Fang Xiaoru returned to the Chief Envoy Si Yamen after a long journey. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Han Du sitting in the shade of a tree, leisurely avoiding the sun.
Fang Xiaoru sat down angrily, picked up the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup, and drank it in one gulp.
"Oh~" Fang Xiaoru's eyes suddenly lit up as the tea entered her mouth, and she couldn't help but nod her head frequently.
"This tea is pretty good. Where did you get it from? Can you find such good tea in Henan?"
Han Du saw Fang Xiaoru tutting his tongue when he drank, and rolled his eyes at him weakly. "Even the leaves of the trees in Henan have been eaten up. Where is the tea left? I brought this from Donggong Shun. I just took it with me when I left Beijing."
"Submit? You said this without blushing or heartbeat. But you are the only one who dares to submit things from the East Palace. If it were anyone else, who would dare." Fang Xiaoru shook his head and looked at Han Du.
He reached out to lift the teapot and poured another cup.
Seeing his laziness, Han Du got up and held down Fang Xiaoru's hand. He said dissatisfiedly: "Drink less. This thing has to be tasted carefully to taste. What's the difference between you doing this and a cow chewing peonies?"
Fang Xiaoru let go of his hand unhappily, pointed at Han Du, curled his lips and said, "I just realized that you are so stingy."
"If it were more, I would be generous, but it's not much." Han Du explained cursingly.
Fang Xiaoru didn't care. He glanced at Han Du with a smile, and suddenly his face changed. He couldn't help but sigh: "I used to drink tea in small sips, and I think this is how I can taste the tea. But this time I went to the mansion. The county ran around, but it turned me into this, do you know why?"
"Why?" Han Du understood somewhat, but still followed Fang Xiaoru's words and asked.
"After spending a long time with the common people, I also like to imitate their way of drinking tea, because drinking tea in this way is enjoyable." Fang Xiaoru said with deep feeling.
"Handu."
"Um?"
"Do you know? Although I grew up in my hometown in the countryside, I was strictly educated by my parents since I was a child. I have always focused on studying and have no understanding of farming and mulberry farming." Fang Xiaoru sighed in his voice.
Han Du laughed after hearing this, and lay down with his head resting on his hands, turning his head to look at Fang Xiaoru with a funny look on his face.
"What's your expression?" Fang Xiaoru felt a little uncomfortable when Han Du looked at him, and couldn't help asking in a deep voice.
"It's nothing," Han Du explained with a smile, "It's just that I suddenly felt that you have gained a lot from going down there these days. It seems that you have not wasted the emperor's hard work in letting you come out."
"That's right!" Fang Xiaoru sighed, staring blankly into the void, "Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. The sages have truly not deceived me."
After a moment, Fang Xiaoru suddenly came back to his senses and saw Han Du looking at him with a playful look on his face. He couldn't help but his face darkened, and he said loudly: "So if I want to drink tea now, I can just drink tea. No one can care about me."
After saying that, he drank the tea in one gulp as if out of anger. With a bang, he placed it heavily on the table.
Han Du didn't care, but this time he smiled and took the initiative to fill him up with tea and said: "I used to be like you, I liked to drink tea in large gulps, and I thought drinking tea in this way was enjoyable enough."
"Then why have you become so fake now?" Fang Xiaoru's eyes were full of contempt for Han Du, as if Han Du had changed his past style and was deviant.
"When did I pretend to be fake? Don't accuse a good person unjustly." Han Du retorted to Fang Xiaoru with a smile, and then sighed and said, "Now I just drink whatever I want."
After saying that, Han Du first took a small sip of tea, then took two sips. As if he felt it was not enough, he took another big sip. He turned to look at Fang Xiaoru, who had a dull look on his face, and smiled at him.
Fang Xiaoru was shocked by Han Du's words. He came back to his senses when he saw Han Du smiling at him. But as soon as he regained consciousness, Fang Xiaoru smiled bitterly and said: "I originally thought I could keep pace with Brother Han, but I didn't expect that in terms of Qi nourishing skills, I am still one step behind Brother Han."
"You misunderstood. Although I am also a scholar, I am not interested in the so-called Qi-nurturing Kung Fu." Han Du was really not interested in the Qi-nurturing Kung Fu that scholars of this era admired, and even found it a bit funny.
What is Qi-nourishing Kung Fu? In Han Du's view, this is a pretense among scholars who have passed the imperial examination and successfully become an official.
"Shura Martial God"
Forced, and a thing used by failed people to maintain their own face. To put it bluntly, it is precisely because this Qi-nourishing Kung Fu meets the needs of all scholars that it is so highly praised by scholars.
Seeing Han Du's understatement, Fang Xiaoru couldn't help but look a little nervous, and couldn't help but ask: "What is Brother Han interested in?"
Han Du thought seriously for a moment before replying: "I am interested in things that benefit the country and the people, but not in empty talk like Qi-nurturing Kung Fu."
The so-called Qi-nurturing Kung Fu is empty talk in Han Du's opinion.
"Qi-nurturing Kung Fu is also related to governing the country and the people, how can it be empty talk?" Fang Xiaoru was not convinced. The education he received since childhood always emphasized the importance of Qi-nurturing Kung Fu. Now he was said to be worthless by Han Du, which was very difficult for Fang Xiaoru to accept.
Han Du stretched out his hand to comfort him, but saw that Fang Xiaoru still looked angry. Then he smiled and said: "How can Qi-nurturing Kung Fu be related to governing the country? Governing the country relies on the knowledge and ability of officials. Being able to feed and clothe the people is called governing the country. You can tell yourself, Qi-nurturing Kung Fu is part of this process. What’s the use?”
Fang Xiaoru was suddenly speechless.
"One more question, let me ask you, when is the most important time to cultivate Qi Kung Fu?" Han Du continued to ask.
Fang Xiaoru knew it very well and replied without hesitation: "What's the point? Of course it was the pre-Song Dynasty."
"Then how was the former Song Dynasty destroyed?" Han Du asked with a smile.
Suddenly, it was as if it hit Fang Xiaoru's vitals, causing his face to turn blue and white, and he was speechless for a long time.
The Song Dynasty was the most glorious era for scholars, but it was also the most painful era for scholars.
If, according to scholars, Qi-nurturing Kung Fu can be beneficial to governing the country, then the Song Dynasty should not have perished. Because looking at ancient and modern times, we can no longer find the qi-nurturing skills of scholars in that dynasty as strong as those in the Song Dynasty.
But reality is reality. Since the Song Dynasty perished in a short period of time, it means that the Qi-nurturing Kung Fu praised by scholars is actually empty talk and of little use.
"The demise of the Song Dynasty cannot avoid one issue, and that is corruption." Han Du stretched out a finger and said to the point.
