Mrs. Lu, Zhang Wenwan, rested overnight in Wu County. When she set out early on the 26th, she added eight carts and more than ten followers. Together with Chen Cao and his entourage, a convoy of more than 20 ox carts passed through Wuxi.
Jinling, Danyang, arrived at Jurong County, Danyang County in the afternoon of the ninth day of February. Jurong County is more than a hundred miles away from Jiankang. At this time, it is only three quarters, and it is still early before dark. If we hurry up and make another journey, then
We can enter Jiankang City before dusk tomorrow, but Mrs. Lu ordered the convoy to stop in Jurong and start again tomorrow. The journey has been sunny and rainy, and the journey is always hard. We are not far from Jiankang City now.
You should take a good rest so that you won’t look too tired when you enter Jiankang. Moreover, Mrs. Lu has other considerations——
The famous scholar and painter Zhang Mo traveled with Chen Caozhi for more than 20 days. During the day, he admired the mountains and rivers of Wuzhong while walking. At night, he painted with brushes, competed with Chen Caozhi on painting skills, or drank tea and talked about mysteries.
Listening to music and playing chess, we got along very happily, and the longer the time passed, the more I felt that Chen Cao was extremely talented. Zhang Mo had never seen anyone who could have such knowledge at a young age, and Chen Cao's manners and manners were also extremely good.
It's so moving that when we sit and talk at night, we don't feel tired.
Mrs. Lu Zhang Wenwan also had the same feeling as her brother Zhang Mo. Talking with Chen Caozhi was like sitting on the spring breeze. Chen Caozhi would also cook tea with his own hands. This kind of tea said to be planted by Ge Hong has a lasting fragrance and a long aftertaste——
The largest inn in Jurong County had been booked by the steward of the Lu government who arrived here a day earlier. He was rewarded with a lot of money, cleaned up, and welcomed Mrs. Lu to move in.
That evening, after dinner, Zhang Mo came as usual to talk with Chen Caozhi about mysteries and paintings, and by the way, he tasted the fragrant tea cooked by Chen Caozhi. As soon as he sat down, Mrs. Lu's maid came to report that Mrs. An Daogong was here to greet you.
Chen Langjun went to discuss something.
Chen Caozhi and others lived on the ground floor, while Mrs. Lu was on the second floor. Chen Caozhi and Zhang Mo followed the maid upstairs to Mrs. Lu's large guest room. The furnishings of this room had been changed by Lu's servants.
, all the sitting and sleeping furniture were brought from Wu Jun. Mrs. Lu was not used to the beds and tables in the inn. Even the reed mats on the floor were made from the Huating reed mats she was familiar with. To outsiders, it seemed too luxurious, but for
As for Zhang Wenwan, who was born in the Zhang family of Wu County and married a top-notch man, he didn't think this was excessive at all, it was just a matter of comfort.
Zhang Mo asked: "What's the matter with Wanmei?"
Mrs. Lu smiled and said: "Nothing else, I just want to taste Cao Zhi's tea. I used to have chest tightness and dizziness when riding in the car, and my sleep was not good. These days, I follow Cao Zhi's advice and drink a cup of honey water before going to bed.
After sipping a cup of kudzu tea, I feel refreshed after traveling six hundred miles, and I don't feel the pain of the journey. I really need to thank you for this."
Chen Caozhi said with a smile: "It is a blessing for the younger generation to be able to share my worries with my wife."
A servant had already brought in the small charcoal stove. Chen Caozhi didn't need to do anything. He just waited for the water in the black pottery teapot to boil. When it first boiled, the water made a slight sound like the eyes of a fish. After a while, he saw that the edges of the teapot were like springs.
, at this time, you should lift the teapot, pour water one by one into the Yue kiln celadon tea cup where the tea leaves have been placed, and cover it with a lid. There is a small hole in the lid. It is February and the night is cold, so you can clearly see the thin
White air rises from the small hole, and then a faint fragrance of tea comes out——
Mrs. Lu quietly watched Chen Caozhi skillfully cooking tea. Every move was full of beauty. Her hair was as black as paint, her eyes were like bright stars, her temperament was as gentle as jade, and her face was smiling like a spring breeze. She couldn't help but think: "For
As far as the Lu family is concerned, marrying the Qiantang and Chen family is indeed detrimental to their reputation, but for Wei Rui, it should be a blessing to be able to marry such a beautiful man." He also thought: "Cao Cao has a bright career, which is by no means a humiliation.
