He leaned over, listened carefully, nodded his head as he listened, and then hurried away.

……

Cuiwei Palace, also bathed in a rain curtain, the Yunxia Hall is heavy, the layers of eaves splash a piece of rain and mist, the four corners of the drainage pipe tile water like a column, and the cyan tile ridge is full of bright water, in the gray sky outlines the tall outline of the building.

The emperor stood on the top floor of the Cuiwei Palace, holding on to the white jade railing and looking at the Yunxia Hall opposite.

He is the second son of Emperor Shenyao, born in the old first of Wugong County, which is now Qingshan Palace. It is located on Taiyi Mountain, backed by Taiyi Mountain, north of Weishui, and is also a landscape-shaped place.

When the emperor was four years old, a scholar paid homage to Gaozu. said to Gao Zu: "Your Royal Highness has the posture of a dragon and a phoenix, and the watch of the sky, and when you grow up, you will be able to help the world and the people." Gaozu felt his words, so he adopted his words and named his second son with "Shimin".

It's just that no matter how much strength a person has, even if he sits on the four seas and throws a whip to cut off the stream, he can't add a point of longevity to his parents.

He hadn't gone back to Qingshan Palace for a long time to see it, because he couldn't stand the lingering sadness and fear.

In a blink of an eye, the events of childhood are still vivid, and I have reached an age where my physical strength cannot keep up with my thoughts, I have to control my desires, and I can no longer be casual and frivolous. And it all seemed like an overnight change.

He guessed that Qingshan Palace, which could not be seen at this time, must also be bathed in this heavy rain.

Of course, it also includes the Chongye Palace in Weinan, the Taiping Palace in Lantian and the Ganquan Palace, all of which were built by the former Sui Dynasty, and were once heavily guarded royal places, and mortals were not allowed to trespass for life.

But at this time, I am afraid that they have long been ruined and overgrown with weeds, and ordinary villagers have cleared the wasteland to herd donkeys and regard it as nothing. In the long river of time, you sang and I appeared, and the glorious building was drenched in the same rain.

As a strong man, the emperor can only pray that his own efforts can delay the aging as much as possible. In the heavy rain of Cuiwei Palace, he had a new understanding: the softest water in the world has the power to tolerate and overturn.

The Emperor couldn't help but think of his beloved wife, Changsun, who was like the gentlest water, and although she had been dead for so long, she still stubbornly occupied the most cherished place in his heart.

He remembered his master's words and resisted worry.

So a pride surged in his chest, and by borrowing this situation, a couplet came out:

"But the scenery of tens of thousands, the screen is worried about the rock corridor. Yuan Ying shifts its twilight, and the day darkens its oblique light. The turquoise steps are foggy, and the jasper is frosty. Yanfu Road is in Ah Ge, and Qizhong Gate is in Jianzhang...... Look at the arch of the carving Xuan, and watch the sun of the sill. The pillar leads to laurel and is round and empty, and Fenshu is solid and down...... The smoke building is far away and the green is ...... Ashamed...... Shameful to live in...... Youyi?"

It's just the last two sentences, as if it doesn't always feel so smooth.

But he searched his stomach and couldn't think of anything better, and he couldn't help but feel unhappy again - when he was old, he couldn't even keep up with his thoughts!

The emperor threw away the entanglement of words and looked down condescendingly through the rain curtain. He saw that under the door of Cuiwei Palace and the Prince's Palace, there was a young woman hiding, and he couldn't see her head and face clearly.

Because she had a large banana leaf torn off from the flower garden on her head, she looked a little anxious, and she couldn't decide whether to rush into the rain or not.

The emperor thought that she must have wanted to return to Cuiwei Palace from the prince's palace, and from her dress, the emperor guessed that she was Wu Meiniang, and the plain silk light skirt had been soaked by the rain and wrapped around her calves.

A soft affection immediately filled the emperor's heart, ah, young is good, you can use only a leaf to block the rain, and you don't have to care about your clothes being wet by the rain.

Even the rain favors young people so much!

He instructed the emperor's attendants, "Go quickly, tell her that she doesn't have to go back to Cuiwei Palace, don't get sick when the rain is so heavy, let her stay in Anxi Palace." ”

The chamberlain was afraid that during this time, the woman below would rush into the rain and thus disappoint His Majesty's kindness. Therefore, he didn't care about holding an umbrella, and ran directly down from the third floor and ran into the rain to convey His Majesty's will.

The emperor looked down from afar, and saw the chamberlain standing under the eaves of the door and saying something to her, and turned around and gestured in the direction of the Cuiwei Palace.

Later, the emperor saw that the wide turquoise plantain was taken off her head, and Wu Meiniang was also looking this way, but the emperor couldn't see her face clearly.

