Xie Wan and Chen Caozhi were waiting in the foyer of Lu Mansion. Xie Wan was pacing back and forth on his high-toothed wooden clogs, looking sideways at Chen Caozhi. Chen Caozhi was still his usual unhurried, gentle and calm look. Xie Wan
I secretly praise this son for his extraordinary bearing. Apart from his humble family background, he is a top choice in terms of talent, appearance and character. If he can really become the good son-in-law of the Lu family, his career will skyrocket. Although the Lu family is the top family member of Sanwu,
However, compared with Wang and Xie, the younger generation did not have very outstanding children. Accepting Chen Caozhi as his son-in-law should have more benefits than disadvantages for the Lu family. Unfortunately, Lu Shi was stubborn and did not understand the rationale for this change. Lu Shi did not nod.
, it would be impossible for Chen Caozhi to marry a girl from the Lu family——
Xie Wan then thought of her niece who was already in her twenties. That was also a headache. The woman was so talented and had a high vision. She was simply arrogant. There were no children from the Beiqiao family that she could like. How could she let Sanwu do it?
Children of wealthy families also come to participate in the monthly gatherings held by the Xie Mansion. People from the south and the north rarely intermarry, and the Xie family in Chen County does not want to start such a thing.
Although Xie Wan knew that Chen Caozhi was invincible in mysteries and had shocked everyone in the Situ Mansion yesterday, he did not think about Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun together. The first reason was that the incident between Chen Caozhi and the Lu family girl was making a lot of noise.
It has been circulated for nearly three years that when Chen Caozhi's marriage is mentioned, the girl of the Lu family will immediately be thought of. This has become a fixed mindset; secondly, Xie Wan also looks down on the poor and inferior nobles from the bottom of his heart.
Guan Jidi thought that Lu Shi was stubborn and showed his insight by analyzing the pros and cons of Lu's accepting Chen Caozhi as his son-in-law in a methodical manner. However, if Chen Caozhi asked Xie to marry him, I'm afraid Xie Wan would be like Lu Shi.
He was furious. When it comes to the interests of his own family, it is difficult for people to be fair and objective. What's more, after his defeat in Shouchun, the Xie family of Chen County once faced an unprecedented crisis. The third brother Xie Anshi had to come out. In the past two years,
The foundation of the family has finally been stabilized and it is currently developing rapidly. If the Xie family wants to marry the Chen family at this time, it will probably bring a great loss to the family's reputation. At this point, the Xie family from Chen County who crossed the Yangtze River is not as good as
In the Lu family, which is deeply rooted in Sanwu, the rumor that the girl was going to marry into a poor family did not seem to have much impact on the reputation of the Lu family in the past two years. This is of course because Chen Caozhi is indeed outstanding, and the man who has dominated Jiangdong for two hundred years has not had much impact on the reputation of the Lu family.
The strong power of the Lu family is also an important reason. This is the advantage of the Soochow family. Even the Langya Wang family, the largest family in Nandu, cannot compare. Therefore, Xie Wan did not think about Chen Caozhi and his niece Xie Daoyun at all.
I think that's completely impossible——
Xie Wan did not know that his third sister-in-law, Liu Dan, once said to Xie Daoyun, "If you are less than a hundred years old, you will fight if you like him." If he had known about it, he would have scoffed at it, thinking that it was a woman's shallow opinion, and strongly opposed it.
Xie Wan's appreciation for Chen Caozhi comes from the bottom of his heart and is not hypocritical, but the premise is not to harm the interests of the Xie family. Therefore, Xie Wan is actually no different from Lu Shi, and is more gentle and affectionate than Lu Na.
Emphasis on false reputation.