It is not impossible for a low-income person to be promoted to a high-ranking official in the future, whether he enters Xifu or Yangzhou. On the other hand, the younger generation of the Lu family does not have outstanding children. Although the second uncle Lu Shi has a high and powerful official position, he is the minister of the fifth army.
But his temperament was too strong, which offended many Nandu nobles. It is said that Huan Wen was very dissatisfied. Since the Lu family was the leader of the Jiangdong nobles, they could only endure it, so the Lu family was not as stable as Mount Tai. No family has been prosperous and strong since ancient times.
Yes, if Cao Zhi enters the Xifu and becomes Huan Wen's confidant, then Wei Rui marrying Cao Zhi will not be of any benefit to the Lu family——"
Zhang Mo took a sip of tea and praised: "Good tea. This time the tea art is as good as the painting skills. Mysterious talk is as famous as Jiankang. Sima Da Situ is very good at drinking tea. Every holiday, the Situ Mansion
The place is full of famous people chatting, the tea is steaming, the tails are waving, the face is red, the ears are red, the mouth is dry, and tasting a cup of good tea is really a fairyland, and it is no better than taking Wushi Powder.
"
Mrs. Lu picked up the tea cup and took a sip, wiped her lips with a silk handkerchief, and said, "Fuck it, how about you spend a day in Jurong tomorrow?"
When Chen Cao heard this, he understood that Mrs. Lu did not want to enter Jiankang with him. Anyway, no one along the way knew about it. Now he would wait for a day and let Mrs. Lu and Zhang Andao enter the city first. Mrs. Lu also did not do anything in front of Lu Shi.
In order to avoid conflicts, he immediately nodded and said: "Yes, I understand."
Mrs. Lu nodded approvingly and said: "Cao Zhi said that there are water shields and sea bass in Jiangling Lake. Water shields are only available in March or April, and sea bass are always available. If there is no other delay, I will go to Jiangling on the 15th of this month.
We were out on the lake in the spring, and we wanted to see if there were any sea bass - well, Liu Shangzhi, a fellow countryman of Cao Zhi, was the secretary in the secretariat of Zuo Min Shangshu, right?"
Chen Caozhi responded: "Yes, Shangzhi is my good friend."
Mrs. Lu didn't speak anymore, she just drank tea slowly and listened to Zhang Mo and Chen Cao's discussion about paintings.
…
At midnight the next day, Mrs. Lu and Zhang Andao left Jurong for Jiankang. The largest inn in Jurong County was suddenly empty, with only ten people left, including Chen Caozhi, Chen Shang, Ran Sheng, Xiaochan, and Laizhen.
It was a sunny day and the spring scenery was bright. Chen Caozhi wanted to visit Jurong. He knew that there were two famous mountains in Jurong. One was Maoshan, which is known as the first blessed place in Taoism and the eighth cave; the other was Baohua Mountain, a famous Buddhist mountain.
, there are four wonders: "the beauty of the trees, the beauty of the peaks, the depth of the caves, and the rising haze." Of course, there is no such name as Baohua Mountain yet. The locals call it Huashan because in midsummer, wild flowers of all colors are all over the mountain.
It is as bright as rosy clouds, so it is called Huashan.
In his previous life, Chen Caozhi visited Maoshan Mountain a thousand years later, but had never been to Baohua Mountain, so he wanted to take advantage of this free day to visit Baohua Mountain. His third brother Chen Shang had caught a cold a few days ago, and he felt better in the past two days, so he stayed here.
Recuperate at the inn.
When driving to Zhen, Chen Caozhi, Ran Sheng and Xiao Chan went to visit Baohua Mountain. Baohua Mountain is ten miles north of Jurong City, bordering Tieweng in the east, Jinling in the west, Juqu in the south, and the river in the north. It has three
The sixteen peaks are like lotus flowers in full bloom, and are extremely beautiful. Although Huashan Mountain was not as well-known as Maoshan Mountain in the Jin Dynasty, in terms of the beauty of the scenery, it is even better than Maoshan Mountain.
