Daming Yinghua

Chapter 46
Zheng Haizhu doesn't wear makeup, her curly black hair is wrapped in an indigo turban, and she is dressed in plain clothes. Walking in the moon river bustling with colorfully dressed women, she feels less present than the extras in the background panel.

It's so good, she followed Mr. Tao to board the boat, just like an ordinary maid, not conspicuous at all.

The cruise ship chartered by Mr. Tao today is a "fairy boat" in terms of shape and structure, much smaller than a painting boat or a light boat, but it is also well decorated with carved columns and windows.

Zheng Haizhu talked to the boatman in the local Wu dialect, then turned to Mr. Tao and said, "There is indeed a Nine Lotus Nunnery in the north of the city. The young lady probably knows how to get there. The journey here takes less than an hour."

Mr. Tao thanked him with a smile, and went into the small cabin, fiddled with his boy servant on the table for a while, and brought out a small copper stove.

Zheng Haizhu smelled a sweet fragrance, but saw the reddish-brown powder on the partition of the copper furnace, forming a zigzag chain of blessing characters.

This is playing Xiangzhuan, an elegant game loved by scholar-bureaucrats in Song and Ming Dynasties and Miss Qianjin.

"Isn't this incense made from lychee shells?" Zheng Haizhu asked curiously.

When she was in the Han Mansion, she often saw grandmothers and ladies playing incense seals, but they were all expensive raw materials.Zheng Haizhu laughed at himself like a cow chewing peonies, but he couldn't smell any realm, but it was not as good as the fruity lychee in front of him.

Mr. Tao showed his face and said: "It is made of lychee shells, dried and ground into powder. This is my mother's unique craftsmanship. When I travel, I always bring lychee fragrance, such as Shen, Sandalwood, Dragon, She Yes, nothing compares to it."

He sniffed in a relaxed manner, looked around at the streets and towns on both sides of the river, and said sincerely: "The prefectures in Nanzhili are very prosperous, and I will definitely revisit with my mother in the coming year. After a woman is married, she is confined to the back house. If it wasn't for the husband and son going to other places to serve as officials, they might never leave this county for the rest of their lives, it's really pitiful."

Zheng Haizhu was a little surprised when he heard this.

Mr. Tao showed generosity and protection to Ru Jiuer. Zheng Haizhu originally thought it was an old-fashioned script for a passionate scholar to pursue a talented prostitute.

Looking at his words and demeanor today, he found that his comfort to Ru Jiu'er was simple and pure, and even the eyes when he said goodbye were clear and calm.

Listening to his natural sigh at this moment, there is nothing pretentious, it is purely out of compassion for the woman's situation.

Zheng Haizhu glanced at the square scarf on Master Tao's head.

In the Ming Dynasty, only men who had obtained the qualifications of birth members could wear square scarves.Mr. Tao wearing the square scarf is at least a scholar. Judging from the quality of the material and the cost of the clothes, his family background should be extraordinary.

With such an identity, it is even more rare to have no dandyism and sympathy.

"May I ask, where is the son's fairyland?"

"Oh, Zhejiang Shanyin."

It turned out to be from Shaoxing, with a not too strong accent, speaking Nanzhili official dialect.

Zheng Haizhu showed a sincere look of fascination: "It's a good place, Lanting Collection Preface, and Shen Yuan."

Mr. Tao smiled gently: "Yes, we have quite a lot of ancient sites in Shanyin."

Mr. Tao didn't think it was strange that a little maid knew the story of Wang Xizhi, the sage of calligraphy, and Lu You and Tang Wan.

Although he is young, he has a lot of experience. After studying in various places in the south of the Yangtze River, he understands that many prostitute girls and maidservants of wealthy families are either influenced by the literary style of the house and the owner, or they were originally born in a scholar's family. Their knowledge and education may not be inferior to those Health man.

