"To seek the truth outside the mind is the reason why knowledge and action are two. To seek the truth within the mind is the teaching of the sages that knowledge and action are one."
Zhu Ping'an read "Instructions for Practical Living" for a whole morning and gained a deeper understanding of Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind. In addition to the unity of knowledge and action, Wang Yangming's lively language skills, his ability to use metaphors, and his often witty language skills also had a significant influence on Zhu Ping'an.
It was almost noon when Li Shu brought the little maid Baozi to Zhu Ping'an's guest room. The little maid Baozi was carrying a food box and her little face was flushed.
"Uncle~~It's time to eat~~"
The little maid Baozi stretched out her voice and placed the food box on the table in Zhu Ping's room like presenting a treasure. She stretched out her chubby little hand to open the food box and took out the food inside one by one.
As soon as the food box was opened, Zhu Ping'an smelled an intoxicating fragrance. Although the food in the Marquis' Mansion has always been very good, the food box brought by the maid Hua'er today was obviously much better than what he had eaten in the past two days.
The dishes in the lunch box are all my favorites, and even the soup is my favorite rice porridge.
"In that case, thank you very much." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and bowed to Li Shu and the little maid Baozi to express his gratitude.
"Don't think too much. It was done by anyone." Li Shu glanced at Zhu Ping'an and said with a pout.
Zhu Ping'an has long been immune to Li Shu's tsundere.
As he was hungry, Zhu Ping'an didn't hesitate to sit down at the table, picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. It was dry, fragrant and moist, sweet, sour and mellow... It had a very familiar taste and was extremely delicious. Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but eat two pieces in a row before putting down his chopsticks with a feeling of being unsatisfied.
"Did you bring the cook from home as well?" Zhu Ping'an's eyes lit up.
"Ah?" The little maidservant Baozi was a little confused.
"Why, it doesn't taste good?" Li Shu raised her eyebrows.
"No, it's just too delicious." Zhu Ping'an shook his head, "It tastes the same as yours. I thought your chef came with us."
Li Shu glanced at Zhu Ping'an when she heard this, her watery eyes slightly brightened, but she pouted and said, "You are surprised by what you have never seen before. It's not like the Marquis's Mansion doesn't have a cook."
Zhu Pingan smiled slightly. He did not continue to ask. Whether it was the cook of Li Shu's family or the cook of the Hou Mansion, it did not matter to him. The food tasted good. He just ate more.
But what surprised Zhu Pingan was that Li Shu and the maid Baozi had no intention of leaving. Li Shu walked to Zhu Pingan's desk and sat down, taking the rough paper Zhu Pingan used to practice writing and writing and reading it. The maid Baozi was like a follower, following Li Shu wherever she went.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Zhu Ping'an put down his chopsticks and asked.
"We've already eaten in the courtyard." The little maid said with a puffy face, "There's someone in the front yard who's so annoying. He doesn't have any sense at all."
"Oh?" Zhu Ping'an was a little curious.
"He relies on being the great-grandmother's nephew. He's so annoying. He always hangs around us." When the little maid Baozi mentioned that man, her face was full of displeasure.
"Why mention that idiot!" As if she was afraid that Zhu Ping'an would misunderstand her, Li Shu interrupted as soon as the little maid Baozi finished speaking, "That guy is 18 years old, and he has failed in school. He is not good at martial arts, and he does nothing at home. He was admitted to the Imperial College by virtue of his family's favor. He is obviously as stupid as a dog, but he thinks he is the reincarnation of Pan An. He holds a fan all day long, pretending to be a talented person, and recites some nonsense poems. I hate it when I see him."
When Li Shu mentioned that person, she was full of disgust.
After listening to the maid Baozi and Li Shu, Zhu Ping'an also roughly understood the outline of the matter. It was nothing more than to celebrate the old lady's birthday. The nephew of Linhuai Hou's wife came to the Hou Mansion in advance. It was probably because he saw Li Shu's appearance and had some ideas. Like a male gorilla, he kept showing off in front of Li Shu, which annoyed Li Shu and made her come to his place to hide away.
