After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather in Jiangning City was clear for about two days, and then it began to turn cloudy. Walking on the road, the slightly cold autumn wind swirled up the fallen leaves on the street, adding a touch of desolation to the once bustling city. Search: (\, Complete, God, Station,) Free to read fine literature.

Of course, in the eyes of most people, the city is still the same as usual. The autumn should be like this. The river is clear, the painted boats remain, and the boats move with the sound of oars, gracefully passing through the swaying willows. The wind swirls up the fallen leaves nearby, and then swirls and floats on the water, drifting far away with the shimmering waves. On the city streets, there are pedestrians, carts, sedan chairs, and peddlers of all kinds. Wide streets, narrow alleys, long bluestone steps, and wooden bridges span the narrow rivers. Where the water flows slowly, you can see women washing clothes on the stone steps, chatting and laughing. In the distance, there are tea houses and banquets, and the aroma of wine shops wafts.

Most people are still busy running around for their livelihoods. Of course, having become accustomed to it, it is only a part of life. If you have time to stop for a while, you can sit in a tea house or take a break by the roadside, occasionally mentioning interesting rumors of recent days, mostly about the Mid-Autumn Festival a few days ago. Among them, the most frequently mentioned are the birth of that *Shui Diao Ge Tou* (水调歌头) poem and the incident of Kang Xian, a Confucian scholar, angrily denouncing the crowd at the Zhishui Poetry Gathering.

Cause, process, result, coincidence, suspense, climax. So-called drama must satisfy these conditions. If it is just a certain talented scholar writing a poem, amazing the audience with his talent and romantic style, people are tired of hearing it. If you add a talented woman's favor, the drama will increase a bit, and this *Shui Diao Ge Tou* has done even more in this regard. People like good poetry and stories like this. In the past few days, if you go to a brothel, the girls will inevitably listen to this song "When Will the Moon Be Clear?" when they come out, and comment on its wonderfulness.

As for the information of the lyricist, it is currently only speculation, and there is not much reliable news out.

Su Manor, Ning Yi, Ning Liheng. Son-in-law of the Su Manor.

At the Zhishui Poetry Gathering, Kang Xian's few reprimands confirmed the reputation of *Shui Diao Ge Tou* as a masterpiece, but did not dispel the doubts in everyone's mind. Why was he previously unknown, why did he have such talent, and why did he become a son-in-law in a merchant's family? Most importantly, whether his poem was bought or plagiarized is the biggest concern of almost every commentator.

Scandals are often more dramatic than praise, and people are more inclined to accept such things. It is not uncommon for literati to buy poems for fame and fortune. When people talk about it, they mostly tend to such speculation. After all, the identity of a son-in-law is low. Some even say that such people have no backbone and forget their ancestors. People with a little pride would not do such a thing.

However, in the past few days, there has also been a saying that the Second Miss Tan'er of the Su Manor is naturally beautiful, gentle and generous. Ning Yi fell in love at first sight. In order to stay with her forever, he was willing to become a son-in-law. However, in this era of male chauvinism, few people believe this story. Prostitution is prevalent in society, and women's status is like goods. Who would believe that someone would do this much for a woman? Taking a step back, even if you believe it, if this person has no talent, that's fine, but if he really has talent and becomes a son-in-law for a woman, it is truly a grievance to both heaven and man, unworthy of being a man, unworthy of reading the books of sages, and even unworthy of being a member of the world.

In this era, people prefer the fairy tale of the male protagonist returning to marry his beloved woman after passing the imperial examination. People cannot accept the idea of abandoning everything for a woman.

Therefore, in the past few days, the public's speculation about Ning Yi has been mostly negative. Being a son-in-law is the original sin. Of course, the conclusion has not yet appeared. In addition to speculation, people are still waiting for more reliable news to appear with a curious mood. On the other hand, purely regarding the quality of this *Shui Diao Ge Tou* and the talent of the lyricist, people are still amazed, and the heat of this amazement is still rising. In the past few days, people's praise for it has been increasing. In this Mid-Autumn poetry competition, its evaluation and limelight are likely to far exceed the other poems. This situation has not occurred for several years.

The most lively place in the Qinhuai River is the area around the Confucius Temple and the Examination Hall. Across the river from it are many brothels. It is only past noon, and these places have not yet opened, but those who should get up have already gotten up. If you walk through the streets below, you can see some women sitting alone on the balcony or chatting and playing. In the inner courtyard walls, there are faint sounds of silk and bamboo instruments coming from afar.

Some of this music is the sound of women who already have artistic skills practicing in the building, and some are the sound of little girls learning Qin music from teachers arranged by the brothel. At this time, in the inner courtyard of the Jinfeng Tower, a class teaching Qin music has come to an end. Several younger girls are still seriously playing the tunes taught by the teacher. The female teacher, dressed in plain cloth and hairpins, is sitting in front of the small table, listening to the Qin music with her chin propped up.

