On a mid-autumn night, the rising bright moon shines in from outside the corridor, and the shadows of the railings on the ground are blurred and submerged by the light of the indoor wild goose lamps. The autumn wind rustles and the Wubao is quiet.
Chen Caozhi thought for a long time and finally said: "Third brother, I can't go to Jiankang."
Chen Shang thought at first that Chen Caozhi was thinking about something else. He never expected that Chen Caozhi would say that he would not go to Jiankang. He was surprised and said: "Sixteenth brother, why do you say this? Going to Jiankang is the first in the family."
Regarding the big event, your reputation has been spread in Jiankang. The nobles and nobles in the capital, some jealous, some appreciative, and some dismissive, are all looking forward to your trip to Jiankang. It is best for the great Situ Sima Yu to talk to you during the break.
On holidays, Situ's Mansion is always full of guests, high-ranking officials, celebrities and monks gather together. Coats are waved as they wish, and all kinds of arguments arise one after another. Yin Hao and Sun Sheng's "Yi Xiang is better than visible", Yin Hao and Zhi Daolin's "
"The Four Books of Caixing" These classic debates all came from Sima Yu's residence, the Great Situ. Xi Canjun once told the Great Situ about your attainments in Confucianism, metaphysics and Buddhism, and said that Chen Cao's clear talk was not as good as that of Yin Hao.
Therefore, Da Situ sincerely hopes for your Jiankang trip. At that time, you may not need to participate in the examination of the Eighteen States Grand Zhongzheng at all. As long as you surprise everyone with your witty remarks in the conversations between celebrities in Situ Mansion, it will be enough for the Qiantang and Chen family to join the gentry and compete with Zhi Daolin.
The equally famous Kang Sengyuan had little reputation after crossing the Yangtze River and was almost like a beggar. He became famous because of his argument with Yin Hao. Why did his sixteenth brother, a great talent, hesitate to take advantage of such a good opportunity? "
Chen Cao said: "Third brother, it's not that I don't want to go to Jiankang. I have worked hard to become a scholar for my family, both for the sake of my clan and for myself. Even if Jiankang is a dragon's pond and a tiger's den, I will go there, not to mention that it is a famous place."
Great opportunity—"
Chen Shangdao: "Yes, although dad and I worked hard to become a scholar in Jiankang, it was just running errands. It was the sixteenth brother who really contributed to the family. It was the sixteenth brother who got to know Xi Canjun that made us what we are now."
Chance, Sixteenth Brother now refuses to go to Jiankang, what is the reason?"
Chen Caozhi asked, "Third brother has just met my mother. How does third brother think my mother looks compared to the beginning of July?"
Chen Shang was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said slowly: "Compared to two months ago, Seventh Aunt has indeed aged a lot."
Chen Cao said: "I invited Master Zhimindu from Qiguang Temple and Yang Quan, a famous doctor from Yangzhou, to diagnose and treat my mother, but they all said that it was beyond the power of medicine and could only be taken care of carefully and rest in peace. Mr. Ge Zhichuan also warned me when he left last year
He said that he should not go out after May this year, as he would not be able to go out to Jiankang unless he was raising a child for old age."
Chen Shang sweated on his forehead and said: "The filial piety of the sixteenth brother is commendable, but becoming a scholar is a century-old plan of the Chen family. It is a matter of honoring the ancestors. I am going to Jiankang and will be back in two months at most. My seventh aunt will also be here."
I will definitely let you go, I will go and tell the seventh aunt——" He was about to get up.
Chen Caozhi sat still and said, "Are the three brothers going to trap the younger brother in being unfilial? No one has parents. My father died young and my widowed mother worked hard to raise me. Now my mother is frail and sick. How can I bear to be away from my mother for even a moment!"
Chen Shang sat down with his hands on his knees, lowered his head in silence, and when he raised his head again, his face was full of tears, and said: "Sixteenth brother, Brother Yu knows that you are pure and filial. Your seventh aunt only has a son. I will not blame you. I only think about me."
