At this time, several female guests came over and asked, "Who was that young man just now?"
Guo Song's temperament and image are indeed very eye-catching. Although several ladies were chatting, their eyes did not miss the bright spots around them. Guo Song's arrival immediately attracted their attention.
Zhao Yunhai smiled bitterly and said: "He is my nephew's friend. His name is Guo Song. He seems to be a county prince. I really don't know which family he is a child of."
Several ladies reacted very quickly, "Could it be the child of Concubine Guo Shu's family?"
What they thought of was not Guo Ziyi, but the Emperor's concubine. It was very possible for a relative to be granted a high title.
"The Guo family has passed its time. Unless his surname is Dugu, he is a good match."
The ladies all laughed tacitly, and the muscles in Zhao Yunhai's face twitched. These women really dared to speak. The heir apparent of the Dugu family would take their turn? They were going to marry the princess or the county lord.
However, Zhao Yunhai also became confused. If Guo Song was not Guo Ziyi's grandson, could he really be the nephew of Guo Shufei's family?
Guo Song entered the Zhao Mansion. There were already many guests in the Zhao Mansion. There were officials gathering in twos and threes to talk. This was an opportunity to make connections and establish relationships. Some young officials took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with the powerful officials. After getting to know each other,
, paving the way for the next door-to-door visit.
"Mr. Guo, let me show you where to sit. There will be too many people and it will be difficult to find one!"
"Thank you very much!"
The children of the Zhao family were very polite and took Guo Song all the way to the east courtyard. A huge shed was also built in the east courtyard. Hundreds of guests were dining here. The seats were not just casual, but each seat had its name written on it.
"it's here!"
The children of the Zhao family quickly found a seat for Guo Song. It was not bad. It was right on the edge of the aisle. The seat was relatively spacious. It would be uncomfortable if he was caught in the middle.
The descendant of the Zhao family asked a maid to serve Guo Song a cup of tea, and said with an apologetic smile: "Master, rest first. I have to go to the gate to greet the guests, so I'll excuse you now."
"Master Zhao, feel free to do whatever you want!"
The children of the Zhao family clasped their fists in a salute and left in a hurry.
Guo Song sat on the couch and slowly drank a few sips of tea. There were five or six single officials like him in the greenhouse, all sitting alone drinking water. The Zhao family treated him well, and they still had a cup of sencha.
Guo Song took a few sips of tea, and suddenly someone called him from behind, "Mr. Guo!"
When Guo Song turned around, he was immediately overjoyed. The person who called him turned out to be Li An, the chief steward of Huangshang. He quickly stood up and saluted, "Uncle An, long time no see!"
Li An was a very special being in Chang'an. He was not a court official, but he had deep connections. Most of the dignitaries in the court knew him. Even the emperor had a good personal relationship with him.
"When did you come back? Why didn't you go see me?" Li An said with a smile.
"I've been back for a while, and I've been busy with the matter of the fallen soldiers. I didn't finish it until yesterday. Now, I received an invitation from the Zhao family again."
Li An and Guo Song sat down, smiled slightly and said: "You spent 120,000 yuan from your own pocket to pay pensions to the families of the fallen soldiers. It has been spread in Chang'an. My dear nephew, most people say you are stupid!"
Guo Song shook his head and said, "I have a clear conscience and don't care what others say about me!"
"But I think this is a good deal. In business matters, my dear nephew, don't blame me for being disrespectful."
Guo Song smiled and said: "I didn't do it for others to see. Of course I won't interfere with what Uncle An thinks!"
"My dear nephew, have you ever heard of the story of buying bones for a thousand gold? Your actions are like buying bones for a thousand gold, which shows that you value love and righteousness. Money is nothing. Reputation is the most important thing in the Tang Dynasty."
Guo Song smiled bitterly. He had never thought about it this way. He just hoped that the soldiers could rest in peace.
Guo Song didn't want to talk about this matter, so he changed the subject, "Speaking of which, I would also like to thank Uncle An for giving Duobao Pavilion to us. Uncle An has always taken good care of my business."
Li An chuckled, "That matter actually has nothing to do with you. Your senior brother and I are very close to each other. Although Duobao Pavilion makes money, for me, there are too many ways to make money. I have no children and I don't need that much.
