My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

After the Beginning of Winter holiday, Chang'an had to return to the Imperial College today to take the ten-day examination. The next day would be November 10th, the second day off.

That night, the two of them spent some time together before going to bed as usual, and then they lay down on the bed and prepared to sleep.

"Mrs. Gu?"

"Hey."

"Tomorrow is Brother Zhang's birthday, and he invited me to Pingkangfang to celebrate his birthday." Chang An said.

"Then let's go. Since it's Chang Lang's friend's birthday, we should go." Gu Li agreed without even thinking about it.

"Mother Gu, have you agreed?" Chang An was a little surprised at this time.

"Well, what's wrong?" Gu Li asked puzzledly.

"That's Pingkangfang! Pingkangfang, Gu Niang." Chang An turned around and looked at Gu Li through the darkness.

"What happened to Pingkangfang?"

"Mother Gu, you're not afraid of me..." Chang An said, seeming a little excited, his hands and feet moving around a little, "Aren't you afraid of me and other women...?"

"Don't be afraid," Chang An heard a rustling sound from the other side, "If I knew that you, Chang Lang, went to play with other girls, I would not... not talk to Chang Lang anymore."

Ever since he threw a tantrum and said he didn't want Chang An yesterday, but was frightened and cried by Chang An, Gu Li never dared to say "I don't want Chang Lang" again. Soon after, he changed to "I don't talk to Chang Lang" with full "dominance".

Chang An burst out laughing, and said in a doting tone: "Okay, I'll go over there tomorrow afternoon near dusk and be back before curfew."

"Okay, I'll wait for Chang Lang to come home." Gu Li said and yawned.

Chang An reached out his hand, gently stroked her face, and said, "Go to sleep if you are sleepy. Good night, Mother Gu."

"See you tomorrow, Chang Lang."

After saying good night to each other, they fell asleep one after another...

After getting up in the morning, Chang An took Gu Li out to go shopping as usual. However, since the East and West Markets were closed in the morning, he could only take Gu Li to other shops to buy some new cloth and rouge and lip balm for Gu Li to use.

In a courtyard in Pingkangfang, a woman was sitting at a table, polishing her pipa. At this time, a woman who looked like a maid came in and shouted:

"Miss."

The woman did not stop wiping the pipa and asked directly, "What's the matter?"

"Madam, today is the birthday of the husband of Zhang Shaoqing from the Honglu Temple. Mr. Zhang plans to come to our Xinluan Restaurant for a drink." said the maid.

The woman paused, raised her eyes slightly, and asked thoughtfully, "When is Mr. Zhang's birthday?"

"Yes, tonight at twilight hour, Mr. Zhang's friends will be there."

The woman's eyes suddenly lit up. She put down the pipa in her hand and asked excitedly, "Does that mean Chang An will come too?"

"Yes, ma'am," the maid replied.

"Great!" The woman clapped her hands together, looking very happy. "Chang'an hasn't been here for more than a month. I have to prepare well..."

As she spoke, her eyes moved to her dressing table, and then she stood up and walked to the dressing table herself, looking here and there. The jewelry and rouge on it were a bit messy because of her, but she frowned a little dissatisfied.

"Yuqi, go to Yanshoufang and buy me a new set of clothes. Then go to the East Market and buy some high-quality rouge, preferably new ones," said the woman.

"Yes." The maid Yuqi responded, then turned and left the room, leaving the woman sitting alone in the room.

When it was almost the evening hour, Chang An began to prepare to go to Pingkangfang. Before he left, Gu Li helped him to dress up, picked up a sword from the sword rack, and hung it around Chang An's waist along with a purse embroidered with the words "hometown". Then he asked Zhen'er to go to the kitchen to get some candy and bring it to Chang An as a gift.

"I'll have someone prepare the sobering soup in advance. Chang Lang, remember to come back early." Gu Li said as he sent Chang An to the gate of the mansion.

"Okay, when we're done eating, I'll ask someone to ask you, Gu Niang, to pick me up." Chang An covered her face and got on the carriage.

