blue shirt oath

Chapter 360·The Way of Being an Official
Ziying had never seen Liu Fengchun smile so boldly.

In her impression, Liu Fengchun always had a meek look on his face. He was always clean in a long cotton coat that he had worn for an unknown period of time. He bowed his hands upright and saluted everyone he met. He was full of bookishness; however, when he was telling stories, he was always clean. He kept talking, eloquent, and danced, making the audience stunned.

Now, Ziying carefully looked at Liu Fengchun in front of her. She was still wearing white clothes underneath and a black gown on the outside. She was dusty and dusty. Her long hair was tied up casually, so casually that a strand of black hair hung down from the side. The look in his eyes was filled with rigidity. The smile that has not dissipated after laughing does not look like a scholar, but like a knight.

The person in front of her suddenly turned into Du Qingshan's face. Ziying suddenly remembered that when she first saw Du Qingshan, he was dressed in a green shirt and looked cool and elegant, with the same smile but not a smile, as if time and nothing could keep him from getting better. Heart, and now, today's Brother Du——

Ziying laughed. Now Brother Du already has someone he likes in his eyes. He has Sister Song and Xiao Qiyuan. He is also a light-weight person in the court. In the whirlpool of the court, he acts steadily and carefully, no longer Just do whatever you want like before.

"Why is Brother Gu Xian laughing?"

Ziying came back to her senses, Liu Fengchun's questioning eyes appeared in front of her, and she realized that she had thought too far in front of others, so she quickly changed the subject: "Sir, since you have signed an agreement with Wanjuan Tower, please accept the fifty taels of deposit first." , I will send the remaining polished pens to you when the new book sells well."

Then he ordered someone to give him a piece of silver.

Liu Fengchun was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Then let me borrow Boss Gu's auspicious words and wish the new book a great sale. As for the fifty taels of silver, just use it as money to buy books today." He pointed to a book next to the bookshelf opposite. Stacking books, "The name of Wanjuan Building is well-deserved. I discovered a lot of good books, and I bought them. It's getting late, so I'll say goodbye first."

As he spoke, he raised his hands upright and saluted.

Ziying secretly thought that Mr. Liu had returned to the meek-looking Mr. Liu before.

Then he returned the gift with his hand.

Liu Fengchun left Wanjuan Building with the book in his arms, returned to his residence, and lay on the bamboo bed to read.

The rent of houses in the capital was expensive, so he chose something far away and bought a bamboo house outside the city that had been unoccupied for a long time. Now that the spring cold had not passed, the bamboo house was surrounded by green bamboo trees, making it even more cold and unusual.

However, Liu Fengchun didn't care much about it. He enjoyed reading and writing, reciting poems and playing the piano every day. If he didn't have money or food, he would go to the city to tell stories and write articles to earn some daily necessities. Everyone said that Mr. Liu had the character of Mr. Wu Liu. I'm afraid it's even colder than Mr. Wuliu.

The major restaurants and libraries in the capital admired Liu Fengchun's reputation and often came to invite him, but nine times out of ten he was rejected. However, as long as Liu Fengchun came out to tell stories, the crowds would definitely be empty.

On this day, Liu Fengchun, at the invitation of Zhu Lingyi, went to Fanlou to tell a story. There was an endless stream of common people, dignitaries and dignitaries who came to listen to the story.

Song Guichen and Du Qingshan finally got free time and came to Fanlou to listen to books.

Du Mansion was not far from Fan Tower, so the two decided to walk there.

"After Qi'er was born, we rarely strolled around so leisurely." Du Qingshan held Song Guichen's hand and couldn't help but sigh, "I still remember the first time I met Xiaochen, on the road to escape. I wanted to die, but nothing happened. Your cakes are so delicious. I have passed away so many years ago, and now I am a father and a minister, and the grudges and hatreds I had when I was young seem like things that happened in my previous life."

"Is this bad now?" Song Guichen asked softly.

"Okay, great, I always feel like this is a dream."

"I feel that it was a dream in the past, and now I am waking up from it." Song Guichen stopped when he heard this and looked at Du Qingshan, "I still remember seeing you again, in the towering green building beside the West Lake. You have black hair and green clothes, you are a suave young man, your eyes are filled with sadness, and you are so cynical that no one can see through it. No matter how much you smile on your face at that time, after all, it is not what you are looking at. Now you are a living person. ”

Hearing this, Du Qingshan smiled in his fox eyes: "It turns out that in Xiaochen's eyes, I was a 'young and suave' from the beginning~~"

"you--"

Being teased like this, Song Guichen's face turned red instantly, "You are a narrow-minded person. People talk to you nicely, but you only care about making fun of them."

"Hahahaha, we are an old married couple, and Xiaochen still loves to blush so much."

Du Qingshan laughed and picked up Song Guichen, jumped up, flew to the nearby roof and ran forward quickly.

