The 23rd Chapter: Eating Yuandou, Favorite Girl Farewell, Trapped in Cold Noodles
Wu Ciyou took good medicine internally and applied Qigong externally. After half a month, he was able to walk as usual. Master Hu Gongshan and his disciples came to say goodbye.
"I'm going to break up with my husband from now on." Hu Gongshan and Wu Ciyou didn't have a close relationship when they were in Beijing in the past. However, this chance encounter in the rivers and lakes has actually enhanced their understanding of each other. When thinking about their separate things, Hu Gongshan couldn't help but feel sad.
The thick eyebrows furrowed and he said, "Although we are far apart, I hope we can meet again in cars and hats in the future, and don't forget the love between glasses of water!"
Wu Ciyou smiled and said: "How dare you betray your heart! But you and I will never meet each other in a car or a suitcase. At most we will meet by strangers. Although I cannot be a high-ranking official, I will never forget Brother Hu's life-saving grace." Hao next to him.
Lao Si took the opportunity to interject and said with a smile: "Our master and disciple are outsiders, but your husband is a kindhearted person. He wants to repay his kindness, but Qingfeng is really happy. That year, I saw that the handwriting my husband wrote to Wu Liuyi was very good, why not give it to him?"
How about we write one too?"
"Qingfeng, don't talk nonsense!" Hu Gongshan said, "We are traveling all over the world, where can we post it?"
Wu Ciyou stood up and said with a smile: "It's difficult for me to say it, old four. Since we are old friends and we are so destined, I will draw a picture for you!" After saying this, he came to the table, picked up his pen, and glanced at Hu Gongshan and Hao Laosi.
After taking a quick look, he started to smear the image of two Taoist priests: one had a sword on his back and a gourd hanging on his waist; the other held a fly whisk, and his two eyeballs seemed to be moving like bones. Hu Gongshan, Li Yunniang, and Mr. Hao
The four hurriedly came over to watch. The green monkey shouted at the side: "This painting is not good! It looks like two thieves, and there is no formal shape!" Wu Ciyou smiled and said: "Although the green monkey is smart, who knows?
A bad official is not as good as a good thief - look at this thief in my writing!" As he said this, he wrote three words in large letters on the title:
Thief! Thief! Thief!
While everyone was stunned, Wu Ciyou continued to write:
It is invisible and cannot be grasped. Just because he stole the elixir of immortality, he came to the world to help the poor!
He smiled and asked Hu Gongshan: "How?"
"Wonderful!" Hu Gongshan laughed and said, "Old Hu understood this painting and this poem with his heart, and the one who knows me best is Mr. Wu!" He took it with both hands, rolled it up carefully, and handed it to Hao Laosi.
He bowed and floated away.
Farewell to Hu Gongshan, Yun Niang thought about it again and again, and decided to say goodbye. It was not because she listened to Hao Laosi's advice to "leave and get married", but because she felt that following someone who always loved others all day long would have a sad ending, as people said
Terrible. If word spreads, how will people in the world view her, and how will she live? But now that she is away from Wu Ciyou, she feels uneasy. For the past few days, Yun Niang has been depressed and often sits blankly in her free time.
She was lost in thought. Although Qinghou'er knew some of the truth, he didn't understand her difficulties. He happily ran around all day helping Yun Niang cook medicine and deliver meals.
The eighth day of April is the Buddha Bathing Festival. Every family makes dumplings and eats Yuandou [Note 1]. Yun Niang cooked the medicine for Wu Ciyou, then rushed to the town to buy three kilograms of wrapped raw food and told the green monkey.
After cooking, Wu Ciyou came to Wu Ciyou's room. Wu Ciyou had already taken off his cotton robe and was only wearing a white bamboo cloth jacket. He held a thin needle tightly with his fingers together, and pinched the corner of the robe tightly with his other hand, gritting his teeth and twisting it.
He was threading the needle vigorously between his eyebrows, turning his face to stare wherever the needle went. Seeing his focused expression, Yun Niang couldn't help but smile, hurriedly came over to take over Wu Ciyou's work, and sat on the chair to make up the work.
The room was extremely quiet, and the midday sun shone brightly outside. Orioles and "cup of tea" jumped and chased among the scattered branches, making chirping sounds, which made the room even more quiet and warm. Until
After finishing, neither of them said a word.
"Xian-oh, Yun Niang!" Wu Ciyou saw Yun Niang bite the thread with her teeth and stood up to leave, then he quickly said: "You seem to be worried a lot?"
"No." Yun Niang said, she breathed a sigh of relief, "I have seen my husband sick day by day these days, and it's not too late to be happy. But where should I go next?"
