Zhang Huizhi turned his head and looked in the direction of the north room for a while. There was a dull boy looming inside the door with his head down copying books and practicing calligraphy.
The young Confucian scholar from Siqi Academy was quiet for a moment, then turned to look in the direction of the kitchen on the west side.
There, a few poor old servants with missing arms, legs or disfigured faces got busy at the greetings of the simple women passing by, chopping wood, boiling water, getting wine and cooking.
From time to time there were gasping and coughing sounds.
Zhao Rong seemed to have noticed the movement in the kitchen. He glanced at one of the old servants who seemed to have been disfigured by the fire and was coughing due to firewood smoke.
The disfigured old servant seemed to be suffering from a serious respiratory illness. From time to time he took out a copper pipe with a pipe hanging on it, took a few puffs, and breathed a sigh of relief with his face flushed.
Several other old servants are similar, each has his or her own faults and is dying of age.
"Brother Hui, if you don't want to worry about all the food and drinks, let's have a few drinks and chat. Besides, we have other things to do later, so we won't stay at Brother Hui's place for dinner."
Zhao Rong couldn't help but give a sincere suggestion.
Zhang Huizhi seemed to have come to his senses and withdrew his gaze from the kitchen. Then he looked at Zhao Rong in a daze for a while and shook his head firmly.
"Tzuyu finally came to my brother's place...he must have a good drink and good food...otherwise, brother, he will feel guilty. Tzuyu can just enjoy it in peace and don't have to worry about the kitchen, Zhuojing will settle down on his own.
"
He raised his half-lidded eyes, fully woke up from the drowsiness of his recent sleep, and comforted Zhao Rong.
The latter took a look at the sky and saw that there was still some time before the afternoon scheduled time.
"Okay, then I'll listen to my brother Hui."
Zhao Rong smiled.
At this time, Xiao Qian'er, who was standing behind him, quietly pinched the soft flesh of Zhao Rong's waist, and then, without getting any reaction from him, she hummed and walked towards the kitchen.
"I'm going to help Sister Yun Niang."
Hum, in the past, she was no longer polite and virtuous in front of outsiders. Brother Rong'er just selectively ignored her and even brought out "other people's wives"...
Xiao Qian'er is a little aggrieved.
Zhao Rong made a slight 'hiss' sound in his mouth. The little girl was neither gentle nor heavy. He would have to repay her little butt twice as much when he turned around.
He secretly said,
He glanced at the back of the little girl who secretly and stubbornly ran to the kitchen to help.
"Tzuyu, what's wrong with you?"
Zhang Huizhi glanced at the young Confucian scholar's face and expressed concern.
"Ah, it's nothing. By the way, what were we talking about just now?"
Zhao Rong looked back and changed the topic.
Zhang Huizhi did not answer at first, but picked up the wine pot on the table and handed a pot to Zhao Rong.
Sitting on the couch under the bamboo forest, in the autumn breeze, two Confucian scholars from the academy each held a pot of exotic wine and raised their hands to invite each other.
"Tzuyu praised me for cultivating myself and managing my family, but I am ashamed of myself as a brother."
"What should we not do? We Confucian scholars care about others. The first thing is to be thick-skinned. After receiving praise, we should be humble again, but we can't be really humble. We have to think in our hearts, 'Who doesn't know?'
Of course, you can’t say it verbally, but what if it happens?”
“…”
"Tzuyu is so witty."
"I wouldn't tell most people this secret. Come on, let's go together."
“…”
A crisp sound of wine glasses clashing sounded on the table.
“Hiss…this wine from Huizhixiong’s house is spicy enough!”
"This is hometown wine brewed by an old servant in a humble house. Does Brother Ziyu like it?"
"Not bad, it tastes good. The last time I drank this kind of wine was..."
"Oh? Yes?"
The young Confucian scholar nodded, "Last time."
Zhang Huizhi: “…”
Wearing a black Confucian robe, he was speechless for a moment, then nodded and said: "Tzuyu, if you like, wait a minute, the old servant at home will bring you a special dish."
"Oh? Then I have to give it a try."
Zhang Huizhi nodded, glanced at him, and suddenly said:
"Tzuyu, can you show me the jade on your waist?"
Qingjun's jade token? This is not acceptable. If she knew that another man touched her jade token, she would definitely be angry, the most difficult kind to coax.
The young Confucian scholar wanted to shake his head, but after touching a few hanging objects around his waist, he asked again, "Which jade is Brother Hui talking about?"
Zhang Huizhi stretched out his hand and pointed at the Linlu jade wall around Zhao Rong's waist, staring at it, "This is the jade wall with this identity. My brother also has a Si Qi one. I want to see the difference."
Zhao Rong was slightly stunned and nodded happily, "In this case, no problem."
He untied the jade wall from his waist and handed it to Zhang Huizhi.
The latter took it and at the same time took off his own Siqi identity jade wall, lowered his head and looked at it together.
