Walking on the bluestone road of the imperial palace, with the moon in the sky and the two of them in the forest, Fan Xian's back was already drenched in sweat. On this summer night, he still felt a little cold. He let out a deep breath, feeling a little scared, patted his chest, and complained to Haitang next to him: "You guessed that I... wrote the story of the stone, so why didn't you tell me, because I was almost caught by you before?" The emperor was scared to death."
Haitang smiled and said, "Who told you to hide it from the world for so long." Then she turned her eyes and said, "Why are you so afraid? If it's not about your status as Duke Cao, then what are you afraid of His Majesty saying?"
Without even thinking about it, Fan Xian smiled softly and said, "What do you think?"
The corners of Haitang's lips curled up slightly, but she didn't say anything. Fan Xian looked at her sideways, and saw that her long eyelashes were stained with a silver halo, giving her a charming beauty, and the most outstanding eyes on her face were particularly bright in the night—the silvery moonlight is indeed There is a kind of magical power, that kind of hazy impregnation, which seems to be able to turn any ordinary woman into an elf in the world.
Fan Xian didn't feel anything, he just put his hands behind his back, slowly dragged his steps forward, and said, "You cheated on me this time, I don't seek revenge, you should know why."
"You want me to do something for you." Haitang smiled and said, "Although I don't know what it is, I think it has something to do with the South, so I need the help of an outsider like me."
"That's right, you and I...are actually hypocrites." Fan Xian had a weird self-deprecating smile on his lips, "So when we talk, it seems that we can be more direct. I need something you can do for me , maybe it will happen, maybe it won't happen, but when the time comes, I will send someone to notify you."
Haitang glanced at him, and suddenly said: "I heard that you love the prime minister's illegitimate daughter very much, so even the big maid pointed out by Danzhou's grandmother has never been brought into the house."
"I don't like you probing my family affairs." Fan Xian turned around and said seriously, "That's the end of this topic."
Haitang smiled and nodded, and said: "Actually, I'm just curious, what kind of person is happy when he sees a woman, but feels uncomfortable when he sees a man. He thinks unmarried women are pearls, and married women are fish eyes. Thinking that a daughter's house is made of water, a man is made of mud, that women are precious, and men are despicable... "
After the long series of words were over, Haitang stared into Fan Xian's tranquil eyes, and said softly, "I'm curious, how can Mr. Fan have such views because men are respected in the world."
Fan Xian smiled, but did not answer.
Haitang suddenly saluted, and said solemnly: "Duoduo thanked Mr. Fan for setting up a biography for the boudoir and fighting for women."
Fan Xian was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "I am... different from most people in this world."
After leaving the palace gate, Haitang was a little surprised to find that the Grand Tutor was still guarding outside the palace, while Fan Xian's expression didn't change when he saw the teacher of His Majesty the Emperor.
Haitang bowed to the Grand Tutor, then turned to Fan Xian and said, "I'll see you off the day after tomorrow."
Fan Xian understood the meaning hidden in her words, nodded, and got into the Taifu's carriage.
Seeing the three carriages gradually disappearing into the night of Shangjing City, Haitang's bright eyes suddenly fluttered. She thought about the last words of that handsome young official from the Southern Dynasty. Different? In the eyes of the world, Fan Xian is naturally different, but he doesn't know where he thinks the difference is.
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The carriage stopped outside a quiet courtyard, and the guards responsible for the security of the mission knew that Fan Xian, a great talent from the Southern Qing Dynasty, had come to visit this master for his last visit in the Northern Qi Dynasty. Reminiscent of the night feast and fighting poem that was passed around the world, everyone couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. They didn't know what Fan Xian was thinking, but in this place full of books, everyone naturally calmed down.
The tiger guards in the first carriage got out of the carriage, their eyes were tiger-eyed, and they guarded several key points.
