Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 172 Tavern
Zhu Wen and Tian Jun found a sheltered spot under a high cliff, nestled together, and exchanged a few sweet words as dusk fell.

"Should we split up and head back to camp now?" Tian Jun asked.

"Reply to what?" Zhu Wen tapped her forehead with his finger. "Think about what day it is today?"

Tian Jun rubbed her temples and thought for a while: "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and the day after tomorrow is New Year's Day, but today..."

"Master will soon issue the military order to let everyone leave the camp tonight so we can have a good New Year and celebrate with the people." Zhu Wen blinked and said with a hint of pride, "If we go back now, we'll only find an empty camp."

With his advantageous position, Zhu Wen was able to learn about Huang Chao's decisions in advance.

Tian Jun's face immediately lit up with joy: "Then, as long as we stay in a place far away from the city, it won't be a problem to come back after a few days of playing?"

If you stay in the city, you're bound to be spotted by familiar faces.

Zhu Wen nodded: "I have hidden two horses in the woods to the northeast. Let's ride them and find a bustling temple fair."

The two rode their horses through the snow. Since Zhu Wen had scouted the area beforehand, they quickly found an ancient temple that covered a vast area. Inside the temple, the sounds of bells and chimes were melodious, the chanting was serene, and incense smoke curled upwards. Outside the temple gate, however, there were a large number of houses, which separated several open spaces, forming a sizable settlement.

The village was already decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations to celebrate the upcoming New Year, creating a stark contrast with the solemn tranquility of the ancient temple not far away. Inside and outside the temple gate, one side was bustling with human activity, while the other was a serene and meditative retreat.

In the Tang Dynasty, settlements arising from temple fairs were quite common. Due to the curfew, not only were the city gates closed at night, but residents were also confined within the high walls of the market areas. To fully enjoy the night market life, one could only seek out temple fairs held in front of temples.

During festivals, Buddhist monks hold rituals such as altar fasting and water and land ceremonies at temple fairs, and stage large-scale dances, dramas and processions to attract believers.

Nestorian monks from the West would hold a grand Christmas ceremony once a year, supposedly in honor of their saint, "Yi Shu" (meaning "moving the rat"). Emperor Daizong of the Qing Dynasty was very fond of Nestorianism, and every Christmas he would bestow incense and food upon the Nestorian followers at the Daqin Temple (also known as the Nestorian Cross Temple) in Chang'an, the capital.

Zhu Wen suddenly remembered the Ming Cult followers in the rebel army, and thought about how the imperial court had gradually relaxed its ban on the Ming Cult in recent years: "I wonder if there are any Ming Cult temples around Quzhou. If there are, Ge Congzhou and Dong Hou can go and pay their respects."

"What does their worship have to do with us?" Tian Jun snorted. "We're out having fun together, do we need someone to accompany us?"

Zhu Wen smiled and said nothing more.

This settlement, though small, was fully equipped; it was essentially a rural community. It contained inns, taverns, gambling dens, brothels, and even two or three small brothels.

In places of pleasure, it is extremely rare to find establishments like the five major sects of Mount Tai that keep hundreds of women. Even in Pingkang Ward of Chang'an, large-scale operations are uncommon.

A typical brothel was a large mansion with several courtyards, named something like "Shu Wu's Family" or "Yang Liu's Family." Shu Wu and Yang Liu could be the pseudonyms of the brothel's owner or stage names of the brothel's top courtesan.

The number of "daughters" raised by surrogate mothers ranges from a few to more than a dozen. This has become the norm in brothels.

Seeing Zhu Wen's eyes linger on a house with a sign that read "Chu Yun'er's House," Tian Jun quickly pulled him away. On the nearby open space, some vendors had already set up stalls and were hawking their wares; tomorrow, on New Year's Eve, it would be a hundred times more bustling than today.

As dusk settled, Tian Jun spotted a tavern ahead and immediately pulled Zhu Wen inside. They ordered a table from the innkeeper, shared a jar of Cui Tao wine, and drank together.

