Chapter 17 fourth quarter

Time: Weishichu (according to today's timing, it should be one o'clock in the afternoon). Location: Wuming Villa, Tianyiping. Ruxin Building is made of Silla white wood, and the colorful glazed tiles on the roof are shining in the sun. A stage has been set up on the open ground in front of the building.The music troupe on the stage is already in place, and they are beating and tuning various musical instruments. On the first floor of Ruxin Building, there are nearly a hundred servants from Wuming Villa sitting there.The second floor was filled with all kinds of heroes who came to celebrate their birthdays.The sumptuous food and drink were all prepared, and the servants and guests were eating and drinking enthusiastically, while waiting for the drama that was about to start. Today's performance was the most prestigious theater troupe in the capital.Usually when performing arts in Washeri, there are three floors inside and three floors outside, and often only the voice can be heard, but no one can be seen from the beginning to the end.Good guy, I saw a top show today.

On the third floor of Ruxin Building, there was only one table and four chairs, the third young master and Ning Xin'er each occupied one, and the other chair was reserved for Uncle Meng, but Uncle Meng was busy. Taking care of all kinds of affairs, where there is free time to sit, on the fourth chair, sat a luxurious young woman, with blond hair and blue eyes, snow-skinned and deep-eyed, not like a person from the Central Plains.This young woman's name is Nangong Xiaolian, she was born in the famous Nangong family in Jianghu, and she is the seventh daughter of the old owner of Nangong.

As for the origin of the Nangong family, there are many speculations in the martial arts world.Some said they came from overseas fairy islands, which were about to be submerged in the sea due to the skyrocketing sea water year after year, so they took refuge in the Central Plains by boat. The Roman Empire came to the Central Plains to avoid the flames of war.Although the Cao family and the Nangong family have been friends for many years, even the third son knows very little about the origin of the Nangong family. He only knows that they came from the Great Food Kingdom and settled down in the Central Plains for nearly seventy years. Jun's martial arts are extremely high, his moves are vicious, weird and unpredictable, and his martial arts methods are very different from those of the Central Plains. Therefore, he is also known as one of the most mysterious and unfavorable martial arts schools in the world.

Nangong Xiaolian married Tang Mianzu, the only son of the present Prime Minister Tang Situi a year ago.The Tang Mian family is a well-known swinger in the capital. They are just married for a few days, and they often stay out at night and have fun outside. When he was ten years old, the third son lived in the Demon Killing Villa of the Nangong family for several months. At that time, Nangong Xiaohan, the owner of Nangong Shaozhuang, and Nangong Xiaolian were his playmates.Between several children, forged a deep affection. Although Nangong Xiaolian married into the Tang family and became the young mistress of the Tang family, with Tang Situi as her big backer to support her, she still has the same feelings for the third son as she did when she was young: respect and fear.Even she could not tell where this feeling came from.Although she knew that she was beautiful and smart enough to be worthy of any man in the world, but in her heart, she never thought of treating the third son as an equal to herself.She has been looking up to him since she was a child.And the nine months that the third son spent in the Nangong family have been deeply engraved in her memory and become her treasured secret.Although she has already become a mother of two children, occasionally, when she flips through her distant memories, she still feels sweet and sour, and her fair face will also faintly blush.How could she forget how she and her sixth and eighth sisters surrounded the third son all day long, fascinated by his every move, even though she was only young, she had already begun to know how to be jealous, and it was Being jealous of her own sister, she remembered that when she was a child, she dared to get close to him boldly, holding his lapel, closing her eyes, and letting him take her to any place with peace of mind and happiness, but as she got older, things were different. People are different, everything is changing, she is no longer that carefree and silly girl, and the third son is no longer that approachable little boy.She could no longer get close to him, not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't dare.When she married and came to the capital, she thought that she could finally see the third son often. However, it was not until the New Year this year that the third son finally returned to the capital, to the Wuming Villa, and besides, there was already a beautiful woman by her side. The company of girls.

