Seeing her rather unnatural expression, Zhang Shixun didn't know what was going on at first. But after thinking carefully about the poem he had just recited, he suddenly came to his senses.
This poem describes the joy a wife feels when she first sees her husband after a long absence.
It seemed a little inappropriate to recite it in front of Ding Dusai.
The atmosphere became awkward, and both of them looked out the door silently. For a moment, no one said a word.
"You've got one word wrong." After a long pause, Ding Dusai spoke first, correcting him: "The wind and rain are howling, the cocks are crowing. Now that I've met a gentleman, how can I not be happy? The word here should be 'Yi', but you read it as 'Xi'."
"Really? No wonder I felt a little awkward when I was reciting it. It turns out I made a mistake in reciting a word."
"If you were still studying, you would be beaten by the teacher if you made a mistake in reciting a word," Ding Dusai joked.
"Yes, yes." Zhang Shixun coughed lightly and asked, "Have you ever memorized the Book of Songs?"
"From a very young age, my grandfather hired a teacher to teach me. The teacher often praised my intelligence and said, 'If I were a man, I might be able to call out names outside Donghua Gate.'"
Perhaps it brought back childhood memories, and a sweet smile appeared on Ding Dusai's face.
"Do you still like reading now?" Zhang Shixun asked.
"Yes, I do. Even when I perform in the Lotus Pavilion, I always carry books with me. Whenever I'm not on stage, I hide in the dressing room and read."
"What kind of books do you read?"
"Poetry, songs, and novels, whatever books are available to me."
"People must read. Reading makes people wise."
In this era, men are superior to women. No matter how well-educated women are, they cannot take the imperial examinations. The greatest benefit of their education is to support their husbands and raise their children.
"Sir, you play the piano so well. I've never seen many of the fingerings before. Could you teach me?"
"No problem." Zhang Shixun agreed readily.
Ding Dusai was delighted to see that he agreed, and asked again, "Can you play the zheng?"
“I can play a few.”
"How many are a few?"
Zhang Shixun smiled, a very proud smile.
Seeing his frivolous smile, Ding Dusai pressed him, "Come on, tell me, how many songs do you know?"
"A few dozen, maybe more."
"Huh!?" Ding Dusai exclaimed, "You know so much?"
"Not too much." Zhang Shixun began to act pretentiously.
Dingdu Track: "I once sang the song "Farewell" to Sister Li, and she liked it very much. She really wants to invite you to come over and chat with her in your free time."
Hearing this, Zhang Shixun asked, "Is your Sister Li very famous?"
"Yes! Who in the capital doesn't know Li Shishi?"
Holy shit! It turned out to be Li Shishi, the emperor’s lover, who knew everything.
"Li Shishi invited me?" Zhang Shixun was a little bit unconvinced. Li Shishi, one of the ten most beautiful women in ancient times, invited me. No way?
"yes."
"If I go to her place, won't the government...?"
Before he could finish, Ding Dusai laughed and said, "You are mistaken. My sister is a prostitute. As long as she wants, anyone can see her, and the government cannot stop her."
"Are you sure it's okay? I heard that officials are very petty."
"It's really nothing. I'll go with you. The official won't think of going anywhere else."
"Can I not go?" Although Zhang Shixun really wanted to meet the legendary beauty, he still had some concerns in his heart.
Behind this beauty, there is a real dragon with a strong jealousy. Although it is not a Tyrannosaurus Rex, it is still a dragon. If one of the dragon's claws steps on her, she will have no chance to survive in the Song Dynasty.
"Why? Sister is not a tiger."
"Women are tigers." Zhang Shixun said, thinking of the song in later generations, and couldn't help laughing.
"Women are tigers, why?" Ding Dusai blinked a few times, confused.
"Let me sing a song for you." Zhang Shixun said, and without waiting for her to agree, he sang "Women are Tigers":
The young monk went down the mountain to beg for food, and the old monk gave him instructions:
The woman at the foot of the mountain is a tiger. If you meet her, you must avoid her.
…
After the song was over, Ding Dusai's eyes were so wide with laughter that they turned into crescent moons, so he asked her, "How about this song?"
"That's so interesting, what's the name of this song?"
"Women are tigers." Zhang Shixun opened his palms into claw shapes and imitated the roar of a tiger.
"I like it so much. Please teach me, please teach me." Ding Dusai grabbed Zhang Shixun's hand and begged.
"Do you want to learn?" Zhang Shixun felt the smoothness and delicacy coming from her hands, which was very familiar.
He had felt this feeling before on that rainy night.
"Of course I want to learn." Ding Dusai seemed to sense something, his face turned red, and he quickly let go of his hand.
Zhang Shixun said, "First of all, I didn't write the lyrics and music for this. Someone else did."
"I know, it was written by a monk." Ding Dusai laughed and said, "The last time, the song 'Farewell' was written by an old monk. This time, you don't have to guess, you know it was written by a young monk, right?"
After hearing what Ding Dusai said, Zhang Shixun also laughed. What a coincidence, both songs happened to be related to monks. Could it be that he was a monk in his previous life?
"No matter who wrote it, please teach me." Ding Dusai really likes this cheerful and lively song.
"Okay, as long as you don't mind it being too plain, I'll teach you." Zhang Shixun took the opportunity to grab her hand and agreed readily.
"Of course I don't mind, I like it very much. Please teach me to sing quickly." Ding Dusai urged repeatedly, but found that her hand was held by him. Her face turned red immediately and she quickly pulled her hand out.
Zhang Shixun cleared his throat and began to teach her carefully, sentence by sentence.
The language of the song is easy to understand and the artistic conception is simple and clear, just like telling a short story, it is very easy to learn.
Ding Dusai is very talented and learned it after singing it a few times.
She sang it again, and when she felt she was familiar with it, she said, "I'll sing it for my sister now."
She stood up and walked out the door, looking like a child who had gotten something good and was busy showing off to others.
The rain had stopped. Ding Dusai walked to the gate and reminded me again, "Don't forget to come with me to my sister's place some other day."
"Let's go quickly, it's getting dark." Zhang Shixun smiled and waved his hand.
When it got dark, it started raining again.
Zhang Shixun returned to the bedroom, lit a candle, and prepared to lie on the bed to watch a video.
There are countless videos stored in the smart system, covering everything from ancient times to the present, both Chinese and foreign, but he has never had time to watch them before.
Just as I lay down on the bed, I vaguely heard the door knocker outside "click".
Zhang Shixun came to the gate and asked through the door, "Who is outside?"
"Master Zhang, I come from Madam Li's place to invite you to a banquet."
"Li Shishi?" Zhang Shixun was a little caught off guard.
"Here is a letter. Sir, you will know the answer after taking a look at it." said the person outside.
Zhang Shixun opened the door and saw a servant standing outside, bowing to him.
"Give me the letter. Wait a moment." Zhang Shixun took the letter, turned back, and read it in the dim candlelight. It was written in beautiful small characters: "It's a dreary rainy night. You are alone in your lonely house, with nothing to do. Why don't you join us? We have fine wines and harps here. Will you come?"
There is Li Shishi's signature on the back, with beautiful handwriting.
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