Lu Na's original dissatisfaction with Chen Caozhi has been reduced a lot since yesterday's interview with Dazhongzheng. He feels that Chen Caozhi really likes Wei Rui and is not trying to get into the family status and want to use the Lu family to rise to power, but these things have made Lu Na
Na also just thought about it in his heart. He did not have the courage to resist his brother and the entire family. He could not marry Wei Rui to Chen Caozhi. This was a very helpless thing. When he heard that Chen Caozhi was visiting, he thought to himself: "
Could it be that Chen Caozhi asked Xie Wan to come and propose to Wei Rui?"
Zhang Wenwan on the side saw that Lu Na was frowning and silent, and the steward was still waiting for instructions, so he said: "Husband, it doesn't matter if you meet Chen Caozhi, just treat it as if nothing happened, just like before in Wu County."
Lu Na nodded and asked the steward to thank him. Chen and Chen met in the main hall. He straightened his clothes and went out. When he was about to go out, he looked back and saw his daughter Lu Weirui's clear eyes. The expectant look in his eyes made him laugh. Lu Na's heart strings trembled slightly, and he walked out of the study door without stopping.
When Chen Caozhi saw Lu Na, he was just like when he was still studying in Wu County, he could freely enter and leave the Lu Mansion. He was polite and impeccable.
Lu Na was surprised that he didn't have any resentment towards Chen Caozhi. He was also calm as an elder. He asked Chen Caozhi about his three years of filial piety, what books he had read, and his calligraphy... which made Xie Wan on the side look a little confused. Surprisingly, Lu Na's magnanimity is really admirable. He can express his emotions and anger without expressing his emotions. He is simply better than his third brother Xie Anshi.
When Lu Na heard that Xie Wan came to see the "Picture of Huan Yi Presenting the Flute", he said: "This picture is hidden in my study. If Xie Changshi wants to see it, please go to my humble study room to have a look." He called a man. Little child, let the little child run to the study first and let Zhang Wenwan and Lu Weirui go back to the inner courtyard.
Chen Caozhi and Xie Wan came to Lu Na's study room in the front yard, which was decorated like the study room in Lu Mansion in Wu County. The year before last, Lu Na had been included in Jiankang. Enjoy your leisure time.
Lu Na personally found the silk scroll "Huan Yi Presenting the Flute" from a row of bookcases along the wall. He turned around and saw Chen Caozhi and Xie Wanzheng looking at the "Spring Dawn in Jiangling Lake" on the desk. Facing the large drop of ink that appeared on the lake's surface, he sighed: "What a beautiful painting, how can it be stained?"
Lu Na said: "This is a little girl's practice work. I accidentally scrapped it and didn't put it away, which made Xie Changshi laugh." He ordered the boy to put the painting away.
Chen Caozhi stopped and said, "Wait a minute." He said to Lu Na, "Lu Shijun, let me take another look at this painting."
Lu Na would not refuse, so he exhibited "Huan Yi Presenting a Flute" to Xie Wan for viewing.
When Xie Wan saw Chen Caozhi looking at the abandoned painting attentively, he said: "Caozhi and Gu Kaizhi are both disciples of the Hedong Wei Association and are also good at painting. Could it be that he wants to save this "Spring Dawn at Jiangling Lake"?"
Chen Caozhi nodded and said: "It's a pity that such a masterpiece should be ruined like this. If Lu Shijun allows it, Caozhi would like to try to save it."
Xie Wan smiled and said: "This is such an elegant thing, how can Brother Zuyan not allow it?"
Lu Na said casually: "Just add and change it at will. It's a useless painting anyway."
Chen Caozhi knelt down beside the writing desk, first took an ordinary paintbrush, dipped it in ink, looked at the painting for a moment, then put two more ink spots near the ink stain——
"Eh!" Xie Wan and Lu Na were both surprised. One ink stain was already difficult to deal with, and now there were two more. Three ink spots appeared on the lake surface represented by the white space method, which was very dazzling!
Xie Wan was no longer in a hurry to appreciate "Huan Yi Presenting the Flute". He stood with his hands behind Chen Caozhi's left side and wanted to see how Chen Caozhi could save this painting.
