During the reign of Tang Xizong Ganfu, the eunuch in the buffer region was autocratic, but the general court officials were powerless and idle all day, so everyone went to Pingkang Lane, where brothels were concentrated, and had a cocktail party every three days to find a name and get together, which was nothing more than filling the emptiness of life through sound, color, literature and wine.
In addition to relaxing officials, this kind of cocktail party often invites literati to join in the fun. In the venue, besides stringed instruments, light singing and dancing, and the hostess, there must also be a famous prostitute with outstanding talent, profound knowledge and outstanding eloquence to host the banquet program. The host of this program is called "omniscient". It is not easy to know everything. In addition to appearance and manners, we should also be good at arranging things, not only to create the atmosphere of the whole venue, but also to cover everything and make the participants happy. As far as personal qualities are concerned, it is comprehensive to be able to speak and sing, be good at poetry and know the text.
At that time, there were only three people in Pingkangli Lane who were truly recognized as "omniscient" by the guests, namely Zheng Juju, Xue and Yan Lingbin. Zheng Juju, the earliest of the three, is famous for his general demeanor and ability to deal with embarrassing scenes quickly. Later, when I was old, I became arrogant and slowly retired. The next one is Xue. She is smart and considerate. Guo, the son who can be married by forging beads, stayed away from the carnival. In the end, only Yan Lingbin, who debuted late, was left.
Yanlingbin is the best among prostitutes, with delicate features, tall and talented, slender waist and quite charming. In fact, it is not difficult to find a woman like Yan Lingbin in Pingkang Lane. She stood out because she won the honor at the age of fifteen or sixteen, all because of her talent and wisdom. This little girl can not only play music, but also recite poems and draw pictures. She is also familiar with anecdotes of ancient and modern celebrities, and her talk is elegant and interesting, and her temperament is particularly noble and refined. When she comes out, she always brings a spring breeze to the room, which makes every guest very happy. The proprietress of the Yatui Building where she lives also regarded her as a gold-lettered signboard.
Yan Lingbin's hospitality has one characteristic. She is not very keen on dignitaries, but she is very humble to literati. So there are many friends of literati and celebrities who appreciate each other's poems and often talk all night. At that time, all the literati in Chang 'an were honored to attend the symposium hosted by Yan Lingbin. Yan Lingbin's box is full of poems, paintings and calligraphy of good guests. She regards these things as her priceless wealth, but she is very indifferent to gold and silver jewelry. There is a unique style among brothel women, as if violet came out of the mud without being stained.
Yan Lingbin's charming friends are like clouds, but she doesn't particularly prefer which one, let alone which one. People thought that she was used to seeing guys and girls, and her weak body could not bear the indulgence of her body, but no one expected that this beautiful girl's heart had already been secretly promised.
Who is this lucky man? This is even more unexpected. It turns out that he is the "fierce singer" Liu in Chang 'an. As mentioned earlier, a "fierce singer" is a person who sings an elegy for others. Although Liu has a humble official career, he is versatile. He not only has a loud voice, but also writes his own lyrics and poems. He is also sincere and affectionate. They share the same interests, have similar life experiences and the same feelings. They often comfort each other and sympathize with each other, thus producing true feelings. Privately, they promised each other that they would live a lifetime, but under the current situation, they could only communicate secretly. Only when they saved enough money and redeemed Yan Lingbin's brothel, did they get married.
Yan Lingbin, who dressed thinly and hosted a banquet for the guests, was cold after sweating and contracted a minor illness. I wanted to recuperate for a few days, but because of my weak constitution, my condition became more and more serious, and I finally couldn't get up.
One sunny afternoon, Yan Lingbin barely propped up his weak body and went to sit on the porch outside the house. At this time, spring is about to pass, and the bonus of spring breeze is decreasing. Catkin is flying like snow. Seeing this scene, Yan Lingfu couldn't help but think of his life experience and sickly body, just like the sparse flowers and plants in front of him. I don't know which day, they will wither in the spring of life. She couldn't help hanging two lines of tears on her pale cheeks, then turned back to her room and sang:
"I have three or five tones, and there are two or three flowers left; Say goodbye to a bottle of wine, no later mutual travel. "
She seems to have a premonition of life. While feeling a little better these days, she copied many copies of this sad poem with Huanhua stationery and sent it to several close friends, with a note saying, "Little girl, please take time to say goodbye to the guests this time."
Seeing such a bleak invitation from Yan Lingbin, all my friends rushed to the meeting.
This is a windless and moonless night. Yan Lingfu shook her body slightly, with a weak smile on her thin face, and presided over the banquet because of illness. The guests didn't want to mention their sadness, but tried to make a sincere gesture. Under the skillful arrangement of Yan Lingbin, everyone talked about many interesting new poems, and everyone seemed to want to finish what they had to say in a hurry. Finally, Yan Lingbin couldn't keep smiling any longer and said to everyone with tears in his eyes: "I'm going to die soon. I spent a lot of happy time waiting for you. There is no meeting where you will go now. Here I want to make a final request to you, that is, I hope you can send me some farewell articles, and I will be very grateful! " I fell on the table and cried, but I couldn't help myself. But at this time, who still has the mind to write farewell words?
After the banquet, Yan Lingbin's condition went from bad to worse. A few days later, the talented prostitute finally died in bud. She is like a delicate and charming flower, whose petals are blown away by the spring breeze at the most vigorous time, and she is regretfully withered in the relentless streamer.
Yan Lingbin used to be a cash cow in his wife's hand. Now, when people die, trees wither. She thinks she can finally get some generous gifts from the guests who usually support her. Unexpectedly, those guests followed Yan Lingbin's instructions before his death and sent her a farewell article and a mourning poem. The lady didn't understand the value, but she was very disappointed. She angrily threw these poems out of the green building into the street outside the window, muttering, "What's the use!" "
When Liu heard the news of Yan Lingbin's death, he was shocked and almost went crazy. Because they are nameless, he can't visit Yan Lingbin who is sick, nor can he say goodbye to her. Now that she is dead, he can't go to her grave to pay his respects because of his wife's obstruction. His sadness can't be poured out, and it is stuffy in his heart, which breaks his heart.
A lot of poems and songs in memory of Yan Lingbin were thrown in the building, and Liu hurried to collect them. He carefully picked up those messy papers and put them in his arms. After Yan Lingbin was buried in the suburbs, Liu ran to her grave day by day and sang the poems she had picked up to underground lovers. One of them is:
"It is better to drink from the spring for the sick than to hurt tonight; Once the dream is over, the wind will spend a few days crazy; Lonely and lonely, looking in the mirror, lonely and lazy; How can I express my goodwill? I will drink sour. "
Liu's songs are both sad and touching. He sang his infinite sadness in poetry, and everyone who heard it could not help crying. Many of Yan Lingbin's old friends often go to her grave to pay their respects and stand there quietly listening to Liu sing. One of the poems he sings the most is:
"I went to the fairy yesterday, and the car suddenly arrived at the door; Life must be here, and heaven is hard to talk about. When the guests come together, who will drum the basin; There are old eyebrows on the sleeves. "
It is said that when Liu first sang this poem in front of Yan Lingbin's tomb, it was a quiet and deserted evening. He fell asleep while singing. In the dim light, he saw Yan Lingbin standing in front of the grave in light makeup, nodding to him frequently, and seemed to like listening to this poem. Liu was awakened. Looking from the grave, only the paper banners fluttered in the cool breeze, and Yan Lingbin was never seen again.
But since then, he firmly believes that Yan Lingbin must like this poem, so he often sings it, hoping to call her back again.