The Chen family of Qiantang has been looking forward to this opportunity for more than a hundred years. If such a good opportunity is missed, the Chen family of Qiantang will never have a chance to make a comeback. No matter how hard they work, the descendants of the future generations will never be able to make a difference. I think of my father waiting eagerly in Beijing for sixteen years.
My brother is going, but my sixteenth brother cannot go with me, how should I face my father?"
Chen Shang, a handsome man, burst into tears. Chen Caozhi also said with tears in his eyes: "Third brother, hold back your tears first. Listen to me, I am by no means the kind of pedantic person who easily gives up good opportunities. I have been planning for the Chen family to join the gentry for a long time.
, how could you give up just like that——"
Chen Shang regained hope and asked: "What did the sixteenth brother think about it?"
Chen Cao said: "For the family, my going to Jiankang is for the benefit of the family, and the whole family will support it. If my mother knew about this, she would definitely order me to go to Jiankang. But for others, I went to Jiankang."
Jiankang is seeking fame. Virtue is more important than talent. Even if I shocked everyone with my eloquence in Situ Mansion, if someone with ulterior motives suggests that I came to Jiankang regardless of the serious illness of my mother at home, waving my tail and boasting, then what can I say?
right?"
Chen Shang broke into a cold sweat again. The sixteenth brother thought very carefully that the Sima family valued filial piety the most. If the sixteenth brother was caught violating filial piety, all the previous achievements would be wasted and the sixteenth brother's life would be ruined.
The product exemption certificate may be withdrawn, let alone Qiantang Chen's naturalization——
Chen Cao said: "If I don't go to Jiankang, there is still a glimmer of hope for the Qiantang Chen family to become a scholar. If I go to Jiankang, there will definitely be no hope. So I will follow the natural way and serve my old mother to take care of myself."
Chen Shang nodded and said: "Sixteenth brother is far-sighted and foolish brother is not as good as him. I will set off to Jiankang tomorrow to see my old father and express my sixteenth brother's pure filial piety to the capital so that the world will know that even if the Chen family of Qiantang cannot be admitted as a scholar,
But he is also a Confucian sect who inherits poetry and etiquette."
Chen Cao said: "Filial piety is not a trick. I only do what I should do. Third brother, don't deliberately publicize it. If you don't say anything, you will make your own mistakes. I will not just let fate dictate me. I must take good care of my mother."
As long as I fulfill my filial piety, I can't let the good opportunity of Qian Tang and Chen's becoming a scholar go to waste. I want to have both fish and bear's paws."
Chen Shang also got excited and asked, "Sixteenth Brother, what other good ideas can I have?"
Chen Cao said: "It's also a stupid method, which is to submit my three metaphysics treatises to the great Situ Sima Yu. I believe the great Situ will be interested. I will polish them tonight, copy them again, make them into a book, and hand them over tomorrow.
Third brother."
Chen Shangxi said: "Okay, I will pick it up tomorrow morning."
Chen Caozhi also told Chen Shang not to let his mother know about this, otherwise it would be terrible if his mother ordered him to go to Jiankang. Chen Shang nodded repeatedly.
That night, Chen Cao kept writing, transcribing and binding three metaphysical treatises into a thin volume, entitled "Three Mysteries on Ming Sheng Lake", which were about Zhou Yi's "The Way of Heaven is Worry-free" and about Laozi.
"On the Nature of Success" and "On the Concentricity of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism". These three articles all use the classical subject-object questioning style to develop their discussions.
Zhou Yi's questions are now refined and supplemented; "On the Nature of Success" is a debate between Xie Daoyun, Xie Xuan and Xu Miao when they first arrived at the Xu Academy. Xu Miao couldn't resist, and Chen Caozhi joined in the debate. It was a debate
It was an extremely exciting debate. Xie Daoyun, who appeared under the name of Zhu Yingtai at that time, was sharp in his words and analyzed the meaning to the point. Chen Caozhi's responses and counterattacks also quoted from classics and were tit for tat. Now it is compiled into a voluminous 5,000 words; "Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism"
" is the debate between Chen Caozhi and Xi Chao on the Tongxuan Pagoda about the three religions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism that come to the same end through different paths——
The three articles added up to more than 13,000 words. Chen Caozhi kept writing until the fourth watch of Chou Shi. After finishing writing, he realized that Xiaochan was still sitting next to him. He was surprised and said: "Sister Xiaochan didn't go to rest!"
