The house was sunny and spacious. One wall had windows all over it, letting in a lot of sunlight. Two people were sitting in the sun playing chess. A person watching chess stood up and said, "Here comes Fasheng." Come and sit." This person was Liang Xiu, and Chen Fan also knew the two chess players, Lu Zifeng and Shi Zhongkai.
Several people said hello, and Chen Fan and Liang Xiu sat aside.
"It seems that I came late and kept Brother Liang waiting for a long time."
"Fortunately, we have just arrived. Waiter, serve tea."
"Thank you." Chen Fan looked back and saw that Hou Feng had not come in and was guarding the door. There was someone here, so it was difficult to send the gift to Liang Xiu right away. Anyway, he was not in a hurry. Thinking of Lu Yan, not only Said: "Did you visit Dean Lu later?"
"Not yet. Dean Lu's nephew Lu Zifeng is here. If you need anything, you can ask Zifeng to take care of you."
"Oh, nothing special, I just want to get together."
"Then how about we invite Dean Lu here today?"
"Okay, how do we make an appointment? Should we go to his house, or should someone go there?" Liang Xiu's words played into Chen Fan's heart, but he didn't know whether to let someone call him over or go there in person, so he immediately asked.
"You can make an appointment with me just as you asked him. Just send someone over."
"Okay." Chen Fan immediately wrote an invitation, signed jointly by Liang Xiu and Chen Fasheng, and respectfully invited Dean Lu to come to Cuixiang Pavilion for a gathering.
"Hou Feng." Hou Feng, who was at the door, heard Chen Fan calling and walked in.
"Go to Meiyuan to invite Dean Lu. This is a post to invite him to gather at Cuixiang Pavilion today."
"Okay." Hou Feng reached out and took the post, turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait a minute." Chen Fan thought for a while, stopped Hou Feng who was about to leave, and said to Liang Xiu: "Brother Liang, are you free tomorrow? If Dean Lu is busy today, I plan to continue the appointment tomorrow."
"sure, no problem."
"Hou Feng, give this post to Dean Lu. If he refuses, ask him to get together tomorrow."
"Yes." Hou Feng left the private room to make an appointment with Dean Lu.
"It was rare that Fa Sheng asked someone to make an appointment with me yesterday. It just so happened that I had always wanted to meet you, but I didn't have your address in Gusu. After so many days, I thought you had gone back to Hudu." Liang Xiu joked. said.
"No, I can say that I have settled in Gusu now. I live in Luoyi Lane by the Gusu River. Enter the south alley and the second house is there. You can come and play when you have time."
"Are you planning to live in Suzhou for a long time?"
"Yes, I have been busy studying with teachers and Taoist scriptures these past few days. What about you?"
"School is about to start, and I'm preparing for my homework. I haven't stayed at Tianshui College for two years, and I have one year left to graduate. I'm going to see if I can enter Guoxue, or be recommended for an official."
"Oh, what's the difference between the two?"
"Guozixue is the highest academic institution in our dynasty. The head teacher needs to be a third-grade or above. Even if you are a direct lecturer or teaching assistant, you must be a fifth-grade or above to be appointed. After entering Guozixue, it is basically no problem to be recommended as an official; another point The way to be recommended is to rely on talent and reputation, which mainly involves attending gatherings, relying on poetry and conversation to gain literary fame, and to be recommended as an official by officials of third rank or above."
It seems that it is not easy for my father to become an official. I wonder if it is due to my grandfather's contribution? Chen Fan's thoughts jumped and he thought of his father. Then he didn't know if he still had connections to use.
"What did you learn at Tianshui College?" Chen Fan decided to change the topic that he was interested in, something that could increase his knowledge.
"It's mainly classics, theory, policy, and poetry. In the first year of Tianshui College, I also learned some piano, chess, and etiquette. Unfortunately, there is no kendo, law, or arithmetic. If you come, it will be good to learn chess in the future."
"Now that I have taken root in Taoism, I will study for three years first. By the way, if it is convenient, can you lend me the books you studied at Tianshui College?"
"That's no problem. Later, you can have someone come to my house to pick it up. By the way, where is Yajun who was with you last time? Why didn't you make an appointment with him? Today I can bring Lu Lang and Shi who I met last time Lang shouted together, and it was lively when there were many people."
"I went to make an appointment, but I couldn't find anyone. I met him on the way to Suzhou. At that time, he had a companion named Yuying. They were going back to Gusu, so they took our boat and arrived in Gusu late at night. So we had a meal together. During the dinner, Yajun played a song, and unexpectedly met Dean Lu, who coincidentally attended the Meiyuan party. You all know what happened next. After the Meiyuan party , he and Yuying went back to Nanfeng Pavilion and never saw each other again. This time when my eldest brother went to make an appointment, he only saw Yuying. I heard Yuying said that Yajun was not from Nanfeng Pavilion and had already left. I don't know anywhere." Ever since he guessed that Master Jia, Yuying and Yajun were in the same group, Chen Fan wanted to distance himself from Yajun. Especially today, he went to the study to buy "Lan Ke Pu", but he didn't expect that the study The waiter said that this was a legendary chess record. When it was not for sale, Chen Fan began to guess Yajun's identity again. Today, he just took this opportunity to tell Liang Xiu the process of getting to know Yajun to explain his relationship with Yajun. They are not familiar with each other, so that if something happens to Yajun in the future, he will be suspected of being in the same group.
