Sweet Potato stood with an umbrella in hand. He turned his head to look at the middle-aged man and old man chatting politely with some interest. Xu Fengnian turned around and saw that the merchant had probably noticed that he was dressed in bright clothes and had brought along a beautiful maidservant. The merchant had a bashful attitude as if he wanted to get close to Xu Fengnian but did not dare to act rashly. Xu Fengnian took the initiative to smile and said, "Is this Boss Qiao? I am Uncle Xu's distant nephew. I just came to Dunhuang to do some porcelain business. Uncle Xu often says that Boss Qiao has been taking care of the shop all these years. Later on, when we move in, I have some porcelain bowls and plates on hand. They can be considered presentable. When we visit, I will send over a dozen sets to Boss Qiao. "
Boss Qiao's face was filled with surprise. "Really?"
Hsu Fengnian smiled warmly. "If I were to fool Boss Qiao, I would be scolded to death by Uncle Xu. I am serious."
Boss Qiao's family was well-off. It was not that he really cared about the dozen sets of porcelain bowls and plates. It was just that he saw the astonishing aura of this master and maidservant pair. If one wanted to make money in business, one had to first rely on capital and then rely on one's connections. Especially the latter. Those who had done business before knew that many times in this world where people looked down on others, if the Bodhisattvas in the temples felt that your status was low and were ashamed to be associated with you, then no matter how much gold and silver you had, it would be useless. You would not even be able to enter the temple with a pig's head. Meeting an influential person who was easy to talk to was even more unprecedented than meeting a young courtesan in a brothel. The reason why Boss Qiao got close to Xu Pu, this kind of poor scholar, was because he had some small calculations in his heart. He was born a merchant and had a natural sense of inferiority towards those scholars who had knowledge in their stomachs. It was not easy for him to meet someone who was poor and poor, so he always felt a little complacent. He wanted to show off his family's rich and dignified style by inviting Xu Pu to write spring couplets and drink in his mansion. When did he not have the small idea of making Xu Pu feel inferior when he saw the mansion?
After Sweet Potato bought three scallion pancakes wrapped in oil paper, Hsu Fengnian and Xu Pu bid farewell to Boss Qiao and left.
At that time, the fat man did not dare to look at Sweet Potato. Now that he had the time, he stared at her graceful figure with all his might. He swallowed hard, wondering how Xu Pu could have such extravagant relatives.
Walking on the bluestone pavement in the spring rain, Sweet Potato smiled and said, "Governor, it won't be long before the Yuwen family will regret...."
Xu Pu shook her head with a bitter smile.
Xu Fengnian asked, "What happened?"
Sweet Potato glanced at Xu Pu, who smiled and said, "Just say it."
Sweet Potato then slowly said, "Once, there was a woman from the Yuwen family with exceptional insight who took a fancy to you. She did not hesitate to elope and break off relations with her family. She married you and became the proprietress of a wine vendor. Later, for some reason, she returned to her family."
Xu Pu said calmly, "She remarried to the eldest son of the Duanmu family. Don't blame her. How many women would be willing to grow old with a man who does not make progress? To be honest, when she was willing to accompany a poor scholar like me for daily necessities, I already had a whole new level of respect for her. All these years, I've always felt guilty, feeling that I owed her too much. How many young men and women who are not of equal status can truly grow old together? Even if there are, most of them are just stories in novels about gifted scholars and beautiful women. Besides, the men in the novels have to be top scorers in high school. Only then can they hold their heads high. For someone like Xu Pu, who squandered a dowry of a hundred taels of gold, according to common sense, there is no way she can be a man in the novels. "
Hsu Fengnian smiled gently and said, "These women seem to be able to sing and weep, but in the end, they have misjudged the men and misidentified themselves. When they were rich and leisurely, they were ignorant of worldly affairs. On one hand, their family was well-off, so they could look down on those beautiful clothes, beautiful horses, rouge, and sandalwood beds. However, when they really suffered with men, they gradually understood the power of the yellow and white vulgar things. Not to mention other things, when chatting with close friends in the boudoir, they would always hear them talking about exotic delicacies, how the newest clothes were not enough to wear, how the pearls, jade, and gold hairpins were old-fashioned. Perhaps the women who fell from the branch to become sparrows did not really seek such enjoyment, but they always felt uncomfortable in their hearts. As time passed, they were subtly influenced. When they looked at the good-for-nothing man beside them, they knew that his literary talent could not turn into a wife who relied on her husband's status as a wife, and even implicated her children to suffer in the future. Naturally, their thoughts changed.
"Uncle Xu, if my guess is correct, at first when she went to see her old friends, she would talk about it with you, and would even joke about it? After a few years, she became more and more taciturn, and then she would throw some inexplicable tantrums with you. In the end, she simply did not talk to you about these things, right? "
Xu Pu was stunned.
Obviously she was hit by this young man's words.
"Uncle Xu, it is reasonable for you to feel guilty, no one would dare to say anything bad about you. But if you feel too guilty, you will sink into it, and you will be somewhat petty. Taking ten thousand steps back, that woman has married into a good family. Compared to feeling remorse and feeling sorry for herself, it is much more satisfactory. If you really want to blame someone, blame my Shifu. If he gave you the position of Dunhuang's general, you would not have so many troubles. "
Xu Pu was stunned for a long time, she did not say anything.
Sweet Potato sighed softly, "If that woman heard what Young Master said, she would be too ashamed to show her face."
Hsu Fengnian laughed self-deprecatingly, "I have always been this kind of vulgar man who spoils the scenery. She probably would not be willing to dirty her ears, so she would not listen to even half a sentence."
The middle-aged scholarly general from the Spring and Autumn Period sighed, "Your Highness' seemingly heartless words have helped Xu Pu untie too much of the knot in my heart."
Xu Pu immediately laughed, "Later on, drink a few jars of Green Ant Wine and give Li Yishan a good scolding."
The three of them went to the small wine shop at the entrance of the city gate.
At this time, the man in white entered the city.
There were dozens of corpses outside the city gate.
They met on a narrow path.
Xu Pu looked at the man in white from afar and sucked in a breath of cold air, saying in a deep voice, "Demon Luo Yang!"
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