Xiaochan patted her lips with her hand and said: "Knowing that Mr. Cao had something important to do, I didn't urge you to go to bed. I even brought you tea during the period. You don't even remember?"
Chen Caozhi felt ashamed and said: "I was so absorbed in writing that I opened my mouth when I came to tea. I didn't notice that Sister Xiaochan hadn't taken a rest yet. I'm sorry, Sister Xiaochan."
Xiao Chan smiled and said, "What's wrong with that? It's not like Xiao Langjun is ignoring me on purpose. I love to see Xiao Lang Jun concentrate on studying. Sometimes he raises his eyebrows, sometimes moves the corner of his mouth, and sometimes he mutters something——
"
Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "It turns out that I still have so many little tricks. It seems that if I don't cultivate enough, I will be too far away from Mount Tai collapsing in front of me without being able to see for a moment - Sister Xiaochan, go to bed quickly and don't worry about me.
I can clean up the pen and ink myself."
Xiao Chan said: "I'll do it. Young Master, go wash up. When you get to the old mistress's room, speak softly. Don't let the old mistress know that you go to bed so late."
Chen Caozhi returned to his mother's room on the second floor. Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, was very alert. When she heard the noise, she asked: "Chou'er, what time is it now?"
Chen Cao said: "It's late. Because my third brother Chen Shang needed a manuscript urgently, I copied it to him, so I went to bed late."
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, smiled and said, "Don't try to hide it from me. The ugly days are over now. You are not allowed to sleep so late in the future. Okay, get some rest now."
Chen Caozhi knew that his mother had not fallen asleep, so he sighed softly and thought: "With a body like my mother's, even if no one blames me, how can I safely go to Jiankang? There will always be opportunities."
Yes, but there is only one mother."
Chen Caozhi woke up after less than three hours of sleep. He heard his mother whispering to Zongzhi and Run'er on the corridor: "Don't disturb your ugly uncle. Your ugly uncle slept late last night. Let him sleep again."
meeting."
Run'er said softly: "We won't quarrel with Uncle Chou. We will wait here for Uncle Chou to wake up."
Chen Caozhi said with a smile: "I've woken up." The two children rushed in and happily asked Chen Caozhi to take them to climb Jiuyao Mountain. This has become a habit. If you don't climb Jiuyao Mountain to see something every day,
When I look at it, I feel like something is missing.
Chen Cao said: "Okay, let Lai De go to the South Tower to invite my third brother Chen Shang to climb the mountain with us."
When they came to De, Ran Sheng led Zongzhi and Runer in front, while Chen Caozhi and his third brother Chen Shang walked slowly up the mountain while talking.
It was late autumn, and the westerly wind was blowing withered trees. The trees in Jiuyao Mountain were either green or yellow, and there were also bright red maple leaves, okra, osmanthus, red banana, and conifer chrysanthemums, all brightly dotted among the rocks and rocks in the mountains.
Chen Caozhi asked: "Three brothers came from Jiankang, do you know the news about Yuzhou Governor Xie Wanshi's northern expedition?"
Chen Shangdao: "We don't know the exact news yet. We only know that Zhuge You, the prefect of Mount Tai, was defeated in his attack on Yan, and Xi Tan, the governor of Xuzhou who was marching north at the same time as Xie Wanshi, withdrew from Pengcheng due to illness."
Xi Tan was Xi Chao's uncle. At that time, he was the general of Beizhonglang, leading Xu, and the governor of Yan'er Prefecture. At the same time, Xie Wan, the general of Xizhonglang and the governor of Yuzhou, was ordered to go to the Northern Expedition. Xi Tan's troops came out of Gaoping, and Xie Wan's troops went out of Xicai to reinforce Luoyang.
