A quiet and elegant courtyard can be vaguely seen among the bamboo forest on the mountainside. A clear spring flows slowly under the bamboo bridge in front of the courtyard, adding a little liveliness to this quiet and elegant place.
Spring is in full bloom, and such beautiful scenery should make people feel good.
But Qingxue didn't seem to be so happy. She looked up at the sky.
After the thunderstorm, the dark clouds have dispersed, God smiled again like a joke, and the warm sun broke through the clouds.
She lowered her head and looked forward again. On the forest path, an old man and a young man, all wet, were walking on crutches. They were the young prince and the old Taoist Tao Hongjing.
They were chatting and laughing happily, and they seemed not to be affected by the sudden rainstorm at all.
But along the way, the young prince seemed to have forgotten her.
But Qingxue didn't get angry because of this. It seemed that she had never seen her master chatting and laughing with others in such a cheerful mood without having to deliberately hide anything.
If the young prince behaves like this every day, so what if he gets slapped with canes a few more times by Cui Guanshi?
When Qingxue thought of this, her frown relaxed a lot, and the long-lost smile from her heart also lingered on her face.
"Qingxue, what are you doing? Can you still keep up?"
Qingxue shook her head.
"Or I'll carry you!"
Qingxue's face turned red, and an indescribable shyness stirred in her heart.
"Mr... what are you talking about? You're making fun of me again. In fact, I'm not tired at all. It's just that the journey has been so beautiful that my eyes can't see clearly."
Although Qingxue said so, her legs were indeed extremely sore.
The fatigue of her body was no match for the happiness in her heart. At this moment, she felt as light as the clouds, which made her walk with energy.
She likes the young prince.
But...she is not the only one who likes the young prince? Which girl in the palace doesn't like the young prince?
But she understood that she was just a maid.
The young prince is a wealthy man, and sooner or later he will marry a daughter of a noble family or a princess of the Northern Dynasties.
But he could only stand outside the room and wait carefully.
But no matter what, as long as the young prince is happy, she will be happy, and if the young prince is sad, she will also be sad.
"Then Qingxue, please hurry up, it's the thatched cottage in front! If the night wind picks up soon, you will definitely catch a cold."
"Well, this slave knows."
Xiao Yu followed Tao Hongjing to the front of the small courtyard, and the elegant sound of the piano came from inside.
He originally thought that the visiting friend would be in the bustling inner village outside Jiankang City, but he did not expect that he would follow Tao Hongjing to Jilong Mountain in the north of the city.
This journey lasted for two hours. I really don't know if I can return to the palace on the other side of Qingxi tonight.
Tao Hongjing stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a moment, a boy leaned half out of the crack in the door.
After asking for the identity of the visitor, the boy led them into the courtyard.
There is a gravel road at your feet, and the entire courtyard is quiet, elegant and tidy.
The entire courtyard is not small, with seven or eight rooms scattered from front to back, but most of them are covered by dense bamboo forests.
There are also rockeries cleverly placed around the courtyard. Under the rockery, running water is introduced into the pond, and a few koi carps poke their heads out from the bottom of the water.
Xiao Yu admired that with such a courtyard as a secluded place, the owner must have an extraordinary background.
On the way here, Xiao Yu asked Tao Hongjing.
The old Taoist chuckled, stroking his beard in a mysterious manner: "This is Yanlong's residence, it's nothing special!"
Who is this Yanlong?
Xiao Yu had some doubts in his mind. In his previous life, he loved reading history when he was a teenager, but he had no impression of this "Yanlong".
Perhaps this "Yanlong" has long been lost in the long river of history, and will not be known to future generations.
Across the front yard and closer to the hall, the sound of silk and bamboo winding around the beams became clearer, but the contradictory noise also became clearer.
Xiao Yu was curious, but saw that Tao Hongjing looked indifferent and didn't seem to care.
The boy handed over his hand and allowed the three of them to enter the house on their own.
The three of them stepped into the lobby, and the noise in the room suddenly stopped.
Everyone in the room looked at the three wet people in unison.
Xiao Yu also glanced at everyone in the lobby.
