Half a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Hongrun and his party came out of a rather elegant curio shop on Chaoyang Street. Now they had money in their hands and their backs were straightened a lot.
A total of six hundred taels. Who would have thought that the picture of mountains and rivers painted by the Sixth Prince Zhao Hongzhao would be rewarded as high as six hundred taels by paying the shopkeeper.
Even so, Zhao Hongrun could still guess something from the shopkeeper's tone and attitude: he was still ripped off by the other party.
Later, Zhao Hongrun found out that his brother, the Sixth Emperor, who was known as Qilin'er, had been famous in the capital since he was a child. He was highly praised by the talented and beautiful ladies in the capital for his suave and rich knowledge. I don't know how many students who pride themselves on elegance deliberately thought of it.
Participating in Zhao Hongzhao's poetry meeting, I don't know how many ladies who have not left the government dreamed of getting married to his highness.
It is a pity that not just anyone can participate in Zhao Hongzhao's "Elegant Poetry Society". Even the nephew of a minister of the DPRK will not be invited by Zhao Hongzhao if he is not talented enough.
Because of this, all the talented and beautiful people in the capital were invited by Zhao Hongzhao to the Yafeng Pavilion to participate in the poetry meeting. Appreciating the calligraphy of His Highness the Sixth Prince with their own eyes was regarded as the most elegant thing in the capital, and they praised it vigorously, so much so that Zhao Hongzhao's
Calligraphy treasures are very famous in the capital and are collected by rich people.
But unfortunately, Zhao Hong and Zhaogui are the most favored princes of the current Emperor of Wei. He neither lacks money nor wants his works to be stained with the smell of copper. Therefore, except for gifting a few calligraphy and paintings to close friends, he is rarely in the capital.
It has been widely circulated in the market, so that the selling price has been rising year by year.
It is no exaggeration to say that Zhao Hongrun will definitely suffer a loss, because the painting he secretly sneaked out was stamped with the seal of his Sixth Emperor brother Zhao Hongzhao, and it would be worth a thousand taels of silver if he was lucky enough to come across some.
Arty rich and powerful people may sell for even higher prices.
But having said that, Zhao Hongrun was already very satisfied with the six hundred taels in return. After all, how much was his monthly salary for a prince in the past? According to the ancestral system of the Wei Dynasty, the prince who has not left the cabinet enjoys 50% of the prince's treatment, and when he reaches adulthood, he enjoys the prince's treatment.
, and the prince's monthly salary is 150% of the monthly salary of a first-rank official in the imperial court, or 1.5 times.
Calculated, the monthly salary of a prince who has not left the cabinet is about 70% of that of a first-class courtier in the court, which is equivalent to more than 500 taels of silver, and the annual salary is about 60,000 taels.
For ordinary people, this is definitely an astronomical figure. After all, the normal living expenses of a family of several people in the capital throughout the year are only a hundred taels of silver. Sixty thousand taels of silver is enough for them to live for six hundred years!
But for the prince living in the palace, more than five hundred taels of silver a month is really nothing. After all, the eunuchs in the palace can be rewarded with five to ten taels, or they should not be sent to do things. Other than that,
, as well as the maintenance of the dormitory, purchasing, purchasing new clothes, and maintaining their respective clan guards. All these messy expenses are added together, which is more than 500 taels a month, so that the princes in the palace generally
They need private support from their respective mothers and concubines, otherwise it will be really difficult to maintain the consistent "elegance of a superior".
Six hundred taels of silver, even if converted into the largest fifty taels of silver, there are still twelve ingots, which is almost equivalent to the weight of a six or seven-year-old child. Therefore, at that time, Zhao Hongrun exchanged some fifty taels with the shopkeeper.
With ten taels of silver ingots, only a few of twenty taels and fifty taels of silver ingots were taken.
Firstly, five taels and ten taels of silver are the most commonly used ingots on the market. Secondly, after being split, it is easier for the sect guards to carry. Otherwise, Lu Mu would have to carry a full 600 taels of silver on his back, which is equivalent to Asking him to carry a six or seven-year-old child around on his back for a long time, even a strong young man in his early twenties, Lu Mu, couldn't bear it.
With this split, each Zongwei had more than a dozen to dozens of taels of silver in his pocket, which greatly reduced Lu Mu's pressure.
"Shen Yu, you are a native of Daliang. Do you know the most famous... in the capital, where is that?"
"The most famous brothel?"
Although Shen Yu was reluctant to lead His Highness to a place like that with fireworks and willows, but since Zhao Hongrun had already decided, he had no choice.
He thought for a while and said: "There seems to be a relatively famous building on one side of the Dujiang Canal."
The Dujiang Canal is a canal dug by manpower from Daliang, Chendu, to divert water from a nearby river into the city. Because this place is Daliang, the capital of the Wei Dynasty, Chendu, the river is called "Dujiang", and This artificially dug canal to divert water into the city is called the "Dujiang Canal".
The Dujiang Canal has a wide range of functions. It not only connects the moat outside the city, but is also the source of drinking water and domestic water for most people in the city. It plays a decisive role in Daliang, Chendu. In order to protect the canal water, the Ministry of Punishment of the Wei Dynasty also issued relevant criminal laws.
For example, it is prohibited to throw dirty objects into the canal, bathe in the canal water, play, etc.
"Dujiang Canal? I know where it is."
Mu Qingxing hurriedly wanted to lead the way, but Zhao Hongrun interrupted him.
"Don't be busy yet." Zhao Hongrun waved his hand and said with deep meaning: "Let's take a stroll in the city first and shake off the tail behind us."
