Chapter 89 Yingying Yanyan
June 5th, noon
The face of the temple keeper of Yue Lao Temple turned red and white. He had been guarding this tree to distribute fortunes all his life and had seen all kinds of strange requests, but this was the first time he had heard of such a request, that someone actually wanted to see other people's marriage. But he thought again, it was not impossible.
"Sir, please stop messing around. Only Yue Lao can read the words on this red thread. This is a rule that has never been broken in this temple for five hundred years."
"How can you say five hundred years? The story of the Tang scholar Li Gu meeting the Moon Old Man here as recorded in "Continued Records of Ghost and Monsters" was only two hundred years ago." Shen Kuo did not forget to argue while explaining, "I know it is against the rules to do this, but my sweetheart has tied a red string here, and I want to know whose name is on the other end. If you can help me, I have some money here." As he said this, he reached out to touch the copper coins again.
"This, this..." The temple keeper was embarrassed. He felt that this scholar was a loser in love and wanted to know who he lost to. Maybe there would be a jealous storm, but the loser's money is still money. "Sir, you must know that this tree has been full of red ropes since the Tang Dynasty. How do you know where the red rope of your sweetheart is tied?"
The temple keeper seemed to soften his tone.
Shen Kuo stuffed another handful of money into the temple keeper's pocket.
"Four months ago, I saw her tied in the restaurant over there, so I naturally remember it." Shen Kuo pointed to the second floor of the restaurant a mile away. The temple keeper looked a little mysterious .
"I can make an exception this time, but I have to make a promise. You cannot untie all the red ropes on this tree. I will only allow you to untie three."
He thought that if he solved it wrong, he could just collect the money again.
"Thank you!"
Shen Kuo walked to the side of the osmanthus tree facing the restaurant and looked up for the red thread.
He did remember that Xiao Ping had entered the Yue Lao Temple first, donated incense oil, and then quickly wrote a few words on the desk over there, probably two names. She wrapped the red paper around the two ends of the red rope and tied it to the branch over here on tiptoe.
One of the names on the red string must be her own, and the other must be her so-called lover, who must be the most critical person in this case. Shen Kuo thought carefully, if Xiao Ping did not sneak into Maitreya Sect to become a saint, then there must be other purposes. She was originally a famous prostitute in the capital, and she naturally had no shortage of money. For a woman to be willing to take such a risk, there must be only one reason: love.
This was the only useful clue he could think of that Xiaoping had left behind, because when he saw her enter the temple on the second floor of the restaurant that day, she herself didn't know about it and obviously wouldn't set a trap of playing hard to get.
However, the problem now is that he only has three chances. Although his memory is good, his eyesight is average. He can only vaguely remember the general direction and Xiao Ping's tiptoeing. Which one is it?
He tried to reach out with his hand at Xiao Ping's height, and found a relatively new one, as if it had been tied a few months ago, and untied it. He opened the red paper on both sides of the red rope. On one side was written "Wang Sheng from the south of the city", and on the other side was written "Wife's sister Liu".
It seems that it’s not Xiaoping, but someone who is missing his sister-in-law.
Seeing the first opportunity missed. The temple keeper on the side sneered and saw that Shen Kuo had found the wrong one from his disappointed expression. He didn't believe that anyone had a good memory to remember the location of a red rope four months ago? And he saw it from a mile away. Of course, if this fool asked to see three more later, he would be happy to do so, as long as he was willing to spend more money. But the temple keeper didn't know that Shen Kuo had already given him all the money he had.
Shen Kuo closed his eyes and recalled carefully, then took a few steps. He was sure that Xiao Ping was standing here that day, but because of the change of the sun's shadow, the place he chose just now was slightly wrong.
He looked up again, and there were two more. He hesitated for a moment and took the lower one. He opened it and saw "Poetry Society Du Zitong" on one side and "Songzhou Qingshui Street Zhao Yuanwai" on the other.
After seeing this, I couldn't help but tremble. They were clearly two men. Is it true that the matchmaker in heaven is already involved in such matters as male homosexuality?
"How's it going? Have you found your enemy?" asked the temple keeper.
"not yet."
"I'm not saying anything too much, but the matchmaker certainly doesn't like people peeking at the marriage chart. This is indeed a bit disgraceful."
The temple keeper said shamelessly that if it weren't for his greed for money, Shen Kuo wouldn't have seen it.
Shen Kuo couldn't help but close his eyes again, praying in his heart that Yue Lao would help him find Xiao Ping's penis.
When he opened his eyes, he raised his hand and gently pulled off the top one. He opened it and saw "Beijing Xiaoping" written on one side. It seemed that he had finally found the right one. He quickly opened the other side and saw "Yan Qi Gongzi" written there.
