Forty-seven, the shadow of flowers separated by the curtain
When Xie Xuan returned to the Xie family's mansion in Wuyi Lane, it was completely dark. In the distant eastern sky, a semicircular moon was dimly covered with clouds and the clear light was faint. Xie Xuan stood in front of the gatehouse for a long time, listening to the water of the Qinhuai River in the dark night.
The long and thin gurgling, looking from both sides, the long Wuyi Lane is actually deserted, and Wang Xie's residence is also more dark than lit -
The doorman of Xie's Mansion came out with a lantern. Xie Xuan ordered the doorman not to disturb his fourth uncle Xie Wan. He went straight to the backyard, walked through the corridor to listen to the rain, and came to the small courtyard where his sister Xie Daoyun lived. There were weeping willows inside and outside the courtyard wall.
Yiyi, it is mid-April now, the roses planted by my sister should be in full bloom, and the fragrance of the flowers is astonishing in the evening breeze——
"Zheng Zheng Gong Gong——"
The slow and elegant sound of the lyre came out through the flower shadows behind the curtains. The overtones became clearer and clearer, and the open string sounds were endless. It was the famous song "Chang Qing" by Ji Zhongsan.
Xie Daoyun got this piece from Chen Cao. Xie Xuan knew that Chen Caozhi also changed Ji Kang's "Changqing" and "Duanqing" piano music into recorder music. When he was in Wujun, he listened to Chen Caozhi.
After playing it, I couldn't help but think that if my sister's banana leaf qin and Chen Zizhong's Keting flute played "Chang Qing Song" together, it would be extremely beautiful, right?
Another open string sounded, buzzing continuously, and my sister Xie Daoyun's voice suddenly sounded in the courtyard:
"Are you back? Please come in."
Xie Xuan said in surprise: "How did sister know it was me?"
Xie Daoyun smiled and said, "Just count it with your fingers, and you'll know."
Xie Xuan walked into the courtyard gate. There were two lanterns hanging on the corridor, and the lights were dim. His sister Xie Daoyun was standing beside the rose stand, with bright and dark light and shadow, and a graceful figure. A little maid said to him: "Mr. Yelang——"
Xie Xuan just vaguely saw someone's figure flashing past while he was listening to the piano outside the courtyard. It must have been the little maid who saw him before going to report to his elder sister. He didn't say anything at the moment, only gave a salute to her elder sister, and stood quietly on the rose flower stand.
The side, the fragrance of flowers, the courtyard is quiet, but the wild horse is galloping inside -
Xie Daoyun obviously felt the silent pressure from his younger brother, and said: "Ah, come and sit in the study." He waved his hand to the maid to leave, and there was no need to wait.
Xie Xuan followed his sister Xie Daoyun into the study and sat down. He watched his sister picking out the wicks. Her slender hands were very steady and she seemed to be determined. She said, "Sister, I haven't had time to see my fourth uncle yet -"
Xie Daoyun said: "Well, Ah Wei has something to say, right?"
Xie Daoyun is the eldest sister, and can also be said to be half of Xie Xuan's teacher. She has always been strict. Although Xie Xuan is now an adult, he is still in awe of this eldest sister. He immediately bowed slightly and said: "Sister, Huan Da Sima Zheng
Zhu Yingtai has been appointed as the governor of the government. The documents are here with me. I will also recruit Chen Caozhi. Tomorrow I will go to inform Lang Wangyun, the minister in charge of the official selection, to list the two of them in the official department.
, from then on he became a court official——" He paused and asked: "Why did my sister do this?"
Xie Daoyun looked at his younger brother Xie Xuan who was sitting across from him. After a year of experience in the army, he had become much more mature in appearance and temperament. Knowing that she was going to join the army under a pseudonym, he was not impatient and asked questions calmly, very much like his fourth uncle Xie An.
With his demeanor and bearing, he said: "I just don't want to be reconciled."
Xie Xuandao: "I know that my sister is more talented than me, but she is a woman after all. My fourth uncle is a talented man, but he has been living in seclusion in Dongshan for twenty years. He has to leave the mountain as a last resort. If my sister enters the West Mansion and becomes a slave, she will be captured by others.
