Chapter 719 The Old Man from Peach Blossom Spring [Requesting Monthly Tickets!]
On the official road outside Shuangfengjian.
Wei Wu still looked the same as always.
He was dressed as a groom, with a white cloth strip on his head.
Wei Anhui withdrew her gaze and looked at Wei Wu. She noticed that he seemed to have a string of beads in his hand, which he was putting into his sleeve. However, she could not see the beads clearly. Wei Anhui remembered that they seemed to have been given to her by her uncle, the King of Wei.
Speaking of prayer beads, Sister Rong seems to have a string of white jade beads in her hand...
Seeing that Wei Anhui was standing there blankly and not speaking, Wei Wu asked again:
"Where is that purple dress? Did the princess see Lady Rong?"
Wei Anhui shook her head.
"Sister Rong wouldn't see me, so I asked Commander Yi to deliver the dress to her. She just returned from Xunyang City and was passing through here..."
Wei Wu nodded slightly.
Wei Anhui glanced in the direction of Xunyang Grottoes and asked:
"What was Uncle Wu doing just now?"
Wei Wudao lowered his eyes and said, "I'll go and collect the Third Young Master's memorial tablet and ashes. The Princess can take them back the day after tomorrow."
"good."
Wei Anhui pursed her lips. Wei Wu suddenly asked:
"Why did the princess send an invitation to Li Fusu? Didn't you tell us not to invite him before? Why did you invite him yourself this time?"
Wei Wu turned around, but could not see the little princess's specific expression behind the rose-red curtain; he could only see that she seemed to be bowing her head.
Wei Anhui didn't answer, but instead asked:
"Uncle Wu, why do you want me to leave so early on the fifteenth?"
Wei Wu did not blame him for the previous incident, and nodded blankly:
"That day could be dangerous."
Wei Anhui asked, "Are there rebels? If so, will it be safe for us to go to Hukou County? I heard there are bandits and pirates there, and the government troops are currently suppressing them."
Wei Wu shook his head: "I have already sent people to make arrangements in advance, so Princess, you can rest assured and just set off."
Wei Anhui whispered, "Go ahead and rest assured..."
She felt the carriage beneath her suddenly start moving; it was Wei Wu who was starting the carriage.
The square-faced man driving the car suddenly said:
“Princess, he doesn’t seem to be responding to you this time either. Calling him won’t help.”
Wei Anhui remained silent behind the curtain.
...
“Mr. Wu…”
In Xingzifang, at Chengtian Temple, two old friends were reunited in front of a vegetarian restaurant.
Yuan Huaimin couldn't help but shout out.
The lean, elderly man patted him on the shoulder, looked him up and down with some satisfaction, and asked kindly:
"What, won't you invite this old man in for a seat?"
Yuan Huaimin's first reaction was to nervously walk past the thin old man, go outside, and look around at the surrounding alleys, as if he was worried about something.
"I am all alone, little Huaimin need not look any further."
The lean, old man waved his hand and said calmly.
Yuan Huaimin confirmed that no one was around, turned around, and found that Mr. Wu had already walked into the yard with his hands behind his back.
Helpless, he had no choice but to follow them inside, close the courtyard gate tightly, hang up a wooden sign, and refuse visitors.
The thin, old man first took a stroll around the courtyard with great interest.
Yuan Huaimin followed behind, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Despite his tall and slender stature, he followed behind the thin old man with the same restraint as a young married woman.
"Is this yard for two people to live in?"
"Um."
"You're the same wherever you are, all alone, living a carefree life. No matter what your circumstances are, as long as there's wine and music, that's all that matters. When I first met you in that dilapidated temple in Chang'an, I knew you were this kind of person. You got so drunk that you didn't even know where you were when you woke up, and you still had the nerve to ask me for money."
"Back then, I was so poor that I had to paint for those bald monks. I was so old, where would I get the money to lend you? You were shameless. The other day you boasted that your ancestors were very wealthy, with a fortune of thousands, and that you would take me back home one day. You could take whatever I wanted, and your ancestors would pay for it... In the end, by the time I left Chang'an, you had already paid off the debt in a very frugal manner. Hahaha."
Yuan Huaimin felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this.
I can't help but say:
"But I still took you back, Mr. Wu, and gave you gifts, fulfilling my promise. Only now do I realize that the gifts I gave you back then will cause such a disaster..."
Wu Daozi seemed not to hear, and stepped forward with his hands behind his back, smiling as he said:
"However, your optimistic and open-minded attitude of spending money and then regaining it is very much to my liking."
Yuan Huaimin hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Wu Daozi suddenly stopped in front of a study. His smiling expression froze for a moment, and he let out a soft "Eh." He went into the room, picked up a stack of scrolls on the table, and examined them carefully.
