No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 427 Ways to Help Others

At present, there are still many ancient rituals in the Zhou Dynasty.

Not to mention that the Zhou court established by the empress Wei Zhao often regarded itself as the Zhengshuo of the Zhou Dynasty in the pre-Qin period, and naturally vigorously promoted the ancient Zhou rites.

Leaves are a must-have for the people of Wei Zhou to celebrate the Beginning of Autumn.

During the Autumn Handing Ceremony in the Great Zhou Palace, when the Grand Historian announced "Autumn is coming" to Her Majesty the Queen, a century-old sycamore tree planted in the deep palace of Shangyang Palace would drop one or two red leaves and present it to the Queen. , a sign of good fortune.

As for whether the fallen leaves of the sycamore tree fell spontaneously or man-made, we don't need to worry about it.

This piece of red leaf will then be cut into a flower shape by the colorful dress lady, and will be worn by Her Majesty the Queen herself. It will be inserted diagonally on the side of the hair to make Autumn makeup, and she will take the lead in participating in the autumn ceremony held by the palace.

Therefore, this kind of Beginning of Autumn makeup was just like the plum blossom makeup that had recently spread from the court and was popular in Chang'an and Luoyang. It became a fashion and was sought after by ladies and women of the Zhou Dynasty.

On the street, Ouyang Rong took a look and saw a little girl in a torn red coat carrying a basket selling sycamore leaves cut into flower shapes.

There are many maple forests in the mountains and forests near Xunyang City, but sycamore leaves are rare. I don’t know where the little girl in the broken red coat got them.

However, she has a nimble mind, and the sycamore leaves cut into flower shapes in the basket all have love poems or grievances written on them, and her handwriting is beautiful, so she can be used to it.

It happened to be dusk in the evening, and the ladies and young ladies in Xunyang City who were enjoying the chrysanthemums in the autumn returned tiredly.

The little girl in the torn red coat only had to carry a basket and run around in the streets, hawking, and she looked like a poor little girl who was forced to run a business.

This set of silky little combos really pokes at the soft spots of sentimental and artistic young ladies who have been living in the boudoir for a long time.

Sure enough, no matter what era, women make the best money.

In other words, it is the man next to a woman who makes the best money.

The same is true now. Xie Lingjiang and Qin Ying were picking red sycamore leaves around the bamboo basket. Ouyang Rong behind them glanced at the little girl in the red coat.

"How much does it cost?" he asked warmly.

Just when Li Dalang spoke, the little girl in a red coat lowered her head, not daring to stare at the distinguished guest. Now Ouyang Rong asked, although her head was still not fully raised, her eyes turned up timidly, looking at Xiang Ouyang Rong.

Although her cheeks are thin and her yellow hair is a little malnourished, her eyes are surprisingly big, and her painted eyes are clear and bright. When she quietly looks at outsiders, she is like a deer bowing his head to drink water by the lake, ready to encounter danger at any time. Run away.

At this moment, I don’t know whether it was because of Ouyang Rong’s gentle voice or because of his attire in felt hat and soap clothes. He was not as noble as Xie Lingjiang, Li Dalang, or Qin Ying. He was more like a follower, which gave people the impression that he was a follower. Not much pressure.

Huang Xuan whispered: "Thank you... for your patronage, five cents a piece."

After saying that, her eyes fell on the handsome face of the young man in black clothes under the felt hat, and then she moved away silently.

According to her previous experience of hawking on the street, for men, generally handsome ones are mostly subordinates. As for nobles such as masters and young masters, they are all plain-looking, either fat-headed or big-eared, or not upright and serious. It depends on them. Whatever they do, the temperament of a wealthy businessman and a high-ranking official are also different, but they are definitely rarely fair-faced and handsome.

As for the ladies and their families, it's just the opposite.

Good-looking, definitely of good status, either rich or noble, not to mention the way she is dressed, just look at her hands. A woman’s bare hands must be white, painted with cardamom, and her nails are neatly manicured. .