I saw about six or seven people in the spacious hall. These people were of different ages, including octogenarians and young scholars. They were well-dressed and elegant.
The room is filled with fragrant mist, like a fairyland on earth.
The most eye-catching one is the handsome man playing the piano by the window.
The man's face was as bright as the sun, his skin was as white as fat, his temperament was elegant, and he was outstanding. He only glanced at the three people who were wet, and then he was obsessed with the music score again.
In front of the chessboard on one side, two white-haired elders with graceful demeanor were talking about moves.
The noise just now came from the bed in the hall.
Several people were blushing because of the quarrel. One of them frowned. Seeing Tao Hongjing's arrival, he said "Humph" and walked out of the door.
When Xiao Yu was surprised, a white-faced old man greeted him with a smile: "Haha... I'm too late for Tongming, and I missed the previous debate."
Tao Hongjing pointed at the middle-aged man who was walking away and asked, "Yanlong, what's wrong with Zi Zhen?"
Everyone laughed, including the two people who were also blushing.
"Haha, don't worry about him, he just has that kind of temper, just think about it." The old man said and looked at Xiao Yu and Qingxue again, "Tong Ming is here, I wonder if he has brought two friends with him?"
Tao Hongjing smiled and said: "Haha, Xiao Langjun, this is the old friend I mentioned along the way, Fan Yun, Fan Yanlong, from Wuyang, Nanxiang. He served as prime minister in the previous dynasty and was named Marquis of Leicheng County."
"Why is a prime minister not a prime minister? Fan is now a commoner, living here in seclusion, and living in seclusion." Fan Yun waved his hand, stroking his beard and smiled, "It's just... transparent, such a talented person should be introduced to them first."
Tao Hongjing stroked his beard and smiled: "I just want to introduce you to them. These are... Xiao Dalang... and Miss Qingxue."
Tao Hongjing always felt something was wrong after he finished speaking, and felt that something was missing.
Others also waited for the next message, only to find that it was not available.
Xiao Yu didn't care, he bowed his hands to everyone: "I am Xiao Dalang, a healthy person."
The clasped fist salute was quite quaint.
Everyone looked at each other in shock when they saw it.
It seems that the temperament exuded by Xiao Yu is very different from that of the literati in this room.
Qingxue originally wanted to salute, but seeing Xiao Yu's rough look, she couldn't hold it back for a moment and burst into laughter. Then she sneezed and coughed again.
Although she was embarrassed, she accidentally caught a glimpse of the handsome young man who was playing the piano in ecstasy.
The girl couldn't help but be shocked. The casualness she had just shown was gone in an instant.
She suddenly became restrained, looked down at her toes, and stood aside politely.
Fan Yun thought that Qingxue had a low reputation, and she was a little embarrassed by the rudeness she had just committed. Then she saw that the three of them were all wet and in a state of embarrassment.
"Oh, I'm such an old fool, how can I let this distinguished guest stay here like this? Come here, prepare a change of clothes for the three of you, and let Yue'er go change with Miss Qingxue."
The servant hurriedly agreed and came to invite the three people from outside.
When going out, Xiao Yu noticed that Qingxue's expression seemed a little strange, and she became cautious and disciplined.
"Qingxue, what's wrong with you?"
Qingxue's eyes dodge a little: "No...it's nothing!"
Xiao Yu was doubtful: "Is it true?"
"Slave...Slave is a little cold..."
"go quickly!"
Xiao Yu frowned. She watched Qingxue follow a maid and leave quickly, as if she was trying to avoid something.
He was confused, shook his head, and followed another servant to the guest room.
Not long after, Xiao Yu changed into a robe and returned to the lobby. His clothes were taken to be baked by the servants.
At this time, he saw that Tao Hongjing had already returned to the lobby and was sitting on the bed talking with others.
Fan Yun stood up and asked him to come and sit down, so Xiao Yu sat next to Fan Yun.
I just heard a few people having some kind of strange debate around the topic of change and immutability in the way of heaven.
