The first-class concubine of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 4
After a heavy rain, the moat outside the city of Kaifeng swelled a lot, and the most famous Kaifeng Grand Canal, the Bianhe River, showed an unspeakable momentum.

Standing on the shore and looking into the distance, you can see that the water and the sky are the same color, there is light smoke and mist in the distance, and you can faintly see thousands of sails passing by.

Dozens of large ships were berthed at the shore wharf, and the coolies who were loading and unloading goods seemed to never stop.

Standing at the port, Liu Wei couldn't help but let out a long sigh in his heart. Is this the Bian River depicted in the Qingming Riverside Map?It's really extraordinary, if you don't take a look in person, I'm afraid you will never be able to imagine the grandeur of the Bianhe River depicted in the painting of Qingming Riverside, right?
While thinking this way, Cao Jue next to him suddenly shouted, "Here we come, Brother Liu, look quickly."

Originally, after the new rain, Liu Wei was going to think about how to accumulate funds at home and then reopen the Liu Family Winery, but before he could think about it, Cao Jue came and said that many concubines and princes and noble sons in the court will gather in Bian today. The river is lively, and Liu Wei is also a son-in-law, so he has to go.

Liu Wei couldn't stand being nagged by Cao Jue, so she had to accompany him.

Following the direction of Cao Jue's finger, Liu Wei saw a big ship, which was bigger than those cargo ships, and more magnificent, with a big sail

It is bulging by the wind, fanning from time to time.

There were three or five teenagers in fancy clothes standing on the bow of the boat, they were talking and pointing to each other, chatting and laughing briskly, with an air of disdain for everything, at this time, the teenager at the bow seemed to see Cao Jue, waved his hands again and again, as if shouting What, it's a pity that I was too far away, so I didn't hear it clearly.

Seeing this, Liu Wei asked with a smile, "Who are those people at the bow?"

Cao Jue knew that Liu Wei had forgotten a lot of things, so he didn't care about it, and explained one by one: "The one in the middle is the fourth son of the current emperor, Qin Kanghui, Zhao Defang. Dou Hao, the second son of Shang Shu Dou Yi, the one on the right is Zhao Chengxu, the second son of Xu Guogong and the current Prime Minister Zhao Pu..."

When Cao Jue was talking here, the big boat was already approaching. Liu Wei turned his head and took a look. He saw that these people were all high-spirited, young and handsome, and all of them had extraordinary momentum. is rare.

When the big ship docked, Dou Hao, the second son of Dou Yi, former Minister of Rites, bowed his hands slightly to Liu Wei and Cao Jue: "You two sons-in-law, you are a bit late, we have been waiting for a long time."

Cao Jue returned the salute and said, "Forgive me, forgive me, I'll punish myself with three cups later, then Concubine Pan is here?"

"Concubine Pan's family has something to do, so I can't come, but he is indispensable for the Dragon Boat Festival." Zhao Chengxu, who was standing next to King Qin Kanghui, smiled lightly, and then lightly tapped the folding fan in his palm.

After Cao Jue heard this, he immediately laughed, "It must be that the Eldest Princess is afraid that he will learn from us, so she refuses to let him out!"

Everyone knows that Cao Jue likes to joke and is not elegant, so they didn't care about it. Liu Wei listened to him, but he could see something. The tiger father has no dogs, and Cao Jue is good at his hands, but he is a little vulgar, so people who are slightly refined like Dou Hao and Zhao Chengxu are not as knowledgeable as him.

In other words, they are all disdainful.

But at this time, Liu Wei finally understood why Cao Jue had such a good relationship with him. He was a businessman, and his status was originally low. .

And the reason why these people are still willing to make friends with the two of them is mostly because of their identities as son-in-law.

Liu Wei was a little unhappy, but at this time he was no longer the original Liu Wei, so he held back, and after getting on the bow with Cao Jue, Zhao Defang ordered people to drive the boat away from the shore.

The river is wide, and there are small boats passing by around the big boat from time to time. The few people are just for fun, so the boat is moving very slowly. It seems that he is not very resistant to heat, and he is a person who can say what is on his mind, so he proposed to sit in the cabin for a while.

The others also felt the heat, but Zhao Defang didn't speak, so they couldn't say anything. Now that Cao Jue said it, they naturally echoed it.

Entering the cabin, Liu Wei found that the cabin was about the size of a house, with all kinds of things in it, and a few jugs of wine on the table. After everyone sat down together, Cao Jue said: "The Dragon Boat Festival will be in a few days. Dragon boat, I must beat you guys."

After Cao Jue finished speaking, Dou Hao couldn't help laughing and said, "Madam Cao, I'm not here to beat you. Every year in the dragon boat race, your Cao's army is at the bottom. This year, you have the confidence to say that you want to win against us?"

Cao Jue blushed when Dou Hao said, "I...I will fight with my back this year. If I don't win again, I won't play in the future."

"In this way, we won't be able to see Consort Cao every Dragon Boat Festival in the future. It's a pity, it's a pity!" Zhao Chengxu opened his fan and slapped it a few times, but a slight smile appeared on his mouth.