How can a woman from a poor family have time to take care of her hands regularly?

For a little girl in a red coat who walks around in the market, she can tell the high and low at a glance, and the main thing is to be screened quickly.

After all, these ladies who are either rich or noble, gentle and soft-hearted are her target customers.

Ouyang Rong casually pointed at the red sycamore leaves in the basket:

"You wrote all these poems?"

Huang Xuan shook her head: "I didn't write it. It was written in books or what I heard from others."

"I know, I say words."

"Ah."

"Who taught you how to read?"

Ouyang Rong had a lot of questions and kept talking, which made Huang Xuan couldn't help but look at the young man in felt hat leading the horse in front of her, and then turned to look at the cool and quiet young man in golden clothes behind him.

The purse in the arms of the noble man in robes was bulging, like a lot of silver beans, but he didn't pay much attention to the conversation between the young man in the felt hat and her. His attention mainly fell on the two noble ladies picking red leaves beside the basket.

The young man in the felt hat looked more and more like a follower who followed around to protect and ask questions.

Huang Xuan lowered her head: "There used to be a Taoist... a Confucian scholar who lived next door to the house. He often asked me to help buy paper and ink, and taught Braille in my spare time..."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "He is very easy to learn. His calligraphy and calligraphy skills are as good as those of children of the same age who attend private schools. This is rare and valuable."

Huang Xuan shook her head and looked away from him, instead focusing on the two ladies picking out the red leaves.

The selections for the two girls had already been completed. Ouyang Rong didn't talk any more. He turned around and saw that each of them had chosen a few red sycamore leaves. Xie Lingjiang and Qin Ying also each picked a white folding fan with a poem inscribed on it. No need to guess. Everyone knows who to give it to.

Li Dalang was about to take out the silver beans, but he seemed too lazy to change. Ouyang Rong quietly stretched out his hand, pulled off his sleeve, and handed over his money bag.

Li Dalang was stunned and noticed that there was an extra money bag in his sleeve. Understanding his friend's intention, he helplessly took out the corresponding copper coins from Ouyang Rong's money bag and handed them to Huang Xuan. Not a penny more, not a penny more. .

After shopping, the four of them turned around and left. Xie Lingjiang and Qin Ying stood side by side, looking at their new leaves and talking about them with great interest.

Huang Xuan didn't know that she missed the generous tip. She sold two folding fans and several red leaves in a short period of time, which was an unexpected surprise and a full harvest.

The concerned vendors around him looked envious when they saw it, and some acquaintances among them even made some jokes.

The little girl in a torn red coat didn't seem to have heard. She carefully put away the coins and glanced at the sky. Without stopping, she held the bamboo basket and ran towards the crowd of people entering the city with her short legs.

She wanted to do some more business while the sun was still setting. It would be even better if she could meet such a arrogant and distinguished guest as just now.

Ouyang Rong and the four others also didn't know that a certain little girl in a torn red coat was very energetic. Seeing that it was getting late, they discussed it and went to a nearby restaurant with good business on the street. They sat down by the window on the second floor and ordered A table of dishes.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the red leaves each of the two girls selected, and wrote "Juanxiu" in small letters.

My junior sister bought seven pieces, and she seemed to like two of them the most and couldn't put them down.

"Look at your..." Qin Ying came closer curiously and muttered: "Mei Rui's newly made-up osmanthus leaf eyebrows, Xiaolian's charm comes out of Yaochi..."

There was another piece. After seeing it clearly, she read: "The light clothes are like mist, the jade skin seems to be shaved, and the person is deep in the painting building."

"What did the sister of the Qin family pick?" Xie Lingjiang also looked at the red leaf between Qin Ying's fingers and whispered: "Last night, the nepotism was removed, and today the locusts are flying. You can't abandon the plum blossoms, don't let the anvils return..."

