Chapter 148 Miss Li
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu finally arrived at Shangqing Prefecture.
Fortunately, there were no more accidents on the way from Huzhou to Wuzhou, and it was relatively smooth. This is also reasonable. Accidents cannot always happen. If the two of them have such a hard time traveling, then ordinary people can't even go out.
There is a saying in the officialdom, called: "If you are unlucky for three lives, the county magistrate will be attached to the city; if you do evil for three lives, you will be attached to the city of the state; if you are full of evil, you will be attached to the city of the capital."
The so-called "county magistrate attached to the city" means that the county magistrate and the prefect are in the same city, so that his every move will be restrained, and he will be exhausted, and he will completely lose the prestige of a parent official. "Attached to the city of the state" means that the county magistrate, the prefect, the governor or the governor are in the same city. Needless to say, attached to the capital.
Therefore, some county towns are both prefectural cities and state cities.
However, this is not the case with Shangqing Prefecture. Although Shangqing County and Shangqing Prefecture have the same name, the county town of Shangqing County is not the prefectural city of Shangqing Prefecture. The two are independent of each other. The county seat of Shangqing County is located at the foot of Yunjin Mountain, while the city of Shangqing Prefecture is still some distance away from Yunjin Mountain.
So when Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu arrived at the city of Shangqing Prefecture, they were not at the doorstep. Zhang Yuelu planned to stay here for a few days. The apparent reason was to reminisce about her childhood. When she was young, her parents often brought her here to play. This was especially true during the New Year holidays. The fundamental reason was that Zhang Yuelu planned to delay for a while.
Qi Xuansu was still quite envious. Zhang Yuelu could play in the city when she was young, while he could only watch the outside world from the high walls of Wanxiang Dao Palace when he was young.
Although the Wanxiang Dao Palace is very large, comparable to the Purple Palace of Yujing and the Imperial Palace of Dijing, there are many forbidden areas in the Wanxiang Dao Palace, and they cannot enter them at will. For example, the Shang Palace that Zhang Yuelu has been to is one of the forbidden areas for Taoist children. They cannot enter the area where the instructors live at will. Qi Xuansu remembers that there is a big lake in the Wanxiang Dao Palace, which seems to be called "Xingye Lake", but only instructors can go there. Occasionally, some elderly big figures will drink tea and play chess by the lake, or go boating on the lake. They can only watch from afar, so the scope of activities is also quite limited.
But then again, after leaving the Wanxiang Dao Palace, you are not allowed to step into it again, unless you take up the position of an instructor of the Dao Palace or go to the Shang Palace for further study, so Qi Xuansu sometimes misses the Wanxiang Dao Palace.
The two walked on the street. Because it was close to the end of the year, it was very lively. People were buying New Year's goods, doing business, and returning home. There were people coming and going, and the traffic was very busy.
Qi Xuansu asked, "Should we find an inn to settle down first, or should we talk about it later?"
Zhang Yuelu said, "How is the brothel?"
"What?" Qi Xuansu heard it very clearly, but suspected that he had heard it wrong.
Zhang Yuelu repeated it again: "What do you think of the brothel?"
Qi Xuansu finally confirmed that he had not heard it wrong. He could clearly understand every word and the whole sentence, but it was very confusing when it came out of Zhang Yuelu's mouth.
An unmarried girl, leading an unmarried boy, went to a brothel under the banner of going home to see his parents?
In those days, visiting prostitutes was considered a relatively normal thing. Confucian disciples were particularly fond of this. They claimed to be romantic and almost openly did it. They even wrote poems and lyrics for this kind of thing, which were passed down to later generations. There were also many stories about scholars and courtesans.
Buddhist disciples had to observe the precepts of sexual intercourse and not be close to women. They were not allowed to get married and have children, let alone such things. They were two extremes from Confucian disciples.
Daoist disciples were more special and could be divided into three categories.
Quanzhen Dao disciples, especially those who abandoned their real names and used Daoist names, were not much different from Buddhist disciples. They had to abide by the precepts, be vegetarian and not marry. Most of the old Daoists who were still virgins at the age of 100 came from Quanzhen Dao, so this kind of thing should be completely stopped.
Zhengyi Dao disciples can start a family and get married normally, but this kind of thing is not encouraged. Even if someone wants to have fun, they have to do it secretly.
Taiping Dao disciples advocate the art of bedroom and advocate the way of yin and yang dual cultivation. They don't care about it, and this kind of thing is also the most common.
Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu are both Zhengyi Dao disciples. When they are old enough, they form a Dao couple. This is a very normal thing, and no one will blame anything. But if you go to the brothel, you will have to bear moral pressure. Although you will not be punished and demoted, it is not a glorious thing after all, and it will harm your reputation.
The reason why it is so different is like a fight between aristocratic children. If this person is from a military family, people will not think it is a big deal, and even think it is reasonable. But if this person is from a scholarly family, he will be regarded as a traitor and his manners will be ruined.
Because the moral archway is erected, and the benefits brought by the moral archway are also subject to the constraints of the moral archway. Therefore, it is not without reason that the Quanzhen disciples have the best reputation and the Taiping disciples have the worst reputation.
