Chapter 287 286 Girl

Nanjing is now the capital of the Ming Dynasty. As the capital, it has become history, but it is still the political, economic and cultural center of the entire Jiangnan region.

The famous scenic spots in Nanjing that Wei Guangde knew about later generations were definitely not accessible at this time, because they were either unusual and inaccessible, or they were ordinary places.

For example, the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty, Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty, Jiangnan Gongyuan, etc. These are places that Wei Guangde cannot go to, and now is not a good time to visit the scenery.

On the second day after arriving in Nanjing, Xu Bangrui took time to accompany Wei Guangde around Nanjing. There were still places to see in Nanjing, but the time was wrong.

A small incident happened while visiting Chaotian Palace. Wei Guangde met a person he wanted to see but could not see.

Since most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty believed in Taoism, Chaotian Palace, as the largest Taoist temple in Nanjing, was naturally very popular, not to mention that the name "Chaotian Palace" was given by Zhu Yuanzhang, and it also had a ritual pavilion.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Chaotian Palace had always been a place for the court to practice etiquette before holding grand ceremonies, and a place for bureaucrats to learn the etiquette of meeting the emperor before they invaded.

When Xu Bangrui took Wei Guangde to Feixia Pavilion, the sharp-eyed Wei Guangde noticed several pretty women standing there on the attic, looking towards them.

You can tell by looking at the clothes. The two women in the front seem to be of high status in the group of girls. They may be madams or young ladies. The few in the back are the maids who serve them, but it is difficult to see clearly from a distance. .

"Let's go for a walk over there."

Xu Bangrui pointed at the back of Feixia Pavilion and said, naturally he meant to bypass Feixia Pavilion and go to the back mountain of Chaotian Palace.

Wei Guangde didn't think much about it at first and just followed Xu Bangrui with a smile. However, when he approached Feixia Pavilion, Wei Guangde unconsciously looked towards the attic.

The woman on the attic looked a little flustered when Wei Guangde looked up. She took a few steps back and disappeared into the attic.

"hehe."

A common problem among women in this era is that they seem to be reluctant to see men.

Wei Guangde chuckled and continued walking forward, but now he noticed a look of embarrassment on Xu Bangrui's face.

Noticing the changes on Xu Bangrui's face, Wei Guangde suddenly realized that those upstairs could not be the female relatives of Duke Wei.

Could it be that his unmarried daughter-in-law is also here, and Xu Bangrui invited him here just to let his sister take a look first?

In fact, this is really what happened, but the person who suggested it was naturally not Xu Jianglan, but Xu Bangrui's wife.

Naturally, Xu Jianglan didn't know about the news of inviting Wei Guangde to Nanjing, but it was not a confidential matter. Naturally, some people around Xu Bangrui still knew about it.

Naturally, he accidentally revealed it in front of his sister-in-law, and then asked Xu Bangrui to find an opportunity to bring the person out for them to see first.

Xu Bangrui was a little worried at first, but after meeting Wei Guangde, he didn't think it was anything. The husband he chose for his sister was not a crooked man, so he went on today's trip.

"Brother, after walking all this way, why not sit down in the attic and rest your feet."

Wei Guangde wanted to make sure that the person in the attic belonged to the Duke of Wei, so he walked a few more steps before speaking to Xu Bangrui.

"Are you tired from walking?"

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Xu Bangrui frowned slightly but did not object. Instead, he turned to look at the attic and said, "Okay, let's just walk around in this garden. Over there is the Xiyi Pavilion. At the beginning of the founding of the country, all the people who came to visit The emperor's ministers all learned the etiquette of visiting officials there, and there are also many things left by the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites."

Xu Bangrui pointed to the back door of Feixia Pavilion and explained to Wei Guangde, saying that he actually wanted Wei Guangde to rest there.

Xu Bangrui deliberately delayed entering Feixia Pavilion, seemingly to make room for the people inside to leave. Although he missed an opportunity to meet his wife before marriage, Wei Guangde didn't feel it was a pity.

Glancing upstairs, he had already noticed that the first two women in the group looked pretty good, but one of them looked more mature and steady, and her hair was in a noble and elegant high bun style. There are gold beads, jade hairpins and other gorgeous ornaments on it.

This one is already married, Wei Guangde thought silently in his heart.

The style of women's hair in the Ming Dynasty inherited the style of the Song Dynasty, and most of them were "pull-up" and "high-sideburns", as well as "heart-promoting bun" and "fallen horse bun".

