Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

The guards of Prince Rui's Palace took a look at the token in Qin Bingrui's hand and immediately went into the palace to report to Prince Rui.

Prince Rui was reciting poems and composing couplets with his guests in the pavilion by the pond. In the past, he hated being disturbed at such times.

But when he heard that it was Prince Ning's retainer, his heart began to beat fast with extreme nervousness and excitement.

From childhood to adulthood, Prince Ning was the youngest son who was spoiled by his father, the emperor, and his mother, the queen. They said that he was gifted, talented, handsome, and proficient in both civil and military affairs. In addition, he was the youngest emperor brother, so his older brothers would give in to him and care for him.

Prince Rui knew that his younger brother was very intelligent, but for some reason, when he reached the age of 15, his temperament became extremely strange. He spent his days in debauchery, being cynical and spending money like water, showing the demeanor of a dandy boy.

The Empress Dowager doted on him, and his brother the Emperor protected him even more closely.

As long as he doesn't kill innocent people, no one dares to oppose what he does.

How can the retainers of a prince who likes to act recklessly be presentable?

But the more this happened, the more King Rui wanted to see him.

What I saw were two women.

This younger brother's style of doing things is indeed different from that of ordinary people. He even accepts female guests as his retainers.

The two women were quite composed, not like ladies from wealthy families, but also unrestrained. They simply exchanged greetings and waited for the prince to speak. How could ordinary women be so ignorant of etiquette?

Qin Bingrui looked at Luo Yu. Why did this prince look a little dull?

Luo Yu gave him a look. Did he want us to kneel down?

Qin Bingrui nodded and said, "A man's knees are made of gold. If you give me 100,000 taels of gold, I might consider it."

The retainer beside Prince Rui shouted, "Why don't you kneel when you see His Highness Prince Rui?"

"Your Highness Prince Rui, Your Highness Prince Ning handed me a token, stating that except for the Emperor, Empress, and Queen Mother, no one else needs to kneel, and this naturally includes himself."

There was no other way, Qin Bingrui could only betray his dear pork neck brother at the right time.

Having said that, Prince Rui dared not act arrogantly anymore. He was afraid that he would not be able to withstand Prince Ning if he went crazy.

Looking at this female retainer dressed as a man, her appearance is indeed top-notch. Even though she has two scars on the right side of her cheek, they cannot hide her original beauty at all.

But there are as many beautiful women in the world as yaks. The fact that she was favored by King Ning by being awarded a token of reward was not just due to her so-called appearance, right? Look at the woman next to her. She is thin and beautiful, not of high quality, and certainly not what King Ning likes.

It would be fine if the scarred woman dressed as a man without makeup, but as an unmarried woman, she looked rather shabby with a simple double bun, no makeup, and only two pearl hairpins as a head ornament.

If he hadn't recognized the token, he really couldn't believe that such an ordinary woman could be a retainer of King Ning.

There was a stalemate for a moment.

Prince Rui was of a good temper and finally waved his hand, asking the two girls to spare the ceremony.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Prince Ning, but a gentleman wouldn't argue with a woman. A man of small mind isn't a gentleman, a man of high character is a man. He didn't argue with women, and possessed the demeanor of a modest gentleman.

Luo Yu felt dizzy from the sun, and when he saw that Prince Rui had waived his formalities, he moved under the eaves.

Qin Bingrui was afraid of exposing his sister to the sun, so he pulled her directly to Prince Rui, stared at him, and signaled him with his eyes to quickly give her a seat.

Literati and poets just love to show off and have too many rigid rules.

You know what, sitting in this pavilion, with a maid fanning you from behind, a cool breeze occasionally blowing over the pond, and all the snacks on the table are icy desserts, it is truly a great enjoyment in life.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get to have the cool dessert.

"You two are going there, aren't you just here to reminisce about the old days of King Ning?"