Presumably this has been a common conversation among celebrities since the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Xiao Yu heard Yunshan Mist, which seemed to make sense, but when he thought about it carefully, it was inevitably empty. After a long time, he felt a little sleepy.
"Young gentleman, seeing as you are yawning a lot, do you think that we are not good at talking and you have something else to say?" An outspoken old man insisted on dragging Xiao Yu into the debate.
How could Xiao Yu understand this? He didn't even have the concept of "talking" in his mind. How could he talk about "Three Mysteries" to others?
Fortunately, he studied philosophy in high school and college, and also listened to some debate competitions. Who can explain those boring things like "chicken or egg?" It's nothing more than sophistry.
He was also open-minded, and some of the theories he took for granted, coupled with some famous sayings of modern times, allowed him to sweep the debate field.
The ancients had never heard of those novel truths without any rules or allusions. Some of them were unacceptable, but some seemed to be thought-provoking.
It's this guy who makes sophistry and leaves no room for anyone to say anything back, until he makes people speechless.
The impatient old man complained: "This man is sophistry and lies, and what he says does not make sense. He is exactly the same as the Fanzi who left before, but he is also weird and cunning."
Tao Hongjing and Fan Yun nodded and smiled. The thoughts in this young man's mind were wild and unconstrained, not following the classics, yet making it impossible for people to say anything. He was really a weirdo.
And Xiao Yu himself is shameless and combines his almost forgotten book knowledge with his own fabrications to kill everyone here. He looks like a dead pig and is not afraid of boiling water. Let's see how you can deal with everything with my attitude.
Soon he felt that talking was quite fun. At least it was funny to see those great scholars scratching their heads and scratching their heads in order to refute him.
"It doesn't count this time, let's change the topic again!" The impatient elder jumped up from the bed after being refuted.
Tao Hongjing and Fan Yun looked at each other and smiled, and Fan Yun said: "We're here today, we'll discuss it another day. I'll let my servants prepare the food and drinks. Let's have a good drink in the pavilion by the stream tonight, and we won't go home until we're drunk!"
At this moment, Xiao Yu realized that it was already late, the sun was setting in the west, and Qingxue had not come back since she left earlier.
He couldn't help but feel a little worried, so he got up to look for someone, but was caught by someone.
The one who caught him was the anxious old man who had been rendered speechless by his defense just now.
"Where are you going, kid! Come and talk to me again!"
"No more arguments. No matter how much you argue, you can't defeat me."
The anxious old man was about to have an attack,
Tao Hongjing asked: "Mr. Xiao, is there something wrong?"
"Qingxue... where is my maid? I haven't seen her back for so long."
Everyone laughed, and Fan Yun patted Xiao Yu's arm.
"Don't worry, Mr. Xiao, Miss Qingxue is playing with her old granddaughter."
Xiao Yu felt a little relieved, but saw that it was getting late, and he was afraid that the city gate would be closed when he returned, so he was thinking about how to deal with it tonight.
At this moment, the sound of silk and bamboo stopped.
The handsome man playing the guqin left the guqin and stood by the window to watch the sunset in the forest. He said casually:
"The sunset in the mountains is red, and the bamboo forest quietly smells the evening breeze.
The afterglow of the screams reflects the mountain scenery, which makes the countryside a little red. "
Everyone's eyes in the lobby moved to the handsome man.
Under the setting sun, the man stands in front of the window, like a painting that makes people unable to recover for a long time.
Xiao Yu also felt that this man in elegant clothes was as handsome as a god, and he had the feeling that he could look at him from a distance without daring to blaspheme.
"Brother Zhiming, are these four sentences all?" The impatient old man had sat down at the desk at some point and had already written these four sentences in ink.
The handsome man glanced at the old man with his slender eyebrows and said, "Brother Zuo Gong has a great talent for knowledge, so why bother to write it down? If he has good poems, I might as well give the first four lines to him."
Xiao Yu looked at the impatient old man, and he muttered silently, "A talent with strong knowledge"...
Looking at the person with strong knowledge and talent, looking at this era, it must be him.
Lu Jue lost four volumes of "Five Elements Chronicles" at that time, but was able to write down the entire volume silently.
