A knife in love

Li Qiufeng saw the appearance of the two of them, he was amazed in his heart, he thought to himself that the two people looked respectful, although it was clear at first glance that they had never practiced martial arts, but when they carried the table and walked briskly, it was obvious that they did not know how much they had practiced together on weekdays Only then can they cooperate so skillfully when carrying the table and walking, even if a cup full of tea is placed on the table, there will be no splash when walking.When I was on duty in the palace, I saw that the eunuchs in the palace served the concubines in the harem, which was somewhat similar to these two people.How can this old fellow drive his subordinates to serve him so humbly? !

While Li Qiufeng was thinking, the gray-clothed old man slowly walked forward a few steps and came to the table.The four masters who had been following behind him did not follow up, but each of them pressed the handle of the knife, and their eight eyes were fixed on Li Qiufeng.

The gray-clothed old man stood in front of the table, smiled slightly, and said in his mouth: "The old man is the host, please drink a cup of clear tea."

While speaking, he raised his right hand and gestured to Li Qiufeng to please sit down.Li Qiufeng glanced at the gray-clothed old man, walked slowly to the table, sat cross-legged on the felt on the south side of the table, and said, "Thank you, old man."

The old man in gray nodded, took a step forward, and carefully knelt down on the felt.Seeing him like this, Li Qiufeng's heart shuddered, wondering why this old guy knelt in front of me, did he have something to ask me to do?The Matsuda family is the most powerful daimyo in the Fusang country, and this old guy is also the big boss of the Matsuda family. I am just a prodigal son who has just arrived in the Fusang country. I am afraid that if he doesn't even know my name, he will ask me for something. to do?
When Li Qiufeng was thinking about it, he saw the old man in gray kneeling on the felt, with his hands on his knees, with a calm expression and no embarrassment at all.Li Qiufeng became more and more puzzled, and his eyes kept rolling on the face of the old man in gray.The gray-clothed old man seemed to have guessed Li Qiufeng's thoughts, smiled slightly, and said in his mouth: "Your Excellency, seeing the old man sitting in such a posture, is surprised, isn't it?"

When Li Qiufeng heard what the old man in gray said, he was startled. He thought to himself that this old man is meticulous and can read words and demeanor. He is really a difficult opponent.Thinking of this, Li Qiufeng took a deep breath, and said: "Old man is right, I do feel a little strange. But thinking that the old man is from Fusang, he has not been educated by a saint, he sits in a strange posture, and does not understand the etiquette of hospitality. , but it’s not surprising.”

Li Qiufeng has always been calm, even in the face of a big enemy, he seldom sneered and ridiculed. At this time, he deliberately insulted the old man in gray, just to kill the old man's vigor, making the old man impetuous and lost If you have a small size, you will have an opportunity to take advantage of it.It's just that although he intends to capture or kill the gray-clothed old man, the four masters who are following closely behind the gray-clothed old man are already two or three feet away from the two of them. perfect timing.However, Shi Shiran, the gray-clothed old man, came over and treated him with courtesy. Although Li Qiufeng was not a strict person, it was really impossible for him to capture or kill the gray-clothed old man at this time.So he thought over and over in his mind, wondering what this old guy was up to, but he has never turned against me, it would be too despicable and shameless for me to catch him, it's better to bear it for now and wait and see the situation.

After hearing Li Qiufeng's words, the old man in gray didn't change his expression at all, and said, "Your Excellency is wrong. This old man is not from Fusang, but Han."

Hearing what the old man in gray said, Li Qiufeng's heart shuddered, and he looked at the old man in gray carefully, seeing that he had a kind face, and he was indeed a Han, so he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.The old man in gray went on to say: "Although the old man has not been in the examination room in Zhongtu and won the fame, he has read the Four Books and Five Classics many times, and Cheng Zhuzhi also knows a little bit about it. The educated old man still knows."

Li Qiufeng was robbed white by the gray-clothed old man, his face turned green and pale, and his expression became more and more embarrassing.Before that, he had fought against martial arts masters such as Tang He, Yun Feiyang, Liu Sheng Zongyan, etc. Maybe his martial arts did not have the upper hand compared to these masters, but he never suffered a disadvantage in words.At this time, facing such an old man who doesn't understand martial arts at all, but was blushed by the other party's words, he felt like sitting on pins and needles, and he couldn't even utter a rebuttal.

The old man in gray saw that Li Qiufeng was so embarrassed that he couldn't even speak, so he smiled slightly, and then said: "Your Excellency saw the old man kneeling, and thought that the old man's posture was not dignified, which was a disrespectful act, but he didn't know that during the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Sovereigns, the nobleman Meeting distinguished guests is an etiquette. In the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the children of the royal family and noble families had to learn the etiquette of kneeling and sitting since childhood. If there was a slight difference, they would be laughed at. It was recorded in the Analects Do you remember an old incident of the sage who passed Confucius?"

Li Qiufeng took a lot of books with him when he went to the Fusang country this time, but most of them were history books and miscellaneous books, and the Four Books and Five Classics were not listed among them.Although he lived in seclusion in Sichuan with his master when he was young, and his master once taught him to read the Four Books and Five Classics, he just read it briefly and then put it behind him. After more than ten years, he has long forgotten the Analects of Confucius. At this time, when the old man in gray mentioned the old things about Confucius recorded in the Analects of Confucius, he couldn't figure it out at all, his face became redder unknowingly, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to get in.

The old man in gray saw that Li Qiufeng had lost all the arrogance he had just now, and his expression was depressed, but he didn't say anything sarcasm. He just smiled and said in his mouth: "There is such a story recorded in the Analects of Confucius. Although Yuan Rang is not as knowledgeable as Confucius, he is still a very learned man. Confucius and Yuan Rang often sit and discuss Taoism, and they also appreciate Yuan Rang's knowledge. Traveling together can be said to be a one-on-one good friend of Shi Yuliang. But such a pair of good friends turned out to be strangers in the end and never saw each other for the rest of their lives.

"It is said that one day Confucius visited Yuan Rang's house. At that time, Yuan Rang was talking with an old friend in the living room. When he was talking, he couldn't help being a little casual. When he knelt down, he spread his legs and leaned forward. , gesticulating with both hands, completely different from his usual dignified appearance. At that time, Confucius entered the yard and saw Yuan Rang's appearance outside the door, and immediately flew into a rage. He beat Yuan Rang's legs, roared and uttered a famous saying, "You are a thief if you are old and never die!" After finishing the beating, Confucius ignored Yuan Rang, turned his head and walked away angrily. Cut off the robe with Yuan Rang and cut off righteousness, old age and death will not communicate with each other."