Chapter 75 Inside and outside the imperial city, there was singing and dancing, and the seven palaces…
Chapter 75
Autumn arrives early in the north, and now deep in the Taihang Mountains, everything in sight is the color of late autumn. Many trees have become bare branches, and winter is just around the corner. The weather is getting colder day by day.
At the foot of the mountain stands a thatched cottage called "Fanpu Academy," which served as both Zhang Xuanqing's hermitage and the place where he taught.
The school was not large, consisting of a few thatched huts pieced together, barely enough to divide it into a front and back yard. The front yard was the teaching area, while the back yard was the living area. Zhang Xuanqing made a wooden plaque and wrote the two characters "Return to Truth" in cursive script, which he hung in front of the yard.
Shen Suining recuperated at Guizhenju for half a month, where he could hear the students reading aloud every day, accompanied by the chirping of insects and birds in the mountains. It truly lived up to Zhang Xuanqing's description of "returning to simplicity".
Before Zhang Xuanqing went into seclusion, he was a renowned scholar. Now that he lives in seclusion in the mountains, many people still come to him seeking to become his disciples.
However, Zhang Xuanqing was an eccentric person. He ignored people who brought silver, valuables, fine clothes and jade to ask him to teach them. On the contrary, he readily accepted a naive student who came to him with a big rooster and asked him for some pointers.
Shen Suining stared at the rooster that crowed before dawn every day, and they developed a deep grudge. She often thought about stewing the rooster.
Zhang Xuanqing had a prized student named Chen Zui, courtesy name Qianche. He was twenty years old, fair-skinned, and refined, a stark contrast to the slovenly and eccentric Zhang Xuanqing. He was not at all like the kind of student Zhang Xuanqing could have raised.
Chen Zui cleaned the front and back yards on time every day, fed the rooster, and also kept an eye on Shen Suining to prevent her from accidentally killing the rooster.
Shen Suining got up early to meditate. When she half-opened her eyes at noon, Chen Zui was still sweeping the patch of land in front of her. She was furious and kicked a handful of leaves at him, saying sarcastically, "You've turned this land upside down several times over. What? Planning to sow seeds and plant rice?"
Chen Zui was often ridiculed by Shen Suining, but he didn't get angry. He obediently swept the leaves into the dustpan and patiently explained, "The teacher said that this rooster has to be returned to its owner in a few days, so it can't be stewed. If you want to eat chicken, I can go down the mountain to buy a few from the villagers."
Shen Suining sneered, "Your tutor is almost starving, where would he get the money to buy chickens?"
Chen Zui stopped sweeping, rested his chin on his hand, and thought seriously for a moment. "If you want to eat, young lady, you should ask you for it."
"..." Shen Suining chuckled twice, about to speak, when Ling Rui, who was accompanying her, burst into laughter, "Our young master is a real tightwad, he doesn't give a penny, do you think you can get money from him?"
Chen Zui walked up to Shen Suining.
Having spent most of his life in the mountains and had little contact with others, twenty-year-old Chen Zui still looked like a child, pure and innocent. He looked at Shen Suining with a serious expression for a moment, then suddenly blurted out, "We are all of the same origin, why are we so eager to harm each other? If that's the case, then this rooster is even more unfit to be killed."
Upon hearing this, Ling Rui was stunned for a moment, then burst into sharp laughter.
Shen Suining: "..."
Half a month ago, after the Gu worms in Shen Suining's body were expelled, she was unconscious for two days and two nights. When she woke up, she had lost all her internal energy. Fortunately, she had the Yuan-protecting Pill. After her body recovered, her internal energy was slowly recovering. Now she looks great and is just like a normal person.
He Hansheng and Shen Yan left Yunzhou early on, saying they were going to send He Changxin's coffin back to the capital. They didn't wait for her. When Shen Suining opened her eyes, she was already at Guizhen Residence, with only Ling Rui and Zhang Xuanqing by her side. Even Shen Fengyu had been taken back.
Now that she has recovered, she is thinking of returning to the capital as soon as possible.
When Shen Suining went to say goodbye to Zhang Xuanqing, he was drunk and arguing with Chen Zui until they were red in the face.
This surprised Shen Suining quite a bit. She smiled and stepped forward, grabbing a handful of melon seeds from the table. She asked, "Chen Sheng has always been the most respectful to the teacher. Has the sun risen in the west today?"
Chen Zui opened his mouth, his eyes brimming with tears, and forced back his grievances as he reminded Shen Suining, "Those are seeds, not melon seeds."
"..." Shen Suining quickly spat it out and put the seed back on the table.
Zhang Xuanqing had been drinking and was feeling hot. After arguing with Chen Zui, he subconsciously wanted to take off his tattered clothes to cool off, but then remembered that there was a woman next to him, so he stopped.
