Chapter 8: Fame
After settling a few old men, Lu Yi took the big yellow dog out of the door and closed the gate behind him without locking it.
After leaving the courtyard, turn right and walk a few steps, you will reach the west street entrance of Yulu Hutong.
A stone wall was built here and an iron gate was installed, and it was guarded day and night.
Outside the iron gate is a small market.
Small wine shops, small restaurants, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, and all kinds of items can be found in this market that covers several acres. There are also various stalls and vendors occupying the roadside, providing great convenience for the residents in Yulu Hutong.
Walk west along a cobblestone street past the small market, and the view ahead suddenly opens up.
The small square paved with stone slabs has a wide view. In front of it is the intersection of several city canals. The white ice surface is glowing, and the sky and the earth are bright.
Anlefang Pier No. 1 is right here. Several stone piers extend more than a mile into the city’s canal. In the past, large and small cargo ships gathered here to provide Anlefang with all kinds of necessary goods.
In the cold winter, when the canal is frozen, sleds pulled by snow dogs still travel back and forth on the canal at high speed.
Next to the long pier, sleds were pulled up to the pier. Porters in short sleeves and bare legs were shouting slogans and unloading cargo boxes from the sleds. All kinds of goods were piled up on the pier and the dock like small mountains.
Lu Yi walked to the riverside of the dock and came to a small stall.
A four-wheeled cart, a charcoal stove, a large oil pan, and next to it is a tray of white tofu cubes with a hint of green. In the pan, pieces of tofu are rolling in the boiling oil and are fried until they are golden brown.
An extremely pungent smell was flowing in the air. A few snotty-nosed children stood timidly by, biting their fingers and staring at the oil pan.
A burly man over eight feet tall was holding a pair of two-foot-long wooden chopsticks, whistling, and flipping the tofu cubes in the oil pan skillfully.
From time to time, he would pick up a piece of fried tofu, not afraid of the heat, dip it in the chili sauce in the small dish, and stuff it into his mouth. He ate it with a "crunch, crunch" sound and enjoyed it very much, making the children drool.
This is a stinky tofu stall.
This kind of thing, which smells bad but tastes extremely delicious, was not available in Haojing in the early years.
About four or five years ago, this stinky tofu stall popped up overnight, and then spread quickly to hundreds of markets in Haojing City like a plague, and this tempting stench wafted through the streets and alleys.
Not to mention the common people, even some literati and scholars would always have a plate of stinky tofu with various dipping sauces on the table when they were drinking and chatting.
Next to the cart, there were a few small square tables and a dozen small stools. It was early in the morning and there was not much business, so the seats were empty.
Lu Yi shook his gown, randomly chose a stool to sit down, took out a few copper coins from his sleeves, and slapped them on the square table one by one: "Tiger, same as always, two servings of stinky tofu, ugh, very spicy!"
Glancing at the burly man who responded hastily, Lu Yi pointed at him and said, "The business hasn't even started yet, and you're eating out on your own. Tsk, aren't you afraid of losing money?"
The burly man laughed and bowed to Lu Yi. He took out a coarse porcelain plate from under the cart, picked up pieces of golden tofu from the oil pan, and placed them neatly on the plate. He also took out a portion of scarlet hot chili oil and gently placed it in front of Lu Yi.
With a wave of his hand, he took the copper coin that Lu Yi put down into his hand. The burly man laughed softly and said, "We are eating well. The guests will have a good appetite when they see us. Can't they eat a few more pieces?"
Lu Yi took out two chopsticks from the chopstick holder on the square table, pointed at the burly man and laughed: "It's so early in the morning, and there's not a single person at your stall. The damn customers must have a big appetite!"
The big man sat down next to Lu Yi, took out a ceramic wine bottle from the cart, and slammed it in front of Lu Yi. He then took out a coarse porcelain wine bowl and poured a bowl of old yellow wine for Lu Yi.
"Yeah, yeah, if you say I saw a ghost, it's really possible... I saw a ghost!" The big man came close to Lu Yi and winked at him mysteriously.
Lu Yi picked up a piece of stinky tofu, dipped it in some chili oil, raised his eyebrows at the big man, and lowered his voice: "What do you mean?"
"Tsk!" The big man glanced at the children standing nearby and suddenly made a ferocious face.
Several children screamed and turned and ran away in fear.
The big man laughed strangely a few times, straightened his expression, and lowered his voice: "Brother Yi, on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month last year, the brothers have been trying their best to find out about that incident these days. But neither the Fangling Yamen nor the Bai family leaked any news."
"However, both families invited the old man from Changshengtang to treat their illnesses. One of my cousins happened to be an apprentice at Changshengtang, and it was he who took the old man's prescription and prescribed medicine for the two families."
"The prescription is wrong."
"The prescription contains several times the amount of ginseng, ganoderma lucidum, Polygonum multiflorum and other vital energy-boosting herbs. If a normal person drank this amount of medicine, he would have been burned to death by the medicinal power long ago."
"But Anlefang Ling and Bai Qiong really drank the medicine ."
"My cousin also said that he overheard the old man and several old doctors consulting, and they said - 'The symptoms are strange and cannot be treated normally'!"
“The symptoms are bizarre.”
Lu Yi swallowed the stinky tofu in big mouthfuls and said in a deep voice: "I saw Bai Qiong's wound with my own eyes. It was dark blue in color and sunk an inch deep into the flesh. Moreover, Bai Qiong's vitality was exhausted, as if it had been drained out."
"This method is really weird."
