Red Tang

The banquet set by Mrs. Guo is naturally higher than ordinary officials.Although Li Kuo and others were the distinguished guests invited by Mrs. Guo, the concierge, who has always judged people only because of their rank, would not take such low-level military officers of the seventh or eighth rank seriously.Impatient with the regulations, he led all the youngsters into the gate, and the young man in Tsing Yi who accepted the invitation said "please do what you want" and left everyone aside.

"What's his attitude!" Zhang Yanji's chest was full of anger, and he stepped forward angrily to argue with the boy.

"What do you care about with his servant?" Li Kuo grabbed his friend's sleeve and comforted him with a wry smile. "These porters only recognize the color of official uniforms, so it's no wonder that petty officials of our level are left out in the cold."

"But, Brother Kuo'er, he, he, alas!" Zhang Yanji threw off his sleeve unwillingly, and let out a long sigh.

"You are stupid, but I still don't believe it. Madam Guoguo has invited so many guests, we just have to go with the crowd, why do we need to be delayed? Mortals, mortals!" Zhou Wuzui specially changed into a moon white today. se pullover, with a square square scarf tied casually on his head, at this moment he is deliberately waving a folding fan to show off his elegance.

"Fatty man, who are you calling stupid!" Mr. Zhang Xiaolang is not a master who is willing to take a disadvantage and submit to softness. He stepped forward and tried to argue with Zhou Wuzui that he was ugly.

"Ordinary people, ordinary people!" Zhou Wuzui sighed seriously, and his tone was just right.

"Okay, okay. Don't say a few words!" Li Kuo stepped forward in time and became a peacemaker. "The invitation says that Madam will hold a banquet in the mansion on Youshi. Now it's [-]:[-] Shenshi. If you want to save money for a meal, hurry up and follow!"

The two of them looked at the sky, then each hummed softly unwillingly, and left with Li Kuo.

Mrs. Guo's mansion was originally Jingzhao Webster's old house, which was confiscated as an official house because of Empress Wei's disorderly government.After the Dragon Court was changed, Li Sanlang, son of Shengming, gave this house to Mrs. Guo Guo as a token of his favor.Webster was originally a prominent family in Gyeonggi, so the mansion was built to be magnificent.Mrs. Guo Guo was also a master who spared no expense, and ordered craftsmen to repair according to the regulations of Princess Taiping's old house.At that time, in terms of luxury, the residence of Chang'an Mansion was probably unmatched except for the Youxiang Mansion.

However, this mansion is much simpler than many houses with complicated layouts.There is less tedious entry and exit, the front house receives guests, and the backyard rests. Sometimes it is simple but makes people feel kind.

This time Mrs. Guo set up the banquet in the backyard, which can make all the guests look forward to it.You know, to be able to draw "water from one river" in the mansion, in Chang'an City, besides the emperor, he is also the wife of the Guo State.Mrs. Guo Guo loved incense, especially sandalwood, so this "river" was named "Tanjiang".It is said that Mrs. Guo ordered the servant girl in the mansion to pick the petals every morning, mix them with sandalwood tree slices, pound them into powder and pour them into the "sandalwood".Therefore, those who have been lucky enough to enter the mansion of Mrs. Guo are all amazed by the bursts of sandalwood coming from the pavement.With the flow of people passing through several thresholds and passing through several corridors, the teenagers finally saw the famous "Tanjiang" in Chang'an.A piece of "river water" draws from the south, falls from a high place according to the momentum, circles around several walls, and flows back to the "Bohuang Pavilion" in the north.

"Bo Huang, Bo Huang, what a name!" Zhang Yanji nodded lightly and couldn't help but admire.

"Take a seat quickly!" Li Kuo reminded, tugging at his friend's sleeve.

...

This banquet is the private banquet of Mrs. Guo, so it will not be as rigid as the official banquet.However, Mrs. Guo Guo still would not take things lightly, such as the seat number, which extremely reflected the status of an official.The servants in the mansion cleverly divided several areas according to the grades of the guests, and reasonably maintained the proper boundaries between officials and ministers.The seats for officials of the fourth grade and above are set on a high slope next to the "Bohuang Pavilion".Maple trees are planted all over the slope, so it is called Fenglindu.When dinner came, the blood-red maple leaves swayed and rustled in the wind, making people feel refreshed.Officials from the fourth rank to the seventh rank sit on the gentle slope at the lower end, which is covered with daisies, which is called gengshengyuan. (Note 1) Companionship with chrysanthemum is also good for health and sex.Stealing half a day's leisure, how can you not learn to be a famous person, and use this hermit among flowers to get rid of the turbidity in your body?As for officials below the seventh rank, if they are lucky enough to be favored by their wives to enter the garden for a banquet, they can only sit on the Moqiu at the end.From a cluster of green grass, it is not ashamed of this beautiful scenery.