In any case, she was glad to be invited.Being bored in the Prime Minister's Mansion, I just came out to relax and meet the Third Young Master whom I haven't seen for a long time. Besides, she really wanted to see Ning Xin'er, the one who occupied the seat she had dreamed of since she was a child. girl.The third son complimented her that she had transformed into a beautiful little daughter-in-law.On the other hand, Ning Xin'er welcomed her without any intention, and she was extremely affectionate upon meeting her.He took her hand and talked endlessly.The two hit it off immediately, praised each other non-stop, and exchanged opinions on topics such as female celebrities, gouache, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and skin care, and reached a broad consensus.The third son and Ning Xin'er never said anything about the beating of Nangong Xiaolian's husband Tang Mianzu.

Ning Xin'er said: "Sister Nangong, it's great to have you accompany me to watch the show. Our unnamed villa is not as magnificent as the Prime Minister's Mansion. Don't dislike me as a younger sister because of the shabby place I live in." Nangong Xiaolian said: "What did my sister say? How could I dislike you? It's too late for me to like you. I usually don't see anyone at home, they are all old women and maidservants, and I don't even have anyone to talk to. I feel strangely bored. It seems that you and the third elder brother of the Cao family are going to live here for a while. From now on, we sisters need to get closer."

Ning Xin'er clapped her hands and said, "Okay, okay, I must visit my sister's house some other day. I'm with Cao Xiaosan all day long, and he's a big slob, so it's rare for me to go out to play with him all day long. , I'm almost bored to death. If he refuses to accompany me out in the future, I'll ask you to accompany me, okay?" Nangong Xiaolian said with a smile: "I can't ask for it." When the downstairs finally returned to calm.The third son waved his hand, and the musicians of the troupe started to play their instruments.A man in his fifties wearing a gray padded robe came up to the stage, first bowed to salute upstairs, then cleared his throat, and said, "Today is the 18th birthday of Miss Ning from Wuming Villa. Sing Huarong Dao for Miss Ning, congratulations and congratulations. Show your ugliness."

At that time, the stories of the Three Kingdoms had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Whether it was storytelling or singing, the deeds of the characters in the Three Kingdoms were the most popular.Even three-year-olds are familiar with it.But they never get tired of hearing it.Therefore, as soon as the man uttered the three characters Hua Rong Dao, there was thunderous applause from downstairs, everyone applauded. The applause gradually disappeared, and the man changed his tone, which was quite different from the tone he spoke just now, but a storytelling tone with even more exaggerated cadences.He straightened his face and said loudly: "Everyone, let me tell you that in the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao commanded an army of 830,000 troops, intending to flatten the south of the Yangtze River in one fell swoop and restore the unity of China. Looking at the world at that time, only Sun Quan was Cao Cao's opponent. One person. At that time, Liu Beisi was just a diner who was entrusted by Sun Quan. Seeing that Soochow surrendered Natu, unexpectedly, a plague suddenly prevailed in Cao Cao’s army at that time, and half of the soldiers were killed or injured. He also cherished the lives of the soldiers, so he burned all the ships and retreated without a fight. It is a shame that later historians were ignorant and could not understand Cao Gong's compassion, so they pretended to be wise and attributed the soaring fire to the name of Dong Wu Zhou Yu, which made Zhu Zi falsely famous Today, people don’t go into the details, believe it to be true, but it’s not true. Don’t worry about it, let’s say that Cao Cao’s army retreated to Xuchang and passed Huarong Road. Guan Yunchang was lying in ambush here for a long time. He wanted to capture Cao Cao alive.

The man left after speaking.The announcement is over, and the show will begin.The people watching the play have already been whispering and whispering. This play has been contrary to their usual knowledge from the very beginning.It turns out that Chibi did not fight, but Cao Cao withdrew his troops on his own initiative.They asked the people around them one after another: "Do you know this?" The third young master looked at the crowd downstairs like a pot of porridge exploded with satisfaction, and smiled happily.Because Nangong Xiaolian studied the culture of Dashi Kingdom since she was a child, she didn't know much about Chinese history, so she asked Ning Xin'er, "Sister Xin'er, who is Cao Cao? Who are Sun Quan and Liu Bei?" Ning Xin'er replied Said: "These three people were from a long time ago. They were the emperors of Wei, Wu, and Shu respectively. And this Cao Cao has something to do with Cao Xiaosan."

