Since the capital city of Xu Kingdom was destroyed by thieves, scholars all over the world have lost their way to take the imperial examination.
Some people think this is an opportunity in troubled times and actively take action.
There are also people whose hearts are filled with despair and believe that the country is no longer a country.
Cheng Baiyu obviously belongs to the latter. After the Beijing Incident, he moved to his current residence and lives alone.
One day, when I was going out to relax, I saw a woman about an inch above the branch.
The woman was extremely beautiful, but also weak. She always looked like she was crying, which made people pity her.
When Cheng Baiyu saw this, his mind was drawn to it, he put it in his palm and took it back to his residence.
He used the ancestral ebony tray as the woman's bed, and looked at her every day with deep affection and affection.
One day, the woman placed the ebony tray on the window sill and went to the yard to boil water.
When I returned to the house, I saw that the woman had been dried up by the sun and was no longer alive.
When Cheng Baiyu saw this, he burst into tears and his heart was broken. He cried beside the woman's dried corpse every day.
A few days later, his classmates and friends came to visit him. When he learned about the incident, he laughed and said that he knew how to solve it.
Cheng Baiyu inquired, and his friend told him that this woman was called Hua Po, and she could only be born if three or more women were hanged from the same tree.
Flower soul is the essence of water and wood. When exposed to the sun, it will naturally dry out and flatten. It can be restored by just pouring clean water on it.
Cheng Baiyu tried as he was told, and the woman really came back to life, which made him extremely happy.
This was originally a good thing, but his classmate friend turned out to be a jar. He would tell everyone he encountered such strange things.
Soon, many classmates heard about this and came to watch.
Cheng Baiyu couldn't bear the trouble, and out of helplessness, he endured the reluctance in his heart and decided to release the woman far away.
Just as he was placing her on the tree, a crow suddenly flew over, took the woman into his mouth, and flew away.
Cheng Baiyu was shocked when he saw this. He couldn't catch up and hit him with a stone, but he missed.
The crow flew away, leaving him alone in sorrow and regret.
After losing the woman, Cheng Baiyu was heartbroken. After thinking about it, he became determined to die, so he came to the tree again and wanted to kill himself...
Cheng Baiyu said this to a crazy young man in one breath, and when he finished speaking, he couldn't help crying.
Hearing this, the crazy young man burst into laughter and said:
"So you want to make birdies! I know how to do it. I'm really good at making birdies!"
As he said that, he whistled out the window and waved, and then he saw a bird flying south from the sky suddenly fell down and landed directly in his palm.
Cheng Baiyu, who was still sad at first, opened his eyes wide when he saw this, feeling very incredible.
The crazy boy looked at the bird in his hand, shook his head and said:
"It's not the one you're looking for. Forget it, I'll give it to you first. You can strangle one to vent your anger first."
Seeing the other party handing the bird to him, Cheng Baiyu took it blankly. Seeing the bird trembling in fear, he gently stroked the bird's feathers, loosened his hand, and let it go.
"What are you doing? I managed to catch you, why did you just let me go?"
The crazy boy looked at Cheng Baiyu with some dissatisfaction.
Cheng Baiyu shook his head and said:
“The Confucian sage once said that it is not a gentleman to express your anger at others.
This bird is not what I am looking for, and it will be useless to harm him. "
"It's up to you. If you're hungry, go and make me something to eat."
The crazy boy gave instructions without any politeness.
When Cheng Baiyu heard this, he nodded and went to cook.
Firstly, he himself felt a little hungry, and secondly, this crazy boy was capable, which gave him a little hope.
After the two had a simple meal, Cheng Baiyu finally asked the name of the crazy boy.
Hearing that the other party was called Shan Yuan, he was a little curious about this young man's origins.
To be able to choose such a name, the family should be in good condition, and there is probably someone who believes in Buddhism.
Unfortunately, he didn't ask anything, even if he wanted to help the young man find his family, he couldn't.