Qian, that time your senior brother came to me and asked me to introduce a business path. Duobao Pavilion just wanted to let him go, so I did it as a favor to him. The other proprietors were all relatives of the emperor. I heard that I would not do it anymore.
I also sold the shares to your senior brother, which is actually my senior brother's luck."
"His luck has always been good!"
Li An pondered for a moment and said: "There is one more thing I have to remind you. Maybe you won't care, but I have to say it."
"Uncle An, just say it!"
Li An lowered his voice and said: "I advise you to have as little contact with King Zhao as possible, and don't stand on the wrong team on key issues."
"Did Uncle An hear anything?"
"Some things spread quickly in the officialdom. For example, you came back from Hexi with King Zhao, and King Zhao sent you a tent. These things have been spread throughout the court. Once you are branded as King Zhao, it will be detrimental to you!
"
Guo Song didn't expect that these things would spread so quickly, so would anyone know about his dinner with King Zhao?
Guo Song took out a piece of mutton-fat seed jade from his arms and handed it to Li An, "I got this in Anxi. I gave this jade to Uncle An."
Li An was addicted to jade, so he quickly took the jade and took a closer look. He saw that the jade was as fine and white as fat, without any flaws, and there were dots of gold sprinkled on it. He was overjoyed.
"My dear nephew, did you get a lot of jade in Anxi?"
Guo Song said angrily: "No matter how much jade I have in Anxi, I can't collect as much as you. If you are interested, you can go to Duobao Pavilion to have a look. They have collected a lot of jade from my soldiers."
"Okay! I'll go to Duobao Pavilion tomorrow to have a look."
At this time, someone shouted outside the tent: "Lao An, let's go!"
Li An smiled at Guo Song and said, "Someone invited me to listen to music. Do you want to go with me?"
Guo Song shook his head, and Li An chuckled, "Young man, you have to get in touch with women more, then you will feel that life is actually very beautiful."
"Uncle An, let's go! I want to go to the garden."
"Well, I'll go first and come back to you."
Li An smiled and patted him on the shoulder and left. Guo Song drank two more sips of tea and felt a little stuffy even while sitting, so he got up and walked outside.
There are more and more guests in the Zhao Mansion. Officials in twos and threes can be seen everywhere in the east courtyard, west courtyard and atrium. All the pavilions and pavilions are full. Women of the Tang Dynasty don't have to avoid them. They also gather together to chat.
Guo Song walked around and headed towards the backyard garden. The back house was not open to guests, but the garden was. There was a corridor in the east and west courtyards that you could walk through.
The back garden of the Zhao Mansion is a long and narrow shape, about twenty acres, and is actually laid out along a small river that passes through the mansion. It is mid-spring, and the garden is colorful and extremely enchanting, but once you enter the garden,
Guo Song regretted it. This place was almost a world of young girls. There were more than a hundred girls enjoying the flowers together in the garden.
Most of them are wearing various colored skirts, with their arms wrapped in gauze, their skin is pink and white, and they are full of youthful vitality. However, there are also many young men in the garden, but they are obviously admiring flowers, but in fact they are people-watching.
Various banquets are also opportunities for young people to meet and get to know each other. There was no custom of blind dates in the Tang Dynasty. Most young people got to know each other through various activities and then asked their parents to propose marriage. If the difference in family status was not too big, parents would usually grant their children's request.
Of course, there are also many children of powerful officials who marry for certain purposes, especially the Guanlong nobles. Marriage is a link between them, and they are basically political marriages.
Guo Song felt that several girls not far away were whispering about him. He was a little embarrassed. He didn't come here just to admire the beauty.
He quickly turned around and walked back, crossing a small bridge with a pavilion on it, and saw a girl leaning on the railing and looking at the catkins blowing in the wind.
She wore a light green long chest-length skirt, a half-sleeved jacket, and a yellow silk cloth around her arms. Her hair was combed into a single-ring moon bun with a hairpin inserted sideways. Because her back was to Guo Song,
I couldn't see her appearance, but I felt that her skin was as crystal clear as snow, her snow-white neck was graceful and slender, and her figure was slender, about 1.6 meters tall.
Guo Song walked quickly past her, but heard her whispering a poem:
The poplar flowers in February are light and faint,