Chapter 142 Bait
Silk has not made any progress in the past few hundred years.
It's always the same tricks, at most it's a matter of which company's silk is more delicate, or thinner and more transparent.
In terms of dyeing, it is still at a bottleneck stage, either grass dyeing or stone dyeing. Light colors are easy to fade, and although bright colors last longer, they will reduce the transparency of silk. It is difficult to have both.
Therefore, in ancient times, silk was mostly light-colored and plain.
Of course, there is also printing technology, but... that kind of dyeing method that mixes multiple colors makes it difficult to dye the silk beautifully, and the color texture will appear very mixed.
But rainbow silk is different... Anyone who often comes into contact with silk, whether or not they are a related practitioner, can see that this thing is definitely a huge leap forward in the fabric industry.
Thanks to the rainbow silk pieces that flowed out from Xiangyang Prefecture, everyone could see clearly that the color of this rainbow silk was not dyed, but... was naturally there.
It even has very natural gradient colors, which looks very beautiful.
The people of the Song Dynasty emphasized "nature". Things like Tao follows nature, the doctrine of the mean, the peaceful nature of Buddha, etc., were all about pursuing a natural and smooth growth process of human nature.
In real life, this means liking a smooth transition of things.
For example, the appropriate combination of light and dark colors in landscape paintings is an obvious feature.
This kind of iridescence, with its unique color transition layer, is very much in line with the aesthetic preferences of the mainstream upper-class culture of the Northern Song Dynasty.
King Zhao Jue of Xiangyang brought out a small box with a small piece of rainbow silk inside. After seeing off the guest, he left the room and said that he had important matters to attend to today and would not receive any more visitors.
Then he went to the backyard.
The third son, Zhao Li, was lying on the bed, still with a swollen face and a clear nose.
A few days ago, Zhao Li was found outside the city, unconscious. After a doctor's examination, it was found that he was only beaten and had only skin injuries, and he just needed to rest for a while.
Zhao Jue sat on the edge of the bed and said, "Are you still asleep?"
Zhao Jue was sleeping in a daze. After all, he had been sleeping for several days. Even when he was asleep, he was only half asleep and half awake. When he heard his father's voice, he immediately opened his eyes and asked to sit down with Lu Lai.
"Lie down." Zhao Jue looked a bit like the Prince of Runan, but his eyes and eyebrows were a bit similar to Zhao Zhen. After all, the three of them were from the same origin, so it was normal for them to look alike. "Now you can tell me what the three women looked like?"
Zhao Li thought for a while while lying on the bed, and said, "All three women are young and beautiful. If I must say, they all seem to be wives of officials."
"You really have no intention of raping her?" Xiangyang King Zhao Jue said with a smile.
"Absolutely not." Zhao Li hastily denied: "I just want them to stay at my house temporarily so that I can find out their identities and the origin of the rainbow silk."
"Whether you have such intentions or not, this behavior has already been suspected of forcibly abducting a woman." Zhao Jue shook his head helplessly: "Then after you were taken away, did you see the real owner?"
"Those people were so bold that they blindfolded me and took me to an unknown place. They asked me about my identity and beat me up. Then they knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I was outside the city."
Zhao Jue stood up and sighed, "Plan before you act. I have told you brothers so many times, but you don't seem to take it to heart. This matter has tarnished our family's reputation again. Do you understand?"
"Father, what's going on?" Zhao Li said anxiously, "Is there anyone in Hangzhou who dares to go against our family?"
King Xiangyang stood up and looked at his third son with a helpless expression, then said: "You should just be a rich and noble son and stop getting into so many troubles."
After saying this, King Xiangyang turned and left.
Zhao Li lay on the bed for a while, then suddenly punched his bed hard, his expression full of regret.
When Prince Xiangyang left his son's room, a middle-aged man with a long rat beard came over and said, "Your Highness, I sent someone to check these days and found that something is indeed wrong. It seems that someone is investigating us."
"It's normal that it's wrong." Walking on the small bridge in the center of the courtyard lake, Prince Xiangyang looked down at the koi in the lake and said, "Those people in the dark deliberately linked the Rainbow Silk incident to my family. Now that a lot of eyes are on us, it's difficult to do anything. Pass the order down, except for matters that can be seen by others, all other matters should be stopped."
The middle-aged man who looked like an aide nodded slightly and left.
After the bridge was clear, Xiangyang King Zhao Jue gently hammered the white stone railing with his fist: "Who on earth is this? In this case, I have to wait at least another three years before I can do anything! How many three years can we wait in a lifetime! You are a rebellious son, you are not capable of accomplishing anything, but more likely to cause trouble!"