"Visit the Confucian Forest, visit the Confucius Temple, then go to Tai'an to play the Eighteen Pans, watch the sunrise over the sea of clouds, and then go to Beijing." Wu Ciyou smiled and said, "Isn't it agreed upon?"
Yun Niang smiled sadly and said, "Mount Tai is so high. I have just recovered from a long illness. Can I go up there?"
"As long as you are here," Wu Ciyou said, "With you here, are you still afraid that you won't be able to go up?"
"Should I support you, or should I carry you?"
"..." Wu Ciyou was speechless. He suddenly thought that this man in a sky-blue denim jacket was no longer a "virtuous brother", and it would be inappropriate to carry him on his back. He pondered for a long time, and when he was about to say more,
Green Monkey smiled and came in with a large plate of dumplings, shouting repeatedly: "Hot, hot, there are too many!" He took a few steps forward and hurriedly threw the plate on the table, shushed his hands and said: "Two dumplings from the first pot."
I tried one of the pot noodles, and it was delicious. Sir and Master, please use it!"
"Let's eat together," Yun Niang seemed to be in a better mood, "Qing Hou'er, you can sit down and eat together." Qing Hou'er agreed and went to prepare a small bowl of ginger, garlic and vinegar sauce, and the three of them
Fang sat down and ate together.
Yun Niang ate very tastelessly, and from time to time she glanced at Wu Ciyou who was calm and composed and the green monkey who was devouring it. Suddenly, Wu Ciyou ate a Yuandou dumpling, looked at it carefully and asked, "What kind of filling is this?"
"Mr. Wu is so lucky after all!" Green Monkey said, "I only gave you one Yuandou dumpling to eat - Ouch! What is this?" It turned out that he also ate one.
After hearing Yun Niang's explanation, Wu Ciyou couldn't help but laugh and said: "Since it is said that whoever eats it will be blessed, then Green Monkey and I are blessed and destined. Why didn't you eat it?" Yun Niang listened to this.
Feeling very unlucky, he forced a smile and said: "I am unlucky, and I can't compare with you. It's just that there can only be one of these Yuantou, why did you eat both of them?" After saying this, he was startled, and it turned out that she also ate it.
One of them asked, "How do you do this business? Are you trying to save money? Make so many green bean dumplings!"
"The first is to make more money, and the second is to make everyone auspicious." Wu Ciyou said, "This is also their kind-heartedness. Today, on the Buddha Bathing Day, everyone eats beans. In the future, they will all become Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Isn't it better than just a single person?"
Is it fun to eat alone?" He said and laughed.
"Mr. Wu can become a Buddha. My master can be a Bodhisattva, but I can't do it." Green Monkey said seriously, "I'll be happy as a golden boy beside the Bodhisattva's lotus seat! If Mr. Wu can't become a Buddha, he will become a great person in the future.
Officer, when you see us, don’t forget about eating dumplings today!”
"What do you mean by 'meeting you'?" Wu Ciyou put down his chopsticks and asked, "Aren't you coming with me?"
"What he said is true." Yun Niang whispered from the side, "Send off the dumplings and receive the noodles. This is a little thought when we broke up."
"Why?" Wu Ciyou asked, "If you don't come to Beijing--" He suddenly remembered that "getting a job" was no longer possible, and his expression turned gloomy. After a while, he sighed: "Well, that's the only way. There are things to do when gathering and leaving."
Destiny, separation and union are destined, although we are in the same boat, it is better to be separated in the rivers and lakes and look at each other. I hope we will meet each other on strangers in the future and we will not pass by..." At this point, Wu Ciyou felt a little choked in his throat.
He held back tears.
When Yun Niang saw Wu Ciyou being so sentimental, she really wanted to say "I won't leave", but she couldn't. She murmured and forced a smile and said: "Sir, why should children love each other for so long? You and I are still young, and the green water will never change.
, The green mountain road turns around, are you afraid that you won’t be able to meet again? When we see each other again, is there any reason to pass by each other?”
At noon that day, Wu Ciyou, Yun Niang and Qing Hou'er had a farewell meal together, during which Qian exhorted and Wan exhorted many words of care. Wu Ciyou decided to visit Yanzhou Prefecture tomorrow and the government would send him back to Beijing. Yun Niang and Qing Hou'er
Then he reluctantly set off on the road.
"Auntie," Qinghou'er turned around and saw Wu Ciyou still looking under the weeping willows at the entrance of the ancient trail, and asked puzzledly, "I really don't understand, why do you have to leave despite everything being fine?"
Yun Niang looked blankly at the green water and green trees in the distance, and said blankly: "You are young, you will naturally understand when you grow up."
