"It's a pity that someone interfered and made you the last one. What a pity!" Wang Meng sighed. "Master Zhang must have offended someone. Someone of high status, right?"

Zhang Shixun laughed: "Old Wang, you're asking this question even though you already know the answer. Don't you know who I've offended?"

"Haha, could it be Wang Fu and his son?"

"You were there when there was a dispute with Wang Husun ​​in the Lotus Pavilion. It was because of that fight that Nie Shan found an opportunity to arrest Wang Husun ​​and imprison him for a few days."

Wang Meng chuckled, "Everything has its cause. You caused Wang Hongfu to go to jail, so of course they have reason to resent you. So, your first place, which was originally a sure thing, is now gone."

Two servants brought wine and snacks. Wang Meng filled two cups and said politely, "Master Zhang, please!"

"Please!" Zhang Shixun raised his glass and clinked it with his, smiling, "Old Wang, your job is quite pleasant. Your daily life is incredibly relaxing. You can just wander around the brothels and theaters. You have wine to drink and meat to eat. It's simply the envy of others."

Wang Meng gave a bitter laugh. "Master Zhang, you don't understand my job. To be honest, this job may seem glamorous, but it's actually quite difficult. There are superiors who are bossy and critical of me, and there are all kinds of messy things waiting to be done below me... The capital is a very treacherous place. If you're not careful, you can easily offend someone. Take the case of Madam Sun, for example. Someone came over loudly to cause trouble, but I didn't dare intervene because they had already made it known that anyone who dared to interfere in Madam Sun's affairs would suffer the consequences."

"Oh, so arrogant."

"They are so arrogant. If a lowly official like me doesn't know the seriousness of the matter and rashly interferes, my position as an official will be over."

Zhang Shixun nodded and said, "Hearing what you said, it is indeed not easy to be an official."

Wang Meng agreed deeply and said, "That's exactly it."

Zhang Shixun looked at him sympathetically and asked, "Your position as military inspector general must have been hard to come by, right?"

"To be honest, I followed General He of the Imperial Guards' Infantry Division when he was inspecting the Huoshan Army. Later, when he returned to the capital, I asked him to find me this job in Kaifeng Prefecture."

"The General He you're talking about is He Ji's father, He Guan?"

"Exactly."

"So he's one of General He's men, haha! His eldest son, He Ji, and I often practice martial arts together."

Wang Meng smiled and said, "I know you often go to the Tianwu Army's training ground."

Zhang Shixun nodded, pondered for a moment, and asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, Madam Sun, what's going on here...?"

Wang Meng glanced at the stage and replied in a low voice, "To be honest, Sun Sansi is my wife's cousin."

"So that's how it is. I didn't expect she was your sister-in-law. No wonder." Zhang Shixun suddenly realized.

"Sister-in-law?" Wang Meng didn't understand.

Zhang Shixun then remembered that the term "sister-in-law" did not exist in this era, and hurriedly said, "Nothing, go on."

"Alas! I can only watch my cousin being bullied and swallow my anger. A small person like me cannot afford to offend the Wang family father and son." Wang Meng sighed and said, "I have a big family to support and I can't do without this job. Otherwise, how could I tolerate such bullying?"

"Although we can't fight them openly, we can still cause them trouble in secret...Old Wang, don't worry about this matter, leave it to Gao Yanei and me." Zhang Shixun picked up the wine glass, "Come on! Let's drink."

The two of them clinked their glasses and drank the wine down.

Wang Meng stroked his beard and said with a smile, "My wife nags me every day. Whenever she mentions my cousin, she says that I am a useless official who can't even protect my own relatives."

"It's inevitable for a woman to nag a little. Besides, she's her own cousin, how could she remain indifferent?"

"When I saw you in the peony shed, I felt relieved, haha!"

Zhang Shixun said, "I didn't help much in this matter. I just relied on Gao Yanei's little power to use his power against him."

"This idea is simply ingenious." Wang Meng looked around and said, "Although Wang Fu and his son are powerful, they are completely helpless against this group of rough soldiers... It's amazing that you came up with such a brilliant idea."

"This is like a scholar meeting a soldier; he can't explain his reasoning."

"The Wang family father and son are neither scholars nor gentlemen."

"But they still have to pretend to be polite, don't they?"

"Ha ha!"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"My cousin owes you two a huge favor. Let me thank Mr. Zhang on her behalf first, and I'll do the favor later." Wang Meng bowed.

Zhang Shixun shook his head. "You're being too formal. We're already good friends, so don't use that 'relationship backup' nonsense."

Wang Meng hurriedly said, "Mr. Zhang is so righteous. I won't say these polite words. Anyway, from now on, I will recognize you as my brother. How about that?"

Zhang Shixun finally felt relieved and said, "That's right. You look older than me, so I'll call you Brother Wang from now on."

At this time, cheers and whistles were heard in the venue. The two looked up and saw Sun Sansi coming on stage. As soon as she appeared, she won applause from the whole audience.

While Sun Sansi was reciting her lines, she stared at Zhang Shixun who was sitting in the middle of the front row. Just then, Zhang Shixun raised his wine glass and his eyes met Sun Sansi's. He smiled and raised the glass towards her, then put it to his lips and took a sip.

The recitation ended, the music started, and Sun Sansi opened her red lips and sang:

Since the arrival of spring, the green has been bleak, the red has been sad, my heart is filled with worry. The sun rises above the blossoms, the orioles wear willow sashes, yet they still sleep under the scented quilt. The warm butter melts, the greasy clouds drift. All day long, I am tired of combing and dressing, nothing can stop me. I regret that Bo Qing left, without a single word from me.

Had I known this earlier? I regret not locking the carved saddle. Facing the chicken window, I am only given barbarian paper and ivory pen, constrained by the teaching of poetry. Stay with me, do not abandon me. I sit with her, sewing idly. With me, let us not let our youth pass in vain.

It was Liu Yong's lyrics, and her singing style was indeed different from Ding Dusai's, gorgeous and graceful. This is the so-called small singing bar.

Sun Sansi has a sweet voice and sings with great emotion. When she sang the line "With me, so that our youth and time will not pass in vain", it probably touched her pain and big tears fell from her pretty eyes.

Wang Meng sighed, "Alas! This cousin has been alone in the theater for so many years. It's really not easy for her to have a team. The hardships she has gone through cannot be told to outsiders."

Zhang Shixun nodded and agreed, "It's indeed not easy."

Wang Meng glanced at the stage and said worriedly, "She's naturally beautiful, and she's always out in the peony pavilion. It's inevitable that she'll be targeted by those powerful people. With your help, she's been able to escape for now, but you can't hide forever. I'm afraid Wang Fu won't let it go."

"Hiding for a while is better than hiding for a while. Even though Wang Fu is powerful, he can't cover up everything. After all, the Song Dynasty is not his."

"That being said, but...ah!" Wang Meng sighed deeply.