"Yan Qi Gongzi" is not a complete name, but everyone in the literary circle of Beijing knows it. This name of Yan Qi belongs to the most proud youngest son of the former prime minister Yan Shu, Yan Jidao who calls himself Xiaoshan. The song "Linjiangxian" with Xiaoping's name is so gentle and sad that it is moving. It is indeed not the work of a mediocre hand.
He suddenly remembered that Jin'er and Xiaoping had a conversation on the boat.
At that time, Xiao Ping had just finished playing a piece of music. She seemed to feel inexplicably sad, so she said, "It is really like sailing on the river in early spring. All I see is the flowers and grasses weeping, and the orioles and swallows singing in sorrow!"
Jin Er, who was standing beside her, immediately replied playfully, "Girl, it's winter now, where are the flowers, plants, and birds?"
Xiao Ping said again: "You silly girl, are you laughing at me for pretending to be sad and sorrowful?"
Jin Er replied, "I dare not. I know what the young lady is thinking. Flowers and plants are not important. It's just that Yan Yan is sad. Do you think I don't understand the hidden meaning of this?"
Xiao Ping said, "You are talking nonsense again. I will tear your mouth off."
Jin Er laughed and said, "Even if you tear it apart, I will still tell you. Yingying and Yanyan are so sad and grieving. What a shameless lady."
Even though he had a very good memory, he could still remember the overheard conversation word for word four months later . When he recalled what he had done at the time, he realized that they were not talking about flowers or plants.
"Hehe, it's really not flowers or plants. What a beautiful girl. What a hidden meaning. So it's you who is hiding your true intention?"
Shen Kuo lost his composure for a moment, gritted his teeth, and spoke out his thoughts. The temple priest next to him thought, "Oh no, no one will die, right? But it was supposed to be four months ago, how can vinegar last that long?"
Shen Kuo didn't care about the temple keeper's expression. He quickly went over the matter in his mind, and now all the threads were clear. He had not only heard of this Yan Jidao, but he might have seen him. He was probably the handsome young man in brocade clothes walking at night when he returned from hunting in the villa deep in the mountains of Zhongmu County, but he couldn't be sure. However, he must have been on the guest list when the flower demon appeared in the Prince Consort's mansion, and the Prince Consort also mentioned that he was his close friend. It can be seen that he might have been the one who took advantage of the lantern viewing to secretly adjust the position of the screen in the Prince Consort's study.
The temple keeper saw that the man in front of him, who had been sad just now, now looked cheerful again, and realized that this guy might have gone crazy.
Shen Kuo tied the three red ropes he had untied back to their original places. He sighed again, turned around and left without looking back. The temple keeper was relieved. He was worried that this madman might burn the tree. This was not an ordinary osmanthus tree, but a money tree.
He returned to the foot of the mountain, mounted his horse and galloped back. That night he had no money to stay in an inn, so he endured the night in the shed of boatmen by the canal. The next day he hurried back on his horse, because he was summoned to the palace on the night of June 6, so he had to hurry back to Tokyo.
June 6th, Youshi
Shen Kuo finally rushed back to the capital, and instead of going to Yang Weide's house, he urged his horse to go directly to the Xuande Gate of the Forbidden Palace. At 3:30 pm, he finally arrived at the Xuande Gate. He saw that only Xu Chong was waiting anxiously there, and thought that he was a little late, as the others had already gone in.
Xu Chong saw Shen Kuo coming and hurried forward. Seeing that he looked exhausted, he asked, "How did things go?"
"I know who Xiao Ping's sweetheart is."
" You went out of town for two days just for this?" Xu Chong seemed surprised.
"Let's not talk about this . Why are you the only one left?"
"Hey, you are a little late. Mr. Bao asked me to go out of the palace to meet you, but he was afraid that the eunuchs at the left and right gates would embarrass you."
"Has the summons already started?" Shen Kuo asked hurriedly.
"There is no summons, just a banquet. There is singing and dancing now. The emperor is in the main hall of Jingfu Palace. It is too far to even see his face clearly." Xu Chong shook his head.
The two men were talking as they arrived at the Zuoxiu Gate. They displayed their badges at the door. The eunuch at the door saw that they were not familiar people, especially since Xu Chong had been guarding the palace recently, so he let them in.
"How can it be so far away that I can't see the official's face?"
"The queen and all the officials are in the palace. We, the meritorious servants and soldiers, are sitting outside, so I can come out and wait for you." Xu Chong said with a wry smile.