Haha, I guess the entire Linhuai Marquisate would be happy to see this happen and support that nephew. This can be seen from the attitude of the Linhuai Marquisate towards me.
Anyway, after the birthday party, Li Shu will go home and cancel the engagement, so no matter how things turn out, it has no impact on her.
However, from Li Shu's reaction, it can be seen that the Linhuai Marquis's plan failed.
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly, lowered his head and continued to eat his meal. Today's food tasted really good. Zhu Ping'an felt that he could eat a lot more than usual.
"Hey, Zhu Ping'an, you have to remember that you are my fiancé now..." Li Shu casually flipped a piece of the rough paper Zhu Ping'an had written, looked at it for a moment, and said to Zhu Ping'an who was eating with relish.
Zhu Ping'an naturally understood what Li Shu meant. This was also what he had agreed with Li Shu before coming to the Marquis' Mansion.
"Of course." Zhu Ping'an nodded and put a piece of sweet and sour pork into his mouth. He naturally knew what to do in the Marquis' Mansion.
Hearing this, Li Shu's lips curled into a satisfied arc.
Zhu Pingan continued to eat lunch, ready to eat a full meal. The delicious lunch made Zhu Pingan intoxicated for a while. But before Zhu Pingan had eaten for long, he saw a fragrant breeze blowing, and Li Shu sat opposite him with a smile, her skin was whiter than snow, and her eyes were so charming that they seemed to be dripping with tears... ...
What's wrong with this girl? Maybe she took the wrong medicine. Zhu Pingan was so surprised that he almost dropped the chopsticks on the ground.
"Brother Zhu, don't always eat meat. Try this stewed bamboo shoots. They are crisp and refreshing, and are perfect with rice."
What surprised Zhu Ping'an even more was that Li Shu's slender hands diligently picked up a piece of braised bamboo shoots and handed it to Zhu Ping'an's lips. She looked at him with her sparkling eyes, so charming that it seemed to drip with water, and her voice was so sweet and naive that it almost weakened one's bones.
However, Zhu Ping'an soon understood what Li Shu meant.
Because Li Shu's action was accompanied by a heart-wrenching scream, as if Brother Zhang next door found Lao Wang lying in his own closet, with anger in his surprise, and depression in his anger.
"You, you... what are you doing... Cousin Shu'er, who... who is he? How could you do this..."
When Zhu Ping'an looked up, he saw a young man dressed in the pose of Xizi holding her heart. He looked like a husband caught in bed with his wife. He was holding a folding fan in one hand and covering his chest with a hurt look on his face. With the other hand, he was pointing at himself and Li Shu with a trembling hand, as if he had suffered a great trauma.
This man must be the nephew of the wife of Marquis Linhuai mentioned by Li Shu and the little maid Baozi. He doesn't look very good, but he has an attitude of being the best in the world. He reeks of cosmetics and looks like a typical dandy boy.
In addition to him, Fatty Zhou was also following him.
Since Li Shu has done this, I naturally have to cooperate.
Zhu Ping'an looked up and smiled at the young man. Then he opened his mouth and rolled the braised bamboo shoots handed to him by Li Shu into his mouth. He chewed it hard and nodded with satisfaction.
Then, the young man felt even worse and his face turned green.
"Oh my, why are you here? It's so embarrassing..."
Li Shu seemed to have just seen the person coming. She was extremely shy. She put down her chopsticks and quickly covered her face with her sleeves, just like a typical young lady who was caught having a secret meeting with her lover. Her pretty face flushed, and she hurriedly stood up, stamped her feet, then covered her face with her sleeves, led her maid Baozi and trotted out of the room, and disappeared.
It's a pity for this girl not to be a movie queen...
Zhu Pingan looked at Li Shu's departing back and smiled slightly. (To be continued.)