Chapter 66 You look a lot like an old friend
As luck would have it, the storyteller, who was in his seventies and suffered from blindness, was telling the folk rumors about the emperor and empress in their past. The common people did not dare to sing these rumors by name, and the names and identities had been modified to a certain extent.
The blind storyteller slammed the gavel in his hand and said calmly: "Dear readers, the story I want to tell you today is called "The Confusion of Life and Death"."
He lowered his voice as he spoke, his facial features dancing with his voice. Although his eyes were blind, his facial expressions were very lively. He stroked his curly beard as he spoke:
"It is said that on a certain day and month in a certain year, a prince of a certain dynasty in a certain country mastered the civil and military skills of an emperor, and wielded the art of diplomacy, earning him the favor of the emperor. This prince also possessed sharp eyebrows and brilliant eyes, and was a man of exceptional beauty. All the women in the capital yearned to marry him into the imperial palace.
"But this extraordinary prince didn't like anyone else, but fell in love with a girl from a low-class family at first sight. He brought the girl back to the East Palace and doted on her utmost. Not only did he help the girl get rid of her slavery and promote her rank, he also let her give birth to his first child."
"People often say there's no true love in heaven, but this prince seems to be deeply in love with that woman. They are a couple from heaven, and they promised to walk hand in hand through the world and grow old together!"
"But heaven is jealous of a good match! A woman went out to enjoy the flowers in spring, but unfortunately fell off a cliff! The fatal cliff is a hundred feet deep, shrouded in clouds, and monkeys are worried!"
At the climax of the story, the storyteller banged the gavel in his hand again, his voice trembling with sorrow: "The prince witnessed the death of the beautiful woman with his own eyes, the fading of beauty, his eyes bloodshot! The woman's face was as white as paper, her mouth was bright red, and she smiled at him sadly. In that smile, there was a thousand kinds of reluctance and a thousand kinds of tenderness!"
The storyteller spoke faster, "The woman, like a white butterfly with a broken wing, fluttered up and plummeted into the abyss! The mist instantly swallowed her form! The prince's eyes were swollen and his muscles were throbbing. He let out a heartbreaking wail and was about to leap down like a mad tiger, but he was held down firmly by the eunuchs on his left and right!"
At this time, not only did the storyteller's tone become sad and crazy, but all the audience present had their eyes wide open and their hearts hanging, afraid to hear the tragic situation that was to follow.
Li Huaizhou was not very clear about what happened back then, but he thought the storyteller was really interesting. When he got excited, his beard trembled.
He waved his hands excitedly and called out to Li Cheng, "Father, look, look!"
Li Cheng had no time to respond to him. His hands were clenched into fists, his face was pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He was trying hard to endure something.
Li Fu, following nearby, had a bad feeling when he heard the part about the prince falling in love at first sight. Sure enough! The professor had said it was about a prince from a certain country in a certain year and month, but the story actually turned out to be about Emperor Jianping and Empress Xiaode!
These unruly people are really rebellious! They think that since the emperor is far away and Your Majesty is in Chang'an, you can't control this place, right?
Li Fu knew that the incident was a painful memory for Emperor Jianping throughout his life, and no one around him dared to mention it rashly, for fear of touching the emperor's sore spot.
But these barbarians from the south actually dared to discuss the emperor and empress openly! What did the governor here do?
Li Fu was really scared and angry. He was angry at the audacity of these unruly people, and he was afraid that His Majesty would suddenly get angry and chop the storyteller with a knife.
Although the latter possibility was very small, Li Fu did not dare to guarantee it. His Majesty was usually a normal person, but when he encountered matters related to the Empress, he became crazy and angry, like a completely different person!
Especially with His Majesty looking so terrifying right now, it's hard not to want to devour someone. Li Fu secretly complained that if the little prince hadn't been curiously playing with the long sword at His Majesty's waist, His Majesty might have really attacked and attacked someone.
Li Fu trembled.
The storyteller became even more enthusiastic, and the audience in the teahouse also became more and more engrossed in the story, their moods fluctuating with the blind old man's words:
"From that moment on, the prince went mad! No longer the stern and composed heir apparent, he became a wandering spirit on the edge of the cliff! He never slept, never ate, and never drank, his red eyes searching every inch of the cliffside day and night. With his hands, now covered in blood and mud, he wielded his broadsword and swept towards the wolves on the cliff!"