When the carriage entered Pingkangfang, Chang'an lifted the curtain of the window and looked outside. Unlike other places, Pingkangfang was especially crowded with scholars and playboys, and before it got dark, there were already lanterns hanging everywhere.

Chang An was admiring the scenery in Pingkangfang when the carriage stopped in front of a restaurant and Chang An got off.

As soon as he got off the carriage, a gorgeously dressed woman came over and said in a voice that could make bones soften, "Mr. Chang is here. Are you here to look for Madam Su Meng today?"

Chang An was stunned for a moment, and did not answer the other party's question, but asked: "Where is Mr. Zhang Rusi?"

"Mr. Zhang has arrived. He is now on the second floor." the woman replied.

Chang An nodded slightly and walked into the Xinluan Restaurant. As soon as he walked in, he heard voices calling him from all over the restaurant, some women and some men, but more women:

"Chang Langjun!"

"Mr. Chang is here!"

Chang An had no choice but to respond to those people one by one with a smile. While responding to the greetings from the drinkers and singing girls, he walked towards the second floor. As soon as he went upstairs, he saw Zhang Rusi, Du Chengming and the other four in a very conspicuous position.

"Brother Yonghe." When the four saw Chang'an coming, they raised their hands and greeted him.

"Brothers," Chang An responded, "Am I late?"

Zhang Rusi shook his head and said jokingly, "You're not too late. Madam Su Meng hasn't even arrived yet."

"That's right. If you didn't come when Madam Su Meng came, then you would be really late." Du Chengming also said so.

At this time, Chang An began to wonder who this woman named Su Meng was, and why everyone they met mentioned her. He began to search the original owner's memory in his mind to find out who this Su Meng was.

After searching for a while, I found out that Su Meng was a singer in Pingkangfang, and she was not an ordinary singer, but the kuin of Xinluan Restaurant. Su Meng was not only proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but also had a very good appearance, and she looked like a disaster for the country and the people.

Because Su Meng's pipa music and poems were also very brilliant, they could match the poems of the original owner Chang An, and Chang An would often tell the name of the pipa music she played and compose a poem accordingly, although it was just a poem for the music. So Su Meng and Chang An often recited poems and played music together, and after a few times, they became close friends.

Later, Su Meng and Chang An had more contacts and got to know each other very well. They also changed their address from "Mr. and Mrs." to "Mrs. and Miss." It can be said that Gu Li might not know some things about Chang An, but that does not mean Su Meng did not know.

Chang An smiled, came to the table, took off the sword from his waist and sat down. He then put the candy in his hand on the table and said, "This is a birthday gift my wife asked me to give to Mr. Zhang. Don't despise it."

"That's not true, Brother Chang," Zhang Rusi said with a smile, "We ate this candy last time and liked it very much. We were hoping that you would bring some more one day."

"Brother Zhang is absolutely right. It is only because of Brother Zhang's birthday that I can eat this candy again today." Cui Hujin also said.

As they spoke, several people stretched out their hands and each took one and put it in their mouths. At this time, the maid in the restaurant also came to the table with wine, put the wine down and left.

Zhang Rusi picked up the wine, poured a glass for everyone present, and then pointed to the wine pot and said, "This wine is called Osmanthus, but it is a new drink from Xinluan Wine Shop. I heard it is brewed with osmanthus."

Chang An raised his eyebrows and blurted out: "I want to buy osmanthus flowers and carry them with wine, but it doesn't look like the time when I was young."

The other four looked at Chang'an, and Zhao Guanzhong also smiled and said, "Brother Yonghe is a man of talent throughout Chang'an. He just said something when he heard the name of this wine."

"This is Brother Zhang's birthday party, why are you bragging about me?" Chang An said, smiling and shaking his head.

"It's okay, but I also want to hear the whole poem. I wonder if Brother Yonghe can help me complete it." Zhang Rushi said.

