Yuque Qiu

The carved railings are tactful, and the painting sills are exquisite; the brocade tent and jade screen are surrounded by emerald green beads.As the night fell, the flower houses in the workshop held up the red lights one after another.

The sound of warblers and swallows, the sound of qin lingering; poets and poets, mixed among them.

"You two, this way please."

The bustard in Yicui Garden led Yan Yuque and Liu Qi into the small building near the water. Their brightly painted lips opened and closed, and they hadn't stopped since they entered.

"All the girls in my Yicui Tower are gorgeous, especially our Suxin girl, who wants to see her son-in-law every day, and they line up from one end of the capital street to the other..." The old bustard made a gesture. Very exaggerated movements, "Go around from that end to this end."

Yan Yuque didn't make a sound, the expression on his face was calm, he seemed a bit displeased, probably annoyed by the old bustard's croaking, slightly frowned, took out a gold ingot of twelve taels and handed it to the old bustard, Then he sat down on the seat next to Diao Lan, tilted his head slightly, and his eyes fell on the stage in the middle of the lake.

Liu Qi was not in a hurry to take his seat, but asked the bustard, "When will Miss Suxin be on stage?"

"Miss Suxin is still dressing up, why don't I find other girls to serve you first?" After finishing speaking, she turned and shouted upstairs, "Hongyu~Hongzhu~come down~"

A sweet and soft reply came from upstairs, "Hey~ I'll come~" Not a moment later, two graceful figures came down from upstairs and went to meet Yan Yuque and Liu Qi.

"The two masters look very fresh, it's the first time here, would you like Hongyu to play a little song for the two masters first?"

"Sister Hongyu plays the piano, shall I sing a section for the two masters?"

Yan Yuque turned his head and glanced at the two flower girls, his eyes were cold, looking at the two girls with gorgeous makeup and exquisite curves standing there was like looking at those fragrant flowers in the courtyard just now, No emotions involved.

It was probably the first time that the bustard saw someone who entered the brothel Chu House but seemed not interested at all. The two girls also stood and looked at each other. The old bustard said: "We just want to watch Miss Suxin dance, boss, you can just greet other people."

Suxin from Yicuiyuan is well-known in the capital for her exquisite dancing skills. It is said that her dancing skills are not inferior to that of the Queen Mother back then, but even better than that of Princess Liuyun today. In order to buy her a dance to see her true face, but she only comes out to perform a dance every night, far away on the stage in the middle of the lake, and will never accept anyone's invitation, let alone get close to her.Being so proud of his talents and rejecting others for thousands of miles has won the admiration of more people.

After Liu Qi said that, the bustard's eyes widened and she almost wrote the words "strange and strange" on her face, but since the guest said so, she couldn't say anything more, so she kicked the two of them away. Hua Niang, who pulled her face down and showed unwillingness, went back upstairs.

The ears became quieter, and Yan Yuque's frowning brows relaxed a little, he curled up his fingers and knocked on the table, "You should know, I hate this kind of place where the fragrance of powder is so suffocating, so I don't know you What do you mean by what you said last night? How could Nishang Yuyi have anything to do with this kind of place?"

Liu Qi raised one eyebrow, and asked in a guessing tone: "Your Excellency doesn't like to come to this kind of place, could it be that...you like the South Pavilion more?"

Who would have thought that as soon as he finished speaking, Yan Yuque from the opposite side slammed his palm on the table, and with a "pop", the cups on the table were knocked down, the mellow wine flowed all over the table, and the guests at other tables turned their heads one after another He looked over at them.

Liu Qi opened his mouth halfway, not knowing what to reply for a while, Yan Yuque was also taken aback for a moment, curling up his fingers on the table and clenching them tightly into fists.

Just when the atmosphere was in a state of embarrassment, a burst of silk and bamboo drum music came from outside, and the guests at the other tables quickly put down the cups in their hands and scrambled to the side of the fence, for fear of missing a single glance.

"Miss Suxin is here!"

After someone shouted excitedly, Liu Qi and Yan Yuque looked towards the stage set up in the middle of the lake, and Liu Qi heard Yan Yuque say in a stiff tone: "Don't mention the brothel Chu Pavilion in front of me again! Just reminds me of some filthy and lowly people!"

