The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 5 Yutai
Because Kangxi attached great importance to riding and shooting, Yinyou's riding and shooting skills were ranked among the top five among all the princes.

Surprisingly, among all the princes, the one who ranked first in riding and archery skills was the bookish third prince.

Kangxi believed that diligence could make up for lack of talent, so he used stupid methods to educate his sons.

If you are not good at reading, then read, write and memorize, one hundred and twenty times each, until you know it by heart.

If you are not good at riding and archery, then shoot 120 arrows and ride 120 laps every day.

As usual, Yinyu practiced archery on foot first, and then on horseback.

When Yinyou was shooting arrows, Fujing, with a quiver on his back, stood beside him and handed him arrows.

Fu Jing was chosen as Yinyou's archer because of his archery skill of hitting three stars with one arrow.

It was not until noon that Yinyou, whose arms were sore, rode away from the shooting hall on horseback.

After returning to the room and taking a bath, Yinyu changed into a light silk gown. Not long after he sat down, he heard Chunxi's voice coming from outside the door, "Master, the Sixteenth Master is here."

Usually, the Sixteenth Prince came to see Yinyu because he wanted to take Yinyu to the Fourth Prince's house for a meal.

When the Fourth Lady married the Fourth Prince, there was a very good cook among the servants in the chamber. This cook and his sons cooked authentic Shandong cuisine, which won the Sixteenth Prince's favor.

In the capital of Kangxi's reign, Shandong cuisine has always occupied an absolute dominant position.

Others may not know, but Yinyou knows it in his mind: the Shandong cuisine chefs have mastered the unique skills of enhancing the flavor of the food.

The sea intestine is roasted and dried and then ground into powder, which is considered the first generation of natural MSG.

"My hands are sore and I'm a little tired. Why don't you go by yourself?" Yinyou didn't want to get too close to the fourth brother for the time being, so he found an excuse to refuse to go.

However, the Sixteenth Prince kept pestering him and gave Yinyou a headache.

Yinyou, who had lost his temper due to the torture, had to leave the palace through Shenwu Gate with the sixteenth prince and prepare to go to the Beile Mansion of the fourth prince.

The fourth prince’s mansion was located in the northeast corner of the capital, which is now part of the Yonghe Palace.

Another part of the Lama Temple is the Prince's Mansion and Prince An's Mansion.

After the fourth prince ascended the throne, he not only killed the eighth prince and his eighth wife, but also took advantage of the situation to annex the eighth prince's Prince Lian's Mansion and Prince An's Mansion, and merged them and rebuilt them into the Yonghe Palace.

As soon as he walked out of the Shenwu Gate, Yinyou saw a large sedan chair carried by eight people with a silver top, red canopy, red curtain, red drapery, and golden curtain, parked on the right side outside the gate.

Generally speaking, Manchu princes and ministers entered the palace from Xihua Gate or Shenwu Gate, while Han ministers, even if they lived in the west of the city, had to enter the palace from Donghua Gate.

In the Qing Dynasty, golden sedan chair curtains were the exclusive color of the princes. Who would dare to use them at will?

This was the official sedan chair of a Beile-level prince, and it was parked outside the Shenwu Gate in the north of the city.

There is no doubt that one of the fourth and eighth brothers must still be in the palace.

Wu Lin had sharp eyes and recognized Xiao Shunzi standing next to the sedan very early on.

Xiao Shunzi is the godson of Su Peisheng, the most favored eunuch around the Fourth Brother.

"Master, Sixteenth Master, the Fourth Master is still in the palace." After Wu Lin reported the news, the Sixteenth Master felt very disappointed.

However, after having finally left the palace, how could the Sixteenth Prince just go back to the prince's residence?
"Brother Fifteen, why don't we go to Huguo Temple together?" The lively Sixteenth Old Man looked at Yinyu with a pleading look.
Dalongshan Huguo Temple is located in the northwest corner of the Forbidden City. There are always lively temple fairs on the seventh and eighth days of every month.

The most eye-catching thing in the Huguo Temple Fair is the various snack stalls, which sell a wide variety of snacks, including rice cakes, sausages, boiled lamb sausages, grilled cakes, jelly, fried tripe, tea soup, etc.

