sea

Chapter 168
The widow Qing sighed, and said quietly: "Most of the men in the world are unlucky, and they always make women sad. Gu Zhen is devoted to love, and thinks that the person he loves is the most beautiful in the world, so he lost the life-and-death gamble. Such affection, Wouldn't it make the men of the world ashamed? For his kindness, I will raise my right hand."

Gu Zhen smiled and said, "Thank you." Seeing his smiling face, Ayise was so angry that she cursed inwardly, "The puppy surnamed Gu is extremely cunning." It turned out that Gu Zhen's move seemed absurd, but in fact it had far-reaching consequences.In this battle of treasures, apart from whether the treasures are good or bad, it depends on the intentions of the three judges.The widow was hurt by love in the past, and she hated the poor-hearted people the most.Gu Zhen didn't seem to be winning or losing, but she was deeply moved by her rhetoric. In the next four rounds, this old woman must be biased.Ai Yisi worked hard to find these four beauties, and rehearsed this "Fire and Cloud Beauty", not to mention Shi Miaomiao's absence, even if she was present, she might not be able to match the beauty of body, appearance and charm.In this round, Ayes had a chance to win, but unexpectedly, Gu Zhen lost the bet, but won the hearts of the people, and in exchange for a dead ticket that guarantees the harvest of drought and flood, one loss and one gain can be offset by each other.

When there was silence, Lu Buwei got up and said: "The beauty game is two to one, and the Western God of Wealth wins." As soon as the words fell, there was a burst of cheers from the Hu crowd, and the musicians also played tunes, with a cheerful rhythm, showing the joy in their hearts.

Lu Buwei waved his hand and asked, "What's the next match between the two of you?" Aiyisi didn't answer, but Gu Zhen said first: "In my country of splendor, since we have fought for treasures and beauties in our country, we should bet on it." It’s beautiful.” Lu Buwei nodded and said, “It’s what the Western God of Wealth thinks?” Ayes sneered, and said in her heart: “Do you want to win this round, you little dog? Hmph, that’s daydreaming. " So he raised his voice and said: "Okay, let's compete with Jinxiu."

Gu Zhen stretched out his hands and said with a smile, "Zhao Shouzhen." The merchant behind him held a jade box in his hand and stepped forward in response. It was Zhao Shouzhen, the richest man in Tongcheng.Gu Zhen unfolded the jade box and took out a thin piece of brocade.Gu and Zhao each held one end and unfolded it gently. The brocade was as thin as a spider's silk and as thin as a cicada's wing. The red clouds around the flowers are burning, and the purple air is scattered, like a beautiful woman drunk, very bright and moving.

The lightness and thinness of the brocade and the fineness of the patterns are unmatched in the world. Everyone on the field watched with bated breath, fearing that the brocade would be torn apart if they breathed out.Gu Zhen stretched out five fingers, caressed the water-like satin surface, and said with a smile: "This piece of 'Tiansun Brocade' was made by a famous brocade craftsman in the late Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties. , five feet long and five feet wide, flexible and hard to break, but only half the weight. To weave this brocade, the craftsman exhausted his whole life, and on the day of success, he vomited blood and died. Everyone, this brocade All the flowers are bright, except here is a black peony..."

Everyone looked along his fingers, and a bud in the lower right corner was black and purple, and it was particularly eye-catching among the colorful flowers.Gu Zhen sighed: "I heard that this black peony was made by the senior craftsman, so this 'Tiansun Brocade' is also known as 'Hematemesis Silk'." Gently turn it in the sun, and as it turns, the colors and rays of light on the brocade will change. Someone suddenly exclaimed: "Oh, this peony is blooming."

Everyone looked intently, and the black peony really bloomed slowly with the sunlight getting stronger, spitting out green stamens.Gu Zhen turned again, the sunlight borne by the black peony weakened, and slowly closed again until it turned back into a flower bud.

All of a sudden, there were exclamations one after another, and all the barbarians whispered to each other.Lu Buwei sighed: "I have heard the name 'Tiansun Brocade' for a long time. I thought it had been decayed and lost for hundreds of years. Unexpectedly, with the blessing of God, this treasure is still in the world. East God of Wealth, ancient things are perishable, so you should collect them quickly. After hearing this, the middle-earth merchants all showed joy. Gu Zhen folded the "Tiansun Brocade" and put it in the box. Seeing the wonder of 'Tian Sun Jin', why are you still so calm?"

