Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Believe it or not, Zhu Guoxiang is a literary youth at heart.

The intellectuals of that era were more or less literate!

Dean Zhu would not do anything like bullying others.

He has never done anything to his female students. In the past, he was always teased by his son for being a thief but not courageous. In fact, Dean Zhu wanted to pursue a true love.

Well, the above is all nonsense, and it can be summed up with just the word "interesting".

Li Qingzhao followed the eunuch to Yanfu Palace. The overall structure here has basically remained unchanged and was completely redesigned and transformed by Song Huizong. From the perspective of artistic aesthetics, it surpasses all current gardens in China, and it also has a grandeur that Jiangnan gardens do not have.

Jushi Yi An enjoyed the scenery along the way and fell in love with this place at first sight.

As he approached a pavilion, Li Qingzhao heard the laughter of children.

Several children were playing and chasing each other, while eunuchs and palace maids were watching to prevent the children from running towards the water. Basically, I don't care about the other things. Even if the child falls, I don't help him, because the officials have already ordered that the princes and princesses have to get up by themselves if they fall.

A little deer, which had no horns yet, ran out from the flowers, staying far away from the naughty children.

There was a gorgeous lady standing on the roadside, holding a piece of wheat bran cake. The deer jumped over, sniffed it a few times, and then started chewing it.

The eunuch who led the way reminded in a low voice: "That's the queen."

Li Qingzhao came forward to pay homage: "Your Majesty, Li Qingzhao, pays homage to the saint."

The deer was so startled that he immediately jumped away. Shen Yourong turned around and smiled: "It turns out to be layman Yi An, whose name I have admired for a long time."

"I don't dare to take it seriously." Li Qingzhao said quickly.

Shen Yourong said, "The officials are in the pavilion in the middle of the lake. Come with me."

She threw the wheat bran cake far away, and when she saw the deer coming to eat, she took Li Qingzhao and left.

In the pavilion in the center of the lake, the sound of pipa could be heard faintly.

Shen Yourong didn't have the slightest pretense of being a queen, so he casually chatted with Li Qingzhao. Halfway through, he introduced: "The one who plays the pipa is Concubine An Shu, and Concubine Wen is fishing with the officials. The officials are not good at women, and all the people in the harem are here. Everyone Getting along is extremely harmonious.”

Li Qingzhao was in awe when he heard that the emperor only had one concubine and two concubines. Not to mention compared with Zhao Ji who had hundreds or even thousands of concubines, even the private gentry and merchants had many wives and concubines.

The two came to the pavilion in the middle of the lake. An Niang, who was playing the pipa, put away her lute and stood up to greet them: "Sister."

Shen Yourong smiled and nodded: "This is Li Daizhao."

Li Qingzhao bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, Li Qingzhao, pays homage to Concubine Shu."

When Miss Wen heard the noise, she turned her head and pointed her finger between her lips: "Shh!"

But Zhu Guoxiang suddenly pulled the lever, and a carp was pulled out of the water. It started to sway its tail and struggle while being dragged along.

Zhu Guoxiang took off the hook, threw the carp into the basket, put away the pole and said: "Bring them all to braise, and send two to the East Palace."

"According to the order!"

One eunuch left carrying a heavy fishing basket, and another palace maid ran to put away the emperor's fishing rod.

Zhu Guoxiang said to Li Qingzhao: "The carp in this pond were only raised but not caught in the old Song Dynasty. They have already become overpopulated. Twenty or thirty kilograms can be caught in one afternoon. Except for the koi carp, the ordinary carp are still eaten. For the best, it’s enough to keep a few to crossbreed with those koi.”

Li Qingzhao stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, Li Qingzhao, pays homage to the officials and the noble concubine."

Miss Wen nodded with a smile and sat down on the stone bench in the pavilion.

Zhu Guoxiang pointed to a painting on the stone table: "This is what the imperial concubine made today. I think the painting is very good. layman Yi An will come and taste it."

"Immediate works cannot be refined." Wen Xiaomei may seem modest, but she is actually full of confidence.

Li Qingzhao was planning to say a few words of flattery, but when his eyes fell on the drawing paper, he was immediately attracted by the skill.