"what relationship?" "Cao Cao is the forty-ninth ancestor of Cao Xiaosan, so the relationship is big enough." Nangong Xiaolian couldn't hide her astonishment.On the stage, gongs and drums were already beating, clappers were beating sharply, and a tall, red-faced man came onto the stage with four green suits. Everyone downstairs held their breath, waiting for the first singing. Ning Xin'er said to Nangong Xiaolian: "Sister Nangong, that red-faced man is named Guan Yu, he is Liu Bei's sworn brother and a general under him." Guan Yu played a few tricks, and after showing his face a few times, he began to sing triumphantly:

After Guan Yu sang, the downstairs applauded loudly.Someone praised, Guan Erye is Guan Erye, what a hero. Guan Yu sighed, and said: "Guan Yu of a certain Han family came here on Huarong Road to arrest Cao Cao under the order of military advisor Zhuge Kongming." The dragon tao chimed in and said, "Why is the general sighing?" Guan Yu sang: With a wave of his hand, he said: "Cao Cao is here, I know." Guan Yu and the four green suits left the stage. Ning Xin'er stared at the third young master and smirked.The third son knew that Ning Xin'er was watching him, but he tried his best to pretend he didn't notice it.Finally, he couldn't hold it back any longer, and laughed together with Ning Xin'er. Nangong Xiaolian asked blankly: "What are you laughing at?" Ning Xin'er said: "Cao Xiaosan, you wrote the libretto, right?" The third son smiled proudly and nodded. Ning Xin'er said: "I knew it was you who was playing tricks. Only you, a descendant of the Cao family, would be so sarcastic about Guan Yu." Nangong Xiaolian asked: "Why are you being sarcastic?" Ning Xin'er said: "My sister doesn't know something. There is an old saying in China that a tiger falls in Pingyang and is bullied by dogs. Guan Yu compares himself to a dog without knowing it. It can be seen that this person is not very smart and has earned a very false reputation." Looking at the stage again, four green robes and eight generals surrounded a purple robed man.The purple-robed man was of medium build, very strong, with majestic eyes, looking at the world with a look of contempt. Ning Xin'er said to Nangong Xiaolian: "Sister, the one in the purple robe is Cao Cao." Nangong Xiaolian said: "But he doesn't look like Cao's elder brother at all." "That's not the real Cao Cao, it was played by an actor. Even if it were the real Cao Cao, he wouldn't be too similar to Cao Xiaosan. After all, more than a thousand years have passed." As soon as Cao Cao appeared, the spectators upstairs and downstairs shouted that they couldn't understand.In the past, Cao Cao always had his face painted pale, pretending to be a treacherous minister.Today's Cao Cao is dressed more righteously than Guan Yu.Although I am puzzled, let's continue to look down. Cao Cao sang: After Cao Cao sang, he saw a banner waving in front of him, so he told Xu Chu, "Look, whose banner is in front of you." Xu Chu looked around and said back to Cao Cao, "That's the banner with the character 'Guan'." Cao Cao: "So, is it Guan Yunchang who pushes the cart and sells dates?" Xu Chu: "My lord, wait for the minister to go, chop off the face of this pig's liver, and then ignore it." Cao Cao said: "Wait a minute, I have my own measure." Cao Cao sang again: At this time, Guan Yu stepped onto the stage in a sly manner and sang: Guan Yu shouted: "Explore!" The spies looked around for a while, then saw Guan Yu, and said, "Report, it is indeed Cao Cao who came." Guan Yu said: "But as Zhuge Army Master expected, there are only eighteen disabled cavalry, rushing here in panic?" The spy said: "Although Cao's soldiers are few, they are as big as tigers and leopards." Guan Yu turned pale with fright, trembled all over, staggered a few steps, and almost fell to the ground.Guan Yu said: "It's bitter, it's bitter, what should I do?" Then he sang: The meeting of the two armies is at a critical juncture.Everyone downstairs has heard the obsession, and has long forgotten the distinction between loyalty and treachery, waiting with bated breath for what will happen next.Upstairs, Uncle Meng led Bao Wen forward.Uncle Meng said: "Young master, Mr. Bao, please see