Chapter 29. Bianjing City, terrifying beyond measure. ...
So, where is the person who found a new father?
He's distributing souvenirs from his trip out of the palace to the ladies-in-waiting!
They've petted the raccoon dog, crawled through the dog hole, slapped the cannon fodder passerby of the Imperial College in the face, and even got a good meal from Dr. Mei. Are they just going to go back to their own homes and mothers like this, all in a hurry?
Of course not!
After bidding farewell to Master Fu and Dr. Mei, Fusu and his entourage strolled around the bustling streets of Bianjing for a while.
Fusu didn't bring many attendants with him this time, and he went to the Imperial Academy secretly without telling anyone—his family's servants were still waiting for their young master at Su Shi's residence. They agreed to just stroll around the bustling city center and return home as soon as it got dark.
Fusu was self-aware enough. These few children, who looked like they came from good families and were powerless, along with Zhao Zongshi, a skinny and intimidating young man, were easy prey in the eyes of the beggars.
"Wow……"
"It's so lively!"
Apart from Su Shi, who was taken to Bianjing by his father for a tour, the rest of them had almost no experience of strolling through the streets. Stepping onto the bustling streets of Bianjing, they felt like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, finding everything novel and interesting.
Even Fusu, who had seen the world, couldn't help but marvel. Before it even got dark, the shops on the street lit up their lanterns, and the bright red lights reflected in his dark eyes.
The people moved about in large numbers and frequently. They had to stand close together to speak so that they could hear each other, otherwise they would be drowned out by the noise of the crowd.
Fu Su suddenly said, "I suddenly admire Master Fu."
"What?"
"Didn't you admire your husband before? Fine, I'm going to complain."
"No, no, no, I admired him before," Fusu quickly waved his hand, "but I admire him even more now."
Looking at the intoxicatingly prosperous scene before them, who would dare not call it a golden age of peace and prosperity? Yet Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi, and others, living daily in Bianjing, were not misled by its splendor and instead pinpointed the hidden crises within the nation—truly remarkable…
Li Qiu's exclamation broke Fu Su's exclamation: "Look, what is that place?!"
The place he pointed to had a significantly higher population density than other areas, and there were far more men, women, and children flocking to the streets. Even the lanterns at the entrances were a bit redder than elsewhere.
“That’s a theater and brothel, my father took me there,” Su Shi said.
Fusu was shocked: What? Your father took you to... Oh right, the entertainment venues in the Song Dynasty were for everyone. Then it's alright.
Zhao Zongshi also looked towards the brothel, but was startled by something and turned away, his face flushed. Fusu looked in the direction of the sound and saw several pretty young women holding handkerchiefs, smiling and waving at him in front of the brothel.
Fusu covered his mouth and chuckled.
"Shall we go in and take a look?" Even standing outside, one could faintly hear the lively atmosphere inside the theater. Singing, laughter, and cheers acted like a natural advertisement, making little Li Qiu eager to go in.
Fusu shook his head: "Let's forget about it."
Although the entertainment venue is open to all, it's also a melting pot of all sorts of people. It would be too dangerous for just a few children to wander in.
"Alright then." Li Qiu looked very disappointed.
Su Shi seemed to be deep in thought: "I do know a trustworthy person. Next time, we can have him take us in. By the way, you know that person, Zhao Xiaolang."
"Who is it? Who is it?"
Is it believable? He and Su Shi knew each other.
Fusu blinked: "Master Jingjue from the Great Xiangguo Temple?"
"That's right! It's Master Jingjue. I even asked him to help me assess Dongjun, otherwise I would have definitely been ripped off."
"By the way, I also mentioned you to the young monk. He said that his senior brother has been forcing him to memorize scriptures so hard that he can hardly even leave the gate of Daxiangguo Temple, which is partly due to you. When I asked him again, he refused to say anything more."
Su Shi said with a teasing look, "You didn't outdo the little monk in the scriptures, did you? Why didn't you call me for something so interesting?"
Fusu: "..."
Thank you, he remembered everything.
On the day of the Song-Xia peace talks, he captured a spy from Western Xia disguised as Jingjue, attempting to infiltrate the Song Dynasty. Jingjue's senior brother judged the authenticity of the identity based on the fact that the real Jingjue could not recite the Diamond Sutra.
The traitor has been exposed, and the Great Xiangguo Temple has lost all face, especially in front of the Emperor.
Jingjue will definitely get a scolding from the abbot later.
Fusu clenched his little fists and refuted Su Shi's conjecture: "What nonsense! What do you take me for?"
Is he obsessed with slapping faces all over the map? He was clearly forced into this situation by this guy at the Imperial Academy!
"Alright, alright, I know, Zhao Xiaolang, you're an extremely low-key person." Seeing that the man was about to get annoyed, Su Shi quickly changed the subject: "Then next time I have a day off, I'll ask him to take us in."
Yan Jidao finally had a chance to ask: "Why could the monks at Xiangguo Temple help you bargain and even take us into the brothel? Are the beggars afraid of them?"
“You don’t know this,” Su Shi said. “Daxiangguo Temple is both a royal temple and attracts the incense offerings of the common people. Moreover, its name contains the word ‘Buddha.’ It is a powerful force and a local bully. Ordinary evil people are unwilling to provoke them easily.”
"I see……"
Fusu seemed lost in thought. He was thinking, "Wouldn't that give me another title when I go out and right wrongs?"
