The sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Bachuan Villa.
Zhou Jun left his horse at the gatehouse and entered the other gardens. First, he carried gifts and went to the small courtyard of Pang Gong and Yin Gong to visit Shangyuan Ankang.
After coming out, he went to the outer garden again, and after asking, he learned that Hua Yue and Xiao Qingchan had gone to the market early in the morning.
After walking to the market from Bachuan Villa, Zhou Jun entered the square gate and saw that the entire long street was decorated with lights and colorful decorations. Pedestrians on the road were rubbing shoulders one after another, their faces beaming with joy.
Walking forward a little further, Zhou Jun came to the middle street and saw a huge courtyard. Looking around, there were people everywhere.
Street vendors, tourists, craftsmen, musicians and boatmen crowded the entire venue, and everyone rushed towards the open-air theater.
Zhou Jun looked strange and asked someone nearby.
The man looked Zhou Jun up and down and said, "Today there is a new play by Hanxiao layman in Quyuan."
Zhou Jun suddenly realized that he looked forward again and saw that at the gate of the open-air courtyard, there were many palace people acting as palm guards, maintaining order and handing out seat plaques.
Seeing that there were too many people, Zhou Jun gave up his thoughts and turned around to walk towards the Zhou Family Restaurant nearby.
Halfway there, he saw a middle-aged man who was over thirty years old and looked unattractive, standing on tiptoes and looking towards the theater with a look of embarrassment on his face.
At first, he didn't pay much attention. Zhou Jun passed by the man and heard the latter saying to himself: "That's all, that's all, I think I, Shaolingye, am very poor, so how can I have spare money to go to the theater?"
Hearing this, Zhou Jun stopped, turned around, with a little surprise on his face, and asked the man: "Are you Du Fu? Du Shaoling?"
The middle-aged man looked at Zhou Jun with a surprised look on his face: "You, you know me?"
Zhou Jun sighed in his heart, he did not expect to meet what later generations call the "Poetic Saint" in Bachuan.
When Du Fu saw that although Zhou Jun was a young man, he was dressed luxuriously and had a fish bag on his waist, he raised his hands and saluted, "May I ask...?"
Zhou Jun returned the courtesy and said: "Zhou Jun, Zhou Hengcai."
Du Fu was startled, and then said quickly: "It turns out to be Zhou Lang."
Zhou Jun was a little surprised that Du Fu actually knew about him.
There was a lot of noise around, so Zhou Jun suggested to Du Fu: "If Du Shaoling is free, why not go out for a drink with someone?"
Du Fu subconsciously touched the money bag, glanced at Zhou Jun, finally gritted his teeth, nodded and replied: "Okay."
The two entered Zhou's restaurant.
The shopkeeper behind the counter saw Zhou Jun coming in, and ran out quickly, greeting him and saying: "Today, Madam Huayue told me personally that Lang would come to the market on Tuesday, and that one morning she had cleaned up the private room and prepared it.
Food and drinks.”
Zhou Jun ignored the shopkeeper and instead turned his attention to the hall on the first floor.
I saw only the receptionists, waiters and accountants, all replaced by the previous batch of dismissed palace maids.
Du Fu on the side saw that the restaurant was luxurious and the waiters in the hall were all courteous and graceful. He couldn't help but feel a little shy and carefully covered the patches on his robe with his sleeves.
Zhou Jun walked in front and led Du Fu into the private room on the second floor.
As soon as he entered the door, the latter saw the carved beams and paintings in the room, which were of extraordinary ancient charm, the calligraphy and paintings were all authentic, and the harps and harps were all famous instruments. He couldn't help but feel even more uneasy.
Zhou Jun invited Du Fu to sit down, and then asked a beautiful palace servant who was serving as a waiter for a pot of roasted flowers and regular meals.
Du Fu sat down at the table, thinking over and over again, and couldn't help but ask Zhou Jun: "I am unknown and hopeless, how can Zhou Jun know me?"
Zhou Jun was not in a hurry to answer, but recalled Du Fu's life in his mind.
In the first half of his life, Du Fu participated in the imperial examinations many times and failed many times. It was not until the tenth year of Tianbao that he won the appreciation of Li Longji with his article "Ode to the Great Gift" and became a casual official to fill the vacancy.
In the later years of living in Chang'an, Du Fu lived in poverty and poverty. In November of the 14th year of Tianbao, his youngest son even starved to death.
When Du Fu was alive, no one appreciated his works, and some even commented that they were "depressing and dull"; it was not until a hundred years after his death that he became famous and was named the "Sage of Poetry".
Zhou Jun thought of this and just said to Du Fu: "I have seen Du Shaoling's poems before, and they should be handed down from generation to generation."
When Du Fu heard this, he was partly surprised and partly moved, and repeatedly said that he didn't dare to take it seriously.
Zhou Jun took the wine pot from the roaster, first poured a glass of wine for Du Fu, and then asked him: "How did Du Shaoling come to Chang'an?"
Du Fu took a sip of the warm wine and said: "The sage has decreed that anyone who is 'proficient in one art' can enter Chang'an to take the exam, so I plan to try my luck."