Fan Xian walked down from the carriage hand in hand with the Grand Tutor of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Although their attitude was not necessarily friendly, it seemed that there was no hostility. Everyone felt a little relieved, but seeing the upright and upright Tai Tuo and Fan Xian whispered something, they pushed the door open and went in.
Fan Xian waved his hand, signaling the tiger guards not to follow.
Arriving outside a room in the courtyard, the Taifu bowed deeply towards the room, turned around and said calmly to Fan Xian, "Young Master Fan, the teacher is not in good health recently, please don't talk for too long."
Fan Xian bowed politely to the great scribe, straightened his clothes, and gently pushed open the wooden door. At a glance, one can see an old man holding a small brush and drawing something on the paper.
This old man is a master of scriptures in the world, and his students are all over the world. The Taifu of the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Master Shu of Nanqing are both his proud disciples. Before Fan Xian occasionally showed his talents, no one could compare with him in terms of academics. Even after Fan Xian shamelessly challenged Guo Jingming in order to win a chaotic victory in the palace, no one would really think that apart from the way of poetry, Fan Xian had also reached the opponent's realm in other aspects.
Because this old man's surname is Zhuang, and his first name is Mohan.
There were no servants or book boys in the house, only the old man in a loose robe kept copying, occasionally frowning, staring at the paper, flipping through the pages of the book around him, as if looking for some evidence. Compared with last year when he was in Qing Kingdom, Zhuang Mohan's spirit seems to be much worse. Although his silver hair is still tied tightly, the age spots on his cheeks are getting heavier, revealing some kind of abnormality. Auspicious omen.
Fan Xian didn't want to disturb him, so he walked lightly behind him, cast his eyes on the desk, and suddenly found that the books on the desk were Banxianzhai Poems from Danbo Bookstore! And on the margins of the collection of poems, I don't know how many notes are filled. Could it be that this contemporary literary master is actually writing annotations for the collection of poems he "recited"? !
With his dry fingers, Zhuang Mohan pointed to the second half of the sentence in the collection of poems "Once the sea was too difficult to be water, except Wushan is not a cloud". There is beauty in rhetoric, but the second half doesn’t make sense, it really doesn’t make sense, tell me, what does it mean?”
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…
After a little silence, Fan Xian's soft voice sounded: "Wushan Mountain is a sacred mountain in the extreme south. Any high sky and white mist in the world will be lazy to take it in the eyes, these two words are just two sentences, purely talking about the loyalty of love."
"So that's how it is..." Zhuang Mohan pointed to a thick book in the corner of Kuo Dashu's case with a wry smile: "Of course the old man can guess the meaning, but I can't find this book. To the cloudy Wushan, it turns out to be a sacred mountain in the extreme south, no wonder I don't know."
Fan Xian saw that he didn't suspect that he was making up things, and knew that the old man was a very gentle and tolerant person, so he smiled slightly, stepped forward to rub the ink for him, and watched him copy his explanation in extremely fine lowercase letters blank space on the page. Zhuang Mohan's regular script is also well-known in the world, its integrity is not second to none, but Fan Xian felt a little embarrassed when he looked at it today, the old man's hands were shaking a little bit.
"In the old days, Wang Chen had banquets and feasted in peace and joy, and had a lot of wine fights... What kind of allusion is this?" Zhuang Mohan continued to ask without looking at him.
Fan Xian was embarrassed for a while. When he was thinking about the collection of poems, he specifically deleted Li Bai's "Jiang Jinjiu". Why did the old comrade ask himself again
Zhuang Mohan sighed and said: "I have never forgotten my eyes and ears since I was a child, so I can't help being a little bit self-conscious. You sang poems like rivers and seas that day, and I couldn't help but hurt myself..." Thanks to this ability, I remembered so many lines of poems you said, and when the collection of poems of Banxianzhai was published, I found that many poems were missing, and I don’t know what you think about this child.”
