Chen Caozhi's mount "Zidian" and Ran Sheng's big white horse were shipped to Jiankang with the ship. Two of Chen's private soldiers brought the horses over. Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng mounted their horses in front of the gate of Gu Mansion——
Xiaochan came out carrying a baggage and said, "Little husband, bring it to Mrs. Lu's birthday present."
Chen Caozhi took the baggage and tied it on the back saddle, and said again: "Bring me Keting's flute."
Huang Xiaotong ran and fetched the wooden box containing Ke Ting's flute. Chen Caozhi tied the wooden box tightly to the back saddle with a silk ribbon. He cupped his hands to Gu Kaizhi and said, "Changkang, I'll be back tomorrow. If anyone comes to visit me,
, entertain me for a while."
Gu Kaizhi said: "Why do you need to order this? Lu's motorcade set off the day before yesterday and must have passed Jurong by now. Zi Zhong should be able to catch up in Qu'a."
Chen Caozhi responded, rode his horse to Qingxi Gate, and met Chen Shang in Yuanshi. Chen Shang jumped out of the ox cart and asked in surprise: "Where are you going, my sixteenth brother?"
Chen Cao said: "Run to see Miss Lu off."
Chen Shang naturally knew that Lu Weirui was forced to leave Jiankang, so he sighed and said, "Sixteenth brother, the King of Kuaiji invites you to a dinner party."
Chen Cao said: "Please third brother, please apologize to the King of Kuaiji on my behalf. I will come back tomorrow to pay homage to the King of Kuaiji."
Chen Shang nodded and said: "Okay, sixteenth brother, go and come back quickly. Be careful on the way and don't be too tired."
Watching Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng riding around Yuanshi, Chen Shang got on the bullock cart. He originally wanted to go back to see his sixteenth brother, but he didn't need to go back for the time being. He ordered the driver to go back to Situ's Mansion and thought to himself:
"When my sixteenth brother and I entered Jiankang with Mrs. Lu at the beginning of the year, I saw that Mrs. Lu was very kind to my sixteenth brother. I thought that the Lu family could really accept the sixteenth brother. Now it seems that the Chen family of Qiantang and the Lu family of Wujun are getting married.
It's impossible, the hope is too slim. With Lu Shi's determination, it will be difficult for the sixteenth brother to meet Lu Weirui in the future, let alone get married! But the sixteenth brother is arrogant and insists on marrying a girl from the Lu family. I am really worried about the sixteenth brother's marriage.
It’s hard to get back up after a setback!”
At this time, it was about the first quarter of noon. Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng galloped forward, running for twenty miles at a stretch. When they saw a layer of sweat on the shiny fur of the horse they dismounted, they slowed down the reins and let the horses
Jogging, I bypassed the town of Meilong and headed towards Jurong. I arrived in Jurong, a hundred miles away, at the end of the Spring Festival. I went to the largest inn in the county and found out that the Lu family rested here last night. Early this morning
left--
Chen Caozhi also stayed at this inn when he came to the capital with Mrs. Lu at the beginning of the year. The innkeeper recognized the handsome Mr. Chen and was very enthusiastic. Chen Caozhi asked the innkeeper to pull the two horses to feed beans. He and Ran Sheng asked
After eating a few vegetarian dishes and taking a short rest, I wanted to continue chasing Lu's motorcade.
The shop owner advised: "Mr. Chen, it's a gloomy day today. I'm afraid there will be heavy rain later. It's better to have a rest in Xiaoye and start our journey tomorrow."
It was the twilight hour, dusk was falling, and the clouds were thick in the sky, which was indeed a sign of heavy rain.
Chen Caozhi borrowed two pairs of rain gear from the shop owner, and left Jurong County in the dusk, heading for Qu'a County. He took advantage of the fact that it was not dark yet. Jurong County was more than fifty miles away from Qu'a County. Lu's
The motorcade set off from Jurong this morning and will definitely stay in Qu'a in the evening.
The horse's hooves rose and fell, his body bumped, and his heart also rose and fell. Chen Caozhi had never been so eager to see Lu Weirui as he is today. Calmness and elegance can now be put aside. He is just a passerby in the mortal world chasing his beloved.
