Chapter 408 The Way of Man
disappointment?
What does that mean? Are you trying to suppress something before you praise it? Gui Pei'an's words made Wei Changtian wonder what the old man was trying to say.
But he didn't ask, just chuckled:
"Gui Shoufu, this kid is just a playboy, the rumors are not to be believed."
"Many people even say that I am a bastard who kills people without blinking an eye and is unforgivable."
"oh?"
Gui Pei'an seemed a little surprised by Wei Changtian's reaction. He gently stroked his long beard and asked meaningfully, "I wonder if Master Wei is such a person?"
"What kind of person? Killing without blinking an eye?"
Wei Changtian shook his sleeves and nodded naturally: "That's right, I have indeed killed many people."
"hehe."
Gui Pei'an's expression changed slightly, and after a pause he slowly sighed, "Killing someone who deserves his punishment is not an unforgivable crime."
"I believe that Master Wei is not the kind of person who kills innocent people indiscriminately."
"innocent?"
Wei Changtian curled his lips: "I don't know that the people I killed are all innocent. Killing is just a means to achieve my goal. I believe you can understand what I mean."
"Oh, Prime Minister Gui, let's sit down and talk."
“.”
After saying this, Wei Changtian turned around and sat down in the first seat on Ning Yuke's right, while Gui Pei'an also sat back in his seat with the help of Shen Ran.
In just a few dozen breaths, a dozen sentences of conversation took place.
The first meeting between Wei Changtian and Gui Pei'an, a second-rank scholar, began in this slightly weird atmosphere.
The golden color of the sunset faded away from the horizon, and a thin mist rose up.
Hundreds of bright lights were lit in Fengming Hall, and the palace maids replaced the tea for everyone.
For a period of time afterwards, although the two sides kept chatting, they didn't say anything too meaningful.
The envoy of Dali handed over the letter of credence, which contained the congratulations of the Emperor of Dali on Ning Yuke's becoming king.
As a vassal state of Daning, it congratulated the rebellious king of the suzerain state.
Dali's action undoubtedly shows an attitude, that is -
I want to rebel too! Of course, although this is the attitude, it is hard to say when Dali will take concrete action.
At least from the current situation, this is more of a "spiritual support", otherwise the envoys from Dali would not have come here secretly.
Ning Yuke naturally knew what was going on, so she didn't show much enthusiasm for this form of "written support". She just said a few polite words and at most wrote a reply letter and that was it.
But no matter what, the envoy from Dali has completed his mission.
And what follows is the highlight of Gui Pei'an and Shen Ran.
"Return to the Prime Minister."
Seeing that the time was almost right, Wei Changtian found an opportunity and asked directly, "I heard from Your Majesty that you have something to discuss with me, but I wonder what it is?"
"Haha, it's actually nothing serious."
Taking a sip of hot tea, Gui Pei'an smiled and replied, "Shen Ran almost made a big mistake at the Chunlong Poetry Meeting in Shuzhou before. Fortunately, Master Wei helped him escape."
"I brought him here specially to express my gratitude to you, young master."
Hmm? Thanks?
Wei Changtian was stunned when he heard this.
Yes, there was indeed a member of the Internal Security Guard who wanted to kill Shen Ran last time, but he was stopped by me, which gave Shen Ran a chance to escape.
But at the Chunlong Poetry Conference, he had indeed robbed Shen Ran of his destiny.
Shen Ran watched helplessly as he took away part of the "Fortune Cloud Goose" with his own eyes, so why did he not seem to hate him at all now? Was he so magnanimous?
Wei Changtian was calculating rapidly in his mind, but a bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Prime Minister Gui, you are too kind. Brother Shen's talent is obvious to all. At that time, someone in Daning was jealous and did such a narrow-minded thing."
"I just helped out because I couldn't stand this kind of thing. It's nothing."
"Sir, this is wrong."
Gui Pei'an sighed and shook his head: "Alas, Shen Ran came to Shuzhou alone and wanted to defeat Mr. Su to prove his literary integrity. This was wrong of him."
"Of course, it's also my fault for not disciplining you strictly."
"He had already drawn public wrath at the time, and the only way he could escape unscathed was thanks to your help."
“So, I have to say thank you no matter what.”
“.”
If most people like to blame others when they encounter problems, Gui Pei'an is the complete opposite. He always looks for the reasons in himself.
After he finished speaking, he didn't wait for Wei Changtian to answer. He stood up slowly, and then bowed to Wei Changtian together with Shen Ran who also stood up beside him.
"Gui Shoufu, Master Shen, you must not do this!"
No matter what, he is also a second-rank scholar, and he spoke so politely just now, so Wei Changtian definitely cannot accept this bow now.
He quickly stood up and moved away. While bending down to return the greeting, his impression of Gui Pei'an changed.
Although it was a bit strange when they first met, the latter's words and actions this time were indeed worthy of the title of "saint". As the conversation went on, both sides were inevitably polite.
After dozens of breaths, the three of them sat down again, and this time it was finally Shen Ran's turn to speak.
"Master Wei, I will not hide the truth from you."
"Teacher and I came to Shuzhou this time because we have one thing we want to ask you in person."
“.”
really!
Wei Changtian sighed in his heart and thought that he couldn't escape it after all.
Ever since he became famous at the Chunlong Poetry Conference, these literary masters have been chasing him and asking him questions wherever he goes.
For example, the abbot Huian of the Folian Temple, and Ye Guangyi, the cabinet minister of Dafeng.
These people seem to think that since they can write "Spring River Moon Night", they must have a very thorough understanding of everything in the world, and therefore they are eager to get answers to certain "metaphysical" questions from themselves.
And how could Wei Changtian understand the philosophical questions they asked? He might not even understand what these people were asking.
Therefore, he gets a headache every time he encounters this situation.
But sometimes, there is no escape, so one can only bite the bullet and force a few perfunctory words to leave it at that.
"Uh, I wonder what Prime Minister Gui and Master Shen want to ask?"
Forcing a smile, Wei Changtian took a deep breath and said, "As long as I know, I will tell you the truth."
"Thank you, Master Wei, for clearing up my confusion."
Shen Ran and Gui Pei'an looked at each other, and their expressions gradually became serious.
Then, he leaned forward, placed his hands neatly on his knees, and asked with a serious look like a student waiting for the teacher to answer his questions:
"Master Wei, you sighed at the brevity of life with the line 'Who first saw the moon by the river?' on a night of spring river flowers and moonlight, but you also sighed at the infinity of life with the line 'Life goes on from generation to generation'."
"So, is the existence of human beings in this world short-lived or infinite? What is the way of human beings?"
"My teacher and I have thought about these two sighs repeatedly, but we have not been able to understand the true meaning of the poem."
"What Taoists seek is to comprehend the heart of Tao and ascend to heaven."
"What Buddhism seeks is for all living beings to be free from suffering and attain happiness, and to escape the cycle of reincarnation in the six realms."
"What I seek in the Way of Literature is to follow the will of heaven and use my own abilities to achieve the unification of the world."
“There are three thousand great ways in the world, but each has its own interpretation.”
"Teacher feels that 'Tao' and 'Li' should not be so complicated, so I would like to ask Master Wei, is there a true human Tao in this world?"
“.”
The candlelight in the hall flickered gently, and there was silence in the bright and soft light.
Shen Ran stopped talking after asking the question, and everyone focused their attention on Wei Changtian, who had a calm expression.
“Well, that’s the question.”
In a gaze that was either nervous or expectant, the latter just nodded slightly and then uttered six words.
"What does that mean?"
(End of this chapter)
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