typeface
large
in
Small
Turn off the lights
Previous bookshelf directory Bookmark Next

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 Hate Wan

Author: The tea is getting stronger

Chapter 18 Hate Wan

As the saying goes, the guest should do as the host does, and should not overwhelm the guest and usurp the host.

Xia Houhui first accused him of coming uninvited and claimed that he had disturbed their elegance. Then when he was seated at the table, he was very humble and took Xia Houhui to sit at the end of the table with him because he was younger than the others.

Sit with the case.

Such a knowledgeable person will naturally win the favor of everyone.

Of course Chen Tai would not let him and Xia Houhe sit behind a desk.

In fact, as early as when the servants welcomed the Xiahou brothers, he had people set up additional desk seats, but he did not change the order in which the Xiahou brothers sat at the bottom of the table.

Needless to say, Xia Houhe was not as good as the weak crown and his reputation was not yet prosperous, so it was natural for him to be the last one.

Xia Houhui, on the other hand, had just become an official. His official position was not high in rank, and he was not considered a celebrity now. It was only appropriate that he received courtesy at the meeting.

After all, most of the people sitting here do not have official positions, but if they become officials in the future, relying on the merits of their fathers and their family background, it is not unusual for them to make a fortune of two thousand dan or serve as a privy council member.

In this way, Xia Houhui, who is weak and ranks among the Sanqi, is really nothing.

He himself understood it well.

After chatting with everyone for a few words, he calmly treated himself as a guest and watched these talented people making jokes and laughing at the farewell banquet.

The only thing that made him a little uncomfortable was that Master Sima's seat was right next to him.

Originally, with his reputation as a Sima Master, he should be in the front, next to his master Chen Tai and the guest of honor Huan Jia who was being farewelled. Even if he was modest, he should be divided into elders and younger ones and should not be present. He also married Xia Houshang's daughter.

My brother-in-law and concubine!

But he just sat there.

He claimed that given his age, he should sit at the head of Xia Houhui.

And when everyone was enjoying the banquet and drinking together, they always turned to Xia Houhui to invite him for a cup with all the courtesy. The intention of making friends could not be said to be obvious, it was simply known to everyone on the road!

It also made Xia Houhui quite disgusted.

He still couldn't figure it out. He had been away from Luoyang for three years and had only been back for a month. He had always lived in seclusion. Why did Sima Shi, who was already a famous scholar, show his kindness like this?

How can you be so virtuous!

It’s too overwhelming~

Could it be that you have also heard that your eldest brother Xia Houheng wants to beg for a wife for me?

However, isn’t the only sister in your family now engaged to Xun Lingjun’s grandson Xun Fei when she was not yet a few years old~

Is it possible that in your celebrity style, you also have a hobby of admiring Lord Long Yang?

But I don’t want to cut off your sleeves, and I don’t want to eat the peaches you share!

Being so close, and why are you raising your cup to invite me?

Just as Xia Houhui was thinking wildly with his eyes and nose, his thoughts were interrupted by a burst of cheers.

"good!"

"Wonderful!"

"Written greetings are touching, so don't do this!"

It turned out that Xunyi had just taken advantage of his drunkenness to write a farewell gift to Huan Jia, who was about to leave Beijing to take up his new post, which aroused the roar of applause from everyone.

Alas, this kind of literary meeting is really boring.

Xia Houhui, who could not help but follow the crowd's praises, made a secret slander when he raised his glass to congratulate him.

But he didn't expect that before he put down the wine cup, the others would all focus on him.

Uh~

See what I do?

Could it be that I was discovered just now when I was in a state of fugue?

"Zhi Quan has a rare literary reputation, but his previous work "A Fang Gong Fu" is of great literary talent and is an unparalleled masterpiece!"

Just when Xia Houhui was astonished, Chen Tai, as the host, slightly cupped his hands towards him and said with a smile on his face, "It also makes us regret that we are not at the right time to join in the banquet! Now, Zhiquan is just at the right time,

How about you compose a poem on the spur of the moment to quench our thirst for longing?"

