Chapter 73: Fragment 11: The folk poet Song Wen of Dashu wrote a poem about the drunkard...
Dashudufu, Observatory.
The little Taoist boy with red lips and white teeth sat in front of the living room, ordering tea for the guests with skillful movements.
Wang Fengxu couldn't sit still and peeped out to ask, "Has the Imperial Master not come out of seclusion yet?"
The young Taoist boy smiled shyly, revealing two adorable dimples. He bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness, the Imperial Preceptor observed the stars the other day and had a feeling that something unusual might happen in the near future. He needs to personally enter the sanctuary to calculate for three days before informing Your Majesty of the results."
Three days? It was estimated that after Wang Xuanling came out of seclusion, he would tell the emperor that the four ghosts intended to take the princess' soul, and then the princess would ascend the Wangxian Terrace to make a deal with the ghosts.
Wang Fengxu felt a little depressed, thinking that he might not be able to count on the help of Grandpa Daozu this time, and he had to think of other ways.
Wang Fengxu stood up and waved his hand, saying, "I'll come back next time."
The little Taoist boy bowed with deep trepidation and said, "I respectfully bid you farewell, Your Highness."
Just as he was about to leave, his eyes fell on a painting and a guqin hanging on the wall next to him.
The person in the painting is none other than the Taoist Patriarch Wang Xuanling, with a stern gaze, clear and aloof. The familiarity between his eyebrows comes from the slightly upturned corners of his eyes, which is exactly the same as his master's wife Wang Suqing.
Wang Suqing is a descendant of Wang Xuanling. Although she also has the surname Wang, she was ultimately adopted by her master's wife. In fact, she has nothing to do with the Wang family.
Wang Fengxu sighed with emotion: "What a great piano!"
This ancient zither, called the Great Sound of Little Sound, was said to resonate through the heavens and earth, awakening the mind and clearing the mind. It was crafted by Wang Xuanling himself. Its body, made of paulownia wood and covered in purple lacquer, now contained only half a fragment, which had been on display behind bulletproof glass at the Qingcheng Mountain Museum at the foot of the mountain. Unexpectedly, amidst these fragments, he could still see the zither in pristine condition.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!" There was a hurried sound of footsteps outside.
A tall girl in a lapel robe came over excitedly. She had slightly curly brown hair, wheat-colored skin, and freckles on her cheeks. She looked like a majestic antler deer, full of strength.
Wang Fengxu looked up at her, startled and unsure: "Who are you?"
"Your Highness, I'm Tunan!" The girl tugged at her robe in grievance. "I changed my clothes, so you can't recognize me?"
Wang Fengxu looked at her suspiciously.
This young Tunan was completely different from the ghostly woman in red clothes and purple ribbon who appeared at the Princess's Tomb.
However, she was still young and childish at that time. Thirty years later, she would have been made a marquis and a prime minister, so it was understandable that she was more steady.
Tunan came to ask him if he wanted to go to the academy today to review the teaching progress.
Wang Fengxu suddenly realized that Princess Qingning had secretly opened a girls' school in the capital under the guise of a relative of her natal family. She relied on the remote location of the palace and was not the emperor's most favored daughter. Occasionally, she would sneak out of the palace through the gate to visit the academy. As long as she could manage everything well, no one would gossip about her.
Wang Fengxu rolled his eyes and immediately shook Tunan's hand. "Very good, very good. Go to the academy and inspect it for me. If anything is missing, please record it and report it back. I have something important to do. By the way, do you know where the Li family is? Oh, the Li family of Li Qingyun."
-
Near the West Market in central Beijing, the most prestigious house has "Li's Residence" written on it.
The Li family is a wealthy and prestigious family with roots in the capital for generations. In the past, ordinary people had little entertainment and loved to inquire about the secrets of the wealthy family behind the two lacquered doors. The people sitting in the tea stall diagonally opposite even knew the twenty-five door nails arranged in the order of five elements on the door of the Li family by heart, not to mention the famous Prince Li of the Li family.
This prince is obsessed with beauty. He cannot bear to see beauties shed tears or flowers wither, so he vows to give all the beauties in the world a complete life!
Of course, this is a statement of high emotional intelligence.