Later, he asked Shanyuan how good he was at catching birds.
Good luck, that is, Ye Ming said that he can catch any bird he sees.
Moreover, Ye Ming also told Cheng Baiyu that he still had a way to find birds, which could help him find the crow.
Cheng Baiyu was overjoyed when he heard this and quickly asked him to take action.
Ye Ming smiled and said that he could help if he wanted to. After the task was completed, he handed the ebony plate to him.
This ebony plate is an ancestral item of Cheng Baiyu's family. He wants to give it away to a beautiful woman. Can Cheng Baiyu agree?
able.
Cheng Baiyu took out the ebony plate from his pocket on the spot and said that he could hand it to Ye Ming now.
Instead, Ye Ming refused to accept it, saying that he would get it only after the matter was completed.
Cheng Baiyu was very moved when he heard this. He didn't expect this lunatic to be so principled. This alone would put countless people to shame.
I originally wanted to ask this person how he could find the crow, but someone came outside.
It was his classmate and friend named Zheng.
Seeing Scholar Zheng's arrival, Cheng Baiyu had mixed feelings in his heart. He wanted to thank him, but also blame him for the matter of the beautiful woman.
Everyone was here, so Cheng Baiyu naturally invited people in.
Scholar Zheng came in, saw Ye Ming, and smiled:
"Brother Cheng, you are always busy here. There are always people here every time."
As he said that, he walked around Ye Ming, and was a little disappointed when he saw that he looked a little crazy, but didn't look like something weird.
"It turns out to be a lunatic. I thought it was some kind of strange thing!"
As Zheng Shusheng was talking, he suddenly saw Ye Ming picking up the book Cheng Baiyu usually read.
This surprised him and asked:
"Are you literate?"
Ye Ming smiled and said:
"That's natural. Do you want me to read the next paragraph?"
"Oh, read and listen."
When Zheng Shusheng said this, Ye Ming really started to read:
"When a friend comes from afar, he must first strain his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, and deplete his body. His actions will be disturbed by his travels, and he will be driven away from another courtyard with dozens of whips."
"What are you reading? It's nonsense, it doesn't make sense, you really are a lunatic!"
Scholar Zheng was scolded inexplicably and was in a bad mood.
But I couldn't bear to argue with a madman, so after being bored, I chatted with Cheng Baiyu.
It's true that this guy talks a lot. He chatters endlessly and talks very enthusiastically.
Seeing this, Ye Ming's eyes lit up and he liked talkative people.
Immediately participating in the discussion, Zheng Shusheng didn't want to pay attention to this lunatic who scolded him at first.
But after talking for a while, I felt like I had found a soulmate.
Normally, everyone doesn't like to communicate with him for a long time. I didn't expect to meet someone who can talk to me all the time this time. Not to mention how happy I am.
After the two chatted, Zheng Shusheng no longer cared about the little contradiction and talked side by side with Ye Ming.
The two of them had a good conversation, but Cheng Baiyu suffered a lot.
Although Cheng Baiyu himself is not taciturn, he doesn't talk much either.
Being caught between these two guys was a real torture.
Zheng Shusheng and Ye Ming chatted until night, and the topic was endless.
But he was mortal after all, and he couldn't bear it any longer, so he said he would rest for the night and talk again tomorrow.
He needed rest, but Ye Ming didn't.
It's not easy to find someone with whom you can talk all night, so naturally you have to seize it.
Scholar Zheng was pulled to sit in the room and chatted all night.
It's just that this guy was really bad. It was only in the middle of the night and he couldn't stand it anymore and fell asleep.
Cheng Baiyu had already fallen asleep for a long time.
Seeing that he no longer had the person to chat with, Ye Ming smiled and fell asleep, although he didn't need it.
Early the next morning, as soon as Cheng Baiyu got up, he saw that his classmate and friend took the initiative to say goodbye, unwilling to stay for a moment longer.