It turns out you want me to write a poem~

"I don't dare to take it! I don't dare to take it!"

Quickly returning the gift, Xia Houhui declined with sincerity, "Brother Xuan's words are ridiculous! You are all talented people in this world, but I am just a humble man who has lived in the mountains and fields for a long time. How dare I go out to do evil things?"

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished his humble words, before Chen Tai could answer, the Sima Master next to him took over the words familiarly.

"Alas!"

I saw him being surprised at first, and then pretending to be angry, "Young Quan is not serious and pure! His poems are as splendid as "Afang Palace Fu" was written in just a moment, but he calls himself a humble man in the wild, which is really embarrassing for us.

Yes!" After that, without waiting for Xia Houhui to defend himself, he raised his hand and invited everyone to shout, "Gentlemen, you have made a mistake when you are young and are hiding your clumsiness. Can you punish yourself?"

"Punishment!"

"That's natural!"

"Don't be stunned, Zhiquan, and pour yourself a cup!"

Immediately, everyone who had been drinking for three rounds took advantage of the excitement of drinking and started to make noises, and they all echoed.

If you don't speak, no one will think you are mute, right?

Xia Houhui murmured in his heart, with a wry smile on his face, and had no choice but to pour himself a drink as everyone wanted.

When He Kui, who has a cheerful and funny personality, met him, he came back to joke in a friendly voice, "Zhiquan, do you have any literary thoughts? If not, you can drink it again!"

It’s not over, is it?

"I am not pretending to be happy with you, but I really can't do it."

In desperation, Xia Houhui stood up from the case, bowed to everyone, and said with some emotion, "You may not know, but I traveled to Chang'an to find the ruins of Afang Palace when I was thirteen. I wrote "Afang Palace"

"Ode" was also written from that time until I left Luoyang and returned to my hometown. You must have heard that during this period, I drowned in Luoshui. From then on, I stopped going out and having banquets. I read it behind closed doors.

People at that time were confused and said that my temperament changed drastically after encountering adversity, and that I was afraid of the weather and would not take advantage of the year to keep my house closed. This was actually not the case. Since then, I knew that my literary thoughts had been exhausted and it was difficult for me to do anything.

You can do literary things!"

"Ah~"

"What a pity!"

"Is this because God is jealous of talented people?"

After everyone listened, some were astonished and some sighed sadly, all of whom could not help but be filled with emotion.

The only exception was Sima Shi.

Regarding Xia Houhui's explanation, he was stunned for a moment, and then he left the table and bowed to Xia Houhui with a very ashamed look on his face, "I didn't expect that Zhiquan would have to experience this! And I have no virtue, so I acted in such an aggressive manner.

His behavior embarrassed Zhiquan in public. It is truly unbecoming of a gentleman. I am ashamed! I am ashamed!"

Uh~

Suddenly, Xia Houhui was speechless.

He never imagined that he just randomly found a reason to avoid writing a poem, and actually caused Master Sima to apologize in public, and judging from his expression, he was really not hypocritical.

This person lives up to his reputation!

Perhaps it's because he, who is only twenty-two now, has not yet transformed into the stoic, ruthless, and murderous hero he will be in the future.

Alas, what a pity.

If he didn't know how the wheel of history moves forward, his sincerity today would be enough to make me a loyal friend.

For a moment, Xia Houhui's heart was filled with thoughts.

And soon, after Master Sima finished speaking, He Kui, who had just made fun of him, and Chen Tai, who was the first person to suggest that Xia Houhui write a poem, also stood up and apologized.

It also made Xia Houhui wake up from his thoughts.

He stood up quickly and returned the courtesy to them. He said calmly without blushing, "You guys don't have to be like this. It's my misfortune that I can't do literary things. It's not your fault. Furthermore, I have no poetry."

Giving gifts to all of you to enjoy yourself is just disturbing the enjoyment of the banquet. I’m so lucky that you don’t blame me. How dare you accept your courtesy?”

No one doubted that he was there. Even Xia Houhe had a sad face and seemed to have accepted this lie.

