It was the fifth day of the first lunar month for greetings, greetings, and banquets. At the end of the day, Zhang Yuan went to the Huitong Hall to invite Qin Minping to go to Shichahai to visit the eunuch Zhong Benhua. Because Qin Liangyu was a female official, she was too eye-catching, and the local officials made friends.
The ministers did not go with him for fear of causing criticism, and his son Ma Xianglin followed.
Spring has begun a few days ago, the weather has begun to warm up, and the sunshine looks bright after being washed by ice and snow. On the Chessboard Sky Street Square outside Daming Gate, a variety of acrobatics are bustling, including pole picking, somersaults, hoop drilling, folding tables, lion dances,
The dragon lantern dance and tricks are dizzying -
Ma Xianglin was fascinated by the flying fork dance. The man dancing fork was shirtless in the cold weather. The two steel forks were shiny. The fork heads were wrapped with cloth strips and dipped in oil to light the fire. The two steel forks had two balls of fire. On the arms of the performer,
The legs, shoulders, and back were flying and rolling. When the arms shook, the fire fork flew into the air, spinning rapidly like a hot wheel, and then caught it steadily——
"Let's go, this will only look better at night."
Qin Minping threw a few copper coins into the court and pulled his nephew Ma Xianglin away from the Wucha venue.
Zhang Yuan brought Wang Dachui and Xue Tong out today. Xue Tong is thirteen years old on New Year's Day and Ma Xianglin is fourteen years old on New Year's Day. They are only one year apart in age, but they are a full foot apart in height. Although they look very different in physique, they have a good friendship.
Xue Tong said: "Master Ma, let's go to the Zhengyang Gate to watch the puppet show in the evening. It's more fun. Brother Xiao Wu and Baima went to see it yesterday."
Ma Xianglin said: "My mother won't let me come out at night."
Xue Tong winked at Ma Xianglin and murmured, signaling Ma Xianglin to ask for Zhang Yuan. Ma Xianglin said: "Uncle Jie Zishi, you said you wanted to take me to see a bunch of magic tricks years ago——"
Qin Minping was about to glare and scold him. Zhang Yuan said with a smile, "Okay, let's have dinner at Eunuch Zhong's place later, then walk all the way to Zhengyang Gate and then go back around. How about that?"
Ma Xianglin was overjoyed and thanked him profusely. This tall and powerful Tujia boy was simple and childish.
Several people came to Eunuch Zhong's outer house in Houhai. Eunuch Zhong had been waiting for him for a long time. They congratulated each other on the New Year and then started drinking. Qin Minping had been here once before, but Eunuch Zhong was not there that time. This time, he thanked Eunuch Zhong in person.
Eunuch Zhong smiled and waved his hand, saying, "How dare the Zajia take credit? This is all due to Zhang Xiuzan's warm-heartedness, and the Zajia just helped out a little."
Ma Xianglin looked at Eunuch Zhong curiously, nodded and said, "They are indeed very similar."
Eunuch Zhong smiled and asked, "What did Mr. Ma say?"
Ma Xianglin said: "The wooden Bodhisattva by the West Lake is carved very much like my father-in-law."
Qin Minping hurriedly explained, but it turned out that when they came to Beijing this time, they made a special detour to Hangzhou to pay homage to Eunuch Zhong's birth shrine.
Eunuch Zhong was delighted when he heard this: "You are very considerate, thank you very much."
Speaking of Zhang Yuan's beating of Mr. Fang Ge's son, Eunuch Zhong said: "Fang Shihong has resigned from the post of Shang Bao Sicheng. Mr. Fang Ge is very embarrassed."
Zhang Yuan asked: "Does father-in-law also think that I act a little recklessly?"
Eunuch Zhong smiled and said: "If it were anyone else, he would definitely be in trouble, but Zhang Xiuzuan has never been a reckless person. Mr. Fang Ge could only suffer the loss of being dumb like Hu Zongxian back then. His son was beaten in vain, haha."
Zhang Yuandao: "Old Fangge hates me to the core."
Eunuch Zhong said: "No matter how much I hate you secretly, on the surface Mr. Fangge still has to smile with you to show his magnanimity. And generally speaking, Mr. Fangge will not deliberately embarrass you in the future."
Eunuch Zhong could still see it very clearly. Zhang Yuan said: "That's the Sweet Heart Sword. I have to be more careful in the future so that nothing falls into the hands of Mr. Fang Ge."