Suddenly I heard Ai Yisi sneer and said: "Is that so? What a great baby I am?" Gu Zhen smiled and said: "So, your baby is even more amazing?" Ai Yi Si snorted and shouted: "take it out."

The two barbarians came out more and more, holding charcoal in their arms, piled it on the ground, lit a bonfire, red and blue flames rose, and a faint fragrance filled the air, which made people feel refreshed and freed from thinking.It turned out that the charcoal was made of agarwood, and when it was burned, it had a fragrance.Everyone just wondered why the fire was lit in the brocade competition?Just as she was thinking, the blond beauty Juan walked out of the queue, holding a golden box in her hand, which was as gorgeous as her blond hair against the firelight.

Unfolding the gold box, Miss Juan held out a snow-white brocade, and she and Miss Su each led one end, and slowly unfolded it. It was ten feet long and five feet wide, and the whole body was as white as snow, with a faint streamer floating.

There was a buzzing sound in the crowd, no one expected that Ayes would speak so loudly, but she only held out an ordinary white silk, and they were very puzzled, only Gu Zhen stared at the white silk, with a flash of surprise in his eyes.

Lan You held a crystal bowl, poured the butter in the bowl on the white silk, then bowed slightly, and sent the white silk into the bonfire, passing through the flames piece by piece.The fat was put into the fire and burned. Unexpectedly, the white silk was burned, not only was it not damaged at all, but it also became brighter and whiter.

The merchants were astonished, and someone shouted: "It's 'Huo Huan Bu'!" Another person shook his head and said, "I've seen 'Huo Huan Bu' before. This is satin. Where is the cloth?"

Lu Jian was surprised to see that the white silk did not burn in the fire. Hearing the discussion, he couldn't help asking: "Gu Zhen, what is 'Huohuanbu'?" A kind of thin thread extracted from rocks, woven into cloth, non-combustible in fire, also known as 'asbestos'. In the past, some people made asbestos cloth into robes, deliberately soiled them, threw them into the fire, and all the filth on the robes were burned The robe is as bright as before, as if it has been washed. Other fabrics are washed with water, but this cloth is washed with fire, so it is also called "Huohuanbu".

Lu Jian said: "Is this white silk 'Huo Huanbu'?" Gu Zhen shook his head and said, "No." Lu Jian said, "What is that?" Guessing that the woman has great powers, she can really find it."

The grease on the white silk was burnt, and when it was taken out of the campfire, it was as bright as new, even better than before it was burned.The second woman held a white silk and dipped it into the river water. The white silk was newly burned. Although it had not been damaged, it was very hot. When it was newly immersed in the water, it gave off a faint white gas.

When the white air dissipated, the two girls took the white silk and slowly sent it to the judge.The three elders looked solemn and caressed the white silk. Unexpectedly, when their hands touched the white silk, they all showed surprise.It turned out that the white silk was soaked in water for a long time, and it was cool but not wet in the hands, very dry and comfortable.The widow Qing couldn't help but said: "This white silk will not burn in the fire, and will not get wet in the water. Could it be that thing..."

Lu Buwei frowned and said: "This thing has been rumored for many years, is it true?" Mr. Ji Ran said abruptly: "No mistake! This white silk is neither hot nor wet, and there are broken patterns of ice on it. It is made of ice silk. 'Xuan Bing Wan'."

Lu Buwei was surprised and said: "The ice silkworm is hidden deep in the uninhabited land of the snow mountain. It is the same color as the ice and snow. It feeds on snow lotus. It takes ten years to grow up. It is as difficult to get one. What's more, this thing does not spin enough silk in its lifetime. One qian, this piece of white silk weighs several jins, how many ice silkworms would it take to weave it?" Mr. Ji Ran said coldly, "If it weren't for this, how could the preciousness of 'Xuan Bing Wan' be shown?"

The widow sighed: "No wonder this satin is all plain white. Ice silk is impenetrable by water and fire, and no dye in the world can adhere, so I can only use its original color. Alas, the most wonderful color in this world is the original color." Xuan Bing Wan's color is its true color, pure and clean, just in line with the avenue." Lu Buwei said: "More than that, this satin is made into clothes, which are warm in winter and cool in summer. No matter how hot or cold it is, a single piece of clothing is enough."

