Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

Xu Damao quickly reached out his hand to cover Lou Xiaoe's mouth and said nervously: "Oh, my aunt, can you please speak a little more quietly? Don't let Teacher Yan behind us hear it!"

"I have bought some old items from him before. If he knew about this, he might become suspicious and wonder if I got a great bargain from him again!"

After saying that, he looked back vigilantly, and only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure that Teacher Yan didn't notice the movement here.

"Oh, I know, hehe..." Lou Xiao'e laughed coquettishly, her beautiful eyes curved into crescents. She stretched out her arms and gently hugged Xu Damao's slender and strong waist.

"It seems that Damao, you are really lucky. You can pick up such a big bargain! Tell me quickly, why is it a jade knife?"

Xu Damao lowered his voice and whispered in Lou Xiao'e's ear: "My dear, this is indeed a jade knife."

"It's just that because it has been left there for so long, the color of its surface has become increasingly darker over time, so that at first glance, it looks no different from an ordinary stone."

Lou Xiao'e blinked her eyes and asked curiously, "Oh? So that's how it is. Then how old is this jade knife? Isn't it true that the older this antique is, the higher its value will be?"

Xu Damao raised three fingers in a mysterious manner and shook them, then slowly said, "Based on my experience and judgment, this jade knife must have a history of at least three thousand years!"

"What! Three thousand years? Damao, you are not trying to scare me on purpose, are you?"

Lou Xiao'e was shocked when she heard this. Her cherry-like mouth opened wide with an expression of disbelief on her face. "I have never heard of an old item from three thousand years ago!"

Xu Damao patted Lou Xiao'e's shoulders and consoled her: "Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. You must know about the Shang Dynasty, right? Let me tell you, these two treasures are jade knives from the Shang Dynasty!"

"Could it be the Shang Dynasty during the reign of King Zhou of Shang?" Lou Xiao'e widened her eyes, her mouth wide open in surprise.

"Yes, that's right! So, this jade knife has a history of almost 3,000 years. It might be even older."

Xu Damao spoke confidently, as if he had already become an archaeological expert.

"Really? I don't really understand. Please don't fool me! I have always felt that King Zhou of Shang was not a good person at all."

"He was bewitched by that vixen called Daji and lost his mind! He even created a pool of wine and a forest of meat. It's simply extravagant to the extreme!"

"He also killed many loyal ministers, and eventually brought about the demise of the Shang Dynasty."

Lou Xiao'e spoke seriously, as if she already knew this history by heart.

"Oh my, where did you hear all this?" Xu Damao asked suspiciously.

Lou Xiao'e giggled, revealing two cute dimples: "Haha, I heard these stories from storytellers, and there are also these plots in the operas performed by opera troupes."

Hearing this, Xu Damao couldn't help but sneer and said, "Humph, you can only listen to these folk tales."

"If you ask me, don't believe it all! There are no demons or monsters in this world, let alone vixens."

Lou Xiao'e blinked her big eyes and asked curiously, "According to what you said, Damao, do you know the truth?"

Xu Damao puffed out his chest and said, "Of course not. I've told you before that I don't have any other hobbies. I just like to read some books when I have nothing to do."

"So, I know much more about King Zhou of Shang than you do!"

"In fact, King Zhou of Shang was named Di Xin. He was an absolutely good king! At that time, he was definitely a wise ruler!"

"Da Mao, are you telling the truth? Look, whether it's the storytellers or the actors on the stage, why do they all say that King Zhou was a ruthless and incompetent ruler?"

Lou Xiao'e asked curiously.

Xu Damao continued, "Those are just general statements passed down by some people!"

"The actual situation is this. King Zhou doesn't like sacrificial ceremonies, especially using living people to sacrifice to the heavens. He thinks this behavior is too cruel, so he waved his hand and abolished this practice!"

"Not only that, King Zhou is also very good at identifying and employing people. Even if someone is as lowly as a slave, as long as he has real ability, he can make him an official and let him show his talent."

"Moreover, he boldly abolished slavery, which affected the interests of many people! Some of his moves to reduce the power of the feudal lords also made the nobles at the time unhappy, and they rose up to rebel against him."

"In the final analysis, it's all to protect their own interests!"

Those so-called eighteen princes were not a righteous army at all, they were just a bunch of rabble who followed the wind and rebelled all the way to Chaoge City. "

"Xiao E, tell me, how many children did King Zhou have? How many children did Xibohou Jichang have?"

"It seems like there are a hundred sons in the opera."

"Yes, he had a hundred sons, while King Zhou only had three. Who do you think was the more licentious and immoral?"

Lou Xiao'e nodded, not quite understanding.

"Speaking of King Zhou, the things he was thinking about were simply too advanced for that era, and completely beyond the cognition and acceptance of the nobles at that time."

"So, even if he did something that benefited the people, he still couldn't get the recognition and support of the nobles."

"Later, after the dynasty changed, many people didn't really learn about King Zhou. They just blindly followed others and belittled him when others said he was bad."

"Over time, King Zhou became known as a tyrant who was incompetent, cruel and merciless."

"In fact, there were some smart people among Confucius' disciples who understood that King Zhou was wronged. It's a pity that people at that time were only concerned with following the crowd and no one was willing to calm down and listen to these different voices."

"Is that so? This is the first time I've heard of such a statement. You know, the play portrayed King Zhou as completely worthless."

"The descriptions of the evil deeds such as the love of wine and women, the wanton killing of innocent people, etc., were simply bloody."

Lou Xiao'e frowned slightly and said with a puzzled look.