The news is true, Xia Shang did hear eunuchs and maids in the palace discussing tonight's lantern festival.
But the scale is not that big, just a few princes and grandsons heard that a new girl has arrived at Chunxiang House by Xinhu Lake in the western suburbs.
Rumor has it that she looks like a moon-shy flower, is pretty and charming, and is expected to become a new starlet in the capital. And it happens to be tonight, so the girl will choose a guest of honor.
It has only been less than two years since Xia and Shang came to ancient times, but this kind of plot has happened several times, not to mention the ancient people who have lived here since childhood.
Why is there an oiran in this house, a new dandy in that house, they are either competing in poems or essays, or they are chosen to be the guests of the court, all these tricks are repeated over and over again.
I’m too lazy to complain about the cliched plot.
I don't know how boring the spare time life of these old friends is. No matter how cliche the plot is, whenever a girl appears in the building and wants to make her first appearance, or choose a guest, there are always so many young men vying for her.
But having said that, although the plot is a bit cliché, Xia Shang also felt a little bit excited after hearing about it, so it would be good to take a look at it as an excuse to feast his eyes on it.
After the news boat started, it attracted many young masters, so someone suddenly came up with the idea to hold a lantern party on the Xinhu Lake below Chunxiang Tower, which would make it more elegant.
It was originally an event to enhance the scene, but Xia Shang used it to brag in front of Li Youlan, which made the girl a little excited and wanted to experience it.
Not long after, Li Youlan was deceived by Xia Shang and led to the small street at the back door of Bieyuan without even taking the maid with him.
At this time, the sky was getting dark, the small street at the back door was dim, there was no one in the long alley, there was no scenery to look forward to, but the whooshing cold wind hit my face.
"Xia Hui, do we really want to go?"
"Miss, you've already come out. Is it possible to go back?"
"I...I'm always a little worried. There are just two of us, and you look worse than me. What if something happens to you?"
"Hi! Don't worry, Miss, this is the capital, not Changzhou where bandits are rampant. You are not afraid of getting into trouble in the capital, but I am afraid that you will bring enough money. By the way, I asked Miss to bring more money, don't forget it."
Li Youlan frowned: "Look, I don't know if it's enough."
With that said, Li Youlan carefully opened her purse. There was not a single ingot of silver in it. It was all white banknotes, and they were all edged. They were at least one thousand taels each.
If so much money fell into the eyes of others, I would probably be scared to the point of weakness, but this Xia Shang was also a wealthy owner, and the money he paid did not exceed 100,000 yuan.
He looked at Li Youlan's ticket and shrugged nonchalantly: "It should be about the same."
"How about calling a carriage now?"
"Miss, we are here to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the capital. What can we see from the carriage? We have to walk to enjoy it."
"But I want to go and come back soon."
"It's not that much, but since you're out, you have to have fun, right? Stop talking and come with me."
…
Xijiao Heart Lake is not far from Linshan Garden, and it takes less than half an hour to walk.
At first Li Youlan was not very willing, but the closer she got to the western suburbs, the more people traveled at night. The houses on both sides of the bustling streets in the capital stayed open at night, and every house was brightly lit. They set up some small businesses in front of their homes, which always attracted people.
Some young ladies traveling at night.
The place ahead is getting busier and busier, and Li Youlan is getting more energetic.
At first she was walking behind Xia Shang, but gradually she walked in front of Xia Shang, looking around with interest, as if she wanted to see the things on the stalls, but she was a little timid.
It can be seen that this is the first time Li Youlan goes out at night, and everything she sees is new to her.
Xia Shang walked along and asked questions about the place names given by the queen.
Unexpectedly, everything went smoothly. After asking all the way to the western suburbs, we had already determined the locations of three locations.
One is Zhenwu Temple, one is Yinxian Lake, and the other is Tonghou Street.
After these three places, Xia Shang did not ask any more questions, because he was afraid that asking too many questions would attract attention.
So I calmed down my thoughts and walked around the western suburbs with peace of mind.
When Xia Shang took his mind back and focused on Li Youlan, he saw her bending down to pay a beggar.
All her pockets contained more than a thousand taels of silver notes, how could she give them to a beggar casually?
He rushed forward and grabbed her: "Miss, what are you doing?"
"Xia Hui, you look so pitiful to the beggar."
"That's not how alms give. Come with me."
As he said this, he couldn't help but pull Li Youlan forward.
Li Youlan couldn't break free and was pulled by Xia Shang for a long distance. When Xia Shang slowed down, Li Youlan angrily shook off his hand and said, "What are you doing? This is my money. How much I want to give away is my business.
"
"There are so many beggars in the world, how can you give alms?"
"It's hard to come out once, and it's great to see everyone and help someone, isn't it right?"
"You're hurting him!"
"You're talking nonsense!"
Xia Shang shook his head, feeling helpless towards this ignorant woman: "A beggar suddenly got thousands of taels of silver. What do you think he will do?"
"I never thought about that."
"Do you think he will rely on this thousand taels of silver to buy a house, land, marry a wife, find a living, and then settle down and be a good citizen? Girl, you are so naive. A person's destiny is determined by himself. As a person,
Don't just feel pity for a beggar, there must be his own reasons for it. He has hands and feet, but he doesn't want to work hard on his own. Instead, he hopes that others will give charity, and he feels at ease with it. If you give him a thousand taels of silver, he will also feel at ease, and he will feel at ease.
He will not be grateful to you. He will only think that he is lucky. He will definitely use your money to eat and drink freely for three or two months, and then come back to be a beggar. Moreover, he will think about his current life after trying to live a rich life.
He becomes more and more dissatisfied. If he cannot wait for a big reward, he may steal, rob, or even kill people and set fires.”
"..." Li Youlan's face turned a little pale. She had never heard such words before.
"This is human nature." Xia Shang gently patted the little girl's shoulder, "You know too little about the dangers of the world. Compassion is the beauty of human nature. It can be present, but it cannot be overflowing. There is a saying that says, 'Sorrow for the misfortune, anger for the misfortune.
If he doesn't fight, who can blame him for the fate he chose?"
"Sad for his misfortune, angry for his inability to fight..."
Li Youlan murmured this sentence, which was also a truth that she had never heard before. She didn't understand it very well, but she felt that the truth was very obvious.
More importantly, she never thought that such words would come out of Xia Hui's mouth.
Xia Hui tonight was completely different from the past, and it was as if she didn't understand him at all.
"Miss, come on, I'll take you to the bank to exchange for some silver." (To be continued)