In Xijing in the Southern Dynasties, a mansion of a wealthy family whose threshold was so high that a child had to turn over and pass by.
The guests are all here to celebrate the old owner of this house becoming a centenarian. In the entire Xijing City, there are very few people who live to this age, and those who have the honor of the old owner are really looking for not coming out. Even the Xijing officials who have survived to the seventies mostly don't know the real name of this Renrui, they always call him Wang Weng, and the younger ones can only call him Old Master Wang. The Wang family is one of the big families of the Southern Dynasties, although the Wang family's children who are two generations below the old man are not well-known, there is only one servant of the Ministry of Rites of the Southern Dynasty and two lieutenants of the military town, and now two of them have died, but fortunately the great-grandson of the old man Very competitive, climbing all the way from the bottom of the Beimang army, he became one of the four major bowls of the Wangzhang, Dong Nabo, with his solid military achievements, and now he is married to a Longguan nobleman who ranks first in the ranks , the trend of the whole family can be described as thriving.
Today's birthday celebration is not a harmony from beginning to end. The Longguan aristocrats who were the top snakes in the northern mang and southern dynasties were intertwined internally, with marriages and feuds. Some people did not deal with the Wang family, an outsider who was married to a family with a family name of Jia. Today, the 100th birthday of the old lady Wang was also affected by Chiyu, and some people were open to it A piece of writing was sent, only the words "longevity and longevity".
This kind of unscrupulous slap in the face, even the visiting guests couldn't stand it, but Mrs. Wang smiled and took the letter with his own hands, and he didn't forget to ask the housekeeper to give the servant who ran the errand to deliver the letter a gift.
After all, the old man is a hundred years old, so it is impossible to entertain guests for too long. After meeting some important ministers of Xijing or younger generations of family friends, he will be handed over to his nephew who has been the Minister of Rites for sixteen years to entertain visitors. Resting in that elegant and quiet courtyard, the small courtyard is not small, and there are dozens of extremely rare plum trees planted, so Mrs. Wang also called himself the wild old man of Meilin.
In the dusk when people were buzzing outside, the old man asked someone from the yard to move a rattan chair under the plum tree, and with the careful support of a maid with delicate features, he lay tremblingly on the chair covered with a piece of soft Sichuan brocade. .
The little maid did not dare to leave, and sat on a small bench according to the old rules. She respected this old man with an unimaginably good temper. Since she entered this yard as a maid, she has never seen the old man get angry once. She clearly remembered that when she first came to the yard as an errand, one day she sat in the inner room and watched the old man take a nap. After waking up, the old man just smiled at her and shook his hand, signaling her to pretend that she didn't know anything. Later she heard that someone in the courtyard had neglected their duties in the early years, and that the plum grove froze to death several plum trees in a certain winter. It was still the old man who spoke, saying that there are many valuable things in the world, but there is nothing more valuable than human life. When the tree is gone, it will be gone. It doesn't matter. Anyway, I won't see new plums turning old in this life. Look. Dry plum is also good.
The old man lay quietly on the chair, looked at the plum branches that were not luxuriant above his head, and said slowly: "Little girl Chaimi, summer will be over by now. When it rains, it is the time when the plums in the south of the Yangtze River are yellow and ripe, so it is called Meiyu, which sounds nice, right? I am not a scholar, so I can’t think of such a name. When I was young, I often chanted some proverbs I heard from my elders. I don’t understand the reasoning, but it’s easy to say, ‘When the peach blossoms are exhausted, there must be drought yellow plums’, ‘Rain hits the head of the yellow plums, and there will be no sun for forty-five days’, now I think it’s catchy when I read it.”
The servant girl asked in a soft voice full of curiosity: "Why does the old man like plum trees so much?"
The old man, who was too lazy to be so talkative, took a slow breath and said with a smile: "In my hometown, there are all kinds of specialties, some are interesting, some are boring, not only people are divided into three or six grades, even flowers are no exception, such as madness Willow catkins, flimsy peach blossoms...and this plum blossom. "
The servant girl, who was poor since she was a child and could not read much, said in a low voice, "Strong character?"
The old man of the Wang family smiled, "Scholars who write poems and essays are best with correct words and high-spirited spirits, and they will be called having a character. Then the character of a scholar is probably what the Confucian Zhang Shengren called 'the poor is the only one who is good at himself, and the best is the best." It’s all about benefiting the world’. This is very difficult. I really want to do it well, but I can’t do it. It’s just that I do better than many people. Some people don’t have a backbone, so they don’t see others as strong. , not only don’t feel ashamed of yourself, but also spit and even make people stumble, as for me, I still have the most unworthy thoughts.”
The little maid scratched her head quietly, in a daze, not quite understanding.
Probably tired from talking, the old man began to close his eyes and rest his mind.
