Although there are several lively places outside Chongwen Gate, they are all north of Ciqikou and west of Garlic City. The flower market is a place where wigs, jewelry, velvet flowers, and wax fruits have been manufactured and sold since the Ming Dynasty. Dongxiao Market specializes in daily necessities and local products. This area is full of handicrafts, small traders, sedan chairs, and footsteps, and there are very few rich merchants and famous red prostitutes in the area west of Qianmen Street. Therefore, the houses are all broken brick walls, covered with gray roofs, low and black, and cramped. Although there is the roughness of the outer city, it is not as open as the suburbs. From the pole city to the east to the south, several temples are connected, because they can't rely on fireworks to give alms, they specialize in making a living by stopping people's spirits and saving cowardice. Like the Five Tiger Temple, the Yama Temple, the name of the temple is already scary, and there are several coffins filled with gourds under the corridor of the main hall, and then there are tourists in Yaxing will be deterred. And there are also several battalions of flag soldiers stationed in Zuo'anmen. Although it is also considered to be in the city of Beijing, it is only ten miles away from the Forbidden City, but the flag soldiers here are very different from the flag soldiers in the inner city, and their temperament and customs have preserved more strong winds. In addition to all kinds of good habits, there is also a frightening one, arresting people at every turn and punishing them for carrying water - the water in Beijing's city wells is bitter, and if you want to eat sweet water, you often have to go up two or three miles to pick it up. Master Qiu worked too hard, and it was understandable to grab someone to change his shoulders, but in this way, the people in the city regarded this southeast corner as a dangerous road. It's very deserted on weekdays.

Shou Ming and Usebo took to the streets and found that today was different from usual. Ciqikou, garlic market, east and west are relatively full of people tree cedar artemisia, bundle reed mats in the platform, both sides of the East Xiaoshi Road have long been crowded with vendors: selling incense wax paper yards, selling tin foil silver ingots; Lotus lamps, artemisia stalks, lotus leaves, and fish wax, one next to the other. At the entrance of Fahua Temple, a large Dharma boat with more than three feet in the end has been erected. The dragon head and phoenix tail, the palace attic, the dragon girl, the Arhat King Kong, very exquisite. When Usebo saw the yellow paper at the entrance of the temple, he remembered that today was July 13, and the date of the Bon Festival had been handed over. All the days related to the sacrifice of the dead, Qingming Festival and October 1st, always bring a bit of bleak scenery. Only this Zhongyuan is a bit festive and golden. This has to do with the origin of the Yu Lan Festival. Obon, Sanskrit is "Ulan Pona", which means to hang upside down. On this day, the monks worship the Buddha, relieve the suffering of the soul of the dead, and celebrate with the whole world. That being said, people are not really enthusiastic about this festival, not entirely for the sake of ghosts, but for the pleasure of various rituals. At that time, each temple in Beijing had its own unique skills dedicated to the Three Realms. This Fahua Temple is famous for the flying cymbals of the monk Huitong. Huitong is a martial monk and has good kung fu. Among the eighteen magic weapons, he single-handedly held cymbals. This cymbal is two feet seven inches in diameter and weighs ten pounds and eight taels, which is larger than the pair of cymbals that sang "Iron Cage Mountain" on the stage. He doesn't use the practice of chanting scriptures on weekdays. Only at the Bon Festival, he invited him out from front of the Buddha, and under the accompaniment of Dharma drums and cloud gongs, he waved left and right, flying up and down, wrapping his head and covering his head, and the golden light was shining. When he danced happily, he also hit his hand and threw it into the sky with a "bang", which was three or five feet high. When he came down, how many names did he have, "Zhang Fei deceived the horse", "Su Qin carried the sword", "the white ape offered fruit", "the black tiger crossed the stream", and the thrilling and neat place could not be seen in the Cangzhou people who ran the horse. On this day, there are often dignitaries and their treasures, who take a car from the city to watch his performance in the name of making good karma. Therefore, even though it was still early, people were already flocking to Hokkeji Temple from all over the street. Shou Ming and Wu Shi took a lot of effort to get out of the flow of people, but they were swept into the whirlpool of going to Xizhao Temple. Although there are many people rushing to the temple in Zhongyuan, it has not reached this point. Shou Ming was diligent and inquired. Only then did I know that when the Eight-Nation Coalition Army captured Beijing, on the night of July 20, the 26th year of Guangxu, a battle was fought in this Zuo'anmen. The soldiers and civilians in this area, old and young, went into battle and slaughtered more than 20 German soldiers. After the devil entered the city, he was bloodied for three days near the left. At this year's Obon Festival, residents of the Department donated one liter of rice to each household for the deceased righteous people. Even the monks vowed to do the Dharma in vain and not to receive almsgiving.