Ouyang Rong laughed and interjected:

"Miss Qin only has one piece, why do you buy so many red leaves, little junior sister?"

"I like it. I advise senior brother to stop taking care of it. Huh, besides, you don't teach me poetry, so I can't learn it on my own? This is just turning the page."

"People who read books don't read serious books, so they specialize in reading this, right? How come they are like children." Ouyang Rong shook his head.

"You are the child." She stared slightly.

Ouyang Rong smiled, casually took the bowls and chopsticks in front of Xie Lingjiang, lifted a teapot with a long spout, poured out a trickle of tea with white smoke, and washed the bowls and chopsticks. Li Dalang, who was next to him, saw this and quickly imitated Qin Ying's dishes and chopsticks to help clean them.

Xie Lingjiang held his chin with both hands, looking at the careful senior brother who was washing the dishes and chopsticks with running eyes, suppressed the corners of his mouth, and suddenly asked:

"Of these red leaf fragments, which one is your favorite, Senior Brother?"

"like it all."

"to be honest."

"Well, I don't really like it either."

Xie Lingjiang didn't look surprised and smiled: "What about this?"

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes to clean the tea set when a folding fan suddenly appeared in his field of vision. He looked up and saw that it was handed over by his junior sister with a smile.

"Here, here it is for you."

Qin Ying also handed out a folding fan to the surprised Li Dalang. At the same time, she turned her head and curled her lips and said, "Young Master Ouyang will definitely like this one that Sister Xie picked."

Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows and opened the folding fan. Before he could finish reading, Xie Lingjiang read out in a soft voice:

"The state of Zhou is very happy, and there are good men in the army."

She arched her eyebrows, tilted her head and said:

"Look what I found. One of the five white paper folding fans sold by the lady in the red coat happened to have this sentence written on it. What a fate."

Qin Ying smiled and said:

"Sister Xie doesn't know. How famous is the word Ouyang Lianghan in Chang'an and Luoyang? Which girl in the capital city doesn't want to meet Zhen Lianghan? It's the custom.

"The state of Zhou is happy, and the army has good men." This sentence has become a poem that ladies talk about when they mention Mr. Ouyang.

"It seems that it is the same in Xunyang City. You can even come across a folding fan if you buy it on the street... After all, Mr. Ouyang is the governor of this province, and everyone knows about it."

Seeing his senior brother's helpless expression, Xie Lingjiang smiled, covered his mouth and said playfully:

"The little lady in the red coat probably never would have guessed that the person who bought her folding fan was the person who said this."

At this moment, there was a quarrel downstairs, and the four of them couldn't help but look out the window. On the street not far downstairs, pedestrians were gathering around to watch the excitement.

In the surrounded clearing, there was a familiar red shadow.

It was the little girl in the torn red coat just now.

At this moment, a fat-faced steward and a skinny waiter arrived on the street. Not far behind them, a middle-aged businessman stood with his hands folded, looking on with a cold look on his face.

The fat steward pushed the little girl in the ragged red coat to the ground. Her palms were scratched by the rough floor, and the red leaves in the basket were scattered all over the floor, blown away by the autumn wind.

The fat steward picked up a handful of red leaves, sneered while looking at them, and raised them to indicate:

"Everyone, take a look. They are all using Han Lei ink. This little ink thief specializes in stealing ink. I have already reported it to my boss."

The thin monkey boy took a red leaf from the fat steward's hand, turned around and ran to the merchant to present it to him.

The hand copy merchant's face turned cold.

When the fat steward saw this, he threw the red leaves on the little girl in a red coat who was paralyzed on the ground, and spoke with burning words:

"My boss is very angry now and is planning to hand you over to the government and accuse you of theft.

"Also, Brother Chen is my uncle and the landlord who is unlucky enough to rent your house. If he hears about this, he will never rent the house to a thief again.

