Chapter 598 0593 [A Good Girl Who Drinks and Gambles]

Whether you believe it or not, Zhu Guoxiang is a literary youth at heart.

The intellectuals of that era were more or less a little literary youth!

Dean Zhu would never do such a thing as bullying others by taking advantage of his power.

He never laid a hand on his female students. He was always teased by his son as having the heart of a thief but not the courage. In fact, Dean Zhu wanted to pursue a true love.

Well, the above is all nonsense. In summary, it is nothing more than the word "interest".

Li Qingzhao followed the eunuch to Yanfu Palace. The overall structure here has basically not changed. It was all redesigned and renovated by Song Huizong. From the perspective of artistic aesthetics, it beats all the gardens in China at present, and it also has a grandeur that Jiangnan gardens do not have.

Yi An Jushi admired the scenery along the way and fell in love with this place at first sight.

When approaching a pavilion, Li Qingzhao heard the laughter of children.

Several children were playing and chasing each other, and there were eunuchs and palace maids watching beside them to prevent the children from running to the water. The rest basically ignored them, even if a child fell down, they would not help him, because the emperor had already ordered that the princes and princesses had to get up by themselves if they fell down.

A little deer, which had not yet grown horns, ran out from the flowers and stayed away from those naughty children.

A noble woman stood by the road, holding a piece of bran cake. The little deer jumped over, sniffed it a few times, and then chewed it.

The eunuch who led the way whispered a reminder: "That's the queen."

Li Qingzhao stepped forward to greet: "Your servant Li Qingzhao, I pay my respects to the saint."

The little deer was startled and immediately jumped away. Shen Yourong turned around and smiled: "It turned out to be Yi An Jushi, I have heard of your great name for a long time."

"I don't deserve it." Li Qingzhao said hurriedly.

Shen Yourong said: "The emperor is in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, follow me."

She threw the bran cake far away, and saw the little deer coming to chew it, so she took Li Qingzhao away.

In the pavilion in the middle of the lake, the sound of the pipa came faintly.

Shen Yourong had no airs of a queen. She chatted with Li Qingzhao casually and introduced halfway through: "The one playing the pipa is Concubine An Shu, and Concubine Wen is fishing with the emperor. The emperor doesn't like women, and all the people in the harem are here, and everyone gets along very well."

Li Qingzhao was in awe. The emperor had only one queen and two concubines. Not to mention Zhao Ji, who had hundreds or thousands of concubines, even the common gentry and merchants had many wives and concubines.

The two came to the pavilion in the middle of the lake. An Niang, who was playing the pipa, put away the instrument and stood up to greet them: "Sister."

Shen Yourong smiled and nodded: "This is Li Daizhao."

Li Qingzhao bowed and saluted: "Your servant Li Qingzhao, I pay my respects to Concubine Shu."

Wen Xiaomei heard the noise and turned her head and put her finger between her lips: "Hush!"

But Zhu Guoxiang pulled the rod suddenly, and a carp was pulled out of the water. It began to wag its tail and struggle while being dragged.

Zhu Guoxiang took off the hook, threw the carp into the basket, put away the fishing rod and ordered: "Take them all to braise, and send two to the East Palace."

"As you wish!"

A eunuch left with the heavy fish basket, and another palace maid came to put away the emperor's fishing rod.

Zhu Guoxiang said to Li Qingzhao: "The carp in this pond were only raised in the old Song Dynasty, but not caught. They have long been overflowing. Twenty to thirty kilograms can be caught in one afternoon. In addition to the koi, it is better to eat the ordinary carp. It is enough to keep a few to crossbreed with those koi."

Li Qingzhao stepped forward and bowed: "Your servant Li Qingzhao, I greet the emperor and the imperial concubine."

Wen Xiaomei smiled and nodded, and sat down on the stone bench in the pavilion.

Zhu Guoxiang pointed to a painting on the stone table: "This is what the imperial concubine painted today. I think it is very good. Yi An Jushi, please come and appreciate it."

"Improvised and clumsy, it is not worthy of being in the hall of elegance." Wen Xiaomei seemed modest, but she was actually full of confidence.

Li Qingzhao was going to flatter him casually, but when her eyes fell on the painting paper, she was immediately attracted by the skill.