"Then I'll show you how ugly I am." Chang An drank the wine in his glass and said, "Reeds fill the sandbank, cold sand carries shallow currents. I've been to the South Tower again after 20 years. The boat is tied to the willows but still not stable. How many days will it take? It's Mid-Autumn Festival again. I'm at the Yellow Crane's broken rock. Is my old friend still here? The old mountains and rivers are all new sorrows. I want to buy some osmanthus flowers to carry with the wine, but it's not like the time when I was young."

Du, Cui, Zhang, and Zhao all applauded after listening to it. At this time, Du Chengming said with a sly look on his face, "Brother Yonghe's poem today is really good, but it sounds a little sad. Today is Brother Zhang's birthday, and you will be punished for writing such a sad poem."

After this was said, Cui Hujin and Zhao Guanzhong also echoed. Chang An smiled bitterly and looked at Zhang Rusi, who came to Chang An's rescue and said, "Brother Yonghe just said it casually. What does it have to do with whether it is sad or not?"

"Now, Brother Yonghe's poem is the best in Chang'an. It is so difficult for others to listen to his poem. Looking at the whole Chang'an City, the one who can see Brother Yonghe's poems the most is Madam Gu." Zhang Rusi said, "If it weren't for this occasion, it would be so difficult for us to listen to Brother Yonghe's poem."

Chang An was speechless when he heard this: These people are really good at praising...

"Alright, alright, alright. I know you guys will praise me." Chang An waved his hand and said, "Are you here to have a birthday drink or to flatter me today? If I don't drink, I will finish this osmanthus."

As he spoke, Chang An took the wine jug and poured himself a glass.

At this time, the four people became anxious. After drinking the wine in their glasses, they rushed to pour the second glass one after another, fearing that they would drink less.

The seats where several people were sitting were close to the window. They drank while waiting for the dishes to be served. After the dishes were served, it was already dark.

Before he started to eat, Zhang Rusi said: "Today is my birthday, Zhang Rusi. It is my honor that you brothers are here. I would like to toast you all!" After saying that, he raised the glass in front of him.

Chang An and others also raised their glasses and toasted Zhang Rusi. At this time, Cui Hujin said: "Today is Brother Zhang's birthday. We came here empty-handed, so we can't let Brother Zhang go back empty-handed."

"I wonder what Brother Cui thinks?" Zhao Guanzhong said.

"Why don't we start with me, then Brother Zhao and Brother Du, and Brother Yonghe, and each of us write a poem and give it to Brother Zhang."

"That's great!" Du Chengming tapped the table lightly, fully agreeing with Cui Hujin's proposal.

"Someone! Bring paper and pen!" Chang An did not hesitate when seeing this. He called a maid over and asked her to bring paper and pen.

When the maid brought the paper and pen, two other maids came over with a table. Then, a few steps away from Chang An and the others, they set up a table, laid out paper and pen, and the maid who was called by Chang An to get paper and pen also sat down and prepared to copy.

After Cui Hujin drank a glass of wine, he thought for a while and then recited a poem, which the maid also copied down. Then it was Du Chengming and Zhao Guanzhong who also drank a glass of wine first, thought for a while and then recited a poem.

The last one was Chang An, and all four of them looked at him. Chang An took his wine glass without any hurry, but did not drink. He just held the wine and took out a piece of silver from his waist pouch, threw it to the maid, and said, "Listen carefully, copy it."

The maid took Chang An's reward and responded with a smile, "Yes, Mr. Chang."

"The tail of the apple tree bears the fragrant plum blossom, and the heart of the sunflower is full of smiles, and the grass is bright and golden. The old man appears where the ladle star points, and the happy uncle comes when the crescent moon rises. The Queen Mother is happy to see Yao in the West Pond, and the grandson of the sky has good news from the slanting Han. The palace locust tree has reported the yellow news again, and the red branches have been raised early to charm the colorful clothes."

After finishing the poem, Chang An drank the wine in the cup, and then he suddenly heard a voice as soft as water:

"What a joy! The Queen Mother is happy to meet Yao at the West Pond, and the Heavenly Grandson has good news from the West Pond."