The words on the stone tablet were round and flying, ethereal and clear. Eleventh Lady looked at it for a long time before she realized that it was half of the Heart Sutra.
"Is this your first time at the stupa?" a man suddenly asked from behind her.
Not hearing any movement from Mother Song and the others, Eleventh Lady was suddenly startled, turned around abruptly, and took three or four steps back.
"He's scary, so scary." She looked at Xu Lingyi, who was wearing a royal blue brocade robe with dark purple cloud patterns and floral patterns, and let out a long sigh, "Why does the Marquis walk like a cat?" She looked around again, but the servant was nowhere to be seen. Mother Song and Amber were standing far away by the bamboo forest.
Maybe he saw that the person coming was Xu Lingyi, so he didn't say anything!
"When did the Lord come?"
Xu Lingyi looked at her frightened appearance, quite puzzled. He said curiously: "There is no one else in this temple..."
Eleventh Lady said angrily: "It is precisely because there is no one else that a man's voice suddenly comes, how can it not shock people."
Xu Lingyi smiled apologetically.
Liu Tongzhi was still talking when he was about to say goodbye, so he was a little later than the scheduled time. He hurried over and saw Shiyi Niang standing in front of the stele tower, looking at the words on the stone tablet, and occasionally pointing her finger.
Seeing how serious Eleventh Lady was, he simply signaled to Mother Song and the others not to disturb her and walked over quietly.
It was an autumn afternoon. The sunlight shone on the jade inlaid on her hair comb, causing it to flicker with dazzling fragments of light, making her face as white as jade, her eyebrows as dark as distant black, and her eyes as bright as a stream, as if they could attract people's souls, making him stop and stare.
I saw her wearing a white jacket with a light blue flower pattern and a light blue plain Xiang skirt. She tilted her head and looked at the words on the stone tablet. She frowned and smiled, and murmured "There is no end to ignorance" and "There is no end to old age and death"... She looked very cute. I stood aside and waited for her. Who knew that she finished reading half of the Heart Sutra and started to read it again from the beginning, as if she had never seen it before. I couldn't help but ask her a question, but I didn't expect to scare her.
Eleventh Lady thought that Xu Lingyi had guests and had asked her to meet him in such a remote place, so she sent Mother Song and the others to stand far away and went straight to the point: "My Lord, is there anything important that made me come here?"
Xu Lingyi's expression froze for a moment before he said, "Nothing special."
He spoke slower than usual, with a hesitant tone that sounded very serious. Eleventh Lady's expression became solemn, and she held her breath to listen.
"Aren't you very close to the Gan family's wife?" Xu Lingyi said slowly, "I heard that Earl Zhongqin and the Bantang Gong family want to partner in the shipping business..."
The Gong family? The Bantang Gong family, one of the four great merchants who were at odds with the Wen family? Shiyi Niang was slightly startled, and Xu Lingyi's gradually clearing voice came to her ears again.
"Back then, the Gong family used all means to marry their daughter to the Jiang family in Jian'an, hoping to gain shelter under the powerful tree. However, who would have thought that the Jiang family had not produced a Jinshi in two generations, and that the family lived in Fujian and was suppressed by the Jing'an Marquis Qu family. They no longer had the power they once had." He turned around slowly and walked down the stairs.
Eleventh Lady hurried to follow.
"The Gong family can't change their ways so blatantly. They've had a hard time in the past few years. When they heard that the Jiang family and the Gan family had become in-laws, they tried every means to get in touch with the Gan family."
As he spoke, Xu Lingyi casually turned into a small path in the bamboo forest.
"The shipping business is lucrative, but also risky, and there are many tricks involved. The Gong family didn't start out in this business. You should take some time to remind Madam Gan that Earl Zhongqin should be more careful about some things."
The bamboo forests on both sides are tall and dense, with bamboo trunks of varying thicknesses, some as big as bowls, some as big as pens. They are crowded together, with branches and leaves stretching out, and are full of vitality.
But Eleventh Lady had no intention of watching.