With a stern face, he told Chen Zui without further ado, "Let me tell you, you'd better give up the idea of entering officialdom as soon as possible! Otherwise, once you walk out of this door, you will no longer be allowed to be my student!"
Chen Zui became extremely anxious, knelt down, and hugged Zhang Xuanqing's legs, saying, "Master has said that scholars should cultivate themselves, manage their families, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. They should establish a moral compass for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, continue the lost learning of the past sages, and create peace for all generations. Your talents are unappreciated in these deep mountains, and you spend your days drinking and getting drunk. What is the point of reading so many books of sages?"
Zhang Xuanqing was furious and called him by his full name, Chen Qianche!
"Wait, wait, don't be angry," Shen Suining quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. She stood between the two and comforted Zhang Xuanqing, saying, "Chen Sheng is young, it's good that he has ideals. Do you only want your students to be content with the status quo and live a life of mediocrity before you're happy?"
"My dear niece, you don't understand!"
Zhang Xuanqing stood up, pushed Shen Suining away, staggered two steps, and exhaled a breath of alcohol.
"For a scholar to enter officialdom and govern the country, the prerequisite is to be fortunate enough to assist a wise ruler! But what kind of ruler is the current one? He is suspicious of loyal ministers and persecutes good people! He doesn't even spare his own brothers and sisters! What is there to assist in such a ruler? Brother Zhou Pei, Brother Yanzhi, Brother Xie Chang, and the Marquis of Jingchuan and Qingguo, which of these people wasn't a capable and ambitious man? Which of them didn't enter the court with the ideal of bringing peace to the world for all generations? But what was the result? The dead are gone without a trace, and the living are utterly disillusioned, with no hope of serving their country anymore! In such a world, you, a mere youth, dare to talk to me about entering officialdom and governing the country? Fine, go ahead! You enter the court today to become an official, and tomorrow you might be lying in some deep well or ravine, without even a trace of your bones!"
Chen Zui bit his lip lightly, his fair face turning bright red. He seemed to want to retort, but Shen Suining quickly called to Ling Rui, "Take him away first!"
"Yes." Ling Rui pulled and dragged Chen Zui out.
Zhang Xuanqing let out a soft breath, the effects of the alcohol immediately kicking in, his head throbbing. He slumped to the ground, clutching his forehead, his eyes darting aimlessly, and let out a long sigh.
Shen Suining looked at the wine gourd that had fallen to the ground. She bent down to pick it up and suddenly asked softly, "Actually, Chen Sheng now is just like you back then, isn't he?"
Zhang Xuanqing stared blankly, not moving an inch. "Why do you ask that?"
“Just guessing,” Shen Suining smiled, stood up and placed the wine gourd next to Zhang Xuanqing. “I heard from Chen Sheng that he started learning at the age of three and began studying with you at the age of four. You’ve been the one who’s taken him under your wing until now. Your clothes are so worn out but you can’t bear to buy him a new one, yet you’ve raised him to be so clean and well-groomed. Isn’t it because you see your younger self in him?”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuanqing suddenly burst into laughter twice, neither admitting nor denying it.
He picked up the gourd beside him, but didn't drink from it. Instead, he poured the wine from the gourd into his palm, the liquid overflowing between his fingers. He spoke calmly, "I started my formal education at the age of five. When I was studying with my teacher in the school, everyone in the village knew me. They all said I was a genius, that I started my education earlier than others, that I learned to read faster than others, and that while others were still babbling, I could already recite the Three Character Classic backwards. At that time, the previous dynasty was already on its last legs. Like Qian Che, I argued with my teacher until we were red in the face about whether scholars should remain in the world or not. When I was twenty-three, warlords everywhere rose up in rebellion. I abandoned my wife and children and went alone to Huadu to take the imperial examination, but I failed. When I returned to my hometown, my wife and children had become the remains of war victims, lying naked on the dark earth under the sky, along with tens of thousands of ordinary people, nowhere to be found."
"I searched for three days and three nights and finally found my son, who was not even a year old. His head was almost strangled, and the longevity lock around his neck was still being held tightly in his mother's hand, with two fingers missing. After arranging their funeral, I followed my old classmates and friends from my school days to seek refuge everywhere, hoping to find someone who could end this chaotic world. But without exception, they were all only thinking about how to plunder more wealth and occupy more cities, and they didn't care about the lives of the people at all."
“I was not resigned to it. I took the imperial examination twice more, and it was not until I was nearly thirty that I finally passed. That year I met Yanzhi and Jingchuan. They were almost ten years younger than me. Although they had both failed the exam, they still looked ambitious, unlike me. Even though my wish had been fulfilled, I couldn't muster any enthusiasm. But just when I was about to enter the court as an official, the capital was captured, the entire court was in ruins, and even the emperor had to pack up and flee. At that time, Yanzhi found me and asked me to join the Li family’s camp with him.”
Shen Suining chuckled, "So it seems my father was mistaken in his judgment of character."