Having said this, he turned his head and said loudly: "'Tiansun Brocade' is indeed a rare treasure, but it is a mortal thing in the end. 'Xuan Bing Wan' was transformed by the spirits of thousands of ice silkworms, and it is indeed a natural god." It’s a little better.” Then he raised his left hand, and Mr. Ji Ran also raised his left hand, and the widow Qing glanced at Gu Zhen, sighed, and raised her left hand too.Lu Buwei said: "Two to zero, Jinxiu Bureau, the Western God of Wealth wins."

The middle-earth merchants were in an uproar, and Ayes giggled and said: "Senior Buwei, you haven't mentioned one thing about the beauty of 'Xuan Bingwan'!" Lu Buwei said: "What is the beauty?"

Ai Yisi said: "This satin is not only resistant to wind, cold and heat, but also has a miraculous effect on old cold diseases. Seniors have always suffered from cold legs and have trouble walking. This 'Xuan Bing Wan' is for you!"

Lu Buwei was stunned for a moment, and was about to refuse, when Ayes said again: "I'm not doing this as a bribe, but just for your own sake, if senior doesn't want to accept it, the little girl can lend it to you, as long as I treat it as a quilt and cover it for two months." , the cold disease will recover naturally. As for the following competitions, seniors can enforce the law impartially, hmph, this time, I must beat this puppy surnamed Gu with dignity."

Lu Buwei was also a great businessman in his early years, with ups and downs in his life, he has regarded wealth very lightly, but the cold disease in his left leg has not healed for many years, and every winter, he is sore to the bone.He thought to himself, if this "Xuan Bingwan" is really what Ayes said, wouldn't it be wonderful.Thinking of this, even though she didn't have the idea of ​​holding the law to be biased, she also developed a great affection for Ayes.

The merchants in China were extremely frustrated, but the country of silk in China suffered a big defeat in silk, which was not only surprising, but also humiliating.Now Doubao has lost two of the five games, and in the next three games, Xi Caishen can win any game, and Gu Zhen loses another game. Not only will the ring of the God of Wealth be handed over, but the countless wealth of Zhongtu will also fall into the hands of foreign races.For a moment, there was complete silence among the merchant crowd, and hundreds of eyes were all focused on Gu Zhen's face.

Gu Zhen frowned, then smiled again, cupped his hands and said, "Aiyisi, what's the match in the third round?" Aiyisi sneered, and said, "Do you still need to ask? Of course it's Dou Mingxiang."

All the businessmen changed their colors in response.Spices from the Western Regions have been better than the Middle Earth since ancient times. In the South China Sea fighting for treasures, Gu Zhen won three times and lost one, and lost in the "Miaoxiang Game".Ai Yisi's proposal of "Fighting Famous Fragrance" is clearly to pursue fiercely and not give Gu Zhen any chance.Everyone hurriedly clamored: "No, you can compare with whatever you say?" "Fan Pozi, do you understand the rules of Zhongtu? The guest is up to the owner, and the host can compare whatever the host says..."

Ai Si sneered, and said, "Gu Zhen, are you all these people?" Gu Zhen smiled, raised his hand, and the court was suddenly silent.Gu Zhen smiled and said: "Isn't it just fighting for fame? Gu is here to accompany you!" Seeing his calm demeanor, all the businessmen felt certain in their hearts.Ai Yisi was very surprised: "Puppy Gu is at the end of his life, what tricks does he have?" After pondering for a while, he suddenly raised his voice: "Lan You, offer incense!"

Lan You strolled out. At this time, two Hu slaves had already brought out a beautifully carved red sandalwood frame from the cabin. The frame was filled with hundreds of crystal vases. Xu, with a big belly and a thin neck, with a stopper at the mouth of the bottle, the ointments in the bottle are of different colors, red, yellow, blue and green, with different shades.

The sandalwood stand was carried to Lan You, she inspected it, and said to the judges: "In the past, the fragrances were all made of incense, but today, Lan You wants to change the method, and immediately combine the incense in front of the judges. , offered on the spot."

The three elders all showed surprise, Lu Buwei said: "This method is risky, the way to combine incense, there is a slight difference, a thousand miles of error, if there is a slight carelessness, will it not spoil the fragrance?"

Ai Si laughed and said, "Mr. Wei is worrying too much. If not, how can I see that my subordinate is brilliant?" Lu Buwei said with a smile: "This girl is so young, but she is actually a master of incense? Disrespect, disrespect."

