Between the inner city and the outer city of Qingzhou Prefecture, separated by a city wall, the connecting passage is the east, west, north and south four inner gates, respectively, the North Gate, the South Wu Gate, the East Mao Gate, and the West You Gate. The four inner gates are guarded by gun-wielding government soldiers to prevent misdeeds.

At this time, it is noon, the city gate is wide open, there are passers-by such as vegetable farmers, charcoal farmers, small traders and hawkers and other people come and go, and there is no shortage of tourists who simply want to wander around.

In the bustling crowd, there was a pair of small masters and servants who were particularly eye-catching, both dressed in white brocade clothes and wearing scarlet cloaks, one of them seemed to be afraid of the wind and cold, and took out a handkerchief to cover his nose and cover half of his face, while the other walked briskly in front of him, his arms were weak, and he was guiding the way for those behind him.

Although it is difficult to start a war in the land of Wuzhou, the impact of the "heavenly change" has gradually subsided in the past fifteen years, and even the demons rarely come out in broad daylight to harm the common people, but in the end, it is the Qingzhou Prefecture capital, and the government army guarding the city gate naturally does not dare to take it lightly, and is checking the pedestrians coming and going at the city gate.

"You two come here!" one of the army shouted to the little master and servant.

The little master and servant were stunned for a moment, and they were really afraid of something, so they had to slowly move their steps towards the government army unnaturally, looking extremely reluctant.

"Childe, we're not going to be recognized again just out of the city, right?"

"It shouldn't be Ying'er, I remember that it was no problem to sneak out before!"

It turned out that this pair of little master and servant was Hua Ning and Hongying, who were disguised as men.

But whispering here, the government army guarding the door was not happy, and urged: "What are you muttering, come here!"

When the two of them came to the front, the sergeant of the government army walked out of the three-person queue, circled around the two, and asked, "What for?"

"It's just, just go out and do nothing. Hongying replied.

The sergeant glanced at her, then looked at Hua Ning behind her, and said, "What are you doing with your face? Take off the handkerchief!"

Hua Ning did as she said and behaved, very well-behaved, she had always admired these government troops and the masters of various factions recruited by the state government.

Looking at Hua Ning's appearance and thinking of the costumes of the master and servant, the sergeant somewhat understood, these young ladies of the big family can really play and make trouble, and the so-called female virtue has long been no longer practiced in the land of Wuzhou, and women are not restricted from going out, so why should women dress up as men? He also covered half of his face with a handkerchief, for fear of being discovered by people he knew? It made him think that some kind of gangster disguised himself was trying to misbehave.

However, this face is really good-looking, but unfortunately it is still a little worse than the state lord in his opinion.

"Alright, alright, let's go, let's go. The sergeant waved his hand, signaling that Hua Ning and Hongying could leave.

Hua Ning was stunned: "Huh, can you go?"

The sergeant returned to the queue and said impatiently: "Why are you not happy to let you go? Do you want to squat in prison?" The sergeant of the government army is very confident, even in the face of famous children, he is not afraid at all.

"No, let's go!" Hongying hurriedly took Hua Ning's hand and took her away from the city gate, she was afraid that it would be bad if her young lady said a few more words and exposed her identity.

Avoiding the crowd, the two went around to the market next to the inner city gate, Hua Ning was overjoyed, and finally came out again!

Hongying didn't feel so much, after all, she could have the opportunity to go in and out of the palace gate often, and go to the inner and outer cities to have fun.

But Hua Ning is different, she has only walked out of the palace gate three times when she is so big. When she sneaked out of the palace for the first time, she met the old blind man who was very accurate in fortune telling in front of the palace gate, and guided her to go to the east to find her true destiny; the second time she went out of the palace, she asked her sister to get her sister's consent, and asked her to use the Qinghua lotus lamp to send herself and Hongying to the sunny and rainy town, and by chance she got acquainted with Luo Buyi, which can be said to be very consistent with the old blind man's hexagram; and the third time she left the palace, it was this time.

It's been a few months since she returned from Sunny Rain City, but Hua Ning still feels as if she saw Luo Buyi yesterday, and she dreamed that he met a giant tiger with herself not long ago, and she woke up scared of herself, and after waking up, she thought stupidly that if she really met a tiger, Luo Buyi would definitely protect her, and then she took the opportunity to make a promise...

