Angry Banana
Chapter 40: A Night of Fish and Dragon Dance (6)
As the woman walked out of the courtyard house to pour water, the lights in front reflected the prosperity of the Lantern Festival. Search: \(¨Complete¨Book¨God¨Station¨) to read fine literature for free. The courtyard behind the Jin Feng Brothel wasn't large, but it was quite exquisite. Unless they were the top courtesans of the Jin Feng Brothel, they probably wouldn't be able to live in such a courtyard. Today was the Lantern Festival, but it was quite rare for such a courtyard not to be brightly lit.
Actually, most of the lights in this courtyard had only been extinguished recently. It was almost midnight, and not many people would be coming to visit the sick. Nie Yunzhu looked around, turned and returned to the room. The owner of the small courtyard, Yuan Jin'er, was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the oil lamp, then smiled at her. Nie Yunzhu smiled back, put down the basin, and sat back by the bedside.
Logically speaking, Nie Yunzhu shouldn't have come tonight. Although she would come to teach the zither every few days, she had already left the Jin Feng Brothel, and especially at night and on holidays, she shouldn't be near here. However, this time was an exception. Tonight, she went to enjoy the Lantern Festival with Houtao, and then met a Jin Feng Brothel girl who was learning the zither from her. She was out to fetch medicine for Yuan Jin'er, who had caught a cold. Nie Yunzhu, upon hearing this, asked Houtao to come and visit. After learning that Yuan Jin'er wanted to see her, and realizing it wasn't too early, she entered through the back door of the Jin Feng Brothel.
Yuan Jin'er was now the face of the Jin Feng Brothel. Although she had caught a cold by chance, it was still difficult to refuse guests on such a day. People had been coming to visit earlier, and after confirming that Yuan Jin'er was really sick, they exchanged a few words before leaving. Cao Guan, who was currently known as the number one talent of Jiangning, had also come to visit twice. He was outside drinking and composing poetry with a group of talents. When Nie Yunzhu came in, he even asked Yuan Jin'er's maid, Kou'er, to bring in a poem, praising the beauty in illness. Yuan Jin'er could only smile and accept it, and asked Kou'er to go out and express her thanks.
"Speaking of which, this Cao Guan is indeed quite talented... How is my sister?"
After indicating that the two sisters wanted to have a private conversation and dismissing Houtao, Yuan Jin'er handed the poem to Nie Yunzhu to read. After Nie Yunzhu read it, she put it down. Both Yuan Jin'er and Nie Yunzhu had seen many talents, and although such casually written poems could show talent, it was difficult to be amazing. They were more concerned about Yuan Jin'er's illness. Yuan Jin'er smiled and shook her head.
"Actually, the illness is mild. I'll probably be fine after taking a dose or two of medicine. It's just that because of this cold, my period also came, and I feel weak and sore all over, making it even harder to sing. Fortunately, Mama has agreed to block some guests for me today. She must be in a frenzy over there."
"Mama's heart is still good." Nie Yunzhu nodded. With order and abundance, people tend to have some conscience. If it were elsewhere, she probably wouldn't have been able to redeem herself back then. Then she laughed and talked about other things: "How is my sister doing with Cao Guan?" Yuan Jin'er had been getting close to Cao Guan recently, and she knew a little about it.
"What can be done? It's just the reputation of talented scholars and beautiful women. Didn't you say, sister, that he does have talent? To Yuan Jin'er, what's the difference between Cao Guan and Li Pin? To Cao Guan, whether it's Yuan Jin'er or Lu Caicai, it probably doesn't matter."
Yuan Jin'er was younger than Nie Yunzhu. Her usual energy and cheerful demeanor mixed with playfulness were the biggest reasons why others liked her, but today she seemed lazy and disheartened. Nie Yunzhu wiped her face with a towel. "Don't say that. Since he chose you over Lu Caicai, he must like you more."
"Jin'er said she wants to find someone with a good family background who can treat Jin'er like a pig, hehe. Cao Guan has no money, so I don't like him very much."