Liu Qi lowered his eyes, and then lifted the corners of his mouth. His smile was mixed with indescribable helplessness and astringency. Even Yan Yuque didn't notice it, and then the smile quietly drowned in the surroundings in the hustle and bustle.

The silk and bamboo are leisurely and the string music is moving. Almost everyone's attention is on the woman on the opposite stage with a light veil on her face. She has a beautiful figure, a well-proportioned figure, a slender waist, and graceful steps. , light and agile, just like what is said in the poem: "Light like orchids and emerald greens, graceful like a dragon swimming", when it is light and slow, it is like a hanging lotus that releases fine waves, and when it rises suddenly, the clothes and belts are worn by the wind, chasing the wind. Walking, like snow and clouds, silver waves rushing.

With the cadence of the qin music, the dancing posture flickers and slants, if the movement is stagnant, there is a lack of human fireworks in the turning and elegant, flowing the quiet and erratic world, and finally slowly stops on the stage, returning to tranquility, covering the world. The light veil on Yu's face has fallen off at some point, leaving only a back view and a profile face, which complement each other with the bright moon in the sky and the flowing water below the stage, forming a beautiful picture scroll.

The people who were pushing and scrambling to get to the front had already calmed down, their eyes staring in the direction of the stage, the dance music ended, and it was not until the other side saluted and thanked the people on the water bank side that there was a "wow" There was a burst of applause, and some even threw gold, silver and jewelry towards the stage.

Just now, Yan Yuque, who still despises this kind of place with a greasy, greasy, filthy and filthy fragrance, is also staring straight at the stage at the moment, but his eyes are all focused on the spot on the dancer. On a gorgeous dance dress.

The people on the stage over there had already left. Although the people who were crowded in front of the fence were lingering, they knew that Miss Suxin would not show up again, so they dispersed one after another. Yan Yuque also looked away and turned his head. Without opening his mouth, Liu Qi seemed to know what he was going to say.

"That's what the villain said, about the neon clothes and feather clothes."

Although Su Xin dances superbly, the dress on her body also adds a lot to it. Yan Yuque was stunned at first glance, but soon found that it was not the same as what they were looking for, "Although it is very similar, But it’s still not the same.”

Liu Qi picked up the jug on the table, poured Yan Yuque another glass for himself, and said with a smile: "My lord, do you know how this dance dress is rumored outside?"

Although Yan Yuque didn't show it on his face, there was an anxious light in his eyes, "How do you say that?"

Liu Qi replied: "The world has only heard about the Queen Mother's neon dress and feather coat, and few people have seen it in person, but the person who weaved the neon dress and feather coat made two pieces in total, one was with the Queen Mother, and the other was given to Miss Suxin... "

Yan Yuque picked up the wine cup and took a sip, "Her dance clothes look very similar, but the pattern is not exactly the same, it should be just a gimmick to attract people..."

"That's not necessarily..." Liu Qi raised the corner of his mouth slightly, with a sly smile, then got up and waved to Yan Yuque, motioning Yan Yuque to follow him.

Although Yan Yuque was puzzled and didn't know what he was going to do, he followed him, and was a little surprised to find that they were walking towards the back of Yicui Garden.

This place should be a resting place for flower girls during the day, and there are not many guests coming, so the secluded and peaceful place here is in great contrast with the wine and sex noise in the vestibule.

The river connected to the lotus pond in the vestibule is flowing slowly, the cicadas are screaming, and Hua Niang's laughter is mixed with silk and bamboo string music, as if they came from far away. Under the tranquility and tranquility, quietly faded away the gorgeous watch, and returned to the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty...

Seeing Liu Qi walking straight towards an embroidery building, Yan Yuque grabbed him and shouted in a low voice: "This is where outsiders should not be allowed to come in casually, right?"

Just finished speaking, a little girl from the embroidery building ran out to stop them, "Hey, what do you guys do? This is the back room of Yicui Garden, do you know if you can't come in? Go! Go!"

Yan Yuque frowned unhappily, and gave Liu Qi a sideways glance. If it wasn't for his intrusion, he wouldn't have been scolded so rudely.