When we arrived at Dehuashan, it was already noon, the spring sun was shining brightly, and the spring flowers were blooming. It was really a beautiful scene.
Lai Zhen and the bullock cart stayed at the foot of the mountain, while Chen Caozhi, Ran Sheng, and Xiao Chan traveled to the mountain. Ran Sheng smiled and said: "Sister Xiao Chan, just stay at the foot of the mountain and have a look. If you can't walk later, no one will carry you down the mountain."
."
Xiaochan glared at Ran Sheng: "I asked you to carry me on your back."
Ran Sheng smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare."
Xiaochan blushed and changed the subject: "Hey, what flowers are so fragrant?"
Chen Caozhi was savoring it attentively and said: "It seems to be white magnolia, but white orchid is not so fragrant. This kind of fragrance is strong but not greasy, refreshing and refreshing. It is really the best."
The three of them stopped traveling to the mountains and followed the scent of flowers to find out what kind of flowers they were.
Turning a hillside, I saw three huts. A big white horse was tied under a Gongsun tree in front of the hut. There were five or six flowering trees on the slope behind the hut, more than two feet high, with light gray trunks and sloping branches upwards.
Stretching, the flowers are divided into two colors, the white ones are like mutton-fat jade, and the red ones are like jade smeared with rouge. They are very beautiful. The breeze blows and the fragrance of the flowers bursts.
Chen Cao said: "This should be a kind of magnolia. I don't know what kind it is? It is really rare." He thought to himself: "We love flowers. If we know that there is such a different species, we will definitely come to see it."
Ran Sheng said: "Young gentleman, why don't we dig one up and give it to Miss Lu?"
Before he finished speaking, someone in the hut said: "Vulgar things, vulgar things, if you see good things in the world and want to move them to your own home, you really insult such famous flowers."
Ran Sheng was displeased and said loudly: "Who are you talking about being vulgar? We dug up flowers and trees not to use them as firewood, but to appreciate them and to cultivate them carefully. Do you understand?"
Ran Sheng's voice was loud, and the people in the hut were silent. After a while, a man walked out. He was a monk with a bald head and a ring scar. This monk was in his twenties and was quite tall. He was only taller than Chen, who was seven feet four inches tall.
Cao Zhi is slightly shorter, but his appearance is very ugly, with a protruding forehead, a raised mouth, ears that catch the wind, a short nose, and a long philtrum, but his two eyes are clear and lively——
Zhang Chao, a man from the Qing Dynasty, said: "There are those who are ugly but respectable in appearance, and there are those who are not ugly but not worthy of recognition; there are those who are lovable despite being poor in literature, and there are those who are proficient but extremely disgusting." The ugly monk in front of me is ugly but respectable in appearance.
By.
The young ugly monk saw the eight-foot-tall Ran Sheng standing in front of the hut as majestic as an iron tower. He was surprised and said: "What a big man!" He glanced at Chen Cao again and praised: "What a handsome man.
!”
Chen Caozhi saluted and said: "Xiaojie is young and rude, Taoist, don't blame me." Monks in the Jin Dynasty could also be called Taoist.
The ugly monk Heshi returned the courtesy and said: "Little monk Zhi Fahan, is Tan Yue really here to dig up this precious magnolia?"
Chen Cao thought to himself: "It turns out that this flower is called Pearl Magnolia." He smiled and said: "No, I just came here to seek fragrance. Flowers and trees cannot be transplanted at will. Without knowing their habits, transplanting hastily will destroy the nature of flowers and trees. Flowers and trees often tend to
Wither and die.”
Ugly monk Zhi Fahan's eyes lit up, he raised his palm and said, "That's wonderful. Tan Yue is an elegant man. Dare you ask me your name?"
Chen Cao's way: "Qian Tang and Chen Cao."
Zhi Fahan's eyes widened, he looked Chen Caozhi up and down, and said with a smile: "Jiang Zuo Wei Jie is well-deserved."
At this time, an old man and two teenage boys came out of the hut. When the two boys saw Ran Sheng, they stuck out their tongues and exclaimed. This was the first time they saw such an elder.
The old man said to Chen Cao: "Your distinguished guest is also here to visit Baozhu Magnolia. Please come in and have a bowl of tea and rest."
