Qingchen carried Shiyue out of the car. Hearing what he said, she declined, saying, "Teacher, I brought some dry food. I'll just eat the dry food with Shiyue."
Her bundle contained small steamed buns and sesame seed cakes that Mingxiang had made for her. Besides, eating out was still too expensive. For the past few months, she hadn't received any salary, only a few taels of silver that her second uncle had given her to make ends meet.
Song Yue paused for a moment, then turned around and said, "Now that I've brought you out, I've arranged your food and lodging along the way. Come on, October is hungry and wants something good to eat."
Qingchen didn't bring out the steamed buns and sesame cakes in the end. The teacher and student, along with a driver and a cat, had lunch at a very lively restaurant in Tongzhou.
The dishes Song Yue ordered were all Tongzhou specialties, and several river and mountain delicacies were very fresh. Seeing that Qingchen liked mushrooms, he even moved the plate of stewed pheasant with mushrooms to her table. Although the coachman was a servant, he seemed quite at ease, having likely dined with him often, and quickly ate his steamed bun with the braised beef. Song Yue, however, ate slowly and deliberately, the mundane food and grains of the world unable to diminish his refined elegance.
During the meal, they would occasionally chat about things like the climate, customs, and the autumn harvest. The driver even earnestly recounted his childhood stories of catching fish and birds.
Through the restaurant window, one can see a clear sky, light clouds, and the fading autumn colors, with the road stretching into the distance.
Qingchen found the meal during the journey very comfortable. Although there were noisy voices around, it didn't affect the warm and natural atmosphere. It felt like the three of them had known each other for a very long time.
While the coachman was eating his third steamed bun, Qingchen picked up October, who was waiting nearby, and fed it some food. October meowed and ate happily.
Song Yue put down his chopsticks and looked at them, reminding Qingchen, "Be careful of its claws."
The meeting place was in Tongzhou County, not far from where they ate. After the meal, the carriage only traveled a short while longer before arriving.
This is an inn called "Yunlai".
Qingchen got off the carriage and saw that various vehicles were already parked in the courtyard in front of the inn—horse-drawn carriages, horses, oxcarts, oxen, donkeys, mules... There were also feeding troughs in the courtyard, filled with hay. The livestock did not distinguish between different species and were eating together peacefully. Only occasionally could one hear two similar cries, but they did not come from the same species.
If you didn't know better, you'd probably think this was a market selling livestock.
Song Yue explained, “The Wang family does not care about one’s background, and most of its members are young people. Many of them do not hold high official positions and are relatively poor. They like to hold gatherings, and it’s fine once or twice, but if it happens too often, they can’t afford to hire a carriage.”
Qingchen nodded. Actually, she was the same way; she just benefited from being with her teacher this time.
She handed October over to the driver, then looked at the inn, which was enveloped by the warmth brought by everyone from all directions. She straightened the bundle behind her, feeling a faint excitement of wiping away the dust of history.
Soon, someone came out of the inn to greet them. This person had a very kind and gentle appearance and was none other than Zhao Qiran, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate who corresponded with Song Yue.
Song Yue led Qingchen to greet him, and Qingchen respectfully bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord Zhao."
He wasn't surprised to see Qingchen, and simply smiled and said, "Since we are all disciples of the School of Mind, there's no need for these formalities of officialdom. Actually, when you passed the imperial examination, I was still in the Ministry of Rites, and I did see you, but you didn't see me."
After exchanging a few words with Zhao Qiran, Song Yue said, "You take her there. I won't disturb everyone any longer; I'll go to the second floor to handle some official business."
He was a direct disciple of Wang Yangming, the leader of the Jiangyou School, and also the Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. As his disciple, Qingchen's starting point was actually very high. He didn't want her to miss out on anything because of such a high starting point, so he wanted her to first come into contact with and understand this school of thought as an ordinary disciple of the School of Mind.
Zhao Qiran nodded and said to Qingchen, "Come with me, there's no need to be nervous."
Upon entering the inn, one sees several groups of people, each group consisting of seven or eight, gathered around a table discussing and debating, creating a lively yet harmonious atmosphere.
Everyone seemed used to newcomers, so they weren't curious about Qingchen, or even asked her anything, and continued their discussion. Zhao Qiran had other things to attend to and went off to do so, while Qingchen, carrying her bundle, moved to the nearest group of people, pulled up a round stool, and listened and watched.
"'Before you saw this flower, it and your heart were both in a state of stillness. When you see this flower, its color suddenly becomes clear. You then know that this flower is not outside your heart.' Although the flower and tree bloom and wither on their own, they are not unrelated to my heart. I think this sentence means..."
"No, I don't completely agree with your view. Look at this other saying, 'Holding your will as if your heart is aching, with your mind focused on the pain, how can you have time to gossip or meddle in other people's business?' If we follow your logic, wouldn't that mean we really have to meddle in other people's business? What, then, is meddlesome? Is it something that has nothing to do with people, or is it something that is related to the country and the people?"
"Don't forget, there's another saying: 'With a calm mind, act according to circumstances.' First, you must calm your mind, then you can immediately distinguish between good and evil, and you'll understand whether something is trivial or not."
Everyone shared their opinions and reasoning. After listening for a while, Qingchen couldn't help but pull out a notebook from his bundle and start taking notes on his lap. Just then, someone came over and said, "You're so diligent."
