Rise From the Humble

Cars rumble, horses rustle, and the spring breeze in February is like scissors.

This is Zhu Ping'an's most intuitive feeling about the capital at this moment. Cars and horses are constantly coming and going, and the spring breeze blows on his face with a hint of coolness.

Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, as tour guides, wanted to take Zhu Pingan to Chongfu Zen Temple outside Xuanwu Gate, which is the modern Fayuan Temple. The distance is not too far. After leaving Xuanwumen, we walked south along the street. It didn't take long to reach Chongfu Temple without blushing or out of breath.

As a rule, after the imperial examination, many candidates like to go to the temple to find spiritual sustenance, make a wish, burn incense or something, and pray for good grades.

In addition, it is the apricot blossom season at this time, and the apricot blossoms at Chongfu Temple are also famous for their beauty.

Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen led Zhu Ping'an out of Xuanwumen and walked south along this street. There was an endless stream of people coming and going on this street. There were many shops selling things on both sides of the street. The business was very good. Shops selling basic necessities, food, housing and transportation. There are all of them, of course, the most popular ones are those selling vegetables, which is a bit like today’s super large vegetable markets. Although it is only early spring, the vegetables in the vegetable shop are already dazzling.

Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen are competent tour guides. They introduced the local customs and customs along the way to Zhu Pingan as they walked.

"This is the vegetable market street. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the largest vegetable market in the Ming Dynasty. Most of the people in the capital have come here to buy vegetables." Zhang Siwei introduced this street to Zhu Pingan as he walked.

Oh, this is the vegetable market street.

Zhu Ping'an nodded when he heard this. Isn't Caishi Street the famous Caishikou in later generations? Now in the Ming Dynasty, it was just a street selling vegetables, but by the Qing Dynasty, it was used as an execution ground. Because the Qing Dynasty set the location of the Meridian Gate beheading here. In the Ming Dynasty, it was at the Xisi Archway. In the Qing Dynasty, it was changed to this place. People often say that the Meridian Gate beheading was introduced. The execution place was here. Many ghost stories in later generations were based here. .

However, it is still the largest vegetable market.

"When we get here, there is a place we have to see." Wang Shizhen was still walking behind, but when she reached a place, she suddenly became energetic and told Zhu Pingan while leading the way in one direction.

Just a few steps away, I arrived in front of a drugstore called "Xiheniantang".

Pharmacy style. It is also large in scale, but what attracts Zhu Ping'an the most is the pharmacy's plaque. The three words "He Niantang" are engraved on the plaque, among which the word "Crane" has the most strokes. It is asymmetrical with the other two characters, but the three characters put together have an excellent layout and look quite artistic.

"The characters in this plaque are as graceful as a giant, with a strong backbone. There is such calligraphy in the market." Zhu Pingan raised his head and looked at the three characters He Niantang. This man's calligraphy seemed to be better than his own, and he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Zihou, you have good eyesight." Wang Shizhen originally wanted to point out this plaque to Zhu Pingan, but when he saw Zhu Pingan noticed the plaque at a glance, he praised it with a smile.

"Wensheng, Zihou, it is not suitable to stay here for a long time." Zhang Siwei seemed to have a feeling for this Heniantang.

"Why?" Zhu Pingan was a little confused.

"That's right, Ziwei, why are you so anxious?" Wang Shizhen was also confused. He discovered this place not long ago. He happened to find this plaque when he passed by this pharmacy. He was attracted by the font on the plaque. Because he was busy at the time, he just looked at it for a while and then left. When I passed by this time, I couldn't help but bring Zhu Ping'an and the others over to admire the plaque together. I wanted to take a good look this time, but when I heard Zhang Siwei said that it was not suitable to stay here for a long time, Wang Shizhen found it difficult to understand.

Zhang Siwei did not answer on the spot, but waited a little further after Wang Shizhen and Zhu Ping'an left Heniantang after reading the plaque. Only then did he tell Zhu Pingan and Wang Shizhen the reason.