Hearing Zhuang Mohan calling his son, Fan Xian couldn't help feeling a little strange in his heart. After coughing twice, he explained, "Prince Chen is a prince surnamed Cao. Back then, he once held a big banquet in Pingliang..."
"A prince surnamed Cao?" Zhuang Mohan raised his head, with a trace of unconfidence in his cloudy eyes, "but... for thousands of years, there has been no royal family surnamed Cao."
Fan Xian sighed in his heart, and persuaded him, "You don't need to bother with late-born nonsense."
"That can't be done!" Zhuang Mohan was really stubborn in some respects, flipping through all the poems he copied by hand, pointing to one of them and said: "Xiao Xie in the middle is so clear, and this little Xie is so beautiful." Who?"
Fan Xian's face turned green and pale, and he replied after a long while, "Xiao Xie is a down-and-out literati who wrote story books. Although his writings are vulgar and have not been handed down to the world, they still have some reputation in the market."
"That… "
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I don't know how long it took, when Fan Xian felt that he was exhausted and had no interest in life, Zhuang Mohan finally sighed, rubbed the corners of his eyes, threw a pen into the inkstone, and said sadly: "The oil is exhausted and the lamp is dry." , compared to the time when I was a scholar.”
After entering the house, the two devoted themselves to this somewhat ridiculous job without saying hello. Until then, Fan Xian put down his rolled up sleeves, bowed very politely, and said, "I have seen Master Zhuang , I don’t know what advice the old gentleman has for calling Wansheng here.”
The room fell silent, and after a long time, Zhuang Mohan suddenly bowed deeply to Fan Xian with his old body trembling.
Fan Xian was shocked and forgot to help him. What kind of person is this old man? He is the mentor of the Northern Qi Emperor, how could he come to worship him.
Zhuang Mohan has already got up, with a smile on his face exuding wrinkles: "I met you last year in Qingguo, and it has been a year now. The old man's life is the most important thing in his life. Last year, he framed Mr. Fan in Qingguo. He has been restless until now. Inviting Master Fan here today is a special trip to make amends."
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…
Fan Xian was silent. Of course he knew that the reason why Zhuang Mohan accepted the request of the eldest princess, gave up his face for decades, and went all the way south to be a villain, was all because of the release of Xiao En in the agreement. This is a brother. Love - the thing he lacks the most right now.
"Xiao En is dead." Fan Xian looked at the old man in front of him who had suddenly become much thinner in a year, with his thin lips slightly parted, he said these four words.
Zhuang Mohan glanced at him with a smile, but said nothing.
Fan Xian also smiled, knowing that he was a little redundant. After all, the other party was a seasoned figure who had been playing tricks in this world for decades. He had a deep foundation in Northern Qi, so how could he not know about this important matter.
"People are always going to die." Zhuang Mohan seemed to be saying this to himself, and it seemed to be saying to Fan Xian: "So you have to live well, like my brother. It's not interesting, he killed countless people, but ended up like this in the end... "
Fan Xian did not agree with this statement, saying: "This world is basically a golden belt for killing and setting fire, and building bridges and paving roads without corpses."
Zhuang Mohan shook his head: "Don't be this kind of person."
It's not impossible, but it's very straightforward not to use two words. If any outsider was standing in this room at this moment, hearing the conversation between Zhuang Mohan and Fan Xian, and seeing their natural and unpretentious expressions, they would feel a little strange. The experience and life of these two people are too far apart, and the only time they met was a conspiracy, but it is such two people who can express their attitudes in the most direct words.
Perhaps, this is the so-called power of books.
"Why not?" Fan Xian frowned slightly.
"I'm very confident." Zhuang Mohan suddenly laughed, but there was some deep sadness hidden in the smile, "I'm confident that I will live a much happier life than my brother."
Fan Xian stared into his eyes: "But you should be clear, if it weren't for Sean, maybe you would never have achieved the status you have today."
Zhuang Mohan stared back into his eyes: "But you are not clear enough. When death comes gradually, you will realize that power, status and wealth are all just passing clouds."