Wen Xiaomei's grandfather Wen Tong was the best bamboo painter at that time, and he pioneered many bamboo painting techniques.

The idiom "Be confident" was originally used to describe Wen Tong's painting of bamboo!

Miss Wen's ability to draw bamboo is almost as good as her grandfather's.

Li Qingzhao leaned down to observe a part of it carefully, then stood up to look at the whole picture, and said honestly: "Compared with the ink bamboo of Wenhuzhou (Wentong), this one of the imperial concubine is a little less chic, but more sandalwood." Luan. Looking at Jiuzhou, he is also first-class."

Miss Wen was very happy to be praised: "My whole family is good at painting bamboo, even my nephew and nephew are good at painting bamboo. But my ability is not as good as my nephew's."

Li Qingzhao is good at diction, music and gambling. She is not as good as An Niang in playing, and she is not as good as Wen Xiaomei in painting, but her advantage is her super appreciation ability.

She can point out where An Niang's playing of the pipa needs to be strengthened, and she can also point out where Miss Wen's painting of bamboo is lacking.

When Li Qingzhao pointed at the pictures and analyzed them in detail, Miss Wen didn't pay much attention at first, but soon she listened attentively.

Li Qingzhao didn't know how to improve. Her painting skills were not as good as Wen Xiaomei's.

However, Li Qingzhao could give examples of many famous paintings, allowing Wen Xiaomei to selectively compare and comprehend them.

The eunuch quickly found relevant masterpieces from the art academy. Li Qingzhao pointed at each painting for comparison, and Miss Wen watched and studied thoughtfully.

Zhu Guoxiang stood nearby as if he was joining in the fun. Since Li Qingzhao tried to speak as plainly as possible, Dean Zhu could generally understand it.

Only if you can understand it.

Time gradually passed noon, and the eunuch came to remind us to eat.

Everyone moved to a nearby small hall, where Zhu Guoxiang, the first queen, the second concubine, and several children sat at the same table. It doesn't look like an emperor's harem, but like a small private household, where no etiquette is observed.

"Li Daizhao, please sit down and don't stand nearby." Shen Yourong greeted with a smile.

Li Qingzhao glanced at the emperor and then said, "Thank you, saint, for the banquet."

Today's main course is braised carp, which is also paired with several meat and vegetable dishes.

During the mourning period, according to etiquette, meat is not allowed to be eaten, but in reality no one follows this at all. It has been more than four months since Li Qingzhao's husband passed away, and she had already started drinking and eating meat.

Shen Yourong treated Li Qingzhao as a guest and enthusiastically served her fish meat, and then peeled the bones for the children.

Zhu Guoxiang knew that this man was a drunkard, so he made a pot of good wine and put it on the table.

Li Qingzhao was relatively reserved at first, but after a few glasses of wine he gradually became more casual and started chatting about some interesting things about the literati in Tokyo.

After almost eating, Zhu Guoxiang stood up and said, "I have been lazy for half a day in the morning. I can't delay any more in the afternoon. You can continue drinking and playing. I have to review some papers."

"Farewell to the official family!" The ladies stood up to see each other off.

After Zhu Guoxiang left, Li Qingzhao also planned to leave. Shen Yourong smiled and said, "You don't have to be restrained. You can have more fun without him."

Wen Xiaomei said: "A few days ago, I got a copy of the Book of Fighting Horses, and I heard that it was written by Li Daizhao."

Li Qingzhao explained: "After my husband passed away, I had nothing to do at home, so I wrote a copy of the Book of Fighting Horses. My friends saw it and copied it, but unexpectedly it spread in Tokyo."

"The rhetoric is very good," Miss Wen rolled up her sleeves after drinking a lot of wine and said, "Let's play horses together today and have fun while drinking."

Horse racing is a board game with three ways to play.

The most popular one was the new gameplay during the Xuanhe period. However, Li Qingzhao disliked this method of playing as it relied too much on luck. She preferred the most complicated method of playing Yi Jing Horse, and inscribed each chess piece with a rhetorical message.

The chessboard of Yi Jing Horse is exactly the same as modern chess.

Each side has twenty chess pieces, and each piece is named after a famous ancient horse. Different horses have different moves.

