The Daqing River passes through Luokou and only glances at Jinan City before rushing away. As soon as the gate of the old city opened, several soldiers on tall horses galloped past. Many people flashed out of the blue-tiled and gray-brick houses on both sides, making a lot of noise, breaking the blue-grey peace and quiet. But those horses showed no sign of looking forward, and their eyes were focused on the curved fork in front of them, leaving only the clatter of hoofs and the rising dust wind on the stone slabs. They arrived at a mansion with green tiles and red tiles, pulled the bridle on the horse's neck hard, then took off their feet, rolled off the horse neatly, and the leader took out a piece of red paper in his sleeve. , looking at the two big characters "Ye Mansion" hanging on the mansion, he strode forward to pull the door knocker, and raised his voice and shouted:
"Mr. Ye is promoted! Congratulations to Mr. Ye!"
The door opened immediately, and several people saw a middle-aged man in his forties getting dressed. The man pulled his cuffs, clasped his fists with both hands, strode across the threshold, stepped forward and said, "Everyone has come from the capital, and it has been a dusty journey!"
The leader looked at his appearance. He was not too fat, with a square face highlighted by black gauze - he was sure that this person was Mr. Ye Long, who was in charge of the Ye Mansion.
"You must be very tired. Please come to the studio and talk about it!"
Ye Long led these people through the main hall and a short corridor before arriving at the place where Ye Long met his friends to study. When he looked up, he saw that a lot of the gold characters on the large plaque in the study room had been removed, but it could still be seen crookedly that it was Three words: "Living Water House".
But the leader stood still and opened the red paper in his hand. There was an edict stuck inside. Ye Long saw it and immediately knelt down. After reading it over, he stood up, took the edict and stared at the holy relics on it. , tears couldn't help but burst out of his eyes. "After the death of the previous emperor, Long was extremely grieved. He expected that I would be the emperor for the rest of my life and would not ask for repayment from the court. I was not kind to the new emperor, but I rewarded him so generously. God's grace is so great that Long cannot bear it!" As he said this, he seemed ashamed. You have to lower your head.
"The emperor governs the world with filial piety. He heard that the old gentleman kept filial piety for his elder brother and had not been in office for three years, so he decided to use him. This is also because of the old gentleman's virtue." The leader comforted him and said.
"Alas," Ye Long sighed, "Speaking of my brother's service to the court for many years and his death in service, but he still was not given a posthumous title... Giving my brother a posthumous title was also one of Ye's great wishes, but he did not dare to ask for it. Posthumous title." He suddenly raised his head and looked at those people.
"My Ye family has lived in this mansion for almost a hundred years, and it has fallen into disrepair. If my late brother gets a posthumous title, this place can be built as his ancestral hall..."
Seeing what Ye Long said, those people responded quickly: "I will definitely give you a word of advice when I return to the court."
Ye Long then sat down and took the handkerchief to wipe his face. Those few people were sitting there drinking tea. Suddenly, they saw Ye Long frown and become serious. He immediately threw down his handkerchief, turned around and said to a servant: "The guests are all drinking tea here, but there is no sign of him." ! Ask the madam to call that traitor over!"
Those people immediately put tea on the table and said, "Sir, please don't bother me anymore. I'll take my leave. I'll take my leave." He bowed and left. Ye Long didn't stop him and sent him off for a while, then came back with a straight face and walked all the way to the living water house. Although he lowered his head, he could see his son at a glance.
"What are you doing standing here? The police officers who came in have already left... They called you just now when they knocked on the door. You are even busier than me!" While looking at him, he threw off his clothes and sat down, and saw his wife again. Just stood aside, looking at him, not daring to make a sound. He could only force a smile and said, "You go first, I'll say a few words to him, it's no big deal."