On the official road, Yan Jidao's status was enough to smooth things over more than 90% of the time. If they didn't buy into that, he could say he had connections with the Xiangguo Temple. The Xiangguo Temple still owed him a huge favor, so they certainly wouldn't mind using his name.
However, since there was no opportunity for him to demonstrate his abilities, Fusu simply gave up on the idea.
The group was still reluctant to leave, so they went against the flow of people and left the gate of the teahouse, turning around to browse other street shops.
Unlike the others, Fusu didn't linger at the restaurant entrance staring at the menu, rubbing his stomach and debating whether to treat himself to something else. He was thinking about what souvenirs to bring back for his family.
Actually, this habit was something he developed in his second life. He had a good friend in college who was a rich and beautiful woman, and she would always bring him back various souvenirs from her trips. Some of them were useful, while others were not.
He had once subtly expressed his hope that his friend wouldn't spend money on him, but his friend bluntly said, "The gifts are small things; the sentiment is what matters most."
"And you don't understand, do you? I also bring gifts for my parents. Even if they don't necessarily need them all, the emotional value of showing them off in front of others and being praised with 'Your daughter really cares about you' already makes the gift worth the price."
Fusu's first thought was that he had been guarding the border and supervising the army in Shangjun for a very long time, and apart from routine military reports, he hadn't sent anything to his father, the emperor. Even if his father wanted to show off his son, he had no material to use.
Because of this experience, even though Fusu had no family by his side in his second life, he remembered his friend's words for a very long time. Until today, they finally sprouted in his mind like bamboo shoots breaking through the soil.
What should I buy?
Fusu rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
As someone from the palace, he couldn't possibly lack anything in terms of food, clothing, or daily necessities. But he still chose a gift for each person based on his understanding of them, not even forgetting Consort Miao, whom he had only met a few times.
As Fusu shopped away, he skillfully pulled out his money, marveling at how prescient he had been to ask the Empress for money before leaving the house.
Oh no, it should be said that this is a lesson learned from the past. Last time he left the palace, he wanted to buy Su Shi's calligraphy and paintings but didn't have any money in his pocket, so he had to borrow it from the chief of the Imperial Guards.
He carried his bags to find his classmates, and in a beverage shop, he saw Li Qiu and Yan Jidao taking off their belts and asking the owner if they could have two drinks.
Fusu: "!!!"
What are these people doing?!
Li Qiu and Yan Jidao's belts, one inlaid with silver and the other with a jade buckle, could be pawned and used to buy a whole roomful of drinks. The shopkeeper was clearly stunned, placing the belts on the counter in a dilemma, unsure of what to do.
Fusu rushed into the shop, took out a few copper coins from his purse, stood on tiptoe, and slapped them on the counter: "I'll treat them to their drinks."
"Alright, please be well, my esteemed guests."
Seeing that someone had come to the rescue, even though it was just a child, the boss breathed a sigh of relief, returned the belt to Fusu, and turned to go to the kitchen to get away from the trouble.
Fusu continued to tiptoe and tuck his belt away. As soon as he turned around, he was met with two burning gazes.
"Your Highness, Young Master..."
At this moment, in the eyes of Yan Jidao and Li Qiu, where could they find a friend like Fusu who was so generous as to be a god descending to earth, so lavish in entertaining guests, and so quick to save people from danger?
If it weren't for the great importance that ancient people placed on titles and etiquette, Fusu felt that the two of them would be hugging him and calling him "godfather" the next second.
He quickly shook his head, dismissing the absurd idea: "You all know it's embarrassing to be without a belt and dressed sloppily, right?"
Yan Jidao looked at the sky and the ground without saying a word, but Li Qiu retorted in a low voice: "But the drink really smells good!"
They couldn't resist the smell.
Fusu: "..."
Fusu was a little skeptical: "Is it really that fragrant? I'll try some later."
Then, he turned around and dragged Su Shi out from the corner of the shop, where he was leaning against the crossbeam and laughing heartily.
When the latter realized he had been discovered, he quickly begged for forgiveness, saying, "I was just joking, who knew they would actually believe me!"
Fusu replied coldly, "You used the same excuse last time."
It refers to the story of Su Shi tricking Jingjue into giving him a beard that was completely incongruous with his own at Xiangguo Temple.
Su Shi: "..."
He opened his mouth, mainly because he really didn't expect to be so easily fooled.
But Su Shi ultimately didn't dare to voice his true feelings.
The two people involved, Li Qiu and Yan Jidao, didn't think it was a big deal. In particular, little Li Qiu blamed himself, saying it was all their fault for being too greedy, and that Su Dalang was just the one who came up with the idea, and it had little to do with him.
Fusu added insult to injury: "Believe it or not, if your family sees you returning home disheveled and without your belts, they definitely won't let you go out again next time."
Su Shi, Yan Jidao, and Li Qiu: "!!!"
The three little ones immediately wilted, and then those who needed to apologize apologized and those who needed to reflect reflected on their actions.
Fusu snorted and took a big gulp of his drink: "That's more like it."
...Huh?
He smacked his lips and then took a big gulp.
...I think I understand why Li Qiu and Yan Jidao were willing to pawn their belts and risk being scolded by their parents just to get a drink.
Bianjing, a city capable of corrupting people's common sense, is truly terrifying.
Fusu swung his little feet, lost in thought.
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Author's note: I originally intended to gloss over the result, but I couldn't stop writing, so I'll stop here for now.
The next chapter will be around midnight. [Starry-eyed]
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