At this time, there was a sound of footsteps coming from the courtyard gate, and the maid hurriedly turned her head to look, and was stunned. Not only was the Master Wang who served as the servant of the Ministry of Rites but never had the chance to be the head of the Wang family coming, but he also came in. In the courtyard, she was always smiling and bent over, half a body behind the two strange men. When the maid raised her eyes to look, she couldn't move her eyes away, because the youngest woman among the three It is so beautiful. Wang Xuanling, the Minister of Rites of the "time-honored brand" of the temple in the Southern Dynasty, approached the wicker chair, quickened his pace a little, and whispered to the old man who seemed to be asleep: "The prince is here."
The old man opened his eyes, and was about to get up with the support of Wang Xuanling and the maid, Chai Mi, when the tall man in his prime quickly smiled and said, "You don't need to be polite, old man Wang, just lie down, Yeluhong just came here empty-handed, It was wrong and rude at first, it is lucky that the old man does not blame him."
Although the trembling servant of the Ministry of Rituals had already received the gaze of the Crown Prince of Beimang, he still couldn't resist the persistence of his old man. After the latter stood up, he bowed respectfully and with great difficulty. This is for Yeluhong to feel ashamed, sit down, sit down quickly."
The old man tried his best to straighten his back and sit on the rattan chair. Wang Xuanling and the maid in the small courtyard each brought a huanghuali chair over. When the servant saw that the beautiful woman was seated almost at the same time as His Royal Highness, his eyelids trembled. .
The Crown Prince of Beimang, who had rushed back to Xijing from the Hutou City battlefield, said with a pleasant face: "The old man is famous all over the world for his essays, and he is a pure minister and gentleman who is also praised by His Majesty. This time I just heard that the old man's 100th birthday I came here in a hurry, but I couldn't come up with a suitable birthday gift for a while, so I had to visit the door empty-handed, and I will definitely make it up later, and I hope the old man will be happy."
The old man said with a hearty smile: "His Royal Highness killed the old man, killed the old man."
Seeing that the old man who spoke less and less over the years was very happy to talk, he responded more decently, and he did not commit any foolishness. Wang Xuanling, who was afraid that something would happen, heaved a sigh of relief. Wrong, depending on the situation, I can only stand at the moment, is this expected to sit in the Shangshu chair
Although Yelu Hongcai was not welcomed by those prairie masters in Beimang royal court, and few of Beimang's most powerful generals and chijie orders clearly stood behind him, but this person is a legitimate king's account after all. The first successor, among the adherents of the Southern Dynasties who value orthodoxy the most, there are still quite a few nobles who are more optimistic about Yelu Hongcai. The two former kings of the Northern and Southern Courts, Huang Songpu and Xu Huainan, are actually gentle with this personality. The crown prince was very close, but with Xu Huainan's sudden death, Huang Songpu's resignation, and the rise of Dong Zhuo, Hong Jingyan, and Zhong Tan, a large group of young and strong generals, Yelu Hongcai became more and more low-key.
Of course, Wang Xuanling is not stupid to stand quietly by the side holding his breath. His Royal Highness came to the door quietly this time, partly because of the identity of Wang Jingchong's child, Dong Nabo, and partly because his old man has a role that cannot be underestimated among the survivors of the Southern Dynasty. prestige. Especially after the marriage between the Wang family and the Jia family, it is equivalent to touching the real center of the Southern Dynasty, not like those ordinary Yi family, which looks beautiful on the surface, and some of the family are servants and generals, but in fact they are a group of people attached to Longguan. It's just an echo of the rich.
For a moment, Wang Xuanling had mixed feelings for no reason. The land under his feet, the Meilin Courtyard, the Wang's mansion, the entire Xijing City, and even the entire Southern Dynasty, were specially opened up by the majestic old lady of the Murong family for the remnants of Hongjia's Spring and Autumn Period. One side of the paradise, apart from the bloody melon vines that happened inexplicably back then, and the cutting off of many "peach trees" that were moved from the Central Plains countries to the territory of the Southern Dynasty, it made people feel frightened. It can be regarded as quite caring, some big families in Beiting went south to provoke, and they would be punished by Yelu Wang Zhang afterward. It may not be too severe, but it must not be said to be painless. Just like his Wang family, where Wang Xuanling lives, although it can't be called a big family in the Central Plains in the past, but at least it is still in exile for thousands of miles with the status of a tenth Hanlin. How could he have imagined that in the Southern Dynasties, he would become a temple official in yellow and purple court clothes again
Yelu Hongcai's face suddenly became gloomy, and he said in a low voice: "Old Master, I have just heard about that inscription, the Second Clan of Longguan is really making trouble for no reason! When I return to the king's tent in the grassland, I will definitely tell His Majesty about it personally. , there is absolutely no reason for the old man to suffer such great grievances!"
