book. ”

"Oh." Wang Yi couldn't help but show a look of disappointment on his face, paused and asked, "Then, who is in Liang Feng today?" ”

"High-brand lady, the fifth lady of the fox family, the small finch fights ......" The slender lady reported five or six names in a row, Shang Cheng heard the clouds, mountains and fog, but Wang Yi couldn't help nodding, and finally said, "Just ask the high-brand lady and Huo Qu'er to come over." He said to Shang Cheng, "Our trip happened to be just in time." The high-brand lady's brute drum and the flower dance of the fire song are all skilled champion Jingshi, usually want to see once, at least half a month in advance to send a poster, can come or not, it is difficult to say...... "He saw that the slender lady lowered her head and did not move her steps, and understood that with his name of Yiguo Gong alone, it was impossible to invite the two leading people of the inner garden at one time, so he smiled and waved his hand to Shang Cheng, and said, "Please tell the slender lady that this is Uncle Ying." When Uncle Ying was still in the side, he admired the drum skills and dancing skills of the two ladies of Gao Huo, and he came to visit today. ”

Since ancient times, all kinds of tea houses have been well-informed places, and this Liangfeng wine shop, which has been open in Shangjing for decades, is no different. Soon after the opening of Liang Feng, he became famous for his elegance and chic, and the high-ranking officials and eunuchs came and went like a shuttle, and the hall was full of celebrities, so he knew about the changes in personnel in the court much earlier than the ordinary six scribes. As one of Liang Feng's stewards, even if the matter of Shang Cheng's knighthood has not yet been published in the palace newspaper, Xian Niangzi also heard that the imperial court has recently awarded a Shangzhu State to the county earl. She actually knew Shang Cheng's identity, but Wang Yi didn't know what to say, so she couldn't and didn't dare to claim it without permission. Now that Wang Yi broke Shang Chengcheng is Uncle Ying, she was not surprised, nodded yes, and her maid saluted the two of them, bowed her head and withdrew.

When the slender lady went over and closed the door, Shang Cheng asked Wang Yi: "Is the show girl you mentioned just now called Sang Xiu?" ”

"That's her." Wang Yi smiled and said, "It's the Sang Xiu who was rumored to have a private meeting with you in a post house in Yanzhou City in June." "The news had spread before he left Yanshan, so he had heard about it as well. But he was not faithful. He thought, with Shang Cheng's status, he said that he liked a woman in the workshop, and he just wanted to ask for a concubine with a few rooms and a dozen rooms, which was not a matter of words; Does he need to be so sneaky?

Shang Cheng grinned and said, "She's at my home in Yanzhou." ”

Wang Yi looked at him in astonishment. It was just yesterday that he happened to hear that Shang Cheng fell from a horse in Fangzhou and seemed to have something to do with Princess Nanyang, so he was not so surprised. After a long time, Shang Cheng really had something to do with that orchid! He wouldn't really have a private meeting with that show lady in some inn, would he? Uncle Ying likes a woman and has to be sneaky, if this is spread, I'm afraid that I won't laugh off people's big teeth?

Shang Cheng muttered a vulgar sentence and said hatefully: "It's all a bad thing stirred up by Guo Biao's bastard!" ”

"Guo Biao's troubles? What did he do? Wang Yi asked in surprise.

Shang Cheng said impatiently: "He's full!" He put Sang Xiuhe, oh, what's the name of the other one...... Oh, it seems to be called a real slave. Well, that's the name! He sent the two girls to my house quietly......" He blackened his face and explained the process in a few words. If you don't mention it, he will be full of anger. He Guo Biao is neither the director of the street office nor the chairman of the trade union, and he goes to meet his Dawan horse every day when he has nothing to do, why do he think about the business of the matchmaker? Especially thinking that Guo Biao was delayed in Yandong for five days for no reason, and then plunged into the encirclement set up by the king of Donglu Valley, so that now his life and death are unknown, and his whereabouts are unknown, and the anger in his heart is even more unbeatable, so he scolded nonsense in his mouth: "Speaking of which, Guo Biao's bastard is also a general of the fourth grade, but he can't say anything about his tattered skills, and he will make people sad when he mentions it." In fact, I also know that I can't count on him to send troops and herd horses, so he fights every day and doesn't do his job, and I don't want to pay attention to him. But he can't let me save some snacks? Other people's pockets are exposed, and he is still burrowing his head into it, who did he learn such a great ability? You say, apart from sending women to other people's homes while it's dark, what else would he order? I don't even know why Xiao Jian fell in love with him earlier. Gu Shi was also blind, and he promised him a daughter! ”

He could scold Guo Biao by name, but Wang Yi couldn't answer no matter what. In addition, Shang Cheng not only belittled Guo Biao as useless, but also smeared a handful of dust on Xiao Jian and Gu Shi's faces, so he didn't dare to intervene. He could not yet persuade; Shangzhu Guo commented on the military, and he was not qualified to interject from the fourth rank of General Mingwei, so he had to sit in the chair and listen with a solemn face. The slender lady and the two maids who were waiting to be sent in the attic room shrank quietly in the corner of the room by the door, as if there were no three of them.