This game is more complicated than the rules of modern chess. It tests the player's intelligence very much. It is something that is gradually abandoned by the general public.

The most popular popular chess games in Tokyo now include chess "improved" by the Zhu family and his son, and the new horse-playing game (Xuanhe Horse) that doesn't take too much effort on the brain.

Shen Yourong and An Niang were watching from the side, while Li Qingzhao and Wen Xiaomei fought against each other.

Li Qingzhao claimed that he had never lost in gambling and was worthy of being called the God of Gamblers. In the middle of the game, Miss Wen was overwhelmed.

"Why don't we play chess instead? The kind of chess where the officials have changed the rules." Li Qingzhao didn't want to offend the imperial concubine. She thought chess was more suitable for her.

"No need!"

Wen Xiaomei planned to bully the newbies and said with a smile: "The officials also created a game called Mahjong, and the four of us are just right."

The palace maid quickly brought the mahjong, and Shen Yourong sat down on the table with a smile on her face. An Niang was also eager to try it.

There is really nothing interesting in the palace. It is quite rare to get a table of mahjong together today. Zhu Guoxiang usually doesn't have that much time.

As for the palace maids and eunuchs, haha, they always deliberately let loose, which is really not fun to play with.

Shen Yourong was responsible for explaining the rules of mahjong. Li Qingzhao understood it quickly and figured out the rules of mahjong after only playing a few games.

This is really the God of Gambling. When she wrote the preface to "Dama Tu Jing", she listed more than 20 kinds of gambling games and commented on them one by one. Not only did he claim that he had never lost, but he also summed up the essence of gambling in just two words - fight to be first!

The winnings for the four of them were very small, and Pinghu only gave him ten cents.

When Zhu Guoxiang came back from get off work, Li Qingzhao had already won several games. This was the result of her letting off steam in the second half...

"His Majesty!"

Zhu Guoxiang did not let the honor guard call, and walked into the room after dismissing his entourage. Just as the four women were about to stand up, he said with a smile: "You continue."

Shen Yourong was so defeated that he stopped calling the officials and called for help: "Mr. Master, help me fight back quickly!"

"I'll watch a few games first." Zhu Guoxiang stood behind Li Qingzhao.

"Haha, what a fool! It's all the same!"

Miss Wen clapped her hands and cheered.

Zhu Guoxiang carefully observed Li Qingzhao's cards and suspected that this man was deliberately setting off a firecracker.

Sure enough, about ten rounds into the second game, Li Qingzhao fired another shot at Shen Yourong.

Shen Yourong suddenly became happy and stopped asking her husband to help find a place. She started playing mahjong and shuffling the cards with a smile on her face.

Only Wen Xiaomei's card skills are slightly better, while Shen Yourong and An Niang's skills are not as good as those of the old man and lady in the chess and card room. He dares to rush out of any card, and he doesn't memorize or deduct cards. He also likes to talk when playing cards, so it is easy for others to guess the rough cards.

However, the people laughing and shouting were much more lively than before.

When Li Qingzhao left, Shen Yourong had already won back a lot, and even took the initiative to ask for a fight: "Li Daizhao, let's have another fight on holiday."

"When a saint makes an appointment, he will definitely accompany him." Li Qingzhao cupped his hands and said.

Zhu Guoxiang scratched his forehead. He planned to have some elegant fun with Li Qingzhao and talk about poetry, painting and art.

But it seems a bit off. This talented woman seems to prefer drinking and playing cards...

Zhu Guoxiang arranged a carriage to take Li Qingzhao home, and the copper coins he won were also exchanged for silver dollars.

Li Qingzhao sat in the carriage, happily counting the small coins, and decided to ask a craftsman to make a pair of mahjong.

This kind of chess and card game doesn't require much thinking, but it combines skill and luck. Li Qingzhao likes it very much.

If you think about it more carefully, the design of Mahjong is very meaningful.

The tube is a copper coin, and the strip is a hanging made of copper coins. Of course, the Wanzi also belongs to the unit of copper coins. There are also flowers in the southeast, northwest and so on, each of which has its own meaning. A pair of mahjong is the epitome of all kinds of things in the world.

Your Majesty was able to invent mahjong, you really know the world!