Eunuch Zhong knew that Zhang Yuan, like him, had put his money on the crown prince and the emperor's eldest grandson, so he smiled and said: "What's the need to be afraid? The sun is rising just as Zhang Xiuzan is doing, but Fang Ge Lao is already declining. Come, Zajia
Here’s to Zhang Xiuzan.”
The wine was drunk until three o'clock in the morning, when the sky darkened, Zhang Yuan and Qin Minping stood up to leave. Zhang Yuan said he wanted to take Ma Xianglin to see a trick, so Eunuch Zhong stopped keeping the guests and held Zhang Yuan's hand when he was sent out of the gate.
His hand whispered: "Zhang Xiuzhuan, the eighth day of the lunar month is the birthday of the Fifth Yama. My brother is going to Dongyue Temple outside Chaoyang Gate to offer incense and pray for his mother. He said he wanted to meet Mr. Zhang by the way - I wonder if you are free that day?
?”
Zhang Yuan thought that he might be on a mission to North Korea in February and would not be able to see the emperor's grandson Zhu Youxiao for a long time. His relationship with the little carpenter required frequent contact, so he nodded and said: "Then I'll be there first in the morning.
Dongyue Temple is waiting for you."
Eunuch Zhong smiled and said: "It doesn't have to be so early. My brother said that we can go out and play for a while in the afternoon. Zhang Xiuzhan can just rush to Dongyue Temple at the beginning of the day."
After bidding farewell to Eunuch Zhong, Master Zhang Yuan, Qin Minping, and uncle and nephew Ma Xianglin walked slowly along the east side of the imperial city. The New Year's Eve curfew was lifted, the night market was bustling, there was a lot of traffic, nine cards were played, sticks were played, and people sang and commented.
No matter day or night, Ma Xianglin had never seen such a grand scene before, and he was dazzled by it——
From Daming Gate to Zhengyang Gate, there is a long street for several miles, full of ladies and gentlemen. The shops on both sides have high lanterns, and the gongs and drums of various performances are noisy. Zhang Yuan accompanied Qin Minping, and Ma Xianglin watched the puppet show and the flower bed at Zhengyang Gate.
At an inn nearby, he saw a performance of the play next door. Zhang Yuan knew that the play next door was ventriloquism. Lin Sihuan and Pu Songling had respectively written famous works of "ventriloquism". It was very exciting. Several people went into the lobby of the inn to watch the play and perform.
The ventriloquist is a 17 or 18-year-old boy named Wang Jing. He is sitting behind a screen. The Battle of Feishui is performed from behind this small screen. The wind is roaring, the grass and trees are all soldiers, the wounded are howling, the horses are neighing, and the two armies are fighting.
The sound was imitated so vividly that it was so magical that Zhang Yuan wanted to go behind the screen to see if there was a TV or cassette player hidden——
After the performance, young Wang Jing came out to thank the guests, and a boy with disheveled hair presented a tray with a reward. Zhang Yuan rewarded him with five coins. Wang Jing looked at Zhang Yuan intently, bowed with a smile and thanked him.
…
On the early morning of the eighth day of the lunar month, Zhang Yuan accompanied Dan Ran and Xiao Hongjian to the Daci Yanfu Palace to pray to the Three Officials. At noon, he had dinner at his brother-in-law's house. Seeing that it was already late noon, he brought Wang Dachui and Wu Ling with him, led by Uncle Yao.
I drove out of Chaoyang Gate and headed towards Dongyue Temple. There was a pine forest in front of the temple. After bypassing the pine forest, I saw a bustling crowd of ladies and gentlemen who came to pay homage. The money-making furnace was smoldering with smoke and the fire could not be extinguished, showing the abundance of incense.
Zhang Yuan got out of the car and looked around. Emperor Sun Zhu Youxiao should not have arrived yet. Seeing three large stone steles in front of the temple, he walked over to look at them. One of the temple steles was clearly written by Zhao Mengfu. Nothing happened, so he
He read each word carefully and copied them in his mind. His calligraphy was weak and he needed to improve it. Before he finished reading an inscription, Wu Ling suddenly ran over and said, "Young Master, I just saw a red-faced man going into the palace."
, could he be a Jurchen spy?"