Fortunately, at this time, the wine and food were delivered. The slender lady led the handmaid to bury her head in the dishes, and Wang Yi took the opportunity of Shang Cheng to stop talking and breathe, while pouring him wine, he asked: "I heard in the military department that everyone else thinks that Guo Biao has been martyred, but you assert that he may not have died in battle?" ”

"I don't say he's still alive. No one can say for sure. I'm just saying he 'fell'. ”

"Do you have it?"

Shang Cheng touched the lamp with Wang Yi, took a sip of wine, and said, "I can't say that there is evidence. When Guo Biao went to Yandong, in order to teach the king of Donglugu to believe that the main force of our army was in Yandong, he brought my admiral Daxu with him at that time. After he personally took Zheng Qiqi to break off the brigade when he was in ambush, Da Xu would inevitably be with him. Shang Cheng lowered his gaze, staring at the white wine in the blue-gray porcelain cup in his hand, and didn't speak again for a long time. The liquor is colorless and transparent, and under the reflection of the candle flame on the Tongque elevated shelf not far behind him, the wine seems to be sprinkled with dots of crystalline light, flickering and dimming, and it is fleeting. It was not only Guo Biao who fell on the grassland, but also Shishi, Zheng Qi, Su Zha, and Tian Xiaowu...... And many others whom he knew and who knew him. That's a full three thousand good men in Yanshan! All his friends, his brothers, his comrades-in-arms. He remembered the faces of many people and their voices. Guo Biao, a native of the plains, a general of Xuanwei, a Sima of Yanshan Wei and a fake commander; Li Er, a native of Chang'an, a halberd captain, Guo Biao's personal guard; Zhou Ze, a native of the plains, deputy lieutenant of Huaihua, and Wei lieutenant of Guo Biao; Mo Jie, a native of Nanzheng, a lieutenant of Huaihua, and a commander of the cavalry battalion; Wang Gouzi, Zhong Yonglang, Cavalry; Qi Ba, horseman; Young, riding bravely; Hu Bald, halberd lieutenant, cavalry; Wang Si, lieutenant of the halberd, cavalry......

After a while, he continued: "...... Almost three months have passed since the fighting, and the Turks have not come out to demonstrate with the heads of Daxu and Guo Biao, probably because they have not obtained these two things at all. So it's too early to assert Guo Biao's whereabouts, and it might be more appropriate to say that he fell or disappeared. ”

Wang Yi felt that what Shang Cheng said was very reasonable, and no one could assert that Guo Biao had been martyred without seeing Guo Biao's corpse. He casually wanted to ask something like "Doesn't the court know" or something like that, his mouth was open, and after thinking about it, it was better not to ask. Yan Gu and Zhu Xu coveted the seat of the Admiral of Yanshan, where could they still care whether Guo Biao was dead or alive, they must first grab the position. Yang Du let Yan Gu toss, and Gu Shi didn't speak for his son-in-law, it must be the idea that Guo Biao suddenly came back one day and then taught Yan Gu to look good...... He suddenly figured out something. Shang Cheng said in front of him that Xiao Jian was old, and many times he was a little powerless in many things, and he was still a little confused at that time. He now understands that what Shang Cheng is referring to is that Guo Biao's life and death are not in the same order, so he went to grab the chair. Xiao Jian couldn't even obey his good brother for many years, so he could only listen to another friend to snatch his confidant's admiral seat, what would he think of this in the eyes of others? It's easy for outsiders like Yang Du Gu Shi to say, but it's just a joke. But what about Xiao Jian's subordinates? Will they feel chilled, will they give birth to a desolate feeling of the death of a rabbit and a fox? It's that they can understand Xiao Jian's difficulties, but seeing the fate behind Guo Biao, I'm afraid that no one will inevitably have the idea of making other plans early......

He held the wine cup, neither drank nor spoke, and his eyebrows picked up a Sichuan character, and he looked fixedly at the plate of sweet garlic in front of him. All his thoughts had been mobilized.