This is Ye Long's second son, born in Dingyou. The eldest son was called Ye Changwei, and he died when he was about five or six years old. When the second son was born, Ye Long had not yet won the Jinshi, and was preparing to use the birth of this child to bring joy to himself, so he named him Yongjia. . The so-called person A means to be on the list. Ye Long thought of another word for him, and called him Tinglong. When Ye Yongjia was sixteen years old, Ye Long hurriedly donated a prison to his son and waited for the next provincial examination.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Yongjia has lost his childishness and become more and more handsome. I saw that he had a fair complexion, straight facial features, a high bridge of nose, and a pair of clean sword-shaped eyebrows. He originally had a righteous and awe-inspiring look, but unfortunately, there was a melancholy in his eyes, which made people feel rather dull.
"Kneel down!" Ye Long's face sank. "You were supposed to come out to meet someone from the imperial court, but you didn't even see him! This etiquette is incomplete. How did I teach you?"
Ye Yongjia knelt on the ground and did not dare to say a word. After a long time, he said hesitantly: "After I handed over Qiu's son, I will take the exam. I have to read more..."
"You don't usually read, why are you so short today?" He raised his eyebrows and raised his hands. Ye Yongjia lay on the ground and didn't dare to dodge, and said hurriedly: "Father, don't get angry over trivial things. It will hurt your liver. My son will definitely It won’t happen again!”
Ye Long then put his hands away and stretched out his hands on the chair handle, "What's the use of talking about this? You study there all day long, you should also practice and practice, so that you can inherit the family business. Ah, it just so happens that our family wants to To buy a new house, you go to... Qihe County to help our family look at the house. If you like it, send the pictures back to me. If there are no pictures, you can summarize them in words, and there must be no falsehoods. Do you understand? ?”
"My son will obey his father's orders..."
"Just stand up, it's nothing important." Ye Long said.
Ye Yongjia stretched his neck to look at his father's face first, and then hesitantly stood up, but he was a little unsteady. After bowing deeply and looking at Ye Long's face, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute, you go with your master."
Ye Yongjia only obeyed his orders. He knew that the 'master' his father spoke of was a slave in the family, with the surname Chengming Congyuan and the courtesy name Yushun. His grandfather was a famous talent in Shandong. He was linked to the royal family of the previous dynasty and intended to rebel. He was killed for disobeying the new dynasty and all his descendants were demoted as slaves. Therefore, his father came to the Ye family, and Cheng Congyuan lived with his father. He loved literature and was quite like his grandfather. the wind. Although he is also a slave, he is favored by Master Ye because of his knowledge, so his status is naturally very different from others. He has stayed in the Ye family for forty years, and his prestige is self-evident. After the Ye family expelled a gentleman, they asked him to serve as Ye Yongjia's teacher. Mr. Ye also respected him very much. Like his father, he never treated him as a slave.
Ye Yongjia strode through the corner door and bumped into Cheng Congyuan at the main entrance. He saw him bent over, looking extremely humble, but it could not hide his thick black long eyebrows and broad forehead that looked like they had been traced by a sutra. Extraordinary appearance. When he raised his head, his eyes suddenly became clear and cloudy, and you could never guess his thoughts from there.
Cheng Congyuan paused in his throat: "I want to see a house, don't you know how to use a horse?" His voice was long and unhurried.
"Mr. Cheng, use the horse." Ye Yongjia said in a very calm tone.
"Okay." Cheng Congyuan patted his shoulder.
When they arrived at the gate, two low-level servants brought two horses and then stepped aside. Ye Yongjia waved and the two of them said 'yes' before they dared to go back. Cheng Congyuan put the bridle on the horse and said, "Sir, I'm just your slave. I think I'm quite knowledgeable, so I just found a way to save money. Do you think I'm a slave?" What kind of master? After all, he is still a slave at his command!" He smiled heartily, pulled Ye Yongjia onto the horse with one hand, jumped on the horse behind him, and danced his whip: "You are the future master of this family, you have to treat who you respect and who you humble. Understand who is the master and who is the slave!" After that, he shouted at the top of his lungs, the whip cracked twice more, and the two horses started running at the same time.