Xiao Yu looked at Fan Yun and then at Lu Jue. Presumably the middle-aged man walking away was Fan Zhen, who advocated "atheism".
Looking at the other people in the lobby, they are definitely not ordinary people.
"Brother Zhi Ming is so interested in playing chess. I have a poem in my heart. I will write it for everyone now! Bring me a pen!" The speaker was a scholar in white who had just played chess.
Everyone followed the scholar in white to the desk. The scholar in white meditated for a while and wrote like a god.
At this time, Tao Hongjing touched Xiao Yu's arm and said, "This is Xiao Chen, Xiao Yanyu."
"Could it be that..." Xiao Yu looked at Tao Hongjing, "Taoist Master, could it be that the Eight Friends of Jingling..."
"King Jingling has been dead for many years, so why are the Eight Friends of Jingling? They are just a group of literati who express their love for the landscape."
When the two said this, they heard a burst of cheers from the other side, but soon everyone fell silent again.
Lu Jue was impatient and read it out first.
"Hold your hand without looking back, there is nothing like the west or the east in Zhu.
Wherever Jing Wu is, the mist spreads thousands of miles.
The bamboo shoots in spring are untied, and the weak willows are exposed to the low wind.
Acacia will send peace to you, and I will look at Feihong in the south with regret. "
Everyone began to think about the artistic conception of the whole poem, but could not understand it for a long time.
Everyone was puzzled, and Xiao Yu smiled calmly.
He probably knew the purpose of Xiao Chen, the youngest of the former "Eight Friends of Jingling", writing this poem here, but it would be pretentious to take out this poem at the gathering.
Xiao Yu's indifferent smile was caught by the handsome man.
The two people's eyes met, and each other responded with a humble smile. Xiao Yu also smiled and nodded in response.
Everyone forgot about the time, and everyone became more poetic and began to write poems one after another.
Xiao Yu didn't understand this, he just followed the crowd to watch the excitement.
When others commented, he pretended to nod and said yes.
At this moment, Xiao Yu was pinched by someone's arm again. When he saw the anxious Lu Jue again, Xiao Yu felt that he was really in conflict with him.
"Boy, don't keep saying that other people's poems are good. Why don't you write two for me to see?"
Xiao Yu looked aggrieved and said, "How do I understand this?"
"It's not difficult to write poetry, just start it!"
Xiao Yu looked at the literary people in the hall, and it seemed that everyone also wanted to see the literary talents of this newbie.
If you just say a limerick casually, it will make people laugh if you don't laugh.
"It doesn't matter if you do it, just treat it as a pastime." Fan Yun said, "In my Qi Dynasty, since the Yongming reign of Emperor Wu, poetry has flourished. It's not surprising even a farmer or a trafficker to casually recite a poem. It's all a game." Just for fun."
"Okay then!" Xiao Yu nodded awkwardly.
He looked out the bamboo window and saw the setting sun approaching the horizon. Suddenly the clouds rose again and the sound of thunder and lightning rolled in.
He bit his lip and walked to the front desk to write.
As everyone watched, Lu Zhui suddenly laughed and said: "What kind of poem is this? There is no contrast at all."
"Master Zuo, don't say anything. Look down." Fan Yundao said.
Everyone looked and murmured that they had never seen anyone write poetry like this.
After a while, Xiao Yu finished writing the "poem". He smiled, but saw the handsome man smiling approvingly at Xiao Yu.
At this moment, rain was pouring down outside.
A rapid knock on the door came from afar.
"Haha, that Fan Zi must have turned back when it rained!" Lu Zhui said with a smile, quite gloating about his misfortune.
After a while, the child led a man in a raincoat in.
That was not Fan Zhen who left earlier, but someone else.
The visitor took off his raincoat and bowed his hands to the host Fan Yun.
"Brother Yanlong, Shuda is busy with official matters and is unable to come to this ten-year appointment. I would like to ask you to come here."
"Oh, Brother Zhen Jian! I haven't seen you and I for a few years!" Fan Yun hurriedly returned the gift, "Brother Zhen Jian can come, it will also make the humble house shine."
