The old tree in the courtyard swayed gently, and water droplets from the melted snow dripped into the wine glass below, causing a slight ripple.
Lu Liangsheng put down the cup and looked at the old man and the young man opposite him with a smile. In fact, he had already guessed why they came to Qixia Mountain to find him.
The reason for asking this question is to take the initiative.
Sure enough, Chen Jing put down the wine glass with both hands, took a few breaths, stopped beating around the bush, stood up from the stool, and bowed.
"Sir, you have lived in the mountain village for a long time. I... Jing cannot bear that your talent is not appreciated, so I come to visit you now. I also ask Mr. Lu to come out of the mountain to help us recover our Chen Dynasty's homeland. Jing, I will treat you as a national hero."
Lu Liangsheng turned his head and looked at the old man who was also looking at him. He smiled and remembered that many years ago, when the Sui Kingdom crossed the river to the south, the young emperor who had just ascended the throne said the same words under this tree.
People are made of flesh and blood, and ascetics are no exception, so they can naturally feel the other person's sincerity.
pity…
The scholar was silent for a moment, then walked over, lifted up Chen Jing's hands, and asked him to sit down again.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the first time you came here?"
"I remember."
Chen Jing sat back on the stone bench, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.
At that time, he had just ascended the throne and had a quarrel with his mother. He led more than a hundred riders from Tianzhi to Qixia Mountain and waited outside the village for two or three days before they were able to meet. However, when they met, Lu Liangsheng told him in person that he was unwilling to help him, not because of his father's relationship, but for the unification of the world so that the people of the world could enjoy a peaceful life.
"What I said that day is also the reason why I refuse today."
Seeing that he was silent, Lu Liangsheng poured him a cup and looked at the old man next to him: "Now that the world has been unified for several years, the people of Kyushu are living much better than when they were divided. If I help you, the world will be in war again. Not only will the soldiers die, but innocent people will also be implicated and forced to leave their homes."
"Mr. Lu, this is wrong."
On the side, Chen Fu, who was drinking from his cup, spoke softly, put down the cup and looked over: "Although the people have suffered, they are also the remnants of the Chen Dynasty. Without their homeland, are they willing to be the dogs of another country? The founding emperor of the Chen Dynasty was a man of great talent and wisdom, sweeping across the world. The people were loyal to him and established the destiny of our dynasty. Haven't you heard that love for one's homeland is deep and it is hard to leave one's homeland? Although the territory of the Chen Dynasty has been destroyed, Your Majesty is still here, benevolent and humble, and has the appearance of a wise monarch. Gather the old subordinates and you will do great things!"
He shook his wide sleeves, spread out his palms and slightly extended them towards Lu Liangsheng, speaking in a sonorous and powerful voice.
"I've often heard that Mr. Lu is well-read, good at governing the people, and has the ability to communicate with gods and ghosts. A gentleman is modest and open-minded. How can he ignore his homeland and let the Sui people rule over it because of the old grudges of the previous emperor? Today, I invite you to come out and help us to restore the former Chen Kingdom. You can also let the people of your homeland be governed by you and enjoy a peaceful and happy country! Isn't it better than living in a small village in the mountains and being complacent?"
A light breeze blew, carrying a chill through the courtyard. Heads piled up at the door of the kitchen. The woman took a sip from the bowl and said, "The old man said a lot. Did you understand what he meant?"
Above, several people shook their heads.
"Anyway, just tell the great scholar Lu to rebel." The Taoist replied while lying on the door. His dislike of literary words did not mean that he could not understand the meaning of the words. He noticed that everyone was looking at the door, and turned his head to glance at the large round table. While they were not paying attention, he hurried to the table, brought the meat dishes, put them into the bowl, so high that only a pair of eyes were exposed, and shoveled them into his mouth.
Then, Lu Xiaoxian reacted, reached out and scratched it.
However, the couple at the door, Mu Qiyu and Zhu Ganglie didn't pay much attention to the screams coming from behind them. Their eyes were still on Lu Liangsheng in the yard, waiting to see what he would say.
The yard was quiet for a while.
"The old man is very eloquent."
Lu Liangsheng broke the silence and said a compliment. Although the other party's words made sense, every word was about restoring the Chen Dynasty. After all, the world was unified, and doing this was tantamount to rebellion.