Yinyou couldn't persuade the lively and cheerful Sixteenth Prince, so he accompanied him to the Dalongshan Huguo Temple.

From Desheng Bridge outside Shenwu Gate to Xinjiekou, there were crowds of people. Yinyu didn't like to join in the fun, but the Sixteenth Prince was very happy. He looked around and found everything new.

The snack stall owners along the way simply set up a tent and put out tables and benches to occupy the open space.

Some small traders simply find a place to park their shoulder loads or wheelbarrows, set up a stove and a pot, and place seasoning jars and bowls and chopsticks next to the pot. They can start selling anytime and anywhere.

"There are many roses, many osmanthus flowers, many rose dates, peach apricot preserves, glass powder, beard cakes and sour plum soup."

"Hey, the buns are hot! Hey, the buns are hot, they are hot, the buns made with leavened dough need to be hot."

“Stinky tofu, fermented tofu, Wang Zhihe’s stinky tofu.”

"Draw lots, tell fortunes; ask for blessings, get predictions; match marriages, and read birth charts."

The Sixteenth Prince happily strolled and ate along the way, and Yinyou also ate a lot with him.

Before he even reached the main entrance of the Huguo Temple, Old Sixteen's belly was already full and he was burping.

Yinyou was worried that his brother would get sick from overeating, so he quickly took him to a roadside teahouse.

When the Qing troops first entered the pass, they banned all commercial districts in the inner city and strictly prohibited the opening of theaters, hotels and entertainment venues.

Due to the obstruction of the imperial palace, the bannermen in the inner city had to take a long detour to go shopping or listen to operas outside Qianmen, which was very inconvenient.

Twentieth year after Emperor Kangxi's reign, the imperial court gradually lifted the ban due to the living needs of the people of the Eight Banners, allowing vendors to bring goods into the city to sell.

Over time, business people gradually opened various shops in the city to serve daily life, such as oil, salt, vegetable shops, restaurants, and teahouses.

Coincidentally, the teahouse on the roadside is called "Yutai".

The teahouses and storytelling of this era are like a pair of lovers holding hands or sworn brothers, forming a wonderful combination in which you are in me and I am in you.

"Gentlemen, is this your first time coming back? Please come in to the private room upstairs!" The boy at the door's eyes suddenly lit up and he looked down.

Yinyou nodded secretly. The waiter's eyes were sharp enough to tell at a glance that it was the first time for him and Old Sixteen to come here to drink tea and listen to stories.

Nowadays, the business of car and boat inns and footmen depends on one's eyesight. If one makes a mistake and offends a distinguished customer, at the very least, one will lose money and close the shop, or at worst, his family will be ruined.

As the saying goes, people need clothes and Buddha needs gold ornaments.

Yinyu's attire was rather plain and difficult to identify, but Old Sixteen, dressed in fine satin, was obviously not an ordinary person.

The Sixteenth Prince and Yinyou were both princes. When they left the palace together, they were naturally accompanied by personal guards.

When the guards escorted Yinyou and the Sixteenth Prince into the teahouse, the first floor was already crowded with people and all the seats were occupied.

After we sat down in the private room on the second floor, the teahouse's chief shopkeeper came out in person and introduced us with a big smile, "My dears, whose book do you like to listen to?"

What the head shopkeeper means is that you two can order any of the gentlemen and storytelling jokes you like, but you may have to pay more for the tips.

Yinyou was not interested in storytelling, so he waited for the Sixteenth Prince to speak.

Old Sixteen particularly likes storytelling and listening to operas. He blurted out, "Let's talk about 'The Scheme to Recruit Jiang Wei' from 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'?"

Yinyu then whispered, "Reward him."

"This is a reward from our master, take it." Wu Lin quickly took out an ingot of two taels of silver from his arms and handed it to the manager.

"Thank you for your generous reward, gentlemen. I will go downstairs right away to make arrangements and will make sure I don't disturb your entertainment." The head shopkeeper held the silver in his hand, bowed to thank for the reward, and swore an oath.

(End of this chapter)