Shou Ming and Wu Shibao squeezed for more than an hour before they came to the Five Tigers Temple. asked where Nie's family lived, so he walked to a small black corner door, patted the door with his hand, and shouted: "Is Liu Niang at home?" There was a voice inside, and it was a man's voice. When the door opened, it was Nie Xiaoxuan who came out. Nie Xiaoxuan changed into a gray cloth shirt, moon-white pants, and tied his trousers. White socks are sprinkled through the air. Freshly shaved and braided, he looked ten years younger. Without waiting for Usebo to speak, he asked, "I'll inquire about you when I come back, why haven't you been here for so long?" Wu Shibao confessed and said: "I really encountered an accident, my bag is empty, I just got a few taels of silver, and I immediately came to find my sister." He introduced Shou Ming again. Shou Ming often mingled in the antique shop, and he had already heard of Nie Xiaoxuan's name, so he greeted him very respectfully, and then came into the courtyard.

It is a small courtyard with a single family, but only the south house and the west house remain, and the main house was burned to the point that only a few black remnants of the wall remained. Of the two jujube trees, one was also half scorched. The yard was kept clean and tidy, and there was not a single thorn of grass in the four corners. Master Nie let them go to the South House. There is a portrait hanging above the front door of the south house, which depicts an old woman wearing a red python and a crown of beads. On the table of the Eight Immortals there are four plates of offering fruits. Wu Shibao hurriedly asked, "Is this the master?" Nie Xiaoxuan nodded. Usebo hurriedly straightened his collar, knelt down and kowtowed. Shou Ming was also about to kneel, but was stopped by Master Nie. Shou Ming asked, "How long has it been since the old aunt passed away?" Master Nie said that when the Eight-Nation Coalition Army came, people helped the defenders to guard Zuo'anmen, and the father and daughter of the Nie family went, only the wife was paralyzed in bed and failed to participate in the war. When the Germans entered the city, they killed anyone they saw. Nie Xiaoxuan saw that the way home was no longer passable, and Liu Niang was young, so he pulled her to hide in the reed pit in the north of Xinggongzhuang. I hid for a day and a night, and when I came home on the third day, half of the alley was burning red. By the time she and her neighbors rescued her, the roof of the church had already collapsed, and the old lady had been dead for a long time. The whole face was scorched and unrecognizable, this portrait was really drawn by Nie Xiaoxuan from memory. He said, "I didn't put anything on her, so let's dress her richly." After saying that, he laughed miserably.

Shou Ming was afraid of causing the old man to be sad, so he diverted the conversation and asked, "The eldest sister is not at home?" ”

Nie Xiaoxuan said: "Xizhao Temple did the Dharma and burned incense and prayed for her mother. ”

Usebo asked, "When did the master come out?" ”

Nie Xiaoxuan's face brightened when he talked about how he came home from prison. When he said that the Ninth Master was playing tricks on him, he was a little shy and sarcastic about his panic. In the end, when the ninth master just turned around and ordered a batch of goods, he laughed heartily. At this time, there were two rings at the door outside, and a woman's voice sounded crisply: "Dad, I bought artemisia and came back." Shou Ming and Wu Shibao knew that it was Liu Niang who came back, so they hurriedly stood up. Nie Xiaoxuan lifted the bamboo curtain and said, "Come and meet the guests, Uncle Wu and Master Shou are here." Liu Niang responded, sent the purchased artemisia seeds, incense sticks, tender lotus roots and other things into the west room, sorted out the clothes, entered the south house, and said to Shouming and Wu Shibao: "My father called back to ask if Uncle Wu had been here, and it can be counted today." Shou Ye, you sit! Yo, what's wrong with our old man? The hot day made the guests dry, and they didn't even make tea! You speak, I'll make tea! After saying a series of words, this Liu Niang picked up the Yixing pot, lifted the curtain and walked out. Usebo only felt that the image of a person glowing with brilliance and fragrance swirled and turned out in the room, and he was so busy that he didn't even look carefully at what it looked like. Liu Niang came in with a teapot for the second time, and he didn't have time to take a closer look. This look was so startled that he quickly lowered his head - is there such a beautiful girl in the small household in the market?

She was about twenty years old, wearing a moon-white Hangzhou textile open-sleeved jacket, a tooth-white Luo skirt, and silver-white soft satin pointed-cuffed shoes embroidered with a few folded branch daffodils. Silver bracelets, silver earrings, dark blue braids, light blue braids, dressed plain and elegant in order to dress filial piety for his mother. The appearance is indescribable, it can only be said that anyone who looks at it thinks it is beautiful, and Usebo thinks it is especially beautiful when he sees it. Beauty is stretched, generous, healthy, charming, no fat powder, no charm. The Manchu and Han people live together in this area, and the Han people are influenced by the Manchu fashion, and most of them do not bind their feet. He has also worked since he was a child, so his waist and limbs have developed plump and round, like a calla lily standing by the water.