Oops, just thinking about it makes people blush.

"Childe, did you say that the old blind man you are looking for will be in the outer city?" If Hua Ning hadn't said it herself, Hongying wouldn't have known that her young lady had quietly found someone to tell her fortune, and it seemed that the old blind man was quite accurate.

Hua Ning's eyes blankly glanced at the bustling pedestrians and roadside vendors around him, and said with a pout: "We went around the inner city and didn't find him, I thought we would definitely find him in the outer city." ”

Seeing that Hua Ning was a little frustrated, Hongying couldn't help but comfort: "The outer city is very big, we are only on the edge of the inner city gate now, and there are many, many places that we haven't looked for!"

"Well, Ying'er, what you said is reasonable, let's continue to look for it. ”

Hearing the words of the red tassel, Hua Ning regained his strength, and his eyes became firm. She tried her best to sneak out of Qinghua Palace, just to find the old blind man who had told her fortune, and ask him to help calculate what her marriage with Luo Buyi was, and when the two of them would meet again.

The outer city is indeed much more lively than the inner city, not only in terms of the number of people, but also in the roadside stalls next to each other, and the rows of shops.

As Hongying walked all the way, Hua Ning's eyes were gradually attracted by the dazzling array of goods, such a variety of small ornaments, and delicious and attractive snacks, all of which made her full of interest.

"It turns out that the outer city is so interesting!" Hua Ning held a red and gorgeous rock sugar gourd in one hand, and played with the sugar man bought for three copper plates in the other, annoyed that she had grown so old before she knew that she ran out to play, if she had known that the world outside the palace was so colorful, she would have pestered her sister to accompany her out.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glared at Hongying secretly, but she couldn't tell herself about the excitement of the outside world.

Hongying, who led the way, naturally didn't notice the sight of her own young lady, and was happily pointing ahead and saying to Hua Ning: "Childe, the tea house I once talked about is in front, and there are often jugglers at the door, but it's lively!"

Juggling?Hua Ning's eyes couldn't help but light up. In the past, she stayed in the palace, and she didn't feel like a step out of the palace all year round, but after meeting Luo Buyi in Qingyu City this time, she suddenly felt that the days of staying in the palace were simply not people's lives, and it was difficult to endure. A few days ago, she was so bored that she had to pester Hongying to tell her some interesting stories outside the Qinghua Palace, many things made her feel novel, including the wonderful juggling according to Hongying, for example, she was very curious, why an ordinary person can use a sledgehammer to smash the big stone on his chest, and the person is still safe and sound?

"Then let's go!" This time Hua Ning trotted in front, and Hongying hurriedly caught up, and the two vermilion backs jumped like red flames, gradually moving away.

The tea house in Hongying's mouth, the full name is called Jiujie Hall, a total of three floors of wooden buildings. The boss of Jiujietang is said to be a bald man and rarely shows up, but whenever he shows up, he touches his head and smiles all day long, but he looks kind. The layout of the building is also quite interesting, there is a counter on each floor, behind the counter is a tea stand and a stove, and nine cardamom girls are divided into three groups, responsible for boiling water and serving tea on each floor. Interestingly, there is no bookkeeper in this Jiujie Hall, and the boss does not show up, and the tea money paid by the tea customers is casually thrown by the girls in the drawer under the counter, and the boss never counts the amount of the money, as if he does not care about the money, or trusts the nine girls very much.

The street in front of the Jiujie Hall is very spacious, it is one of the few main streets in the outer city, it is several zhang wide, even if the crowd of onlookers juggling at this time occupies almost half of the width of the street, it does not hinder the pedestrian traffic, which is naturally the root of the city garrison turning a blind eye to it, otherwise if it obstructs the smooth flow of the street, the crowd will be dispersed long ago, and the artists will not be allowed to go to prison.

Hua Ning tiptoed around the crowd, trying to get past the crowd and see what kind of trick could attract everyone's applause, but unfortunately she was fifteen years old, petite, and a woman's height was naturally inferior to that of a man, so it was a waste of effort to jump around after all.

Fortunately, Hongying couldn't stand it anymore, so she grabbed Hua Ning, who was panting slightly, and persuaded: "Childe, you can't do this, let's save some effort!"

