He couldn't fully understand the question asked by the courtesan in front of him.
But he understood what was wrapped in her eyes.
About anger.
About fear.
Also about love and hate.
Those things are bundled together and appear so complicated.
It was so complicated that even though Chu Qingxiao could understand those emotions in detail, he couldn't understand what they meant when they came together.
"What are we talking about?" At this time, Mr. Luo's hearty voice came from behind.
At that moment, the gloomy aura of the fairy spirit that filled her body suddenly dissipated. She stood up, looked at Mr. Luo with a smile and said, "Let me find out for you, what is the relationship between the disciple you are most satisfied with and that girl?"
"When will you, sir, be able to drink wedding wine?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Luo smiled bitterly and shook his head, looked at Chu Qingxiao and said: "Qingxiao, don't worry about it, that's how fairies are, they like to joke."
Chu Qingxiao was about to say something when he heard the fairy say again: "You two masters and apprentices haven't seen each other for a long time. I think I have a lot to say, so I won't interrupt you and go help you keep an eye on Miss Chu."
After saying this, the fairy bowed to the two of them and walked away without looking back.
Mr. Luo came over at this time and sat down next to Chu Qingxiao.
Chu Qingxiao glanced at Mr. Luo, and then at the back of the fairy as he left, with a strange look on his face.
As if seeing his doubts, Mr. Luo said: "The fairy has been unwilling to stay in Hongyu Fang for a long time."
"It was just that she had no money to redeem herself. She happened to meet a noble man a few days ago who made up the difference for her, and she was able to escape from the sea of suffering."
"After that, she stayed in the academy and helped me with some chores."
Hearing this, Chu Qingxiao felt strange in his heart and asked, "Isn't that noble person the new Mr. Zhu from our Wuling City?"
"Well, it's him." Mr. Luo nodded, not shy, and not surprised that Chu Qingxiao could accurately guess this matter.
Chu Qingxiao blinked his eyes, lowered his voice and asked again: "Sir, do you like fairy girls?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Luo stretched out his hand and knocked Chu Qingxiao on the head, and said angrily: "You have no respect for your elders, how can you make jokes like this?"
Chu Qingxiao covered his head, looking aggrieved.
But Mr. Luo, who retracted his hand, suddenly said: "At least I'm not annoying."
Chu Qingxiao suddenly showed a teasing look, and felt a little more relaxed.
At this moment, Mr. Luo looked at Chu Qingxiao again. He looked at the scars on the young man's body, and with a deep tone, he asked, "What happened?"
After hearing this, Chu Qingxiao was brought back to reality.
He lowered his head and replied dully: "Sir, haven't you already heard about it?"
"I know that from other people's mouths, but obviously I want to hear what kind of story it would be from your mouth." Mr. Luo said with a smile.
Chu Qingxiao's heart warmed when he saw the man's familiar smile, and he almost subconsciously wanted to blurt out everything he knew.
But when the words came to his lips several times, he swallowed them back.
He didn't quite understand the meaning of what the fairy just said.
But she reminded him.
The level of danger involved in this matter is self-evident.
And he didn't want to involve the man in front of him.
He was silent for a while and then asked: "Sir, do you think the truth is important?"
Chu Qingxiao's answer was not what was asked, which made Mr. Luo slightly stunned, but he did not choose to get to the bottom of it. Instead, he frowned and thought about Chu Qingxiao's question seriously.
"I think, in many cases, it is important." After some thought, he said.
"What if this truth will disappoint many people or even hurt them?" Chu Qingxiao asked, his brows furrowed deeply.
This was a question that had troubled him for a long time.
In fact, he had already vaguely noticed some clues.
Putting aside the so-called candle shadow, Wuling City today is actually really good.
There are taxes that are so low that they are negligible, Jishitang that supports everyone, and many free schools and martial arts schools that have been built or are being built.
If you are an ordinary person, you can probably live very comfortably here, at least you will never have to worry about your livelihood.
And what he is doing is tearing apart this glamorous coat, and the truth wrapped inside will be extremely cruel.
Seemingly seeing that Chu Qingxiao was deeply troubled by this problem, Mr. Luo also became serious.
He looked directly into the young man's eyes and said: "I don't know if there is a lie in this world that can make everyone happy."
"But what I'm sure of is..."
"If a truth can bring justice to even one person, then the truth is meaningful."
"What's more, I always believe that the beauty weaved by lies will eventually break apart one day, and the further away this day comes, the stronger the despair when it breaks."
When Chu Qingxiao heard the words, he was thoughtful.
"But even if this is the case, I don't know if I have the right to take off that coat." He asked again, the expression on his face becoming more and more entangled.
But Mr. Luo still maintained his usual smile. He raised his head and looked at Feixue outside the courtyard, and suddenly asked: "Qingxiao."
"Do you remember three years ago? The girl named Rui Xiaozhu."
Chu Qingxiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said: "Of course I remember that because of her, my father also offended Sun Fu. A few days ago, Li Fu found an opportunity and made things difficult for me and my father."
