When Du Yuntai finished writing, the bun shop owner gave him a thumbs-up: "Young Master, you are amazing."
I don’t know whether he meant that the poem was well written or that the calligraphy was beautiful.
Du Yuntai smiled slightly, put away his paper, brush, and inkstone, and prepared to leave. The bun shop owner took the poem and said, "Okay, okay! I'll find someone to frame it right away."
The worst part was that he held it upside down. It turned out the boss couldn't read. Du Yuntai had no choice but to turn it right for him: "Mount it like this, don't put it upside down."
The bun shop owner gave an embarrassed laugh and said, "I can't read, but I admire scholars the most. I don't know your name, sir, and where you live now. If you don't mind, you can stay at my house."
Du Yuntai bowed again and said, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I am already grateful for a meal of buns. How dare I bother you again? I am Du Yuntai, temporarily living under the bridge arch of Liuji Wangyue Bridge. If you want to write to me in the future, please come to Liuji to find me."
The bun shop owner nodded and said, "My name is Chang Erdan. If you are hungry, come back and I will give you two buns for free."
Du Yuntai said a few polite words, said goodbye to Chang Erdan, and went to Liuji.
Chang Erdan's bun shop was open every day, but he never saw Du Yuntai again. Chang Erdan didn't have any letters to write, so he forgot about it after a few days.
One day, two rich young men came to Chang Erdan's bun shop.
"Boss, give me some buns." said a pale-faced scholar.
Chang Erdan opened the steamer and said, "Okay, wait a moment, it will be right there."
Another tall and thin man suddenly shouted: "Brother Lei, come and see!"
It turned out that the tall, thin man had seen the poem that Chang Erdan had hung on the wall. The pale-faced scholar surnamed Lei had also seen it. He hurriedly stood up and walked forward: "What a poem! What a calligraphy! The brush is full of ink, like flowing clouds and water, with silver hooks and iron strokes. What a poem and what a calligraphy!"
The tall and thin man rushed out of the door in a hurry and grabbed Chang Erdan who was steaming the dumplings in the basket: "Boss, tell me quickly, whose handwriting is this?"
Chang Erdan was shocked when he saw his crazy attitude: "Sir, why are you asking this?"
The tall and thin man took out a silver ingot and asked, "Where is he?"
Chang Erdan stared at the silver: "Liuji, bridge hole."
Du Yuntai dragged his exhausted body back to the bridge arch in Liuji, which at least provided a shelter from the wind and rain. But as soon as he lay down, several men dressed as servants carried him away without a word.
"What are you doing!" Du Yuntai was shocked.
Du Yuntai was brought to Chang Erdan's bun shop. The pale-faced scholar surnamed Lei said respectfully, "My name is Lei Xiangrong, and this is Brother Shen Feiyu."
The tall and thin man named Shen Feiyu clasped his fists and said, "We two admire Brother Du's talent, so we specially ordered our servants to invite Brother Du here. We hope Brother Du will forgive us."
Du Yuntai responded, "I am not very talented or knowledgeable, so how dare I mention talent? I'm afraid you two have misunderstood."
Lei Xiangrong said, "Brother Du, you don't have to be so polite. The two of us want to make friends with you not because we think you can gain fame and fortune. To be honest, we just want to make some like-minded friends. The novel words used in your poem really touched my heart."
Chen Feiyu followed suit, "Exactly, especially Brother Du's calligraphy. It flows like clouds and water, and the strokes are like mist. With each stroke, it's like a horse unbridled, leaping into the air and leaving in a cloud of dust; or like a dragon soaring through the sky, twirling and shifting, emerging from nothingness and returning to the void. This almost insane impulse of primal vitality contains the spiritual energy of heaven and earth."
Du Yuntai felt a deep sense of understanding when he heard this: "Brother Shen, you are too kind. My calligraphy is from Huang Tingjian."
Lei Xiangrong and Shen Feiyu were shocked. Shen Feiyu said, "No wonder, no wonder. Brother Du has such great talent and ambition. He will be admitted to the imperial examination in no time."
In this way, Lei Xiangrong and Shen Feiyu took Du Yuntai to the best inn, Gaosheng Inn, where they provided him with all the necessary food, clothing and daily necessities. Du Yuntai tried to refuse the offer, but the two were so enthusiastic that he could not refuse.
When Du Yuntai and others arrived at Gaosheng Inn, Li Shishi happened to come and give money to congratulate them on the opening.
"I appreciate your kindness, brothers, but I will never stay in this inn." Du Yuntai was still struggling.
Lei Xiangrong smiled slightly: "Brother Du, please don't be polite. The room is ready. If you insist on not staying, we will block you from leaving."
Shen Feiyu also said: "That's right, the money has been spent. It doesn't matter whether Brother Du stays or not. If you don't stay, you look down on us."
Du Yuntai was about to refuse, but suddenly he saw a graceful woman standing in the hall, looking at him. This woman was different from other women, she had an awe-inspiring and inviolable temperament.
The first time he saw Li Shishi, his soul was gone. In the barbaric land of the Jin people, beautiful women were rare, and women with temperament and talent were even rarer. The first time he saw Li Shishi, he was deeply attracted by her unique scholarly temperament.
The moment Li Shishi saw Du Yuntai, her heart was inexplicably moved. With her experience, she had seen all kinds of men, but it was Du Yuntai who caught Li Shishi's attention.
Du Yuntai had originally decided not to live here, even if he was beaten to death. He wanted to get rid of Lei Chen and the others as soon as possible. But the moment he saw Li Shishi, he changed his mind and decided to stay.
Lei Xiangrong whispered, "Why is Li Shishi here?"
Shen Feiyu shook his head: “I don’t know.”
Du Yuntai was shocked: "She is Li Shishi?"
Lei Xiangrong asked curiously, "How come Brother Du doesn't even know Li Shishi?"
Du Yuntai had been in the capital for some time. He had heard of the name of Li Shishi, the capital's number one courtesan, but had never seen her. He did not expect that the woman in front of him was actually Li Shishi.
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