The wolves, nearly badly wounded, fled in terror at the prince. In the pouring rain, he groped in the mud; in the scorching sun, he was almost unrecognizable. Day after day, he searched, deaf to everything, a frantic man. He knelt and prayed: "God, if you will but return the prince to me, I will shorten my life by thirty years!"
God did not answer him, so he continued to search. He wanted to see him alive, but dead... he would never accept death! "
At this point, the blind scholar tapped the gavel and turned his attention to the audience below:
"Dear readers, do you think that woman has passed away and her soul has been scattered? Or did she find a way back from her desperate situation? Will the prince find her after searching so hard - or..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the teahouse, which was so quiet that only the blind scholar's voice could be heard, was suddenly filled with a buzzing noise.
The crowd excitedly stood up and crowded around, throwing copper coins at the scholar on the stage. The scholar was not upset by the coins, but smiled.
It was clear that the eyes were covered with white cataracts and could not see anything, but they could accurately pick up the copper coins scattered on the ground.
At this moment, a strong man with a voice as loud as a bell stood up and said, "In my opinion, that woman is definitely dead. On a cliff hundreds of feet high, not to mention a delicate girl, even if a big beast comes, she will die!"
Someone nodded in agreement.
After a while, the pretty girl with delicate features near the corner came out, wearing a red lotus satin jacket, a crabapple flower pattern hairpin on her head, a bean green palace ribbon rose pendant on the hem of her skirt, and a gold thread flowered crepe skirt.
Her voice still tinged with innocent tenderness as she stood up and retorted, "I disagree with you. That woman is definitely not dead. She fell off a cliff and was rescued by a martial arts master of unparalleled skill! From then on, the two of them traveled the world with swords, loving each other deeply and deeply, forging a love story that was unparalleled and unparalleled!"
"That's what it says in the storybook!"
When Li Yan heard the little girl's explanation that the heroine was not dead, a dark light flashed in his eyes almost instantly.
Before he could turn his head to look at the corner, he heard the following words, and the slight joy that suddenly appeared on his face was instantly covered by gloom.
He sat calmly on the rattan chair, his mood unrecognizable. However, the attentive Chief Steward Li noticed that a crack had appeared on the Jian teapot in His Majesty's hand at some point.
The speech made by the naive little girl just now attracted the attention of other spectators.
Some people sneered: "You are just a little girl, but you have learned bad things by reading so many storybooks!" But they only dared to say it casually.
Everyone knew that this little girl, who was only fourteen years old, was the only legitimate daughter of the county magistrate, and she had three legitimate brothers.
The county magistrate and his wife had a daughter in their old age. They spoiled their little girl so much that she was ignorant of the ways of the world, cute and adorable, and always said some naive and childish words.
This little girl had a hobby known throughout the county: she loved reading storybooks. Whenever a new storybook came out in the bookstore, she was always the first to go buy it with her maid. She disliked going out to parties, doing needlework, or spending time with the promising young men her parents favored.
It seemed that in this child's mind, the sketchbook was the most important thing in the world. She couldn't live without it.
Another point of criticism is that the county magistrate's youngest daughter is very familiar with Liang Dongjia. Liang Dongjia, who in Tang County doesn't know him?! He is truly a figure of great influence in Tang County!
One of them is sweet and adorable, with eyes as clear as white clouds, untainted by the filth of the world; the other is barbaric and rude, with such skillful techniques that she has cut into countless men's private parts.
It is incredible that two people with such different personalities can get along with each other and have such a good relationship!
Everyone was afraid that the girl would be led astray by the fierce Liang. Perhaps because of the "hatred of the whole family", when the men saw this young lady, they were afraid that she had learned the same trick from Liang.
Who dares to come near and provoke? No one dares!
The county magistrate has always protected Mr. Liang in all matters big and small. Some people speculate that Mr. Liang might be a distant cousin of the county magistrate.
The two girls were related by blood, so it made sense.
In the Jin Dynasty, the separation between men and women was not a serious issue, especially in southern barbarian areas like Nanzhou. As a girl in the boudoir, she could appear in public places like teahouses and restaurants, and no one would say that she was showing off and would spread gossip about her.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the little girl appeared in the teahouse.
