There is a green pond next to the Wang family library. It was dug temporarily to store water when the library was built. Later, when the library was built, the green pond was borrowed many times and gradually turned into a deep lake.
A lake cannot be allowed to stagnant and decay, so the ancestors of the Wang family spent a lot of money to hire skilled craftsmen to move rocks and repair it, and also introduced living water from the Qinhuai River into the lake to revive the lake.
The craftsmen hired by the ancestors of the Wang family are from the Gongshu family, who are best at making exquisite works. The lake in front of the library is deep and has thousands of bluestones as the bottom. However, it can be kept free of sediment all year round. You can see the bottom of the lake at a glance. The lake has withstood the changes of the four seasons and has remained the same. Clear and unstained.
The children of the Wang family did not cherish this precious land very much. Every time they wrote and wrote, the inkstones stained with ink would be brought here to be cleaned. The inkstones that were damaged and bumped and could not be used again would also be thrown to the bottom of the lake from here. Over time, this Fanghu water was called the inkstone washing pool in the Wang family.
After several generations of the Wang family, the head of the Wang family encountered turbulent times. The head of the Wang family loved books so much that he couldn't bear the library to be destroyed by the war. He recruited eight martial arts masters to guard him, and also assigned the characters of plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, pen, ink, paper, and inkstone to the book. Given to eight people, who are in charge of various parts of the library, and whose status is second only to the head of the Wang family, the Inkstone Washing Pond now welcomes its first owner, the Inkstone Pond.
When the title of head of the Wang family was passed to Wang Huaian, the name Yanqingchi had been passed down for twelve generations.
When Wang Huai'an was young, he studied in Chang'an and had a personal friend. Unfortunately, his friend got into trouble in Chang'an and his family was sentenced to death, leaving only an unborn posthumous son.
The woman had no name and no status, and few people knew about her. In addition, she was already weak. After hearing the bad news about her husband, she had fetal motility and suffered from bleeding during childbirth. After giving birth to a baby girl, she forced herself to raise her body until she was three years old, and then passed away.
Wang Huaian learned that his old friend still had a daughter alive. It was already three years later. When the letter from Chang'an was delivered to his case, Wang Huaian, who cherished books, put down the books that the Wang family had treasured for many years for the first time and held up the letter. With a few pennies on the street, I could find someone to write the letter for me. With tears in my eyes, I left my position as the head of the family and went to Chang'an alone to look for my old friend's daughter.
In the late winter of that year, snow fell in Chang'an, a foot thick.
The mutton buns at Chengdong Market are still as soft and white as before, and the mutton soup boiled in a large iron pot is filled with fat slicks.
A dark and skinny girl who was half-clothed was caught on the spot stealing a steamed bun by a man. The man was harsh and picked her up with one hand, raising the other hand high. The girl was afraid that the stolen steamed bun would be taken away, so she opened her mouth and stuffed it. In the entrance, the steamed bun soup was very hot. The girl was boiled to tears, but she kept swallowing it. She had been hungry for a long time, and it would be okay to take a beating. She could just endure it for a few days, which was better than starving to death.
Wang Huaian, who had never used martial arts with others, took action for the first time. Not good at martial arts, his state of mind suddenly changed, from the realm of emptiness to the realm of selflessness.
He stretched out his hand and wrote the word "stop" in front of him, stopping the falling snow in Chang'an and stopping everyone on the street.
He walked towards the girl alone, walking heavily, and rescued her from the hands of the clerk. He gently held her in his arms, holding her very tightly. The fox fur embroidered by the Jinling Jiang family with dozens of gold rubs all over the girl's body. .
He looked at her eyebrows and eyes that were similar to those of his old friend, and smiled happily.
After a long time, the snow in Chang'an began to fall again. The man's raised hand was thrown away, almost knocking him over. He was about to curse a few words, but when he saw Wang Huaian's noble clothes, he swallowed it back.
The girl was held in Wang Huaian's arms. Thinking she had met a bad guy, she punched and kicked Wang Huaian. She hadn't eaten for several days and was too weak to break free. She opened her mouth and bit Wang Huaian's arm with her teeth.
