Shopkeeper Sun didn't keep him in suspense. He said, "Other than the fact that we have a unique environment that nurtures different people, the women in the city are born with good potential, if you enter the city through the main entrance, you'll see a sword pavilion. I heard that every Double Ninth Festival, you can hear the sound of hundreds of swords clanging together. It's just that common people like us can't go to the top of the city wall, so I don't know if it's true or not. The third thing was that Old Sun had to expose his own shortcomings. In the Flying Fox City, all the men in the city were content with their wealth. In the hundred years since the establishment of the city, there had never been a single high-ranking official who could bring glory to the family. In Old Sun's opinion, it was all because the women were too beautiful. They had a fair and tender wife lying in their beds and there were so many brothels outside their homes. They were already exhausted at night. How could they have the energy to compete with outsiders for an official's position during the day? Brother Xu, look at me, Old Sun, for the rest of my life, I have no qualms about guarding this family business. As long as I don't have to worry about food and clothing, I don't have the heart to earn big money. Usually, I just like to pick some good tea leaves to taste, drink some wine with my old brothers, and chat with the women in the streets and alleys. What kind of future can I have? Outsiders say that we don't have any ambition, but they don't wrong us. "
Hsu Fengnian revealed a smile. He nodded his head and said softly, "It's good that you're safe. Stability is a blessing."
From the layout of the city to the pavilions and pavilions, everything in Flying Fox City was exquisite, rarely seen in Northern Mang. The beauty of the women here also far surpassed the other prefectural cities in Dragonwaist Province. The girls nicknamed Flying Fox 'er had the graceful appearance of women from Jiangnan, but they also had the tough and tenacious bones of Northern Mang. As a result, they did not have a romantic relationship, nor did they have the air of a prostitute. They had long enjoyed a great reputation in Northern Mang's eight provinces. Even the top courtesan of Flying Fox Brothel who walked out of Dragonwaist's brothel was worth at least twice as much as her counterparts in other places. On the contrary, the men of Flying Fox City were not successful in either the military or the political world. They had always been ridiculed as effeminate and effeminate. Everywhere in the city, there were weak men who boated and watched the fish in the Flower Harbor. There were also refined scholars who waved their sandalwood fans while drinking tea and discussing Taoism. Until now, there was no one in Flying Fox City who had become a frontier official above the third rank, let alone a splendid courtier who could go to the imperial tent and discuss matters with the Empress. It was hard to imagine that it was this feminine city without any heroic spirit that had a pavilion where nearly a hundred top swordsmen of the Spring and Autumn Period retired as Hanging Swords. Among them, there was the descendant of the Sword Emperor of Xishu who hung a sword on behalf of his ancestor. There was also the famous sword Torch Dragon, which had once fought with Li Chungang's wooden horse. In the southern villages of the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a custom of planting a row of fengshui trees.
Shopkeeper Sun sighed and said, "Brother Xu's words have thoroughly explained the great principles of the world. You are indeed worthy of being a scholar from a big family, unlike us common people who only care about money. We have lived for more than half of our lives, yet we still can't say such words."
Hsu Fengnian laughed it off. He had long since stopped taking this kind of flattery seriously. He only asked curiously, "Brother Sun, you seem to have forgotten something strange." Shopkeeper Sun smiled and said, "Yes, yes.
Shopkeeper Sun came back to his senses and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, yes. Before the Flying Fox City, it should have been more than twenty years ago. There was a handsome swordsman who didn't hang his sword but sold it for a high price. At that time, he sold it for a frightening price of one thousand gold taels. I was still young at that time. I remember that everyone in the Flying Fox City was shocked. I saw this handsome swordsman in the crowd of women from afar. He was indeed a rare handsome man. Later, he used the money he earned from selling the sword to live in the Feng Feng Lou for a whole year. It was another big event that shook the whole city. He became a painter and specialized in drawing portraits of women. When he earned money, he would spend it like splashing water. At first, he was happy and unfettered. Those young ladies from big families were happy to support him. God knows if they were after his person or his paintings. However, his business became more and more desolate. Later on, no one saw this man who was not a swordsman but a painter. However, this strange story of him selling his sword, painting, and sleeping in a brothel was passed down. "
Hsu Fengnian asked, "What kind of sword could be sold for one thousand gold taels?"
