Liang Zheng naturally didn't know that it was his wife Shen Wanyue who had not passed through the door in the carriage, while packing up the cargo boxes at home, while protecting Shen Wanyue's master and servant, looking for a populated place and asking for the way, and learned that thirty miles further north would go to the official road, so he went north along Surabaya and Mianchi.

After walking for about two hours, looking up at the sky, and seeing Jin Wuxi falling, Liang Zheng took his horse and walked to the side of the car, saying:

"It seems that I won't be able to get to Henan Mansion today. Now it's getting late, and we've been running all day, and the people are tired, and the horses are tired. It's time to find a place to stay. ”

Xiangyun was sitting on the board of the car to catch the car, and said with a smile: "It's this Li'er, I see that there is a town not far ahead, let's go to the town and rest." ”

Liang Zheng followed her gaze, and sure enough, a large town was not far away, and it was red and gloomy by the afterglow of the setting sun. Just look close, touch the town is already the beginning of the unitary, the shops are on the door panel, only a few people at the entrance of the alley face paralysis, snacks and a few clusters of sheep horn wind lamps, everyone inquired all the way, this is in the southwest corner to find a paint peeling, the eaves corner of the grass inn, the door hangs a "dead wind" lamp, the big car door also wrote the word "Yuelai".

At that moment, everyone was undressing at the door, and a middle-aged man of forty-five or sixteen years old greeted him early, and he kept saying: "Yo, the guest officer is here today, and the small shop is really full of brilliance." ”

When Liang Zheng looked up, he saw that this person was wearing an indigo cloth robe, covered with a black bamboo cloth gown, and the snow-white cuffs were slightly pulled up, looking very clean and neat. Knowing that it was the shopkeeper in the store, he smiled and said:

"The shopkeeper, the whole two upper rooms, be clean."

As he spoke, he was about to step into the store, but he was pulled back.

"I'm sorry, sir." The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Next month is the Spring Festival, there are too many moves to enter Beijing to take the exam, and there is only one room left in the store." ”

This time Liang Zheng is in a difficult situation: there are female dependents in the team, do you have to go to the Chase shop with the generals?

While speaking, Shen Wanyue also helped Xiangyun get out of the car.

"Why don't you change stores?" She said.

"Grandma doesn't know." The shopkeeper replied, "There is only one inn for us in this radius of ten miles, if you don't believe it, just go to the town and ask." ”

After saying this, Shen Wanyue ran out of ideas. Liang Zheng saw that it was not a solution, so he had to say: "Shopkeeper, can you be accommodating?" We'll leave for one night and pay more for the room. ”

The shopkeeper still kept bowing, and only said, "It's not that the little ones refuse to be accommodating." There will really be no room for this, and the people living upstairs are all famous and famous masters...... Isn't it true that we open the door to do business, and we don't make money if we have it......" chattered and couldn't stop talking.

Liang Zheng had to say more, but Xu Hu, who was standing on the side, was already impatient: "Young master, don't worry, it's the first time you've gone far away, and you don't know the twists and turns here, wait for me to ask him." ”

As he spoke, his face sank, and he shouted at the shopkeeper: "Don't bluff me, how can such a big inn not be able to vacate a room?" ”

As he spoke, he ignored the shopkeeper's obstruction, and went straight into the curtain, only to see more than a dozen people sitting around the table in the lobby, and a middle-aged man with a handsome face. Xu Hu didn't pay much attention to it, and went into the backyard again, and after a while, he came back with a curtain, pointed to the store and said angrily:

"No wonder people say that the car and boat shop should be killed if they are not guilty. Isn't there a big room in the back? It's remote and clean, you bastard dare to deceive people! ”

The shopkeeper hurriedly said: "Amitabha...... We are a century-old store, how dare we lie to you? It was the perennial package of the Chu Mansion Master Chu, and the small one couldn't be the master, if the master really wanted to live, why not discuss it with him himself? This will be Master Chu in the lobby. ”

As he spoke, he introduced Liang Zheng and the others into the store, pointed to the middle-aged man writing in the lobby from a distance, and whispered: "That's Chu Tianxing Master Chu." ”

Liang Zheng saw that the hall was silent, and everyone was like a mud bodhisattva, watching Chu Tianxing write intently, he couldn't help but feel a little strange, and pulled the shopkeeper and asked in a low voice, "What are they doing?" ”

"Hui Ye's words," the shopkeeper said, "These people are all going to Beijing to take the exam, and they are going to open the poetry altar." ”

"Bang Lian?" Liang Zheng was slightly stunned.

Is there anyone who dies?

"Because there was a strange thing in Fengjiazhuang," said the shopkeeper, "a person who went to Beijing to take the exam, when he passed by to take shelter from the rain, somehow made a private agreement with the young lady of the Feng family, who was called a light dancer, for life." ”

"Oh, how do you know so well?" Shen Wanyue suddenly asked with some confusion.

