Ye Wumian took the note and left the shop, put on the ghost face mask and entered the market.
In the market place, the night is dark and the moonlight is flowing. The so-called fifteen-year-old moon is sixteen round. Tonight the moon is as bright as a jade plate, illuminating the night sky like amber. It is very beautiful.
Holding torches, the Nuo parade force covered the entire Nanzheng Street, and extended along both sides of the bank with the help of river boats.
Backed by the ancient charm of Wu Feng and Chu, and against the long Pingshui River flowing quietly under the lights, Pingxiang City, the nightlife of this small town has just begun.
Following the guidance of the address on the note, Ye Wumian came to a dim Confucian temple. When he was about to take a closer look, an ugly Nuo face stretched out in front of his eyes and shouted loudly:
"If heaven did not give birth to Zhongni, eternity would be like a long night!"
How ugly does the Nuo noodle look like?
Its teeth are overlapping and squeezing each other without leaving any space. Its forehead is high and convex, like a hillock. The nostrils are exposed, which may cause choking on rainy days, and the eyes are white, which naturally shows a fierce look.
The Nuo man danced around in front of Ye Wumian, looking like a madman, and shouted loudly: "Now that King Wen is dead, why don't you be gentle? This is the same for me, Confucius, Kong Zhongni~"
After acting wildly for a while, Ye Wumian just looked at him coldly and ignored him. He made himself miserable and went crazy elsewhere.
The Nuo mask this person wore was different from the others.
Everyone else was playing the role of mountain ghosts and fierce generals, but he played the role of Confucius.
It was only after Ye Wumian could see clearly that the appearance of this Nuo face was ugly, but it was comparable to the appearance of Confucius recorded in various works.
For example, "Xunzi·Feixiang" states, "Zhongni's appearance is like a veiled face."
The general idea is that Confucius was able to ward off evil spirits.
Among the various portraits of Confucius that have been handed down to this day, except for the one from the later Qing Dynasty, which was so outrageous that he actually wore a money rat tail, the other Confucius are generally the image of the eternal teacher in Han clothes.
It’s just that their appearance is not something I dare to compliment, and most of them have buck teeth.
That Nuo noodles can be considered very restored.
However, "The Analects of Confucius·Shu'er" states that "Zi does not talk about strangeness, strength, chaos, and gods."
This person puts on this mask, pretends to be a ghost, and is mysterious. Isn't this contrary to Confucianism?
Ye Wumian glanced at the man again out of the corner of his eye, remembering the various descriptions of Confucius' behavior in the "Xiang Dang" article, and shook his head in silence.
As Confucianism has been passed down to this day, it has either become a false sacred object for moral hypocrites, or it has also entered the temple and begun to become mystical.
Perhaps a saint is needed to revive the distorted Confucianism since Cheng and Zhu.
Walking through the Confucius Temple, you will be greeted by the red walls.
Here, however, is a well-to-do family with a scholarly family background.
Among them, there are winding corridors and pavilions with jagged green tiles and lanterns. The poems and books are clear and endless.
Every word and sentence read are the meanings of the Six Classics; the rules and regulations involved are all extracted from the Four Books. Zhu Xi's study of regulating qi is a matter of reading lectures tonight and every night; the second chapter of observing the precepts of discipline is a matter of daily study.
From time to time, Mr. Zhang Zi, the founder of Guan Guan studies, also expressed his eloquent remarks in the "Four Sentences of Hengqu": establish a heart for the heaven and earth, and establish a destiny for the livelihood of the people.
When Ye Wuxian heard it, goosebumps suddenly appeared on his skin, and he seemed to be aroused by these eloquent words. I don't want to believe that the woman in question actually lives in a place like this.
After he read the note again and again to confirm that it was correct, his face showed a bit of weirdness, and he used Qinggong to easily climb over the red wall and reach the inner courtyard.
There were not many servants in the courtyard and few were on duty.