Chen Cao said: "May I ask my father-in-law, can this precious magnolia be transplanted? If there is a sapling, please give me one."
The old man shook his head and said: "It cannot be transplanted. The magnolia can only survive in the Huashan area. If transplanted elsewhere, it will quickly wither."
Chen Cao said: "That's it. I don't dare to disturb my father-in-law. I'll just take a look at the flowers and trees."
The ugly monk Zhi Fahan accompanied Chen Caozhi to the back of the hut to view the precious magnolia. He said that he was ordered by his master to find a treasure land suitable for building a Buddhist temple nearby. He asked him who his revered master was. He replied: "Zhi Daolin."
Chen Cao's eyebrows were raised, and Zhi Daolin's reputation was like thunder. Zhi Daolin's common surname was Guan. Because his master was from Yue Zhi in the Western Regions, and his disciples took his master's surname, he changed his surname to Zhi.
, one of the six great masters of Prajna studies, known as Zhigong. He became a monk at the age of twenty-five and entered Jiankang at the age of twenty-six. He is famous for his clear talk and abstruse debate. King Meng of Taiyuan praised him for "the merits of making small things are not reduced by his successors."
The assistant heir was Wang Bi, the leader of metaphysics in the Zhengshi period, and Yin Rong of Chen County praised Zhi Daolin as the reincarnation of Wei Jie. Although Zhi Daolin was a monk, he paid attention to style and had the habit of being a famous scholar. He also interacted with Liu Hui.
Celebrities such as Yin Hao, Xu Xun, Xi Chao, Sun Chuo, Wang Xizhi, and Xie An were good at official script and Zhangcao. They talked eloquently about helping Buddhism to enter Taoism. There were few people who could argue with him. They originally lived in Zhishan Temple, Xishan River, Yinglangya
The king invited the great Situ Sima Yu to settle in Dong'an Temple in Jiankang and give lectures on "Prajna Dao Sutra". The Taoism and customs admired it, and the government and the public were pleased. Zhi Daolin was often invited to attend the elegant talk gatherings in Situ's mansion. Zhi Daolin talked about Zhuangzi.
The famous scholars took turns to argue, but no one was his opponent. People at the time lamented that Zhi Daolin was Wang Bi or He Yan wearing a cassock——
The sun was setting in the west, and Chen Cao's master and servant were on their way home. The ugly monk sent Fahan to the Gongsun tree and led the big white horse down the mountain with Chen Cao. Ran Sheng said with envy: "The monk also rides a horse, tsk tsk, that's strange!
"
Zhi Fahan rolled his eyes and said, "Why can't a monk ride a horse? My master raises several horses. Some people criticized his family for raising horses. I replied, 'The poor Taoist attaches great importance to his sacred horses.' Someone once gave a pair as a gift.
I gave the big crane to my master, and my master let it fly away, saying, 'Things that soar to the sky would rather be a plaything for the ears and eyes!'"
Ran Sheng said: "The crane can fly, why can't the horse be given away? The monk is riding a horse, it looks too awkward, how about giving this horse to me -"
Chen Caozhi scolded: "Xiao Sheng, don't talk too much."
Zhi Fahan laughed loudly and asked Ran Sheng's age first. When he learned that he was only sixteen years old, he was surprised and said: "This is a natural warrior. He should ride a horse. But there is no reason to give it away for nothing. The young monk has heard about Qian Tang for a long time."
Chen Caozhi is well versed in Confucianism, Mysticism, and Buddhism, and has long wanted to learn from them. Today, when we meet strangers, I dare to ask for an argument. If he wins, the monk will give me this horse as a gift. If Chen Tanyue loses - "
"So what if we lose?" Ran Sheng asked hurriedly.
Zhi Fahan smiled and said: "No, just smile and leave."
Chen Cao said: "I will never gamble with others."
Ran Sheng looked longingly at Chen Caozhi. He really liked this big white horse. When he saw its head held high and its hooves striving, the blood in his whole body felt like it was boiling.
Chen Caozhi ignored Ran Sheng's pleading eyes, waved his sleeves, and walked down the mountain calmly.
However, the ugly monk Zhi Fahan followed Chen Caozhi to the inn in Jurong County and seemed to refuse to give up.
