Who Cares

Chapter 2: rebirth

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Guan Suyi originally thought that she would be reborn after her death, but she unexpectedly opened her eyes and saw a plum forest covered in black mist. The snowflakes fluttered in the mist. It was a bit illusory, but it seemed so real because of the suddenly cold air. . Guan Suyi was stunned for a while before realizing that the reason why the black mist shrouded everything in front of her was because she was wearing a power fence on her head. The black gauze on the edge of the power fence was blown up and down by the cold wind, and a few snowflakes took the opportunity to get in and land on the tip of her nose, causing her to shiver for no reason.

"Miss, are you cold? The slave will go back to the stove."

The crisp voice completely awakened Guan Suyi, who was wandering between confusion and reality. She lifted a corner of the black veil, and the hazy world immediately became clear and vivid. Her excellent memory told her that this was the plum forest in the backyard of Jueyin Temple. When the Guan family moved into Yanjing, they lived for a few days due to house repairs.

"Where's your grandfather? Where's your father and mother?" Guan Suyi probed after sizing Minglan carefully for a while. She understands that she is back, back to the past, back to the time when she first entered Yanjing, before everything started. It is not difficult to make this judgment. The coldness of the body cannot be faked, the cold wind like a bone-scraping steel knife cannot be faked, the suffocation of death cannot be faked, and Minglan, who is much younger, can not fake it.

"The old man is attending the literary meeting in the Bodhi Garden. The master and his wife went to the Beishan Pavilion to enjoy the snow and paint. Maybe they will be back in the evening." Ming Lan rubbed her hands together, "Miss, let's go to the Bodhi Garden too, it's too cold here. Be careful of freezing." She, a little girl, can't understand such an elegant thing as appreciating plums in the snow.

Wenhui? Guan Suyi was in a trance for a moment, then turned around and went to Bodhi Garden. Regardless of whether all this is true or false, or the refraction of the mirror of reincarnation, she is willing to change from this moment.

There are several huge braziers burning in the garden, and the raging flames are breathing out the heat, making the surroundings feel as warm as spring. Compared with the outside world where snowflakes are flying and the wind is cold, it is indeed much more comfortable and lively. A group of men gathered around the stone table to talk at length, a few young novice monks concentrated on making tea, and the violin master bowed his head and played the strings.

There were several women standing in the water pavilion not far from the stone table, either whispering, laughing and joking; or leaning on the railing and looking at it, contemplating; and a few pointing at the men, as if they were discussing something. The pictures of men and women mixed make Guan Suyi a little nostalgic and a little sad. After the prosperity of Xu's Confucianism, such scenes will probably never be seen again. Now they would never have imagined that five or six years later, not to mention criticizing men, even if they have no chance to step out of the second door.

"There is no one door without a second door," this commandment traps women alive in the back house, and also traps them in one unfortunate marriage led by men one after another. "Divorce wife" has become a woman's life reminder, and the "Four Books of Women" has become a woman's soul arresting talisman. If you are born or die, your husband will be a ghost. Even if you enter Huangquan, you will not be able to get the slightest bit of freedom.

Thinking of this, Guan Suyi coldly lowered her face, and slowly walked to her grandfather and stood still. She wears a power fence on her head, covering her elegant and vulgar appearance, but she is still eye-catching with her dusty temperament. Due to the gentleman's demeanor, these people did not ask more questions, just glanced at them without a trace and continued to debate.

The status of women at this time was not low, and there were even several politicians, historians, and many concubines who held state power. A place like the Siwen Club can be entered as long as someone recommends it. The reason why Guan Suyi wears a power fence to cover her face is not because of women's precepts, but because the world is too chaotic, bandits are rampant, and she has to be wise to protect herself.

At this time, the regime changed frequently. Today you are the king, tomorrow I will be the king, and various states will conquer each other, so a large number of people who fish in troubled waters have spawned. Staying at home can bring disaster, not to mention long-distance migration. Guan Suyi has always been cautious. Her appearance is not to mention the country, but the city is more than enough. In order not to cause trouble to the family, the power fence is indispensable, and she always prepares a sharp silver hairpin for self-defense or suicide. Not only her, but also men and women in troubled times.