Luoyang was recaptured from Yao Xiang during Huan Wen's second Northern Expedition in the twelfth year of Yonghe. At that time, Huan Wen suggested moving the capital back to Luoyang, but everyone disagreed -
When Chen Caozhi heard that Xi Tan was ill, which was consistent with what later generations knew, he sighed: "Xie Wan's Northern Expedition will be defeated and returned, and Xuchang and Yingchuan counties will fall into the hands of the enemy again."
Chen Shang only remembered it in his mind and did not ask why Chen Cao was so sure that Xie Wan would fail. Anyway, he would know the news when he entered Beijing this time.
Chen Caozhi asked again: "When the third brother passed through Wu County, did he hear about the condition of Lu Shijun's son?"
Chen Shangdao: "I heard that he was bedridden. I was in a hurry to get back to Qiantang, so I didn't go to visit him."
Chen Cao said: "Lu Shijun and I have the kindness of knowing each other. Logically, I should go to visit Mr. Lu. However, my mother needs to be taken care of and I cannot go. I will write a letter later and ask the third brother to present it to Mr. Lu when he arrives in Wu County.
Envoy."
Chen Shang came down from Jiuyao Mountain. When Chen Caozhi wrote the letter, he packed the volume "Three Chapters on Mingshenghu Lunxuan" in his luggage, and went to the South Tower to say goodbye to his mother and younger brother, and then went to Jiankang. This was
He went to Jiankang for the third time since May this year.
At the end of August, Lai Zhen's wife Huang gave birth, and like Lai Gui's wife, she also gave birth to a son. Lai Fu's lineage is really prosperous. All the children in Lai Fu were sons. The two sons gave birth to two grandsons.
My daughters-in-law are both young and healthy, and they still have children.
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, was very envious when she saw the fat little boy. She thought how great it would be if Chou'er married Miss Lu and gave birth to such a sturdy baby boy!
September has arrived in the cold autumn, and Mrs. Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, has never been in good health. She often coughs at night and cannot lie down, and always half-reclines and half-sits on the bed. However, she is fine during the day and does not cough.
At noon on the fifth day of September, Chen Caozhi was having lunch with his mother. He heard the sound of oxcarts downstairs, and it seemed that several oxcarts were arriving, so he said to his mother: "Mom, let me go and take a look. There should be guests coming."
"As soon as I walked to the corridor, I heard someone shouting from downstairs: "Zizhong, Zizhong, Gu Kaizhi is here to visit."
Chen Caozhi leaned over and took a look, and saw an extraordinary handsome young man wearing a white silk shirt and a purple silk scarf looking up and around. This young man was nearly seven feet tall, with his eyebrows and eyes far apart. He seemed to be interested in everyone he saw.
Everything is extremely surprising and full of interest——
"Changkang!" Chen Caozhi shouted, his brows beaming with joy, he waved to the courtyard, turned back to his mother and said, "Mom, my friends are here. I'll welcome them up."
Chen Caozhi rushed downstairs and saw six bullock carts parked in the courtyard with more than a dozen people. Gu Kaizhi strode over, saluted Chen Caozhi, took Chen Caozhi's hand, looked at it carefully, and said:
"Brother Zizhong, after we saw each other in the twelfth lunar month last year, you seemed to be even more handsome. The most beautiful man in Jiangzuo must be you. Wang Xianzhi is the first in humanity. I thought Wang Xianzhi was not as good as you. Wang Xianzhi is too pale and beautiful."
Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "With Gu Hutou among the three masters, how dare I claim to be the first?"
Gu Kaizhi said curiously: "Three unique skills? Which three unique skills? Why don't I know them?"
Gu Kaizhi was known as "the best in painting", "the most infatuated", and "the most talented". This should not be said yet. Chen Cao said: "The three best are of course painting, poetry reciting and facial expressions."
While Chen Caozhi was chatting with Gu Kaizhi, he looked towards the other visitors. Following Gu Kaizhi came the tall and imposing Liu Shangzhi, followed by the good-looking Ding Chunqiu, who stood beside the bullock cart and smiled.
The young man looking at him with a broad forehead, a straight nose, long eyebrows and handsome eyes, and a dignified temperament was none other than Xu Miao and Xu Xianmin.