Zhang Yuan smiled and said: "You are really a warrior. What a coincidence. There are many people with red faces after drinking too much on this festive day of the New Year. How can they all be Jurchen spies?"
——According to Jin Yiwei Baihu Zhen Zidan, they traced that the red-faced scholar previously stayed at Lu's Hotel on Qipan Street. On the day they caught Ang Aba, the red-faced scholar and his entourage checked out and left, trying to frame the North Korean envoy.
The minister's treacherous plan has been exposed. If they could stay in the capital, they should have fled far away. Therefore, Zhang Yuan did not believe that he would meet the red-faced Huang Taiji at the Dongyue Temple Fair. There was no reason.
When Wu Ling heard what the young master said, he also laughed and said, "I was watching that man walking all the way, but my eyes were looking at the pilgrims, as if he was looking for someone."
At this time, three carriages stopped by the pine forest. Wu Ling took a look and said, "Master, Eunuch Zhong is here, and I see little Eunuch Gao."
Zhang Yuan did not tell Wu Ling that the emperor's eldest grandson would come. It would be best for as few people to know about the emperor's eldest grandson leaving the palace as possible.
Zhu Youxiao, wearing a green shirt and green hat, was simpler than ordinary rich men. He was accompanied by eight chamberlains, all of whom also changed into servant clothes. The wet nurse Yinyue and another palace maid also changed their palace clothes and dressed up as folk.
The woman, Ke Yinyue, is tall and tall. Although she wears an ordinary folk woman's undershirt and long coat, and does not apply makeup, she is still very beautiful. When she got off the carriage, Ke Yinyue put on a curtain hat and a thin white gauze.
, covering up the appearance——
Zhang Yuan saluted Zhu Youxiao with his hands raised and eyebrows raised. Zhu Youxiao returned the salute, looked left and right, and whispered with a smile: "Mr. Zhang, you will have good luck in the Year of the Snake."
Zhang Yuan smiled and said: "Your Highness, good luck." He nodded to the guests Yinyue, Zhong Benhua, Han Benyong, Wei Chao, Wei Jinzhong and others, and then together with the servants, surrounded the emperor's grandson Zhu Youxiao and walked to the main hall.
There were not as many pilgrims in the afternoon as in the morning, but the seats in front of Emperor Dongyue's throne were not empty. There was an endless stream of ladies and gentlemen kneeling in prayer. Wei Jinzhong and other servants separated the crowd so that the emperor's eldest grandson could calmly offer incense and pray. Guest Yinyue was there.
While helping to light incense, the eldest grandson of the Pope said a blessing——
Then some people waiting to offer incense shouted: "This temple is owned by your family, why don't you let us go there to burn incense?"
Zhang Yuan cupped his hands and explained: "A child whose mother is weak and sick comes here to offer incense and pray for her mother's longevity. Filial piety is rare. Please wait for a while. She will be fine soon."
The noisy pilgrim saw Zhang Yuan's elegant appearance and gentle words, so he stayed calm. After waiting for a while, Wei Jinzhong and others moved away. Zhang Yuan saw that Zhu Youxiao had already held guest Yinyue's hand and looked towards the two verandas of the main hall.
The Seventy-Two Divisions of Hell went there, and they hurried to follow him. He said to the guest Yinyue: "Don't go to see the Seventy-Two Divisions of Hell. It's too eerie and terrifying——"
Zhu Youxiao said hurriedly: "Mr. Zhang, I'm not afraid, I want to see it."
Ke Yinyue chuckled and said, "Brother, I'm brave. I came to see it the year before last, when I met Mr. Zhang at the dock."
Zhang Yuan said "hmm" and had to follow Zhu Youxiao to look at the "Department in charge of teaching, signing, and custody", "Department in charge of life and death", "Department in charge of life and death, seduction, speculation and exploration". Various statues were strangely shaped and full of ghosts. Buddhist art pays attention to horror.
and compassion, the seventy-two divisions of hell are all filled with terror——
About halfway through Division 72, Zhu Youxiao suddenly whispered to Ke Yinyue. Ke Yinyue smiled and whispered: "You really have a lot of things." He held Zhu Youxiao's hand and walked from there.
Exit through the small left verandah door.
Zhong Benhua, Wei Jinzhong and other internal officials quickly followed, while Zhang Yuan, Wang Dachui and Wu Ling fell behind.
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