"Where are we going?"
"Don't go far yet. If you stay here for a few days, your uncle and the others will probably not go far."
Wu Ciyou didn't fall asleep until late that night. The figures of Yun Niang and Qing Hou'er kept swaying in front of his eyes - the medicine in the medicine pot was fried by Yun Niang herself in the morning, and it can be used as long as it is warmed. After a while, he seemed to hear
When he went outside, he fanned the stove and heard the sound of "Hua Da Hua Da". After a while, he seemed to hear the sound of Yun Niang mixing medicine with a spoon and blowing cold air. A few days ago, he was joking with Hu Gongshan, Yun Niang and others, and suddenly he
He went away completely, leaving him alone.
I don't know when it started to rain outside, and the water dripping from the eaves fell on the green brick floor, making a continuous sound. Wu Ciyou looked back on the ups and downs of the past, and looked at the future as dim as clouds, and he burst into tears.
Down the cheek: "Oh, it seems that I have really incurred the taboos of nature and become an ominous body. The world is so big, but it does not allow my fifth friend, Xiao Ao, to be with the plum blossoms forever!" He tossed and turned all night long, and the sky was clear.
When it was almost dawn, I fell asleep.
Yanzhou Prefecture is an ancient town in Shandong, a famous county and city, and the seat of the Holy Palace. The government office is located in the northwest corner of the city. There is a box hanging on the pink wall, which contains a pair of official boots left by the previous official.
dust.
Wu Ciyou took a green cloth sedan and came down a long way from the government office. He dragged his heavy steps slowly to the front of the government office. When he saw a person who looked like a scribe pacing back and forth at the door, he walked up
When he came, he voted for his famous assassin and said: "Please report to your lord, Wu Ciyou, a scholar from Yangzhou, is visiting."
The clerk received the invitation, and when he saw the words "Wu Ciyou", his face immediately burst into laughter, and he said with a smile on the spot: "I don't understand this matter at all. The former Supreme Lord once issued a constitutional edict.
, looking for Mr. Wu's whereabouts everywhere, and ordered us to inquire around. This gentleman is now going home to Dingyou. The newly appointed Zheng Taizun has not been in charge of the seal for a long time. I am afraid that he may not know about it, so I will go and report it." As he said this, he got up and went.
Already.
Wu Ciyou's hanging heart calmed down: at least he would not be turned away. Just as he was thinking about it, he saw an inconspicuous small side door on the east side of the government office opened with a "ah" sound. The clerk took the lead, followed by a group of people.
He is an official, with fair complexion and black beards as black as ink, forming an "eight" shape. He wears an official robe with eight pythons and five claws, decorated with white pheasants, and the red tassel on the white clear glass top is trembling.
He stepped on thousand-layer soap boots and swayed out with a square step. Behind him, there was another person, like a master, wearing a black satin gown, a green satin melon skin hat, and a pair of large crystal sunglasses.
In front of his eyes, the betel nut purse tied around his waist was swaying, and he couldn't help but look at Wu Ciyou with his eyes.
When Wu Ciyou saw that it was the prefect who came to greet him personally, he hurriedly stepped forward, bowed and saluted, and said: "Wu Ciyou was born late in life. I have long admired the great name of Taizun. I passed by Guizhi and came here to pay my respects."
"Ah, sir, I don't dare to take this seriously!" The official returned the salute, grabbed Wu Ciyou's hand and said, "Student Zheng Chunyou, I have already received a constitutional order to interview Mr. Wu. I thought that Mr. Wu had already gone south, but Guizhi came in person.
Our yamen - oh, this Kong Lingpei is a descendant of the saint. After the students arrived, they specially invited Brother Kong to come to the yamen for advice and help. When we were chatting in the yamen just now, we also mentioned your husband. Unexpectedly, he has already arrived. How lucky you are.
Yes, nice to meet you!"
Wu Ciyou seemed to have heard the word "Zheng Chunyou" somewhere, but he couldn't think of it for a while. Seeing Zheng Chunyou's face full of spring breeze, amiable, and very cheerful and talkative, he was secretly happy. Kong Lingpei next to him raised his hand and said with a smile: "
Your husband seems to be a little unwell. The banquet has not started yet, so I should cleanse his dust!" Zheng Chunyou said with a smile: "That's right! Now that I'm here, I'll stay here for a few days. I have all the music, chess, calligraphy and painting here.
, it will definitely suit Mr.’s taste. If Mr. doesn’t give me face, will I ask Bawang to stay as a guest?”
Zheng Chunyou chuckled, was very attentive and affectionate, and let Wu Ciyou into the back hall: "Come on, please come here, in the west wing of the flower hall!"