Xu Yin heard voices of disapproval from the teahouse and stood up angrily, saying bitterly, "I won't argue with you fools. You are so ignorant, how can you tell that the story in the book is not true?"
She left with the little maid, and when she passed by Li Huaizhou, she saw that the child was wearing a round-necked robe made of Songjiang cotton flying flower cloth. The robe was light brown and had a longevity pattern on it.
The child's hair was held in place by a crown band, his eyelashes were long and curly, and although his face had some baby fat, it was not difficult to tell what a handsome face this young man would grow up to be.
It really looks like the little fairy boy sitting under Guanyin.
Xu Yin was naturally attracted to beautiful things. When she suddenly saw this young man, she couldn't help but stop and walk towards him.
At this moment, he suddenly heard the cold-faced guard standing beside him draw out his big knife with a "swish".
Xu Yin understood that this young man was most likely a child from a wealthy family, and was always accompanied by guards when he went out. She had suddenly approached him just now, and the guards probably thought she was someone with bad intentions.
She smiled awkwardly and waved her hand, saying, "I'm sorry, I was rude. I saw that young master was so handsome and I was so attracted by him that I couldn't help but stop. I'm so sorry!"
Li Huaizhou was also examining the newcomer and said to the guards beside him, "It's okay." The guards immediately put down their knives.
Xu Yin secretly looked at the young man carefully again. Although she was in the southern barbarians, she was the daughter of the county magistrate after all, and she had seen a lot of good things.
I instantly recognized the Songjiang cotton flowered cloth on the four or five-year-old child. The Taoist robes and straight-collared robes made of Songjiang cotton are often worn by countless dignitaries and literati.
Songjiang cloth is divided into two types: expensive and cheap. The cheap one is called broad white cloth, which is a material that ordinary people can afford to wear, and most of them cost dozens of coins per piece.
The expensive one is the flying flower cloth, which has fine stitching and more refined workmanship. It costs twenty or thirty taels of silver to buy a piece of it.
You have to know that her father was the county magistrate, with a monthly salary of only twenty taels. If they wanted to buy a piece of Songjiang Feihua cloth, they would have to save up by living frugally.
But the young man in front of her was not only dressed in luxurious clothes, but even the gold locket around his neck was something she had never seen before.
That gold locket was different from the one on her little nephew's neck. When he was a hundred days old, his mother gave him a small silver locket.
It was just a simple collar with a few small bells hanging from it. Every time my nephew moved, the bells tinkled.
That silver lock was very expensive, and my mother had it made with her dowry.
But this handsome little boy wore a gold lock around his neck and a jade ruyi hanging from it, which was engraved with blessing runes and auspicious patterns such as magpies and bats.
Looking at the jade pendant again, there are four characters in official script on it: long life and good fortune.
The child exuded a noble air, with a hint of arrogance that made Xu Yin secretly frightened. She thought to herself, this must be some wealthy young man from some wealthy family.
When Xu Yin looked at him, the young man also looked at him with his big, round eyes. His eyes were very dark, his skin was white with a pink tint, and his inquiring eyes were very similar to someone he remembered.
Yes, the way this young man looks at people is very similar to Zhang Niang’s.
Xu Yin didn't know Zhang Niang's origins, and Zhang Niang was unwilling to say. She only said that after her husband died of tuberculosis, she was bullied by her tribe and had to flee to Nanzhou.
Xu Yin didn't believe it. If Zhang Niang was really as pitiful and helpless as she said, why would her father protect her at all costs? Xu Yin knew her father. Although he had a kind personality, he would never help someone for no reason, especially a widow.
There was only one possibility: Zhang Niang's status was more noble than she had imagined. The person standing behind Zhang Niang was someone that her father could never afford to offend in his entire life.
Xu Yin stood there for too long and suddenly felt a cold light coming towards her. She turned around and saw that the young man was leaning closely against an adult man.
The man had his black hair tied up, and wore a white round-necked robe. His face was dull, and his aura was as cold as the snow on the mountains.
Judging from his appearance, it was obvious that this man was the young man's father. However, the young man was so soft and cute, but why did his father have such a strong sense of oppression?
Xu Yin didn't intend to stay any longer and turned to leave. But the young man asked, "Sister, why are you looking at me?"
Xu Yin saw that he behaved in a generous and proper manner, and thought that he often asked strangers such questions. If she answered that the young man was too cute and handsome, would it be too monotonous for him?