But Liu Qi obviously didn't intend to leave, instead he stepped forward with a smile on his face and bowed, "Sister, you misunderstood, we didn't just break in randomly, I'm an old friend of Miss Suxin, I haven't seen you for a long time, I came here on purpose Invite me to talk."

The girl tilted her head, her face was full of suspicion, she hesitated for a while, but she still refused with a cold face, "Who would believe you? But come here, I advise you to change your tactics." He pushed Liu Qi away, "Hurry up, hurry up, don't disturb our girl's rest."

At this time, a voice as soft as water came from the embroidery building, "Yu'er, this gentleman is indeed my old acquaintance, you should let them come up."

Yan Yuque looked up, only to see a slender hand retracted by the window, the lifted curtains were slowly lowered again, the shadow of the candle fell for a few miles, and a graceful figure left from the window.

Hearing this, Liu Qi smiled and opened Yu'er's arm to stop him, "I'm right, when I met your girl, I'm afraid you were not born yet~" After finishing speaking, he led Yan Yuque After entering the embroidery building, I walked upstairs, walked back after two steps, "Remember to serve a pot of good tea, I remember your girl only drinks Junshan Maojian."

Yu'er was not convinced, but since their young lady had let her go, she couldn't stop her, so she puffed her face and made a grimace at Liu Qi's back, "Huan Junshan Maojian, I'll give you some broken tea dregs Slag bubbles are not bad! Hmph!"

The stairs of the embroidery building are very narrow, and the wood is also old. When people walk up it, there is a "creak" and "creak". "You are an old acquaintance with those Suxin girls in the capital who can't afford to spend a lot of money?" Yan Yuque said with a bit of sarcasm, "I didn't even know that you still have some background."

Liu Qi, who was walking in front, turned his head and smiled faintly, "It's not an old acquaintance... It's just an excuse to make a film about that arrogant little girl. The villain just happened to know the master who taught Miss Suxin to dance. That's all. Only once did we meet, his master told the villain, we are all in the capital, we can take care of each other if there is something to do..."

As soon as Liu Qi finished speaking, the gentle voice from the boudoir of Xiulou came again, "So you only think of me when something happens?"

Yan Yuque followed Liu Qi into Su Xin's room. It's not that he has never been to a brothel, but compared to those places where flower girls pick up guests, this room is more like the boudoir of a girl who is waiting to be married. Sweet and Ningshen incense, the furnace cover is a hollowed-out twine branch lotus, with a dragon wrapped around it, and the green smoke is lingering and misty, as if spit out from the opened mouth of the dragon.

The furnishing in the room is very simple, a soft couch and a piano platform, a bed and a dressing table can be seen inside through a bead curtain.A beautiful woman is sitting in front of the qin platform, plucking the strings with her fingers casually, making a string of clear strings.

She was only wearing a lotus root tube top skirt, covered with light pink soft smoke, the two lotus root arms and most of the jade white breasts were faintly visible under the light veil, and Yan Yuque's eyes stayed on her After a while, he moved away.

His actions were all seen by Su Xin, she got up and walked out from behind the piano stage, "I think some prince's son is waiting outside to see this girl, so I asked my old acquaintance to come in and ask for help." Meet me..." She walked up to Yan Yuque, picked up Yan Yuque's chin with her index finger, and hooked him to let him look at her, "It turned out that he was a person who didn't even dare to look at this girl... "

When Su Xin's fingers touched Yan Yuque, his body visibly shook, and then his face showed unconcealed disgust, and he pushed Su Xin's hand aside, "I'm not here to see you. "

When she said this, Su Xin was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing, retreated step by step, her feet touched the soft couch under the window, she leaned on it as soon as her body softened, and said in a teasing tone: "My lord, You are so funny, you did not intend to have fun when you came to this land of love and moon, did you come to Yicui Garden to enjoy the moon on purpose?"

Yan Yuque's hand hanging by his side clenched slightly into a fist, seeing that he was about to explode again, Liu Qi hurried up to smooth things over, "My good sister, don't tease us, our adults and I are here for serious business. "

"My lord?" Su Xinqing raised her eyebrows, squinted her eyes slightly and looked Yan Yuque from head to toe again, then she lowered her expression, gathered the half-sleeved gauze clothes on her body, and her voice became much colder, "What do you think? What are you asking? I’m afraid there’s nothing else here besides love affairs and boudoir secrets... Oh, I remembered that there’s a book of erotic palaces that has been circulated in the market recently. If you’re interested, you can check it out.”