The old man smiled and waved his hands lightly and said: "It's okay, it's okay, let's not talk about the meaning of this calligraphy. As far as the characters are concerned, it is not an exaggeration to say that one word is worth a thousand gold in our Southern Dynasties. Although there is no inscription, it is obviously one of the four calligraphy masters in the world today Written by Yu Liang, the old minister still has some sharp eyesight. It is worthy of "the strokes are like dragon claws haunting the clouds, full of bones and stones." It is not the military counselor who can make the Liyang literary world admire, how? I can't even write this artistic conception. Besides, the old minister has finally lived at this age, and he should rely on his old age to sell his old age. Many things can naturally be treated as childish words, just laugh it off, just laugh it off. There are many words in ancient poems and books' life But a hundred years" is a phrase, this "but" is really ironic, even if the old minister can't make it, what does it matter? So, Your Highness, don't worry about this matter, it is better to talk about it after dinner than to get angry."
Hearing the old man's words, the arrogant and cold woman seemed a little surprised. It was the first time she faced the old man of the Wang family squarely.
Yeluhong smiled heartily and said, "The birthday person is the oldest, so I will listen to the old man."
While the old man was smiling, he glanced at Wang Xuanling calmly. The latter was an old man in his sixties anyway, and he still looked like a child who made mistakes in front of the old man. He immediately said in a panic, "It's not that my nephew is talking too much..."
Yelu Hongcai helped to explain: "Old Master, it has nothing to do with Wang Shilang, I heard it myself."
The old man said with a smile: "In this courtyard, His Highness is the biggest, and the old minister just listens to His Highness."
Yeluhong smiled heartily, and with a seemingly simple joke and chat, the crown prince swallowed back many manuscripts that had already been typed. Now that the heat is enough, adding more firewood will be too much.
He chatted with the old man about poetry, calligraphy and painting again, but didn't mention anything about the military and state affairs. Yeluhong saw the old man of the Wang family who couldn't hide his fatigue, so he got up to leave. Of course, he wouldn't let the old man get up and see him off. The Wang Shilang accompanied him to leave the courtyard.
The maid named Chai Mi secretly patted her chest, it turned out that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came in person, she really couldn't tell, she didn't put on airs at all.
The old man of the Wang family, who lay back on the wicker chair, closed his eyes and patted the armrest of the wicker chair leisurely with one hand.
Chai Mi tiptoed to get a round fan, and gently fanned the breeze for the old man.
The breeze was blowing, and the summer heat, which was not heavy at all, became more and more clear.
A smile appeared on the old man's face, and he muttered to himself: "Sitting calmly in the mountains and seas, it has been a thousand years since I pinched my fingers in the world."
The maid did not dare to speak.
I just sincerely hope that this centenarian can live another hundred years.
The old man fell silent, and after an unknown amount of time, he said, "Chai Mi, stop fanning when your hands are tired."
The servant girl smiled and said: "Old Master, don't worry, I can fan you for a while longer."
The old man of the Wang family said softly: "Talk to my daughter more while you are in good spirits today."
The servant girl said cautiously: "Isn't the old lady tired?"
The old man smiled and said, "I don't feel tired yet."
The servant girl quietly glanced at the gate of the courtyard, "The old man just say it, servant girl listen."
The old man said slowly: "Little girl, let me tell you, it is best not to marry a scholar in the future, especially a talented scholar. If the talent is too strong, it is easy to use it on many women. The mind is most volatile, and it is on a woman. I can't stop. This year, I will be with you and me next year. Maybe next year I will be with other women. If you want to marry an honest man, it's not that there are no honest scholars. This kind of heartless scholar, when he really calms down, it will be too late."
The girl stopped shaking her fan, covered her mouth and smiled secretly.
The old man smiled and said, "Don't believe me? If you don't listen to the old man's words, you will suffer."
The girl hurriedly said: "Believe it!"
The old man joked: "The answer is so fast, it is obvious that you have no intentions, little girl, you still don't believe it."
The girl wrinkled her little face.
The old man shook his wrist, "Go, go back to the house to rest, let the old man stay alone for a while, and come back after two sticks of incense."
The girl gave a hum, and took a small bench to sit under the eaves. It was not far or near, and she couldn't hear the old man's words, but she could clearly see the plum tree and the wicker chair.
The old man didn't actually talk to himself.
It's just that he looks a little sad.
In a blink of an eye, the old country is gone, in a blink of an eye, all my teachers and friends are dead, and in a blink of an eye, I have been in a foreign country for twenty years. In a blink of an eye, I am one hundred years old.
Then the girl was shocked to see a scene where the dying old man tried to stand up, as if he knew she was going to help, but the old man waved to her without turning his head.
The old man stood up with great difficulty, and looked up at the plum tree branches and leaves obsessively.
The old man smiled.
Mr. Li, Mr. Nalan.
I, Wang Du, have not lost the strength of character of our Central Plains scholars.