After Liu Niang filled everyone with tea, she sat down on the magnetic pier on the side and asked, "We have been thinking about Uncle Wu." The whole family in the house is auspicious? ”

Nie Xiaoxuan hurriedly said, "Not really. I forgot to ask you, "What is going on at home?" ”

Wu Shibao sighed and told the story of what happened to his family. In some places in the middle, Shou Ming helped to explain. Nie Xiaoxuan couldn't believe it when he heard it, and asked repeatedly: "You haven't even seen your grandmother's corpse?" The little master hasn't met yet? This house is ruined like this? ”

Usebo nodded. Nie Xiaoxuan asked again: "So, you are now living in Uncle Ling's mansion?" ”

Shou Ming said: "There has been a gap between his father and his uncle for many years, like a passerby. Uncle Wu now lives in the Dujia store in Ciqikou. ”

When Liu Niang heard that the child was picked up by Nurse Liu, her eyes were already red. When he heard that the fire had burned the house, he wiped his tears, and then he began to sob. When Wu Shibao saw it, he hurriedly went to persuade her: "You are sad, I am doing well, and now I am living comfortably by painting cigarette bottles!" "He is also a crying man, and when he says so, he wipes his tears with his hands.

Liu Niang said: "You are a big man, so naturally you don't take this difficulty seriously. My poor young master is the little master. When my father was in prison, I had enough of the bitter taste of this orphan, not to mention that he was so young! As he spoke, he remembered his suffering, and began to weep even more. Nie Xiaoxuan didn't speak for a long time. After a while, Shou Ming asked, "Master Nie has been busy with the pots of the Ninth Master recently?" ”

Nie Xiaoxuan said, "Not really. He told me to burn two samples first. The pot blank, glaze, and steel charcoal have fallen, but it is difficult to pad the cost. In our industry, the proprietor who has always been determined to live will first give him the advance and use his money to prepare materials for him. There is no such thing as burning the appearance first and then taking the money. ”

Usebo took out the pair of bracelets and two ingots of silver and said, "Use this first." Originally, this was also used to live for the younger sister. Nie Xiaoxuan refused to accept it and said, "You have just been released from prison, how can you have any money left." If I don't come out, it's okay, and I can't make you tired anymore when I come out. So Usebo spoke the words of the Ku soldiers, and said that he had given silver. Nie Xiaoxuan sighed and said, "This is also a warm-hearted person, but it's a pity that he was pulled into a mud pit." Collect the money, for I asked him to pass it on to you, and now that we have met, you can do it with me. It is better to talk about a thousand days than to do it for a while. Wu Shibao wanted to talk about Kubing's death sentence, but Shou Ming stopped him with a look. Nie Xiaoxuan asked: "Now stop your inner painting and come to paint 'Gu Yuexuan' with me, is there any difficulty?" ”

Usebo said: "At that time, you were afraid that you would not have the opportunity to teach me again, so you had to teach it to me; I am doing my best to be a friend, so that you can learn with peace of mind. Now that you have returned, you should carefully select the promising future generations to inherit the ancestral business. How can I take the opportunity to claim your ancestral skills for myself? It's like you handed me a bag of silver in prison, originally prepared to ask me to take it to support the young lady in case you can't come back, but now that you're back, of course I'll return the original thing, how can there be any reason to share it......"

Wu Shibao was talking endlessly, and Shou Ming suddenly stepped on him again and glanced at him urgently. He looked at the corner of Shou Ming's mouth, only to see Nie Xiaoxuan twisting his head to the corner of the wall, but Liu Niang stared at him with a pair of angry eyes. Shou Ming said: "You are such a nerd! People kowtow and pray, plead and give gifts to recognize the teacher, Nie Lao is afraid that he still refuses to ask for it, how can there be a master like you who is in a hurry to teach, and he still drags three dozen and three drags? According to me, I am here today as a witness, and you respectfully kneel down and kowtow three times, and formally bow to the teacher! Shou Ming glared again and pressed Wu Shibao to his knees. Usebo had to kneel down and kowtow three times. Nie Xiaoxuan didn't stop him, and returned the three times with a smile. Wu Shibao stood up, Liu Niang said a blessing to him, and shouted generously, "Senior brother!" Shou Ming was an interesting person, and hurriedly took out a pair of cigarette bottles from his waist that he had not yet sold, and said to Wu Shibao: "It's just right! Things came in a hurry, so you have the right to take this as a worship ceremony. Wu Shibao held his hands with Nie Xiaoxuan and said: "This internal painting technique is also taught by the teacher, can you see if you can grow?" ”