Xu Lingyi was not the kind of person who believed everything he heard, and he no longer had the blood and energy of a young man who would draw his sword and fight with others over a disagreement. He solemnly invited himself to such a place to say such a thing, and although his tone seemed a little light, I was afraid that the matter was already extremely vicious.
She listened carefully.
"Now the Gong family is anxious to make friends with the Gan family. They also want to use the name of the Zhongqin Marquis's Mansion to make Zhongqin Marquis not worry about not being able to do business with the Gong family. Just ask for a share instead of the principal. It is better to get less dividends than to invest a huge amount of money. Otherwise, it will hurt your bones."
The yamen is open, whether you have money or not, don't come in. Although the Gan family is a noble family, a lawsuit for property division has also seriously damaged their vitality, and they are far less glamorous than they appear. It is entirely possible that Zhongqin Boli has made a wrong judgment because of his stupidity. If he makes a mistake, I am afraid he will never recover from it.
Madam Gan is still young, and she still has to rely on Bo Zhongqin to take care of her in her old age.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but get anxious: "I will go to the Gan family tomorrow to deliver the Mid-Autumn Festival gift prepared for Madam Gan." Thinking of the relationship between Lord Zhongqin and Madam Gan, she said helplessly, "I don't know if Lord Zhongqin will listen to Madam Gan's advice..."
You can't say that this was what Xu Lingyi said!
After all, this is the Gan family's family affair, and the Zhongqin Earl is a newly promoted Earl, so it's time for him to establish his authority. If you can figure it out, it's fine. If you can't figure it out, I'm afraid you will blame Xu Lingyi for being too nosy, or even have a rebellious mentality, and you have to invest a huge amount of money to close this business with the Gong family to show you, the Yongping Marquis...
She asked Xu Lingyi: "Who else knows about this?"
"Not many people know about this." The two of them walked slowly along the forest path. "I also found out about this by accident."
The Qu family is in Fujian, and Xu Lingyi has always been very concerned about the Qu family's movements. Eleventh Lady pondered and said, "Did you find out from the Jiang family?"
Xu Lingyi nodded.
Eleventh Lady discussed with him: "Is it possible that Madam Gan's brother knew?"
No matter what, Madam Gan’s brother is still Earl Zhongqin’s uncle, so it is legitimate for him to be concerned about the Gan family’s affairs.
Xu Lingyi said: "You don't need to interfere in these matters. Madam Gan should be able to handle it!"
That's right! After all, Madam Gan has been the wife of the Lord for so many years. Even if she has no idea at the moment, she still has her brother from her natal family to discuss with. I always think of her lonely appearance in her plain blue dress, and feel that she is wandering and has no one to rely on.
"I was worrying too much." After figuring it out, Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon hearing this, Xu Lingyi nodded slightly and said no more.
The green bamboos around are graceful and swaying.
The two walked in silence for a while.
Eleventh Lady thought that the Madam and the others were still in the wing room, and she didn't know where this road led to, so she couldn't help but hesitate. But she heard Xu Lingyi ask her: "From what I saw just now, it seems that you are here for the first time?" Then, without waiting for Eleventh Lady to answer, he continued, "Some people recommend this stele as the best in running script. It is also praised as 'strange rocks rushing through the autumn stream, and cold vines hanging on ancient pines', which has attracted scholars and literati to come and see it when they come to Huguo Temple. What do you think?"
"I have never learned cursive writing, so I don't really understand this." Eleventh Lady smiled, "But the writing is so free and unrestrained, and there is a sense of strength in the strokes. It is indeed a rare masterpiece." After that, she paused and said, "But, writing the Heart Sutra in cursive writing always feels a bit strange."
Xu Lingyi chuckled when he heard this.
"So when this stone tablet was unearthed, there were rumors that this was a shocking move made by the Huguo Temple to attract attention."
This happens all the time!
Eleventh Lady smiles.
Xu Lingyi asked her, "Whose calligraphy did you copy? Your handwriting is quite unrestrained."
At that time, Shiyi Niang practiced calligraphy only as a specialty, and later she became quite interested in writing, so she persisted. In the eyes of people who really understand calligraphy, only the casual and unrestrained style is desirable.