However, these are all styles for married women, and are also included in the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

"Turning the bun" is a folk custom, also known as the upper head. The hair style is like a plate. You can wear some beautiful hair accessories on the temples to highlight the beauty of women. Although it is a custom, it also reflects the role of women in status in the Ming Dynasty.

"High bun" is a relatively complicated hairstyle technique, with a luxurious style, which is popular in the court. In "Gift to Li Sikong Prostitute": "High bun with palace-like makeup, spring breeze." Qu Duweiniang.”

As for other hair accessories, they are also classics, following Han culture and reflecting the unique aesthetic value of the Ming Dynasty.

The one next to this woman has a very simple hair accessory. She has a slicked back hair, that is, her hair is parted on both sides and tied into a splayed shape on the left and right sides of her head.

In fact, some people in later generations also combed their hair in double buns. Because the shape of their hair looked like the character "Ya", everyone would call them "Yatou" with a smile.

However, in the Ming Dynasty, only women who had not reached the age of marriage or had not yet married could comb their hair like this. They were not allowed to wear their hair in a bun.

Because of the distance, Wei Guangde could only see the general outline of the woman at a glance. She had regular facial features. He wanted to go over to take a closer look, but Xu Bangrui kept delaying him. There was nothing he could do.

When they walked into Feixia Pavilion, the pavilion was empty, leaving only a faint fragrance in the air.

Wei Guangde was not disappointed. This was actually the rule, at least the rule of this era.

He climbed up to the attic and looked around. Sure enough, he saw a group of people walking hurriedly on the road they came from.

Wei Guangde naturally didn't care much about other people. He only stared at the figure of the woman with two buns on her head.

Before, her figure was blocked by the attic, but now Wei Guangde could look carefully from a high position.

She had a slender figure and light steps. She walked gracefully and gracefully, and she looked very elegant.

In later generations, there is a saying that "turning back to kill" exists. Many women who look good from behind are very attractive when they see the front. However, because Wei Guangde had probably taken that photo before, he believed that Xu Bangrui's sister should be good-looking, and he was right to have won a beauty.

The next time he sees Xu Bangrui, he can no longer call him brother like he does now, but "brother-in-law".

The group of figures had already left the yard. There were two carriages parked not far away, and there seemed to be a few horses. He didn't look at them when they were far away. Just when Wei Guangde was about to turn around and go downstairs, he unexpectedly found that it seemed that the girl didn't get on the carriage, but rode a horse directly. After the other women got on the carriage, she rode in front and left.

Wei Guangde was not sure whether the woman who left on horseback was the girl, but he just felt that the figure and posture were very similar, but didn't the ladies of this era go out in carriages?

Although Wei Guangde didn't think it was okay to show up in public, she was the daughter of the Duke of Wei's family. The letter written by her father detailed the information he had found out from someone, but there was no such incident.

Looking at the direction where the convoy left, Wei Guangde did not move, but stood there.

Xu Bangrui next to him also guessed that he had been exposed.

"Ahem."

Two dry coughs broke the awkward atmosphere, and Xu Bangrui invited Wei Guangde to sit down and rest. He had already asked someone to make tea.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, turned around and looked back unconsciously, then smiled at Xu Bangrui: "The person who just left"

"My sister."

Xu Bangrui was a bachelor, and he smiled bitterly without covering up, "It's all my fault."

However, Xu Bangrui misunderstood Wei Guangde's meaning. Wei Guangde was actually curious whether the one who left on horseback was his sister, and didn't care about running here to peek at him.

If there was a chance, Wei Guangde would also like to peek.

Just thinking about the deep courtyard of Duke Wei's mansion, if he sneaked in rashly, he might be discovered before he could find the place.

Well, this is also a kind of fun for Wei Guangde.

Seeing that Xu Bangrui misunderstood his meaning, Wei Guangde hurriedly said: "I saw someone riding a horse directly and leaving without getting on a carriage."

At this point, Wei Guangde made a double-girl gesture with his hands on his head.

"Really?"

Xu Bangrui didn't go to see what Wei Guangde said, so he naturally didn't know, but after hearing Wei Guangde's words, he naturally understood a little.

Frowning slightly, Xu Bangrui smiled bitterly and said: "My sister can ride a horse and loves to ride a horse, but usually in the yard or the other courtyard. I guess she was a little panicked and went straight in. She should have worn a veil hat."

Wei Guangde nodded when he heard it. It would be okay if she wore a veil hat.