Zhao Rong didn't think much and smiled, "Actually, there's not much difference. I've seen the Jade Wall of Scholars from Siqi Academy before. They all have the same function, identification... a life-saving thing in times of danger... to facilitate the location of the academy teachers.
The position mark... In addition, I heard that some fellow scholars will also temper it as a life object, but this scholar's jade wall is only temporary and is not convenient for tempering. "
He paused, then laughed and said:
"Speaking of which, I passed through Zhongnan Mountain before and got a piece of Lantian Spiritual Jade from a good friend, which can be used to temper the scholar's jade wall. I have been keeping it in my bag to eat ashes..."
"I heard from Wen Ruo that his Lantian Lingyu is highly sought-after among the scholars at Siqi Academy. I don't know if it's true."
Zhang Huizhi temporarily put down the jade wall in his hand and raised his head, "Oh? This Brother Wenruo that Ziyu is talking about is the new head of the Lin family in Lanxi, Zhongnan...Lin Wenruo?"
Zhao Rong nodded and said with a smile:
"It's him. Does Brother Hui know him?"
He said, paused, and nodded:
"Yes, Wen Ruo is also from Siqi Academy. It's not surprising that Brother Hui knows him. The jade wall of the Siqi scholar I met before belongs to Wen Ruo. At that time, I also asked for it from him. I looked left and right.
After taking a closer look, now that I have Lin Lu Yubi, I find that they are actually the same."
Zhang Huizhi nodded and glanced to the south, "Junior Brother Lin is two years younger than me, but his name is very familiar to me. Now, as long as there are scholars from the dynasties under Wangquezhou Mountain in Siqi Academy who are still pursuing official careers,
Who doesn't know his name..."
The young Confucian scholar who was dressed in black today had a look of yearning on his face.
"Junior Brother Lin has inherited the position of the head of an eight-hundred-year-old noble family at such a young age. The most important thing is that he is not simply maintaining his status, but making further progress..."
"I heard that Junior Brother Lin seemed to have used a very dangerous debate between Confucianism and Taoism to destroy a thousand-year-old Taoist temple in Zhongnan Kingdom with the help of a very powerful friend... I don't know the details, but I heard that he
Now he has become the real helmsman of Zhongnan Kingdom in the south. On behalf of the emperor’s herdsmen, he implements new laws and displays his ambitions, and Zhongnan Kingdom is flourishing..."
Zhang Huizhi withdrew his gaze, and under Zhao Rong's inexplicable smiling gaze, he said seriously:
"This can no longer be summed up with a simple sentence about one's background. This Lin Wenruo, Junior Brother Lin, and his close friend must all be among the best and can afford this fame. It's a pity that we can't see their true appearance."
"When the late Emperor was still alive, he was reading the newspapers in the royal study, and he lamented several times in front of me, when will we in Dali be able to raise scholars and raise a Lanxi Lin family. Alas, I am ashamed of the Confucian scholars in Dali.
"
Zhang Huizhi sighed and shook his head.
After Zhao Rong heard the words "a very powerful friend" from his mouth, he blinked and smiled without saying a word.
Zhang Huizhi is not a fool, on the contrary, he is very smart and perceptive.
He was suddenly startled, glanced twice at the young Confucian scholar in front of him, frowned slightly, and said tentatively:
"really?"
Zhao Rong straightened his sleeves, raised his head, smiled, and said modestly: "Brother Hui, you are so complimentary...Well, among men, dragons and phoenixes, who doesn't know that?"
“…”
Didn’t you say that the following words were from your heart? Good guy, you just said it directly...
Zhang Huizhi leaned back slightly, looked at Zhao Rong carefully for a few more times, choked for a while, and then sighed:
"I didn't expect to see her true appearance."
…
Just when two Confucian scholars were drinking and chatting happily in the courtyard.
In the Western kitchen not far away, Zhao Qian'er, Yun Niang and several old servants were busy preparing dishes.
However, Xiao Qian'er mostly just helped Yun Niang, chatted, and occasionally took a look at the dishes cooked by other old servants.
Not long after, she handed Yun Niang a porcelain plate, looked around, and saw that everyone's dishes to go with wine were almost done, so she took out a small silver spoon.
Zhao Qian'er wandered around the kitchen, 'tasting' one dish after another with a silver spoon.
At this time, she stopped in front of the disfigured old servant who was coughing and took a look at a strange dish that the old servant was cooking.
"Hey, what kind of strange dish are you talking about?"
Zhao Qian'er couldn't help but take another look.
The vegetables in the pot are one by one, like thick noodles, in the shape of long strips, about the length of two fingers. It seems that some chili oil has been poured on them, and the smell is a bit spicy.
The old servant took a step back and saluted: "The specialty of my hometown..."
Then, he said a two-letter strange name.
Zhao Qian'er murmured curiously, holding the silver spoon in her hand, pinching her nose again, staring at the pot for a while, and after a while, she took a bite just to be safe.
Xiao Qian'er puffed up her peach cheeks, chewed, savored it quietly for a moment, inhaled in a spicy hiss, but nodded.