Zhou Jun nodded. At the end of Tianbao's fifth year, Li Longji issued a recruitment order to the world, but the examiner of this exam was Li Linfu.
As a result, all the scholars who took the exam were judged to have failed.
Li Linfu congratulated the emperor again. All the talents were in the court, and there were no more talents left in the world. He had cut off any upward path that might threaten his position.
Regarding this matter, Zhou Jun did not point it out to Du Fu, but just said: "Du Shaoling has always been a talented person, and he will definitely make great achievements in the future."
While the two were talking, the sound of theater came from outside the window.
Zhou Jun pushed open the window and set up the wooden frame.
Du Fu looked out and realized that there was a theater not far downstairs. Being in the private room, he could have a panoramic view of everything on the stage.
The play performed today is called "Knowing Two Friends".
Zhou Jun read two scenes and discovered that the plot of the play was not written by him for Song Ruo'e, but was original.
The story is about a man and a woman who have never met each other. Before the woman was born, the family arranged a marriage contract for her.
One year during the Lantern Festival, a man and a woman met by chance in a lantern street and fell in love with each other. However, the woman was already engaged and had no choice but to cut off contact with the man.
Later, the woman's father was framed in court, the whole family was thrown into prison, the original engagement was reneged on, and even the family's property was wiped out.
The man heard about this incident and investigated on his own. After going through many hardships and dangers, he found out the mastermind behind the incident and restored the innocence of the woman's father.
In the end, the man and woman finally came together, and it was a happy ending.
Zhou Jun was thinking while watching the play.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Two Lovers" is Song Ruo'e's first original script. Although there are still some minor flaws in some details, it has completely escaped the Tang Dynasty.
The framework of Chaoyou Opera has gradually moved closer to the opera form of the Song and Yuan dynasties.
Du Fu in the room kept sighing after watching the play.
This new play, whether it was the plot, plot, text or singing, was a completely new experience for Du Fu, giving him a refreshing understanding.
After watching the play, Du Fu, who was still unsatisfied, took up his pen on the spot and wrote "Two Poems on the Journey from Beijing to Bachuan to Watch the Opera and Praise My Heart" in his room.
After finishing writing, Du Fu bowed his hands to Zhou Jun and said, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Jun: "Thank me for what?"
Du Fu: "I have long heard that the Bachuan Theater is a major attraction outside the city of Chang'an. Travelers from other prefectures must come here to see it when they come to Chang'an. I came here because of its reputation, but couldn't buy theater tickets. , If it hadn’t been for Zhou Lang Chengcheng, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have had the chance to see these ‘two acquaintances’.”
Zhou Jun waved his hand, indicating that Du Fu didn't need to pay attention, and called the waiter to prepare the dishes.
After finishing the meal, Du Fu thought about his age and wanted to pay the bill. Later, he learned that this restaurant was owned by Zhou Jun, and he couldn't help being stunned.
Zhou Jun sent Du Fu out of the restaurant and heard that he lived in the south of Chang'an City, a long way away. He hired a carriage, paid the fare, and told the driver to send him back safely.
Returning to the Zhou Family Restaurant, Zhou Jun entered the private room on the second floor and unexpectedly found Hua Yue and Xiao Qingchan in the room.
Huayue was eating sweet-scented osmanthus cake, while Xiao Qingchan was leaning on the soft mat in the corner, covered with a quilt, but she was asleep.
Seeing Zhou Jun enter the door, Huayue stood up, patted the snow off her body, and hung up her coat for him.
Zhou Jun glanced at Xiao Qingchan who was sleeping, then quietly walked to the desk on the other side of the room, sat down and asked Huayue in a low voice: "When will the next batch of palace people enter Bachuan?"
Hua Yue: "On the twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month, someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came and handed over the Kan register. I showed it to Mr. Pang, and the lot was signed."
Zhou Jun asked again: "Can the accommodation be arranged?"
Hua Yue: "The bridge connecting Jiazhou and Xizhou has been fully repaired. The craftsmen have worked overtime and built two new small buildings on the east side of the bridge. Together with the space vacated by North Street, the residence should be no problem. ."
Zhou Jun: "Is the money and food still enough?"
Hua Yue: "Jia Jin, who previously sold the small building and land, still has a lot of surplus, and can still pay for the construction and purchasing expenses; as for food and expenses, I asked the Qu family and the Fan family to purchase enough rice, noodles and charcoal However, many of the dismissed palace residents had hidden diseases, which caused problems in medical treatment and medication. Fortunately, Jie Duzhi was familiar with the Jiaofang Medical Department, and the doctors agreed to come to Bachuan to have a look after the Lantern Festival. "
The inconvenience of consultation was a problem. Zhou Jun wrote down the matter and said to Hua Yue: "So many things are difficult for you."
Hua Yue shook her head and said: "If it was just me, how could I be so busy? Fortunately, I have Qingchan to help me. She didn't sleep for more than a day because of the list."
Zhou Jun looked at Xiao Qingchan who was sleeping soundly and nodded lightly.