She closed the black veil that had been ruffled by the wind, she bent down and stretched out her hand to add a cup of hot tea for her grandfather.

Mr. Guan has studied Confucianism all his life. He is very knowledgeable, but suffers from poor eloquence. He was frequently pressed for questioning at this conference. The era of competition for hegemony has just passed. The descendants of the Jiuli ethnic group, the Huo clan, unified the five countries in the Central Plains, and invited people with lofty ideals to serve in the imperial court. The literati who were familiar with poetry and books were waiting for such an opportunity, so they responded and gathered in Yanjing.

At this time, the various schools of thought have their own ideas, and they all want to grow to achieve their ambitions. The phenomenon of mutual competition and exclusion is very serious. In order to become famous, to attract the attention of the upper echelons, and to refute the views of other schools to strive for the best interests of the division, they frequently held literary conferences like today.

Guan Suyi listened quietly, patting her emotional grandfather's back from time to time, trying to relax him. The further back, the sharper the arguments of the Legalist scholars, gradually overwhelmed the rest of the people. As the backbone of the Confucian school, my grandfather has endured the most questions. Although he is full of talents, he is unable to speak.

Seeing that his grandfather was cornered, the scribes of the same school cast anxious and dissatisfied glances at him, and Guan Suyi's lips moved slightly, as if he was thinking. Through the hazy black veil, she was staring at the very elegant and handsome middle-aged man with a goatee who was hidden in the crowd. That was Xu Guangzhi, the founder of Xu's Neo-Confucianism, which became popular in the future, and a generation of people who were regarded as half-sages of Confucianism by Emperor Shengyuan.

Although he was still unknown at this time, Guan Suyi knew that in a few moments, when his grandfather was forced to vomit blood, he would come forward and refute all the scholars present one by one, thereby establishing his own reputation. Pragmatic and strong like a legalist, as eloquent and eloquent as a vertical and horizontal expert, he was also defeated by his eloquence. It was by virtue of the wonderful performance of this literary society that he became a representative figure of Confucianism in one fell swoop, and finally set foot on the official career and made steady progress.

Guan Suyi doesn't think she has the ability to change this era, and she doesn't want to compete with Xu Guangzhi to win or lose. She just doesn't want this person to step on her grandfather, let alone watch her grandfather indulge in this failure. slumped. In the last life, she was like this now, sitting beside her grandfather and listening, willing to argue a few words for her grandfather. In the end, due to the etiquette, she did not dare to speak falsely. It was not until her grandfather suddenly vomited blood that she could not regret it. In this life, what kind of etiquette, what kind of woman is virtuous without talent, go to hell.

Thinking of this, Guan Suyi suddenly held down her grandfather's trembling left hand and said slowly, "If you talk about a hundred schools of thought, you should respect Confucianism."

The scene was quiet for a moment, and Xu Guangzhi, who was about to step out, silently retreated, his icy eyes looking back and forth on the woman's black power fence.

Guan Suyi drank a sip of hot tea and said unhurriedly, "The sage follows the ancient etiquette, treats people with etiquette, and rules the country with etiquette. Therefore, first there is etiquette, then there are clans, then there are township parties, and finally the state. If the state is destroyed, the state will be unified, and the patriarchal etiquette will not be destroyed, and the patriarchal etiquette will not be destroyed, then the people will be obedient. This is what the sage said, "If you don't know etiquette, you can't stand." In the middle, then the people have nothing wrong with their siblings..." She turned to look at the aggressive Legalist scholar, and continued, "The Legalists' so-called 'determination of disputes and strife, and the creation of merit and fear of violence', its various laws and regulations were established, all Based on the patriarchal and ritual teachings, how can it be qualified to point fingers at the Confucianists who respect the ancients and follow the rituals? Confucianism, which emphasizes human relations and respects propriety, is a well-deserved academic supreme. The sage said: 'Tao is governed by government, regulated by punishment, the people are freed and shameless. This is the real power of education and the way to govern the people.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the Confucian scholars clapped their hands and applauded. Xu Guangzhi lowered his eyes and pondered, he never expected this woman to be quite talented. To refute Legalists from the basis of legislation is indeed sharp, but it is not without flaws. He came up with countless mistakes and omissions in an instant, and only waited for legal scholars to push this person to the end of the road before showing his power.