If you know that as a woman, wouldn't that damage the family's reputation?"
Xie Daoyun said calmly: "Although a woman is an official, she is deviant and treasonous, but it is not a scandal. If I make achievements for the court, how can it damage the family reputation? In the Jin Dynasty, there were many wild people. Although I am a woman, I am special.
What’s wrong with traveling alone?”
Xie Xuan knew that he couldn't argue with his sister. He had never defeated her in an argument since he was a child. Now he wanted to point out his true feelings and dispel her idea of becoming an official. He said: "Sister, Xi Jinping once worked in Wu County
Having met you, he probably guessed that you were Xie Daoyun at that time——"
Xie Daoyun frowned and asked, "Has Xi Chao hinted to you?"
Xie Xuandao: "That's not true, but it's not hard to guess after contacting my sister Qing to talk about rejecting the marriage."
Ah Li's words were ambiguous and seemed to be pointing to something. Xie Daoyun's face turned red and he said, "I am choosing a son-in-law just by talking. How can I say that I am refusing to marry?"
Xie Xuan looked at his face and became more and more sure of his inner guess, and asked, "Have you chosen the right one?"
Xie Daoyun said: "Wei."
Xie Xuandao: "If my sister is an official, how can she find a husband?"
Xie Daoyun said: "It's okay not to marry for the rest of your life."
Xie Xuan was silent for a while and asked: "Do any of the elders in the clan know about this?"
Xie Daoyun said: "I mentioned it to my third uncle. I think my third uncle also knows about it."
Xie Xuan asked: "What did the third uncle say?"
Xie Daoyun said: "You want me to go to Wucheng with my third aunt."
"That's right." Xie Xuandao: "My third uncle will not allow you to go out to serve as an official. My sister quickly wrote down a letter of resignation. I handed it to Duke Huan, saying that you have no intention of becoming an official and are determined to live in seclusion."
Xie Daoyun shook his head and said: "I have made up my mind, and I think it will be beneficial to the family if I join the Xifu as a slave."
Of course Xie Xuan would not think like Xie Daoyun. It is unbelievable for a man to indulge in wild and strange behavior as a celebrity, but for a woman to be an official. He also knows his sister's temperament, and it is difficult for her to change her mind——
When Xie Xuan left his aunt and returned to Jiankang, Duke Huan once told Xie Xuan to invite Chen Caozhi and Zhu Yingtai. Xie Xuan thought about it all the way and decided that it would be impossible for his sister to go to the Xifu to serve as an official.
But how to convince my sister?
There was a rustling sound outside the window, and it started to rain lightly, and the night became darker and darker.
Xie Xuan looked at the lamp flames and suddenly said: "Sister, before I return home, I went to see Chen Zizhong——"
Xie Daoyun's heart skipped a beat and his expression remained unchanged.
Xie Xuandao: "Now I have to go see Chen Zizhong again——"
Xie Daoyun was shocked and confused. She couldn't guess what her brother Xie Xuan wanted. This was a rare thing for her. Her brother Xie Xuan was very scheming. She wanted to ask what was going on when she went to see Chen Caozhi, but she was reserved and refused to ask.
She must hold her nerve now. If she lets out her anger, she will be crushed. Ah Wei will not return to Wu Xia A Meng, so she must deal with it carefully.
The two siblings were fighting for their wits like this. Xie Xuan saw that his sister could keep his composure, so he said: "Sister, I will go and do my best to help my sister." After that, he stood up.
"Go ahead, go ahead." Xie Daoyun said angrily, "It's inexplicable!"
Xie Xuan asked for an umbrella from his maid, Siberian Catkins, and took two attendants with him. He did not ask for a carriage or horse, so he held an umbrella and walked through the long Wuyi Lane, crossed the Zhuque Bridge, and headed towards the Gu Mansion in the north of the city.
After Xie Xuan left, Chen Caozhi felt a little restless. He practiced Wu Qin Xi once in the courtyard and went back to his study to paint Suzhou gardens. When he heard that Xie Xuan came to visit again, he ordered Xiao Chan to cook a pot of tea and then left.
Have a long conversation with Xie Xuan alone.