"Bai Qiong and He Jun are like this, which can explain why everything has been calm from the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month to today, and why no one has come to me to settle accounts. I am so injured that I can't move, how can I have the mood to hurt others?"
Lu Yi picked up the wine bowl with a smile and took a sip of rice wine.
"I was thinking that He Jun would send people to Tian'en Marquis Mansion to arrest people. After all, they have so many witnesses."
"But it's been peaceful for the past half month. It seems that they have their own problems and don't have time to deal with me. This is good, this is good. It can be considered that I have escaped from trouble for the time being."
Lu Yi shook his head and sighed: "This world is so dangerous, it's not easy to live a peaceful life!"
The big man laughed and complimented, "Brother Yi is too lazy to argue with them, otherwise."
Lu Yi waved his hand, took another sip of rice wine, and smiled at the big man: "I would like to argue, but I don't have enough money."
"But." Lu Yi tilted his head and thought for a while.
"Whatever the strange thing that night was, it has been so long and yet Gaojing is still peaceful. This shows that the strange thing was either suppressed by someone or its ability to cause harm is limited."
"No matter what, it's been a few days since the incident happened. It's time for everyone in Gaojing City, especially the officials, to calm down."
"In that case, if there are two legs, they should be broken."
Lu Yi picked up a piece of stinky tofu and murmured, "That night, in the backyard of Zuixianju, I clearly felt something strange. I thought our Lu Xuezheng would be in trouble. Unexpectedly, he was safe and sound?"
"Then, let's break his legs in the next two days."
The big man smiled innocently and nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, brother, I promise to break his legs and make him notorious."
Lu Yi laughed and waved the chopsticks in front of the big yellow dog. The big yellow dog opened its mouth and nimbly bit off the stinky tofu and swallowed it without chewing, breathing heavily.
The big man looked at the big yellow dog with a smile, then stood up and threw a few pieces of tofu into the oil pan.
While he was busy, he suddenly slapped his head and said, "Hey, there is another interesting thing. My cousin said that the wife of Bai Xi, the second master of the Bai family, went to Changsheng Hall to get some pregnancy-preserving medicine a few days ago. She was sneaky and looked as if she was not going to be seen by anyone."
Lu Yu raised his eyebrows and pointed his chopsticks at the big man: "Hey, you should be more kind and stop prying into other people's affairs. Who cares about pregnancy-preserving drugs or abortion drugs? She's not your wife, so just stay out of these news."
The big man laughed dryly and said softly, "This is news that has been delivered to your door. Tsk, that woman, my cousin said, is very tender and has a pair of foxy eyes, which is very seductive."
After a pause, the big man said in surprise: "Especially, considering that woman's status, it's strange that she went to buy pregnancy-preserving medicine in person."
Just as Lu Yi was about to answer, a young man wearing a green gown and a square warm hat walked over slowly with his hands behind his back. Lu Yi stood up and bowed to the young man: "Morning, Uncle An!"
The young man Lu An is actually Lu Yi’s cousin.
However, unlike Lu Yi, whose family was in decline, Lu An's father was now a sixth-rank official in the Dayin Taifu Yamen. Although his official position was not high, his real power was considerable, and he also had a lot of money. Among the Lu family members of the Tian'en Marquisate, Lu An's family lived a very comfortable life.
Luan's family are kind people and take good care of their relatives.
Since Lu Yi was a child, Lu An's family has always sponsored him with some money, food and other items during festivals. Lu Yi remembers the kindness of his family and respects Lu An sincerely.
Lu An is also a rare scholar among the Lu family members of Tian'en Marquis Mansion.
At the age of eighteen, he was recommended by the Lu clan school to study in the Imperial College in Haojing. It has been six years now. He has made great achievements in "poetry", "ritual", and especially in "mathematics". He is also a top-notch figure in the Imperial College.
However, in the past few years, Lu Yi's reputation in the clan school had spread far and wide. Every time Lu An saw Lu Yi, he would scold and abuse him, which made Lu Yi gradually keep his distance and avoid him whenever he saw Lu An.
But today, I was stuck at the stall and it was embarrassing to run away.
When Lu An saw Lu Yi, a smile suddenly appeared on his cold face. He walked to Lu Yi and patted Lu Yi's shoulder vigorously: "I said, Yi is born with such a good character, such a handsome and elegant appearance, he must not be dull."
"Yesterday I was drinking with several teachers from the Imperial College, and two doctors mentioned what Director Bai Shan said about you."
"Lu Jun, the head of that clan school, is indeed a useless bastard who wastes talent."
"Master Baishan reviewed your studies in the clan studies over the past few years and said that you have thoroughly read the classics of the saints, and your skills in understanding the classics and interpreting their meanings are top-notch."
"Your poems and essays are full of literary talent and are extremely beautiful. Even among the top 100 talents in Caiwei, few can compare to you."
"Your calligraphy is majestic, dignified and steady, like a sacred mountain standing tall, and it actually has its own unique style."
"Master Bai Shan praised you and said that you are a real scholar, but unfortunately, you were held back by a bunch of rubbish in the clan school."
Luan took out a small bunch of copper coins from his sleeve and threw it to the big man generously.
"Twenty portions of strange-flavored tofu, five portions very spicy, five portions slightly spicy, and ten portions hot and sour. Hurry."
Lu Yi stood beside Lu An and just stood there.
Bai Changkong, deputy head of the Imperial College, will 'clear his name'?
What's more, the doctors of the Imperial College made him famous?
"There's a ghost!" Lu Yi muttered to himself.