"Hey, it's okay. It's a bit spicy, but it's spicy and flavorful. Brother Rong'er should like this...what's this..."
She looked at the old servant.
The latter nodded with a smile and repeated the two-character name of the dish. The disabled and disfigured old man was very happy when she said that the distinguished guest in the courtyard liked it.
The two chatted briefly for a while, and then Xiao Qian'er went to try other old servants' dishes with her little hands behind her back.
the other side.
In the yard blown by the autumn wind.
After Zhang Huizhi sighed, he did not immediately return the Lin Lu jade in his hand to Zhao Rong, but listened intently to Zhao Rong's explanation.
He sighed softly and glanced at the top of the Moon Festival Mountain to the east.
The bright moon, whose two wheels compete with the sun, still hangs high, being worshiped by all the people within a thousand miles of the Moon Mountain.
The young Confucian scholar in black clothes and black hair, with a face as sharp as a knife, sighed more and more:
"Well, Tzuyu, I should have thought of this a long time ago. Birds of a feather flock together and people form groups. Tzuyu knew Junior Brother Lin from Zhongnan Mountain and was given a jade by him. This is not a treatment that ordinary friends can get... That rumor
In the debate between Confucianism and Taoism, it turned out that Tzuyu helped a lot."
"Just like... just like how Tzuyu single-handedly managed the Zen Ceremony and it was a great success. It is really a great blessing for Your Majesty and the Queen Mother to ask Tzuyu for help, and it is a blessing for the court."
For some reason, Zhang Huizhi looked up in the direction of the Moon Festival Mountain and looked a little sad.
Zhao Rong took another sip of the very spicy wine and thought of an old friend buried under the green mountain. His happy mood gradually declined, and he shook his head calmly, "Brother Hui is overly praised."
On the couch, the two Confucian scholars, who were sitting face to face, were speechless for a moment.
One person is looking up into the distance, while the other person is drinking wine with his eyes lowered.
Everyone seems to be thinking about their own things.
Sure enough, when the wine entered the intestines, it turned into a "story" and wanted to be told along with the smell of wine.
Zhang Huizhi stared at the bright moon and whispered:
"Since Ziyu has chosen this time to come see my brother, he has decided to leave forever and say his final farewell to us, Dali."
Zhao Rong nodded and shook his head:
"If it's not necessary, I probably won't come again, but that's not necessarily the case. If my friend wants to drink with me again that day, I can ask Hongyan to send me a letter, and I can find someone as nice and sunny as today.
In the afternoon, just take a shower and go to the appointment. Where can we not meet each other in life?"
"There is no place in life where we don't meet... There is no place in life where we don't meet good people."
Zhang Huizhi murmured several times, then suddenly turned around and said: "So, does Tzuyu really not consider coming to Dali to assist His Majesty after completing his studies? His Majesty's admiration for Tzuyu can be seen by those of us around him.
.”
His tone was complicated.
There is both admiration and regret, as well as confusion.
The inconspicuous hand on the knee grasped the jade bi, trembling slightly as if holding it tightly.
Zhao Rong didn't finish his words completely, he just said: "Let's see. Besides, doesn't His Majesty still have a brother from the Hui? I think having a brother from the Hui is enough."
Zhang Huizhi nodded, already understanding the thoughts of the Confucian scholar in front of him.
He has no intention of establishing a successful career in a secular dynasty.
He took a long breath.
The hand holding the jade under the table also loosened a little.
Zhang Huizhi said seriously:
"Tzuyu, brother, I have actually been paying attention to this junior brother Lin who is displaying his ambitions in Zhongnan Kingdom for a long time. I also know most of his deeds. Therefore, I have always had a question and I really want to ask him for advice. Unfortunately,
Separated by mountains and seas, it is difficult to make friends."
He paused and looked at the young Confucian scholar in front of him who was listening quietly.
The body unconsciously leaned forward, approaching the latter:
"Tzuyu, you know Lin Wenruo, and you are a close friend. You should know him very well. I would like to ask Brother Ziyu for an answer. Is that okay?"
Zhao Rong, who was about to drink, put down his glass, looked at him, and after thinking for a moment, he chuckled and said, "Brother Hui, just ask, and tell me everything I know."
Zhang Huizhi looked at the young Confucian scholar who continued to raise his head and take a sip. He was silent for a while and said:
"Tzuyu previously praised me for having cultivated my moral integrity and brought peace to my family. I want to govern the country and bring peace to the world... Let's not talk about whether it is to bring peace to our family. I don't dare to dream about bringing peace to the world. I only said that there are only two left."
"I have always adhered to the teachings of sages and academy teachers and devoted myself to self-cultivation."
The young Confucian scholar in black robes patted Qingfeng's sleeves, straightened his waist, and stared straight ahead.
"I just want to be able to govern the country like Junior Brother Zhongnan Guolin, to be an unparalleled national scholar, to support the country, and to assist His Majesty. However, if one day... self-cultivation and the ambition to govern the country conflict, I can only choose one. How should I choose it?"