The low EQ version is: This person is a heinous scumbag.
Of course, Wang Fengxu believed the latter more. What is meant by being obsessed with beauty? Isn't it just falling in love with every girl you meet? Men from ancient times to the present, both in China and abroad, always like to deceive themselves when they deceive others.
Unlike him, who only loves material things like gold and silver and has always been consistent in his words and deeds.
He covered his face with a cloth and ran stealthily to the back alley of Li's house.
Although the dantian in the broken page was completely empty and devoid of spiritual energy, with his twenty years of experience in stealing, he could easily climb such a low wall. First, he placed a stone as a cushion, then lifted the hem of his clothes and stepped on it, ready to exert force. When the time was right and no one was around, he...
"Girl?" A man dressed as a scholar suddenly appeared beside her.
Wang Fengxu was startled and turned around, only to find that the person opposite him had a very familiar face... Song Wen from Miaoxuan Temple?!
He felt the surprise of meeting an old friend in a foreign land, completely ignoring the other party's address to him, and lowered his voice: "Are you here to see her too?"
But how did Song Wen know that Li Qingyun was Meng Caiyun's?
Song Wen's eyes lit up. "Could it be that the young lady is also a fellow traveler? That's great. We can be companions."
Wang Fengxu was stunned for a moment: "Master Song Dao, do you still remember your name?"
"How do you know my name is Song Wen?" Song Wen asked with a toothy grin. "Have you read my poems? Has my fame spread so far?"
Wang Fengxu's heart sank: "Ah... not yet."
It seems Song Wen has possessed a scholar named Song Wen in this world. But why does he have no memories? He's the future head of the Miaoxuan Temple, after all, so why shouldn't he? It seems that retaining memories isn't based on spiritual power?
Song Wen was completely unaware of the other person's thoughts. He casually tossed his sleeves and began to recite to himself: "Song Wen, a folk poet from Dashu, composed a poem in praise of the Drunken Old Man."
"Du Kang came first, then heaven. I want to drink the Milky Way across the immortal mountains!" Song Wen's face was full of ambition. He took a majestic four-way step, his voice sonorous and powerful, and his head shaking: "The Jade Emperor owed me a dream at midnight, and Yama Luo paid me for twenty years!"
Wang Fengxu's eyes darkened when he heard this.
He hoped that Song Wen could forget these unbearable memories after he got out. He didn't want to be assassinated by the future leader of Miaoxuan Temple just after he came out of the Broken Page Illusion.
"Squeak!"
The corner door was pushed open, and a servant wearing a silk hat walked out, holding a long broom. He saw Song Wen and without asking any questions, he rushed over and said, "It's you again! You come to our young master's courtyard every day to recite poetry, it's so noisy!"
Wang Fengxu looked at the servant's face, and then imagined what he would look like wearing glasses.
The case was solved, it was Meng Zhao.
He looked so immersed in the role that it was obvious that he was not awake yet.
Song Wen was being chased and yelled at, "How disrespectful! How disrespectful! I was just reciting poetry outside the courtyard, what does this have to do with you, brother?"
"Do you think I don't know what you're up to?" Meng Zhao spat. "Aren't you just trying to attract our young master's attention and get him to recommend you? Take my advice, brother. You're not cut out for officialdom. Give up on this idea!"
The custom of circulating manuscripts also existed in Dashu. Many frustrated students would write some petition poems and give them to prestigious people to help them get a shortcut.
Although Li Qingyun is "notorious", from another perspective, he is very good at networking and has made many friends, and can be regarded as a transit station for personal connections. No wonder Song Wen goes to Li's house every few days and has probably been harassing him for a while.
While the two were arguing, Wang Fengxu quietly pulled his headscarf to cover his face and quietly ran into the door.
Next to it was Li Qingyun's residence, which was elegantly and luxuriously decorated with lush flowers and willows, even more extravagant than Princess Qingning's palace.
Following my intuition, I took a few steps inside and heard a noisy voice coming from inside: "Great! Reward!"
Wang Fengxu hid at the foot of the wall stealthily and peeked in. In the middle of the pavilion stood an embroidered couch covered with goose down, on which a young man was lying with his elbows resting, with servants fanning him on both sides and someone feeding him grapes. It was a scene of sheer extravagance that was unbearable to the eye.