The sect guards were stunned when they heard this and looked around subconsciously.
During this period, Shen Yu asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, is there someone from the inner chamber supervisor following you?"
"Oh."
Zhao Hongrun smiled faintly. Although he didn't know whether there were people following him behind him to monitor them, but if he thought about it carefully, it was their first time leaving the palace today. His father, the current Emperor of Wei, would logically be Huitong Xian sent the eunuchs to follow them from a distance and secretly monitor their schedule today.
What if the current Emperor Wei knew that these people went to Yanhualiu Lane today?
"Take the alley."
Shen Yu, who was vaguely the leader of the sect guards, whispered something. The sect guards understood and quickly led their highness into an alley.
Sure enough, as soon as they left, several men dressed as ordinary people walked across the street. They all looked handsome and lacked the masculinity of men. At a glance, they knew that they were the father-in-law who served as a supervisor in the palace.
"..."
The older father-in-law in the lead frowned at the alley where there was no one there, frowned involuntarily, and whispered: "Look for them separately."
Several young eunuchs nodded, some walked forward or backward along the street, and some chased along the alley in front of them.
About half an hour later, Zhao Hongrun and his group jumped out from another alley and entered the crowded street.
"If someone is really following them, they should get rid of them, right?" Shen Yu said to himself somewhat unconfidently. After all, tracking and counter-tracking are not what Zongwei like them are good at.
"It's better to be careful," Wei Jiao said in a low voice.
While the two of them were talking, the other Zongwei frequently looked around, their eyes blazing, as if they wanted to find the eunuchs and eunuchs who were mixed in the crowd, if there were really any eunuchs following them in the crowd.
Seeing that the weird behavior of this group of people aroused surprise among the people on the street, Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes wordlessly and said angrily: "Okay, okay, the more you behave like this, the easier it will be for us to be found... Calm down."
Only then did all the sect guards retract their sharp gazes.
For the sake of caution, they passed through several lively streets and quiet alleys. After they felt that they should get rid of the eunuchs who were serving the eunuchs, they headed towards the building built on the edge of the Dujiang Canal that Shen Yu mentioned. Go to the land of smoke and willows.
As he walked, Zhao Hongrun gradually noticed that the flow of people around him gradually changed.
I remember when I was on Chaoyang Street just now, the people on the street were all kinds of people, old and young, men and women, but now this street is mostly dominated by men, including handsome young men from noble families. , there are dignitaries wearing silk and satin, and there are almost no young women anymore.
After walking a little further, Zhao Hongrun was surprised to see an attic in front of him, almost half of which was built out of thin air on the Dujiang Canal. From this attic, accompanied by the gentle breeze on the canal, came a faint fragrance.
"It smells so good, what kind of flower?" Chu Heng, the more mellow among Zongwei, sniffed his nose and asked in surprise.
"Floral scent? No, this is... rouge scent."
Smelling the refreshing fragrance of rouge, Zhao Hongrun felt an inexplicable excitement in his heart for no reason.
Along with this excitement, there was also an inexplicable restlessness.
"This is...this is what I yearn for..."
Zhao Hongrun, who had been locked in the palace for fourteen years, was so excited that he almost shed tears. He felt that this faint scent of rouge made his outlook on physiology and life gradually become distorted due to the environment in the palace. It was saved in no time.
"Shen Yu, Mu Qing, Lu Mu, follow me, the others will enter in batches."
Since the eleven people in his group attracted too much attention, Zhao Hongrun only brought Shen Yu, Mu Qing and Lu Mu with him, and the rest were temporarily under Wei Jiao's command.
"Walk."
After the arrangements were made, Zhao Hongrun led Shen Yu, Mu Qing, and Lu Mu to the land of smoke and willows that he had always longed for but had never had the opportunity to set foot in.
"A waterside pavilion?"
Seeing the plaque of the building from a distance, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
Because he originally thought that such a place would be called "such and such a garden" or "such and such a pavilion", but he did not expect that it would be such an elegant name.
———"Because the number of words is not enough, I will popularize a little knowledge"————
First of all, I will explain that brothel, brothel, originally refers to a luxurious and exquisite elegant house, and also refers to a wealthy family.
Therefore, only high-end brothels can be called brothels. Although the meaning is similar, it is of a higher grade than "Fireworks and Willow Alley" and can be understood as "that grand feast", "that world", and an entertainment place.
Explain the difference between "prostitute" and "prostitute".
The word prostitute is composed of two parts: "女" and "Chang". Chang means bustling and lively, and refers to the street. Therefore, if understood literally, prostitution refers to a woman who stands on the street to solicit customers, implying a woman who trades in the flesh.
As for prostitute, it consists of two parts: "female" and "branch". It is unclear at first glance, but if "branch" is understood as half of "skill", it is not difficult to understand. Simply put, it is a skilled person.
Woman. "Note: The literal meaning of skill is craft."
In other words, prostitutes are more advanced than prostitutes and are women who are skilled in skills. Of course, this skill does not refer to skills in bed, but to music, chess, calligraphy and painting. It is because of this that some people continue to call brothel girls
As a young lady, you must know that in ancient times, a young lady referred to the daughter of a wealthy family.
If you still can't understand it, just search for the famous prostitutes in the brothels of the Song Dynasty. Almost all of those famous prostitutes were women who were proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. It's a pity that their fate was rough.
Finally, one sentence must be used to summarize the distinction between brothel women: In a brothel, sleeping with you because of your "talent" is a prostitute; sleeping with you because of your "wealth" is a prostitute.