The shop doesn't serve watermelon seeds with alcohol; instead, it serves two cups of vinegared celery in large white porcelain cups. This is dry celery, introduced from the Western Regions, which has a stronger aroma and a chewier texture compared to the water celery native to China.

The shop owner proudly boasted, "This Cui Tao wine is a secret recipe left behind by Wei Zheng, a famous minister in the early years of the dynasty, who obtained a unique winemaking method from the Western Regions. The first owner of this shop had a close relationship with the descendants of the Wei family, which is how he obtained the authentic Cui Tao wine brewing method..."

Tian Jun turned to Zhu Wen and said, "I heard that the pear syrup candy that Zhizhen loves was also invented by Wei Zheng. It's quite famous, but it tastes really... How come there are so many things related to Minister Wei Zheng?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Young lady, don't be suspicious. This Cui Tao wine even has a poem bestowed upon it by Emperor Taizong..."

"Fine wine surpasses orchids, emerald waves flow over jade leeks. A thousand days of intoxication will not awaken you, ten years of flavor will not fade." Zhu Wen recited this poem from the side: "In addition, this pickled celery is also a favorite of Minister Wei Zheng, am I right?"

"Exactly, exactly!" The shopkeeper, having suddenly found a kindred spirit, nodded vigorously, as if pounding rice.

People in the Tang Dynasty loved to eat mutton, so Zhu Wen ordered two more catties of cooked mutton, which he ate with wine and vinegared celery, facing Tian Jun.

Tian Jun tugged at Zhu Wen's sleeve: "Was this wine really invented by Wei Zheng?"

Zhu Wen lowered his voice: "The two wines, Linglu and Cuitao, as well as the anecdote about Zheng Guogong Wei Zheng's fondness for vinegared celery, all come from a notebook called 'Longcheng Lu,' which is said to be written by Mr. Liu Zongyuan. But my master is good at textual research, and he recently told me that this damned 'Longcheng Lu' is definitely a forgery. How could it be written by Liu Zihou?"

Although Emperor Taizong was not good at writing poetry, he could not have written such a bad poem.

Upon hearing this, Tian Jun chuckled and spat out a mouthful of wine onto the table. Sure enough, just like the pear syrup candy, it was another unscrupulous merchant making up stories to promote food and drinks, even going so far as to attribute it to Emperor Taizong.

Green Ant Wine gained fame thanks to Bai Juyi's poem "Asking Liu Nineteen"—"Green ant wine newly brewed, red clay stove glowing. Evening approaches, snow is imminent, shall we have a cup?"

However, green-colored wines are usually not good wines. Top-quality wines are often golden in color, like flowing amber, and have a sweet and refreshing taste. The so-called "Emerald Wave" wine is just drinkable.

Tian Jun wasn't picky and gulped it down. Anyway, it wasn't the liquor brewed by Huang Chao, so she wouldn't get drunk easily.

She suddenly caught a glimpse of a blonde figure out of the corner of her eye, and rubbed her eyes, thinking she might be seeing things. Then she heard the clear tinkling of golden bells on the other person's feet.

The newcomer was a blonde woman from Central Asia, wearing a pearl-embroidered hat, a long-sleeved gauze robe embroidered with flowers, and a dance costume decorated with golden bells. She wore brocade boots and danced in time with the drumbeats, her steps quick and crisp, the bells on her body ringing sharply.

Tian Jun's mother, Long Shuang, was also a Hu (Central Asian) dancer. Tian Jun naturally recognized it as the "Zhezhi Dance," a popular Western Region dance in the Tang Dynasty.

Although this Hu woman also had blonde hair, her appearance was far inferior to that of Flower Queen Youdi. Her makeup was heavy, and she had a strong air of worldliness.

The male patrons in the restaurant stared intently at the large expanse of frost-like skin, slender figure, and undulating breasts of the woman, completely mesmerized.

This is, of course, a very common sight in the two capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang: Hu women selling wine at taverns. Li Bai wrote a poem about it: "Where do I wander after treading through fallen flowers? Laughing, I enter a Hu woman's tavern."