Xie Xuan asked: "I heard that Zichong argued with my sister at Waguan Temple on Buddha's birthday and defeated my sister?"
Chen Caozhi also couldn't guess Xie Xuan's intention, so he replied: "I can't beat your sister, but I haven't lost either. It's like three consecutive tribulations in Go with no victory or defeat."
I call you Yingtai brother, otherwise it would be too pretentious.
Xie Xuanhan said with a smile: "That is to say, it is difficult for my sister to win an argument with Zi Zhong."
Chen Cao's way: "Youdu, you and I are good friends. If you have anything to say, say it directly. Don't make it seem like we are arguing every time."
Xie Xuan nodded and said: "This matter is of great importance, and we must take a roundabout way - Zizhong thinks that his sister will become an official in the name of Zhu Yingtai. What do you want?"
Chen Caozhi was wary in his heart and replied: "My sister once said that being a woman is too restrictive and she is less than 100 years old. Why not give it a try?"
Xie Xuandao: "My sister once promised Zizhong that she would be friends with Zi Zhong for life. If my sister restrains me, she will not be friends with Zizhong. This is why my sister is willing to risk the disapproval of the world to become an official."
The original intention of becoming an official.”
Chen Caozhi frowned and remained silent.
Xie Xuan stared at Chen Caozhi and said slowly: "Zizhong must also be aware of this. My sister's appointment as an official has a lot to do with Zizhong."
Chen Caozhi hesitated for a moment and asked, "What does Youdu want me to do to persuade your sister to give up this idea?"
Xie Xuandao: "For what my sister believes, persuasion is useless. There is only one way -"
"any solution?"
"You, Chen Zizhong, propose to my sister."
Chen Caozhi straightened up suddenly and looked at Xie Xuan in surprise. He remembered that Xie Xuan had asked him three years ago if he had made a commitment to his sister Xie Daoyun. He was afraid that he would have an affair with Xie Daoyun, but he did not expect that he would say goodbye tonight.
His proposal to Xie Daoyun was beyond his expectation——
Just listen to Xie Xuan calmly say: "Which is the lesser of two evils. Rather than letting my sister show up and go to the Xifu to serve as an official, it is better to marry Zizhong as my wife. Zizhong forgives me. I don't mean to look down on you at all.
The difference in family status does not exist without mentioning it. The marriage between a high-level noble family and a lower-level noble family will definitely affect the reputation. This is also the reason why the Lu family refuses to marry you. Unlike the stubborn Lu family, I, the Xie family, are open-minded and sophisticated.
, I am a friend of Zizhong, and I know very well his talents. My uncle An Shigong once praised his talents. Just think of the three names of Yi, Yi Ye, Chang Yi Ye, Di Yi Ye, and the family background is strict, Yi Ye;
The ups and downs of the world, the replacement of prosperity and decline, are subject to change; intelligence, knowledge, and extraordinary people are not easy to change. I, the Xie family, value people and would like to marry the Chen family of Qiantang."
Although Xie Xuan spoke eloquently, Chen Caozhi didn't like it. Compared with Lu's strict refusal, Xie Xuan's condescending attitude made him quite uncomfortable. Chen Caozhi was not a person who acted on impulse. He admitted that Xie
Xuan's words were very reasonable and he was more discerning than Lu Shi, but Xie Xuan, like Lu Shi, regarded marriage as a transaction, and Xie Xuan did not understand -
Chen Caozhi said calmly: "Young Du, I can't propose to your sister. I have an appointment with Miss Lu. I want to grow old with her and we will never let her go."
Xie Xuandao: "The Lu family will not marry a daughter to you, how can Zi Zhong wait all his life? In this way, he will not only miss his own life event, but also miss the Lu family's daughter. A wise man is good at planning and making good judgments. He knows that he cannot do anything but does it.
Is this what an expert does?"
Chen Cao said: "If two people are of the same mind and can cut through gold, I will definitely be able to marry Lu Weirui. As for my sister Yingtai and my brother, I only regard her as a good friend."
Xie Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice: "Zizhong, do you really only regard my sister as a good friend?"
For some reason, Xie Xuan lost his previous calmness and spoke with anger.