As soon as Wu Ciyou stepped into the flower hall, he was stunned. His face was as white as a sheet of shock and he could not move an inch. It turned out that the guard in front of King Pingxi who led people to capture him in Yingfeng Pavilion of Anqing Mansion, Huangfu Baozhu, the tiger general, was sitting there with a smile on his face.
Waiting at the banquet table!
"As the saying goes, 'No one sees the mountains collapse and the earth splits, but we meet again after twists and turns'!" When Huangfu Baozhu saw him coming in, he laughed and stood up and said, "Sir, you are such a lucky man. He managed to survive a catastrophe. I don't want to meet you again here. Isn't that right?"
Are you lucky enough for three lifetimes?"
"Western Selector!"
"No - yes!" Zheng Chunyou raised two thin eyebrows and laughed in a long voice, "I have been a student for ten years, three articles, two Jinshi, and I was selected in the top eleven in the imperial examination. Although he is not as distinguished as Mr.
He is also a gentle man! Sir, there is no need to be alarmed. Please sit down and let us talk in detail."
"Okay!" At this point, Wu Ciyou knew in his heart that he had entered the copper net and iron array. He immediately sat down at the head table, raised his glass and drank. Seeing the bear's paws and roasted pig on the table, he smiled and said, "These two things
"It's a delicacy if it's cooked well, but if it's not cooked well, you can't even eat a bite - it can't be done without a hundred taels of silver. Since I've received so much love from you, I'm going to take the lead!" With that, he picked up a piece of roasted meat.
Tasting the pork and pork meat in his mouth, he smiled and said, "I have been sick for a long time and have longed for food. It is really a blessing to taste this delicious food. Mr. Lingpei, your ancestor said that he did not know the taste of meat after hearing it for three months in Shao. I am afraid that is not true."
"It's great!" Huangfu Baozhu felt a little ashamed when he saw Wu Ciyou's arrogance. He stood up and poured wine for Wu Ciyou and said with a smile, "Sir, I have been under the command of King Pingxi for more than ten years, and I have rarely seen such an open-minded person!
"Kong Lingpei laughed and said: "General Baozhu has been here for three months. He is waiting for news about your husband. He doesn't want you to come and visit." Wu Ciyou said the words "your ancestors" just now. He felt that it was not useful, so he said sarcastically.
return.
Wu Ciyou drank another glass of wine, and his pale face turned red. He pushed the glass flat on the table and sneered: "That's because Wu was unlucky and met someone who was just waiting for someone to catch him!"
"Aren't you afraid?" Zheng Chunyou chuckled and poured wine for Wu Ciyou, "How can there be such a big tree in the world - the upper leaves are covered with blue clouds, and the lower roots are connected to three springs. The swaying can cause wind, the breath can cause rain, and the unicorn is red.
Leopards live under it, and phoenixes and phoenixes nest above it, breeding everywhere, intertwined and intertwined..."
"This is just a tree from Guigu. It will change over time and become a wood monster. Do you think Wu doesn't recognize it?" Wu Ciyou knew as soon as he heard it. This was a lie made from the words in "Guiguzi's Letter to Su Qin and Zhang Yi".
He responded, "If God is angry, the wind and clouds will change, lightning will shine in the sky, thunder and fire will strike, Feng Bo will flap his wings, Zhu Rong will burst into flames, the gods of dragons and snakes will serve, and Fu Xi will come to Wu in a chariot with six dragons and celestial horses.
Will this tree survive on Mount Huashan?"
Zheng Chunyou was shaking his head and talking proudly, but he was suddenly blocked by Wu Ciyou's "hot words". He couldn't write a good article to reverse the case for a while, so he laughed dryly, picked up the cup and drank, and said with a smile: "Where is it?"
He's so angry, but the article is just readable." Baozhu and Kong Lingpei, who were standing next to him, saw that they had a lightning-fast confrontation when they met, and they couldn't help but admire him secretly.
"Do you have anything you can say?" Wu Ciyou sneered, "That was a good opening." At this time, he had gained strength and no longer looked like a man recovering from a long illness.
"Well - that's it," Baozhu somehow felt a little impressed by Wu Ciyou from these two contacts with him, and said with a smile, "Actually, sir, you already know that we have been ordered by the king, and there is nothing we can do about it.
It is best to ask your husband to go to Yunnan in person and meet the prince, many things can be easily discussed."
"I won't go to Yunnan." Wu Ciyou said categorically. He took a bite of vegetables and chewed it with a disdainful air. "That place is full of smoke and smog. I don't want to die. If I want to die, I'd better die in the Central Plains."
good."