, he wants to grasp the beauty of this world and not let himself regret it.
When the sky was completely dark, Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng had galloped for more than 20 miles. Their horses were tired, and there were no stars or moon in the sky. It was pitch black when they looked out, so they did not dare to rush their horses.
Ran Sheng, who had good eyesight, rode his horse forward and asked Chen Caozhi to follow him. Hearing the rumble of thunder in the sky, he thought that heavy rain was about to pour down. They both put on rain hats and raincoats and led the horse on foot.
, walked for more than ten miles, but heard the rustling of trees and grass leaves, and heavy rain swept from east to west, opening like a big curtain. In a moment, the heavy rain enveloped Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng——
It was a heavy rain, covering their heads and faces, making it difficult for the two night walkers to see the way forward. It was dangerous to travel in such thunderstorm weather. Chen Caozhi said loudly: "Xiao Sheng, let's find a place to take shelter from the rain first, and wait until the rain subsides."
On the way, I remember there is Yanling Jizi Temple nearby, we can go there to take shelter from the rain." He touched the baggage tied to the back saddle and secretly praised Xiaochan's carefulness. There was also a layer of tung oil cloth wrapped around the baggage.
The cloth is waterproof.
After walking for another half mile, he saw a fork in the road on the left. Chen Caozhi said happily: "This is it." He led his horse onto the fork in the road, and after walking about a hundred steps, he saw the light of lights shining through the rain curtain, which was Yanling.
Jizi Temple.
Ran Sheng praised: "Brother has such a good memory that he actually remembered that there is a temple here."
Chen Caozhi led the horse to the eaves of the temple and said, "Mr. Zhang Mo pointed it out to me when I came here, but he did not go inside to pay homage to Yanling Jizi."
The youngest son of Yanling was Jizha, the fourth son of King Shoumeng of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period. He lived in seclusion in Danyang because he did not want to inherit the throne. The youngest son of Yanling was upright, talented, and good at music and dance. The idiom "breathtaking" refers to him. Here
There is also an inscription said to be handwritten by Confucius - "Oh, there is the tomb of the gentleman Wu Yanling."
The incense Taoist priests in Jizi Temple were stunned when they saw Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng appearing in the heavy rain. One was extremely handsome, the other was extremely majestic.
After visiting the statue of Ji Zi in Ji Yanling Mausoleum, Chen Caozhi asked the Taoist priest Xianhuo for hot tea. After drinking a cup of hot tea, he asked where the inscription written by Confucius was.
The Taoist replied: "It's right behind the temple. It's difficult to see it when it's dark. There's a newly made inscription here. Would you like to take a look, sir?" Then he went to get the inscription.
Chen Cao looked at the paper. It was high-grade jute paper unique to Lu's Huating Villa. The rubbing work was exquisite and the ink color was unique. He asked, "Is this made by a Taoist?"
The man said: "A group of carriages and horses came in the afternoon. They were said to be from the Lu family in Wu County. They went to the back of the temple to see the cross monument. This post was carved by a young girl from the Lu family and left it as a gift to the small temple."
Chen Cao was overjoyed. It turned out that Wei Rui had also been here and that the inscriptions on the stele were actually made by Wei Rui. Thinking that Wei Rui's father, Lu Shijun, liked Wei Rui's inscriptions, he became obsessed with them and spent a lot of money to collect stele slips and inscriptions. Some of the inscriptions were because they were
The treasure of the temple could not be brought back, so Lu Shijun sat under the stele, touched it one stroke at a time with his hands, and then took out the copy with his own hands. Wei Rui was really paternal.
Looking at the ten seal characters written by Wei Rui, it was as if a clear spring was flowing around him. Chen Caozhi's uneasy heart suddenly calmed down wonderfully: Wei Rui had suffered so many grievances, but she did not change her love for beauty and the pursuit of knowledge.