Shopkeeper Sun had a difficult expression on his face, "This Old Sun doesn't know. I only heard that he sold it to the City Lord. Later on, when the City Lord's son was twenty years old, he gave it to the Crown Prince. Younger Brother Xu, this Old Sun is not exaggerating. This City Lord's son is different from the ordinary men in Flying Fox City. He is valiant and brave. His swordsmanship was taught by a first-rate master. He can draw a three stone bow on horseback. He is even better at fighting on foot. Rumor has it that in a few years, he will go to the Northern Royal Court and become His Majesty's servant. This is a great honor. Of Old Sun's two daughters, there is no need to talk about the older one. She is at the age where she is yearning for love. Even the younger one, who is only ten years old, admires him to death. Every time the Crown Prince shows his face, she will run to him with her sisters and scream, saying that she will marry no one but him in this lifetime. This makes Old Sun so angry that smoke is coming out of his seven orifices. You are just a little girl who is not even eleven years old, so why are you joining in the fun? You take after your mother's dark skin. In the future, when your face and figure grow up, even if a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood, she will still be delicate. Younger Brother Xu, don't you think so? As soon as I scolded her, she, Jiejie, and that old daughter-in-law of mine, an old woman with yellow pearls, also blindly kicked up a fuss. Together, they turned their elbows to the outsider and joined forces to sulk at me. The three of them ignored me for several days. Ay. "
This old man sighed from the bottom of his heart. How sad and miserable it was.
Hsu Fengnian didn't agree. Instead, he looked straight ahead and drank his tea. Smiling, he said to Shopkeeper Sun, "Older Brother Sun, I think that niece is not conspicuous right now, but in the future, she will be beautiful and elegant. Moreover, that Crown Prince looks like a shrewd and not shallow man. The affairs of the world are hard to predict. Who knows if my niece, who I have never met before, will have a good marriage made in heaven." Shopkeeper Sun was puzzled.
But when he saw Younger Brother Xu's cryptic look, he immediately came to his senses. Nodding his head, he said, "That's right, that's right. Old Sun's daughter, don't look at how I always say bad things about her. In fact, as her father, I feel very distressed for her. Heh, in the future, I don't dare say that I want that Crown Prince as my son-in-law, but at the very least, he must not lose to a man with an indomitable spirit like him. Only then can he enter my house. Otherwise, I will chase him out with a broom.
How can I let him go! "Behind Shopkeeper Sun stood a little girl who was about ten years old. Originally, she was already fuming with anger, but after hearing the last sentence, her dark and gloomy face turned bright and radiant. Sweetly calling out to her father, she sat on Shopkeeper Sun's lap. With a smile on her face, she said," Father, tonight I will let Mother make your favorite Dong Ling meat! "
Having narrowly escaped death, Shopkeeper Sun wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. With one hand, he patted his little daughter's head and said, "Good girl." Then, he quietly gave Hsu Fengnian a thumbs up. He was so grateful that he felt that he shouldn't take the money for this pot of tea anymore.
Hsu Fengnian softly smiled and said, "You are my niece, right? You really look like water vapor. When you grow up, you will certainly be a great beauty that can overshadow the moon and shame the flowers."
The little girl gave a heavy 'En' sound, and then happily said, "Unfortunately, you are too old, and your looks are not as good as Crown Prince Tantai's. I don't like you."
Hsu Fengnian was speechless.
His Royal Highness was pierced by thousands of arrows.
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(It's a little late. There is one more chapter before midnight.)
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