Naturally, Li Kuo and his party can only sit at the end, but because the "Tanjiang" lingers tactfully, it doesn't look too far away from Moqiu to the "Bohuang Pavilion".There is a Persian carpet under each seat, and an ebony square table stands on it, but they have to sit on their knees during the banquet. This flaw in the ointment really made the officials and dignitaries frown. (Note 2)

There are toasts and wines, scenes and feelings, what else can you ask for if you have this in life?

What they are looking for is the famous Mrs. Guo Guo, and what they are looking for is the country-colored and heavenly-scented Yang Huahua.People are not sages, who can be without desire?What's more, the one who will appear in front of them is the well-known Mrs. Guo Guo in Chang'an, the fairy grass beauty who is not more beautiful than the imperial concubine or empress.Some high-ranking officials and ministers who usually talked about the state affairs in the court hall, and spoke admonishingly, all went to pretense now, and gathered together to chat in low voice about the affairs of Mrs. Guo Guo that were circulated in Chang'an City.

Finally, the protagonist of the banquet, after a long call, finally came to the "Bohuang Pavilion" surrounded by many maidservants.Mrs. Guo Guo wore a light yellow color today.Because today is a private banquet, Mrs. Guo Guo did not loosen the falling cloud bun that she usually wears, but casually used a handle of jade ruyi to cross a waterfall of black hair, and bound her black hair.After going to Huadian, the plain-faced Mrs. Guoguo nodded lazily at the crowd without applying makeup, with a slight smile on the corner of her mouth.

"I have kept you waiting for a long time, and I apologize to you here." Mrs. Guo Guo bowed down to everyone and bowed deeply.

How could the crowd dare to accept her gift, they all got up and replied, Madam don't need to care about these trivial matters.Yang Huahua was just putting on a show, seeing that everyone was so knowledgeable, she raised her sleeves, giggled and said, "Everyone, please take a seat."

"Monster, monstrosity!" Zhang Yanji stared straight at him and sighed.

Li Kuo was also surprised, he had also heard of Mrs. Guo's famous name before, and thought that the rumors in the world were exaggerated.When I saw her face to face this time, I felt that the rumors were not only true, but also missed Mrs. Guo's peerless youth.Earlier in the polo match in the palace, Li Xiaoqi had paid homage to the phoenix of the imperial concubine from a distance.At that time, Li Kuo only felt that the imperial concubine was plump and luxurious, with a myriad of manners, and he was immediately shocked as a heavenly being.This time, seeing Mrs. Guo Guo, the third sister of the noble concubine, compared with the two, I couldn't help sighing that once Fanghua entered the Yang family.Mrs. Guo Guo is more beautiful than the imperial concubine. To put it disrespectfully, this woman has a charming posture of a mature woman.She knows how to grab a man's heart, and she knows how to make them bow down under her pomegranate skirt and use it for herself.

This is a woman who can make people go crazy!Li Xiaoqi commented in his heart.

"Everyone is invited to come here today. The slave family is very happy. The clan brother was promoted to serve as the censor, and Hui'er will be very happy again in the near future. It is a double happiness for the Yang family. Tonight, the slave family will be drunk with you in this Tanjiang River. Qushui Liushang , the bliss of the world. If anyone can’t recite poems, I will be forgiven.” (Note 3)

Yang Huahua raised her eyebrows lightly, and raised the corners of her mouth slightly. Just a joking word softened the muscles and bones of all the officials, and captured the hearts of the people who were the pillars of the court.

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Note 1: rebirth: another name for chrysanthemum.

Note 2: It should be said that in the early Tang Dynasty, the banquet system of the Wei and Jin Dynasties was still completely followed, and kneeling was adopted.Of course, it was the prosperous Tang Dynasty at this time, and because of Hu Hua, Hu stools appeared in the homes of ordinary people.However, in the mansions of dignitaries and ministers, the kneeling and sitting system is still adopted during formal banquets.But that doesn't mean they like to make trouble for nothing.You can do an experiment, not to mention how long it is, if you kneel on the carpet in your living room and eat for an hour, will your calves be sore and swollen?The rich and powerful would also use Hu stools at family banquets, but in order to maintain the dignity of the family, they still respected their buttocks and legs in formal occasions.

Note 3: Mrs. Guo Guo had a son named Pei Hui, who married Princess Gao, the daughter of Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty.

Qushui Liushang: "Qushui Liushang" is a custom derived from the Shangsi Festival. It was originally to pray for disasters and blessings, and later evolved into an activity of some literati.In fact, it is to dig a small river in the yard, and then let the servants float the wine glass on the river upstream. When the wine glass floats in front of someone, that person will write a poem.If you can't do it, go drink.

ps: I am so tired that my eyes shed tears, so here is a chapter for you all.