Chapter 55

The students from that academy, led by the top student from the previous exam, went to apologize and admit their mistakes to the students of the Luozhou Academy. As the saying goes, 'to know one's faults and be able to correct them is the greatest good.' This move helped to salvage some of their academy's reputation. If Xia Hongsheng were a student at that academy, he would probably have made the students do the same. The students from the Luozhou Academy, under Xia Hongsheng's hints and leadership, also accepted their apologies with great courtesy, acknowledging their own faults and asking the other students to be lenient. The students in the inn knew what had happened and, seeing the Luozhou Academy students' magnanimity and politeness, began to admire them and started to socialize with them.

Xia Hongsheng and his companions agreed to the invitation from the top student of the previous exam. As noon approached, they went down to the hall to meet the students from that academy. Everyone avoided mentioning what had happened the day before, and they seemed to be in a harmonious and cheerful mood as they walked out of the inn together and headed to the Yi Xiang Ju in Luoyang City.

The Yi Xiang Ju in Luoyang City was much larger and better decorated than the one in Luozhou City, clearly of a different class. The group went up to a private room, and after they were seated, a waiter brought out the drinks. Since Xia Hongsheng had not touched alcohol since he arrived in the Tang Dynasty, he noticed that the wine in the bowl was not clear, but rather yellow and cloudy. It smelled weak, and when he took a sip, it had a faint aroma of alcohol but was not as smooth or strong as the wine from his time. He guessed it was because it had not been distilled, so the alcohol content was not high. Xia Hongsheng was not a big drinker, so he found the taste of the wine quite bland, which suited his taste.

Xu Qixian noticed that Xia Hongsheng had only taken a small sip and stopped, thinking that it was because Xia Hongsheng was young and couldn't handle the alcohol. He called out to the waiter, "Waiter, bring a pot of grape wine. My junior is young and may not be able to drink."

The leading student from the other academy heard this, bowed, and said with a smile, "I was negligent! Waiter, quickly bring grape wine for this Xia Gongzi!"

The waiter responded and soon brought a pot of grape wine. Grape wine was actually wine made from fermented grapes, which was brought to the Tang Dynasty by Persian merchants and became very popular.

"Thank you, Zhou Xuege," Xia Hongsheng bowed across the table and said.

"Ha ha, we are all students of the same academy, Xia Xuede, no need to be so formal. I am a few years older, and it is a great pleasure to meet you all. You all have fine appearances and great potential. In time, you will surely become outstanding talents!" The student laughed heartily, raised his cup, and said, "Come, let's drink to our meeting. Cheers!"

They all raised their cups and drank the wine in one go. After a cup of wine, the conversation became more lively. The student surnamed Zhou was a good conversationalist and could continue any topic. Being older, he spoke with skill, making everyone feel comfortable. Whether it was Xu Qixian, Bai Jianzhi, or the other senior students, they all got along well with him. These young scholars, full of youthful vigor, quickly became more familiar as they talked. As they drank cup after cup, their faces began to turn red.

"The dishes on this table are new offerings from Yi Xiang Ju, much better than the previous ones. Please, everyone, eat more!" another student from the academy invited.

Xia Hongsheng smiled but said nothing. These dishes were all the ones he had taught them!

"The food at Yi Xiang Ju is indeed delicious, but the wine is not quite right. This is the best yellow wine here, but it still has no taste. Ah, the tea vendors outside say they have Sanlejiang, but unfortunately, the poetry gathering starts tomorrow. Although Sanlejiang is strong, it gives a headache after the effects wear off. We can't try it today. After the poetry gathering, let's come back to Yi Xiang Ju and drink Sanlejiang until we are thoroughly drunk! Ha ha, cheers!"

Although the alcohol content was low, it was still alcohol. After a few pots, everyone was slightly tipsy. The Sanlejiang he mentioned was a type of fruit wine with medicinal value, possibly with a higher alcohol content than the wine of the Tang Dynasty. Distillation methods did not appear until the Song Dynasty. Xia Hongsheng knew the principle of distillation, but he was unsure of the specific process. He also wondered if the Tang people, used to low-alcohol drinks, could adapt to high-alcohol drinks. However, he thought it would be worth experimenting with distillation when the opportunity arose. In穿越小说 (time-travel novels), every穿越者 (time traveler) seemed to know how to distill alcohol, and the Tang people, who usually drank low-alcohol drinks, not only didn't vomit after drinking 50-degree liquor but also praised it. He wasn't sure if it was true, but given the popularity of liquor in his time, it should be fine, though they might need some time to adapt.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a small drum outside, followed by the sound of a zither and a melodious voice. They had been drinking since noon and were already slightly drunk. The sudden music and singing, with its beautiful and melodious tones, immediately caught their interest. They lifted the bamboo curtains to look outside and saw a woman in plain clothes holding a small drum, accompanied by another girl playing the zither. Many of the diners in the private rooms lifted their curtains, and a young man in brocade clothing walked out, placed a string of copper coins on the table in front of the two women, and received applause from the surrounding diners.

The two women continued their performance, bowing gracefully to the young man, who politely returned the bow and walked back to his private room. Encouraged by this, other diners from the private rooms also came out to tip the two women. Their performance was truly captivating, drawing frequent applause from the audience.

Xia Hongsheng was very interested. He had often seen such scenes in period dramas from his time, and now that he was seeing it in real life, he wanted to watch more. Xu Qixian chuckled, flipped his hand to produce a string of copper coins, and pulled Xia Hongsheng, saying, "Junior, here! If you like it, you can tip them. The song is really good."

Just as Xia Hongsheng turned to take the coins, he suddenly heard a loud noise and two women's screams. Everyone quickly turned to look and saw a group of people had appeared in front of the two women, kicking over their table. These people were strong and muscular, dressed in rough fur and leather, with unkempt beards and hair twisted into small braids, looking like they had a head full of braids. They were the same group of Turks he had seen parading in the South Market!

The private room fell silent.

One of the Turks started speaking in a gibberish language, reaching out to grab the faces of the two women, who were terrified and jumped back, almost in tears.

"Hey! Han women, your singing was too boring, people fell asleep! Sing something lively, sing a Turkic horse song!" Another Turk came out, speaking in a broken dialect of the Guannei region to the two women.

"Sorry... gentlemen... we don't know Turkic songs, please forgive us..." the girl who had been playing the zither quickly bowed and apologized.

"Humph! We Turkic warriors are the bravest in the world! We must drink the strongest wine and hear the most heroic songs! Sing quickly!" A Turk came out, shouting rudely.

The two women were in tears. "We really don't know..."

"Slap!" Before they could finish, a loud slap echoed through the second floor. The girl who had been singing cried out in pain, covering her face and falling to the ground, a trail of blood running down her cheek. The Turk was holding a horsewhip, grinning at her.

"Turk dogs! Don't cause trouble in our Tang Dynasty!" The surrounding diners were furious but dared not act because of the Turks' strength and size. However, they heard a shout, and the young man in brocade clothing jumped out, pointing at the Turks and shouting.