I went out again. Today was a cloudy day, so it seemed impossible to wait until noon. I thought I should go to the school first and make a decision later.
I felt the atmosphere was not right before I even reached the door. Logically, it should be either silent or noisy, but although there was noise today, the sounds were all the words from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching: "If you want to weaken it, you must strengthen it; if you want to destroy it, you must revive it..." "The great way is the simplest and easiest..."
I was wondering, have these monkeys changed their nature? They are so hardworking, so interesting...
"Zi Rui, good morning. I didn't expect everyone to be so hardworking after I left. They went to school before sunrise. Good morning..."
When I saw this person, I immediately bowed and said, "Morning, Master Wei!"
I cursed in my heart, "If I had known, I wouldn't have come so early."
Unexpectedly, the clothes on my back were torn. I didn't dare to get up immediately and stood there at a loss.
"Oh, Zirui, I haven't seen you for three months. You've grown taller again, haha... Let's get up and talk."
I straightened up and could only smile foolishly.
"Well, I've become a lot stronger, great!"
"Then you should go back and change your clothes today. It's indecent if the clothes can't cover your body."
"Students please leave."
I bowed slightly, and when the teacher nodded, I turned and left.
"Oh, my sister!" I turned the corner, let out a long sigh, and went straight home.
"Brother, what's the matter? School is over now?"
"Oh, no, did I rip my clothes while bowing to the teacher today?"
"Oh, let me see, bend down, ... it's so much worse."
"Take it off quickly. There is no bigger clothes at home. You have to make them now. Wait at home while I go to the street to buy some cloth."
"That will take several days. During these few days at the school..."
"It's not decent to go out with your upper body exposed. Just stay at home and read a book. It doesn't matter if you take a few days off. I'll ask Zisheng to take a vacation for you."
"Don't call me Zisheng, call me Zishe?"
"Zisheng's family is very close to here, but Zishe's family is on the other side of the city."
“…Oh, Zisheng has gone to study.”
"Okay! Uh, Uncle Zhang, it's windy today, let's nail the windows shut first..."
To be honest, I'm lying. Actually, I don't know if I'm lying or not. I don't know whether Zisheng went to school or not, but Zisheng's stupid mouth, if he talks to my sister, something will definitely happen. Zishe is smarter, I like him.
Suddenly I thought, I don’t have to go to school to attend classes, and then I thought of those brothers who have gone to school to “die”, I can’t help but feel… so happy!!
I casually put on a piece of clothing, put a book in front of me, and found a place to sit on the corridor, looking at the maple leaves in the sky, feeling very comfortable. The wind blew through the corridor, and my clothes were suddenly blown away. I hurried to pick it up. The wind was so strong that it blew the clothes and leaves onto the tree in the yard. I am good at climbing trees, so I climbed up the old tree in the yard with bare arms in a moment. I took off my clothes, shook off the leaves, and put them on. I haven't climbed this tree for a long time. The scenery outside the yard has not changed much. The inn across the street looks a little bleak because of today's weather, and there are not many people on the street.
"Heart! Don't fall down!"
“Sister!… I’ve already fallen down.”
"Are you okay?"
"Fortunately, I have thick skin and strong bones."
"… How come you came back so soon?"
"After buying the cloth, I went to look for Zishe. Unexpectedly, I ran into him on the street. He seemed to be on his way to find you. I told him that he knew about it, and then he turned around and went to school."
Most likely, the boy noticed something was wrong at the school gate and came to tell me that the teacher was back.
"...Sister, what are you doing?" His thoughts were quickly interrupted.
"You have to measure the size of your shelf!"
"It's so much bigger? Brother, what took you so long... Yeah, nothing."
I felt that my sister wanted to say something that would be very unfavorable to me, but she didn't. I felt relieved. But if I had known what would happen later, it would have been better if she asked me at that time. At least I could make up a poem with her. My quick talent, I thought I was unparalleled in Xiangyang. Although the words were a bit awkward.
The wind was stronger in the evening, and I was lying on the couch waiting for my sister to call me for dinner. Suddenly, I heard a very familiar laugh, so hearty, so... It made me think about who he was. Yes, yes, yes, very familiar.
Suddenly my mind went blank because I knew who came to my house.
gentlemen!
"Brother, brother, come out and see who is here?"
My sister must be very happy, thinking that my husband cares so much about me, but I have already thought about all the possibilities in my mind and think... If you want to weaken it, you must strengthen it... Nonsense... Why can't I open the window? Why is it sealed!
I'm going to die, so I'll just come out with a very humble look and bow slightly.
"Sir, I am sorry that I cannot salute you because my clothes are disheveled!"
"It's okay, it's okay!"
"Come, come, come, sit down and I want to talk to you."
"Sir, Zirui would definitely not be polite when he sees you normally, right?"
"No, Zirui is a person who respects teachers and values learning." I love to hear this sentence.
"Based on his size, his clothes would have been worn out long ago if he had to bow to you every day." This is not good. It's going to be bad.
"I've been traveling for half a year, and I didn't expect that he would grow so strong in the past six months. As a result, when he first saw me, he made a fool of himself when he bowed to me."
"Oh... So that's how it is." My sister was looking at me and smiling. I knew I was doomed. Fortunately, my sister's greatest advantage was that she would not lose face in front of outsiders. So I also looked at her and smiled. I think my smile must have been ugly.
My sister went out to talk to us about some serious business. Before she left, she smiled at me. In response, I smiled at her twice.
"Zirui, what do you think about the world today?" The teacher has always been like this, straightforward.
I also pulled myself together, put aside all the terrible consequences of the night, thought for a moment, and answered immediately.
"Sir, what do you mean?"
It seems that I went too far with my joke and the gentleman was speechless for a moment.
I hurriedly said, "Since the restoration of Emperor Guangwu, the rulers of our dynasty have often ascended the throne at a young age. The third emperor, Emperor Xiaozhang, ascended the throne at the age of 17, the fourth emperor, Emperor Xiaohe, took the throne at the age of nine, and the fifth emperor, Emperor Shang, ascended the throne when he was only a hundred days old. It is common for a ruler to ascend the throne at the age of 11. The ruler is young, the empress dowager is in charge of government affairs, and the relatives of the emperor hold the real power. When the emperor can handle government affairs in person, the power of the relatives of the emperor cannot be taken away, otherwise it will lead to death. For example, the ninth emperor, Emperor Xiaozhi, was gifted and intelligent, and had the appearance of a great sage. However, he was poisoned to death in the court at the age of eight just because he accused his relative Liang Yi of being a "tyrannical general". The ruler had no one to rely on, so he placed his hopes on the eunuchs who lived with him day and night, and gave them power to control the relatives of the emperor. However, he did not expect that the eunuchs were powerful and their connections blocked the emperor's ears. Until now, they have often been the followers of Zhang Rang..."
"Okay, no need to say more. I already know what you mean. Some things cannot be said openly."
"Zi Rui, Zi Rui, your words are as sharp as a sword. In such a world, with such insight and vision, you are a true hero."
The teacher left, and I stood up to see him off. I walked him very close to the academy and then went home. On the way, I was still thinking about his words. The teacher's words did not express his meaning. My words only showed my knowledge, but not my mind. At this time, my bold criticism was a bit excessive. Since the previous dynasty's party imprisonment, when Fan Pang and Li Ying were executed, everyone was in danger. The teacher was afraid of being implicated. Then he wanted to ask me why I thought of the world.
I returned home unknowingly, and a gentle voice called me: "Zi Rui, can you explain to me what happened in the past few months?"
That night, the wind blew all night, I'm sure.