Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

"Where does the emperor want to go?"

The capital in front of me was as silent as an empty city.The doors and windows of every household are closed, and only empty stalls are left in the bustling market in the past, overturned bamboo baskets, broken flagpoles, trampled fruits and scattered embroidered cloth shoes, piles of piles, seem to be whispering It describes what kind of panic experienced here not long ago.Occasionally, people who are slow in their hands and feet, carrying their burdens, dragging their families and passing by in a hurry, or glanced at the two Chongzhen Xizhao who were still strolling in the courtyard, or simply ignored them, just kept their heads buried in their lives, until Go to Yongding Gate.

"Where does the emperor want to go?" Seeing Chong Zhen staring blankly into the distance without answering, Xi Zhao asked again.

"Oh..." Chongzhen was startled, and then he came back to his senses, "Just lead the way, it doesn't matter where you go."

It's still the same answer, as it was when he left the palace for the first time many years ago.Xizhao looked up at the sky, it was already noon.

"Why don't you eat your meal first?"

"it is good."

Although Chongzhen nodded in agreement, Xizhao, who proposed to have a meal, was really not sure if there were still restaurants still welcoming guests in the current situation.While leading the way, Xizhao looked around, until half a street was gone, before he found a guy in front of a small restaurant, who was lining up the door panels and preparing to close down.

"This little brother! This little brother!" Xi Zhao rushed forward a few steps and called the waiter in the restaurant, "Can you please treat me to another meal? My family and I just arrived in the capital, but we found that everyone was closed. With the door closed, there is really no place to eat."

"My house is going to be closed too, the guests should find another place." The man said while holding up another board.

"Hey..." Xi Zhao stretched out her hand to stop her, and said with a smile, "My lord and I came from a long distance, we lived in the open air, and we wanted to stay in the capital to have a serious meal, but it turned out to be like this... Also please do me a favor, little brother, we will leave as soon as we eat, and we will never stay longer."

"Hey, come in. There's no reason for us to keep customers out of the store." Before the clerk at the door could answer, he heard a hoarse voice from inside.Hearing this, the man put down the door panel in his hand. "Thank you very much!" Xi Zhao bowed to the dark room, followed Chongzhen, and walked into the shop.

The door panels were removed one by one, and the eyes gradually adapted to the slightly dim light in the room. The two looked around, and saw that although the restaurant looked old, it was kept neat and clean.There are seven or eight square tables in the hall, and the stools are placed close to the legs of the tables. The tabletops are spotlessly wiped, and they are as clean as new.The powder wall is a little yellow, except for a few lines of literati's ink marks, there are no stains. There are several rows of wine jars on the wooden shelves in the depths of the lobby. Bamboo plaques with the names of the wines are hung on the wine jars. Behind the wooden shelves There are two lines of flying and dancing characters on the wall: three cups and everything, one drunk can solve a thousand worries.Next to the wooden frame was the counter. An old man who seemed to be over half a century old came out from behind the counter, opened the stool next to the square table, and poured two more cups of tea.

"Sit here, sir."

"Trouble shopkeeper." Chongzhen bowed to the old man, then sat down at the table with Xizhao.

"What do you two guests want to eat?"

"What else is there in the store, just serve some vegetables and rice at will." Chongzhen said.

"Then what kind of wine should I drink?" the old man asked again.

Wine... Chongzhen couldn't help looking at the wine rack by the wall.White lotus, green bamboo leaves, spring of a thousand days, awakening of golden paste... The names of these wines are one after another, like hidden words prophesying, directly teaching those who are worried about it to become more and more depressed.Chongzhen looked at the wine license one by one, and suddenly his eyes fell on an inconspicuous wine jar in the corner. Compared with other jars, the wine jar was a little old. Word: Drunk today. "Today's drunk..." Chongzhen murmured, then turned to the old man and asked, "Dare to ask the shopkeeper, what kind of wine is this present's drunkenness? I have never heard the name of the wine."

The old man stretched his beard and smiled. "This is the liquor brewed by the shop according to the recipe passed down from the ancestors. Although I dare not compare myself with famous wines, it is also very mellow and fragrant, and it is worth tasting."

There is wine today... Are you drunk today?Worth mentioning. "Since that's the case, let's invite the store owner to have a pot of this drunk." Chongzhen looked away, paused, and said.

"Okay. The two guests take a break, and the food and wine will be served later." After finishing speaking, the old man turned around and went to the back kitchen.

The surroundings are quiet, there is no noise from restaurants inside the house, and there are no bustling people and cars outside the house. It is as quiet as if there is no one else in this huge capital city, which makes the inadvertent short-term silence between the two seem a little awkward.Soon, the guy brought a jug of wine, two wine glasses and two dishes from the back kitchen.Xizhao holds the pot to fill up for Chongzhen, but Chongzhen pushes another wine glass in front of Xizhao.

"Come on, Dexiu, have a drink with me."

"This..." Xi Zhao smiled in embarrassment, "My lord knows that Dexiu doesn't know how to drink, so why are you still teasing Dexiu?"

Chongzhen left the wine glass in front of Xizhao, and said lightly: "It's not to tease you, it's just that I don't want to drink alone today."

When Xizhao heard the words, the sadness that had been suppressed at any rate suddenly spread.Every time the emperor went out of the palace to relax, he always had something on his mind, but that worry had never been as desperate as this time, and the emperor's eyes had never been as stagnant as it is now, without any hope.Encirclement, recruitment, southward migration, westward expedition, when failures in one item after another finally put Daming in a desperate situation, no matter how hard he was, the only thing he could do was to accompany the emperor on the edge of the cliff.So Xi Zhao picked up the jug again and filled a glass for herself.