Chen Caozhi took another paintbrush and dipped it in water, and slightly painted the three ink spots to make the ink spots look darker and more layered, not just a black patch. Then he selected a small tube of purple hair from the brush hanging on the pen holder. The pen, using Wei Xie's unique iron money outline method, carefully outlines the largest ink spot, as if it looks like a pavilion, then uses vermilion, garcinia, and cyan to blend, and uses small freehand dot dyeing to draw colorful purples and reds. The faint flowers and green mountain scenery are treated the same way on the two ink spots. The painting methods are different, and the differences complement each other, which is full of life and interest——
In only two quarters of an hour, three beautiful islands appeared in the vast Jiangling Lake. The one in the middle was the largest. The mountains were visible in the shades of ink, and the pavilions and pavilions were hidden among the green trees and flowers. Those trees, those flowers It's not clear, it's just color rendering, but at a glance, people know that it is a tree and that is a flower. The meaning lies in the pen first, and the charm is vivid; on the other two small islands, only the flowers and trees can be seen floating vaguely, giving a sense of emptiness. ——
Xie Wan exclaimed: "The truth of Cao Cao is to turn stone into gold. Three ink spots turned into three islands in the lake in a blink of an eye. It's so wonderful! It's so wonderful!"
Lu Na is also a big surprise, and Chen Caozhi is always unexpected and breathtaking.
Xie Wan was full of admiration and asked with a smile: "Three islands have been added to Jiangling Lake. May I ask Cao Zhi, what are the names of the three islands?"
Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "These three sacred mountains are Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. They are among the ethereal mountains."
Thousands of years later, Xuanwu Lake did have three islands named Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. They were formed from the accumulation of silt cleared during the dredging of the lake, so this is not Chen Caozhi's genius.
"Three God Mountains are wonderful!" Xie Wan held up his hands and praised.
Lu Na was very happy. When the ink was a little dry, he ordered the boy to send this "Spring Dawn at Jiangling Lake" to Wei Rui to see, which also made Wei Rui happy.
Lu Weirui was in her stepmother Zhang Wenwan's room, worried. She didn't know what Chen Caozhi's intention was when he came to the house.
Zhang Wenwan comforted him: "Chen Caozhi is just paying a courtesy visit. Didn't he ask you to wait for him for another three years? So he won't come to ask for marriage now. You don't have to worry about him being rejected or left cold."
Lu Weirui said: "But mother, it would be bad if my second uncle barged in at this time."
While they were talking, the child brought "Spring Dawn at Jiangling Lake". Lu Weirui wondered why her father had sent this invalid painting in. She opened it and took a look, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Ah, mother, come and see!"
Zhang Wenwan didn't know what changes had occurred in the painting. Wei Rui's cheeks turned red with joy. She came over to take a look. She was surprised and happy, and said with a smile: "This is Chen Langjun's handiwork. Chen Langjun saved your painting." came back."
Lu Weirui was so happy that she wanted to jump up. She sat there with her fingers intertwined, her heartbeat rising and falling, staring at the three islands in the painting in a daze. She suddenly stood up and said, "Mother, I'm going to the back garden for a walk." Zhang Wenwan quickly walked out. bedroom.
Zhang Wenwan was worried that Lu Weirui would run to see Chen Caozhi desperately, so he hurriedly followed him out. He saw that Lu Weirui was indeed going to the back garden, walking very fast with the wind in his skirt, and in the blink of an eye he turned around the corridor and disappeared.
When Zhang Wenwan and several maids rushed to the back garden, they did not see Lu Weirui. The maid said that Miss Weirui went out from the back door and said she wanted to go boating on Hengtang.
The back garden of Lu Mansion is on the north bank of Hengtang. Zhang Wenwan walked out of the small gate of the back garden and saw a small scull boat already several feet away from the shore. Two servant women were steering the boat. Lu Weirui and the maidservant were sitting on the bow of the boat.
Lu Weirui asked in a sweet voice: "Mother, do you want to take a boat?"