Then, she threw the banana leaf on the ground, knelt on the banana leaf, kowtowed in the direction of the Cuiwei Temple, and then got up and ran back lightly.

The Emperor returned to the palace with satisfaction, and his usual nap was delayed by the rain.

He came back and lay down, but a scene in the rain made him unable to sleep, thinking about this Wu Meiniang.

Wu Meiniang is the second daughter of the Tang Dynasty's founding hero, Wu Shi Tong, and her mother Yang was born in the royal family of the Sui Dynasty.

The samurai were engaged in the timber trade and had a well-off family. In the last years of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, when Emperor Gaozu served in Hedong and Taiyuan, he became acquainted with the martial arts family many times.

After Taiyuan raised troops, the samurai had funded a large amount of money, food and clothing, so after the founding of the country, the warrior Tong as a "Yuan Cong meritorious hero", the official to the Ministry of Industry, the governor of Jingzhou, the title of the Duke of the country.

But Wu Shi Tong died in the ninth year of Zhenguan, when Wu Meiniang was only twelve years old. She lived with her mother, Yang, at her cousin's house. Her cousins Wu Weiliang, Wu Huaiyun and Wu Yuanshuang fell into the trap for the mother and daughter and were rude to their mother Yang.

Everyone in the circle has heard about it.

So, the emperor has always been suspicious, Wu Meiniang is not a virgin at such a young age, will it be related to her experience? If that's the case, she's too unlucky!

Although she is beautiful, the emperor has long regarded her as boring because of this. But occasionally I feel so neglected by her, and I can't stand the samurai.

For a moment, the emperor had a flash of inspiration: Therefore, the crown princess Su Yinshang could escape the sea of suffering, so why couldn't she? It's not impossible to operate this matter, just let Wu Meiniang go out of the palace and sneak in the ubiquitous Taoist halls in Chang'an for two or three years, and then ......

But he felt that it was not appropriate, and the resistance must come from Liu Yuru.

As long as this Mrs. Yaoguo's acetate strength starts, it is no less than Mrs. Fang's. He muttered, "Master Wu...... That's not how it works...... You'll have to let me think long-term, and you'll have to be a champion at the very least, right? Then he fell asleep.

……

In the eastern half of Chang'an, there is a place where Yao Congli County of Wannian County said that "beautiful women are like dreams and cultivate temperament".

This square area is called "Pingkang Fang", north of Chongren Fang, east is Dongshi, west is separated by a street is Wuben Fang, south of Xuanyang Fang is the location of Wannian County Ya.

Needless to say, what this Pingkangfang is, just look at its surroundings, you can guess seven or eight points.

Chongrenfang is a place where all kinds of musical instrument workshops gather, and the sound of silk, bamboo, and orchestra fills the ears all day long; The East City is the south and the north, and there are three religions and nine streams; And Wubenfang is the palace area of the princes and grandchildren.

Entering from the north gate of Pingkangfang, a large area of houses on the east side of the road is called "Sanqu", which is the place where all kinds of geisha and prostitutes live in the city.

There are high walls around Pingkangfang, and there is only one gate in and out on the north side, and the three songs are divided into "South Song", "Middle Song", and "North Song".

Those outstanding geisha, Oiran and the like are all in the innermost Nanqu, and Nanqu is the most closed. Most of the higher-grade prostitutes gathered in Zhongqu, while most of the despicable prostitutes lived under the root of the north wall of Pingkangfang.

The people of Beiqu are often laughed at by the people of Nanqu or Zhongqu in a disdainful tone, "The weather is not good, and those vendors from the East Market are covered in muddy water, I'm afraid their mattresses will be rubbed on the mud!" Come together, the mud is all on your waist! ”

Most of the people who are qualified to patronize Nanqu are those who are new to the pavilion and those who are proud of the spring breeze. There is a cross street in front of the door, the houses on the street side are spacious and bright, planting flowers and plants before and after, or there are pond rockeries, small hall bamboo curtains, hanging hammocks with curtains under the shade, the environment is elegant and pleasant.

Most of the geisha in Nanqu are beautiful, understand silk and bamboo, poetry, and can do things, and they are also quite proficient in things in the officialdom. Often, every geisha is pointed to by someone, and ordinary people dare not provoke it.

They usually have two or three servants to serve, buy things, send them to welcome familiar people, and there are also people who are responsible for recording the death days of the first emperor, first queen, important concubines and princes for them with color plates, so as not to make taboos by the distinguished guests who come for entertainment.

There is something in common in the three songs, that is, all prostitutes have "false mothers", and false mothers are actually prostitutes of the past, and they change their careers when they are old and decrepit. There are three types of prostitutes:

The first is the false mother and the real proprietor behind her, who have been selected from among the girls who have been beggars since childhood.