The woman is actually only in her twenties. Although her dress is simple, far inferior to the gaudy colors of the brothel, her appearance is extremely outstanding. She has a delicate and elegant oval face, slender eyebrows, and an extremely outstanding temperament. Sitting there quietly listening to the Qin music, her figure gives people a sense of faint ink painting. Compared with these girls learning Qin music below, she is actually much more outstanding.

According to the general process, after the Qin music is played, the woman gives some guidance, and today's teaching will be over. However, just as the woman was about to pack her things, the girls below looked at each other, and one of them smiled and said, "Sister Yunzhu, Sister Yunzhu, can you teach us to sing *Shui Diao Ge Tou*?"

"Hmm? *Shui Diao Ge Tou*..." The woman called Yunzhu was stunned for a moment, then looked at them and blinked, probably not understanding why they wanted to learn this. The girls below had already spoken.

"The guests who have come these past few days love to listen to this..."

"It's the one from the Mid-Autumn Festival night..."

"We like it very much too."

Hearing this, the woman understood: "Mid-Autumn Festival? Was there good poetry this Mid-Autumn Festival?"

"Ah? Sister Yunzhu, don't you know?"

"I've been busy these past few times and haven't had time to pay attention to the Mid-Autumn Festival..." The woman smiled, but under that smile, there was a hint of fatigue, but the girls in front of her probably couldn't see it.

Then these girls chattered and took out the booklets with the *Shui Diao Ge Tou* written on them. The woman sat there, reading word by word, her lips moving slightly. She truly understood the benefits of this poetry. After a while, her expression became serious. The girls below were talking about the origin of this poetry on the Mid-Autumn Festival night in this atmosphere.

"...It's a pity, that person became a son-in-law in someone else's house."

"Yes, a son-in-law..."

"Now everyone says that this poem was bought..."

"But the poem is really good... *Ming Yue Ji Shi You, Ba Jiu Wen Qing Tian* (明月几时有，把酒问青天 - When will the moon be clear? With wine, I ask the blue sky)..."

Chatter chatter chatter, the girls below were saying the origin and background of the poem in one word or another, and then they sang it out. Although they were still learning the rhythm, the sisters in Jinfeng Tower sang it every day, so there was no problem learning to sing it. In fact, there were also scores for the *Shui Diao Ge Tou* melody in the tower. They learned various finger techniques and could play it themselves, but in the end, it was best to have someone teach them.

"A son-in-law..." Yunzhu looked at the poem, smiled after listening to everyone's story, "In that case, the ladies should know a little bit of the melody of *Shui Diao Ge Tou*, right?"

"We also played it, but some places are not played well..."

"Well, it's fine if you've learned the tune. There are a few places in the *Shui Diao Ge Tou* melody that have special finger techniques. The lyrics can actually be changed slightly in a few places. I'll play it with you ladies once, and then explain it to everyone..."

Saying this, the girls returned to the Qin and sat down. Yunzhu glanced around, placed her fingers on the strings of the Yaoqin, and after a light and gentle smile like mist, her fingertips lightly plucked.

"*Ming Yue Ji Shi You (明月几时有 - When will the moon be clear?)..."*

The melodious Qin music rang out from the room. The performance of many people, especially when most people are not familiar with it, should have been a bit chaotic. However, in this Qin music, the clearest and most beautiful Qin sound was steadily carrying the tune. Although the sounds were all the same size, the Qin sound completely assimilated the rest of the music in terms of artistic conception. Then, the gentle voice also rang out with everyone's singing. If a guest who was proficient in this way came at this time, he might find that this music and singing skills were much more outstanding than most of the women in Jinfeng Tower, and even not inferior to the current top actress of Jinfeng Tower, Yuan Jin'er.

Yuan Jin'er's voice follows a lively and light feeling. This voice is like flowing water and bell sounds, making people feel quiet and comfortable. When the music sounds like this, some girls nearby also came over to listen from a distance. After a song of *Shui Diao Ge Tou* was sung, some people said: "It's Sister Yunzhu..."

"Sister Yunzhu's singing is still so good..."

Either admiration or jealousy. Not long after, the class inside finally ended, and the rest was the girls' own practice. The woman in cloth skirt and hairpins came out of the room with a small package in her hand, walked through the long corridor, also greeted several acquaintances, and then went to Mama's room to collect the teaching fees. On the way out, she met Yuan Jin'er in the outer corridor.

"Sister Yunzhu."

"Sister Jin'er."

"I heard Sister Yunzhu singing upstairs just now. This *Shui Diao Ge Tou* is really best sung by Sister Yunzhu. Jin'er always feels that she can't find such a state of mind, and it doesn't sound good when she sings it."

Yuan Jin'er is seventeen years old this year and has a lively personality. After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, she restrained her bright smile and asked softly: "Sister Yunzhu, how is Sister Hutao?"

"These days have been good. The illness should be cured in a few days."

"That's good..." Yuan Jin'er nodded, and after a moment, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then took out a small package from her body, "Sister Yunzhu, I know your usual temperament, but since Sister Hutao is sick, she always needs emergency help. I hope you will accept some money and things here. Sister has always remembered Jin'er's care for Jin'er..."

