The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Nanjing is now the capital of the Ming Dynasty. As the capital, it has become history, but it is still the political, economic and cultural center of the entire Jiangnan region.

The famous scenic spots in Nanjing that Wei Guangde knew about later generations were definitely not accessible at this time, because they were either unusual and inaccessible, or they were ordinary places.

For example, the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty, Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty, Jiangnan Gongyuan, etc. These are places that Wei Guangde cannot go to, and now is not a good time to visit the scenery.

On the second day after arriving in Nanjing, Xu Bangrui took time to accompany Wei Guangde around Nanjing. There were still places to see in Nanjing, but the time was wrong.

A small incident happened while visiting Chaotian Palace. Wei Guangde met a person he wanted to see but could not see.

Since most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty believed in Taoism, Chaotian Palace, as the largest Taoist temple in Nanjing, was naturally very popular, not to mention that the name "Chaotian Palace" was given by Zhu Yuanzhang, and it also had a ritual pavilion.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Chaotian Palace had always been a place for the court to practice etiquette before holding grand ceremonies, and a place for bureaucrats to learn the etiquette of meeting the emperor before they invaded.

When Xu Bangrui took Wei Guangde to Feixia Pavilion, the sharp-eyed Wei Guangde noticed several pretty women standing there on the attic, looking towards them.

You can tell by looking at the clothes. The two women in the front seem to be of high status in this group of girls. They may be madams or young ladies. The few in the back are maids who serve them. However, it is difficult to see clearly from a distance. .

"Let's go for a walk over there."

Xu Bangrui pointed at the back of Feixia Pavilion and said, naturally he meant to bypass Feixia Pavilion and go to the back mountain of Chaotian Palace.

Wei Guangde didn't think much about it at first, and just followed Xu Bangrui with a smile. However, when he approached Feixia Pavilion, Wei Guangde unconsciously looked towards the attic.

The woman on the attic looked a little flustered when Wei Guangde looked up. She took a few steps back and disappeared into the pavilion.

"hehe."

A common problem among women in this era is that they seem to hate seeing men.

Wei Guangde chuckled and continued walking forward, but now he noticed a look of embarrassment on Xu Bangrui's face.

Noticing the changes on Xu Bangrui's face, Wei Guangde suddenly realized that those upstairs could not be the female relatives of Duke Wei.

Could it be that his unmarried daughter-in-law is also here, and Xu Bangrui invited him here just to let his sister take a look first?

In fact, this is really what happened, but the person who suggested it was naturally not Xu Jianglan, but Xu Bangrui's wife.

Naturally, Xu Jianglan didn't know about the news of inviting Wei Guangde to Nanjing, but it was not a confidential matter. Naturally, some people around Xu Bangrui still knew about it.

Naturally, he accidentally revealed it in front of his sister-in-law, and then asked Xu Bangrui to find an opportunity to bring the person out for them to see first.

Xu Bangrui was a little worried at first, but after meeting Wei Guangde, he didn't think it was anything. The husband he chose for his sister was not a crooked man, so he went on today's trip.

"Brother, we've been going a long way, why not sit down in the attic and rest our feet."

Wei Guangde wanted to make sure that the person in the attic belonged to the Duke of Wei, so he walked a few more steps before speaking to Xu Bangrui.

"Are you tired from walking?"

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Xu Bangrui frowned slightly but did not object. Instead, he turned to look at the attic and said, "Okay, let's just walk around in this garden. Over there is the Xiyi Pavilion. At the beginning of the founding of the country, all the people who came to visit All the emperor’s ministers must learn the etiquette of meeting a driver there, and there are also many things left by the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites.”

Xu Bangrui pointed to the back door of Feixia Pavilion and explained to Wei Guangde, saying that he actually wanted Wei Guangde to rest there.

Xu Bangrui deliberately delayed entering Feixia Pavilion, seemingly to make room for the people inside to leave. Although he missed an opportunity to meet his wife before marriage, Wei Guangde didn't feel it was a pity.

Glancing upstairs, he had already noticed that the first two women in the group looked pretty good, but one of them looked more mature and steady, and her hair was in a noble and elegant high bun style. There are gold beads, jade hairpins and other gorgeous ornaments on it.

This one is already married, Wei Guangde thought silently in his heart.

The style of women's hair in the Ming Dynasty inherited the style of the Song Dynasty, with "pupil hair" and "high temples" as the main styles, as well as "heart-promoting bun" and "falling horse bun".