…
"Huu, Hui." Cheng Congyuan got off his horse and pulled the bridle with his left hand. The master and servant entered the Qihe River in less than half a day. This place is not rich, and the streets along the way are all earth-colored short houses, which Ye Yongjia can't even take a look at. Cheng Congyuan saw that there was really nothing to see in this poor place, and when he looked up he saw the fierce sun, so he said to Ye Yongjia: "It's not interesting for me to look here. Let's go to the studio to rest for a while. If you want to know about a good house, , it’s not too late for us to go again.”
Ye Yongjia nodded and prepared to stop by a teahouse to rest. This tea house was already dilapidated, and there were a few idlers holding fans inside, drinking tea and chatting. It suddenly felt like people were crowded together and it was very noisy, but I could barely sit still and could barely hear what I was saying. Cheng Congyuan took out a few slings of money from his pocket, pulled out more than a dozen old yellowed copper plates from one sling, dropped them into his palm, blew on them, stood up and went to pay for the tea. Ye Yongjia had nothing to do. He turned sideways and listened to the idle talk:
"When did that book school start up in front?"
"What happened a few days ago. It is said that a Nanjing man in his mid-twenties came to build this place. He also talked some crazy things all day long, and taught nondescript things, such as theories of hundreds of schools of thought, poetry, songs, and modern essays. The ancient method is all-encompassing. He claimed that "the right mind and right path are the foundation of Confucianism, and the key points of reform are stated in every word and deed." He also listed more than ten ill-favored policies of the dynasty and eight strategies for reform, hoping to spread his principles. Each province can move the world..."
"Dream! In my opinion, it's better to do your duty and teach something that is beneficial to the scientific examination. If you study other things, you won't be an official, you won't make money, and people will look down upon you."
"The so-called 'scholars, farmers, industry and merchants' cannot be scholar-bureaucrats, nor can they work hoes like us. They are really useless people."
"Nanjing people..." When Ye Yongjia heard what the idlers said, he immediately thought of something and thought to himself. When he turned around, Cheng Congyuan gently placed two small cups of tea on the table and pushed them towards Ye Yongjia. Ye Yongjia picked up the tea and took a few sips. It had no taste.
He whispered to Mr. Cheng: "I'll go to the school in front to take a look. You drink slowly." After saying that, he pointed. Cheng Congyuan looked confused and asked him: "What kind of school? I just popped this sentence out of nowhere." Ye Yongjia smiled and said: "The gang said that there was a school in front of them, run by a Nanjing man; listen to what they said , more like Mr. Wei who taught me."
Cheng Congyuan frowned: "I don't have any friendship with him. He still taught those nonsense, and he was scolded and kicked out by me. I don't see this kind of person anymore..."
"Master Cheng, you can't say that. Although Mr. Wei has a bad temper, he is upright and courteous and has the demeanor of a gentleman. Besides, he is a famous Confucian, so it is not useless to talk about the past."
"I don't want to say anything if I want to go. I just remind you: The master asked us to see the house. We should leave after drinking tea. It shows that the master can do things quickly. The master finally got me to come. If he doesn't do it properly, The servants will definitely dissatisfied with this master. Thanks to our small family, we can still control it; if you have a family of a hundred people and everyone dissatisfied, won't they punish you?"
Cheng Congyuan's words were serious, but Ye Yongjia was a little annoyed: "Mr. Cheng is right. But if Mr. Wei is here, it would be a pity not to be sincere." Cheng Congyuan knew that he could not be persuaded, so he had to wave his hand and let him go. Ye Yongjia went to pull the horse outside the house. Cheng Congyuan was holding tea and shouted outside: "I'm looking at your horse. You can just go." When Ye Yongjia heard this, he let go of his hand and walked from the teahouse to the road.