Xiao Jian's stupid moves to destroy Gancheng repeatedly, and his two elders and uncles also saw it, but they definitely didn't think as far as he wanted at the moment. They only knew that Xiao Jian Yan Gu was bent on snatching the position of Yanshan Admiral, and then took the large group of promising generals in the Yanshan army in the palm of their hands, and they also understood that Yan Gu's plan might not be able to succeed, but they didn't see that while Yan Gu sent the order into Yanshan, there was a great problem inside the Xiao generals. Yes, he can be sure that there will be big problems within the Xiao family. Maybe it's not just some of Xiao Jian's old subordinates who want to find another court, and it's likely that Xiao Yan will also part ways because of this.

The more he thought about it, the more he forgot about drinking, until he heard the maid outside the door say that the two masters of the high-brand lady and Huo Qu'er were popular, and he came to his senses.

At the dinner table, there were two graceful singers with smiling faces, and Wang Yi could no longer talk to Shang Cheng about military affairs. He is a child of a family, and he has experienced this kind of glamorous scene I don't know how many times, and he and the two singers are old acquaintances, and they are not formal to each other, and the topic of the staggered conversation turned to the scenery of the Beijing Division. The business cost is an open-minded person, and just now he talked a little deep with Wang Yi, thinking about his comrades-in-arms and secondly, his ambition is difficult to pay, he is full of melancholy and tiredness, and he does not care about his own chronic illness, whether it is Wang Yi or the two singers, they are all refused. He is so bold, just in response to Li Bai's poem hanging on the wall of the attic, "Draw the knife and cut off the water, the water will flow more, and raise a glass to eliminate sorrow and sorrow." Rao is a large amount, more than a dozen lamps drank without stopping, but his eyebrows were also astringent, and he was quite drunk.

The wine is at a high place, the high-brand lady beats the drum lightly between her seats, and the fire song leaves her seat to dance. In a rush and slow drumming drum, the green shirts and blue jackets danced like snowflakes, and finally turned into a cyan light and shadow......

"Good!" Shang Cheng clapped his hands and cheered loudly, turning his head to look around to find pen and ink. Supposedly, the larger wine shops usually have ready-made rules and inkstones, which are specially prepared for the literati and scholars to be interested in the current trend of literary thought. But there were no such things in this attic. Seeing Shang Cheng's cheeks red and shaking, she seemed to be looking for something, and thought that he was going to make sour soup to sober up, so she hurriedly took one over.

After a few sips of sour soup, Shang Cheng's wine was almost half awake. As soon as the mind is clear, it is naturally impossible to ask for any pen and ink. Huo Qu'er's dance is so good, so good that he can hardly praise it in words, and his head is groggy when he is drunk, so he wants to learn Chang Wenshi and write a poem by Li Bai, which is to watch Gongsun Auntie's sword dance one by one to commemorate. Now...... Keep drinking, of course.

Drinking, of course, is to drink to the fullest. Not only do you have to have fun, but you also have to make others happy. But there were only four people at the dinner table, and he couldn't pour the wine of the two singers, so he had to find ways to make Wang Yi "happy". If you don't drink it, you can't do it, who will let his rank be higher than Wang Yi's, his position is higher than Wang Yi's, and he used to be Wang Yi's boss to drink three lamps one by one!

In fact, Wang Yi's alcohol consumption is also not bad. But it is up to whom it is compared. Tie the high-brand lady and the two singers of Huoquer together, and it is impossible to drink better than him; But no matter how he drank, he couldn't drink Shang Yanshan. The three liquors almost didn't stop drinking, and he felt a little dizzy in his head, the banquet in front of him, the carvings above his head, the green bricks under his feet, and the people around him all seemed to move slowly. He understood that he was about to overdose. But Shang Cheng had already poured the fourth lamp, and said a reason why he couldn't refuse to drink no matter what:

"The two of us are comrades-in-arms on the prairie. This friendship is deeper than everyone else's, right? ”

Wang Yi only nodded.

Shang Cheng touched the lamp with the lamp in Wang Yi's hand, and said heroically: "Come, let's do it!" One by one, for the sake of our comradeship! He first drank all the liquor in the cup, and seeing that Wang Yi was a little dazed with the cup, he pretended to be unhappy and said, "Hurry up and drink!" This is the liquor of friendship, what are you holding in your hands? Don't drink it, be careful I carry it to your ear! ”

Wang Yi smiled bitterly, and was about to grit his teeth and drink this wine, when he heard a maid outside the door whisper:

"Say to the Duke of Yiguo: The son of the Su family and the son of the Hou family, please see you outside the door."

Before he finished speaking, there seemed to be two shouts of reprimand and cheer outside, and then the maid said:

"Sue the general: Su Po, the captain of the Huaihua Cavalry Army of the Liyuan Battalion, and Hou Ding, the deputy lieutenant of the Huaihua Army of the mighty army of the Liyuan Battalion, please see the general."