"Then what to do, I want to see it!" Hua Ning said angrily.

Hongying is also a little helpless, it may be that the weather is too good today, and people who are not afraid of the cold get together to watch the excitement, it is really no wonder. It's just that how to meet the requirements of my own young lady? Hesitantly glanced at the Jiujie Hall beside him, and couldn't help but light up and think about it.

"Childe, come with me!" took Hua Ning's hand and took him to the Nine Rings Hall.

The tea house by the window on the second floor happened to have a tea guest get up, so the two seized the opportunity to sit down hurriedly. At this time, Hua Ning, who was stunned by the red tassels, gradually understood, and gently pushed the window open with her hand, just enough to let the two of them see the excitement downstairs clearly, and the Jianghu artists who were surrounded by layers of crowds were much better than squeezing around in the crowd.

Hua Ning pursed her lips and smiled lightly, and gave a thumbs up to Hongying proudly to commend Hongying's merits.

Rao is accustomed to seeing his own young lady's various postures of Hongying, and was also stunned by Hua Ning's laughter, the light outside the window was cast on Hua Ning's side face through the gap, so that Hongying couldn't help but sigh that she was worthy of being the master's own sister!

There are remnants of Confucian ritual music classics, in ancient times, women's coming-of-age ceremonies were also called Lu Li, or Shou Lu, which means that girls can marry at the age of 15 years, and they can marry before they are married. If you have not been allowed to marry a person, you will also be married to the twentieth year.

But after all, women's etiquette is a saying in ancient times, and the land of Wuzhou today no longer follows the ancient system, but I don't know when it has been customary to regard eighteen years of age as the period of women's adulthood.

"What do you want to drink?" We have wood, jasmine, roses, roses, oranges, gardenias, woody fragrances, and plum blossoms, which one do you like?" a question came abruptly.

Hua Ning turned her head to see that it was a delicate girl wearing a flower cloth scarf, with a delicate face, looking at her appearance, it seemed that she was a little younger than herself and Hongying, and subconsciously replied after being surprised: "Gardenia tea is good." ”

The girl bowed her head slightly, and was about to turn around to prepare tea.

"Wait a minute, why are the teas you told us all belonging to flower teas?, are there no other teas?" Hua Ning instinctively felt that something was wrong.

The girl chuckled and said, "Flower tea is mostly cold, but it can help the growth of yang energy in the human body, regulate yin and yang, and dispel the cold evil accumulated in the body in winter." After a pause, he glanced at the master and servant, leaned down again, and said in a low voice: "And the flower tea has a strong aroma, which is the most suitable for women to drink." ”

The girl gave a salute and smiled Yan Yan and walked towards the counter, leaving Hua Ningwu stunned.

"So we failed in disguise, didn't we?" Hua Ning pursed her mouth, and the second time she went out dressed as a man, it was still obvious at a glance that they were obviously wearing cloaks.

The corners of Hongying's mouth twitched slightly, she knew that it would be like this, and she had persuaded her young lady not to do this useless work, but she didn't believe in evil, she didn't know that with her natural appearance, even if she deliberately pretended to be a man, it was difficult to hide her natural beauty, walking on the street, except for some ordinary people who turned a blind eye, but whoever was more clever would not look at her twice, admiring this son for really taking up all the romances in the world.

The noise from outside the window attracted Hua Ning's attention, and he turned his head to look out the window, only to see that the crowd downstairs automatically gave way to a passage, and a group of people who were performing before were already packing up their belongings and walking out one after another.

"Why are you leaving? I haven't even seen it!" Hua Ning felt that she was really unlucky, and secretly ran out of the palace to find the blind fortune teller, but she didn't find the slightest trace of him; she pretended to be a man with self-righteousness, but she was spotted by the government army and the girls of the tea house one after another; she happily came to see the juggling, and just sat down for tea, the other people actually left?

Looking at Hua Ning's depressed and angry little appearance, the little follower Hongying felt quite funny, and couldn't help lowering her head, covering her mouth and snickering.

"Hehe, childe, you don't have to be angry. ”

Hua Ning and Hongying followed the voice, but it was a master and a friend sitting at the table diagonally opposite the aisle, this master was dressed in a cyan Confucian shirt, with a white face and beard, and his eyes were warm and bright.