After a while, he finally suppressed his anger and returned to his normal calm expression.
After waiting for seven days, the auction of rainbow silk finally began.
There are several auction venues in Hangzhou City, and the auction of Hongsi is held in the Bitian Pavilion.
This is the property of a wealthy merchant named Zhang, but if you investigate carefully, you will find that the person behind him is the Prince of Runan.
Originally, Bitian Pavilion was not ranked among the top in Hangzhou City. The number of rare goods auctioned there was not as many as that of Xiangyang Prince's "Jihai Tower", and the quality was not as good as that of "Yizhengfang" which had a court background.
But the appearance of the rainbow silk this time really made the auction house set up by the Prince of Runan here very popular.
Looking at the huge crowds of people in the main hall on the first floor, Mr. Zhang from Bitian Pavilion smiled so hard that one could see his back teeth.
Almost all the important people in Hangzhou City came this time, even the King of Xiangyang sat in the top VIP room.
Sharing the same room with him was Lü Huiqing, the acting governor of Hangzhou.
After Lu Huiqing came in, he saluted the King of Xiangyang first, then sat down opposite him and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that the small Rainbow Silk Auction would actually invite the King of Xiangyang who has been anxious for a long time. This Bitian Pavilion is really prestigious."
"Didn't Magistrate Lu come here anyway?" Prince Xiangyang clasped his fists and smiled, looking quite unassuming.
It sounds like the title of King of Xiangyang is very grand and his status is very high, but in fact, if you really think about it, he can only bully ordinary people, wealthy merchants and small officials. The real senior civil servants don't really care about the prince's face.
It can be said that few princes in the Northern Song Dynasty could stand up.
Although Lu Huiqing had not yet become a true high-ranking civil servant, he was a legitimate imperial examinee and had already reached the sixth rank at a young age. He even had the knowledge of high-ranking civil servants such as Grand Tutor Pang and Ouyang Xiu, so his future was limitless.
Besides, he was young and energetic at that time, and his spirit was very high. Even when facing a big man like the King of Xiangyang, he was not afraid.
"I heard that this matter is related to Master Lu, so naturally I have to come and see what's going on." Lu Huiqing clasped his fists and said with a smile.
There are many theories about the appearance of rainbow silk, but the most convincing one is the rumor that it was given by Master Lu.
After all, the story of Master Lu entertaining a man from the martial arts world, who ended up stealing all the magic weapons in his home, had spread all over the country.
Now, those who think they have some strength in the martial arts world are all thinking of ways to hunt down the Qingyang guest.
In Hangzhou city, many people have obtained some scraps of rainbow silk from the Xiangyang Palace.
Hearsay is unreliable. Only by seeing it with their own eyes and touching it with their own hands can they know how good the quality of this rainbow silk is.
The feel and color of it, just holding it in your hand after making it into a handkerchief will make you love it. If you use half a meter of red silk to make a coat and wear it on your body, that feeling... it's beautiful just thinking about it.
This thing that seems to be something that cannot be made by human beings, all the people in the silk-related industry are amazed by it, and even feel that it is beyond human reach.
Since it is beyond human power, we can only speculate on the power of ghosts and gods.
In this world, who else has real magic skills besides Master Lu?
After learning that this rainbow silk might be related to Master Lu, Lu Huiqing had to take time out of his busy schedule to come and take a look.
Because the court had issued an official document a year ago, all local officials had the duty to confirm any news about Master Lu. If they saw him, they had to report it immediately. So they wanted to retain Master Lu and begged him to return to Beijing.
This official document not only had the imperial seal, but also the seals of the bigwigs in the Secretariat. So as a local official, when Lu Huiqing heard the news that someone suspected to be Master Lu had appeared, he had to come and check it out.
"Many people have been worried about Master Lu since he disappeared over the past year." Xiangyang King Zhao Jue waved his fan and said with a smile, "But many officials in the capital don't know how to be grateful. They used to eat Master Lu's fairy fruit and honey, and they treated people like monkeys. Now that there is no supply, they panicked for a while, and then many people even complained. If I were Master Lu, I would also retire to the mountains and forests and not bother with the dirty things in this world."
Lu Huiqing's eyes moved slightly, and then he smiled and said, "Prince Xiangyang can empathize with Master Lu, but there are many people in this place and they are gossipy. If the nobles in the capital hear it, it will not be good."
"I'm a prince of a foreign rank. As long as I don't wear armor or hide it, I can say whatever I want. Let them complain. It won't hurt me anyway." Zhao Jue waved his fan quickly while speaking, looking very cool.
Prince Xiangyang has a good reputation among the people, except for his third son, who is really... a bit lame, a typical street urchin.