Being with Wei Rui always makes him feel the sweetness and value of life——
Chen Caozhi begged the Taoist to give him this rubbing, put it away in his baggage, and put his hands behind his hands under the eaves to watch the rain fall at night. He saw that the rain would not stop for a while. Even if he arrived at Qu'a County, Lu Weirui had already rested.
After that, he asked a Taoist to stay overnight.
The Taoist said: "There are no beddings in the small temple. You two can walk half a mile east from the small temple and there is a village where you can stay overnight."
Chen Caozhi thanked the Taoist, put on his rain gear, and led his horse eastward with Ran Sheng. They stayed one night at a rich family's house in the village. At dawn the next day, he left Yanling Village and headed towards Qu'a County.
Come.
It rained heavily last night and the road was muddy. Horses galloped through it, leaving hoof prints all the way.
In autumn, the grass and trees are green and yellow, and there are many alders in Qu'a County. Although the alders are not as red as the maple trees, when viewed from a distance, they look like clusters of dark red flames.
Although the horse is moving quickly, Chen Caozhi's heart is not as anxious and angry as yesterday. He is going on a beautiful date!
…
Lu and his party stayed at the Wanshan Inn in Qu'a County. The inn was booked and cleaned the day before. Lu Weirui lived on the second floor of the inn, with the Jiuqu River outside the window.
It rained all night, and Lu Weirui felt a little uncomfortable with her bed, so she slept restlessly half asleep and fell into a deep sleep in the early morning.
The two personal maids, Short Hoe and Hairpin Hua, got up as soon as dawn. Seeing that the young lady was still sleeping soundly, they tiptoed to wash themselves.
Lu Weirui had a dreamy sleep in the early morning, and she entered a wonderful dreamland, as if she was on an oxcart, with green mountains and green waters outside the window. Suddenly she arrived at Chenjiawu and met Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, who kindly let Mrs. Ding
Ding's sister-in-law took her to look for Chen Caozhi. Ding's sister-in-law walked with her to the foot of Jiuyao Mountain and told her that Chen Caozhi was on the mountain and asked her to look for it by herself. She then looked for the way up the mountain, but she couldn't reach the top of the mountain no matter how hard she walked.
, I wonder where Chen Caozhi is? He was a little anxious when he heard the sound of a flute floating down from the top of the mountain. He couldn't help but feel happy, and he held up his skirt and climbed the mountain hard——
At this time, she suddenly woke up. Lu Weirui knew that she had dreamed of Chen Langjun again. Unfortunately, she woke up before they met each other this time. She was feeling a little melancholy, but she heard the sound of the flute in her dream still lingering beside her pillow.
Lu Weirui's eyes widened, she listened for a moment, then she sat up suddenly, sat down barefoot, ran to the window, lifted the sash, and saw the tall man playing the recorder under the alder tree on the bank of Jiuqu River, wasn't he?
Is it Mr. Chen whom she thinks about day and night?
Lu Weirui was so happy that she wanted to jump up. She didn't know why Chen Caozhi showed up here so early in the morning. It rained heavily last night. It was really magical. When she saw that Chen Caozhi hadn't seen her yet, she remained silent and stared at her.
She quietly listened to the completion of Chen Cao Zhi's piece. She had heard Chen Cao Zhi play this piece three years ago at the top of Jiu Yao Mountain. She had been lingering over and over again, deeply in love. It was Chen Langjun who played it specifically for her——
Ran Sheng had long noticed the open window on the second floor of the inn, saw Miss Lu's beautiful face, and reminded him: "Brother, Miss Lu is looking at you."
Chen Caozhi raised his eyes and met Lu Weirui's eyes, filled with tenderness and joy.
Lu Weirui signaled Chen Caozhi to wait for her further down the Jiuqu River. She hurriedly washed up and went downstairs to tell her brother Lu Chu that she wanted to go for a walk on the bank of the Jiuqu River behind the inn. Only then did she see okra on the bank upstairs.
beautiful.
Lu Chu said: "I'll go with Ruimei."
Lu Weirui said: "Thank you, fifth brother, I want to take a walk alone for a while."
Lu Chu said: "Well, Ruimei will come back early, and we will set off in Chenshi."