It sounds like what Xu Chong was most worried about has happened. The emperor only regarded it as a political operation and did not mention the reward. Shen Kuo had carefully considered this matter. If the emperor kept a low profile, it was probably not because he was stingy, but because he did not want the world to know the truth of that day. He realized that Wang Ze's ghost face rose into the air and then shrank and fell into the sea of fire. All kinds of explanations that the people liked to hear and hear, that the Song Dynasty's destiny was not over, were most beneficial to the court. So the emperor could only show some respect.
"Brother Xu, I hope my late arrival will not displease His Majesty."
"No, the emperor will definitely not see you and me. However, when I saw the emperor's face from afar, he seemed to be unhappy and sighed from time to time."
"Why?"
"It's probably because the official of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau went in and reported it several times that the guest star is still there tonight. I think this guest star is not a good guest. He refuses to leave. The host must be unhappy."
"Is that so?" He had been worried all along the way that he would not be able to make it in time for the imperial banquet and would leave a bad impression on the emperor. Now this worry was gone. However, now he felt another sense of loss. It seemed that the emperor was still obsessed with the astrology and fortune, and didn't care much about them, the people who solved the case.
The two of them walked through the Yingyang Gate outside the Jingfu Palace, which was a passageway through which they could see the emperor's and the queen's ceremonial guards. The yellow flags, embroidered banners, brocade banners, pennants and umbrellas were all parked here. There were still lights burning in the lanterns on the ground, and the palace maids and eunuchs were squatting on the side eating.
He had seen the empress's procession the last time he came , especially the eight-person sedan chair and the nine-phoenix canopy, which left a deep impression on him. Now the official's umbrella and banner were leaning against the wall, swaying slightly in the wind, and the eunuch holding the umbrella was squatting beside them chatting. The empress's nine-phoenix canopy was also leaning against the wall, and the phoenix embroidered with gold thread on it was shining under the flickering light of the lanterns, as if it was about to spread its wings and fly, lifelike.
The two turned and came to the outside of Jingfu Hall. The hall was already full of people, and singing and dancing were being performed in the hall. Shen Kuo saw two empty seats from afar, and realized that his worry that the emperor would be displeased to see him not come was completely self-indulgent. At today's banquet to commend meritorious service, he and Xu Chong would almost sit at the last seat. Sitting farther away than them were the Kaifeng government servants who were patrolling the streets together. Closer to the hall than them were some officials of the fifth and sixth ranks, and higher officials were all in the hall. Such a seating arrangement was really discouraging. The emperor was so distant from the real hero who wiped out the Maitreya Sect that he didn't even want to take a closer look.
On the contrary, the yamen runners were all beaming with joy. Such an honor could be a topic of conversation for the rest of their lives, no matter how far or near they sat.
The two of them sat down, and a palace maid brought them wine and food. From afar, they could see a group of people dancing in the hall, but the dancers blocked their view and they couldn't see the emperor's face clearly. Anyway, Xu Chong said that the emperor was in a bad mood today.
Since he could not see His Majesty, Shen Kuo simply looked up at the bright star in the east. At such a peaceful moment, the unpleasant star was still twinkling in the east, and it was getting brighter day by day. An ominous premonition came to his mind.
The song in the hall ended, and the dancers left one after another. Shen Kuo finally saw from afar a figure wearing a dragon robe and with white hair and beard standing up from the dragon throne. It seemed that the emperor was a little drunk. A eunuch came forward to help him but he was thrown away. It was true that he looked in a bad mood. It was not difficult to guess that it had a lot to do with the guest star in the sky that refused to disappear in the past ten days. Today's banquet for meritorious officials was originally for the purpose of bringing good luck, but the guest star in the sky did not intend to leave.
The official took the pen and wrote something on the wall of the hall. Shen Kuo was too far away to see what he wrote. But he could see that after the official finished writing, he threw the pen to the ground and left the back hall with the eunuchs, not caring about the queen and the ministers. At this time, the high officials in the hall began to whisper to each other.
The words written on the wall by the official before throwing down the brush caused a small commotion. From a distance, it looked like four lines of words, like a poem.
June 7th, Xu time
Seeing that the royal banquet was about to end unhappily, some ministers began to leave. Xu Chong was drinking alone, and Shen Kuo was still staring at the pale star in a trance.
Suddenly, someone from the northwest shouted, "The hat monster, the hat monster has entered the palace."
The shrill, broken-voice screams were repeated twice, causing great panic. The crowd immediately became agitated. The eunuchs and maids guarding the ceremonial guards outside the hall started to panic first, and then the guards and personal soldiers around them also began to run around like headless flies. The queen, who had remained in the hall until now, could be seen leaving the back door of the hall, surrounded by a group of maids.
Bao Longtu came out from the front and went straight to Shen Kuo.
"Who's shouting about a hatted monster?" Lao Bao asked anxiously.