When Su Xin said these shameful things, her complexion did not change at all, as if she was talking about what to eat for dinner, but Yan Yuque actually handed over a book with the word "Girl music" on it when she saw her When the brochure arrived, her cheeks blushed unnaturally.

Liu Qi seemed to have known her for a long time, and hurried over to snatch the embarrassing thing from her hand, and stuffed it under the cushion of the soft couch, "Who wants something like you? We are here I want to take a look at the feather robe you wore when you danced on the stage just now." "Oh~ just for this? You didn't say it earlier..." Su Xin showed a lack of interest, pointing her hand to the other side of the room, " Just hang up there, you can go and see for yourself." Seeing that the two of them went straight to the dance dress without turning their heads, he added with some annoyance, "Be careful not to damage it!"

Liu Qi took down the dance gown from the shelf, put it on his arm for Yan Yuque to look at it carefully, and after observing carefully himself, he said, "Although the color and pattern are different, the villain thinks this dance gown is not the same as the Queen Mother's." That neon dress and feather coat should be made by the same group of craftsmen..." As he spoke, he pointed to the place where the peacock feathers were decorated on the hem of the skirt, "especially the peacock feathers used here are very similar to the color of the Queen Mother's neon dress and feather coat It’s close, and the technique of lacquer work is exactly the same…”

Although Yan Yuque was not sure that what Liu Qi said was completely correct, he could not see it clearly from a distance just now, but holding it in his hand now, the touch of the silk satin and the pattern of the brocade, based on his years in the Silk Brocade Academy, One can tell at a glance that this is something that can only be woven by Lingjinyuan.

Su Xin was sitting aside, eating the small snacks in the fruit plate calmly, watching the two of them toss and turn to study her dance clothes.

After Yan Yuque was sure of the origin of this dance dress, his eyes froze, he glanced at Su Xin, and asked her: "Why do you have things woven by the Silk Brocade Academy? All the products from the Silk Brocade Academy are used by the royal family, privately owned by the people. Cang knows that he will be questioned!"

Who would have thought that these words did not scare Su Xin at all, instead she let out a "puchi" laugh, "Private private collection... ha ha ha... I laughed so hard... ha ha ha... it's so funny..." until Yan Yan Yu Que's face darkened a bit, and Su Xin stopped laughing, but there was a look of contempt on her face, "Who hid the brocade from your silk brocade courtyard? What's the matter with the royal family? Even if the emperor used it Yes, this girl disregards what she sees and discards it like a shoe.”

"You?!" Yan Yuque shook his hand holding the dance gown, and said angrily, "How dare you make such a lie?!"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Liu Qi had no choice but to come out to smooth things over again, "My lord, please calm down...My lord, please... Miss Suxin is well-known in the capital, and the gifts of the rich family can pile up into mountains. Naturally, she has a unique vision." Then he winked at Su Xin again and again, signaling her not to provoke Yan Yuque any more.

So Su Xin accepted the next harsh words, and said slowly: "Actually, I have heard people say that this time Princess Liuyun went out to get married, and the Empress Dowager gave her neon clothes and feather clothes to the princess, but who would have known that?" The dance clothes were damaged due to improper preservation, and the Silk Brocade Court lost the flower book of the neon clothes and feather clothes. Now they are worrying like ants on a hot pot. I think you will always put your ideas on my dance clothes. "As he spoke, he walked over and took the dance gown from Liu Qi's hand, and put it on himself. Under the flickering candlelight, the golden threads and bird feathers woven on the dance gown flowed like water patterns.

"Let me tell you the truth, this dance dress and the queen mother's neon dress and feather coat are indeed from the same picker, from the same batch of weavers, but the picker said when he helped me weave the flower book, if it is the same as the queen mother's dance The clothes are exactly the same, I am afraid that if it is spread in the future, it will be punished as a crime of disrespect, so I have slightly modified the pattern."