Lan You said with a smile: "No, Wei Gong has wrongly praised it. The fragrance is deep and wide, and Lan You only knows a little bit."

Lan You held a round crystal cup, took out the crystal bottles from the shelf in turn, poured the ointment in the bottle into the cup gradually, more or less, as much as half a liter, less than half a drop, while pouring, while shaking well .She is very familiar with the fragrance, and she has poured it before the fragrance in the cup disperses. Although there are merchants who are skilled in fragrance, they can't tell what kind of fragrance she uses.

Not long after, Lan You prepared three cups and shook them gently. One cup was pale yellow, one was pink like clouds, and the other was as clear as water.Lan You sniffed, revealing that she was intoxicated and satisfied, followed the lotus steps, and put it in front of the three judges.

The three of them each took out a snow-white handkerchief, put it in front of the cup, and gently fanned it with the towel to attract the fragrance inside the cup.The widow Qingdang finished sniffing first, and raised her head to look at Gu Zhen, with a look of worry in her eyes. The middle-earth merchants who knew her felt a sinking heart. They all knew that this old woman became rich by selling spices in the early years. She is one of the best incense masters in the world. Identify all colors and famous fragrances, and look at her expression, the perfume that Hu Nu combined must be exquisite.

Just worried, the referee straightened up after sniffing the spices. Mr. Ji Ran looked indifferent, but Lu Buwei had an indescribably satisfied and joyful face, and asked, "Does this three-grade incense have a name?"

Lan You smiled and said: "The light yellow one is called 'Yueyue Liujin'." Lu Buwei praised: "The name is appropriate. This product has a unique fragrance, which is like the moonlight in the sky, but there is a trace of wealth in the clear beauty , just like under the bright moon, there is a feast of music and music, intertwined with gold and powder, which makes people feel intoxicated." He asked again, "Where is the pink one?"

Lan You said: "The pink one is called 'Poppy'." Lu Buwei clapped his palms and praised: "This fragrance is strong but not greasy. When I first smell it, it's like rushing water, and it's refreshing. After smelling it, the aftertaste is lingering, making me sad. It's like what Li Houzhu said in "Yu Meiren": "When is the spring flower and autumn moon? Ask you how much you can worry, just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.' This fragrance is as beautiful as carved railings and jade, spring flowers and autumn moon. The head is empty, leaving only full of sorrow. Little girl, how can you get such a meaningful fragrance at such a young age?"

Lan You's cheeks flushed, and she said softly: "The younger generation likes to get together and not to leave. When we get together, it is very beautiful, but when we leave, it is unavoidable to be sad. The younger generation just put this little thought into the fragrance." Lu Buwei nodded again and again: "It's amazing , It’s amazing, entering the Tao of incense with temperament is already the ultimate state.”

Lan You smiled lightly, and said: "Senior, do you want to hear Bi Se's name?" Lu Buwei hurriedly said: "Please tell me, please tell me!" Lan You said: "This incense is called 'Under the Bodhi Tree'."

"Good, good." Before Lu Buwei answered, Widow Qing suddenly said, "This incense is surprisingly ethereal and thought-provoking, just like the bodhi tree when Sakyamuni enlightened, enlightening the enlightened and enlightening wisdom. This incense is named after it , but because of this?" Lan You said with a smile, "Senior is right." The widow nodded silently, glanced at Gu Zhen, and sighed softly.

"It's so ethereal, I'm afraid it may not be true." A voice sounded from the crowd, and everyone followed him. A tall, thin, strange man with a big nose came out from behind Lu Jian, leaning forward like a hunting dog.

"Ghost Nose" Su Wenxiang has been hiding behind the scenes for many years. Although he is famous, very few people know him.Everyone saw him step by step walking in front of Lan You, and felt a little bit of injustice in their hearts, but felt that this couple, one beautiful and the other ugly, stood together, the ugly one was more disgusting, and the beautiful one was more charming.

Su Wenxiang walked up to the bi-color incense cup, sniffed it, shook his head and said, "There is less Jiangzhen fragrance, more benzoin, improper combination of orange blossom and clove, too much Ahmad fragrance, too strong rose water, and the combination of matte fragrance and jasmine is simply a combination." Nonsense. Well, there is also wine as an introduction. This is not bad. It keeps the styrax fragrant, makes it easier for the benzoin to disperse, and makes the Ahmad fragrance clearer. Since it is an introduction, it should not be too much. It's..."

(End of this chapter)