The winter moon has not yet arrived, and the sun is still warm before Shenshi. There are a few armchairs covered with brocade mattresses outside the cabin. The polite Mr. Tao told Zheng Haizhu not to be restrained, to sit down and drink tea to rest.

He himself leaned back in the chair, picked up a thin volume, and read it quietly.

Zheng Haizhu saw the word "Folk Song" printed on the cover of the book, and couldn't help but said again: "Young Master, it is the collection of Gusu Mr. Feng Menglong?"

Feng Menglong’s achievements, which are familiar to posterity, are the compilation of the collection of Ming Dynasty dialects "Jingshi Hengyan", but at this time it was still early before the "Sanyan" came out, and what was published was his collection of Wudi folk songs,

Mr. Tao raised his head.

This time, he looked at Zheng Haizhu with obvious surprise.

Besides being able to read and write, it is very rare to know such an unpopular book as Feng Menglong's "Collection of Folk Songs".

Zheng Haizhu showed no signs of showing off, and said wanly: "My brother studied a lot during his lifetime, and he admired Mr. Feng's running around collecting lyrics. My brother once told me that there are so many false feelings in the vast poems and essays." It is a fake work, but the vast folk songs are all true feelings. Because folk songs don’t have to be like poetry, they don’t have to compete for glory, or flatter, or seek fame.”

"Well said!" Mr. Tao blurted out praise.

After the applause, Mr. Tao was a little perplexed.

He loved reading miscellaneous books since he was a child, but he soon had to learn the art of stereotyped writing like many men in this era.

This kind of tactic of trying to take the exam, mixed with the knowledge of the world in the examination room, is really hollowing out the hearts of scholars and killing the ambitions of heroes. It is not as spiritual as reading historical records, reading scripts, and reading mountain song lyrics.

Mr. Tao didn't expect that the slander that he often had would come out from the mouth of a woman of the same age whom he met by chance today.

So he covered the scroll, looked at Zheng Haizhu, his tone unconsciously carried understanding, and sighed softly: "Women are subject to etiquette, men are subject to articles, and many innocent and good people in the world wear shackles." .”

Before the sound of disappointment fell, I suddenly heard a loud voice from the left bank.

"Brother, it's me, roll the boat over!"

When the little fairy boat docked, a young man with a long body, handsome face and gorgeous robes jumped onto the deck with a "boom", followed by the servants, who were also wearing thick and clean clothes.

The young man smiled at Mr. Tao, turned his head to stare at Zheng Haizhu, and said with a big grin: "Hey, what building and courtyard is this girl, why is she dressed so poorly?"

Mr. Tao frowned, and shouted in a deep voice: "Nonsense! Miss Zheng is a family member of a gentry in this manor. We met by chance and enthusiastically showed me a way for a foreigner. Go to the nunnery to find Sister He. Quickly apologize to the girl."

The young man let out an "oh", put away his slippery look, and said to Zheng Haizhu: "Apology and guilt, don't blame me. I can be forgiven for misunderstanding, I know brother is happy in the brothel these two days, I thought the girl was also..."

"Third brother, you can't speak at such an age, so just shut up." Mr. Tao became even more annoyed.

The young man was not afraid, and said with a playful smile: "Oh, I've embarrassed the elder brother again, so let's change it, let's change it."

After finishing speaking, he cleared his throat in a tuneful manner, and bowed to Zheng Haizhu: "I am Zhang Gu, Shanyin County, Shaoxing Prefecture. The top of the mountain is like a flat land. My friendship with Zhang Sanlang has also started today, I am honored to meet you! If there is a chance to go to Shaoxing Mansion, I will do my best to be a host."

After the young man finished speaking, a pair of flexible eyeballs aimed at his elder brother, seeing his embarrassment on his face.

He took another look at Miss Zheng, who was so pretty.

Hey, Miss Zheng's expression suddenly became weird.

A moment ago, she was recognized as a firework girl by him, and her expression was calm, but at this moment, her eyes flashed suddenly, as if she was touched by something.

(End of this chapter)