Liu Niang listened to Nie Xiaoxuan, Wu Shibao is talented and smart, and has a deep foundation, when teaching him to paint inside, with a little bit of dialing, he will know what to draw and draw a picture soon. Although I also believe it, because I have never seen his painting work, I always think that the old man is a little mysterious out of preference. So as soon as Master Nie got the cigarette bottle in his hand, Liu Niang took it, looked at the window, and his eyes were straight all of a sudden, if he didn't see it with his own eyes, he would never believe that it was drawn by a person who had only studied in prison for a few months. There are not only chapters, pen and ink, but also style and charm, which not only learned Nie Xiaoxuan's gorgeous vividness, but also a little more calligraphy than the teacher. just received such a talent, the old man has not been in prison for the past few months. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but lift my eyes from the cigarette bottle and look at Usebo's face.

Wu Shibao just took out another bag from his waist, blushed and said to Nie Xiaoxuan: "This is the token that the master gave me to see my junior sister, a gold bracelet." I begged for a favor with a cheeky face, and begged the master to reward it to me. ”

Nie Xiaoxuan said: "That's what Liu Niang asked me to take to cover gold, the girl's ornament, what do you want it for?" ”

"If it weren't for this bracelet, eighty percent of the students would have arrived in the city of vain." Usebo recounted his intention to die by the moat. When he said this, even he himself was sure that he was going to die at that time, and it was because he saw this bracelet that he pulled him back from the road of death!

After hearing this, Nie Xiaoxuan was very emotional, and nodded hurriedly and said: "Okay, the bracelet is left for you to remember, and you must remember this lesson when you see it in the future. ”

Liu Niang said: "Old man, that's my thing, you are so generous to give favors?" ”

Wu Shibao said: "Senior sister rewarded me, and if I have an income in the future, I will definitely compensate you with the vice red gold." ”

Liu Niang said: "I don't have credit here, come on, these two cigarette bottles belong to me, you have to honor your master, and you will paint it in the future!" ”

Everyone present laughed. Nie Xiaoxuan said: "Today Yu Lan will be overtaken for the dead, which is also a happy event. Let's count the joy, Liu Niang packed up the wine and food, everyone drank a few glasses, and rushed to the bad luck of the year! ”

Liu Niang cleaned up the dishes, Wu Shibao took the artemisia she put in the courtyard to repair the pruning scissors, rolled the incense with yellow mounting paper, and tied it between the artemisia leaves; He found two more chairs and tied the artemisia rods to the back of the chairs to make star lanterns. Shou Ming is also a person who can play. I went out to buy fresh lotus leaves, put bamboo sticks in the stems, inserted small candles, and tied them to the flower barriers in Nie Xiaoxuan's courtyard one by one. As soon as the sky was dark, the sound of Dharma drums and cymbals, chanting and worshipping Buddha sounded far and near. The children held lotus leaves with long stems, hollowed out lotus canopies, and watermelons with peeled watermelons, each inserted small wax, lit them, and sang while walking. A bright moon came out of the sky, and the whole capital became a cheerful world, forgetting that this festival was originally set up for those who had fallen beyond the netherworld.

Shouming and Wu Shibao also lit hundreds of incense sticks on the candles and artemisia annua on the lotus leaves, and the courtyard was suddenly lit up with thousands of stars and dozens of moons. Nie Xiaoxuan asked Liu Niang to put the kang table in the courtyard. Putting down the low stool and cushions, the four of them sat around and drank. During the banquet, Nie Xiaoxuan once again asked Wu Shibao to come here to learn to paint "Gu Yuexuan". Liu Niang said: "Senior brother is not clean and quiet when he eats and lives in the store, so it is better for Suo Xing to move in." I'll clean up the east room and let me live, and the west room will be given to my brother. Wu Shibao still wanted to excuse himself, but was stopped by Shouming again. Shou Ming said: "This is very good, master and apprentice are like father and son, and moving together is the long-term solution." ”

Both Shou Ming and Usebo drank a lot of wine that night. After saying goodbye, Shou Ming pushed Wu Shibao and said: "If you don't die, you will have a blessing!" The little lady is quite good, if you are interested, I will be an ice medium. ”

Wu Shibao said drunkly: "Nonsense, the ancestors have a system, and the Manchu and Han are not intermarried!" ”

Shou Ming said: "Shit, Lord Qianlong also married an Iparkhan!" The authentic return of the Western Regions! ”