Fan Xian replied calmly and persistently: "No, when death comes, you may regret this life, you have not experienced anything, you have not enjoyed anything... you just have what you have in this life. Ordinary people will never be able to have things that are difficult to have, so when the years are old, I will have these feelings."
Zhuang Mohan shook his head helplessly: "You're still young, and you haven't smelled the deeper breath of death around you day after day, so how would you know what you'll think when the time comes?"
"I know." Fan Xian repeated mechanically, "Believe me, I know that feeling."
Zhuang Mohan seemed a little tired, he didn't want to continue this topic, and said instead: "I didn't expect that the person who can write such deviant words as "Story of Stones" is still a filth in his own pen."
Fan Xian smiled bitterly and said, "I never thought that things like rumors could fly faster than birds."
Zhuang Mohan suddenly showed a trace of concern in his eyes, and said: "Master Fan, you must be careful after you return to China. The Story of Stone... has many taboos."
Fan Xian was silent. He also knew this, but he was so frivolous when he was young, and couldn't bear the loss of the chance of those words to appear in this world, so he wrote them casually. Now that I am in the officialdom, I naturally understand deeply that it is too easy for someone who wants to find allusions from it. Moreover, there was a coincidence in this matter that even Fan Xian was shocked, so he couldn't help being careless, but it was a pity that the Northern Qi Emperor was also a fan, so naturally this matter could no longer be concealed.
But Zhuang Mohan was rational and affectionate, so he shouldn't be so concerned about himself. This was where Fan Xian was a little confused.
Zhuang Mohan seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, and said with a smile: "To invite Master Fan to come today, apart from the selfish thing of pleading guilty and comforting myself, I also want to thank you."
"Thank you?" Fan Xian frowned. He didn't think the other party knew that he had extended Xiao En's life by one day.
"Thank you on behalf of the scholars in the world." Zhuang Mohan looked at him with a smile: "Master Fan exposed the abuses of Qing Guo Chunwei when he first joined the Overwatch Council. For example, I don’t know how many poor scholars will be benefited, and the merits will last for thousands of years. Your lord may not take this old man seriously, but I want to thank you on behalf of the scholars in this world.”
Fan Xian raised the corners of his lips in a self-deprecating smile: "Exposing fraud? It's all about scholars, thank you?"
Zhuang Mohan didn't smile, his cloudy eyes were a little dull. This time when Sean returned to China, he didn't make any effort. The most important point was that he didn't want to cause the entire imperial court to fall into turmoil because of this matter. But he knows that this world is not all made up of scholars, there are politicians, conspirator, and warriors, and their methods of handling things sometimes appear more direct and wild.
He glanced at Fan Xian, and was about to say something, but when he thought that those were the internal affairs of Bei Qi after all, there was no point in telling him.
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After a long time, Fan Xian left the courtyard where Zhuang Mohan lived. Then in this life, he never came again.
※※※
The heat is overwhelming. Although the hottest day of the year should have passed long ago in terms of the month, the Northern Qi Dynasty is located in the northeast of the mainland, and it is extremely hot in autumn, and the drizzle that is common in late spring and early summer has long since disappeared. The only trace is the shining white sun above the head, frivolously and fiercely forcing people to take off their clothes until they can no longer take them off.
Outside the south gate of Shangjing, a bright yellow figure disappeared into the gate. The blue-gray old city wall immediately became the most conspicuous existence in the eyes of everyone outside the city.
Fan Xian squinted his eyes and looked there, feeling very uneasy. That His Majesty the Emperor actually came to see off the Qing mission in person. This was absolutely against the rules. No matter how much the Northern Qi ministers tried to dissuade them, they still did not stop them, so a large number of high-ranking officials and ministers had to rush over. The Taifu went out of the city to see them off, which gave the Nanqing Mission enough face.
