Chapter 216 Storytelling (second update)
Sitting in the carriage, Su Rong and Duan Hua got to know this old man Zhao.
From Duanhua, I learned that he is an old scholar. In the early years, he wrote picture books to earn money to support his family. He lived a life that was not considered rich, but not poor. After all, Mrs. Jingzhong didn’t have a few picture books in her room? It wasn't until he married a wife and gave birth to a good son at the age of thirty. When his son grew up, he was very talented in business. It only took him ten years to develop into a well-known tea merchant in Beijing.
To be rich is to be willful. Therefore, he only speaks one day a month. But because of this, the Yipinxiang teahouse was full of guests and friends, and countless people came to listen to his books, and he was even more popular than selling picture books a few years earlier.
Those who love to listen to his books, besides wives and ladies, are some young gentlemen. After all, he not only talks about romantic pictures, but also talks about strange people and strange things, gossip about strange things, and the situation in the world, which is very attractive to young gentlemen.
The carriage soon arrived at Yipinxiang Tea House. Su Rong reached out to pick up Ye Qiuying and jumped off the carriage. Ye Qiuying covered her mouth with her small hand to stop her low cries, her big eyes were wide open.
Duanhua then got out of the carriage, was speechless to Su Rong, and taught her, "My little girl is a very polite little lady, don't get me wrong."
She resolutely refused to admit that she was afraid of stepping on her skirt and falling, so she didn't dare to jump.
Su Rong quickly put the little girl down, and said with a smile, "Sorry, I forgot."
Ye Qiuying put down her little hand covering her mouth, and took the initiative to hold Su Rong's hand. She was very happy and a little excited, "Sister Su, you are so amazing. You jumped off such a high carriage."
Su Rong was ashamed, "Shh, don't learn from me." After finishing speaking, she added, "Even if you learn from me, and you will be said to be rude in the future, I will not admit that you learned from me." After finishing speaking, she deliberately added, "Especially in front of your little uncle."
Ye Qiuying pursed her lips and smiled, "Well, I don't think I learned it from you."
Duanhua rolled his eyes, and took Su Rong's arm, "I heard what you two said."
Su Rongcai didn't care about her, and looked at the Yipinxiang teahouse in front of him with a smile. Before he entered, he heard the lively voices inside.
Duanhua glanced inside and breathed a sigh of relief, "Fortunately, it's still early, and it hasn't started yet. Once it starts, no one will be allowed in."
"The rules are so big?" Su Rong raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't it? Because people come in and out halfway, disturbing Mr. Zhao's storytelling." Duanhua Duanhua took Su Rong's arm and urged, "Hurry up, the door is about to close."
Su Rong nodded.
Feng Ling followed behind the three of them, and a group of four entered the Yipinxiang teahouse.
There are two young men at the door who are both welcoming guests and guarding the door. They obviously know all the regular customers of Duanhua. They said with a smile, "Is the princess here?"
Stepping into the threshold, you can see more intuitively that the entire lobby is full of people. There is a round platform in the middle, with a table, a chair and a person. On the table are a fan, a book and a gavel. There is also an old man in a blue robe about sixty years old walking up to the podium.
"That's where we are." Duan Hua pointed to the front of the podium, the closest distance, and proudly said to Su Rong, "I ordered it for a thousand taels of silver."
Su Rong thought it was very expensive, and asked in a low voice, "Is there a price for tea?"
"Of course it's not included. You have to pay for tea and refreshments. You can only buy a seat at this price." Duanhua said, "That's it. You have to fight to get it."
Su Rong: "..."
This teahouse is really good at making money.
The four of them walked through the rows of seats, walked to the best seats and sat down. A young man saw someone coming, and hurried over and asked, "Princess, are you still drinking cloud tea today?"
"Okay." Duanhua nodded, "Two servings of all pastries."
The little guy immediately responded and went with a smile.
This seat is in a semi-curved shape, and it is just right for four people to sit. Su Rong has been to Jianghu teahouses, and also to teahouses in Jiangning County, but the seats in this Pinxiang teahouse are all wrapped in leather cushions, and it is very comfortable to sit on.
Feng Ling leaned closer to Su Rong's ear, "Sister, did you just know that there are people who can make more money than you when you come to the capital?"
Su Rong glanced at him, "The sky is big and the earth is big, and there are many capable people. In a place like the capital, how can those who have no ability stand up?"