Second, there are poor women in remote villages, who are forced to fish and hunt by unscrupulous people for their livelihood.

Third, there are also some originally good family women, who were deceived by them in the name of marrying women with rich dowries. Most of these people are greedy for heavy makeup, and they can't extricate themselves from it.

When these people came in, they were taught at first to sing and phrase, and if they were not easy to learn, they were whipped and waited. As soon as they can pick up customers, they pretend to be the surnames of their fake mothers, and they call each other's eldest sister and second sister, just like a family.

Most of these women were under the age of thirty, and some of them were appointed by the high-ranking officials of the various official residences. Usually the discipline is very strict, and they are not allowed to enter and leave Pingkangfang casually.

Only on the third and eighth days of each month, they can go to the Baotang Temple on South Street in groups to listen to the lectures of the monks.

Therefore, on the third and eighth days of each month, there are a lot of scholars in Baotang Temple, like a carp crossing the river, shoulder to shoulder.

Zhongqu is a place frequented by ordinary middle- and lower-level officials, lifters, and wealthy businessmen.

Pingkangfang is the only private prostitute settlement area in Chang'an City.

Unlike the court prostitutes, most of them came from the wives and concubines of the guilty ministers, or the enemy women who had been plundered after the Great War. The prostitutes of Yichun Courtyard are called "insiders", and the prostitutes of Yunshaoyuan are called palace people.

The palace prostitutes only served the emperor and the imperial family, while the official prostitutes were occupied by officials at all levels and had the obligation to dedicate themselves to military and political officials at all levels.

The best of them are often monopolized by the first and second leaders of the various yamen, and some officials will be jealous of a famous prostitute.

Therefore, some ministers are reluctant to go to the Yichun official court for recreation out of their own reputation and the safety of their careers. After all, offending your boss and colleagues because of a prostitute is greatly worthless.

There was a heavy rain at noon on this day, and the private prostitutes of Nanqu and Zhongqu made fun of the people in Beiqu again, saying that when the sky was clear, the people in Beiqu might be beaten with bedding again, making the dust and wolf smoke.

As he spoke, the sky was clear, and two young and handsome offspring came in from the north gate of Pingkangfang.

One of them was leading a white horse, the other was leading a jujube red horse, the clothes on their bodies had just been soaked by the heavy rain, and the hats on their heads were also wet, looking extremely embarrassed.

They didn't come here for fun, but planned to come over, get a clean set of clothes from a family to change into, and then go back to Yongning Fang. They say it's okay to spend a small couple of dollars on this.

A few of the low-class prostitutes in Beiqu leaned against the door and looked at them with a look of yearning in their eyes, but then an experienced "false mother" came forward and said that Beiqu did not have the clothes they wanted, and asked them to go to Zhongqu to have a look.

The two led their horses inside, but in Zhongqu, there was also a "false mother" who stopped them, saying, "Two sons, with your identity, you should only have suitable clothes to change in Nanqu." ”

These two people are Cui Yan and Gao Yao.

The weather this morning was refreshing, and Gao Yao's riding skills were progressing well, and the two of them galloped to the Longshou Canal outside the Yanxing Gate and more than 50 miles away in the eastern suburbs before noon, where they were happy and forgot to return.

It wasn't until the sky was dark and the bean-sized raindrops fell on their bodies that the two remembered that they didn't bring rain gear when they came out, and hurriedly got on their horses and rushed to the city. When they entered the Chunming Gate, the rain stopped, but they were drenched if they didn't fall at all.

They didn't know that at this time, Gao Bai had already led people to search for the western half of the city, and Fan Ying and Siqing were also on their way to Meridian Valley.

Gao Yao shouted "bad luck" and discussed with Cui Yan, "Fifth sister-in-law, look at our appearance of a soup chicken, our clothes are all attached to our bodies, how can we have the face to ride a horse on the street?" Wouldn't it be laughed at by the people in the house when it was passed out, then it would never be able to turn over again! ”

Cui Yan said, "What should I do then?" I didn't bring a replacement, and I didn't have enough money to buy two sets now. ”

Gao Yao said, "Isn't it Dongshi in front, as long as we are willing to spend a little money, what clothes can't be changed?" ”

But in the East Market, the first man they asked about was a man in his forties, and when he saw their bumpy figures under the wet clothes, he made a prank, pointed to them and said, "Where are the clothes here worthy of you two, why don't you go to Pingkangfang in front and ask?" ”

How would they know what kind of place Pingkang Fang is!

It didn't look too far away, and there were quite a few men riding or chariots, or going there in groups, and the outfits were really not as sloppy as Higashi.

So, the two sisters turned around and came to Pingkangfang. [.]