On the evening of February 12th, Ran Sheng led a hundred sergeants back to Gusu Military Mansion from Jiankang. Laide also arrived with him. Two officers from Xie Mansion also came with him, but they brought bad news.
The Yang girl that Xuan was about to marry contracted the plague and died on the seventh day of this month.
After hearing the news, Xie Xuan remained silent and quietly read the letter written to him by his third uncle Xie An. Xie An's letter also contained Yang's funeral notice.
Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun on the side didn't know how to comfort them. Xie Xuan had planned to return to Jiankang in two days and was preparing to go to Guangling to marry the Yang girl. He also thought that after the marriage, he would take his wife to work in Nanjun, Jingzhou, but he didn't expect to get this today.
Sad news!
Xie Xuan's subordinates quickly reported the matter to Wei Chang, the chief clerk of the general's palace. Wei Chang reported it to Huan Wen, who came to Xie Xuan's residence to ask questions.
Xie Xuan asked Huan Wen: "I would like to sail down to Guangling tomorrow to express my condolences. I would like to ask for Duke Huan's permission."
Huan Wen said: "This is normal, and I don't deny it. Don't be too sad to thank me. You are the jade tree of the Xie family, so you should cherish it."
When Huan Wen returned to his home, Chen Caozhi followed him out and said: "Gong Huan, I would like to go with Xie Youdu tomorrow to check the epidemic situation and recommend that the prefectures and counties take measures to prevent it from spreading."
Huan Wen said: "Chen Yu said last year when the soil was cut off that he wanted to prevent epidemics. Although various states and counties have taken certain precautions, it is still difficult to avoid natural disasters. There is no need for Chen Yu to go. The Chancellery will write a document asking all places to strictly prevent epidemics."
Chen Cao said: "Last year, my teacher, Mr. Zhikawa, left a book called "Lun Qi" as a gift to me before his death. I hope I can urge someone to take precautions for prevention and control. Now I will go back with Youdu to make a brief observation. It won't be too much.
If there is any delay, please ask the Chief Sima for permission."
Huan Wen nodded and said: "Chen Yucheng is a benevolent gentleman. Then tomorrow you will go down to Guangling with Xie Yu. Be careful not to get infected with the epidemic. You are a person Huan relies on." When he was about to get into the car, he turned around and said, "Zhu Yu, let's go too.
, I will conquer Gu Kaizhi and enter the Western Prefecture for me. After returning from Guangling, he will go to Jiankang to wait for orders. When Di Qin replies, I will inform you of your mission."
Chen Caozhi returned to Xie Xuan's residence and told Xie Daoyun and Xie Xuan about going to Guangling with him. Early the next morning, Xie Daoyun went to the Shishi Office to receive the document summoning Gu Kaizhi to the Western Mansion. Then he rode with Chen Caozhi and Xie Xuan on horseback.
Go to Jiangkou Xifu Navy Pier, board a boat from there and go down the river to Guangling.
Chen Caozhi asked Shen Chiqian and Ran Sheng to stay in Gushu to wait for their orders. Ran Sheng was appointed as the governor of the Thousand People Department and was ordered to select 300 elite soldiers to accompany Chen Caozhi to the north. Chen Caozhi was preparing to leave Xiaochan and Huang Xiaotong to stay during his mission.
He lived with Chen Shang, the third brother of Jiankang, so he took them with him to Guangling, Yangzhou this time.
On the night of February 13th, I parked my boat in Shaotou Zhu. At the third watch, a cold moon hung high in the sky. The river currents were undercurrent, and the ripples shone like silver. The moonlight met the water vapor, and the sky above and below was filled with mist.
Xie Xuan placed wine on the bow of the boat, raised his glass to the moonlight in the river, and sang "Song of Sage Dew". The sad music was so exciting that dozens of boatmen listened to it, and all of them felt pity.
Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun stood on the port side, watching Xie Xuan, who was dressed in white and covered with snow on the bow of the ship, lamenting under the moonlight, and the sadness of life arose spontaneously.
Xie Daoyun whispered: "I have never seen that Yang girl, where does my sadness come from?" He then replied: "Although we have not met, there is such a person in my heart, and I want to stay together for life, but
It’s so embarrassing to pass away so suddenly!”