"I first copied Ouyang Xun," she laughed, "then I copied Liu Gongquan. My favorites are Wang Xizhi and his son Wang Xianzhi."
Xu Lingyi was slightly surprised: "Why not copy Yan Zhenqing's?"
Eleventh Lady was ashamed.
Calligraphy is divided into large, medium and small. Yan style has steady strokes and open structures. After learning his calligraphy, you can write in large sizes. Anyone who can write large characters has copied his calligraphy. At that time, she felt that she might not be able to use it, so she only touched on it briefly and did not copy it seriously.
She could only say vaguely: "I think Xiao Kai is beautiful!"
Many women are not good at writing big characters, so they specialize in small characters.
A thought flashed through his mind, and Xu Lingyi thought of Eleventh Lady's clothes and accessories, which seemed ordinary but were full of uniqueness, and smiled slightly.
It’s not that she can’t write well, but she just doesn’t like writing, right?
"I first learned from Yan Zhenqing," he said, "and then from Chu Suiliang, Zhong Yao, Zhao Mengfu, Mi Fu, and the two Wangs. I like Chu Suiliang the best."
"No wonder I feel that the Marquis's handwriting is both strong and soft, and graceful." Eleventh Lady smiled, "It seems that the Marquis is very good at writing cursive."
"Not bad!" Xu Lingyi said modestly, "When I was little, I was naughty and often skipped school. My father sent me to Mr. Deng and asked him to teach me about copying and transcribing. Then I gradually became interested. It was also with Mr. Deng that I gradually made some progress in calligraphy."
"Mr. Deng?" Eleventh Lady asked curiously, "Mr. Deng Jingzhi?"
Xu Lingyi nodded.
"So, the Marquis and the Emperor had the same teacher!" Eleventh Lady was very interested. "So he has known Prince Shun and Lord Zhou since he was a child."
"Yeah!" Xu Lingyi smiled, "We are about the same age. Prince Shun was originally with Mr. Deng, and Shi Zheng was sent there by Princess Fucheng because she saw that I had made great progress in reading and writing. We were ignorant at that time. The three of us played tricks together every day, and sometimes we were caught by Mr. Deng and punished to kneel. Once, a maidservant beside Queen Wu went to deliver something to the prince, and saw the three of us kneeling in the middle of the yard under the scorching sun. After returning, she somehow told Queen Wu about it, and Queen Wu asked the maidservant to secretly send each of us a pair of cotton knee-length pants..." As he talked about the past, there was a hint of sadness in his joy.
Is it because he remembered Queen Wu who hanged herself?
Eleventh Lady sighed with emotion, but she kept her feelings to herself and just listened to what Xu Lingyi said.
"We wore cotton knee-length pants, so our knees didn't hurt, but it was extremely hot. Prince Shun would lift his robe to fan himself from time to time, and Mr. Deng discovered it."
Thinking about Prince Shun's body shape, Eleventh Lady burst out laughing: "What happened later?"
"Because there was a dragon pattern embroidered on the knee-length pants," Xu Lingyi's eyes flashed with surprise, "Mr. Deng insisted that it was done by the eunuch of Prince Shun. He reported it to the old prince..." This was the first time he had seen Eleventh Lady with such a sweet smile. He picked up some interesting things from the past to tell her, "He stayed in bed for three months and came back to settle accounts with us. He asked the eunuch to block me and Shi Zheng on the way home from school..."
A servant appeared at one end of the bamboo forest, looking at them anxiously, rubbing his hands and stamping his feet.
Xu Lingyi glanced over from the corner of his eye, but ignored it and continued to talk to Shiyi Niang about some childhood events: "...I had a fight with the eunuch, and Shi Zheng ran to Queen Wu to complain..."
Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi who was talking eloquently, and her smile froze slightly.
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I went into the operating room at 8:30 in the morning and came out at 4 in the afternoon. The doctor said it went smoothly.
O(∩_∩)O~
Thank you all for your continued concern. I will be in the ward with the patient tonight!