"If you really turn you into a pig, you'll probably be kicked out immediately." Nie Yunzhu patted her face. "Cao Guan has talent, so he should have no problem passing the imperial exams one day. At that time, wouldn't he be able to treat Jin'er like a pig?"
"There are many talented scholars in the world. Even if he's called the number one talent in Jiangning by others, is it that easy to pass the imperial exams? Besides, if you don't have money to grease the wheels, you'll have to wait and wait even if you pass the imperial exams and want to fill a substantive position..." Yuan Jin'er lay there talking, then pursed her lips and thought, "Yunzhu sister, what do you think, if Jin'er also redeems herself and goes with you to sell those preserved eggs?"
Nie Yunzhu laughed: "Are you sick?" She comes over once in a while and chats with Yuan Jin'er, so Yuan Jin'er knows that she has a pancake cart now and has recently been tinkering with preserved eggs, but she hasn't seen what they look like yet.
Yuan Jin'er thought for a while and giggled: "No, it's just that Houtao is also getting married. After she gets married, Yunzhu sister, you'll also feel lonely, right? It just so happens that Jin'er can come and accompany you. Yunzhu sister, you said that the preserved eggs are so good, it must be a steady profit business. Jin'er can also have something to rely on."
"You're always thinking about being raised like a pig, but now you're saying you want to do things. You must be delirious." Nie Yunzhu just laughed. She naturally understood that Yuan Jin'er's words couldn't be taken seriously, it was just a sudden whim. "There's no such thing as a sure profit business. I'm just groping around every day. I was losing money every day before. And, I'm afraid it's not easy to marry, and you'll become an old maid. Jin'er should still find a great talent who can raise you like a pig and love you..."
"It's also quite prestigious to be a female shopkeeper..." Yuan Jin'er said this, and then the two of them talked about talents such as Cao Guan and Li Pin. In fact, there are talented scholars every year, many every year, and they know quite a few. Yuan Jin'er was sick and had her period, so her mouth was a little more poisonous. Nie Yunzhu
was happy to listen, and during that time, they also talked about Ning Yi.
"That song 'Shui Diao Ge Tou' is really good, but such a person married into a merchant's family, and these lyrics were bought..."
Nie Yunzhu said softly: "You don't know that Ning Liheng, how do you know it was bought?"
Yuan Jin'er pursed her lips and smiled: "If Yunzhu sister is interested, you can go to the front to eavesdrop. Today is the Lantern Festival, those talents will definitely talk about it, suspecting that the lyrics were bought."
The topic about Ning Yi ended with these few sentences. Nie Yunzhu didn't want to express her opinion, and Yuan Jin'er just commented casually. Not long after, she felt a little tired, and Nie Yunzhu brought the cup over for her to drink some water: "Rest a little, it's best to be able to sleep."
Yuan Jin'er hugged the quilt but didn't sleep. The sound of a lively banquet faintly came from outside. Nie Yunzhu sat by the bed and accompanied her, then picked up the guqin next to her and placed it on her lap, casually strumming a few notes. After a while, she opened her mouth and sang softly: "Outside the long pavilion, by the ancient road, the fragrant grass connects to the sky..." Her voice was light and soft, just a casual and slow singing, but it gave the entire space an ethereal charm, as if covering up the noisy sound from outside. Yuan Jin'er looked over here, Nie Yunzhu looked at her and smiled: "The evening breeze brushes the willows, the sound of the flute fades, the setting sun beyond the mountains."
"Yunzhu sister, what kind of music is this?"
The sound of the zither rang slowly, Nie Yunzhu smiled without answering, and soon sang again: "At the edge of the sky, at the corner of the earth, half of my close friends are scattered..."
This "Farewell" was the second song that Ning Yi gave her before the New Year. Nie Yunzhu had been pondering it recently. After the song was finished, the sound of the zither rang for a long time before stopping.
Yuan Jin'er was puzzled: "It sounds like 'Ruan Lang Gui', but the first sentence of the upper part should be seven characters, and the lower part is a bit different. The level tone has turned oblique, how can it be like this... but Yunzhu sister's singing is really nice..." She thought for a while and widened her eyes, "Could it be that Yunzhu sister is studying a new way of singing? But... this is also a bit... uh, it should be a playful work..."