Unexpectedly, in the rural villages outside Quzhou City, there were also blonde Hu women performing dances in the taverns.

The blonde Hu woman, dancing the Zhezhi dance, winked at the crowd a few times, then swirled toward Zhu Wen. Suddenly, she reached out her delicate hand, lifted Zhu Wen's chin through a red silk handkerchief, and said in somewhat broken Tang dialect, "This humble concubine wishes to invite my lord to spend the night with me. Are you interested in me?"

For a moment, all the guests cast envious glances at Zhu Wen.

Tian Jun's face turned ashen in an instant.

These Hu women who sell wine at the counter are generally not employed by the shop owners; they are only temporarily employed. A large portion of them are sent to the restaurant to "sell wine and serve customers" after the owners have grown tired of them, so that they can make money for the owners. Most of the profits have to be handed over to the owners, and they can only keep a small amount for themselves.

As for offering oneself to drinkers for the night... a Tang Dynasty poet once wrote a poem praising his friend, saying, "If a Hu woman were to invite him to stay the night, she would hang up her golden whip and tie her purple horse," making it seem as if the man was extremely willing. Generally speaking, it was only because the other party was of noble status and offered a high price that it was difficult to refuse.

If a beautiful woman from the Central Asian region were to personally invite you, there's only one possibility: the guest's appearance is exceptionally appealing to her. In such cases, offering a discount of money or silk is quite common.

Zhu Wen sighed and lowered his voice to Tian Jun, "Shouldn't I have covered my face a long time ago?"

Tian Jun snorted, stood up abruptly, pushed Hu Nu's delicate hand away from Zhu Wen's chin, and shouted, "No! Zhu Lang is my husband! Which vixen has the audacity to lay a hand on my man?"

A beautiful woman suddenly pressed herself against her aggressively, startling the blonde woman with the beard.

Although Tian Jun has slightly dark skin, as a mixed-race individual, she combines the best features of both Han and non-Han peoples, making her a rare beauty.

Tang Dynasty women often used plum blossom makeup on their foreheads, but because Tian Jun's complexion was darker, she instead used a plum blossom-shaped gold pendant that dangled from her hair and was placed on her forehead. The gold color was similar to Tian Jun's skin tone, which added a touch of nobility to her demeanor.

"Oh, so you're this handsome young man's wife."

"Jealousy is one of the seven grounds for divorce. Young lady, you've ruined your husband's plans. Aren't you afraid of being neglected by him and left alone in his bed?"

The drinkers started to cheer.

This is the truth. Men in this dynasty who have a little money tend to be philanderers, and it's common for women to feel jealous. Men who don't take concubines, frequent prostitutes, or have illicit relationships with maids or courtesans are almost always deeply in love with their wives and do so willingly. Such men are extremely rare in the history of this dynasty.

Only Zhu Wen could personally step forward to address this matter.

"My beloved Jun and I are deeply in love, and I can only regret that I cannot accept your kind offer." With that, Zhu Wen took out a silver ingot and placed it in the Hu woman's palm as a reward for the Zhezhi dance. The Hu woman then left with profuse thanks.

"Such an unromantic young man has deprived the world of a romantic tale," the drinkers murmured.

"Homegrown flowers can't compare to wildflowers. Your wife may be beautiful, but how can she compare to the intoxicating pleasure of a Hu woman inviting you to a moonlit night, where you can entwine your necks and caress each other?"

Tian Jun couldn't stand it anymore, so she went upstairs to settle the bill, and pulled Zhu Wen away. Most of the wine and mutton were still left, but they didn't want any more.

"These idlers are utterly boring!" Tian Jun said through gritted teeth. "Spreading rumors and gossip, aren't they afraid of getting sores on their tongues?"

"What about Hebei? The Yan-Zhao songstresses of Hebei are also very famous."

"If this were in Hebei, I would have flipped the table, smashed the shop, and given these people a good beating. But all this is to avoid causing trouble for the rebels!" Tian Jun said indignantly. "Let's find a place to stay."

(End of this chapter)