"This is the main road to and from, and I don't know how many people who make a living by selling their arts are staring at this square inch of land, so they have set a rule together, that is, no matter who sells here, they can't do more than half an hour, and after half an hour, someone will replace them in the order they are arranged. There will be no shortage of jugglers here from morning to night, and Childe is waiting patiently. ”

"I am fortunate to have Master Ling's guidance, and the students thank you here!"

Hua Ning stood up for some reason and gave a student salute to Master Ling, which provoked Master Ling to snort lightly, and after thinking for a long time, he didn't remember which student Hua Ning was in the academy, so he had to smile bitterly and waved his hand at Hua Ning, indicating that he was just reminding him by chance, so that Hua Ning didn't have to be polite.

This action also made Hongying inexplicable, and as soon as Hua Ning sat down, she asked: "Childe, do you know this teaching gentleman?"

"No, I don't know him, but I do know who he is. Hua Ning played with a wisp of green silk hanging on her shoulders and said softly.

"Huh?" Hongying was even more confused.

"Do you still remember Wang Huanzhi, the old master of Wang Huan, who taught us in the palace when he was a child? Old Master Wang is one of the three great Confucians of the Qinghua Academy and the State Government. The other two, Zeng and Jin, lived in the scripture building of the academy and never went out. The last great Confucian is the one in front of him, Ling Chunqiu Ling. The three masters are the pillars of my Qingzhou culture and morality, and I have a master-apprentice friendship with Wang Huanzhi's old master. Hua Ning's rare serious look told the truth.

In addition to the main courtyard located in the state capital, there are 17 other branches located in other big cities, and the academies in small cities are founded by local city lords themselves, such as the backing college of Qingyu City. Whether it is Qinghua Academy or other colleges, for many years, I don't know how many virtuous ministers and celebrities have been cultivated for Qingzhou, which is really for the benefit of one party.

Hongying naturally remembered Old Master Wang, and when she heard Hua Ning say this, she had doubts again: "Then son, how do you know that you don't recognize the wrong person?"

"It's impossible to admit mistakes, you look at the cyan Confucian shirt on Master Ling's body, which is unique to Qinghua Academy, and then you take a closer look at Master Ling's cuffs, what's on them?" Hua Ning was happy to point out the red tassels.

"What's the cuff?, it's a purple lotus!" Hongying muttered quietly, but she stole a glance at Ling Fuzi's cuffs, and finally discovered the mystery.

Qinghua Academy's Confucian shirt cuffs will have white, pink, red, and purple lotus flowers, and the color of the lotus flowers will vary according to the depth of knowledge of its owner. After a pause, Hua Ning then whispered: "Qinghua Academy respects the purple lotus, and those who are qualified to wear the purple lotus are the only three famous Confucians in the five states, we have seen the old master Wang, and the master Zeng lives alone in the Jing Building, so who will this gentleman with purple lotus embroidered on the cuffs be if he is not Master Ling?"

Hongyan glanced at Hua Ning with admiration, and only felt that today's young lady was exceptionally smart.

"Two guest officers, the gardenia tea you ordered. The girl from before put a set of delicate purple sand tea sets and a plate of pastries on the table.

"Are you mistaken, sister, we didn't ask for pastries!" asked Hongying, in a low voice.

Flowers, tea, water, the girl's movements are extremely skillful, the teapot in her hand nodded up and down, two cups of hot drinks have been prepared, listening to the red tassel asked, the girl smiled, and replied: "The guest officer can rest assured, this pastry is a gift from the small shop, and will not charge two more people for a copper plate, I just hope that the two will come often in the future, Yunxi will be satisfied." ”

After speaking, the girl Yunxi left suddenly.

"No wonder this tea house is overcrowded, and it really has something unique. Hongying sighed, she didn't expect this little Jiujie Hall to have such a heart, and it made people feel disgusted, which is really rare.

Hua Ning agreed, smelling the refreshing aroma, looking at the gardenia gently rotating in the cup, it was very comfortable, and her heart was really indescribably peaceful.

At this time, the gong outside the window sounded, and the voices of the people were boiling, not surprisingly, there must be a new person who sells his art.