According to records, the veil hat was created in the Jin Dynasty, also known as Zhaojun hat. It is said that Zhaojun wore a veil hat when she went out to the frontier, but obviously this statement does not match the dynasty before and after.

The veil hat is actually a high-top, wide-brimmed hat with a thin and transparent veil around the brim. The veil can be short to cover the face or long to the waist.

Wei Guangde still remembers that when he watched the Aoshan Lantern Festival, there were many women wearing veils jumping and jumping in the crowd, having a lot of fun. Most of these people were women from high-ranking officials and noble families in the capital, and they also came to the Aoshan Lantern Festival to join in the fun.

And another place that Wei Guangde had longed for for a long time, and he had finally arrived in Nanjing City, so he naturally wanted to see it.

Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty was famous for Qinhuai, and Qinhuai was famous for the famous beauties in the old courtyard.

The colorful life attracted people from all walks of life to Nanjing City, including big bosses and rich young men who spent a lot of money, Huizhou merchants who were very willing to spend money on prostitutes, poets and writers who were romantic, and profit-seeking hangers-on.

All kinds of people gathered together, intriguing and deceiving each other, and jointly performed a picture of the world of sensuality and debauchery.

Speaking of the Ten-Li Qinhuai River, in fact, the Sanshan Street where Wei Guangde temporarily lived is also included in it, but this small courtyard is located in an alley at the end of Sanshan Street, which seems more quiet and detailed.

Most of the noble residences in Nanjing City are around the Qinhuai River, and the Confucian Temple and Jiangnan Gongyuan are also nearby. This is also an important reason why the Qinhuai River has become the most famous gold-selling cave in Nanjing City.

According to later generations, this is naturally a high-end residential and consumption area.

However, Wei Guangde did not go to the Qinhuai River secretly, but Xu Bangrui took Wei Guangde there openly.

Unlike the more popular view of later generations, there are indeed many prostitutes in the Qinhuai River pleasure boats and pavilions on both sides. There is no market for prostitutes who simply sell their looks and bodies here.

Because those who come here are either dignitaries or scholars, for such consumer groups, the consumption level is not low, and at the same time they have a certain level of appreciation, so they naturally yearn for talented men and beautiful women. Therefore, if a woman wants to make a living in Qinhuai River, she will definitely have no way out without talent.

There are two main types of women who enter brothels. One is to sell art but not her body, and is also called a Qingguanren.

The other is to sell both art and body, and is called a Hongguanren.

The former focuses on talents such as dancing, chess, calligraphy and painting, while the latter focuses on advantages in beauty, figure and other aspects.

But in fact, many Hongguanren also changed their identities from Qingguanren. When they arrived at that big dye vat, any good person would become dirty and unclear.

Many women would sign a contract with the brothel's madam before entering the brothel, which is commonly known as a contract of selling body.

In ancient times, contracts were very important, and there was no difference in the spirit of contracts in modern times.

This contract will strictly specify whether you are a prostitute or a famous prostitute. If you sign a prostitute's contract, you will not be able to pretend to be noble.

But if you sign a prostitute's contract, if you are unwilling at that time and the madam forces you, then I'm sorry, we will see what happens.

Therefore, the contract is an important means for brothel women to protect their rights and interests, and of course it is also a reasonable means to raise their own value.

The main purpose of prostitutes coming here is naturally to sell at a high price.

If the price given by the buyer reaches the expected price in their hearts, then the right to comb the prostitute is yours.

What is combing? It means that the prostitute comes out for the first time to receive guests and stay overnight.

From then on, prostitutes have two choices. One is to let the comber spend a lot of money to buy you out completely, that is, take you home.

Of course, there is another way, which is to transform into a famous prostitute.

Because after the first time a prostitute receives a customer, if she cannot be taken home by the groom, she will lose her original value, and her value will plummet. At this time, if she does not become a prostitute, it will be difficult for her to survive.

Xu Bangrui naturally would not take Wei Guangde to see a prostitute, which does not match his status.

In fact, for a son of a wealthy family like Xu Bangrui, prostitutes are their goal.

Whether it is Xu Bangrui or Wei Guangde, they will naturally not spend a lot of money to buy such a prostitute home, that is, they just play with her and have fun.

Listening to the beautiful woman playing the piano and drinking and chatting with them, Wei Guangde's trip to Qinhuai ended.

After staying in Nanjing for a few days, Wei Guangde was about to leave. Xu Bangrui found a boat for him to go back to Jiujiang directly. For the Duke of Wei's mansion, this couldn't be simpler.