Chen Caozhi was silent and thought: "Who can avoid this eternal pain? Everyone resists death and denies death, but they still have to die in the end. Tao Qian's poem says, 'There must be death in life, and early death is not a destiny."
We were both human beings yesterday and are now in ghost records. Only death can highlight the beauty of life. People in Jin Dynasty love elegy, which is the aesthetic sentiment that regards sadness as beauty."
The moonlight in the center of the river is deserted, the mountains in the distance are quiet, and the elegy is sad and desolate. If you listen carefully, the sound of the water flow is loud and deep, as if it is gushing out from the ground, and it seems to be the background music of the beautiful elegy.
On the afternoon of the 14th, the ship passed the Bailuzhou Pier in Jiankang without stopping and headed straight for Guangling. It arrived at Guangling in Yangzhou on the evening of the 15th. Chen Caozhi ordered people to prepare an anti-epidemic decoction early in the morning and drank it with Xie Daoyun and Xie Xuan.
, went to Yang's Mansion to express condolences, only to find out that Yang's girl had contracted typhoid fever last winter and contracted plague this spring. She had left a letter to Xie Xuan before she died.
After Wang Shu, the former governor of Yangzhou, was promoted to minister, Huan Wenyao took charge of the pastoral care of Yangzhou. Therefore, there was no governor in Yangzhou for the time being. Wang Shao, the inner historian, was in charge of the government affairs of Yangzhou. Wang Shao, Xie Xuan, and Chen Caozhi were old friends, so they invited them to the state government office to entertain them.
Speaking of the plague, Wang Shao said: "Every spring, there are always outbreaks of plague, so there is nothing to worry about."
Chen Cao said: "Last winter and this spring, the climate in Yangzhou was warm, the drought has not been relieved, and epidemic diseases are very easy to spread. Wang Neishi must not take it lightly, but should take measures early."
Wang Shao was a little displeased and said: "I have ordered people to copy more than a hundred copies of Ge Zhichuan's "Treatise on Qi" and distribute them to various counties and prefectures. There will be plenty of medicines and medicines, and I will worry about it again if I don't have to work."
It was inconvenient for Chen Caozhi to say anything more, so he returned to Jiankang by boat with his sisters Xie Daoyun and Xie Xuan the next day.
It only took four days since I came to Guangling from Gushu to go down the river. Now I return to Jiankang from Guangling. It takes 240 miles of waterway, sails and oars, and people have to pull strings in the steep places. On the morning of the 22nd, I returned to Jiankang.
Kang and Xie's sisters returned to Wuyi Lane, while Chen Caozhi took Xiaochan, Huang Xiaotong and two Chen's private soldiers to Gu's Mansion in Hengtang. The third brother, Chen Shang, had not returned to Situ's Mansion. Gu Kaizhi already knew that Xie
Xuan's fiancée died of illness, and when he learned that Chen Caozhi had just returned from Yangzhou with Xie Xuan to express his condolences, he was deeply saddened.
At noon, Chen Shang came back from Situ's Mansion and was greatly surprised to see Chen Caozhi. He hurriedly finished his lunch and accompanied Chen Caozhi to visit Sima Yu, King of Langya, because Sima Yu had ordered that Chen Caozhi go to Jiankang, that is,
Go and see him.
Chen Shang has been promoted from Dian Shu Cheng to Langya Wang She Ren. Although Dian Shu Cheng and Wang Guo Sheren are both in the ninth rank, their status is different. She Ren is a sinecure and has always been a transitional official position for the cultivation of the children of high-ranking gentry. There is no need for two.
You can be promoted within a year.
Sima Yu met Chen Caozhi in the elegant room of Qingyan and asked if Chen Caozhi had returned from condolences with Xie Xuan. He sighed: "Queen Yu passed away half a month ago, and it seemed that she died on the same day as Yang's daughter. Alas, the spirit dragon moved.
The dragon's head is on Cui Wei's head. The dirge is sung on the head of the dragon's head, how sad it is to be so noisy!"
Sima Yu asked about the matter of Tujuan in Kuaiji. Although he praised Chen Cao highly, he was still worried about Huan Wen borrowing Sima Xuan, the king of Pengcheng, to establish his authority.
But the royal dignity was greatly affected.
Chen Caozhi reported to Sima Yu that Huan Wen intended to send him as an envoy to Di Qin. Sima Yu was not very interested in this matter. The danger of the Jin Dynasty was not in the northern captives, but in the domineering powerful ministers, who also listened to Chen Cao's advice.