Wen Xiaomei's grandfather Wen Tong was the best bamboo painter back then, and many bamboo painting techniques were created by him.

The idiom "having a bamboo in mind" was originally used to describe Wen Tong's bamboo painting!

Wen Xiaomei's bamboo painting skills have already had seven points of her grandfather's charm.

Li Qingzhao leaned over to observe the details carefully, then stood up to admire the whole picture, and said honestly: "Compared with Wen Huzhou (Wen Tong)'s ink bamboo, the painting of the imperial concubine is less unrestrained, but more elegant. Looking at the whole country, it is also first-class."

Wen Xiaomei was very happy to be praised: "My whole family is good at bamboo painting, even my nephews and nieces are good at bamboo painting. I am not as good as my nephew."

Li Qingzhao is good at rhetoric, music and gambling. She is not as good as An Niang in playing music, and not as good as Wen Xiaomei in painting, but she is better in appreciation.

She could point out where An Niang needed to improve her pipa playing, and where Wen Xiaomei's bamboo painting was lacking.

When Li Qingzhao pointed at the pictures and analyzed them in detail, Wen Xiaomei didn't pay much attention at first, but soon she listened attentively.

Li Qingzhao didn't know how to improve, and her painting skills were not as good as Wen Xiaomei's.

However, Li Qingzhao could cite many famous paintings for Wen Xiaomei to selectively compare and comprehend.

The eunuch quickly found the relevant masterpieces from the painting academy. Li Qingzhao pointed at each painting for comparison, and Wen Xiaomei looked at and studied repeatedly with deep thought.

Zhu Guoxiang stood by to join in the fun. Since Li Qingzhao tried to speak in a popular way, Dean Zhu could still understand roughly.

Only limited to understanding.

Time gradually passed noon, and the eunuch came to remind them to eat.

Everyone moved to a small hall nearby, and Zhu Guoxiang, one queen, two concubines, and several children sat at the same table. It didn't look like the emperor's harem, but like a small family in the folk, where the etiquette of respect and inferiority was not observed.

"Li Daizhao, please sit down and don't stand aside." Shen Yourong greeted with a smile.

Li Qingzhao glanced at the emperor and then said, "Thank you, saint, for the banquet."

Today’s main course is braised carp, which is also paired with several meat and vegetable dishes.

During the mourning period, according to etiquette, meat is not allowed to be eaten, but in reality no one follows this at all. It had been more than four months since Li Qingzhao's husband passed away, and she had already started drinking and eating meat.

Shen Yourong treated Li Qingzhao as a guest and enthusiastically served her fish meat, and then peeled the bones for the children.

Zhu Guoxiang knew that this man was a drunkard, so he made a pot of good wine and put it on the table.

Li Qingzhao was relatively reserved at first, but after a few glasses of wine he gradually became more casual and started chatting about some interesting things about the literati in Tokyo.

After almost eating, Zhu Guoxiang stood up and said, "I have been lazy for half a day in the morning. I can't delay any more in the afternoon. You can continue drinking and playing. I have to review some papers."

"Farewell to the official family!" The ladies stood up to see each other off.

After Zhu Guoxiang left, Li Qingzhao also planned to leave. Shen Yourong smiled and said, "You don't have to be restrained. You can have more fun without him."

Wen Xiaomei said: "A few days ago, I got a copy of the Book of Fighting Horses, and I heard that it was written by Li Daizhao."

Li Qingzhao explained: "My husband passed away and I had nothing to do at home, so I wrote a copy of the Book of Fighting Horses. My friends saw it and copied it, but unexpectedly it spread in Tokyo."

"The rhetoric is very good," Miss Wen rolled up her sleeves after drinking a lot of wine and said, "Let's play horses together today and have fun while drinking."

Horse racing is a board game with three ways to play.

The most popular one was the new gameplay during the Xuanhe period. However, Li Qingzhao disliked this method of playing as it relied too much on luck. She preferred the most complicated method of playing Yi Jing Horse, and inscribed each chess piece with a rhetorical message.

The chessboard of Yi Jing Horse is exactly the same as modern chess.

Each side has twenty chess pieces, and each piece is named after a famous ancient horse. Different horses have different moves.

