The joy of meeting old friends and the longing for my mentor disappeared like smoke at this moment.
The Qingtian magistrate, who was upright and honest in front of the people of Huaiyang City, and was unsmiling, broke his guard instantly.
He rolled his eyes, curled his lips and said, "Little old man, don't ruin the atmosphere like this."
"I missed you quite a lot, but you just mentioned it and I got annoyed."
"Hahahaha!" The disciple's disrespect did not make Xie Qian angry, but instead he laughed loudly.
Xie Qian, who was originally sitting cross-legged, raised his right leg and put his arm on it. He no longer had the air of a scholar.
"You kid, you are now the prefect of a city. I just saw that you are mature and prudent, but I didn't expect you to be so unruly."
Chen Yuming, who followed suit and assumed the same posture, untied the collar of his official robe, as if he had loosened some kind of shackles. His whole demeanor changed, as Xie Qian said, he was unruly.
After Chen Yuming took a deep breath, he curled his lips and said:
"Forget it, they say that to be an official you need to be gentle and quick in your words, and to be a good official is to be strict with yourself. Every day I pretend to be uncomfortable outside, so that I can be myself only when I go home, in front of you. "
"I really don't want to be a bad official for a day! Little old man, you said it would be great for me to follow you and become a great scholar! I must have been suffering from a stubborn brain disease at that time, and I had a convulsion before I pursued an official career!"
Xie Qian liked his unruly student very much. Seeing that he was as good as before in front of him, he was even more pleased. As for the complaints that followed, Xie Qian ignored them and praised him:
"Yes, it makes me sad that you can say this."
After receiving the praise from his mentor, Chen Yuming grinned and reached out to stroke his two-inch beard. He was very proud that he had forgotten his previous complaints.
Then, he frowned and complained: "Little old man, no matter what, I have become famous in Huaiyang City. You didn't tell me in advance when you came, so I can show you the spring scenery of Huaiyang!"
"Tonight, you came and didn't let anyone inform me. With your skinny body, you waited for me for three hours in the dark night and cold wind. I feel really uncomfortable."
Skinny body?
Xie Qian's face darkened, and he waved his hand and said, "I arrived two days ago. I wanted to stay one night and then go north to the capital. Unexpectedly, I met a great master, and that's why I've stayed here so far."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yuming's face became unhappy. It had been three days since the little old man came here before he remembered him.
Forget it, he made the wrong payment after all, and he is no longer the little old man’s favorite disciple.
Speaking of business, Xie Qian anxiously took out the original post from his pocket, handed it to Chen Yuming and asked:
"There is a master calligrapher in Huaiyang City, do you know about it?"
The original post was revealed under the candlelight, and the exquisite calligraphy of the skinny body made Chen Yuming speechless in amazement:
"Wonderful, good calligraphy, wonderful calligraphy, enough to leave a strong mark in the long history. I never thought that my divine inspiration would produce a calligraphy master who can be remembered for generations."
"This 'Smoke Locked Pond Willow' is the absolute of the five elements, and the artistic conception is ethereal and elegant. This pairing is enough to leave a name in the history of poetry! Hey, little old man, someone has really understood your absoluteness that has stumped countless poetic talents. !”
"A master of calligraphy and an unparalleled poet. Who is this person? He is so powerful?"
The next moment, Chen Yuming remembered his mentor's question just now and couldn't help but frown:
"Little old man, I have been here in Huaiyang City for three years and I have never seen this word. Could it be that some hermit master happened to pass by the place?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Xie Qian's face was full of determination. After explaining the whole story, he pointed to the original post and said, "Zhang Xiuran, the concubine of the Zhang family, clearly sent someone to tell me that the person who wrote this post is in Huaiyang City. He said he would tell me his whereabouts, but I waited for two days without getting a reply, so I came to look for you."
A solemn look appeared in Chen Yuming's eyes. He pointed to the north and asked:
"That Zhang?"
When his mentor nodded in affirmation, Chen Yuming frowned, remembered something, and said:
"That boy is not an easy man. Although he is a bastard, he is very capable. He retreated bravely from the rapids. He has been here to avoid trouble in Huaiyang City for a year. The city is quite deep."
"Yes, what happened at Zuixiang Pavilion that day made me look at him with admiration." Xie Qian also stroked his snow-white beard in approval.
The next moment, Xie Qian rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction, "Don't interrupt, everyone, hurry up and help me find out."
"I can stay for two days at most. I hope I can communicate with you before leaving."
Seeing the expectation in his mentor's eyes, Chen Yuming agreed without hesitation.
"Okay, don't worry, as long as he stays in Huaiyang City, even if I can't find him within two days, I will definitely send you the news to Kyoto before the results are released in the spring."
After receiving the exact guarantee, Xie Qian smiled cheerfully.
At this time.
A bright light flashed in Chen Yuming's mind. He patted his thigh, sat up straight, and said solemnly:
"Suffer it!"
"What's wrong?" Xie Qian looked at Chen Yuming's serious look and couldn't help but frown and asked.
Chen Yuming quickly explained to Xie Qian: "I, Shan Dan, the son of Shan Changshi of Yangzhou, appear to be elegant and kind, but in fact, he must retaliate for his anger. He even used some tricks to get the name of the four great talents in Huaiyang."
"As for Guan Zizai, the son of Guan Sima of Jiangzhou, although he is a good writer, he is a poor poet. He cannot recite poems and compose poems. It is absolutely impossible for him to write good poems."
"Not to mention Zhang Xiuran. Anyone who knows a little bit about Zhang's inside story will understand."
"According to what you said, my mentor, what happened that night, that person must have a humble background and be a ghostwriter."
After hearing this, Xie Qian was shocked. He couldn't help but lean forward, put his hands on the case and said worriedly: "You mean, then everyone will be retaliated by Shan Dan?"
Chen Yuming nodded and did not wait for Xie Qian to continue speaking.
The sound of hurried footsteps came, and Chen Chuyue came quickly carrying three plates of side dishes and a bowl of noodle soup.
"Thank you, Grandpa, you eat first, there are two more dishes being prepared."
The two looked at each other and smiled in a tacit understanding of how they were chatting happily.
However, when Chen Yuming looked at the familiar three chives on the soup surface, the corners of his mouth twitched, his beard trembled, and he said in a trembling voice: "Is your mother still asleep?"
Seeing her grandpa's reaction, Chen Chuyue suppressed a smile and said, "My grandma said, you and Mr. Xie haven't seen each other for many years. You have been busy with government affairs these days. It's okay to drink some wine and relax."
Immediately, Chen Yuming straightened his back, winked at Xie Qian proudly and said, "How can I ask for a wife like this?"
The same henpecked Xie Qian turned his face into ashes!
…
The next morning.
Inside the Huaiyang City Prison.
Prisoner Li Si, who smelled of alcohol, yawned and staggered in the prison corridor where there was no sunlight and only a few dim oil lamps.
Wherever he passed, the prisoners in the cell all shivered and curled up, for fear of being noticed by Li Si.
When Li Si walked to Chen Zhi's cell, he looked at the situation inside the cell and rubbed his eyes vigorously despite being hungover.
"Good guy, how badly these two fought!"