"Guest officer, give me a thousand dares, I don't dare to fool you." The shopkeeper hurriedly explained, "I won't tell you anything, this Fengjiazhuang is five miles on the outskirts of the town. Besides, this matter is in a uproar, and no one in the town knows about it. ”

"Hmm." Liang Zheng nodded: "And then?" ”

"Originally, the two agreed to come back to marry when they became famous," the shopkeeper said, "Who knew that when he returned to his hometown, the Feng family lost because of the lawsuit, and Feng Qingwu was also sold to the pear orchard." The man was obsessed with her and wanted to redeem her, but the young lady felt that she had defiled her body, so she hanged herself. No, after this incident broke out, these old men opened a poetry arena and fought poems, saying that they wanted to save this Miss Feng. ”

As soon as the words fell, they only heard the applause of the people who could sit down, and everyone turned their heads, it turned out that Chu Tianxing had finished writing, and was gently blowing on the ink that had not dried. When Liang Zheng looked up, a few vigorous and powerful characters on the plain white rice paper were eye-catching, and they were clearly written:

The good son and the beautiful woman are in pairs, and they sigh in vain.

In ancient times, there was a warbler and a warbler spectrum in the west chamber, and now there is a light dance and sad festival workshop.

Chu Tianxing stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Where is it, it's just graffiti, but it makes you laugh." ”

A fat man in the banquet said: "Shi Weng's words are wrong, I think that the phoenix dance is just a courtesan, and it is not in vain to be able to win the husband this life." ”

Another said, "That's a good point." What's more, Brother Tai's poem, just one sentence "In ancient times, there was a warbler and a warbler in the West Chamber, and now there is a light dance and a sad festival", it has exhausted many girls who complain about male idiots and romantic debts. ”

Saying that everyone praised each other, Chu Tianxing was complacent, but at this moment, a sneer broke out in the crowd:

"Brother Chu's words are wrong, this phoenix dance is just a fame and reputation fisherman, how can he be worthy of the chaste archway?"

Liang Zheng followed the sound and saw a thin old man with a white beard sitting in the east corner of the lobby, but his face was as black as bronze.

"If she is a martyr, she should not have selfishness with others. Even if this section is revealed, since she wants to keep her chastity, why didn't she kill herself when she was sold to the pear orchard? Do you have to wait until your lover returns to her hometown before she dies? During this period, he entertained people with sex, is he worthy of his lover? What is this not for the sake of inviting names? I have a poem for her. ”

As he spoke, he immediately chanted loudly:

The phoenix dances lightly in the sky, and the flowers are clustered and the moon is white.

If you want to ask what is right in the sky, prosperity is fleeting.

Seek the appearance of a beloved, and only endure empty sorrow and think to the shadow.

Huangluan Nirvana looked back, and his fate was impermanent.

As soon as these words came out, the hall was suddenly silent.

This poem seems to praise the phoenix dancing lightly, but "the phoenix wants to seek the phoenix, and it is in vain...... All of you here are students, how can you not hear the eight words that hide the head and tail?

Since Zhu Xi, the concept of three obedience and four virtues has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, not to mention men, even women themselves are taken as heavenly principles. As soon as the old man came, he stood on the commanding heights of morality, first of all, he was impeccable in the word, and it was difficult to hide the poem, he not only hid the head, but also hid the tail, and it was more than a step higher than the literary color.

So this time, even Chu Tianxing couldn't help but look solemn, and muttered in his mouth: "It's amazing, how can this break the ......?" He was silent for a moment.

Liang Zheng wanted to wait for them to stop before going up to talk, but who knew that the fight between several people was endless, so he had to step forward and say, "Brother Chu, there is something to ask for ...... below."

Before he finished speaking, Chu Tianxing turned his head unhappily and looked Liang Zheng up and down: "You are also a lifter who entered Beijing to take the exam?" ”

"It's not." Liang Zheng said, "I want to borrow the room in Brother Chu's backyard for a night, and it's easy to talk about the money......

"Can't we talk about these mundane things later?" Chu Tianxing interrupted impatiently, "Didn't you see that I'm busy fighting Wen here?" You look like you're also a scholar, why don't you understand the rules so much. ”

“…… I'm sorry. Liang Zheng made a joke, "But when I went out to do goods with my sister, I passed by here, and I didn't want the store to say ......."

It's just that before he finished speaking, Chu Tianxing's face had already changed:

"Your interruption has completely messed up my original train of thought. I can tell you, if you lose this time, it's all on you! ”

As he spoke, he turned his head and thought to himself, not even leaving the corner of his eye, as if all he was around was a speck of air.

Obviously, he has regarded Liang Zheng as a passing merchant.

Among the four major social classes in the Ming Dynasty, the status of the merchants was the lowest, and although they were rich, they were completely dismissive in the eyes of the scholars at the top of society.

This is also the reason why so many people had to read books in ancient times - after reading, even if they were just a talent, they could be regarded as having fame and could be among the ranks of scholars, not only could they become "stars" in the eyes of ordinary people, but even if they were not officials, they also had all kinds of privileges such as wearing silk shirts, not kneeling when seeing officials, and traveling with swords.

The so-called "everything is inferior, but only reading is high" is what it means.

Chu Tianxing originally looked at Liang Zheng's dress and thought he was a scholar, but he was still a little polite when he spoke, but at this moment, he heard that he and the "sister" were going to "do goods", so there was no doubt that he was a businessman, and his heart suddenly became disdainful, and he didn't even bother to say anything more to him.

However, Liang Zheng didn't bother to argue with him.

Because of what the other party said, he suddenly thought of an excellent idea......