However, these are all styles for married women, and they are also included in the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

"Turning the bun" is a folk custom, also known as the upper head. The hair style is like a plate. You can wear some beautiful hair accessories on the temples to highlight the beauty of women. Although it is a custom, it also reflects the role of women in status in the Ming Dynasty.

"High bun" is a relatively complex hairstyle technique, with a luxurious style that is popular in the court. In "Gift to Li Sikong Prostitute": "High bun with palace-like makeup, a spring breeze" Qu Duweiniang."

As for other hair accessories, they are also classics, following Han culture and reflecting the unique aesthetic value of the Ming Dynasty.

The one next to this woman has a very simple hair accessory, with her hair combed in a splay, that is, her hair is combed on both sides and tied into a splayed shape on the left and right sides of her head.

In fact, some people in later generations also combed their hair in double buns. Because the shape of their hair looked like the character "Y", everyone would laugh and call them "Yatou".

However, in the Ming Dynasty, only women who had not yet had a hairpin and had not left the court could comb their hair in this way. They could not wear their hair in a bun.

Because of the distance, Wei Guangde could only see the outline at a glance, and his facial features were straight. He wanted to go over and take a closer look, but Xu Bangrui kept delaying him, and there was nothing he could do.

By the time a group of them entered Feixia Pavilion, the pavilion was already empty, leaving only a faint fragrance floating in the air.

Wei Guangde didn't feel disappointed either. This was actually the rule, at least the rule of this era.

He climbed up to the attic and looked around, and sure enough he saw a group of people walking in a hurry on the way they came.

Naturally, Wei Guangde didn't care much about other people. He only stared at the figure of the woman with the double bun on her head.

Previously, his figure was blocked by the attic, but now Wei Guangde was so high up that he could take a closer look.

He has a slender figure and light steps. He walks gracefully and swaying, and he looks good in temperament.

There is a saying in later generations that many women who look good from the back look nothing like that from the front. However, because he had probably taken photos of that side before, Wei Guangde believed that Xu Bangrui's girl should be good-looking, and he could be considered a beauty. That's right.

The next time I see Xu Bangrui, I can no longer call him brother like I do now. I have to call him "brother wife" instead.

The group of figures had already left the yard. There were two carriages parked not far away, and there seemed to be a few horses. They stopped looking when they were far away. Just when Wei Guangde was about to turn around and go downstairs, he unexpectedly discovered It seemed that the girl did not get on the carriage, but directly rode on a horse. After the other women got on the carriage, she rode ahead and left.

Wei Guangde was not sure whether the woman who rode away on horseback was that girl. He just felt that the body shape and posture were similar, but didn't all the ladies in this era travel by horse-drawn carriage?

Although Wei Guangde didn't think there was anything wrong with being in the public eye, this was a young lady from Duke Wei's family. The letter his father wrote to him detailed the information he had obtained from someone, but this was not included.

Looking at the direction the convoy was leaving, Wei Guangde did not move, but kept standing there.

Xu Bangrui next to him also guessed it now and got involved.

"Ahem."

After two dry coughs to break the awkward atmosphere, Xu Bangrui invited Wei Guangde to sit down and rest. He had already ordered someone to make tea.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, turned around and glanced back unconsciously, then smiled at Xu Bangrui: "The person who left just now"

"Sister-in-law."

Xu Bangrui was a bachelor, so he smiled bitterly without covering up, "It's all my fault."

However, Xu Bangrui misunderstood what Wei Guangde meant. Wei Guangde was actually curious whether it was his sister who was riding away, and did not care about coming here to peek at him.

If there is a chance, Wei Guangde would also like to take a peek.

I just thought of the deep courtyard of Wei Guogong's mansion, and I was afraid that if I sneaked in rashly, I would be discovered first if I couldn't find the place.

Well, this is also a kind of fun in Wei Guangde's opinion.

Seeing that Xu Bangrui understood what he meant wrongly, Wei Guangde hurriedly said: "I saw someone leaving directly on horseback instead of getting on the carriage."

Having said this, Wei Guangde made a double-ya gesture with his hands on his head.

"Yeah?"

Xu Bangrui didn't see what Wei Guangde said, so he naturally didn't know. However, after hearing Wei Guangde's words, he naturally understood a little bit.

Frowning slightly, Xu Bangrui smiled bitterly and said: "My girl can ride horses and loves to ride horses, but she usually does it in the yard or other courtyards. She probably got a little panicked before she went straight. She should have worn a curtain hat."

Wei Guangde nodded when he heard this. It would be fine if he wore a hat.

According to records, the curtain hat was created in the Jin Dynasty, also known as Zhaojun hat. It is said that Zhaojun wore a curtain hat when he went out of the country, but obviously this statement is not accurate according to the dynasty.