The man named Zhen Jian bowed and saluted with everyone in the hall. When he saw Xiao Yu, he was a little surprised, and he returned the bow with Xiao Yu.
Only then did Xiao Yu know that the person who came was Zhang Hongce, whose courtesy name was Zhenjian, and who was from Fangcheng, Fanyang. The "Shuda" he mentioned before was the name of Xiao Yan, who was the governor of Jingzhou and Yongzhou and was in Xiangyang at this time.
When the handsome man saw Zhang Hongce coming, he seemed to have contempt in his eyes. He walked to the door, and a boy in white clothes who looked like a servant came forward and put on his raincoat.
"Are you leaving now? Why don't you stay and have a few drinks with everyone?" Fan Yun stepped forward and asked.
The handsome man raised his hands to Fan Yun and said, "The Yanlong Mansion is full of guests. I don't want to disturb you. I'll come visit you another day and have a drink in the winding river as promised."
Everyone knew the handsome man's temperament, so they didn't try to persuade him to stay.
And the handsome man suddenly looked at Xiao Yu again: "Mr. Lang, would you like to accompany me and return to Jiankang together?"
Xiao Yu glanced at Tao Hongjing and Fan Yun.
"If Mr. Lang is willing, you can stay in your house for a few days." Fan Yundao said.
"Xiao Langjun and Pindao are destined, if Langjun is willing..."
Xiao Yu cupped his hands and said, "I ran away secretly. I went back late because I was afraid that my maid would be punished again. Since I know about Mr. Yanlong's treasured house, I will definitely visit him next time."
Everyone was surprised at first, and then they all looked at each other and smiled. This young man was really different.
After Xiao Yu and the handsome man were sent away, everyone was about to return to the desk.
But the thunderstorm comes again outside, and drinking in the pavilion will become indoors.
At this time, I heard an exclamation: "Who wrote this poem!"
That was Zhang Hongce. At this time, he was standing in front of the bookcase and appreciating the poems that everyone had written before.
"Is that a poem? It's just a kid's joke!" Lu Jue laughed.
Fan Yun and Tao Hongjing picked up the poem Xiao Yu had written before. They looked at each other, and then invariably began to recite each word silently.
Fan Yun is a literary master, and his poems, lyrics, and poems are no exception.
Although Tao Hongjing has become a monk, his literary attainments are also very high.
Fan Yun studied it repeatedly, his fingers tapping on the desk unconsciously.
Tao Hongjing closed his eyes and meditated, and the scene of going to Jilong Mountain with Xiao Yu and encountering the rain today appeared before him again.
Tao Hongjing suddenly opened his eyes. What kind of courage does he have to write such a work?
This is not poetry, this is a new style of writing that they have never seen before. If this style of writing is carried forward, it will definitely set off a new storm in the literary world of the Southern Dynasties.
Lu Zhui started to sneer, but looked at him and couldn't laugh anymore.
"Master Zuo, I want to read this to everyone," Fan Yun said seriously.
Lu Zhui took a deep breath, fearing that he would not have enough breath at this time.
"Don't listen to the sound of beating leaves through the forest, why not whistling and walking slowly. The bamboo stick and mango shoes are lighter than the horse, who is afraid? You can live your whole life in the misty rain.
The steep spring breeze blows away the drunkenness, it is slightly cold, and the mountain tops are slanting and moving slowly. Looking back at the desolate place where I came from, there is neither wind, rain nor sunshine..."
After Lu Zhui finished reading the last word, he closed his eyes and meditated. Whether it was a poem or some new style of writing, the young man's demeanor was definitely incomparable.
I have been a scholar for half my life, and I have been a minister of Zhongshu and a close minister of the late emperor. I have been in high and low officialdom for many years, but I feel that I am far inferior to this young man who has just entered the cottage.
"I can live my whole life in mist and rain. In such a state, I, Lu Jue, am not as good as me. Speaking of which... who is that Xiao Dalang?"
Everyone was at a loss.
Tao Hongjing, who was standing aside, was thoughtful. He counted on his fingers, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and smiled knowingly.