"If you are too strong to drink, sir, don't make fun of Dexiu." After finishing speaking, Xi Zhao picked up the wine glass, gritted his teeth, and drank it down in one gulp.But who would have thought that the wine was so strong that it made Xi Zhao cough violently and burst into tears, and quickly took a sip of the warm tea, just now slightly calming down the bitterness in his tongue.Chongzhen looked at Xizhao's embarrassed appearance, and a smile broke out on his face. "Wine is no better than water, so how can you drink it like this." Chong Zhen stretched out his hand and patted the back of the sunset, and said in a warm voice, "Pour lightly and slowly to live up to the taste of this wine."

"Your Excellency is right." Xi Zhao calmed down, took out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth, only to notice the smile on Chong Zhen's face.This laughter made Xi Zhao feel a sudden heat in his chest, he couldn't tell whether it was the alcohol or the blood, it warmed in his heart and hit his throat again.In exchange for the emperor forgetting his worries for a while, even if he choked to death, it would be worth it.Thinking of this, Xi Zhao put the handkerchief back into her arms and smiled warmly. "It made adults laugh."

Chongzhen didn't answer, just reached out for the pot, and wanted to pour another cup for Xizhao himself. "My lord, how can you do this! Dexiu come by yourself! Come by yourself!" Xi Zhao was startled, and wanted to stop him, but Chongzhen had already filled the wine glass. "When you are away from home, you don't need to care about these vain rituals." Chongzhen said, put down the jug, picked up his own wine glass, and began to eat the vegetables with a sip of the wine.How dare Xizhao not drink the wine poured by the emperor, but before the second glass of wine is completely drunk, Xizhao already feels top-heavy, dizzy, and his face is swollen like a ripe tomato.

"You said you don't know how to drink, but you're not deceiving me." Chongzhen said, seemingly thoughtful.

"Dexiu has already sworn that he will never lie to your lord again." Xi Zhao poured another cup of tea and drank it with her head up, but she didn't notice the slight emotion and vague sadness on Chongzhen's face when she said this.

two

While talking, the old man came out of the back kitchen with a hot meal in his hand.

"Guest officer has been waiting for a long time." The old man stepped forward and put the food on the table one by one.

"The store is drunk today, and it is really very mellow, which is comparable to famous wine." Chongzhen took another sip of wine, and turned to praise the old man.

"Thank you for the guest officer's compliment." The old man smiled and bowed to thank him, then went back to the counter and sat down, "Nowadays the army is in turmoil, what are the two guest officers doing in the capital at this time?" asked the old man.

"Uh..." Chongzhen opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer for a while.Seeing this, Xi Zhao hurriedly answered, "My lord came here to look for relatives, but he didn't expect Li Zicheng to occupy Juyongguan as soon as he arrived in the capital. Kindhearted, it doesn't mean that my master and servant don't even have a hot meal."

"So that's how it is." The old man nodded, "If you are no longer in the capital, you might not be able to find it for a while. The capital is about to suffer. If you are full, it is better to leave for home as soon as possible.”

Xizhao smiled and did not answer.Chongzhen's hands froze and he put down his chopsticks. "We took the liberty to come to the door, I'm afraid we have delayed the store's schedule. If the store is inconvenient, we will leave now."

"No need." The old man stretched out his hand and said, "Let's not go, the guest officer can just eat slowly."

After hearing this, Chongzhen felt a little relieved. "Since the capital is about to suffer disaster, why doesn't the store leave?" Xi Zhao asked, picking up her chopsticks and picking up a mouthful of food.

"Hey, little old man, where can he go when he is alone?" The old man took out a white rag and wiped off the dust on the counter. , just abandon it like this, I really can’t bear to part with it.”

Hearing the old man's words, Chongzhen's heart trembled slightly, his mind drifted away, and the food in his mouth seemed to lose some taste. "Then...the store is not afraid..." Xi Zhao paused and asked again.

"Hehe. There are more than half a hundred people, and they don't care so much about life and death. Those who are supposed to come will come anyway. Every person or shop has its own destiny." The old man An An looked at Chongzhen Xizhao and the two, and the shallow Behind the faint smile, there seems to be a calmness that has seen through everything, "If the little old man and this old shop can't escape this catastrophe, and finally can receive gentlemen as gentle as the two guest officers, it will be considered satisfactory enough."

The three of them looked at each other and smiled, and then said nothing.When he was full of wine and food, he paid the money and was about to leave, Chongzhen suddenly stopped and said to the old man: "My situation is quite similar to that of the store owner. I happened to enter your store today, and there is some kind of predestined relationship. After today, I don't know how many lives are left, and I don't know if I will be lucky enough to taste this drunk again... Just now I saw that there are many literati left on the wall of your store. Souvenir. I wonder if the shop owner will agree?"

"Oh... the guest officer is too humble. I am grateful to the guest officer for seeing the small shop, which is exactly what I wish for." The old man readily agreed, and hurriedly took out a pen and ink from the inner room and handed it to Chongzhen.Chongzhen took the pen, dipped it in the ink, thought for a while, waved his hand, and wrote a few lines of vigorous and powerful characters on the wall:

In the prosperous place of Tingsheng Ruigui, when Nanzhi was young, the flowers bloomed,

Drink three cups to drink up the floating dream, and now one drunk will know the destiny.

After finishing writing, I said thank you for the hospitality to the shopkeeper, and left the restaurant with Xizhao. ?