Hearing this, Zheng Chunyou laughed evilly, moved his face closer to Wu Ciyou and said, "It's okay not to go. I heard that the emperor asked your husband to draft something. Why don't you give me a lesson? Mr. Guanbao is still wandering around the world, and no one will cause you trouble."
"
"What if I don't want to be taught? Don't forget, I, Wu, came to your house, but there are many people who know me!" Wu Ciyou looked at Zheng Chunyou with a smile, tapped the wine glass gently with his finger and asked, "At this time, I will pour
I remembered. Well, Zheng Chunyou, whose family are you a servant? You are wearing the official uniform of the imperial court, but you secretly catch people for Wu Sangui, write plaques for Zhong Sanlang Xiangtang, and give away medicine. How many masters do you have?
Three, two, or one?"
Wu Ciyou revealed his relationship with Zhong Sanlang Xiangtang in front of Huangfu Baozhu. Zheng Chunyou felt slightly flustered: the false relationship with Prince Zhu San was approved by Wu Sangui's nephew, but the further collusion was his own initiative.
Zheng Chunyou gritted his teeth with hatred in his heart and sneered: "You'd better think more about your own affairs at the moment. You must know that it is unusual for a scholar to kill someone. For example, the clerk who just came in to deliver a famous assassination to you, you are very
It’s hard to guess where he is now, whether he is dead or alive.”
"It's up to you." Wu Ciyou smiled nonchalantly, stood up and asked, "In the well or on the beam? Should I use a knife or poison? Please give me some advice."
"I can't bear to kill you!" Huangfu Baozhu smiled, "But sir, you are indeed a bit arrogant. Let's do this - sir, he has just recovered from a serious illness and will stay in the study in the garden first. Our things are not urgent, sir, take your time."
Now that we've thought about it, let's go on the road again. There are dozens of brothers here to serve you, sir. Just give me whatever you want. It's just that the weather is bad outside, so there's no need to go out." After saying that, he stood up and waved his hand, and two brothers came in earlier.
A tall man stood at the door. Wu Ciyou stood up, flicked his sleeves, and followed without looking back.
This stubborn scholar refused to submit, and Baozhu and the three of them were in trouble. When Wu Ciyou went out, Zheng Chunyou glanced at Kong Lingpei inquiringly and asked, "What do you think?"
"He is a man who takes soft things rather than hard things." Kong Lingpei said with a smile, "Why don't we follow Cao Mengde's example and have a 'small banquet every three days, and a big banquet every five days', with beauties and jade silk to keep him healthy.
Made of iron, it also melted him - it's a pity that Miss Ziyun has gone to Beijing." Baozhu said with a smile: "This plan is feasible. After all, after being a saint, the methods he came up with all have the flavor of 'Shaole'.
But that’s not a matter of three or two days.”
"It's better to escort him back to Yunnan as soon as possible!" Zheng Chunyou thought for a while and finally felt that it was not a problem to keep Wu Ciyou in the house for a long time.
Baozhu disagreed after hearing this, and hesitated for a long time before saying: "Yunnan is far away from here, and if Wu Ciyou is willing to go, there will be nothing more to say. Now that he is unwilling to go, the court is visiting him everywhere. If any news leaks out, I may be in trouble.
I can't even return to Yunnan! Besides, what the prince wants now is Wu Ciyou. If he doesn't eat or drink along the way, why should I bring a dead body to see the prince?"
Kong Lingpei shook his fan and said thoughtfully: "Well, Wu Ciyou has fallen into our hands. I don't think he has to send it to Yunnan. Wouldn't it be easier to get what the prince wants here? Is Wu Ciyou dead or alive?
It's irrelevant." Baozhu said: "It's better to be alive. I guess the prince wants to get rid of him because he wants to recruit talents, and it can be used as an excuse to refuse to withdraw from the vassal. It will be worthless if he is dead."
"What can you do to this scornful scholar who won't take the bull by the horns?" Zheng Chunyou has always been extremely conceited. Today's article failed, and he felt very frustrated. Hearing that Baozhu's words seemed to have the meaning of protecting Wu Ciyou, he commented.
.
"The soft ones may not be eaten." Kong Lingpei said with a smile, "Just raise him and support him with good tea and good food. We can also take the opportunity to make friends with him. Over time, we will definitely find a way out, - Baozhu is not
Do you like playing chess very much? You can play chess with him often."
[Note 1] Yuandou refers to green beans. It was a custom in the Qing Dynasty to eat green beans on the eighth day of April to predict good luck. Wrap the green beans in dumplings, wontons, steamed buns or steamed buns. Whoever eats them will be lucky. (To be completed.)