After walking only a few miles, he strolled to the entrance of the academy and saw two poems hanging on both sides of the door. The ten characters in small regular script were very eye-catching, and they read:
The generous autumn wind stirs up tragic songs but is not a perch
There is also a line of small print below:
Recording the poems of Wang Jiefu in Linchuan
When he saw this poem, he remembered Mr. Wei's demeanor and felt respectful. As he walked next to the wall, he gradually recalled the face of Mr. Wei. As he casually looked into the wall, he saw a green willow tree growing crookedly inside, but it was bright green. The branches and leaves stretched straight to the outside of the wall, shining in the sun. It shines like a green smoke. Ye Yongjia stared blankly for a while. But the smoke gradually thinned, and a thin scholar on crutches blocked his sight. The green smoke became almost invisible in Ye Yongjia's peripheral vision, and he came back to his senses. Ye Yongjia glanced up, and as soon as he saw the cane he was leaning on and his slightly stooped body, he hurriedly returned the greeting:
"Mr. Wei..."
This time the two eyes could be seen clearly: the man's eyes were bright and heroic, his eyebrows were light but sharp, and except for his waist shape and crutches, he showed a heroic appearance.
Ye Yongjia knew a little bit about his family background. He was named Wei Huai after the famous Confucian scholar of the Wei family in Nanjing, with the courtesy name Jimin and the nickname Jingshan. He also had an older brother... As for how to use crutches, Wei Huai himself had no idea. It is taboo to talk to him, the son of the Ye family, but he accidentally fell out of a carriage when he was a child. He dodged a horse's hoof, but was run over by the wooden wheel of the carriage; his father Wei Dehui made him lie in bed for three months. , and was not allowed to go out; although the injury recovered later, it seemed that a rib was broken at that time, so that he would break out in sweat after walking for a while, and had to use a cane. Wei Huai thought that this cane should accompany him for the rest of his life, but in the end he only stayed with Wei Huai for sixty-three years and was forgotten in front of the Nanjing Council Hall.
"I can't afford to be... Mr. Thirty-Six Days. Your Ye family is really giving me face."
Ye Yongjia suddenly raised his head and was stunned.
"What? Master Ye sent you here and you want to invite me back?" Wei Huai turned the vine to the ground and turned around slowly.
"I have never offended sir, why should you complain..." Ye Yongjia was a little anxious, and Wei Huai only glanced back at him: "When I first came here, your family kindly invited me to teach you; After catching up, you used some words to ridicule me. You came here to ask me to say something nice and get back together with your family, so don’t bother."
"Students don't know these things, so Mr. Wei, please don't make mistakes."
Wei Huai sighed, turned around and asked, "Why are you looking for me?"
Ye Yongjia's face gradually turned around and he said with a smile, "I'm here to hear how Mr. Wang saved the situation."
When Wei Huai saw that he was sincerely listening to his teachings, he got rid of his cold and disdainful expression and said, "How about saving people from disadvantages! I'm just doing a little bit of my duty as a scholar, so that the world can see that Confucian scholars are not only capable of doing research. "
Ye Yongjia nodded in praise, but Wei Huai ignored it. Gu Zi said: "I was born in a famous Confucian family. Some things can be seen; some things cannot be seen, but most people are aware of it. My proposal is divided into eight reforms. The summary: change the salt law, limit the name of the land, expand the subjects, save redundant expenses, abolish the traditional culture, suppress the powerful, relax the prohibition and establish an academy. The focus is on the "establishing an academy", which is Xu Academy's political participation memorial. If there are mistakes in government affairs, there must be people in the academies who will discuss it. This is to limit the power of the monarch in the world. However, if the academies are all empty talk and useless people, then allowing them to submit letters will be of no benefit to the country. Only by strict selection in the academies can they fulfill their responsibilities. "
He took a few more steps, and the creaking sound of the canes continued. "I know that if one of these methods is implemented, there will definitely be trouble; but if we don't find a solution, how can the world be stable?"
At this time, Ye Yongjia stood up and said, "But Mr. Wei is helpless here. He can't try a new method. What's the difference between empty talk?"