Qin Bingrui's familiar personality was just right. She looked at the couplets of poetry on the table and said with a smile:

"It seems my sister and I have disturbed His Royal Highness Prince Rui's leisure and elegance. Poetry and songwriting are not something my sister and I are very good at."

"Oh? It seems that you two ladies have your own strengths. Why don't you elaborate on them? I believe that my rebellious brother will not just accept retainers who are good-looking but useless."

"How about, Your Highness, Prince Rui, please give us a seat, and my sister and I will accompany you to enjoy the leisurely and elegant atmosphere?"

"..."

A white-robed attendant nearby sneered, "You can't even write poetry, yet you're still dreaming of leisurely elegance. You've got a mouth full of flowery words."

Qin Bingrui smiled. He didn't care about how others ridiculed him. He just couldn't do it. However, it was okay if he could show off his skills and give them a taste of his own medicine.

After Prince Rui accepted his seat, Qin Bingrui bowed to the guest and said, "Brother, how about you come up with a couplet and I'll see if I can match it. If it's not good enough, Your Highness Prince Rui, please forgive me."

There is no other way. Who made His Royal Highness Prince Rui like these things? As the saying goes, you have to cater to the person's preferences. Even if you can't do it, you have to bite the bullet and do it. Only in this way can you open your heart and do your business!

King Rui could not believe that a mere commoner woman would dare to overestimate her own abilities and try to write couplets with his talented retainer.

Although this dynasty valued literature over military affairs, there were still only a few women who could truly read. Many ladies from prominent families read mostly "Instructions for Women" and "Deeds of Women", or at most "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Book of Songs". Those who could make couplets even slightly well could be considered talented women, but they were still extremely rare.

The two girls in front were neither like ladies from wealthy families nor like ignorant and timid girls from common people. If they were willing to give it a try, he would agree to their wish. It would also be a good opportunity to use it to make fun of his unruly brother in the future.

"Obedience is worse than respect. I will show you the first couplet first." The white-clothed doorman bowed and pretended to look at the scorching summer sun. Qin Bingrui just felt the heat was unbearable.

"My first line of the couplet is: Summer comes and winter goes, the cicadas do not know the snow."

It seems simple, but it is not easy to get right.

Heat and cold, coming and going are all opposite words; cicadas belong to the summer heat, and snow belongs to the winter cold. It is really difficult to match them all.

Qin Bingrui racked his brains, thinking that at least he couldn't be too uneducated.

"The sun is bright and the moon is dark, but I am still ignorant."

While some of that shit doesn't make sense, the last line is extremely ironic.

Whether it is day or night, it is ironic that there are only a few women in this dynasty who can read and write lyrics, poems and couplets.

Luo Yu chuckled, and it was obvious that the expressions on their faces were not very good.

Qin Bingrui cupped his hands, his face full of pride, feeling that he had done the right thing.

"Then I will also give you a pair of couplets for your enjoyment."

When Prince Rui heard this, he thought that this woman was quite interesting. At least she was not really ignorant.

"Then come and listen."

"My first couplet is: There are three teachers in one village and two hamlets, none of whom know the Four Books, Five Classics, and Six Principles, yet they dare to teach seven, eight, and nine others. How audacious!"

Luo Yu almost laughed out loud. Isn't this a classic line from Flirting Scholar? Qin Bingrui really had some talent, using it to satirize these scholars.

If this could be true, it would be really hard for these flowery scholars.

In fact, the atmosphere became extremely awkward, even unusually quiet.

Prince Rui stood up and told the group of guests to leave.

When everyone had left, leaving only a few maids, he asked anxiously, "What's the next line to this couplet that would make it look neat?"

Qin Bingrui cupped his hands and said, "As long as Prince Rui doesn't blame me, I'm willing to tell him."

"Come and listen."

Prince Rui is simple-minded. No matter how harsh the words are, as long as they are done properly, there is nothing to blame...

"Nine out of ten houses are poor and eight out of ten are lazy. They can scrape together seven strings of cash, six coins and five coins. How can they hide four, three or two houses? They are so despicable!"

"..."