After all, the Xiahou family were also puzzled by the reason why Xiahou Hui's temperament changed drastically after he drowned. They just had no choice but to attribute it to a change after a big disaster.

"Zhiquan is indeed a gentleman!"

"I dare not take it seriously. This is not Zhongquan's fault. It is really our fault."

"Sigh! God's will is weak but he handles it gracefully. When he is criticized, he thinks about his own mistakes. Xiahou's childlike power is so grand that the valley cannot bear it!"

Naturally, everyone did not hesitate to praise Xia Houhui's behavior, which he blamed on himself.

Presumably, after today, everyone will make a name for him, allowing him to fulfill Xia Houheng's wish - to become famous in Kyoto.

After this little episode, the people at the banquet lost interest in writing poems and poems. Instead, they asked the servants to fetch the instruments for playing, and they turned to throwing pots, talking with their hands, playing the harp and singing, etc.

Xia Houhui, on the other hand, was "haunted" by Master Sima.

He was married to Xia Houshang's daughter, and he and Xia Houhui were related by marriage. Therefore, when he earnestly invited Xia Houhui to go to the thatched cottage to enjoy archery, Xia Houhui found it difficult to refuse.

I had no choice but to claim that I had learned the art of bowing and horsemanship behind closed doors.

And he even pretended to be humble in order to listen.

If you refuse, wouldn't it mean that you disdain to be associated with Master Sima~

However, when he came to the thatched cottage with all kinds of reluctance in his heart, within a short time, he became very interested.

Because Sima Shi invited him to compete in archery skills, it was not true, but because he said he read military books, he planned to discuss the truth of the frequent military invasions of Yongliang by Shu in recent years.

Moreover, Master Sima also traveled to Chang'an in his early years and was very familiar with Wei's current defenses in Yongliang as well as the topography and geography. Only a few words of analysis made Xia Houhui feel very sad.

Nothing else.

Sima Shi's opinion on the war between Wei and Shu was that the Wei State should prioritize defense and containment of the enemy, and use the tactics of fortifying walls and clearing fields, so that the Shu State, with its dangerous mountains and rivers and difficult transportation of grain and grain, would be tired of the war and eventually fall into poverty and weakness.

In the meantime, the Wei State can take advantage of this time to skip other services and rest for the people, and only engage in farming and mulberry planting to expand military resources, increase war equipment, raise soldiers and civilians, reward soldiers for practicing martial arts and preparing for war, so that the strong will always be strong, and wait for the coming of time.

Destroy it in one fell swoop!

This idea almost coincides with Xia Houhui's.

What made Xia Houhui sigh was that he could have such a strategy because of the reverse deduction of later generations' memories, while Sima Shi made his own deduction, and he was only twenty-two this year!

Such a clever strategy!

This person cannot be summed up as having a profound family background, but can be said to be a prodigy in the world!

No wonder, later generations often refer to Sima Shi as the last hero in this period of history.

With admiration, Xia Houhui and Sima Shida felt that they had met so late, and they talked with their knees touching each other on the steps in front of the thatched cottage. Until Xia Houhui came out of the inner hall and reminded him that the day was approaching.

It’s time to go back and stop.

"Zhiquan is such a genius!"

When saying goodbye, Master Sima also said, "I am lucky enough to get to know Zhiquan today. I have benefited a lot from him, and I also miss him deeply. If Zhiquan doesn't think I am stupid, I will always ask for advice shamelessly in the future."

Xia Houhui's answer was non-committal.

He said: "Zi Yuan's talent is as bright as the bright moon, but as stupid as me, he can be called a firefly. I have benefited a lot from talking with Zi Yuan today, and I am overjoyed. The day is approaching, so I will say goodbye."

After saying this, he bowed to everyone present and turned around to leave.

Just when he was far away from the Chen Family Courtyard, he felt a sense of sadness in his heart——

Alas, why is he Sima Shi?

(End of chapter)


This chapter has been completed!
Previous Bookshelf directory Bookmark Next