Ye Wumian passed through the hanging flower door, slipped in quietly from beside a drowsy servant with drooped eyelids, and arrived at the source of the sound of reading.
Here is a row of side rooms, used as study cloth.
There is a sweet-scented osmanthus tree in the courtyard, its flowers and leaves have long since withered. Even though it has been poured with some fertilizer and water, it is drooping and lifeless.
At the top of the head, there are six characters in block letters in Taige style, above the high-level plaque:
【Home of Diligence and Thrift】
To the left and right of the door, there are two rows of couplets, all posted upright and meticulously.
Ye Wumian impatiently looked at the words in the couplets, and only heard the voice of a master in the study: "Zhao Di, Hope Di, Miss Miss, Lai Di, the four of you can stop and recite tonight. this."
As soon as these words came out, the sound of reading stopped.
The master added: "Since the four of you are women, you cannot only read the meanings of the sages' scriptures. From tomorrow on, you will also add "The Women's Commandments" written by Ban Shi, a woman from the Han Dynasty, as a required reading every day."
It was only then that Ye Wumian heard four slightly immature female voices saying in unison: "Blessings, Master."
He thought to himself: "How come they are all women? The sound of reading just now was in a male tone. Could it be that I heard it wrong?"
While he was doubting, the study door opened, and a gentleman about fifty years old, with rigorous Taoism, walked out of the study with dignified steps and a majestic air that was thousands of years old.
There was a throbbing in the throat, as if he was about to spit. Seeing that there were no spittoons everywhere, he held it in and calmly went to find a place to spit.
While he was walking away, Ye Wumian opened the window and saw the scene in the study. Sure enough, it was four women, each sitting next to a stool and a desk.
Three of the women wear headscarves, ranging in age from seven to thirteen years old, and the other woman wears a bun. She is probably the same age as Luo Xiangzhu, and must have grown hairpins.
The four girls are all dressed up as men who work with children, but they can't hide the appearance of their daughter's family.
One of the girls, who was about thirteen years old, suddenly said angrily: "Why can't I take the imperial examination even though I'm waiting for my daughter's family to study? Whose rule is this!"
The other two girls wearing headscarves are still young and not sensible enough to answer her question.
On the contrary, the fifteen-year-old Futou girl said respectfully: "Brother Pan, this has been like this since ancient times. Only men who have received the teachings of saints can eat leaves in the spring and win laurels in the moon palace in the examination room. How can a daughter's family go to participate in the scientific examination? principle."
Pandi, a thirteen-year-old girl, asked, "Is it right that this has always been the case?"
The futou girl was taken aback and said hurriedly: "Brother Pan, you must not ask such a question. If your husband hears it, you will be punished again."
Pandi said: "Sister Zhao, I heard that in Huangmei County, Huguang, in addition to the prosperity of Buddhist temples and the ancestral palace of Zen, there is also a strange play called "Female Consort". This play is about a woman. In order to save her husband, a woman pretends to be a man, takes part in the scientific examination, and finally defeats all the male candidates, becomes the first, wins the first prize, and marries a princess. However, although "The Female Consort" is good, it still remains the same in the end. It’s a story about men. If I were to sing this play, I would have to change it again!”
The futou girl frowned and said, "Brother Pan, what you said is nonsense. The name "Female Consort" is already in conflict with the heavenly family and ethical principles. If you continue to reform it too much, in the future, my Wang family will... Something will happen to you.”
Wang Pandi said disapprovingly: "According to mother's opinion, all the women like us are going to marry as wives of other families. If this is the case, what does it have to do with me whether there is any trouble in the Wang family?"
Wang Zhaodi's face turned pale, and when he was about to correct her, Wang Pandi complained again: "The one who will suffer the disaster will be the new brother. He suffered the disaster, but what does it have to do with us? He is not the same as us. His blood was only bought by my mother, but it can surpass our Wang family’s own daughter and inherit the Wang family’s family business. I hate that it’s too late for him, so how can I worry about whether he will cause trouble!”