For some reason, Xu Yin felt only joy when she saw this young man, but the man beside him inexplicably frightened her.
She said, "Young man, you look very much like an old friend of mine, so I looked at you a few more times. I'm really sorry."
Because of her long speech just now, Li Cheng noticed this young lady and was about to ask her what she thought about the story, but he suddenly heard these words.
He calmly picked up the Jianzhan teacup and sipped the tea before asking, "Why do you say that, young lady? May I ask who this 'old friend' you're talking about is?"
For some reason, Xu Yin hated his condescending attitude, even though she knew that the father and son were either nobles of high status or businessmen with tens of millions of dollars in assets.
But she, the daughter of a county magistrate, actually had to face the other party's arrogance. How could this be justified!
She was furious and said in a bad tone: "You don't need to know this."
"What if I really want to know?" The man lazily lifted his eyelids, and wherever his eyes touched, there was a chill.
Xu Yin thought to herself that she might have gotten into serious trouble, that she had run into someone who wouldn't give in. But it had indeed been her fault in the beginning, and she didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble for Zhang Niang because of her nonsense.
He said casually: "She is a distant relative of mine, named Liu Niang. She came to live in my house for a few months many years ago, but she married to the next county two years ago."
He added: "I was mistaken just now. Now looking at him again, I feel that how could the young man be so similar in appearance to Liu Niang? To say that the young man is like Liu Niang is an unfair treatment to him."
When Li Cheng was the crown prince, he followed the Dali Temple Minister to listen to lawsuits for several years and knew best how to see into people's hearts. He could tell at a glance that this teenage girl was lying and didn't know how to cover it up.
He didn't want to make it public, so he continued to tease, "It's a blessing for me to receive a compliment from you, young lady. By the way, I'm very curious about your opinion just now. Could you please tell me more about it?"
The maidservant beside Xu Yin gently urged her to return home quickly, but Xu Yin seemed to ignore her.
Xu Yin became more interested when it came to the storybook. Li Cheng asked Li Fu to show her a seat, and the waiter brought her a pot of fresh tea.
Xu Yin was in high spirits, her eyes shining: "So you have the same idea as me?" She thought everyone thought the woman was dead and she was just daydreaming.
But now, the man in front of him seemed to have the same view. This discovery made Xu Yin happy.
Suddenly I felt that this man seemed more pleasing to the eye.
Li Cheng observed her every move and said, "My thoughts are not important. I just think that your ideas are somewhat unique, so I want to listen to them attentively."
"Okay," Xu Yin was a little disappointed that it did not meet her expectations, but at least the man appreciated her idea, which meant that he also thought so.
She continued excitedly: "It's written like this in the storybook. The hero did something bad to the heroine, so the heroine thought of escaping by faking her death. Then she met another man with first-class temperament, appearance, and family background, gradually fell in love with him, and got married. And the original hero could only watch his lover go hand in hand with other men, regretting it for the rest of his life."
Li Cheng frowned. He wasn't interested in these little girls' stories, and his expression turned cold. Li Fu felt that the pressure around his master was getting lower and lower.
Xu Yin kept chattering, "I've read many storybooks, and in them there are stories of couples getting back together and being together forever, and there are also stories of couples becoming strangers and never seeing each other again. But no matter which ending it is, I think the man a woman is willing to choose to spend the rest of her life with must be a man who makes her feel safe and trustworthy enough."
"Zhang Niang loves to write storybooks whenever she has time. Her views are exactly the same as mine!" Xu Yin became even happier when she thought of Zhang Niang.
She had promised me a while ago to write a novel about a heroine with a harem of handsome men, so I'm going to go and urge her to do that later!
A "Zhang Niang" is like a drop of oil falling into boiling water, which immediately boils and splashes.
When Li Cheng heard the long-lost "Zhang Niang", he was a little stunned. He was afraid that he had heard it wrong, and he was afraid that what he heard was just a homophone.
However, the appearance of the word Zhang Niang made Emperor Jianping more curious about the young lady in front of him.
He tried to hide his trembling hands and suppress the overwhelming emotions that surged in him. Zhang Niang, Zhang Niang, he murmured silently.
Is it his Zhang Niang? Was Zhang Niang really rescued by a chivalrous knight as this young lady said?
Is she really in this world?