Liu Qi's eyes lit up, and he said to Yan Yuque, "In this way, as long as you find the flower picker who weaves the flower book for Miss Suxin's dance dress, he can restore the flower book of the neon dress and feather dress from memory."

Su Xin followed Liu Qi's words and said: "Liu Qi is right, you can find the flower picker, he will come to the capital soon..."

Before Su Xin could finish speaking, Yan Yuque interrupted her a little excitedly, "What did you say? Is this person still alive? Will he come to the capital?"

Su Xin nodded, "My lord, you don't know? This flower picker has a huge gambling addiction, but every time he gambles, he will lose. If he loses, he gambles again. He even put his mind on the things of the Lingjin Courtyard, but was soon discovered, and after being punished, he was kicked out of the Lingjin Courtyard. After that, he lived a life of wandering and begging. A cloth shop has found a job, and it still does the work of weaving flower books... That cloth shop is quite famous, and there are several semi-colons everywhere. You should have heard of their names, my lord. The owner's surname is Lian, I heard that the semi-colon in Beijing will open on the fifteenth of this month..."

Yan Yuque didn't hear the words clearly, she just felt the ringing in her ears, Su Xin's voice became very weird, and she saw her mouth opening and closing talking to Liu Qi, but her ears kept repeating. These few words kept echoing.

"That cloth shop is quite famous..."

"The boss's surname is Lian."

"I heard that the semicolon in the capital will open on the [-]th of this month..."

"No..." Yan Yuque shook his head with a look of disbelief.

that person will come...

impossible!

This is impossible!

This is absolutely not true!

Yan Yuque suddenly came back to his senses and grabbed Su Xin's arm with his hand, his eyes were red and he was emotional, "You said their semicolon in the capital will open on the [-]th of this month?"

Su Xin was taken aback by his sudden action, she just nodded na na.

"Where is it? Quickly tell me where it is?" He asked almost yelling.

Su Xin was so frightened that she trembled all over, she opened her eyes wide and tried to think back, and then quickly said: "It's in the back alley of the East Street... yes! It's in the back alley of the East Street, and the signs are all up..."

As soon as she said it, Yan Yuque let go of her hand, and then rushed out of the door and ran down.

"grown ups!"

Liu Qi yelled, and chased him to the door, but heard Su Xin behind him say softly in Yingying's soft voice: "I never expected that you really set up such a big game because of this person... Be careful not to lose your temper." I'm stuck." The corner of Liu Qi's mouth curled up, "Thank you for reminding me, but..." Slightly narrowed his eyes, his face showed a bit of ruthlessness, "I am willing to make him completely defeated, and I am willing to never recover." After saying this , that expression seemed to have returned to normal, and after bowing to Su Xin, he chased him out.

Yan Yuque ran all the way down the East Street. It was late at night and there were no people on the street, and the sound of trampling footsteps was particularly ear-piercing.

Yan Yuque felt that there was something in his chest that was jumping "boom-boom" with the sound of his footsteps, and every time he hit it, his chest felt tight.

Su Xin's words still echoed in his mind, although he had heard about it a long time ago, but because the other party hadn't moved for a long time, he thought it was just a rumor made out of nothing.

That person is in Lin'an, forgive him for not daring to come to the capital!

But I never thought that this time he really came back...

He must have come back to snatch the things that belonged to him alone!

That bastard who came from a concubine... that ominous person who brought disaster to the Yan family... he doesn't deserve the surname Yan!I don't even deserve to come back here!

Yan Yuque stopped in front of a shop, the freshly painted doorposts had a simple luster under the moonlight, the smell of the new paint hadn't dissipated, and it was a bit pungent, making one's chest feel like a ball of fire, scorching burning.

Because he ran too fast, Yan Yuque panted heavily. After his breath eased a bit, he raised his head and looked at the plaque on the shop that was still wrapped in red silk.

The footsteps of "Pata" and "Pata" came from behind, it was Liu Qi chasing all the way, walked to Yan Yuque and stretched out his hand to grab Yan Yuque, "My lord, it's getting late, why don't you go back early?"

But Yan Yuque broke it away.