Wu Daozi turned around and said somewhat seriously:
“You’re still painting. You haven’t forgotten any of the painting skills I taught you back then. On the contrary, you’ve become more and more proficient. But I haven’t seen you use them to make a name for yourself.”
Yuan Huaimin shook his head: "It's just a last-minute effort. Mr. Wu also knows that I'm going to present a painting to the Sage."
Wu Daozi clicked his tongue in amazement: "No, you didn't just cram at the last minute. You've already mastered all my skills in painting. There's no need to be modest."
Yuan Huaimin remained silent.
At the same time, he didn't mention that during his years as the Sima of Jiangzhou, in addition to studying painting, he was also engrossed in the art of pipa music and other skills, as well as the straight wooden sticks he had recently been studying with Brother Li Yu... all of which were useless, or rather, things he didn't want to use, but were interesting.
Wu Daozi put down the painting, walked back to the courtyard, and sat down leisurely.
Yuan Huaimin had no choice but to step forward and pour him tea. In the meantime, he lowered his eyes and said:
"I have never understood why you, Mr. Wu, did not continue to paint in the palace back then, after you became famous for painting in the Buddhist temple in Chang'an and were even invited by the two emperors in person.
"Then why are you unwilling to show off your painting skills, and why are you silent about poetry and literature? Why don't you go and sing praises of the peaceful and prosperous times for the Empress of Great Zhou?"
Yuan Huaimin was speechless.
Wu Daozi took the teacup, glanced at the tea, and asked:
"That fall back then must have been quite a hard one. We haven't seen any more of your poems or lyrics since. Chang'an has lost a talented and unrestrained scholar, while Jiangzhou and Xunyang have gained a down-on-his-luck Sima who loves to hang over himself and is always late."
Yuan Huaimin said in a low voice, "It's my own fault. I shouldn't have criticized the government."
Wu Daozi said calmly:
"I think your poem is correct. Wei Zhao was a hen crowing at dawn, a thief who stole the country. What's wrong with scholars complaining a few words in their poems? Playing the literary inquisition is no different from burying one's head in the sand. Are we not allowed to speak out? A hundred years from now, history will still record that Wei Zhao stole the country in the first year of the Tian Shou era of the Da Gan dynasty."
Yuan Huaimin waved his hand:
"Back then, I was arrogant and ignorant, indulging in pleasures in brothels and taverns. I was swayed by my cronies and said all sorts of things, daring to write any kind of poetry. I was too young and reckless. It was not only my own demotion that caused trouble, but also my family. They had to protect me to prevent me from losing my head... It's already good that I'm in this situation now. Like Qiu Niang said, I have to learn from this lesson and not drag them down anymore."
Wu Daozi smiled and raised one index finger, then shook it:
"No, no, no, they say that people speak the truth when they're drunk. Little Huaimin, if you really regretted it, you wouldn't have remained silent for so many years, and you wouldn't have disobeyed the family's arrangements to return to Chang'an. You had so many opportunities, but you didn't seize them. You were stubborn like a little child. Tell me, do you really not have any resentment about that matter?"
Yuan Huaimin shook his head again.
He smiled and said:
"I've been doing quite well in Xunyang all these years. When I think about my time in Chang'an, it feels like a dream, like a lifetime ago."
“I remember the first few nights after I arrived in Xunyang City, every time I saw the dark mountains outside the window, so different from the bright lights and eternal glory of Chang’an, I was a little scared. But after seeing this scene many times, I gradually realized that I was a lazy and uncultured person who was not used to this Chang’an that had undergone tremendous changes.”
Wu Daozi shook his head:
"Young Huaimin, you are not an ordinary person. You may say you are an ordinary person, but you are not. Many people may say you are lazy and shameless, but only I know that you are a person of high moral character. Others laugh at your laziness, but you laugh at their ignorance..."
"But those who are aloof and proud do not live a happy life. On the contrary, the more vulgar a person is, the more they thrive. If you want things to go smoothly, the first thing you must do is to admit to yourself that you are a vulgar person. Because this world cannot allow aloof and proud people to succeed. That would be too arrogant, and everyone would be dissatisfied. Wouldn't that be a pity?"
"But this is not absolute, because throughout the ages, there have always been a few aloof people who have stumbled upon great fortune, a stroke of luck that has fallen from the sky, allowing them to rise to prominence and soar to the heavens. They don't need to scheme and fight their way up to become world-renowned figures. These are the heroic figures that many children love to read about in their stories."
"But such people will never think that they are lucky or that they have struck it rich. Because of their arrogance, they will think that they are extraordinary. Isn't that infuriating? How can the millions of ordinary people who have no luck but work hard to climb not feel indignant and resentful?"