Qi Xuansu dusted off the dust on his clothes and said, "I don't want to be accused of misconduct as a boy. It's unfair to get nothing and get into trouble. "
"Just to see it, not to do that kind of thing." Zhang Yuelu said. This is her long-cherished wish, and the two old family members who are responsible for taking care of her daily life know it.
Qi Xuansu didn't know, and still disagreed: "Haven't we seen it in Baidi City? Flowers in clusters, fires boiling, a scene of wealth and luxury."
"That time we were investigating a case, it was already dark, there were dead bodies and spirit officials, what could we see?" Zhang Yuelu said, "We didn't go there openly, we went there secretly, so as not to let anyone notice."
Qi Xuansu only thought that this was a bad idea: "It's okay to sneak in and not be discovered. Once discovered, it will really fall into the crotch of yellow mud."
Zhang Yuelu said: "Have you never even been to the academy for a veteran like you?"
Qi Xuansu was about to speak when he suddenly remembered that he had actually been there once, not in Baidi City, but in a courtyard in Jiangzhou when he killed Shen Yuxi.
Qi Xuansu smacked his lips and had to cover it up with another reason: "The courtyard is a bottomless pit where the prince goes in and the eunuch goes out. I don't have that much peace money to squander."
"That's right." When it came to money, Zhang Yuelu felt short of breath and couldn't help but sigh, "Peace money, peace money, it's never enough."
Qi Xuansu asked tentatively: "Then... we won't go to the courtyard."
Zhang Yuelu was a little hesitant. After all, this was not a very important matter. It was just an idea she had when she was young. The key was that she had already spent half of her savings on this trip home. She had no money in her pocket and no confidence.
At this moment, a group of scholars passed by the two of them and were talking loudly.
"You all must have heard that Miss Li is coming to our Shangqing Mansion."
"Which Miss Li?"
"Who else could it be? Of course it's Miss Li in "Youth Travel". The sword is like water, Wu Yan beats the snow, and the delicate hand breaks the new orange. The brocade is warm in the beginning, and the scent of the beast is constant. They sit opposite each other and tune the sheng. Low He asked, "Who are you going to spend the night with? It's already three o'clock in the city, and the horses are slippery and frosty. It's better to leave. There are only a few people here."
"Is it really that Miss Li who is famous all over the Imperial Capital?"
"There will be no lies."
"Why did Miss Li suddenly come to our Shangqing Mansion?"
"It seems that my ancestral home is here, so I came back during the Chinese New Year to visit relatives and friends."
"Miaoji, Miaoji, how many of us can we have a chance to meet?"
"Miss Li is just returning to her hometown to visit relatives this time, so she won't be able to entertain guests. Even if she does, she will meet some local big shots."
"This Miss Li is known as the number one courtesan in the Imperial Capital. It would be a pity if we couldn't meet her."
"By the way, how do our local oirans compare with this Miss Li?"
"I'm afraid it's not as good as it is, but this is reasonable. There are two capitals in the world, one is the Imperial Capital and the other is the Jade Capital. Fireworks women are strictly prohibited from setting foot in the Jade Capital. Naturally, the Imperial Capital is the most important, followed by the Jinling Mansion. Shili Qinhuai. We can’t be ranked here.”
"But I heard that there is going to be a poetry meeting organized in the courtyard, and Miss Li should show up. Even though we can't have a long conversation alone, it can still be regarded as meeting Miss Li."
The few people talked about some poetry, song and dance, all of which were elegant things for scholars. The girls competed for beauty, and the scholars cheered and cheered for the girls.
Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu stood on the roadside, watching several scholars walking past them, and then looked at each other.
Zhang Yuelu sighed: "Miss Li."
Qi Xuansu asked: "Do you know him?"
"I don't know her, but I've heard that she is a popular girl from the Imperial Capital and is praised as the best courtesan in the world." Zhang Yuelu replied.
Qi Xuansu was shocked by the words "No. 1 in the world" and sighed: "What a great name."
Zhang Yuelu said: "Although it is a big name, don't be too surprised. Every few years, there will be a new person. It is a thing created by a group of Confucian disciples who live in romance all day long. But that's not why I am here. I have heard of this Miss Li, but it’s because this Miss Li has some relationship with the Li family of Taiping Road.”
Qi Xuansu was surprised: "The daughter of the Li family still does such a thing?"
"She is not the daughter of the Li family, not even an adopted daughter. She should be said to be a money tree for the Li family. After all, the Li family is a family that has been around for hundreds of years. It has produced big figures like Xuan Sheng, so it is not so shameless. "Zhang Yuelu said, "The Li family accepts adopted sons and adopted daughters. Some not-so-good livelihoods are left to these adopted sons and daughters to take care of. For example, the courtyard, the largest courtyard in the Imperial City, Wutong Courtyard, is managed by one. The adopted daughter of the Li family is in charge.”
"This Miss Li is not originally named Li. She was originally the daughter of an official. Although this dynasty has good governance and no longer demotes the family members of criminal officials to the Jiaofang Division, after her father was convicted, her family property was confiscated and she lost her livelihood. She was exposed on the street. The adopted daughter of the Li family who ran the yongyuan saw that she was a beauty, so she adopted her and changed her name to Li Qingnu.
"This Miss Li Qingnu is really talented. With the support and promotion of the Li family, she quickly became popular in the imperial capital and became the most beautiful girl in the world. She was hailed as the 'No. 1 courtesan in the world' by those who do good things."