Qingchen looked up and saw that the man was dressed in well-fitting casual clothes, and his young face was bathed in sunlight. He was very handsome and probably a little older than her. A rope was tied around his wrist, with a wolf's fang strung on it. There were calluses on his hands from the swords and knives.
She put down her pen and said, "Nice to meet you. My name is Shen Qingchen."
The man nodded. "You're new here? I haven't seen you before. How long have you been with the royal family?"
"...more than ten days."
"Then I'll consider myself your senior brother." He said, taking out a notebook and handing it to her. "Want me to take a look at what I've written down?"
Qingchen hadn't expected to encounter such an enthusiastic person, and feeling pleased, she nodded. But upon taking the booklet and glancing at it, she was speechless.
The man smiled slightly, patted her shoulder, and said, "Here you go. I've been studying this for days. Take your time learning. I'm leaving now." With that, he put his hands behind his back and went out the door, his straight back looking quite light and agile.
After leading his horse in the courtyard, the man glanced back at Qingchen at the entrance of the inn, and a smile appeared on his lips.
Qingchen looked at him, then glanced down at his "notes," somewhat speechless. This wasn't a notebook at all; he'd just drawn a giant turtle!
Zhao Qiran arrived and, seeing Qingchen staring blankly at the tortoise in her hand, explained to her, "The man who was talking to you just now is called Lan Tan. He's a centurion in Yongping Guard and likes to study military strategy and formations. This one in your hand is probably some strange formation he's researching. He just likes to tease people."
Shen Qingchen was shocked upon hearing this.
That person was Lan Tan.
The genius general in history books, the border general who defended the country, the governor of Liaodong, the dragon and tiger general who commanded 100,000 troops and won countless merits...
At this moment, he was still a free-spirited and handsome young man.
Qingchen remembered that Wang Yangming was not only the founder of the School of Mind, but also a military strategist skilled in warfare, possessing his own philosophy on war. Therefore, although the Wang family was mostly composed of scholars, it also included some military generals. Lan Tan entered the Wang family for this reason.
Gazing at the empty doorway, she couldn't help but imagine him riding away, the yellow sand billowing around him, as if he were on the battlefield, clashing swords and armor...
After a moment, Qingchen let out a slight sigh, pulled himself out of his thoughts, put the tortoise diagram into his bundle, and continued to listen to the others' discussion.
She listened to several different groups of people afterward, and Song Yue never came down. Qingchen listened attentively and didn't notice the time passing; outside, the sun was already gradually setting in the west.
She came to the last group of people she had never heard of before, and saw two people arguing fiercely. They were arguing about some non-Wang school scholars' attacks on the School of Mind, saying that the School of Mind was full of power struggles and tyrannical tactics, filled with desires and not pure, and that those who studied the School of Mind only wanted to achieve their desires through the power struggles in the School of Mind, while desires were base and should be abandoned in the face of heavenly principles.
As Zhu Xi said, we should "preserve heavenly principles and eliminate human desires".
Among the crowd was an older man who, seeing Qingchen listening attentively and noticing his unfamiliar face, said, "Stop arguing, let's hear what the newcomer has to say." He then turned to Qingchen and asked, "Young man, what's your name? Would you like to share?"
Qingchen was taken aback. It was her first time attending a gathering, and she had only intended to listen, never expecting to speak in front of these people. However, the two people arguing had stopped, and everyone was looking at her expectantly.
"Esteemed seniors, my name is Shen Qingchen." She composed herself and introduced herself first.
"I think that the philosophy of mind may have taught many people how to use power tactics, but more importantly, it has taught us when not to use power tactics."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.
After a long pause, the person who had invited her to speak finally asked, "When did you join this sect?"
"I was... half a month ago."
One of the people arguing was quite shocked, "Only half a month? To come to such a conclusion..."
The people present looked at each other in surprise, and then couldn't help but exclaim "Wonderful!"
The person who had invited Qingchen to speak then asked, "So, who led you through this door?"
Qingchen glanced at Zhao Qiran, who had just come to her side. Zhao Qiran smiled and answered for her, "It is Grand Secretary Song."
"No wonder, no wonder. It turns out he is a disciple of the Grand Secretary. The Grand Secretary truly has the talent to discover talent. Over the years, he has unearthed many talented individuals. Today, this person truly makes us admire him."
A chorus of "tsk tsk" sounds rang out at this table, drawing the attention of several other groups of scholars.
Qingchen hadn't expected it to cause such a commotion. Knowing that his research on the philosophy of mind was far inferior to these people, and that he had only borrowed others' summaries, he felt somewhat embarrassed.
Just as he was about to say something, Zhao Qiran said, "Everyone, it's getting late, so let's stop our discussion here. Those who need to get home should set off now. The rest of you can rest on the second floor. I've already instructed the inn to prepare a meal, which will be delivered to your rooms later."
As autumn transitioned into winter, the days grew shorter and the nights longer. Qingchen glanced out the window and saw that it was indeed getting dark.
The teacher still hadn't come down; he was probably still busy on the second floor.
After seeing some of the people off, Zhao Qiran led Qingchen up to the second floor and stopped in front of the innermost room. "Lord Song said you will be staying here tonight. This is your room. Lord Song's is right next to yours."
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