vstars Chapter 289 2. Leeks and Little White Instantly Turn into "Quail Eggs"
Chapter 289 2. Leeks and Little White Instantly Turn into "Quail Eggs"
Niwan Zi and Cong Xiaoye were walking together in the market when they suddenly heard an exaggerated shout from the end of the alley: "Does anyone in the family understand this?"
Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a young man dressed as a foreign merchant taking a selfie in a bronze mirror, muttering to himself, "Help! This Tang-style ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) is so photogenic!"
The two paid no heed and headed straight for the city hall. At that time, merchants flocked to the area, and all kinds of goods were on display. Suddenly, a woman wearing a veiled hat walked by with the "clack-clack" of wooden clogs, her pearl hairpin swaying gently with the rhythm of her steps.
Upon arriving at the city magistrate's residence, Old Clerk Zhou was casually chatting with passersby while eating a flatbread, much like a modern person watching mindless short videos. When he saw the two men asking about Du Xiaobing and Chen Xiaoyao, he immediately snapped out of his daze, frowned for a long time, and sighed, "My darlings, this matter is really beyond the level of 'archaeological' difficulty! Although I have lived in the city for a long time and recall the merchants who used to come and go, it feels like a lifetime ago. It is really difficult to recall the whereabouts of these two men."
The market was bustling at dusk, and long-roofed carts chugged along Zhuque Street, looking like a mobile Tang Dynasty "bus".
Song Erjiu and Song Xiaobai were squeezed in the crowd, frantically exchanging glances. Erjiu's eyes were sharp enough to be compared to an eagle's. He spotted a dozing old woman, and with lightning speed, his iron hook snatched the gold and jade earring from her temple and flashed it to Song Xiaobai. Upon seeing this, Xiaobai was as excited as if he had won a ticket to Li Bai's concert. He reached out to take it, but the silver bracelet hook on his wrist bumped into Erjiu's hook, making a "clanging" sound that almost caused a social incident.
"Who in the family understands this?!" Song Daqin suddenly "appeared" from the corner of the carriage, her leather whip "eager to try" under her brocade robe. "This is supposed to be a 'super player experience,' requiring an 'immersive strategy guide,' but you two are just 'opening blind boxes,' wanting to play the lowest level 'heart-pounding, mine-stepping version,' is that it?!"
Erjiu and Xiaobai instantly turned into tiny "quails," barely daring to breathe. Little did they know, on the second floor of the tavern outside the carriage, a young man in a brocade robe, leaning against the vermilion railing, was using a Persian glass mirror as a "telescope," thoroughly enjoying the gossip. He swirled his white jade wine cup and raised an eyebrow at the burly man beside him: "Baby, two new 'newbie players' have arrived in the West Market. Let's wait and see what this 'newbie shopping challenge' brings!"
In the streets of Chang'an, Song Daqin was arranging a marriage for Song Erjiu and earnestly invited Xiaobai, the most beautiful courtesan at the Huji Tavern, to drink with him.
Xiao Bai, holding silver chopsticks, laughed and said, "I should emulate the drunkards of Gaoyang, buying wine and dried meat in the market, and only stop when I'm completely drunk."
Daqin bowed and sighed, "Erjiu is deaf and mute, all alone and destitute. If you, my lady, do not favor him, I fear he will never experience the warmth of love in this life. I only wish that he knows that there is love in the world, so that he will not die with regrets."
Xiao Bai frowned and pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "My best friend Chen Xiaoyao has a kind heart. I will write her a letter. Since she often gives away porridge and medicine, she will surely live up to my request. You can invite the two of us to the Apricot Garden Spring Banquet."
A few days later, Erjiu received Xue Tao's letter from Chen Xiaoyao. The invitation, still fragrant with ink, brought him to tears of joy. His usually dull eyes suddenly lit up with a strange light. He stroked the words on the letter as if touching a precious treasure. He immediately straightened his clothes and tied his hair, and hurried to the tavern by Qujiang Pool.
Speaking of Xiao Bai, everyone in Chang'an knows that the White Snake Lady from the Hu Ji Tavern is a fairy-like figure who can play strange new tunes on the pipa strings. But they don't know that this most beautiful peony in Chang'an was actually uprooted and transplanted here by fate.
Three years ago, on an autumn night, Xiaobai was hunched over her desk copying books to supplement the family income when she suddenly heard a loud banging on the courtyard gate. Pushing open the door, she saw a thug demanding money, holding a torch and waving the IOU in front of her, making a clattering sound: "The debt your father borrowed, with its ever-increasing interest, is due today, principal and interest!" It turned out that the thirty strings of cash her father had borrowed when he was seriously ill had now ballooned into a massive debt of three hundred strings of cash.
Clutching her patched-up ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), Xiaobai's eyes reddened with anxiety: "My lords, please have mercy! I'll pawn my family heirloom jade pendant tomorrow..."
Before she could finish speaking, the scarred man in the lead grinned maliciously and suddenly grabbed her hair: "Who do you think you are stupid? We already found out that all your valuables have long been in the bottomless pawnshop!"
Just then, a merchant in fine clothes came out from the alleyway, waving an ivory fan and clicking his tongue in admiration: "What a beautiful lady! Why don't you come with me to Pingkang Lane? You can sing and entertain every day, and pay off your debts in less than half a year."
Xiao Bai struggled desperately, but the thugs covered her mouth and nose and dragged her onto a carriage. When she woke up, she found herself in a magnificent Hu Ji tavern, where the madam was pinching her chin: "From today onwards, you are our top courtesan. Serve your customers well!"
From then on, that small stage became Xiaobai's prison. She forced a smile as she poured wine for the guests, the melodies flowing from the pipa strings filled with a sorrow no one could understand…
When the Golden Guards sounded the evening drum, Qiu Rongmu leaned against the vermilion pillars of the Vermilion Bird Gate and took out an ivory "sound transmission tube" and fiddled with it repeatedly.
Although this object didn't have the ability to transmit sound over long distances, it could make sound travel far through the hollow tube. He shouted towards the opening of the tube, "Niwan Zi! The cherry blossoms His Majesty bestowed upon us at court this morning, shall we share them?"
Niwan Zi was wandering around the streets clutching a gilded sachet when she caught sight of the swaying ivory tube. She deliberately flung the hem of her ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) over her ears and covered them tightly: "I won't take it! Who told someone to steal my thunder by reciting poetry in front of the princess yesterday!" Ren Qiurong shouted until his throat was hoarse, but he only hummed the newly learned "Ode to the Great Roc" and rode off in the opposite direction on his cloud-patterned shoes.
Just then, Cong Xiaoye rode up on a short horse, a food box hanging from the saddle: "Master! I heard that a new Persian restaurant has opened in the West Market. Shall we invite His Highness Sizi to go and try the crispy mountain and the glutinous rice cake?"
Niwan Zi, mimicking a woman's manner, adjusted the flowers adorning her hair in front of a bronze mirror on the street, and said coquettishly, "Xiao Ye, this young lady is going on a 'city walk' by herself today, to Pingkangfang to listen to the most popular Hu Ji sing. You guys go have fun by yourselves!" With that, she lifted her hem, humming an off-key tune, and left him far behind...