Qiao Jijiu shook his head: "It's hard to say..."
He seldom left the Imperial College and hardly ever got involved in government affairs.
"But in the current situation..." Qiao Jijiu looked at the rippling river surface and said slowly, "There could be waves anywhere."
Chang Suining also looked at the river.
Yes, it could be anywhere.
But I am afraid that if this wave arises, it will affect the entire river surface.
At this time, the wind blew, and the yellow willow leaves on the old willow trees by the river fell one by one. Although the fallen leaves were light, they made ripples on the surface of the river.
"What are you daydreaming about, kid? It's time to put away your fishing rod!" Qiao Jijiu urged.
The world is so big, but nothing is more important than drawing in the fishing rod.
"Come on, give it a gentle shake..." Qiao Jijiu instructed patiently, "This way the fishhook will be hung deeper, so the fish won't break free easily..."
Chang Suining did as he was told.
A black carp struggled and was pulled out of the water, creating a splash of water.
Qiao Jijiu said with satisfaction: "Fish are always easier to catch in autumn..."
Chang Suining grabbed the black carp, took it off the hook, threw it into the fish basket, and watched it struggle in the basket with its tail flapping.
Fish die for food, people come for profit.
The wind got stronger and the sky darkened. Chang Suining was no longer in a hurry to put on the bait. He just subconsciously looked at the clouds surging on the horizon across the river.
It looks like it's going to rain.
This autumn rain has been brewing for quite some time. The rain is bound to fall, it’s just a matter of one day earlier or later.
Before it rained, Qiao Jijiu put away his fishing rod.
The wind was so strong that it was blinding, and the game of cueing ended early. Cui Lang came running over to carry the fish basket, and the group returned to Qiao Jijiu's residence, chatting and laughing.
"Ms. Chang, is there anything on your mind?" Xi Zhiyuan, who was traveling with her on the road, asked.
The boy has fair skin, narrow eyes, and always has a smile on his face, giving people the impression that he has a good temper.
He got along well with Cui Lang and others. He never talked much and often nodded and agreed to whatever others said. It was rare for him to take the initiative to ask questions.
Chang Suining, who had not said much along the way, did not deny it when he heard it, but just said, "I was thinking about something."
"Is it because of the Hibiscus Flower Festival?"
Chang Suining shook her head. She had no intention of saying anything more, so she asked casually, "I heard that Mr. Xi will graduate next year. I wonder what his plans are for the future. Will he stay in Dasheng, or return to Dongluo?"
"I don't have any specific plans yet." Xi Zhiyuan smiled and said, "I need to discuss this with my family before I can make a decision."
"Why go back to Dongluo? Just stay in Dasheng. Are you really willing to leave our Wuershe?" Cui Lang came over, holding the fish basket in one hand and resting the other hand on Xi Zhiyuan's shoulder.
Xi Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head: "Of course I can't bear to part with it."
Cui Lang smiled and said, "You always get top marks in the exams. It will be no problem for you to get a job in the capital after graduation. Why don't you become a Dasheng citizen and marry a girl from Dasheng as your mistress? Isn't that wonderful?"
Xi Zhiyuan coughed lightly, with a look of discomfort on his fair face.
Qiao Yubai smiled and said, "Zhiyuan has always been shy, so Mr. Cui Liu should stop teasing him."
"This is not a joke. I am seriously planning for Zhiyuan."
When the group returned to Qiao Jijiu's residence while laughing and talking, they saw a group of about ten students waiting outside the courtyard gate.
The leader was Song Xian, and the rest were mostly faces from Xunmei Society.
Song Xian saw Chang Suining at a glance.
The girl in green robe also looked at him.
This was the first time the two met after the chess game.
There was no hostility or pride on the girl's face, nor any emotion worth mentioning. She just nodded to him normally as she looked him in the eye, as a greeting.
Song Xian avoided her gaze, but nodded slightly.
"We heard that today is the chief priest's birthday, so the students have come to congratulate him." Song Xian and others stepped forward to pay their respects and presented the prepared birthday gifts.
"It's rare that you're so thoughtful." Qiao Jijiu nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "It's enough that the intention is there. You can take these things back."
"They are not valuable things. They are just small gifts that are not worth mentioning. Most of them are calligraphy and paintings made by students."
"That's right, please accept the libation."
The students all looked very sincere. Qiao Yubai smiled and explained, "My fellow students, you may not know that the abbot of Dayun Temple once said that my father is in conflict with the Tai Sui this year, so it is not appropriate to hold a birthday banquet or accept gifts. This is a move to avoid disaster."
Song Xian was startled when he heard this, but he immediately bowed and said, "In that case, it is the students who are rude."
"That's all right." Qiao Jijiu said with a smile, "Take the things back and keep them. I'll collect them next year."
All the students responded in unison.
“Would you like to stay and have dinner with us?” Qiao Jijiu pointed at the fish basket in Cui Lang’s hand and said, “Fresh fish just caught!”
Song Xian and others had different expressions when they heard this.
I have to say that Jijiu's way of inviting people to dinner is quite irritating.
"Since it is inconvenient for the chief priest to hold a banquet, the students will not bother you."
“Yes, yes…”
The group of students bowed and said goodbye.
Cui Lang, Hu Huan and others were too shameless to stay and eat for free, so they said goodbye and left immediately.
Seeing Song Xian and the others walking in front, a young man beside Cui Lang raised his eyebrows and said, "Cui Liulang, should we go and tease them?"