"Of course I understand. Tomorrow I will leave Shandong and return to my hometown in Nanjing. It just so happens that the Nanjing magistrate Lu Fangxuan has appointed me as secretary-general, and I intend to vote for him. From now on, I will do my thing and you can test your performance." After that, he straightened his back and walked far away, but he didn't dare to go fast and relied on his crutches step by step.
Ye Yongjia followed closely and said: "You think you don't have to see me anymore! If I take office and go to Nanjing, sir, there will be hope for this matter! You won't still remember my family's grudge by then, right?"
After hearing this, Wei Huai just sneered and walked away. Ye Yongjia felt very unhappy and did not dare to get angry. In the end, he just glared at Wei Huai and left angrily.
"Sir!" As soon as Ye Yongjia came down from the road, he saw Cheng Congyuan holding two horses and bowing respectfully. Ye Yongjia hurriedly tried to support him, but he pulled him back onto the horse, "Sir, you and Wei Huai We had such a good time, but I'm waiting to die! The sun is setting, let's go and do important things quickly." Ye Yongjia didn't say anything, and hurriedly followed Cheng Congyuan to see the house.
Time was tight, and there weren't many houses to look forward to. They only found three houses, which was okay. Unfortunately, there were no plans, and Ye Yongjia just became really anxious. Thanks to Youcheng Congyuan's guidance, in less than an hour, three houses were built. The note came out. Cheng Congyuan was pacing in the yard, looking up at the sunlight. Only a golden-red glow came out in the west. He was so anxious that he spat on the ground, raised his head, and Ye Yongjia finally came out of the room. Without saying a word, he took him and left. Ye Yongjia's steps gradually increased, he raised his hips and jumped onto the horse. The two looked at each other, and everyone was stunned. Without saying a word, with sweat pouring from his forehead, the two horses spread their hooves and ran towards the south.
"Master!" Ye Yongjia stepped on the threshold, slipped his feet, and staggered through several concierges. When he looked into the study, he knelt down. Ye Long was still sitting upright, holding a book in his hand, lost in thought. After a long time, he stood up, looked around, and saw the surprised expressions of the servants beside him. Surprise, anger, and shame also flashed on his face, and he shouted softly:
"You...you go down."
Cheng Congyuan is still standing behind the door. Ye Long ignored him and gritted his teeth and said: "You have been doing this until nightfall. When you are about to take the provincial examination, I'm afraid you won't be able to finish it even if I give you ten days! I really hate that iron can't be made into steel... It's best to start tomorrow. Get up, let Cheng Congyuan lock you here, and learn how to be careful!" He didn't look at Ye Yongjia and walked out of the room. Cheng Congyuan came out to greet him. Ye Long was still angry and confused, facing Cheng Congyuan. , pointed at Ye Yongjia who was kneeling in the room: "Congyuan, I'll give you the key. You lock the doors on all sides, don't forget to lock the corner door as well. Tell him to study hard." Ye Yongjia didn't hear it in his ears. Cheng Congyuan had no mercy, but there was only the sound of footsteps, and Ye Long seemed to have gone out.
Ye Yongjia breathed a long sigh of relief, got up slowly, heard the door ring again, and hurriedly knelt on the ground, trembling. Then, he glanced at the door, swallowed his saliva, stood up hesitantly, and ran to find Cheng Congyuan. He saw Mr. Cheng locking the corner door, so he hurriedly stepped forward and pulled him, Cheng Congyuan's left hand He raised his hand and quickly locked the door with his right hand. He turned around with a stern expression.
"Sir..." They looked at each other and he smiled helplessly at Cheng Congyuan.
Cheng Congyuan said: "I don't say anything to you either. I just listen to your words and start studying when you wake up tomorrow. This is also called your leisure time."
"Yes, yes..." Ye Yongjia looked a little ashamed, turned around and ran to the study.
Mr. Cheng was still locking the door when he heard a "dong" sound, followed by the sound of "swish" turning paper.
He looked in the window again, and finally smiled reassuringly.