Duanhua coughed, and said in a low voice: "Don't act like an ignorant person, you are a person with a name and surname, and many people are looking at you?"
Feng Ling flattened her mouth, "Okay!"
It’s not that he is ignorant, he just thinks how to make people willing to pay for the seat booked for so much money. Listening to Mr. Zhao’s storytelling nearby is a little bit, and the comfortable upholstered table and chairs all give bonuses to this seat. He can see that the other seats farther away do not have such upholstered packages, but just a dry wooden table and chair. After sitting for a long time, the buttocks must hurt.
The little guy brought a pot of tea, and set up a table full of snacks, nuts, melon seeds, etc., and said, "Customers take it easy." As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Zhao over there had already stood still, slapped the gavel, and the noisy lobby suddenly fell silent.
"Today, Mr. Zhao, I will tell you a legendary story about Princess Zhenmin of Daliang." Mr. Zhao said in a loud voice, "Let's talk about Princess Zhenmin..."
Su Rong narrowed his eyes, thinking that this is really a coincidence.
Duanhua was also stunned, "Didn't you say last time that you were talking about the unofficial history of the former princess? Why did you mention Princess Zhenmin?"
Feng Ling pinched a piece of pastry and stuffed it into her mouth. Hearing this, she smiled "heh", and said lightly, "It's because my sister is here today."
Duanhua was puzzled, "What does this have to do with her coming?"
Feng Lingxin said that it has a lot to do with it. This Pinxiang Tea House, this old man Zhao, seems to have been specially confessed. I don't know who it is, in short, this book is for the master to come, and it's just for the master.
Su Rong also pinched a piece of pastry, handed it to Ye Qiuying, and asked Duanhua, "Isn't it good to listen to Princess Zhenmin?"
When she was assassinated that day, Duanhua was frightened and fell asleep. The princess and the son-in-law avoided her and asked her. When she told the truth about her identity, Duanhua didn't hear it. Naturally, she didn't know her real background.
Duanhua nana, "It's not bad, I have heard my mother say it countless times since I was a child, and I have heard it too much. There is no need to spend this money to listen to him, right?"
If you talk about all the affairs of Princess Zhenmin, this old Zhao is not as clear as her mother who is a royal princess.
Su Rongxiao, "Then you will listen with me?"
What else can Duanhua do? I can't ask Mr. Zhao to change, so I can only nod, "Okay!"
Older Zhao started talking about Princess Zhenmin when she was born, and talked about some interesting things about her, which seemed to be true, so even Duanhua nodded after hearing it, with an expression that was right. Jiangnan investigated the smuggled salt case. This investigation lasted for more than a year. After Xie Yuan returned to the capital, and there was turmoil in the court, the marriage of the two was delayed. After such a delay, two or three years later, something happened unexpectedly...
"It's accurate." Duan Hua whispered to Su Rong, "I really admire Aunt Zhen, who is also the princess. She can be included in the official history of Daliang, but I guess she can only enter the unofficial history."
Su Rong rested his chin on her heart, "It's probably your greatest skill to be able to enter Unofficial History."
Feng Ling nodded in agreement, "There are too many princesses. After thousands of years, perhaps your name will not be found in wild history."
Duanhua was not convinced, "There will definitely be."
She grabbed a handful of melon seeds and gnawed them hard, "Zhou Gu should be able to leave his name in the history books in the future, right? My name must be placed with him. I don't have a place in the official history, but in the unofficial history, people will definitely say that I like him."
Su Rong: "..."
Feng Ling: "..."
This is also possible!
Seeing that the two of them were speechless, Duanhua immediately "hummed" triumphantly, and was about to say something more when he suddenly said "Eh?", "Is Zhou Gujin here in the private room upstairs? I seem to have seen him."
Her eyes have been trained by staring at Zhou Gu all these years, as long as Zhou Gu is around, she can't find anything.
Su Rong followed Duanhua's line of sight and looked upstairs to the left. From this angle, the door of the upstairs box was closed and the curtain was drawn, so she couldn't see anything. She looked back, grabbed a handful of melon seeds and started to eat, "Are you mistaken?"
"Impossible!" Duan Hua stood up vigorously, "I'll go find him." She turned around to leave, and then asked Su Rong, "I'm going to find him, do you have any objection?"
"No, just go." Su Rong waved his hand.
Duanhua straightened his clothes and went up the stairs.
Monthly ticket, okay, see you tomorrow
(end of this chapter)