It is Meng Caiyun for sure, but whether she knows that she is Meng Caiyun is unknown.
Wang Fengxu thought that he could only wait until she got tired of playing, and then secretly follow her in when she returned to her room, then hit her with a club to control her first, and then test whether her spiritual power and memory were still there.
However, from dawn to dusk, the talent show in the yard showed no signs of stopping.
Some played the piano, some painted, some danced, and some wrote poetry. Meng Caiyun's lines always consisted of the following words: Good, reward, deserved reward, great reward, special reward! Great reward!
This is like being an emperor behind closed doors.
Wang Fengxu gritted his teeth as he watched a frail man as thin as a willow perform a Huxuan dance, and Meng Caiyun still clapped his hands and praised him.
Isn't this Li Qingyun? Is he kidding me? Men are also rewarded?!
Is it really not an slander or exaggeration to say that he is obsessed with beauty and accepts everyone?
Wang Fengxu had a headache and sighed as he waited for a long time. The flower viewing party finally ended before it was completely dark. Wang Fengxu stared at the other person's figure, wanting to see which room she would enter, but he didn't expect her to swagger towards him, getting closer and closer...
There was no other way. Wang Fengxu saw that the servants did not catch up, so he gritted his teeth and dragged Meng Caiyun behind the rockery, then stuffed a headscarf into his mouth.
Meng Caiyun's face was full of astonishment, but his eyes also showed a bit of excitement. He looked him up and down.
Wang Fengxu looked around and lowered his voice: "Old Meng? Tailor Meng? Did you remember anything? I'm Old Wang!"
Meng Caiyun had his hands clamped by him, and he raised his head to indicate the ball of cloth in his mouth.
Wang Fengxu reached out and took it off for her: "Don't shout, let's have a good chat."
Meng Caiyun's words completely shattered Wang Fengxu's hopeful thoughts: "Miss, I think we've met somewhere before."
Wang Fengxu pressed his forehead and thought, it's over, this is Li Qingyun, and in her eyes, she is still a beauty like Princess Qingning.
"Listen to me first," Wang Fengxu took a deep breath, stared intently into the other person's eyes, and suddenly began to chant: "When a single thought ceases, all dharmas are empty. Untainted by dust, all realms are connected. A mind like still waters sees all things clear. A mind like flowing clouds sees all attachments light!" He then quickly hinted, "Do you feel the fog in your mind dissipate? Do you remember your true identity?"
Meng Caiyun opened his eyes wide, his gaze changing from blank to sharp: "You..."
Wang Fengxu held his breath in anticipation, "Yes, it's me, Wang Fengxu. Feng as in serve, and Xu as in Taixu Xiaolu! Do you remember?"
Meng Caiyun smiled happily: "You can write poetry, young lady! Wonderful, wonderful, but unfortunately, the rewards have been distributed. Wait for me to go back to the room to get some."
Wang Fengxu: “…”
What kind of ancient style young man is this?
He still underestimated this Meng Caiyun version of Li Qingyun.
Just as he was about to stuff the cloth back in, the other party suddenly attacked, firmly grasped his wrist, and shouted, "Someone, come! There's a thief trying to sneak up on me!"
In an instant, the servants surrounded the rockery in three layers with sticks.
Meng Caiyun sighed regretfully, "He's quite good-looking, but too rude."
Wang Fengxu was forced into a corner, so he could only exchange glances with the other party and lower his voice: "Let me go, I won't bother with you, but my father will not let you go."
He made a threatening gesture of wiping his neck and hinted at his identity.
Meng Caiyun was stunned and blurted out: "Princess Qingning?"
Everyone immediately started whispering to each other: "Princess? She is a princess?"
"I don't know. I haven't received any news from the palace."
"Could it be that she has taken a fancy to our prince and is here to force him into marriage?"
"I don't know! Is our prince so rare?"
“…”
Meng Caiyun's face turned purple: "Shut up!"
She no longer listened to Wang Fengxu's explanation and cleared her throat. "How dare you! How dare you pretend to be a princess? Someone, drag her away!"
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