She wanted to put the small bag of silver into the other person's hand, but Yunzhu declined it. Although she was very moved, she didn't accept it in the end.

"Hutao's illness is indeed getting better. If it weren't, Sister would definitely not be able to hold on to this matter. Sister Jin'er should still save the money. If one day, you can redeem yourself, then you can be free..."

"I don't have Sister's state of mind." The two of them just said some heartfelt words, and their eyes were a little red. Yuan Jin'er wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers and smiled, "Jin'er is now in this state, and she is finally planning to choose a man to marry. There is not much use for money to stay by her side, and besides, this is not much, I still have it..."

"If you can meet a talented scholar you like..."

"Jin'er will not marry someone who is penniless and only knows how to talk glibly. Flowery words are not as good as food. I was born to be a concubine or a maid, and in the end, I have to find someone with some money and status to marry. Fortunately, I still have some reputation now, and it is not difficult to marry..."

This is probably also a matter of each person having their own ambitions. The two walked all the way outside, said some intimate words, but in the end, they separated at the side door of Jinfeng Tower. Yuan Jin'er smiled and waved until the other person's figure disappeared from view before putting down her hand.

Some envy, but also some sigh, a mood that even she herself does not understand.

The woman called Sister Yunzhu is named Nie Yunzhu. She was also one of the most popular women in Jinfeng Tower a few years ago. Her Qin music, singing, poetry, calligraphy, and painting were all superb. However, she had a detached state of mind and was never the most popular. In the past, she was unwilling to participate in the selection of the Qin Huai flower queen, so her reputation never reached the top. Two years ago, she saved enough money and redeemed herself and her maid Hutao, and found a place to live. Even now, some people still occasionally ask about her when they come to Jinfeng Tower.

The other brothel women, even if they have redeemed themselves, often maintain contact with many patrons and participate in poetry and literary gatherings with talented scholars. However, Sister Yunzhu is different. She has almost cut off contact with those people in the past. Brothel life is nothing more than welcoming and sending away. Having not appeared for two years, she has faded out of this world. She only continues to accept work teaching Qin music, which can be regarded as earning some living expenses.

However, this teaching Qin music and giving lessons does not make much money after all. Even if she does not teach, there are plenty of people in the tower who can do it now. She still had some money left when she redeemed herself two years ago, but now she heard that the situation is not very good. The mistress and maid have always lived a brothel life. Hutao is accustomed to serving people, but she may not be good at things related to life. After these two years, the money has probably been spent, and they can only accept work in the brothel again. Recently, she heard that Hutao is sick, and the two seem to be not doing very well. Yuan Jin'er is grateful for the other person's previous care, so she wanted to take out some money to help, but she didn't take out much, but who knew that the other person still didn't accept it in the end.

Women, what freedom can there be in this world? Brothels seem glamorous, with young masters competing for attention, and countless songs of silk. But in the end, it is still the fate of a concubine or a maid. Who can treat a brothel woman as a wife? Sister Yunzhu has a strong mind. If I also redeem myself and go out, how long can a weak woman support herself in this world without a support? In the end, I am afraid that I will have to return to this brothel again.

She sighed softly and turned back...

********************

Leaving the pharmacy, Nie Yunzhu counted the remaining money on her body and put it in her innermost pocket.

Including the money for pawning the hairpin, she can still use it for a few days. The most reassuring thing for her is that Hutao's illness is finally about to recover, which is the best.

When they left the brothel two years ago, they did not have much experience in living alone. Although Hutao had lived a hard life when she was a child, she had been in the brothel for many years, and that was after all a childhood memory. It was good enough to be able to cook rice and cook vegetables. The mistress and maid, without any plans, lived a life of complete spontaneity for a while. Although they also did some work, such as teaching Qin music at Jinfeng Tower, they had always been spending more than they earned. But now, although there is not much money left, as long as Hutao gets better, the mistress and maid can do some things and still be able to balance their income and expenses.

Picking up the small cloth bag containing small items in her hand, and gently lifting the wrapped medicine with the other hand, she walked all the way back home, with her head lowered, half of her attention focused on the small pocket on her body. After she and Hutao came out to live, her purse had been stolen twice in crowded places, and now she felt sorry when she thought about it. She gradually left Zhuque Street, and there were not as many pedestrians. Only then did she relax her vigilance. There were still some shops selling things around. When she was about to turn the street, a figure suddenly flashed into her eyes in front of her.

Huh...

She raised her head and looked over suspiciously. The figure had disappeared around the corner not far away. With this feeling, she walked a few steps quickly. When she reached the intersection, she finally saw the figure over there clearly.

It really is him...

On the side of the street not far away, the thin and gentle-looking man was standing in front of several shops, holding a large wooden board in his hand, looking at the things sold in several shops, and swinging the wooden board back and forth a little bored, then nodded and entered the door of a shop.

It seems that he is going to buy charcoal.

Nie Yunzhu thought for a while and followed...

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