With this guess, Li Cheng suddenly realized that when Zhang Niang fell off the cliff, there was no definite evidence to show that she was dead, and it was she who was devoured by the wolves.
Although there were her pearl hairpins and her clothes on the ground, all of this could not be explained, right?
This realization was like a hot spring flowing through his blood, making Li Cheng feel a sense of comfort and renewal all over his body.
He continued to ask questions, and in order to lower the young lady's guard, he even went out to talk about his miserable life: how he had no parents since childhood, and grew up alone eating at other people's homes; how he finally got married, but his wife died during childbirth.
When he spoke of this, his eyes reddened. "I am no longer the Wuxia A'mon of the past, risking my life to go to other countries to import spices and sell them back home. After years of profit, I have built a considerable business. But, even if I have great wealth, what does it matter? She has left me forever and will never come back..."
Li Huaizhou had no idea what his father was up to, and he and the old steward looked at each other in bewilderment. Neither dared to speak, for fear of disturbing his father.
Xu Yin didn't expect that this cold man would talk so much to her. Considering that he was a widower and had worked hard to make money over the years just to leave a family business for his children, it was not easy.
"The child is still young, and you are still young. Don't you plan to marry another wife?"
Li Yan: "She is the only woman in my life. I will only live with her tablet and the child she left behind. I will not be involved with any other woman except her in this life."
Hearing this, Xu Yin completely let go of her previous annoyance and was filled with only admiration for the man before her. A man like him, responsible and capable of earning money to support his family, unwilling to touch another woman even after his wife died, and only caring for the children left behind by his wife.
She had just carefully examined the young man. He was only four or five years old, and every detail of his clothes was exquisite. It was obvious that he was a very caring father.
She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and sighed, "Ah, I am also a miserable person, just like Zhang Niang." She had thrown her initial thoughts to the winds and had also forgotten Zhang Niang's instructions to her as far as Java.
The word "Zhang Niang" appeared again in her words.
Li Cheng took over smoothly: "I wonder if the Zhang Niang you mentioned is a man or a woman? Did she suffer the same fate as me?"
Xu Yin had no doubts: "Zhang Niang is a widow from our place. She said that her husband died of tuberculosis and she had no children. Her clan members could not tolerate her as a widow and had been bullying her openly. She could not stand it, so she secretly ran south to settle in Tang County."
Li Cheng: "How many years ago did she come to Tang County?"
Xu Yin frowned and thought: "A few years ago? I don't remember clearly, it should be four or five years ago. I remember that the year she went south, the new emperor ascended the throne, the prince was appointed, and a general amnesty was issued..."
The maid beside Xu Yin secretly pulled her sleeve, signaling her to stop talking.
Xu Yin finally realized how foolish she had been, revealing the girl's maiden name. Even Zhang Niang had specifically warned her against this a few days before.
She actually made such a big mistake with her mouth!
Xu Yin was afraid of causing trouble for Liang Hanzhang, so she quickly changed her words and said, "No, I remembered it wrong. She didn't come that year, but the year before the new emperor ascended the throne. She was not a widow, but an unmarried girl."
The Jianping Emperor was a man of his stature, so he could naturally sense the panic in the young woman's words. It would have been fine if she hadn't said the rest of the story, but her attempts to conceal it only made it more obvious, making Li Cheng even more suspicious.
There must be something fishy about this "Zhang Niang"!
Emperor Jianping's expression remained calm, without a trace of emotion. He placed his hands on the armrests of the chair, his posture lazy.
However, only he himself knew how passionate he was. He could never have imagined that his enthusiastic trip south would bring him such a big surprise.
If the "Zhang Niang" she mentioned was the Zhang Niang he was looking for, Emperor Jianping would definitely treat the little girl as a guest of honor. She had helped him a lot!
Hearing this, Li Fucai sensed something unusual in Xu Yin's words. Li Huaizhou was also suspicious. He was five years old, and his mother had passed away five years ago after falling off a cliff.
Now, the Zhang Niang mentioned by Xu Yin has the same name as A Niang. She appeared in Nanzhou exactly the year she fell off the cliff.
Could it be that this "Zhang Niang" has some connection with my mother?
The young prince's eyes widened in anticipation, and he was about to ask. But Li Cheng grabbed his hand. The emperor glanced at his son and winked at him.
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