In Zheng Qingyu's dim eyes, there seemed to be only a void. Zhang Yingce looked into his eyes, and it seemed that he could no longer arouse the impassioned sentiment that "people's hearts can be saved". He was a little unhappy, and he and Ye Shanli complained about him. Ye Shanli was busy for a long time, and when he said that Zheng Qingyu could not let him down like this, he let out all the resentment in his heart; Zhang Yingce complained that he had lost his way of life, and sighed for his friend. A beam of silver light suddenly penetrated Zheng Qingyu's empty eyes. It was the broken silver in Zhang Yingce's hand, which was delivered directly to him. Zheng Qingyu walked away without even saying a word of thanks. Zhang Yingce looked at Zheng Qingyu walking under the moonlight, so deserted. The moonlight did not illuminate the road ahead, as if it was swallowing him silently. At this time, the voice behind him slowly echoed in his ears:
"Brother Zhang, look, Dezong has no conscience..."
From then on, whether in the village or in the house, Zheng Qingyu was as if he was dead. No one remembered him anymore, and it was impossible to miss him anymore. As for Zheng Qingyu living here for most of his life, what was the point? It's meaningless. It's like a sudden black spot on a famous painting. It's like adding something extra to a snake. No one who knows how to appreciate it will keep it. They will just throw it into the old paper pile and do it with no impact or meaning.
But Zheng Qingyu is not dead after all, but few people know where he is. The only relevant rumor is that a few years later, he took a boat to Nanjing, a city that scholars and scholars yearned for.
Wei Dehui from Nanjing is Zheng Qingyu's cousin. His courtesy name was Yiguang, and he was born with a scholarly appearance. Later, he actually entered the Nanjing Imperial College to teach, and he was quite famous in Nanjing. Zheng Qingyu had nothing to do on the boat. Thinking of him, he decided to take a break and asked the boat to turn around and head south. After arriving on land, Zheng Qingyu traveled to many states and counties, but he was in a hurry. He only remembered that he gradually became accustomed to the southern food he was not used to eating along the way, and finally arrived in Nanjing.
Zheng Qingyu had no intention of looking at the majestic city walls here. He just walked through a few streets. After walking for a while, he stopped by the Qinhuai River, leaned on the railing and watched the boats for a while, thinking of his cousin's residence. , then walked straight to the river houses on the other side of the river, walked to the door walls of each house and asked, and then found Wei Dehui's home. The person who came out to open the door was Wei Dehui's eldest son, his name was Wei Yundi, also known as Juide, and he looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Who are you?" Wei Yundi looked at his clothes and looked at him suspiciously.
"I am Wei Yiguang's cousin, my surname is Zheng." His attitude was not respectful.
"Oh," Wei Yundi hurriedly bowed. "Really my uncle? I never heard my father say that."
"If you don't believe it, wait until your father comes back."
Wei Yundi saw that he was so calm. If he was really a relative of this seniority, it would be hard to turn him away. "Then... come in quickly." He said, shouting inside:
"Mother, Uncle Zheng is here!"
He led Zheng Qingyu in, and his mother Li came out to welcome him. Zheng Qingyu also bowed, and then walked through the open-air courtyard and entered the main hall. There were only three or four chairs placed crookedly in the hall, with an offering table wrapped in green cloth in the middle. Zheng Qingyu just sat down and chatted for a while when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. Wei Yundi quickly ran out and opened the door, only to find that an old-fashioned official with an upright appearance had come in.
It must be Wei Dehui. Zheng Qingyu thought.
Wei Dehui looked at the main hall, his eyes suddenly lit up, he asked his son to take off his official uniform, he jogged forward respectfully, then bowed respectfully to Zheng Qingyu, and finally said respectfully:
"I respect my cousin for a long time to come!"
Before Zheng Qingyu could speak, he sat on the chair, looked at his wife with a smile, and said, "Bring the child over quickly and let your cousin see it!" Li agreed and walked inside.
"My nephew has a child?" Zheng Qingyu asked.
"Yes. Uncle Zun came from far away, and he must have either achieved fame or become famous for his erudition. I have known since I was a child that my uncle loves books. If he works so hard, he must have a university education..."
"I have no knowledge. I can't survive now." Zheng Qingyu smiled bitterly.
Wei Dehui thought he was just being modest, and said respectfully: "Uncle, don't look down on yourself..."
After talking for a while, he looked up and saw Wei Dehui's wife leading the young son behind him. After he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his head and saw a five or six-year-old child with his hair braided. He was very tall. Fair and fair, not too fat, very lively, with thick black eyebrows and heroic eyes.