Huan Wen postponed the Northern Expedition and watched the fight between Di Qin and Xianbei Murong. Sima Yu admired it very much. He was worried that Huan Wen would succeed in the third Northern Expedition and his reputation would be at its peak. At that time, he would replace the Jin Dynasty and proclaim himself emperor.
During the secret conversation, a maid knocked on the door and came in to whisper a few words to Sima Yu. Sima Yu immediately said to Chen Cao: "Cao Zhi, my little girl Daofu has been in poor spirits since she returned to Ning in August last year. She has not thought about eating and drinking.
She was emaciated, and all kinds of medicines were ineffective, so she stayed in Jiankang for a long time and did not return to Jingzhou. I have inherited the teachings of Mr. Zhichuan and has superb medical skills. Please try to diagnose and treat me."
Chen Caozhi said in his heart: "It's strange that I haven't seen Princess Xin'an in Gushu. I thought she went back to Jingzhou to be with Huan Ji, but she was recuperating at her mother's house. I don't know what the disease is?" Although he felt that he was worried for Wang Xianzhi,
Fortunately, he was about to go to the former Qin Dynasty as an envoy in the near future, so he was not afraid of Sima Daofu's entanglement, so he said: "My medical skills are low, I can only know a few elbows, and I really don't dare to diagnose and treat the princess."
Sima Yu said: "It's okay to try for diagnosis and treatment." He took Chen Cao's hand and went through the hall to Sima Daofu's boudoir. When he entered the pavilion, he saw the curtains were hung low and there were whispers inside.
When several maids outside the curtain saw Sima Yu, they hurried to greet him. Sima Yu saw that these maids were unfamiliar and didn't care. He asked the maids to come into the curtain to dress up Sima Daofu. It would be rude to show off their appearance.
After a while, the curtains were opened, and Sima Daofu, the princess of Xin'an County, came out. His eyes were particularly bright. He greeted his father Sima Yu, but he glanced at Chen Caozhi secretly. His joy was not concealed, and his appearance was indeed different from last year.
I have lost a lot of weight and my chin is obviously pointed.
Behind Sima Daofu, a woman in plain clothes with a veil covering her face followed Sima Daofu to pay homage to King Langya without saying a word. Chen Cao was quite surprised when he saw this veiled woman in plain clothes, although he could not see it.
Although she looks like a woman, she is tall and slim, and her movements are graceful. Who else could she be if she wasn't Li Jingshu?
Sima Yu obviously didn't know that Li Jingshu would be here, so he asked Sima Daofu: "Daofu, who is this lady?"
Li Jingshu then spoke up: "I, Li Jingshu, pay my respects to the king."
Sima Daofu added in a low voice: "She is the sister of the late Guiyi Marquis Li Shi, and she came to Jiankang from Gushu to pay homage to her deceased brother. Does your father understand?"
Sima Yu thought for a moment and suddenly said: "It turns out to be Mrs. Li." Knowing that this was Huan Wen's concubine, Sima Yu couldn't wait for long, so he ordered his maid to invite Sima Daofu's biological mother, Concubine Xu, to accompany her. After all, although Li Jingshu
She is just a concubine, but she is the sister of Marquis Guiyi and has a special status.
Chen Caozhi did not want to stay here for a long time, so he said: "I think the princess looks good. As for not wanting to eat, she can eat yams and lentils, and often go outing to relax, and she will definitely be in good health." He was about to leave.
Sima Daofu was anxious. He finally saw Chen Caozhi and was about to leave in a hurry, but he had no plan to keep him.
Li Jingshu on the side suddenly stepped forward to support Sima Daofu and exclaimed: "Princess, what's wrong with you?"
Sima Daofu was neither quick-witted nor attentive. He looked at Li Jingshu blankly, and Li Jingshu had no choice but to remind her: "Is the princess dizzy?" She blinked as she spoke.
Sima Daofu finally understood. He quickly supported his forehead with his hands and moaned coquettishly: "Oh, I feel so dizzy." The two maids quickly helped her sit back on the embroidered couch.
Naturally, Chen Caozhi couldn't just leave, so he didn't say much at the moment. He wrote a prescription in the outer room, ordered someone to boil the medicine according to the prescription, take it twice a day, and then left.