Lu Huiqing smiled and followed the other party's words and said, "That's true. The world belongs to Zhao."
"It also belongs to you scholars." The King of Xiangyang bowed to the sky outside the window and said, "The Zhao family and the scholars share the world. This is the law of our ancestors."
Lu Huiqing chuckled a few times, looking quite proud.
What was the happiest thing about being a person in the Song Dynasty?
Since he was a scholar and could become famous through imperial examinations, his future would be smooth sailing. It was just a matter of how high his official position could reach.
The two chatted for a while and then the auction began.
Mr. Zhang of the Bitian Pavilion said, with his fat body stretched out, "There are so many nobles in the market now, so we have made a rule that the first sixty pieces of rainbow silk will have a minimum price of one string of money, and the highest price will not exceed ten strings of money. There is no upper limit on the auction price for the next forty pieces of rainbow silk."
Hearing this, the King of Xiangyang laughed and said, "Mr. Zhang is a very good person."
To put it bluntly, the first sixty horses were given to the important people in Hangzhou City. It all depended on which noble person was willing to take the offer.
Lu Huiqing also smiled and said, "The followers of the Ru'nan County Prince's family are naturally not bad."
When Prince Xiangyang heard the words "Prince of Runan", his smile faded a little. Although it was not obvious, Lu Huiqing still noticed it.
Then the auction of rainbow silk began. The Prince of Xiangyang directly bid the full price of ten strings of cash for the first piece, and no one dared to compete with him.
Lu Huiqing also won the second horse for ten strings of cash.
The competition afterwards was not too fierce, and the first sixty horses were almost all sold out with mutual courtesy.
Starting from the sixty-first piece, the merchants sitting in the main hall on the first floor immediately tore off their gentle and polite veils and began to bid with red faces.
During this period, they also cursed each other, compared their family backgrounds, and poked at each other's sore spots.
The auction lasted a long time, a full four hours, during which time more than five dishes of tea and sweet soup were changed.
After the auction was over, Mr. Zhang from Bitian Pavilion stood up again and said with a smile, "Thank you all, my dear colleagues, for giving me face. I am very grateful. Now that the auction is over, I will repeat what the master wants to say."
Upon hearing this, almost everyone's expression froze.
Prince Xiangyang and Lu Huiqing looked at each other and both felt that it was worth waiting for three more hours.
Owner?
Is it the Prince of Runan or Master Lu?
Or, both count?
Lu Huiqing narrowed her eyes slightly.
Zhang wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and continued, "The master said that although rainbow silk cannot protect against sharp weapons, it is impervious to water and fire, so it is good for making clothes. But this is not the real purpose of rainbow silk. This thing is indeed silk, but it is actually used for eating."
food?
Everyone was shocked.
The expressions of Prince Xiangyang and Lu Huiqing were very synchronized. After a moment of surprise, they immediately thought of Lu Sen.
Zhang Yuanwai pressed his hands downward and said, "A piece of rainbow silk is ten feet long. Boil one foot of it in water and eat it. It can add three months to your life span. However, the gods have spirits. Each person can only eat ten feet at most, which is one piece. Any more will be ineffective."
As soon as these words came out, the crowd went into an uproar.
Everyone was talking in a frantic tone.
If someone had said in the past that silk is edible and can prolong one's life, it would have been strange if he had not been beaten into a pig's head.
But now, they are willing to believe.
Because of Master Lu Sen, there are indeed gods in this world.
"Is this thing a three-year life span?" Prince Xiangyang gently stroked the rainbow silk in his hand, his face full of joy, and then sighed, "It's a pity that I can only eat one horse. What a pity."
Lu Huiqing did not feel that deeply because he was still young, unlike the Prince of Xiangyang who was almost old.
At this time, Mr. Zhang took out a small gong and struck it hard.
The harsh sound of the gong woke up all the guests in the main hall on the first floor, and then he continued: "The owner also said that he will auction some special objects from time to time. For specific details, please always pay attention to the notice board at the entrance of our Bitian Pavilion."
The entire Bitian Pavilion was noisy again.
Lu Huiqing sighed, "It seems that it is indeed Master Lu's."
The expression of Prince Xiangyang was much weirder, and his look was sometimes bright and sometimes dark.
In a cave a hundred miles away, Lu Sen was finishing his dual cultivation with Yang Jinhua. The latter was lying in his arms and said, "It's a pity that so much rainbow silk has been exchanged for silver. That thing is of no use to us at all."
"It's okay, it's also a resource. There will always be a time to use it." Lu Sen smiled: "Besides, if I don't throw out some bait to make the whole world move according to my ideas, who would be willing to charge for me!"