Liu Wei was listening, and he could hear something, but he didn't know the specifics, so he didn't speak. At this time, Zhao Defang, who had been smiling and listening to everyone chatting, suddenly said: "Look Concubine Cao is very confident this year, so why don't we set a lottery, how about it?"

"What the prince said is very true. If you have a lottery, Cao Concubine will be more motivated!"

Everyone was making fun of Cao Jue, but Cao Jue didn't seem to realize it, and he repeatedly agreed to set up a lottery, which made everyone laugh.

Seeing this, Liu Wei felt a little unhappy. He felt that Cao Jue was a worthy friend, and it was too much to be ridiculed like this. So at this time, he suddenly smiled and said, "I'm still very impressed with Brother Cao's strength." Confident, you guys should be more careful, this lottery, set it small, so that Brother Cao won in the end, and you guys are hard to give up."

After boarding the boat, Liu Wei seldom spoke. When Zhao Chengxu and others saw Liu Wei say this, they knew that Liu Wei couldn't stand them entertaining Cao Jue, and they were also quite angry at Liu Wei's words. It's just that Liu Wei is a son-in-law anyway, so it's inconvenient for them to get angry, they just said: "It's okay, our family is fairly well-off, so it's not a big deal to spend a few thousand taels of silver as a lottery."

When Zhao Chengxu said this, his eyes were fixed on Liu Wei, and he even showed a smug expression. Obviously, he knew that Liu Wei, as a son-in-law, was short on money, and as the son of the current prime minister, his money was very important. Not missing.

"Since that's the case, it's the best. Everyone is a respectable person, so how about each person giving out 2000 taels of silver as a lottery?" Liu Wei said, smiling lightly, and swept around the crowd.

Just now, everyone said that they want to use silver as a lottery, but it was just for fun. Even if they really wanted to set up a lottery, they would not each give so much. After all, although they are noble sons, the money is not endless Yes, 2000 taels of silver is really not a small sum.

But just now, Zhao Chengxu had already talked to the full, if he disagreed now, it would be embarrassing.

Zhao Defang didn't know Liu Wei well before, he only knew that he was a businessman, so he didn't pay much attention to it, but now seeing Liu Wei daring to bully them, he couldn't help being angry, and before Zhao Chengxu could speak, he said: "Okay, everyone 2000 taels of silver, I don't know if Consort Liu wants to participate?"

They knew very well that Liu Wei didn't have much money in their hands, and they couldn't make Liu Wei feel better if they lost face. Just pull Liu Wei down.

Liu Wei smiled lightly: "Participate, but I am more optimistic about Brother Cao and don't want to be an opponent with him, so I want to join Brother Cao's team. If you think there is no chance of winning, you can join in. If you win, you must share it with a few people." Take a few seats."

Cao Jue was not sure about the dragon boat race. What he said just now was only appropriate for the occasion, so that he did not expect it to develop into this way in the end. And he seemed to be aware that he was being teased. Now Seeing Liu Wei helping him so much, a feeling of gratitude suddenly arose in his heart, and he said, "Brother Liu is willing to come, you are very welcome!"

Cao Jue only said welcome Liu Wei, while the other people blushed angrily, so they became more decisive: "No need, let's see you on the Dragon Boat Festival."

Originally, everyone wanted to take advantage of the new rain to go boating in the river, but now the atmosphere is embarrassing, and there is no point in playing any more, so they all proposed to leave.

The boat docked again, and everyone left separately. After Cao Jue and Liu Wei left the Kaifeng Grand Canal, they walked straight to the mansion.

Because the palaces of the princesses of the two sides share a common road, before they separated, Liu Wei asked about the dragon boat race on the Dragon Boat Festival.

It turns out that since the founding of the Song Dynasty, this large-scale dragon boat race has been held every year on the Dragon Boat Festival. The dragon boat race was originally a folk event, but because of the lack of regulations, the imperial court intervened and gave full authority to the governor of Kaifeng to undertake it.

At the end of April every year, you have to go to Kaifeng Mansion to sign up for the competition. However, in order to prevent the number of participants from getting out of control, only [-] fleets are allowed each year. There are many nobles in the capital, and those nobles have gradually fallen in love with it since the founding of the Song Dynasty. This kind of excitement, so the [-] spots are mostly occupied by the nobles of the capital.

Although the skills of Cao Jue's fleet were poor, he was the son of a famous founder of the country and he was also the son-in-law, so it was very easy to get a place.

After understanding this, Liu Wei smiled lightly: "It seems that this year will be more fun."

Cao Jue shrugged: "If you lose, you will lose your honor."

"Why, brother Cao has no confidence in his fleet?"

"It's no wonder I have confidence. I'm at the bottom every year. This year I just wanted to show my tongue, but seeing the current situation, I have to fight hard. 2000 taels of silver is not a small amount!"

Hearing this, Liu Wei couldn't help feeling a little dizzy.

(End of this chapter)