"This, in turn, makes it increasingly difficult for other aloof people, especially those who are unlucky, to survive, because they will keep falling and falling until they give in to the vulgarity. This is the fate of most aloof people, at least that's what I've seen... But there is one exception."
"Wh...what exception?"
“You’re an exception.” Wu Daozi looked Yuan Huaimin up and down and said with great emotion, “The more you fall, the more aloof you become. Even after falling like this, from the prosperous and wealthy Chang’an all the way to the poor and remote Jiangzhou Xunyang, you just won’t change. You’re still very aloof. You’re really proud at heart, kid! Good for you!”
Yuan Huaimin fell silent, all his words stuck in his throat.
Wu Daozi gave him a meaningful look.
He took a sip of hot tea and suddenly said:
"Little Huaimin, if I were to give you a great fortune, to let you be a noble person who receives great luck, to be a world-renowned figure, a hero that children love to read about in their stories, would you not want it?"
Yuan Huaimin abruptly turned his gaze away, looking at the ground beside him, and said in a somewhat stiff tone:
"Mr. Wu, please stop joking with me. You should leave now. Since you refused the Emperor's offer, the court has been looking for you all these years, not to mention what happened before, the things you took from my Yuan family's secret treasury ahead of time... Go now, and I'll pretend you were never here and that I know nothing."
Wu Daozi was not in a hurry at all; instead, he asked in a different way with great interest:
"Well then, since you say you like to eat and be lazy, and that you're a vulgar person, why not be even more carefree? I'll take you to a place that's more suitable for living alone and doing nothing, how about that?"
When the lean, old man smiled, his eyes narrowed to slits, almost invisible.
"That place is called Peach Blossom Spring. You may have heard of it. The people there are all nice. I've been there myself."
"Peach Blossom Spring?"
"Hmm, so, are you interested?"
Yuan Huaimin asked in surprise, "Is this Peach Blossom Spring the one mentioned in the story of Peach Blossom Spring? Does such a place really exist? Mr. Wu, have you found it?"
The lean, old man's smile remained unchanged: "Little Huaimin, choose one."
“I won’t choose it. Mr. Wu, what exactly do you want to do here this time? I’m living in exile in Xunyang, and I don’t have anything to offer you generously.”
Wu Daozi's expression calmed down, and he said:
“I don’t want your things. I’ve always considered you my student, a student who is both a teacher and a friend. It started when you woke up in that dilapidated temple in Chang’an and asked me for money.”
Yuan Huaimin couldn't contain his emotions, and his tone became a bit intense, with a few drops of spittle flying out:
"I also regard Mr. Wu as my teacher, but that's all. He's just a teacher who teaches me the way of painting. I don't want to get involved in what you're doing, nor do I want to criticize you."
He shook his head vigorously and said:
"I'm not going anywhere. Xunyang is great. I'm not leaving. I don't want to have a meteoric rise to power, nor do I want to go to some paradise. I just want to stay here and live a peaceful life. When I have enough money, I'll go to Xunyang Tower to listen to the pipa. When I'm short of money, I'll go to a friend's house for a meal. After work, I can even go with my friends to collect sticks and branches..."
Wu Daozi asked curiously, "Then why did you present the painting to the Empress of Great Zhou this time? Wasn't it just to flatter her and curry favor?"
Yuan Huaimin did not answer, but rather reached out and rather rudely snatched the teacup from the lean old man, turning his head to look to the side.
The implication of seeing the guest off is self-evident.
Wu Daozi looked at him with a happy smile, and asked with some sigh:
"What if I insist that you inherit my mantle?"
Faced with the almost straightforward topic of "inheriting the mantle".
After waiting for a short while, Wu Daozi heard an unexpected answer from Yuan Huaimin.
"If it's something like gold, silver, or jewelry, sir, you can give it to me and I'll keep it safe for you. As for the rest, let's forget about it."
Yuan Huaimin waved his hand forcefully, righteously refusing half of the offer.
Wu Daozi clapped his hands and laughed loudly.
"Haha, little Huaimin, you're still the same as before."
"Mr. Wu, you should hurry up and leave. Your whereabouts may have already been known. The government officials may already be on their way. Brother Lianghan is very capable, as is Military Advisor Yan. No matter what happens in the city, it cannot escape their and the female officials of the Censorate's watchful eyes."
Wu Daozi asked with some curiosity:
"Who is this Brother Lianghan? Is he the young prefect of Jiangzhou surnamed Ouyang?"
"That's right."
"Didn't he previously assist the imperial court in issuing some decree restricting women from crossing the border, and also wipe out all the spies in Yunmeng Jianze within Jiangzhou?"
"Yes, Brother Lianghan is decisive and efficient, very capable."
Yuan Huaimin began to speak with feigned seriousness, only to find that Mr. Wu's expression was somewhat strange...
(End of this chapter)
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