The previous emperor and Fan Xian were holding hands and chatting about homely conversations, obsessed with things like the Stories of the Stone, which attracted the attention of many courtiers—and finally invited this somewhat weird emperor back. It was only the officials of the Northern Qi Dynasty and a guard of honor. Fan Xian glanced and saw Wei Hua, but he didn't see Marquis Changning, nor Shen Zhong.
He felt that his back was soaked, and he didn't know whether he was frightened by the emperor or was exposed to the sun.
The auspicious time has not yet arrived, so the mission cannot leave yet. He glanced at the most gorgeous carriage in front of the team, and the eldest princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty was in the carriage at this time. I just glanced at it from a distance before, and I could vaguely see that it was a beautiful and noble person, but I didn't know what kind of personality it was. But Fan Xian was not too worried about the journey back to China. After experiencing the Haitang incident, Fan Xian became more confident in his ability to get along with women.
A gust of breeze passed by, instantly relaxing Fan Xian. He tugged on the extremely tight buttons of his clothes, thinking to himself, how could there be such a gentle breeze in this damn weather? Turning his head to look, as expected, Wang Qinian was fanning himself beside him, with reluctance and sadness on his face.
Fan Xian couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter, and scolded, "It's only a year, why are you sobbing? Naturally, I will take care of the wife and children at home, so don't worry."
When the mission left, Yan Bingyun would naturally follow him back to the country. As a result, the secret spy network of the Qing Guo Supervisory Council within the territory of Northern Qi immediately lost its leader. Therefore, the Supervisory Council internally decided that Wang Qinian should use Qing Guo Honglu Temple He stayed in Shangjing as Ju Zhonglang, who was resident in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and temporarily took charge of the northern affairs on his behalf. After half a year, officials secretly sent from the courtyard to take over.
As the chief minister, Fan Xian had a special status in the courtyard, and such matters did not need to go through the formalities of the yamen in Kyoto, so it was settled easily. It's just that Wang Qinian didn't expect that he would not go back with the mission, and he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy and disappointed. Although he knew that this experience would be of great benefit to his future promotion, he still felt a little uncomfortable. "My lord, if I don't listen to you for a day, I will feel uncomfortable." Wang Qinian looked at Fan Xian reluctantly.
Fan Xian smiled and said, "Don't conflict with the Northern Qi side. Be wise and protect yourself. I will welcome you in the capital in a year." In fact, he is also used to having such a supportive person by his side. The key is that Wang Qinian is the one in the courtyard The only confidant, it's just a pity that he had to stay in Beiqi because he had to deal with the eldest princess's money channel.
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While speaking, a fine horse suddenly drove out from the city gate, and the person on the horse was not an official, he was dressed like a servant, he couldn't help attracting the attention of all the officials, thinking that he would shut down the defense early, how could the yamen of Shangjingjiu city release it? A commoner has come here
Fan Xian had sharp eyes, but he saw the complexion of Master Tai Tuo, who stood at the first place in the see-off team, darkened, and a look of sadness appeared in his eyes.
The horse rode directly in front of the team, and immediately the servant rolled off the horse, whispered something in the Taifu's ear with tears in his voice, handed the Taifu a cloth scroll, and then pointed to the city gate behind.
The Taifu swayed, not knowing what stimulated him, looked at the carriage slowly approaching the city gate, shook his head sadly, and looked back at Fan Xian, with some surprise in his eyes.
He took a deep breath, and then walked towards Fan Xian. Fan Xian didn't know what happened, so he got off his horse and went up to meet him a little nervously. After receiving the cloth scroll handed over by Master Taifu, he opened it nervously, and saw that there was a collection of poems inside, and there were a few words written in the slightly winding old handwriting on the page:
"Poetry Collection of Banxianzhai: Notes by Lao Zhuang".
The Tai Tuo looked at the silent Fan Xian with some mixed feelings, and said, "Mister gave this to your lord." Having said this, his tone could not help but be filled with deep sadness.
"Mr. Zhuang... went."