“No, it’s not that anyone misjudged people,” Zhang Xuanqing said with a smirk, “it’s that all of us were deceived by that heartless bastard! If he had deceived us for a little longer, it would have been fine, but it’s only been less than two years! And he’s already ruined Brother Zhou Pei!”
Shen Suining had heard Shen Yan mention Zhou Pei before. He was originally a civil official, about the same age as Xie Chang. Less than two years after the founding of the dynasty, he was exiled to a malarial land and died of illness in a foreign land.
She paused for a moment, then said, "Since you saw it clearly back then, why did you stay in the court afterward?"
Zhang Xuanqing remained silent, seemingly suppressing something.
He was still drunk, his face flushed and trembling for a long time, when suddenly tears streamed down his face.
“You’re still young, you might not understand,” Zhang Xuanqing wiped away his tears, covered his face with his hands and sobbed, “Back then, I abandoned my wife and children to gain fame and fortune, causing them to die tragically in our hometown. After paying such a heavy price, how can I let go? If I give up, then, then my one-year-old child will have died in vain?”
Shen Suining sighed softly.
People are always like this; once they've paid the price, it's hard for them to extricate themselves. Over time, they develop an obsession, and even if they know it's wrong, or that it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, they'll still close their eyes and rush in.
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Suining reached out and gently patted Zhang Xuanqing's hunched back. Zhang Xuanqing was hugging his knees and curled up in a ball, burying his face in his palms. He was over fifty years old, yet he was crying as sadly as a child.
After Zhang Xuanqing cried himself to sleep and fell asleep after drinking, Shen Suining left.
As soon as she stepped out of the house, she saw Chen Zui kneeling upright in front of the house, holding a ruler above his head with both hands.
“You’re a stubborn one too,” Shen Suining said, sitting cross-legged on the wooden walkway under the eaves, her hands resting on her knees. “Did you hear everything?”
Chen nodded subconsciously, then immediately realized something was wrong and shook his head, saying in a hoarse voice, "These are words that the Master has uttered many times when he was drunk. This is not the first time I have heard them."
"Then why do you insist on becoming an official? Are you just trying to spite him?" Shen Suining laughed, but when she saw Chen Zui's clear and stubborn eyes, she immediately suppressed her smile.
She stared at him for a long time, and suddenly countless images flashed through her mind, overlapping and intertwining.
Zhang Xuanqing, who abandoned his wife and children more than 20 years ago to go to the capital for the imperial examination, and Chen Zui, who argued with his teacher that scholars should enter officialdom to bring peace to the world for generations to come.
Qin Yanzhi, who, despite failing the imperial examination, still harbors lofty ambitions and urges the newly appointed scholar Zhang Xuanqing to assist the new emperor in ascending the throne, and Shen Yan, who lives in seclusion in the mountains, is incorruptible and has no interest in court affairs.
There was singing and dancing inside and outside the imperial city, but also corpses scattered throughout the Seven Palaces Formation.
There are scenes of war and chaos, where ordinary people are displaced and their homes are in ruins, and there are also scenes of extravagant and luxurious restaurants, where wealthy guests spend lavishly.
besides……
Shen Suining was stunned for a moment, then lowered her eyes and closed them, trying to control her emotions.
There's also He Changxin, who left with unresolved grievances, his body never seen the light of day for three years, and He Hansheng, who never went home, spending his days in the military camp discussing national affairs with his generals by lamplight.
She sighed softly.
Twenty years is not a long time; it's just the time it takes for a newborn baby to grow into a young adult.
It's short, but not short either, after all, those people from back then are gradually leaving the stage, and now they've all entered a new cycle.
Shen Suining clenched her hands, raised her head again, as if she had made a major decision. She called out to Chen Zui and said, "I can take you to the capital. But once we leave the Taihang Mountains, you will have to listen to me in everything."
"Really?" Chen Zui's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed. "The Master won't agree. He just said that if I walk out of this door, he will no longer acknowledge me as his student."
“If you are determined, I will find a way to persuade him, but,” Shen Suining paused, “we’ll have to wait until tomorrow, after he’s sober.”
Chen Zui blinked. "Master Fu rarely goes a year without drinking. He has an excellent alcohol tolerance and never gets drunk."
"We'll have to wait."
Why?
“I need to confirm something with him,” Shen Suining stood up and straightened the wrinkles in her clothes. “I’ve asked him about this many times, but he always makes excuses whenever he’s had a little alcohol. I need to confirm it with him when he’s not drinking.”
Chen Zui nodded in understanding, but out of curiosity, he couldn't help but ask, "What do you want to confirm with the Master? If it's something related to the court, he's been gone for many years and wouldn't know."
“No, he definitely knows,” Shen Suining said with certainty, her eyes burning. “He’s such a sharp and intelligent person, and he’s only been in seclusion for less than ten years. He definitely knows whether Lord He’s death is related to the current emperor or not.”
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