It turns out that the property rights of Heniantang, located at the northwest corner of Caishi Street, belong to Yan Song's family. Yan Shoufu invested in and established Heniantang. I don't know what he thought when he invested and established it. Yan Song named this shop Heniantang, which was taken from the four characters "Song He Yannian" and added the first and last characters "Tang". I guess the old man wanted to live longer in his dreams. Although Yan Song was extremely powerful and everyone was afraid of him, in the eyes of Qingliu, a scholar, Yan Song was very smelly and everyone stayed away from him.

"What, does that mean the plaque is written strictly?" Wang Shizhen looked a little bad, as if he had swallowed a fly.

Zhang Siwei nodded. After receiving the confirmation, Wang Shizhen's face became even more embarrassed. It's like seeing a pig chewing ginseng.

"Oh, what a pity." Wang Shizhen shook his head and sighed.

When commenting on calligraphy in the past dynasties, we not only look at the calligraphy, but also look at the person who wrote the calligraphy. Words are like people, words are like people, it is not just a matter of words. People associate calligraphy with character, and character is higher than calligraphy. Therefore, even though Yan Song's calligraphy is so good, people still look down upon him and do not attribute him to the great calligraphers. Instead, they think that Yan Song has tarnished calligraphy. In the eyes of future generations, the calligraphy written by these people with low moral character has no collection value. Collecting it will bring trouble to themselves, bring bad luck, ruin their wealth and bring disaster, and damage their character. Throughout all dynasties, this dynasty is no exception.

That's why Wang Shizhen sighed.

"So that's how it is, no wonder, it's a pity"

After listening to Zhang Siwei's explanation, Zhu Ping'an nodded. It turned out to be written by Yan Song. No wonder, Yan Song was one of the three most traitorous calligraphers in history. There is an allusion about Yan Song's calligraphy in later generations: it is said to be the main hall of Gongyuan in Beijing. The three characters "Zhigongtang" on the plaque were written by the old man Yan Song. During the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong found out about it and felt it was unlucky and wanted to have the plaque replaced. Emperor Qianlong considered himself a master of calligraphy. He wrote the words "Zhi Gong Tang" to serve as a plaque, but found that his writing was not as good as that of the treacherous minister Yan Song. But he didn't want to see Yan Song's calligraphy, so he asked his ministers to write these three characters as a plaque. However, no one wrote as good-looking as Yan Song's calligraphy. So Emperor Qianlong had no choice but to let Yan Song's three characters continue. hanging.

It can be seen from this allusion that Yan Song's calligraphy is indeed good, but it is a pity that Yan Song's poor character has lowered his calligraphy taste.

It can be seen from the reactions of Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen that these two gentlemen do not have much favorable impression of Yan Song. The two of them could also tell from Zhu Pingan's reaction that Zhu Pingan didn't have much affection for Yan Song.

The three of them looked at each other and smiled, shook their heads, came to Caishi Street, and continued walking south.

After walking for a while, a number of people, mostly men, gathered at the entrance of an alley connecting Caishi Street. Groups of three or four gathered there, surrounding an open space, pointing at the open space, and whispering to each other.

What happened?

The three people stepped forward curiously to see what happened.

The onlookers saw that the three people were well-dressed, and they looked like they were either rich or noble, or both rich and noble, so they moved out of the way to allow the three people to pass through the crowd and walk to the front.

When I got to the front, I realized the truth that everyone was watching:

In the venue, a young girl was dressed in white, as if she was wearing mourning clothes. She was kneeling facing everyone, with a straw stuck in her hair. Her black hair covered half of her face, leaving half of her face exposed. I applied a thin layer of powder, and there were faint traces of tears on my face.

In this era, wearing straw in your head is not cute. Caoyecaoke. The word "草" means "Jiecao", which means cheap. Putting straw in your head means to wait for a price. Planting grass to sell things was an ancient symbol of trade. When selling chickens, you can put straw on the head of the chicken. When selling vegetables or fruits, you can put straw on the stall. Even when you sell yourself into a slave, you can put straw on the head as a sign of trade. There are often similar passages in ancient novels or TV dramas.

The young girl in front of her is planting straws, which means she is going to sell herself.

This kind of plot is often seen in novels, but I didn't expect that I would see a real plot. I hope it won't be a bloody plot. Zhu Pingan shook his head slightly.