Although his arm was bitten in pain, Wang Huaian still smiled gently and said, "My name is Wang Huaian, your father's old friend. Are you willing to go to Jinling with me so that you don't have to live like this again?"
"I've seen a lot of bad guys like you. If you want to deceive me, there's no one at the door." The girl stretched out her dirty hands and dug out Wang Huaian's eyes. In the past few years of living on Chang'an Street, she had seen all kinds of scenes. This was the first time they met. , I don’t even know what your name is, so I just follow you just by saying “I am your father’s friend.” What a fool.
Wang Huaian went to hide behind him, and the girl took the opportunity to break away and ran into the alley, leaving a row of footprints.
"Master, don't get angry with a little beggar. It's not worth it. You might starve to death in her shabby alley one day. It's so cold today, why don't you come in and warm yourself up? My mutton buns are very good. It’s so famous that many distinguished guests from the inner city come to eat there.”
The rude waiter just interrupted and greeted him with a smile, thinking that if he could keep a distinguished guest like Wang Huaian, he could just wave his hand and throw in a few pieces of silver, so he could close the door earlier today and save himself a few hours of freezing. .
Wang Huaian straightened up and threw out a golden bean, "I want this pot of mutton buns. Which alley does she live in?"
The clerk has never seen such a wealthy person. A golden bean can buy a nice house in the outer city of Chang'an. The clerk is afraid that the shopkeeper will see it, so he turns his back and hides the golden bean through his sleeve, and then hides it to himself. A broken piece of silver was found in the sleeve, and the shopkeeper would do an accounting at night. The broken piece of silver was the explanation. Silver was exchanged for gold, and there was no loss.
The waiter quickly packed the whole pot of mutton buns and personally guided Wang Huaian to the dilapidated alley where the girl was hiding.
Worried about being scolded by the shopkeeper after being out for too long, the waiter didn't dare to stay and hurried back to the bun shop.
There is a dilapidated house in the alley, which has been in disrepair for a long time. Most of the wall tiles have collapsed. The wind keeps blowing, leaving only a little shelter from the wind and rain. Snowflakes are also drifting in. A small figure is curled up in the corner and shivering. The grass raised by reeds The pile is the quilt she uses for winter.
Wang Huai felt at ease. If he had known she was alive earlier, why would he have let her suffer like this?
He raised his sleeves and wrote a huge word "Stop" in front of him, covering the entire city of Chang'an.
The wind stopped at the alley, and snow stopped falling in Chang'an.
He walked into the yard and put down the mutton buns. He was afraid that she would run away again. He quickly exited the yard and said through the low courtyard wall: "I put the mutton buns here. Remember to eat them. Don't worry, they are not poisoned. I My name is Wang Huai'an, the head of the Wang family in Jinling. If you want to eat anything from now on, you don't have to steal it. Just eat it openly. I'll live in the inn next to you. If anyone wants to cause trouble for you, just tell me my name."
Wang Huaian walked out of the alley, and the girl hiding in the haystack watched for a while, then retrieved the buns from the yard, shrunk into the haystack, held one in one hand and smelled it under her nose, but there was no smell. The buns were still warm, and the skin was thin. The girl swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva and no longer cared about it. She would starve to death if she didn't eat anyway. She almost choked after eating two of the buns, so she reached out to grab a handful of clean snow and put it in her mouth.
After finishing two buns, the girl was still unsatisfied and wanted to eat one more. She reached out and counted the remaining buns. After hesitating for a long time, she carefully hid the buns in her arms and kept them for the next meal.
What she didn't know was that a few hours after Wang Huaian walked out of that alley, all the shops and inns outside Chang'an City had a copy of her portrait.
The snow stopped in Chang'an for half a day, and the snow turned into rainwater, dripping from the eaves, creating a row of regular shallow pits.
The carriages and horses of Chang'an Post have not stopped since Wang Huai'an stepped through the front door. Visitors from various offices and courtyards in the inner city of Chang'an are pouring into the post like the snow that just stopped in Chang'an.