Zhang Wenwan shook his head and asked, "Where is Rui'er going?"
Lu Weirui pointed toward the center of the lake: "Go to the island."
There is also an island in the center of Hengtang Lake, which is about two acres wide. It is steep in the east and flat in the west. It is planted with hundreds of canna plants. The flowers are red and bright yellow. They are bright and gorgeous under the setting sun in the afternoon.
Zhang Wenwan laughed and warned: "Be careful getting on and off the boat."
Lu Weirui responded and the boat sailed away with "Oh no".
The boat made clear waves, and the pretty Lu Weirui looked like a figure in a picture. Zhang Wenwan smiled and shook his head, thinking: "This Chen Caozhi, with just a few strokes, has taken away the soul of my family's Weirui. Alas, it's all like this." Now, if you don’t marry Chen Caozhi, who else can you marry?”
When Lu Weirui arrived on the island and watched the cannas for a time, she heard the little maidservant say eagerly: "Little lady, little lady, someone has come out over there."
Lu Weirui picked up her skirt and ran to the north side of the island to look towards the lake shore. She saw four healthy servants carrying a shoulder cart with fluttering curtains passing by. Naturally, the person sitting on the shoulder cart was Xie Wanshi, and there were others behind him.
Followed by several attendants——
Lu Weirui waited with her heart pounding. Sure enough, she saw an ox cart approaching. The grown man walking beside the ox cart was none other than Ran Sheng. Unfortunately, she didn't see Chen Langjun. Chen Langjun
Sitting in a bullock cart.
The little maid asked: "Little lady, do you want to give me a shout?"
Lu Weirui shook her head and said softly: "Throw a stone into the lake."
Short hoe's eyes lit up, he picked up a small stone and threw it into the lake. It was only three or four feet away. The splash was like a fish "splashing" and made a soft sound. It couldn't disturb the stone thirty feet away at all.
Lakeshore pedestrians.
The short hoe got anxious and picked up a bowl-sized stone and threw it into the lake. With a "bang", a large splash of water made her and Lu Weirui's skirts wet.
The tall and majestic Ran Sheng looked over now. After just one glance, he approached the car window and said something to the people in the car. The oxcart stopped, and Chen Cao got out of the car. He did not stop, but just approached the lake shore.
Walking in the sunshine, facing the small island in the middle of the lake, the picturesque eyebrows and shining eyes are clearly visible.
Lu Weirui raised one hand in front of her chest and waved it gently, while Chen Caozhi nodded slightly. Although the smiles on their faces were tens of feet apart, they could penetrate into each other's hearts, making them infinitely warm.
Lu Weirui stood on the small island of Hengtang, watching Chen Caozhi go further and further away until he disappeared.
The maid waited for a while, but when she saw that Lu Weirui had no intention of going back, she said, "My dear, go back. By the way, I should go find my brother."
Lu Weirui suddenly remembered that today was already February 19th. Last time, she agreed to send Banli to the Gu Mansion this evening to inquire about when Chen Langjun went to Dongshan Temple.
Lu Weirui returned home by boat, and the maid went to the front yard to find her brother Banli. Unexpectedly, Banli had been waiting for her for a long time. He said that when Ran Sheng left before, he told him that Chen Langjun was going to Dong'an Temple tomorrow morning.
, Lord Zhi has sent his disciple Zhi Fahan to invite him.
Short hoe quickly informed the young lady Wei Rui of the news, and Lu Wei Rui went to see her stepmother Zhang Wenwan. Zhang Wenwan smiled and said, "We have already met today, do we have to meet her every day?"
Lu Weirui's face turned red and she twisted her waist slightly to act coquettishly: "Mother——"
Zhang Wenwan said: "Okay, okay, I'll go early tomorrow morning. Anyway, I told your father a few days ago that I would go to Dong'an Temple to offer incense. Your father has already agreed. I will tell him later during the meal."