"Oh, Yuying is from Nanfeng Pavilion, so is Yajun an actor?"
"I don't know about this. Yuying who is with him should know, but I haven't asked. If you want to know, I can help you find out."
"No, just asking."
"Do you know where the "Lan Ke Pu" is for sale? Chen Fan was a little regretful that he didn't buy the chess book in the library today and wanted to confirm with Liang Xiu.
"The "Lanke Pu" is available in Gaomen and Qiyuan in the Northern Wei Dynasty, but I don't have it here. If you want "Caomu Pu", I have it here."
"Oh, I was in the study today, and I heard the waiter inside say that "Lan Ke Pu" and "Cao Mu Pu" are both legendary chess records. How come you have "Cao Mu Pu"?
""Caomupu" was written by Xie An, a famous scholar in the south. It has always been in the hands of high-ranking people in the south. Therefore, many people in Liang Kingdom have read it, and it is not surprising that some of them have read it. "Lanke Pu" originated from the north and is only It is spread among high-ranking officials in the north, but few people in the south understand it."
That's good. It seems normal that the original owner has the "Caomu Pu". Chen Fan felt relieved, but he became more and more curious about Yajun's origin, and then asked: "By the way, I heard that Puming Temple has the "Lanke Pu" , I don’t know if it’s true or not, I wonder if Brother Liang has heard of it?”
"Is this happening? You can ask Dean Lu later. In addition, during this period, you must be careful about the safety of the house. There is a thief in Gusu who specializes in stealing from wealthy families. It makes people panic. The government is looking for him. I don't know when. There will be results.”
"Oh, then my family is not a big one, so don't sneak into a small family like ours. Does the government have any suspects now?"
"Not yet, but I heard that the Iron Palm Divine Lightning Huo Leng has been dispatched. This person has invincible iron palms and his eyes are like gods. As long as the thief leaves any clues, he will not be able to escape the eyes of this divine hunter. ..."
The two were chatting when suddenly a greeting came from outside the door, interrupting the conversation between Liang Xiu and Chen Fan.
"Axiu, you are here." A young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes came in, looking quite stable.
When Liang Xiu saw him, he stood up and said, "I've met my cousin."
"I've met Liang Langjun." The two people playing chess saw Liang Xiu's cousin and stood up to say hello. Chen Fan had already stood up with Liang Xiu. Seeing Lu Zifeng and Shi Zhongkai saying hello, he also followed suit. A gift.
"Yes." Cousin Liang Xiu nodded towards Lu Zifeng and Shi Zhongkai, and then asked Liang Xiu, "Who is this?"
"This is Chen Fasheng, the man who wrote "Nineteen Paths"."
"Oh, I've heard that Dean Lu of Meiyuan also wrote "Drinking" and "Encouraging Drinking and Quitting Drinking". Both of these poems are good and have been spread in Gusu."
"Thank you." Seeing cousin Liang Xiu's praise, Chen Fan cupped his hands to express his gratitude.
"Well, Axiu, I just saw your guard outside and came to say hello to you. Chang Jing is here to tell stories today. Don't miss it."
"Okay, thank you cousin."
"You guys go ahead and play. I'll go to the private room next door first. Our classmates happen to be gathering here today."
"Okay, cousin, walk slowly."
Seeing Liang Xiu's cousin leaving, Chen Fan asked, "Who is Chang Jing?"
"The law student has just come here and doesn't know anything. Chang Jing is a famous storyteller in Gusu. His storyteller is different from others. Others usually follow the script and tell some classics to the ignorant children. His storyteller, What he talks about is today's major events in the world, as well as anecdotes that cannot be found in books. Moreover, this man is very talented. He is good at all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He is also proficient in metaphysics. He is a man of real talent and knowledge. Unexpectedly He will also come to Cuifang Pavilion to read books. You are lucky to be a student of Fa. His books are worth listening to."
"Oh, doesn't he usually tell stories here?" Chen Fan is not very interested in listening to books, but he is still very concerned about world affairs. This storyteller is equivalent to doing the job of the news network. You can go to his place to listen to books in the future.
"Yes, he usually tells stories at Yichun Garden and Nanfeng Pavilion, and rarely comes to Cuifang Pavilion. It is said that those two places spent a lot of money to invite him there."
Chen Fan knew about Nanfeng Pavilion and Yichun Garden, although he had never heard of it, but judging from the name, it should be the Red Mansion. However, he did not expect that there are actually storytellers in these two places. Not only was he a little curious, he immediately asked: "Storytelling is not common in teahouses." , a restaurant, why are there also those two places?"
"What Fasheng doesn't know is that these two places are the fastest gathering place and the fastest place for news in the world to spread. People with power and money like to go there. This is often the case when sleeping in a drunken bed. If you tell it, it will naturally be listened to by those who are interested; if you tell it there and be listened to, the news will quickly spread among the powerful, and the impact will be much greater than that of the ignorant common people, so some people often like to go there to collect information. , inquire about, and spread news. It is said that the Nanfeng Pavilion also has a special information transmission channel to exchange information between Nanfeng Pavilions in various places. Some people even go to the Nanfeng Pavilion specifically to inquire about news."