Yan Yuque obviously didn't want to give up if he didn't witness Su Xin's words with his own eyes. He looked around and saw several bamboo poles on the ground beside him, so he walked over and took one out, and then walked to the shop's plaque Down.

Liu Qi also couldn't understand what he was going to do, but it was someone else's plaque, so it was not good to smash it for no reason, so he stepped forward to persuade, "My lord, what are you going to do? Don't..." The following words stuck in his throat because he was surprised to see Yan Yuque poke at the plaque with a bamboo pole.

But Yan Yuque didn't smash other people's plaques, but just picked them up with the bamboo pole, and the red silk covered on the plaques slowly slid down.

Yan Yuque's eyes were fixed on the falling red silk, and the lanterns hanging under the eaves of the surrounding shops swayed in the night wind, and the light shone on them, allowing him to see clearly the flamboyant, splashing ink and gold on the plaque. Four big characters——

Jin, Lin, cloth, Zhuang!

In Yan Yuque's mind, thunder "boomed" and fell all over the ground.

It's him……

It's really him!

His hands were trembling, and he could no longer hold the bamboo pole, so as soon as he let go of his fingers, the bamboo pole fell straight down, knocking on the door of the shop, making a "pop" sound.

Just when Yan Yuque was still sunk in amazement and didn't recover, the people in the shop probably heard the sound of bamboo poles knocking on the door panel, and someone opened the door and asked lazily.

"Who are you looking for?"

But after seeing the red silk fluttering on the ground, the man woke up from the drowsy drowsiness on his face. He hurriedly went outside the shop and looked up at the plaque. Seeing that there were only these two people in front of him, he stretched out his hand and grabbed the skirt of Yan Yuque who was closest to him, and he was about to punch him up, "You brat, are you impatient?! Look clearly, this is even Fifth Lord’s shop, you want to provoke trouble before it even opens?”

Liu Qi dashed up to block Yan Yuque, "What do you want to do?" The man threw his hand and fell to the ground.

"The two of you are in the same group. After I settle the score with him, I will settle it with you slowly!" When he turned back, the man was startled.

Yan Yuque didn't know when he came back to his senses, he was looking at him coldly, seeing his eyes meeting his own, a contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Lian Wuye? Hehe...hehehe!" Laughing low After two times, he laughed "Hahaha" with a slightly crazy look, which made the man at a loss for a while.

After Yan Yuque laughed, he knocked off the man's hand with a flick of his hand. He straightened the messed up skirt without any haste, his chin was raised high, and he looked like a noble and inviolable arrogance. Passing over, "Fifth Master Lian? Heh! I guess he is a filthy and filthy person who I found somewhere. Only this kind of person deserves to hang out with that bastard Lian Yulou!"

"What did you say?" The big man clenched his fists, "It seems that you really came to make trouble, so I won't teach you a lesson..."

"Wu Jin, come back..." A cold and deep voice came from inside the door, calm and indifferent, like a cold jade sinking in a cold pool, full of inhuman hardness and coldness.

The big man Wu Jin was told to stop, but he was still a little bit annoyed, "But he..."

"I called you back, did you hear me?"

The voice raised a little bit, with a terrifying bearing, so the big man didn't dare to argue any more, and stared fiercely at Yan Yuque several times before retreating through the door.

The man never showed his face, although there was a candle inside, but the candle was flickering, the big light only showed his outline, his face was still hidden in the shadows, only the voice could be clearly heard.

"Master Yan, maybe Master Yan can't remember anymore, but I still remember the first meeting with Master Yan. Everything in the past is vivid in my memory, just like yesterday... From now on, I will be the shopkeeper of the Jingcheng branch of Jinlinbuzhuang , Lord Yan, please take care of me."

After finishing speaking, a gust of wind came in outside the door and lifted a few strands of hair from the man's temples. Under the faint candlelight, Yan Yuque seemed to see a centipede-like thing entangled on the man's face, but he hadn't seen it clearly yet. , the door was gently closed.

Yan Yuque pondered in his heart, he had seen it before...

Which one was that by Lian Yulou's side?

The one with a cool breath lingering around him?Or another one?It can't be the head catcher... But there is a feeling that none of these people seem to be.

It's just that other people's words, I don't have the slightest impression...