"Immortal people." Chen Caozhi pulled Gu Kaizhi over. Without waiting for Xu Miao to bow, he took his hand and said, "We are good friends. We don't have to stick to vulgar etiquette. Let's shake hands. It's worth it. Spring and Autumn
, let’s shake hands together.”
Liu Shangzhi and Ding Chunqiu came over with a smile, and the five people's ten hands were folded together. At this moment, the value of friendship filled the young hearts.
Gu Kaizhi became crazy and chanted loudly in his unique Gu Shengyong:
“If you are less than a hundred years old, you often worry about being a thousand years old.
The days are short and the nights are long, why not travel by candlelight?
It’s time to enjoy yourself, why wait for it to come?
A fool cherishes his money, but only for the sake of future generations.
Immortal Prince Qiao, it’s hard to wait.”
This is an ancient poem that Chen Caozhi sang in Luosheng aria on the night of his farewell last winter. Gu Kaizhi now chanted it in Jinling dialect, and Liu Shangzhi suddenly felt sleepy.
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, held on to the railing and asked with a smile: "Chou'er, are these all your friends? It's their first time for some of them to come to Chenjiawu."
Gu Kaizhi, Xu Miao, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu lined up in a row, bowed deeply to Mrs. Chen's mother Li on the second floor, and said goodbye: "Gu Kaizhi of Jinling——"
"Dongguan Xu Miao——"
"Junior Liu Shangzhi——"
"Junior Ding Chunqiu——Meet Aunt Chen."
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, was old and loved to lively. She was very happy to see so many guests coming at once, and said, "Please come up and sit down, Chou'er, you are so good at entertaining your friends."
Chen Caozhi led the four of them, Gu Kaizhi, to the second floor. The four of them went to see Chen's mother, Mrs. Li. Gu Kaizhi was confused and saw that Chen's mother, Mrs. Li's face was purple. He thought it was full of blood, and said: "Juniors, listen
Shang Zhi said that Aunt Chen is in poor health, Zi Zhong is very worried, and the younger generation is also worried about her. When I saw her today, I found that Aunt Chen is in very good health."
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, smiled and said: "The old woman's body is not bad, not bad. Mr. Gu is from Wu County, so I'll just stay here for a while. My son is lonely living in a small county, so you can
Traveling around lakes and mountains, writing and painting.”
Gu Kaizhi said happily: "This junior is about to win over Aunt Chen. When I come this time, I have to stay for a month. I can't bear to leave until I can move all the green mountains and beautiful waters into my painting."
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, liked Gu Kaizhi's cheerfulness and cheerfulness very much and kept saying "good" to him.
Run'er came over and asked: "Who is Gu Changkang and Gu Shishu? Who is Xu Xianmin and Xu Shishu?"
Gu Kaizhi and Xu Miao were both stunned. They had always called others Shibo and Shishu, but now they were called Shishu by such a cute little girl like Yuxue. They didn't come back to their senses.
After Gu and Xu told Run'er their names, Run'er and his brother Zongzhi greeted Gu, Xu, Liu and Ding respectively. Although they were young, their etiquette standards were meticulous.
Gu Kaizhi praised Chen Cao: "Zizhong, Jiankang Waguan Temple asked me to paint a mural for its main hall. I promised to finish it within three years. Among them, I wanted to paint a dragon girl. There has never been an image. I saw it today.
My niece Run'er, the little lady, has the image of a dragon girl."
Run'er asked: "Can Uncle Gu Shi also paint? Is he as good at painting as my ugly uncle?"
Gu Kaizhi laughed and said: "In two days I will paint a painting for Mrs. Run'er to review and see who ranks lower than your ugly uncle's painting."
None of Gu Kaizhi and his servants had eaten, but there were more than a dozen people. Zeng Yuhuan and his eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhao, were extremely capable and quick with their hands and feet. In less than half an hour, all the meals for more than a dozen people were cooked.
Chen Caozhi accompanied Gu Kaizhi and the four of them to have dinner. Chen Caozhi saw that Liu Shangzhi, who had always been humorous and good-looking, was unhappy, so he asked why?
Gu Kaizhi smiled and said: "It's time to resign, but I still can't let go, so I'm a little distressed."