In the past, the people from Xunmei Society were more arrogant than each other and always looked down on them in their words. Now is a good time for Wuer Society to take revenge.
"What are you talking about?" Cui Lang slapped him on the head and said, "Master has already told us not to do anything that would make things worse. Things on the chessboard should be solved on the chessboard. Afterwards, you are not allowed to use winning or losing to ridicule the other party."
He deliberately raised his voice when speaking these words to ensure that Song Xian and the others could hear them clearly.
After he finished speaking, Cui Lang felt good. He felt that his image and demeanor had been elevated. Even someone as majestic as Mount Tai would feel insignificant in front of him.
I have to say, this feeling of standing at the highest point of human character and morality is much more satisfying than ridiculing others!
It has to be the master!
Cui Lang appeared to be open-minded and generous on the surface, but he was secretly delighted on the inside. He walked past Song Xian and others and left with the people in the society in a swagger.
Song Xianwei pursed his lips.
The expression of his companion beside him changed again and again: "Brother Song, they..."
Song Xian was silent for a moment with mixed feelings, and said, "They have done a good job."
The others also remained silent.
There is really nothing worth mentioning about the other party's attitude these days.
After a while, Song Xian said, "Let's go."
He had thought about it many times during these days, and had gone to Dengtai Tower to view the paintings more than once.
He gradually understood where he lost. He lost to the girl who was flamboyant and willful in his eyes, and he also lost to his own one-sided prejudice.
Because she became Qiao Jijiu's disciple and he failed, he had been dissatisfied and prejudiced against her from the beginning. However, he was unwilling to admit it, so he always found reasons to belittle and deny her, including her identity as a woman.
His original intention was to protect his dignity and face, but in the end he lost all his dignity and face.
If he could have gone to Dengtai Tower earlier, if he had seen the painting of a tiger walking in the forest before and appreciated the openness contained in the painting with his own eyes, he would not have been so arrogant as to think that he could definitely beat her, and that he would not lose if he did not compete.
In other words, he had already lost miserably from the very beginning when he treated others with bias.
That game of chess was his biggest loss since he came to Beijing.
He deserved the gossip and ridicule. This month or so was enough time for him to come to terms with it all. Now he should take this as a warning and be alert at all times so as not to make the same mistake again.
As for the 'little girl' who defeated him...
Thinking of this, Song Xian's expression dodged for a moment.
He hasn't figured out how to face her yet.
However, he will soon leave the Imperial College to prepare for the Spring Examination, and there will probably be no chance for us to see each other again in the future.
…
On the other side, Cui Lang was stopped by a servant who came from home.
"...Father asked me to go back?" Cui Lang's scalp tightened: "How can I not go back?"
After returning from the Hibiscus Flower Banquet, he thought that his clansmen would complain, so he went straight into the Imperial College and did not even dare to enter the house, just to avoid his father.
The servant looked very embarrassed: "Master Lang is ill, and Madam has specifically instructed you to go back."
"Father is ill?" Cui Lang was startled, and then he said quickly, "Then I can't go back. If my father sees me now, he will be furious. Wouldn't that make the illness worse?"
At last he said seriously: "I'd better stay in the Imperial College and fulfill my filial duties."
This purely fictitious method of showing filial piety from a distance made the servant smile bitterly, and then he lowered his voice and said, "But the Madam said that the reason why the Master fell ill was because of the eldest Master's wedding proposal. It was because he couldn't hit or scold the eldest Master that he became depressed and fell ill. If even you don't go back, the Master will probably go crazy..."
"So my mother wants me to go back and die in my elder brother's place!"
Is he really his biological son? "It can't be said that it's all Dai Dalangjun..." The servant said tactfully: "You did help out at the flower banquet, didn't you..."
Cui Lang felt like crying but had no tears.
The reason why this family has been able to stay together all these years is all because of his life!
…
In Anyifang, Cui's home, Cui Wei looked sick, half leaning on the couch.
Seeing that it was getting dark, he asked Lu in a cold voice: "It's already this late, why hasn't that boy come back from the Imperial College? I'm so sick now, has he even forgotten the rules of attending to his father?"
Mrs. Lu said coldly, "It would be better for the master to rely on the monkeys on Mount Emei than to rely on Lang'er to take care of him when he is sick."
Cui Wei frowned: "You..."
Why did he feel that Lu, who had always obeyed him, had been trying to challenge him in her writings since she came back from the Hibiscus Flower Banquet? Who gave her the courage?
Cui Wei was furious and said coldly, "I have been busy dealing with the questions from the tribesmen these days, and I haven't had time to ask you why you helped that rebellious son to make trouble at the flower banquet that day!"
As we all know, in his opinion, the "son of a bad boy" refers specifically to the second son, and the "rebellious son" refers specifically to the eldest son.
Mrs. Lu's heart skipped a beat, knowing that it was not yet time for her to completely turn things around, and that she would have to be patient for the time being in the face of her unlucky husband.
The next moment, her eyes became red as if she was familiar with it.
At the same moment, the maid had already stuffed the handkerchief into her wife's hands.
Thank you all for clearing the monthly tickets. Thank you Yanzhihu1, I am a sister, book friend 20220406221821315, Warm Wine Fish, Fans Opaque, Qingfeng Bansui, Xiaoxiang, yinhzw and other book friends for their rewards.
(Additional updates will be added in the evening)
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