In the early years, Chu Qingxiao was still studying in the study.
There is a classmate girl named Rui Xiaozhu.
He looks handsome, but his family background is not very good.
There was a mother who was sick and bedridden all year round. The family relied on her father to work hard outside to support the family. Life was very difficult.
Later, probably because of overwork, her father died suddenly outside.
Li Fu's son was obsessed with Rui Xiaozhu's beauty and bullied his orphan and widower. After taking three hundred coins, he wanted to buy and sell Rui Xiaozhu by force and take Rui Xiaozhu as his concubine.
When Chu Qingxiao heard about this, he wanted to drag his former classmates to stop him.
But most people were afraid of Li Fu because he was the county magistrate's steward. In the end, only Chu Qingxiao and Zhao Nianshuang came to stop him.
There was a big conflict between the two sides, and Chu Qingxiao was beaten badly, but he held on to Li Fu's son and dragged him until Mr. Luo invited Cao Shugong and Chu Yueshan from the Yamen.
The matter caused a big fuss, and Li Fu was also afraid of the excitement of the crowd, so he wanted to reduce the big issue to a small one, but it turned into a small one.
But Chu Qingxiao had to take the matter to court. In the face of many personal and material evidences, the county magistrate could only order that Li Fu's son be sent to northern Muzhou to do corvee labor for a year.
It was precisely because of this incident that Li Fu had a grudge against Chu Qingxiao and his son.
"I came to Wuling City when I was twenty-eight years old and worked as a teacher for thirteen years."
"The number of students I have taught under my sect ranges from 1,000 to 800."
"There are so many disciples, but I always think that you are the best student I have ever taught among them all."
"Do you know why?" Mr. Luo's words pulled Chu Qingxiao out of his memories.
Chu Qingxiao blinked: "Because my article is good?" Mr. Luo gave him a meaningful look and said: "Actually, your article is terrible, and you gave me a lot of homework.
The time is not your handwriting."
"Is it written by Nian Shuang?"
Chu Qingxiao was speechless for a moment. He scratched his head and felt a little embarrassed: "It turns out that sir has noticed it a long time ago."
"Is that because I'm smart?"
"Nian Shuang can understand the 800-word "Qingyu Fu" after reading it once. You have read it twenty-one times and you are still confused. Do you think you are smart?" Mr. Luo asked.
"Nian Shuang has been smart since she was a child. It's not fair to compare with her!" Chu Qingxiao was a little unconvinced, but continued to guess: "It was because I was talented? I had high understanding?"
"None of them." Mr. Luo smiled and shook his head.
"Why is that? It can't be because I'm good-looking, right?" Chu Qingxiao said confused.
"When I was young, I once stayed in Linyuan Pavilion." Mr. Luo said with a smile.
"That is half of the holy land for the Confucian scholars of Dayu. It is the only place where the Confucian Temple is located."
"Although I am just one of many officials, I have indeed seen many amazing young geniuses."
"You talk to them about principles and articles."
"They can quote scriptures and talk about the foundation of learning from the ancient sages to the general trend of today's world."
"What are the ways to govern a country, what are the ways to live in the world, beautiful articles, precious poems and poems, all at your fingertips."
"It means that the last three days and three nights are not the same."
"But even so, I think they are still not as good as you."
Chu Qingxiao's face turned red when he heard this. He smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, you are right. How can I have that ability..."
"You have." Mr. Luo said very seriously: "When Rui Xiaozhu encountered changes, you were the only one who dared to stand up."
"There are many scholars in this world who know how to read."
"They study hard, day and night, for fame, future, glory and wealth."
"The book in your hand and the article in your pen are the stepping stone and the sword that opens the way."
"They read because books are useful to them."
"But you are different."
"Although you read half-heartedly and learn incorrectly, you are really..."
"The truth in the letter."
Chu Qingxiao had never been praised like this before. His face was a little hot: "Sir, you were so complimentary. I was also very hot-headed at the time. I didn't think so much..."
"Don't be too hasty to belittle yourself," Mr. Luo said with a smile.
After saying this, he patted Chu Qingxiao's shoulder and stood up: "I've always been very good at judging people."
"So, you can feel free to do it."
"The pain of tearing open scars is heartbreaking."
"But if the abscess is left unchecked, it will fester throughout the body."
"Some things have to be done by someone."
"Maybe it's not because it happens to be you."
"But because it can only be you."
Chu Qingxiao stared blankly at the teacher in front of him. Those profound words made it difficult for him to fully digest them for a while.
"Why do I feel like you know something, sir?" he asked.
Mr. Luo smiled: "I don't know."
"But I can feel it."
After the teacher said this, he turned around and walked slowly towards the back room. Before stepping into the door, he turned back and looked outside the courtyard again.
He looked past the young man sitting in front of the steps and looked at the peach tree covered with snow.
No reason.
He suddenly said: "The peach blossoms in Wuling City have not bloomed for a long time."