Grandpa Guan breathed a sigh of relief and patted the back of his granddaughter's hand with relief. He only had such a direct granddaughter, and he was taught the way of a gentleman since childhood, and the six arts of a gentleman have never fallen. As long as she is willing to speak, it is more than enough to deal with such a scene.

When it comes to human ethics and etiquette, the scholars present were quite troubled. No matter how much they oppose Confucianism, they dare not say that their school exists apart from human ethics and etiquette, then it will become a heresy, or even an evil school, and it will definitely be condemned by the world.

While the rest of the people were thinking about it, Guan Suyi touched the teacup and softly persuaded, "Grandfather, don't be in a hurry, drink the hot tea slowly. The sages all said: 'A gentleman is naive in words but quick in deeds, so what is the use of ren'. It's not your fault that your tongue is bad, it's your virtue."

After hearing this, the Confucian scholars who were quite dissatisfied with the old man began to reflect on themselves, and their faces were ashamed. And the old man Guan was completely relieved, stroked his beard and smiled.

Guan Suyi saw that his pale complexion gradually softened, so he let go of his high-hanging heart, and said to the Legalist scholar who was about to stand up to refute him, "Guan Zhong reformed the Fa to rejuvenate Qi; When Wu Qi reformed the law and prospered Chu, one generation stopped, and Chu fell; Shang Yang reformed the law and prospered Qin, and finally unified the Central Plains and established a hegemony. I dare to ask you, why is this? Where is the eternal way of legalism? If you can’t even answer this question, isn’t it a joke that you keep trying to govern and reform the country?”

When the words came out, the whole place was silent. Throughout history, the reform of the legal system has indeed helped many countries to prosper suddenly, but it has also pushed them to extinction very quickly. This is indeed the biggest drawback of Legalism. However, no one has clearly explained what this drawback is, nor can it be understood. The woman's questioning was like a dagger stabbed into the heart, hitting the point.

The Legalists were dumbfounded and embarrassed, but Guan Suyi had already helped her grandfather to get up and said goodbye. The scholars quickly got up to see each other, and frequently greeted the old man Guan, praising him for his family background and good education. Xu Guangzhi, who had a lot to say, saw that the rest of the people were all gone. Although he laughed on the surface, he secretly hated him.

What Guan Suyi wanted was that he had nowhere to say anything, and he had no ambitions to post, so he threw a few questions to completely mix up the text. If Xu Guangzhi wants to make a name for himself and embark on a career, he will just look for other opportunities, but take his grandfather as a stepping stone, and he will never get his wish in this life.

After a group of people left, the women also felt bored and left in twos and threes. A burly man with a strong face turned out from behind the rockery and stared thoughtfully in the direction where the grandfather and grandson of the Guan family left. Following him, the white-faced and beardless old man with a shrill voice said in admiration, "It is not a lie to say that all women in the Central Plains are full of talents and knowledgeable."

Seeing the man raise his eyebrows and sneer, the old man changed his words, "But his vision is limited, so he is finally narrow." Although the master invites celebrities and intends to ask them for advice on the way to govern the country, he already has an idea in his heart. The books on his desk are all Legalist classics, and the ones he admires are Legalist scholars, and he obviously values Legalist more. And wait, the era of hundreds of schools of thought will soon pass, the legal school will be popular in the future, and the reform of the system is imminent.

The man glanced at the old man with a half-smiling smile, and his voice was low and mellow, "Send someone to check the grandparents and grandchildren just now." He pondered in his heart: Where is the eternal way of legalism? This is indeed a problem.

The air fluctuated slightly, and after a while, the dead man hiding in the dark quietly left to investigate the background of Guan's family.