"This is a kid who doesn't have a name yet. I've been planning for him to go to private school for the past few days. I also want to name him according to the holy book, but that's all. It's better for you to give him a name as you are older and more talented." Wei Dehui touched the child's head. road.
Zheng Qingyu knelt down and looked at the child smiling. The child's mouth was wide open and he also looked at him smiling. "Shall I give you a name?" The child nodded shyly and said nothing, but rolled his eyes a few times.
"Okay, just call..." Zheng Qingyu's mind was racing.
"Wei Huai. How do you like it? Do you think it sounds good?" Zheng Qingyu poked the child's face.
In Wei Dehui's opinion, this name has no allusion, but it is the meaning of Wei Ji's heart. His eyes really show some disappointment. After thinking about it, he is afraid that outsiders will ridicule him, how can he give his child such a casual name for a famous scholar? Come on name. But he couldn't help but listen, and he praised him a few times against his will, and even began to think that Zheng Qingyu really "can't survive". What is the so-called "erudite and famous"?
Although Wei Huai didn't say a word, he felt that the name was excellent, but the so-called allusion was boring and boring. Why did his father insist on the messy words "Yun Di Jue De, Mo Ming Bi Xie" in "Shang Shu"? From then on, I felt grateful to Zheng Qingyu. I often wanted to get close to this old man who even had an interesting name, but I was afraid. Every time I wanted to see him, when I got there, I saw the old man walking alone and dull. , looking unwilling to pay attention to others, he couldn't help but stop and go back.
The private school was built not far from the river house. Wei Dehui personally paid for it. He also inscribed a plaque and invited Song Juren, who was close to him, to teach in the school. Zheng Qingyu said that he wanted to help, but Wei Dehui wanted to test his knowledge and suggested that he should teach. Zheng Qingyu understood, but still refused, saying that he just wanted to join the school to work as a cleaner in order to strengthen his muscles. . Wei Dehui made three more invitations, and Zheng Qingyu made three more requests. After confirming that the latter was not modest, he looked pityful and had no choice but to send him, but he only showed disdain in his heart. After seeing Zheng Qingyu leave, , then turned his back and muttered: "It's really interesting..." He stroked his beard and sneered.
The private school was very spacious, and apart from the room where classes were held, there was a large courtyard outside. Zheng Qingyu felt quite happy because this large courtyard was enough for him to clean. I hold the broom here every day, and from time to time I deliberately approach the teaching room to listen to what Song Juren said. From the first day of teaching, Song Juren began to teach students to read "Four Books", "Five Classics" and "The Analects of Confucius". All other books were prohibited. After a few years, students were allowed to read modern times. Cheng Wen, write an article according to the example. Zheng Qingyu recalled what he had taught his children when he was in Ye Mansion. He leaned against the roots of the tree, his mind seeming to wander elsewhere.
The children had nothing to do after school, so they talked closely to Zheng Qingyu and gradually struck up a conversation. He would talk to the children about some miscellaneous things, such as poems, songs, and anecdotes. Sometimes he would also talk about current strategies and what he had heard and seen. Wei Huai heard people say that his uncle's family had been in turmoil in his early years, he had traveled far and wide, and he had many insights into the world, so he listened seriously.
"Every dynasty in this dynasty has practiced the tea and salt method, and this dynasty is the most powerful. This salt method has benefits. You can see the benefits. Save money. The money saved is enough for you to feed yourself for thirty to fifty years. This money It was all taken from the common people, which created a prosperous age of forty or fifty years. But what are the disadvantages? The Salt Law was implemented by the imperial court and was controlled by the government. Businessmen could not interfere, which led to officials taking power and being greedy. You watch the play and listen to the book. Mr. Bao, how many people have you killed? But you can't bring peace to the world by killing people. If you study literature without learning the fundamentals, only studying its branches and branches, and only understanding the general outlines, then you are fake Confucianism."
"Uncle, does it mean that if the Salt Law is abolished, the world will no longer be greedy for ink?" Among the children, only Wei Huai stood up to speak, with the heroic spirit in his eyes shining brightly.
"That's a good question. But this reform needs to be done slowly, just like you won't take the exam if you haven't studied thoroughly. It's not advisable to rush for quick success." He said with a smile.
"I don't require you to be an official. Paying attention to the source of your writing is the first priority. You may be a hermit or an official or work in various industries. As long as you are willing to see the country's benefits and disadvantages and have your own opinions, that's enough, that's enough..."
Wei Huai didn't seem to hear the last sentence, and for some reason, he had already walked away. Zheng Qingyu looked at Wei Huai, and the shadow of himself standing under the moonlight flashed past, his figure a little lonely.