A weak-headed young man from Jinling asked most of the high-ranking dignitaries in Chang'an City to come and greet him. Yi Cheng did not dare to neglect and went to knock on Wang Huaian's door.
Yi Cheng didn't know what the nobles and the young man were talking about inside the house, but when they went out, they each carried a portrait with wet ink in their hands.
The Yi Cheng welcomed and sent off all the nobles. His legs were filled with lead and his waist could not straighten up at all. He slowly walked back to the door of the Jinling boy's house.
Wang Huaian was already waiting for him in front of the door and handed him a portrait of a girl. "If the person in the painting comes to see me, prepare the best guest room for her so that she can be entertained."
Before the Yi Cheng could ask more questions, Wang Huaian had already walked out. The girl was not close to strangers, so he took her back to Jinling by force. He was afraid that there would be more troubles on the way, so he just had to go step by step.
Wang Huaian originally wanted to go to the tailor shop to buy some cotton clothes for the winter, but he didn't know the girl's length, so he dropped a golden bean and led a group of embroiderers out to look for the girl. On the way, he was afraid that she would be hungry again, so he went to cook some meat. I bought a roast chicken from the shop and covered it with sweet cattails. I also went to the pastry shop to buy a bowl of sweet porridge and kept it warm in a food box.
The dilapidated alley was washed away by snow and water, making it much cleaner.
Wang Huaian led a group of people into the yard. The girl huddled in the haystack was awakened by the sound of footsteps. With a look of horror on her face, she crawled out of the dog hole against the wall and hid elsewhere.
Seeing the girl hiding away, Wang Huaian sighed softly and waved his hand to ask the embroiderers to go back and prepare a few thick quilts.
Wang Huaian knew in his heart that the girl would only come back as long as everyone left.
The tailor's shop was not far away, and several quilts were quickly delivered. The embroiderer also specially prepared waterproof raincloths.
The quilt was placed in the courtyard together with the roast chicken and sweet porridge he bought. Wang Huaian looked at it guiltily, then turned and walked out of the alley.
After making sure that everyone was gone, the girl crawled back to her shabby house from the dark place. She looked at the things Wang Huaian had left in the yard from a distance, and hesitated.
Wang Huaian came again. It was almost dusk. He did not enter the alley, but just took a look from a distance. The objects in the courtyard were all taken back to the broken house by the girl. The guilt in his heart dissipated a little. He raised his hand and wrote a word in front of him. Warm is the word, the warm wind in Chang'an City blew all night long.
From then on, Wang Huaian would come every morning, noon, and dusk. Every time he came, he would bring all kinds of food. This happened every day without making any mistakes. Sometimes he would catch a girl going out and Wang Huaian would say a few words to her. The girl would stay away at first, but later she would reply hastily to him.
By the time the willow trees in Chang'an City had sprouted new buds, Wang Huaian had been staying in Chang'an for more than three months. His desk was piled with letters from Jinling, urging him to go home.
The girl has new clothes and wears them all day long to show off in the market. People in the market who used to treat her coldly are now extremely polite to her, and occasionally stall owners will give her food. Wang Huaian accompanied her on the street, and she would no longer hide. People, one big and one small, walked side by side, like a father and daughter.
That day, the girl got a candy. She was reluctant to eat it. She held it above her head. After walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned around and asked, "Does Jinling have as many delicious foods as Chang'an?"
Wang Huaian, who was well-read in poetry and books and was known as the most talented person in the world, was speechless for a moment. He was silent for a long time and then replied, "Just like Chang'an."
The girl smiled and said: "When my mother died, she didn't tell me my father's surname. I still don't have a name. Can you give me a name? With a name, I can go to Aurous Hill with you."
Wang Huaian stood up straight, "There is a lake where I used to study. It's called Xiyanchi. The owner of the lake is called Yanqingchi. You go to Jinling and follow her to enlightenment for a few years. She will be your master. From now on, her name will be It will be passed on to you.”
"Inkstone Pond, this name sounds good."
There was light in the girl's eyes, and she saw that the candy in her hand was about to melt. Without any politeness, she opened her mouth and took a big bite. The candy slowly melted in her mouth. It was very sweet, very sweet...