Most of the people Yuan Jin'er came into contact with were just singers and sound craftsmen, only Nie Yunzhu had already entered the hall and could be called a master. She was qualified to change some of the singing methods, of course, it was also very difficult to get people to accept it, but this was not a public release anyway. But even to Yuan Jin'er, it was certainly good to listen to, but this singing method was indeed too surprising. After being surprised for a while, she just regarded it as a playful work, and then savored the artistic conception in the lyrics.
"Although it's simple, these sentences are really good artistic conception, but it's not a lyrical work, it can only be called a short sentence. Jin'er really envies Yunzhu sister's talent."
"Not my work... Jin'er, move around less and rest well."
"Yunzhu sister, have you met someone you like?"
"Don't think wildly, you can't marry."
"Oh, it must be a girl from some family... Well, this kind of short sentence game also looks like..."
This "Farewell" actually pays attention to rhyming, but it doesn't respect the song title, and it's not a poem. Although the artistic conception sounds good, it can only be called a playful work. She thought so, and Nie Yunzhu didn't explain much, just smiled and tucked her into the quilt. At this time, footsteps sounded outside, it was Kou'er and Houtao. Kou'er's expression was a little nervous, holding a poem in her hand: "Miss, miss, something unexpected has happened, this time Young Master Cao is probably going to lose again..."
When Nie Yunzhu hadn't come over yet, Kou'er was serving Yuan Jin'er by the bed. The two maids had talked about the many poems tonight. In terms of quantity, the best works from Lichuan were naturally the most. But in terms of individuals, Cao Guan performed very well tonight, and several of his best works were praised. Li Pin, who went to the Puyuan banquet, only performed mediocrely, so in Kou'er's opinion, Cao Guan's reputation was likely to be solidified again by the many poetry gatherings tonight. However, this time, she ran in without a head, obviously something went wrong again. Yuan Jin'er asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
"A poem has come from Puyuan again. Everyone was shocked this time, and the atmosphere outside is so strange..." Although this time it wasn't a six-boat connected舫, the Puyang family's poetry gathering was still called the Puyuan Poetry Gathering on the Lantern Festival.
"The Puyang family... what happened again?" Although her future goal was to be raised like a pig, after so much contact, Yuan Jin'er still hoped that Cao Guan's reputation would be high. At this time, she suspiciously took the paper.
Nie Yunzhu next to her laughed: "It seems that Young Master Li Pin couldn't help it after all..." The Puyang family was already very surprised to have a dark horse come out five months ago. This time, it seemed that Li Pin, who had been mediocre all night, went wild and took out a good work to shock everyone. This was not surprising. Li Pin's style has always been a bit unorthodox, but sometimes it is very amazing.
Hearing her young lady say this, Houtao's expression was a little complicated, as if she had something to say but didn't know if she should. Kou'er shook her head desperately: "No, no, it's not Young Master Li, it's that Ning Yi Ning Liheng, he wrote another Lantern Festival poem..."
"Ah?"
Nie Yunzhu was stunned, and quickly looked at the poem. Kou'er next to her was vividly describing: "It's so interesting outside, I heard that Ning Yi didn't plan to participate in the poetry gathering today, but he was seen when he was shopping, and he was invited up, and a large group of people embarrassed him..."
Nie Yunzhu at this time was looking at the lyrics on the paper. When she saw half of it, she couldn't hear the noise anymore.
She had been in contact with Ning Yi for some time. They did not associate with each other because of their talents, but Nie Yunzhu had always heard about Ning Yi's talent. The two of them never mentioned talent or poetry, and only associated with each other as ordinary friends, but it was impossible for Nie Yunzhu not to have expectations or doubts in her heart.
For her, what was in front of her was the other side of Ning Yi that she had never seen.
"The east wind releases a thousand trees of flowers at night. Even more blows down, stars like rain..."
Yuan Jin'er read it out in a low voice, until the last signature:
Su Residence.
Ning Yi.
Ning Liheng.
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It's dawn, another all-nighter. Everyone, please give me a lot of recommendations^_^
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