The curtain hat is actually a tall hat with a wide brim and a thin and transparent veil around the brim. The short veil covers the face and the long veil reaches the waist.

Wei Guangde still remembers that when he watched the Aoshan Lantern Festival, there were many women wearing curtains and hats jumping around in the crowd, having so much fun. Most of these people were senior officials in the capital and the female dependents of noble families, and they also came to the Aoshan Lantern Festival to join in the fun.

As for another place that Wei Guangde had longed for for a long time, he finally arrived in Nanjing, so he naturally wanted to visit it.

Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty was famous for Qinhuai, and Qinhuai was famous for the famous ladies in the old courtyard.

The colorful life attracts people from all walks of life to the city of Nanjing. There are big bosses who spend a lot of money, Huizhou businessmen who are very willing to spend money on prostitutes, poets and poets who are poetic, wine and romantic, and helpers who are only interested in profit. rogue.

All kinds of characters gathered together, intrigued and deceived, and jointly performed a picture of sensuality, dogs and horses.

Speaking of Shili Qinhuai, Sanshan Street, where Wei Guangde lived temporarily, is also among them, but this small courtyard is located in an alley at the end of Sanshan Street, making it appear quieter and more detailed.

Most of the noble residences in Nanjing are around the Qinhuai River, and the Confucian Temple and Jiangnan Gongyuan are also nearby. This is also an important reason why the Qinhuai River has become the most famous gold-selling cave in Nanjing.

According to later generations, this is naturally a high-end residential and consumer area.

However, Wei Guangde did not go to the Qinhuai River secretly, but Xu Bangrui took Wei Guangde there openly.

Contrary to the popular view of later generations, there were indeed many prostitutes in the Qinhuai River's boats and pavilions on both sides. There was no market for prostitutes who simply sold their looks and bodies.

Because those who come here are either dignitaries or scholars. For a consumer group like them, their consumption level is not low, and they also have a certain level of appreciation. Naturally, they are very attracted to talented people and beautiful women. Therefore, there are no women who want to make a living in the Qinhuai River. There is absolutely no way out if you have talent.

Women who enter brothels are mainly divided into two types. One type is a prostitute but not a prostitute, and is also called a courtesan.

There is also a kind of prostitute who sells his art and body, which is called a prostitute.

The former focuses on talents such as dancing, chess, calligraphy and painting, while the latter focuses on advantages in beauty, figure and other aspects.

But in fact, many red-husbandry people also changed their identities from Qinghui people. When they enter the big dyeing vat, all good people will become filthy and unclear.

Before entering a brothel, many women will sign a contract with the brothel's madam, which is commonly known as a contract of sale.

Contracts were very important in ancient times, and there is no contract spirit that is different from modern times.

In this contract, it will be strictly stated whether you are a free or a red shopkeeper. If you sign a contract of selling yourself to a red shopkeeper, you will not be able to pretend to be aloof when the time comes.

But if you sign a deed of betrayal to a widower, if you don't want to and the madam comes to force you, then I'm sorry, let's see the government.

Therefore, the contract of sale is an important means for brothel women to protect their rights and interests, and of course it is also a reasonable means to increase their own worth.

The main purpose of the Qing herders coming here is naturally to sell at a high price.

If the price offered by the buyer reaches their expected price, then the property owner's right to purchase the property will be yours.

What is combing? It was also the first time that the Qing Dynasty servants came out to pick up guests and stay overnight.

From then on, the landlord has two options to choose from. One is to let the groom spend a large amount of money to buy you out completely, that is, take you home.

Of course, there is another option, which is to transform into a celebrity.

Because after the Qinghuan receives a guest for the first time, if he cannot be taken home by the groom, he will lose his original value, and his worth will plummet. At this time, if he does not transform into a Red Husband, he will not be able to survive. , is a difficult thing.

Naturally, Xu Bangrui would not take Wei Guangde to see the prostitute, as this did not match his status.

In fact, for wealthy and aristocratic sons like Xu Bangrui, the goal is to pursue poor people.

Whether it is Xu Bangrui or Wei Guangde, they will naturally not spend a lot of money to buy such a poor man back home. They will just have fun and enjoy themselves.

Listening to the beautiful woman playing the piano and drinking and chatting with them, Wei Guangde's trip to Qinhuai came to an end.

After staying in Nanjing for a few days, Wei Guangde was about to leave. Xu Bangrui found a boat for him to go back to Jiujiang directly. For the Duke of Wei's house, this couldn't be easier.