me." The third young master looked back at Bao Wen, nodded, and said, "Pull up a chair and sit down, let's watch a play together." Bao Wen hesitated and refused to take his seat.The third young master turned his head away and continued watching the play, ignoring him.Bao Wen endured the humiliation, and hurriedly said to the third son's back: "Young master, the matter is urgent, and there is another murder case." The third young master didn't turn his head back, and said calmly: "If Mr. Bao wants to watch a play, please sit down and watch the play quietly. If Mr. Bao is not in the mood to watch a play, I won't force him. I can only invite Uncle Meng to see the guests off." Bao Wen was stunned. This young man actually regarded watching operas as more important than handling cases by the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and he talked recklessly.He was trembling with anger, and the trembling was even bigger than Guan Yu's trembling on the stage just now.He secretly felt ruthless: One day, if you have any clues in my hands, see how I torture you, and let you know how powerful the black-faced god is.Even if you don't have the right to fall into my hands, I can still frame you, anyway, you have no power or power in the court.He somewhat calmed down his resentment by imagining the future.But at the same time, he also found himself in a very awkward position, in a dilemma.If you obediently sit down and watch the play, and after the play is over, and then tell the case to the third son, wouldn't it appear that you are too shameless, like a lowly handyman, at the mercy of others, and obeying others.If he leaves angrily, he will save some face, but if the case cannot be solved and the murders continue to happen, I am afraid that the black hat on his head will be lost.As the saying goes, the lesser of two evils.However, he was momentarily confused about which was more important. Fortunately, Uncle Meng gave him a step up.Uncle Meng said: "Master Bao, please sit down. No matter how urgent it is, you can wait until after the play. When the third son is watching a play, he doesn't like to be disturbed by others. I told you when you came in just now. You If you don’t believe me, I’ll bring you here.” Uncle Meng was also very angry at Bao Wen, an untimely visitor.He suppressed his anger and said these words. Although Bao Wen sat down, his remaining breath was still there.He was not very interested in drama, so he looked at the spectators next to him.He met Ning Xiner yesterday, but who is that beautiful young woman next to Ning Xiner?Why does it look so familiar?He scratched his head and scratched his nose again, ho, I remembered!Isn't this the young mistress of Prime Minister Tang's family, the wife of the Tang Mian family in Tang Zhifu?Nangong Xiaolian's exotic appearance always leaves a deep impression on people.Bao Wen's heart shuddered at Nangong Xiaolian's prominent status, and he quickly stood up from his chair and saluted Nangong Xiaolian.In a panic, he knocked down the bowl of hot tea that Uncle Meng had just brought to him.The cup was broken into several pieces, and the tea flowed all over the floor. As a result, Baowen became the target of public criticism.The third young master, Ning Xin'er, Nangong Xiaolian, and Uncle Meng all stared at him, which made Bao Wen extremely embarrassed, wishing he could disappear out of thin air immediately and leave the place of right and wrong, so as not to suffer four times the condemnation of the eyes. He apologized to the third son, Ning Xin'er, and Nangong Xiaolian for a smile, and felt so useless in his heart.However, he has no place to vent his anger, this is not his territory.Moreover, ever since he met Nangong Xiaolian, he became even more unpredictable about the identity and background of the third son.He thought: Since the third son even knew Prime Minister Tang's daughter-in-law, and seemed to be quite familiar with him, then maybe he and Prime Minister Tang Siti also knew each other, and maybe he was a close relative of Prime Minister Tang.If so, that's a bit of a shame.Therefore, the crazy plan of revenge against the third son that he had just brewed not long ago had to be postponed indefinitely.He complained