"Father!"
"Dad..."
The two brothers who were chasing stopped immediately and saw the tall figure walking in the corridor. The young man rolled his eyes and dragged the framed painting. Just as his brother bowed, he suddenly ran into the eaves of the corridor to greet the man who was coming.
"father!"
After shouting out obediently, the boy hurriedly raised the painting in his hand, straightened his not-so-tall body, and showed the painting to his father.
"Dad, my brother got a painting and wants to recruit a tribute scholar from the Southern Chen Dynasty. He doesn't want to tell you yet, so I'll snatch it away!"
"You..."
The big hand took the scroll and handed it to his cousin behind him. The man was no more than 40 years old, with a slightly white beard, but his aura was rare among ordinary people. He patted his son on the head.
"Don't embarrass your brother, go and have fun."
Yang Guang said "oh" and turned around obediently. Before leaving, he pulled his eye bags towards his brother who was bowing respectfully, rolled his eyes, made a face, and ran away.
Looking at his brother running away, Yang Yong didn't want to get angry. When he saw Yang Jian approaching, he called out to him respectfully.
"Father."
"Don't spend all your time reciting poems and painting. There are many things to do at home. If you have nothing to do, help your mother with some of the work."
Yang Jian pressed his son's shoulder and whispered into his ear.
"The Yang family is now standing on a single log. Whether it is advancing or retreating, you have to watch and learn carefully. If I see you fooling around with those literati who only know how to recite poems and write, I will ban you from leaving the house for half a year!"
"… yes."
Yang Yong lowered his head hastily, and in his peripheral vision, he saw a figure in an official robe with a red background and a black collar passing by. He heaved a sigh of relief only when the sound of footsteps faded away and turned the corner of the corridor.
Thinking of a group of scholars gathering in the side yard, he hesitated for a moment before heading over there.
"Alas, it's a pity about that painting."
At Langyuan's turning point, the two people walking one after the other returned to the main topic.
"Now that several kings have come to the capital, what do you think, brother?"
"What do you think? Originally, we established a Northern Zhou royal family to comfort these people, but you..."
"It's my brother's fault."
The man holding the scroll following behind Yang Jian was wearing a long robe with white patterns and a blue shirt. His short beard trembled slightly as he spoke:
"The original plan was fine, but when I went there, Yuwen Tuo had already been taken away, and no one else knew about it... Alas, I can only say that I have planned everything, but God does not let me succeed."
As the two of them walked, the maids and servants passing by all ducked and retreated to the sides, not daring to look up.
"Haha, Yang Su, are you blaming the heavens?"
Yang Jian in front stopped, the jade pendant swaying slightly at his waist. He looked at the courtyard scenery with his face slightly tilted.
"Listen, the summer cicadas are about to start chirping again."
Yang Su was stunned for a moment, then he understood the meaning and nodded: "Brother, you want those cicadas to chirp first."
On a tree in the courtyard, a newly born cicada spread its wings and its abdomen began to tremble.
Know… Know…
"Yes, those Northern Zhou kings came to Beijing, and they were not allowed to call first..."
Yang Jian flicked the crown and sash hanging on his chest and shoulders, "… How can we find a reason to get rid of them? We can't just lose Yuwen Tuo and not cross this single-plank bridge, right? Madam said that this is the situation of riding a tiger. Yes, once you ride it, you can't get off!"
Yang Su behind him also laughed.
The two chatted about some things afterwards, and when they talked about Yang Guang and Yang Yong, they naturally talked about the scroll just now. Yang Su unfolded the painting. He was good at calligraphy, which had some connection with painting, so he could naturally see the depth of the painter's skills.
In front of his brother, he praised him.
"No wonder the eldest master wants to recruit him. This person's painting is different from others."
"So, Chu Dao also appreciates this painting scholar?"
Yang Su did not answer immediately. Instead, his eyes moved downward to the words at the bottom of the scroll, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.
"Brother, I'm afraid we should still be careful of this person. Lu Liangsheng... I heard of this person's name when I went to Congratulate Liangzhou. He smashed the Chengyun Hall of the Southern Chen Emperor in anger. He is a magician."
Hearing this, Yang Jian finally showed some interest. He took the scroll with a smile on his face, and asked as he looked at it:
"How does that compare to Chu Dao?"
"Haha, what are you talking about, brother..."
Yang Su laughed, and his words sounded unclear.
"You won't know until you try it."
On the other side, Yang Jian, who was not very interested in calligraphy and painting, handed over the scroll. He didn't seem to care about his cousin's tone. He waved his hand and asked him to follow him to the study.
"He's just a scholar. He may have exaggerated the rumors. Instead of looking around for him, we should focus on what we are doing right now."
He paused, his eyes serious, glanced at the guards guarding the study, and turned his head to look at the room.
"Shu De, have you come back?"
The guards on both sides bowed their heads and one of them answered, "Li Yuan came here today and said he was on vacation and wanted to rest for two days."
“This child.”
Yang Jian snorted, but was not angry. He asked the guard to open the door and walked in. The study was spotless. Books, pens, ink, paper and inkstone were neatly arranged on the bookshelves and long desks. It was obvious that the other party had cleaned the place before leaving.
"Forget it, let him be."
He just smiled and continued discussing political affairs with his cousin.
Know…
… know… know…
Summer cicadas chirped outside the window one after another. Lu Liangsheng, whom the two had mentioned before, was now hundreds of miles west of Chang'an.
Brown and yellow mountains interspersed with green fields stretch out.
Know… Know…
The sound of cicadas could be heard in the distance. Lu Liangsheng sat cross-legged at the center of the formation under the sunlight, silently chanting the mantra of the righteous way of heaven and earth. Beads of sweat hung on the corners of his forehead, wetting his drooping hair and sticking it tightly to his forehead.
At the four corners of the formation, the burning gold has lost most of its color; the rootless flowering trees have gradually withered; the slowly rising cold water has warmed up; and the pearl-forming soil has turned white.
The scholar could feel the linked array patterns, which were different from the accumulation of cultivation. On the contrary, it was a naturally derived intersection feeling. It seemed calm, but in fact it formed a strange vortex in his body, judging from his previous experience of introspection when he was in He Liangzhou.
What I saw was a nebula slowly forming, and then slowly rotating, as if it was giving birth to something.
…
"Master Toad, how long are you going to sit here?"
Nie Honglian held up a cattail leaf fan woven from tree branches and waved it gently. Next to her, the Taoist Toad, lying on a rock, scratched his itchy cheeks comfortably, hummed in a dreamy voice, moved the corners of his mouth, hugged his webbed hands, turned sideways, and moved to the other side.
He opened one of the toad's eyes, looked, and then closed it again.
"It will take at least two days, at most four or five days. This is just the foundation for him to forge a golden elixir. Whether he can forge a golden elixir in the future depends on his luck."
Listening to the cicadas' chirping, Toad Taoist stretched out his limbs, stretched his webbed feet straight, and yawned loudly.
"That's all I can do."
The gentle breeze brought coolness. An old donkey nibbling on the grass nearby occasionally raised its head, twisted its hind legs hard, and licked a few times with its tongue.
When the sunlight shines, dark scales reflect light.