The rules of this game are very complicated and it tests the player's intelligence. It is something that is gradually abandoned by the general public.

The most popular popular chess games in Tokyo now include chess "improved" by the Zhu family and his son, and the new horse-playing game (Xuanhe Horse) that doesn't require too much brainwork.

Shen Yourong and An Niang were watching from the side, while Li Qingzhao and Wen Xiaomei fought against each other.

Li Qingzhao claimed that he had never lost in gambling and was worthy of being called the God of Gamblers. In the middle of the game, Miss Wen was overwhelmed.

"Why don't we play chess instead? The kind of chess where the officials have changed the rules." Li Qingzhao didn't want to offend the imperial concubine. She thought chess was more suitable for her.

"No need!"

Wen Xiaomei planned to bully the newbies and said with a smile: "The officials also created a game called Mahjong, and the four of us are just right."

The palace maid quickly brought the mahjong, and Shen Yourong sat down on the table with a smile on her face. An Niang was also eager to try it.

There is really nothing interesting in the palace. It is quite rare to get a table of mahjong together today. Zhu Guoxiang usually doesn't have that much time.

As for the palace maids and eunuchs, haha, they always deliberately let loose, which is really boring to play with.

Shen Yourong was responsible for explaining the rules of mahjong. Li Qingzhao understood it quickly and figured out the rules of mahjong after only playing a few games.

This is really the God of Gambling. When she wrote the preface to "Dama Illustration", she listed more than 20 kinds of gambling games and commented on them one by one. Not only did he claim that he had never lost, but he also summed up the essence of gambling in just two words - fight to be first!

The winnings for the four of them were very small, and Pinghu only gave ten cents.

When Zhu Guoxiang came back from get off work, Li Qingzhao had already won several rounds. This was the result of her letting off steam in the second half...

"His Majesty!"

Zhu Guoxiang did not let the honor guard call, and walked into the room after dismissing the entourage. The four women were about to stand up, and he said with a smile: "You continue."

Shen Yourong was so defeated that he stopped calling the officials and called for help: "Ms. sir, help me fight back quickly!"

"I'll watch a few games first." Zhu Guoxiang stood behind Li Qingzhao.

"Haha, what a fool! It's all the same!"

Miss Wen clapped her hands and cheered.

Zhu Guoxiang carefully observed Li Qingzhao's cards and suspected that this man was deliberately setting off a firecracker.

Sure enough, about ten rounds into the second game, Li Qingzhao fired another shot at Shen Yourong.

Shen Yourong suddenly became happy and stopped asking her husband to help find a place. He started playing mahjong and shuffling the cards with a smile on his face.

In other words, Wen Xiaomei's card skills are slightly better, while Shen Yourong and An Niang's skills are not as good as those of the old man and lady in the chess and card room. He dares to rush out of any card, and he doesn't memorize or deduct cards. He also likes to talk when playing cards, so it is easy for others to guess the rough cards.

However, the people laughing and shouting were much more lively than before.

When Li Qingzhao left, Shen Yourong had won back a lot and even took the initiative to ask for a fight: "Li Daizhao, let's have another fight on holiday."

"When a saint makes an appointment, he will definitely accompany him." Li Qingzhao cupped his hands and said.

Zhu Guoxiang scratched his forehead. He planned to have some elegant fun with Li Qingzhao and talk about poetry, painting and art.

But it seems a bit off. This talented woman seems to prefer drinking and playing cards...

Zhu Guoxiang arranged a carriage to take Li Qingzhao home, and the copper coins he won were also exchanged for silver dollars.

Li Qingzhao was sitting in the carriage, happily counting the small coins, and decided to ask a craftsman to make a pair of mahjong.

This kind of chess and card game doesn't require much thinking, but it combines skill and luck. Li Qingzhao likes it very much.

If you think about it more carefully, the design of Mahjong is very meaningful.

The tube is a copper coin, the strip is a hanging made of copper coins, and of course the Wanzi also belongs to the unit of copper coins. There are also flowers in the southeast, northwest and so on, each of which has its own meaning. A pair of mahjong is the epitome of all kinds of things in the world.

Your Majesty was able to invent mahjong, you really know the world!