a little about Sima Buyi.Sima Buyi tried his best to recommend the third son Cao to himself, but he did not tell himself the true identity and origin of the third son Cao.Sima Buyi said he didn't know very well, since he didn't know, then why did he pat his chest and swear, saying that if Mr. Cao can't solve the case, no one in the whole world can.Bao Wen just sat in the chair and thought about his own thoughts. As for the sound of gongs and drums in the audience, the show was in full swing, but he didn't notice it at all. Although Bao Wen's unexpected visit delayed the work for a while, fortunately, he didn't miss much of the scene. The third son was on the stage again, and Cao Cao snapped his fingers at Guan Yu and asked him sharply. Cao Cao: "Who dares to block my army's return? Report your name and die." Guan Yu trembled and sang: Cao Cao said: "It turned out to be Yun Chang. You are waiting here, but you want to capture Cao Cao and return to the camp to claim credit?" Seeing Cao Cao's mighty formation, Guan Yu only wanted to save his life, how could he dare to kill the enemy.Guan Yu made a bow and said, "How dare Yun Chang offend Prime Minister Tianwei. It's just that since we left in Xuchang, I've missed the Prime Minister day and night. Now that I heard that the Prime Minister withdrew his troops and returned to the court, I came here to wait quietly for the Prime Minister's farewell farewell." Xu Chu yelled angrily at the side: "Your face is so red, you are clearly lying." Guan Yu said anxiously: "Zhongkang made fun of it. You know very well that Guan is born with a heavy face, which is the same color all year round. Guan's words are true, and he dare not lie in front of the prime minister." Cao Cao: "Thank you, Mr. Yun, for your kindness. Since it is a farewell party, can we set up a banquet for you and me to drink?" Guan Yu: "Actually not." Cao Cao: "Then there are fish and meat for my three armies to enjoy?" Guan Yu: "Not at all." Cao Cao laughed.Xu Chu said, "My lord, why are you laughing?" Cao Cao sang: Xu Chu shouted loudly: "Ah, ah, you will kill me with anger, you rat Guan Yu, take your life." Xu Chu raised his sword to kill Guan Yu, Guan Yu fled, and the two actors chased around the stage.Guan Yu was flustered, fell to the ground several times, got up quickly, and continued to run away. The situation was very funny, and everyone watching the theater downstairs burst into laughter.When Xu Chu and Guan Yu saw that the audience had laughed enough, they stopped and stopped chasing.Guan Yu came up to Cao Cao, took Cao Cao's bridle, knelt down, and said in a mournful voice, "Guan Yu deserves death for his crimes, I beg the Prime Minister to spare his life." Cao Cao sang: Guan Yu sang: Cao Cao sang: Guan Yu sang: Xu Chu sang: Xu Chu raised his sword and chased Guan Yu all over the field again. Guan Yu repeated his old trick, often falling down on purpose, making the audience laugh. This situation aroused Zhou Cang's infinite emotion, and he couldn't help singing: Xu Chu and Guan Yu were tired of chasing, so they stopped.Guan Yu grabbed Cao Cao's bridle again, knelt down, and sang again: Zhang Liao knelt down and said, "My lord, he once saved my minister's life at the Baimen Tower in the past, for my sake, please forgive him this time." Cao Cao sang: Cao Cao led all his men out of the field. The elementary school student from Sichuan reminded Guan Yu: "Why are you still kneeling? Cao Cao is going far away." Guan Yu got up from the ground, put on the same majestic expression as when he just appeared on the stage, and said, "Little ones, return to the camp and hand over the order." Guan Yu sang while beating his horse: Guan Yu and the four dragons also left. The drama of history is over, and the drama of reality is continuing.Sorrows and joys, joys and sorrows, like fish drinking water, knowing whether it is warm or not.With the relentless flow of time, past events and feelings will inevitably become blurred and even distorted.The abyss of oblivion buries the lives of generations after generations. Their sacrifices and gains are like the chirping of a lone goose passing by in the chilling autumn sky, which exists for a short time but disappears forever.