After Qiu Yue was handed over, Wei Dehui, his wife and children began to discuss how to get rid of Zheng Qingyu. This cousin, who was neither famous nor famous, was of no use. He was wasting food here. Logically speaking, he should not be kept, so he put it politely. After learning about the money and food situation at home, Zheng Qingyu had no intention of asking for anything, so he took this opportunity to leave, which was exactly what Wei Dehui wanted.
He said goodbye to Nanjing and got on the boat all the way. There were people talking on the boat, but Zheng Qingyu kept his head down. He went ashore again in a trance, boarded the boat again in a trance, someone spoke again in a trance, and fell asleep again in a trance.
Until one day, he suddenly fell seriously ill after boarding a boat in Tongyuan, Jiujiang. The boatman and the kind-hearted guests on the boat were so anxious that they immediately carried Zheng Qingyu ashore. There was no doctor, so they carried him to a small mountain in the nearby mountains. Guan—it’s called Mind-Shou Guan, resting there. Zheng Qingyu was in a daze, and he didn't know why he was brought here. After slowly regaining his energy, he realized what the local surname was. He claimed to be unworthy, never told others about his name, and was very skilled in medicine. Many people came here. He would never refuse treatment.
Zheng Qingyu entered the temple and naturally wanted to thank his benefactor. He didn't see any other Taoist priests along the way, and he felt strange. There was only the Taoist priest in this temple who didn't even have a Taoist name. What kind of Taoist temple was he?
He walked along the main hall to the place where the Taoist priests rested. It seemed that someone was there, so he knocked on the door, but there was no sound.
"Your name is Zheng Dezong, right?" He felt a tap on his shoulder blade.
Zheng Qingyu looked back and saw a man wearing gray cloth, wearing hemp shoes and smiling briskly. He also wore a slightly shiny bamboo hat at an angle. He looked thin, with flat cheeks and a straight nose, and his hair was unkempt and untied.
"It is a sin to be unworthy and not to see him in person."
Zheng Qingyu bowed forward and said, "Taoist priests are like wandering clouds and wild cranes, wandering freely. Qingyu is nowhere to be found."
"I was bored just now. I went up the mountain to have fun. I was very wet, so I left dressed like this." He stepped forward and took Zheng Qingyu's hand. "I'm tired from swimming. I wonder if the old gentleman can play a game of chess with me? Just in time to chat. .”
He pulled Zheng Qingyu, took out a rusty key from his bag, opened the door, and went to get the chessboard himself. Zheng Qingyu also sat under the window, feeling damp and cold. It turned out that there were several trees beside the window, so it looked shady.
The Taoist priest placed the chess pieces on the table and sat down across from him. "My chess skills are pretty good. Let Dezong have three pieces."
Zheng Qingyu raised his eyes and looked at him, wondering: "How do you know my handwriting?"
"So what if I know? I'm afraid it doesn't matter if I don't know who you are."
"It's like you have traveled around the world, knowing that most of the refugees are refugees and the court is unknown, and you still want to teach students the right way, but what's the use?" As he said that, he helped Zheng Qingyu lift a piece on the chessboard. Mr. Zheng had nothing to say, and after a long while he said: "I want to teach them the way to save the country with a righteous heart..."
"There are few people in the world who accept such thoughts. Will anyone listen to you when you are running around and talking? Haha, stop meddling in other things, the affairs of the world. Self-cultivation is the first, and self-cultivation is the first." Taoist He continued, "Like Dezong, who is so worried If the country is concerned about its people, it is better to worry about itself. Once you cultivate your own virtue, everything will be perfect."
Zheng Qingyu only rubbed his hands on the chessboard, trying the cool breeze coming from the window, and was speechless for a long time. "Mr. Zheng." Hearing this, Zheng Qingyu put down the chess piece hesitantly.
"I'm out of breath. Chess." Taoist He stared at the chessboard.
Zheng Qingyu looked at the chessboard and found that it was indeed the wrong place. He hurriedly raised his hand and moved it.
"You and I are just ordinary people, why should we worry about the world? The old man and the unworthy travel together in the mountains and forests, and live in quiet places. How can we not finish this life? Don't worry about trivial matters, isn't this life happy!" He laughed a few more times, and then Carrying a bottle of wine, he stumbled and opened the back door with one hand. Zheng Qingyu followed him. It turned out that the door at the back led directly to the mountain. The mountain was not steep, the straight stone road was extremely clear, and the light mist was like a wall. Blocking the line of sight, squeezing the tips of the grass to the point of dew. Zheng Qingyu immediately forgot all those troublesome things and walked towards the mountains with the Taoist priest. Then, only two laughs were heard, and the echo circled along the mountain wall, and then gradually became fainter until there was no sound.