This surprised him. In the past, this person would have to be expelled many times before he was willing to leave. He didn't expect that he would take the initiative to say goodbye this time. It was really strange.
However, no matter what, if this person is willing to leave, he can also settle down.
After sending Scholar Zheng away, Cheng Baiyu felt a little headache when he saw Ye Ming still looking like he couldn't finish talking.
This one seems to be more noisy than my classmate friend.
"Hey, hey, we're gone, Lao Cheng, let's make some plans to find the crow!"
Ye Ming smiled, put his arm around Cheng Baiyu's shoulders, and looked like the two brothers were getting along well.
Unexpectedly, this person actually took the initiative to mention it. Cheng Baiyu was a little touched. It felt good to be cared about by others.
Then I heard Ye Ming say:
"Maybe after you find the crow, you will find that the flower soul has been eaten long ago. If you are sad, you will commit suicide. By then, all your things will be mine."
Seeing Ye Ming's expectant expression, Cheng Baiyu chose to silently close his mind.
Sure enough, no one in the world will really care about themselves.
But in order to find the crow and retrieve the flower girl, Cheng Baiyu still asked:
"Can you really find the crow?"
"Of course, but that crow is definitely not ordinary. We still need to find something to knock it down."
"what?"
"Hey, you'll know when the time comes."
Ye Ming looked like "I'm an expert, so I just won't say anything."
Cheng Baiyu didn't bother to argue, as long as he knew that the other party was really capable.
At Ye Ming's urging, after packing some things, they set off.
"Crazy... Brother Shanyuan, where are we going?"
"Go to town."
Hearing what Ye Ming said, Cheng Baiyu guessed that he might be going to the city to buy things.
He actually didn't really want to go to the city.
Because he lives outside Jinyuan City, the so-called entering the city means going to Jinyuan City.
In his eyes, this felt like entering the den of rebellious ministers and traitors.
It's just that he is a powerless scholar, and he is powerless against these things.
Asking himself, he felt that he had no talent in the world.
In today's troubled times, it is considered good to be able to rely on the status of a "former dynasty" scholar to get tax exemption and survive starvation.
However, many of his classmates are very active now, thinking that they can take advantage of the situation even if there is no imperial examination.
Although Cheng Baiyu didn't know where these people got their confidence, he would not ridicule other people's dreams.
He just thinks it's because he doesn't want to make progress, that's all.
Jinyuan City, as the headquarters of Li Zhuyong and other major families in Qingzhou, seemed very peaceful in this era of war and chaos.
Mainly because other prefectures and counties are blocking it, Jinyuan City basically does not face direct threats.
On the way into the city, Cheng Baiyu saw many mutilated corpses that had died of starvation, hanging, or being eaten by humans or wild beasts.
However, these days, this kind of situation is very common, and everyone is accustomed to it, and they don't think it is very scary.
Those who were brave enough would just rummage through the dead bodies, hoping to find something.
When Cheng Baiyu saw this, he was still a little frightened. He straightened his head scarf to show that he was not an ordinary person.
After all, in these days, literate scholars are a treasure.
Even the rebel "Prince Jin" would not deliberately embarrass scholars, not to mention that he came from a wealthy family and knew the importance of literacy.
Although Cheng Baiyu didn't want to admit it, he still had to say that the "Prince Jin's" attitude towards scholars was pretty good. At least their reputations were recognized by others.
Ye Ming cried and laughed sometimes along the way, talking to stones, wood, and dead people from time to time, which was the only laughter along the way.
It wasn't until they entered Jinyuan City that everything became alive.
There are a lot of people in the city, there are many shops, it is very smoky, and there are obviously more people wearing brocade and silk.
It's really strange to even see fat people who are rarely seen outside.
Not long after arriving in the city, I heard someone shouting:
"Second Master is going to have a show at the east stage of the city. If you go late, you won't be able to get a seat!"
With a cheer, many people immediately put down what they were doing and ran towards the east of the city.
...