What made Lu Liangsheng feel uncomfortable was that the other party did not take the people of the Chen Dynasty into consideration.
This old man's obsession is no deeper than that of Monk Zhenhai.
"Although the old gentleman is eloquent, Lu Liangsheng still cannot obey your order. Dynasties change, and the will of heaven is always the same. Why should the old gentleman go against the will of heaven with his dying body?"
At this point, Lu Liangsheng stopped talking, and suddenly waved his hand, drawing out a trace of magic power, and continued in a magical voice that only the other party could hear:
"The Emperor Star of the Chen Dynasty has fallen."
Over there, Chen Fu smiled, shook his head, and also used his magical power to speak: "That may not be the case. Mr. Lu might as well take another look at Chen Jing."
On the side, Chen Jing watched Mr. Lu and his master looking at each other. The two were silent, but with smiles on their faces. In an instant, he saw Lu Liangsheng turn around and look at him.
"Mr. Lu, what's on my face?"
On the opposite side, the scholar narrowed his eyes, with a faint blue light in his eyes, and saw that there was still an imperial aura on Chen Jing's forehead.
"Old sir, are you using magic to forcibly retain his imperial aura?"
"This is the magic of Guigu Shendao from my Fumo Mountain." The old man did not hide it. He raised his head to look at the bare cypress trees above him, and there was no expression in his words.
"As long as I can recover my homeland, I have no fear of going against the will of heaven!"
Lu Liangsheng pursed his lips, and he actually admired the old man a little. He cupped his hands and said in a neither light nor heavy tone: "Liangsheng admires you, but I'm sorry I can't obey your order, because... I have already promised Emperor Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty to serve in the court."
"you!"
The old man stood up from the stool and pointed at Lu Liangsheng, his gray beard trembling: "You... dare to be a Chen person!" He dropped his chopsticks and shouted at the still dazed Chen Jing: "Go!"
He turned around and left.
Chen Jing stood up hesitantly, looked at his master walking towards the courtyard gate, and then looked at Lu Liangsheng in front of him.
"Mr. Lu, what happened between you and my master?"
"Different paths!"
Lu Liangsheng poured a glass of wine, raised his head and drank it all, smiled at him, and said softly: "You can go too. If you believe me, you should stop thinking about restoring the Chen Dynasty. You can also become a Taoist monk, wield a sword and kill demons, and do something good for the people."
At the gate of the courtyard, Chen Fu turned around and roared again.
"Let's go!"
Hearing his master's voice, Chen Jing looked at Lu Liangsheng who was waving at him, bowed and saluted, then left the courtyard and chased after the old man with the three guards.
"What are you yelling at! My Liangsheng invited you to dinner, but I think he offended you, right?!" Li Jinhua jumped out of the kitchen, rushed to the yard and cursed outside.
The Taoist squatted beside the scholar with several red marks on his face.
"You want to be the national teacher. If they want to rebel, just kill them, so that you don't have to deal with them in the future."
"They came to invite me, how can I hit them with my hands? That's not very decent."
Lu Liangsheng raised his hand and took a sip of wine: "Besides, Chen Jing hasn't done anything to rebel yet, and he has an old relationship with me. I can't do such a cruel thing."
The Taoist snorted and glanced at him, then picked up the chopsticks beside him and took a bite of the food.
"Hehe, who told me about the Chen Mansion in Fushui County? That method was so cruel..."
The sunlight fell on his face and the cup. The scholar leaned back, leaned against the tree, held up the cup and laughed.
"We were young and chivalrous back then, haha..."
The two chatted and laughed, and finally took the unfinished meal back to the kitchen to have dinner with their family. As for what happened, Lu Liangsheng didn't want to take it to heart for the time being. He continued to chop wood and work as usual, take walks by the Honglian River, and repair the spirit gathering array.
This lasted for half a month. After the second snow, the weather began to warm up and new branches sprouted from the withered yellow trees.
As the rosy glow came, Lu Liangsheng, carrying firewood on his back, looked out over the mountains, which were gradually turning green. It was the end of the old year.
Judging from the time, it’s time for Master to come out of seclusion.