"Little thief, go back to your idiot father quickly, raise money quickly, pay Mo Ruchang for what he has stolen over the years, then pack your things and get out. Brother Chen's house will not be rented to a family of thieves."

The little girl in a broken red coat covered her broken and bleeding palms and forgot about the pain in her hands after hearing this.

She burst into tears and explained with choked sobs:

"I didn't steal the ink ingots from the warehouse. I used only broken scraps that were going to be thrown away. I picked them up and took them home..."

How could the fat steward listen? He sneered:

"Look, everyone, the scraps belong to the employer. It's shameless to steal things carelessly at a young age. How can you do it when you grow up? Get out of the city with your father. I don't think there will be any landlords in Xingzifang in the future." It’s so fucking unlucky to rent a house to your family, bah.”

The little girl in a red coat shook her head in defense, but when everyone pointed at her, she looked miserable.

The thin monkey guy suddenly came over and said: "But the old lady from the brothel next door is willing to help you, you can do whatever you want..."

The little girl in the broken red coat was stunned for a moment, then realized that her heart was filled with despair.

The steward and the waiter looked at each other and laughed secretly in their hearts. At this moment, a voice came:

"Are there any more red leaves? Please have some more."

The fat steward and the thin monkey boy were startled, then turned to look and saw a young man in a felt hat walking down.

"What are you doing, kid? Don't meddle in other people's business..." the fat steward said warily.

Ouyang Rong ignored it indifferently, threw the money bag in his hand, walked to Huang Xuan and squatted down, putting the money bag into her hand.

"My eldest lady loves poetry and essays. She really likes the red leaves you sell. I want you to make some more. You can send them to Prince Xunyang's Mansion in Xiushui Fang another day. Go to the concierge to tell the name of Miss Xie of Jinling and leave it to them. Yes, someone will pay."

He lowered his head and picked up the red leaves in the basket one by one, while giving instructions with a calm face.

Huang Xuan lowered her head and stared blankly at the money bag that fell from the sky. This sudden business made her a little confused.

Ouyang Rong decorated all the red leaves of the sycamore tree in blue. The young man held up the brim of his hat, stood up and left directly. From the beginning to the end, he did not even look at the fat stewards or mind other business.

When the fat steward and the thin monkey boy heard the words "Prince Xunyang's Mansion" and "Mrs. Xie of Jinling", their bodies froze for a moment, and immediately they became visibly panicked.

Huang Xuan couldn't care too much and picked up the money bag. She was about to turn around and beg for compensation. She lowered her head and begged for mercy. She was afraid that she and her father would be evicted by the landlord and become homeless.

But the next moment, she found that the fat steward in front of her suddenly apologized, nodded, and spoke in a low voice, no longer as fierce as before.

Like a wolf turning into a sheep.

But the thin monkey guy who was originally the red-faced guy became extremely enthusiastic, greeted her with greetings, and even took the initiative to bend down to help her up.

Huang Xuan shrank back, subconsciously resisting the approach of the two men.

When the fat-faced steward and the skinny monkey boy saw this, they looked at each other. Immediately, they apologized sincerely to each other. Then, with pain in their eyes, they took out the silver coins all over their bodies, put them in her hands, and bowed down to apologize.

After a while, the two of them ran away in despair.

Not far away, the owner of Mofang who had come to question him had already disappeared, and he didn't know when he ran away.

The group of people who were looking for trouble came and went as quickly as they seemed, as if nothing happened.

The expressions on the faces of passers-by who stopped to eat melons were either regretful that there was no good show, thoughtful, or extremely envious.

All that was left was the little girl in a torn red coat, slumped on the gray stone pavement, clutching her purse tightly with her two bleeding hands, covering her chest, and looking around blankly with her little face.

Finally, she stared blankly in the direction where the felt hat youth was leaving, and murmured stupidly:

"Xiushuifang...Xunyang Prince's Mansion...Thank you, young lady..."

(End of this chapter)