Song Guichen nestled in his arms, looking at the bustling crowd on the road, and was shocked: "Are these all people going to Fanlou to listen to books? There are so many people, if you don't know, you would think there is a war. Mr. Liu's reputation is really extraordinary."

"No, if we delay for a while longer, I'm afraid we won't even have a seat."

Du Qingshan was very good at Qinggong and soon arrived at Fan Tower.

The huge Fan Tower was surrounded by three floors inside and three outside. Fortunately, in order to avoid crowds, Fan Tower even invited people from the government to maintain order, and then opened a small passage for people to enter and exit.

After Zhu Lingyi and Xu Zhili got married, they still managed the affairs of Fan House as they did before leaving the cabinet. It was said that Boss Zhu had given Fan House as his daughter's dowry, and Fan House had now been fully managed by Zhu Lingyi.

"Brother Du! Sister Song! You are here too!" Ziying waved to Song Guichen and the others from a distance, and rushed to Song Guichen in twos and twos. "This Liu Fengchun is really a strange person. He has only been in the capital for less than half a year, and everyone knows it." As soon as his book was printed, it was sold out instantly.”

Ziying happily counted her income over the past few days with her fingers. Looking at Liu Fengchun on the reading desk was like looking at the God of Wealth.

Song Guichen smiled and said: "I also heard that his books are only allowed to be sold at Wanjuanlou. Other bookstores can't buy his books with high prices. They say they have signed a buyout agreement with Wanjuanlou. Is that true? Is this the case?”

"It's a lie!" Ziying shook her head, "I just asked him to sign an entrustment agreement. The agreement only said that he entrusted me to buy books from Wanjuanlou, and the book proceeds will be split 50-50."

"Boss Wang of the bookstore across the street lamented all day long that even though he paid a high price of 19 cents, he still couldn't hire Mr. Liu away," Du Qingshan said.

Song Guichen and his entourage came to the lobby and sat down at the seats that had been arranged. The storytelling table was now empty. Liu Fengchun hadn't even started his story yet, but it was already full of people below, sipping tea and eating snacks, waiting for the opening ceremony.

Ziying drank a cup of tea: "That's Mr. Liu's moral principle——"

Just as he was talking, Liu Fengchun came up on the stage dressed in cloth and holding a folding fan. When he opened the folding fan, Liu Fengchun bowed in all directions. After greetings, he sat in front of the table and chairs, straightened his clothes, and asked everyone: "What do you want to do today?" Hear that story?"

Someone sitting closer to the stage cheered: "No matter what the dynasty is, Mr. Liu will just say something lively and cheerful."

Liu Fengchun shook his head and replied: "My lord, I don't know, the lively situation is just the roots of indifference, and the happy things are like the branches and leaves that are entangled; it would be better to say a few words to the leftover mountains, lonely ministers and evil sons, and let everyone shed some tears." "

As he spoke, he knocked on the wood and said loudly: "Yesterday in the purple bamboo forest, I read a new legend called "The Plum Blossom Fan". It is about the recent events of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the Southern and Tang Dynasties. It uses the feelings of separation and reunion to describe the rise and fall of the story. , real people, well-founded.”

When the drum board is lightly struck, there will be wind, thunder, rain and dew;
When the tongue and lips move, it becomes the Spring and Autumn Festival.

I don’t know how much time passed, but a storytelling session was approaching, and Liu Fengchun took a sip of water:

"If you want to know what happened next, let's listen to the explanation next time——"

Everyone then woke up from a dream and shouted in unison: "Mr. Liu, please talk more!"

Liu Fengchun ignored him, got up and hid in the background, and everyone reluctantly dispersed.
-
Ziying said goodbye to Song Guichen and his wife, and was about to go to Wanjuan Tower when she was suddenly stopped by someone:

"Miss Gu, stay."

Looking back, it was Liu Fengchun.

He was holding a book in his hand and handed it to Ziying: "This is the manuscript of "Plum Blossom Fan". Boss Gu, take it."

Ziying was overjoyed when she heard this.

Liu Fengchun told a story today, but he did not finish it, but only told half of it, which aroused the audience's interest. Now that he has given the manuscript of "Plum Blossom Fan" to Wanjuanlou, it means that Wanjuanlou can take this opportunity to make another big sale. !
Where is the manuscript!

This is simply gold!

Ziying thought so, as if she saw golden gold falling towards her.

The way her eyes were shining was caught by Liu Fengchun. Liu Fengchun just looked at her with a smile. Ziying didn't take the manuscript for a long time. Liu Fengchun didn't rush her, but held the book in his hand motionless and waited with a smile. .

"How can this be so embarrassing!" Ziying finally came to her senses and took the book, "How about this. The previous contract was a 50-50 split, which was quite disadvantageous for Mr. Liu. It's better to change it to a 30-70 split in the future. Lou San, what do you think?”

Liu Fengchun said: "Gold and silver are my external possessions, just enough for my use."

Ziying was embarrassed by what he said.

Look at this person, this is the character of a scholar!
Since you don’t want it, then I’m not welcome!
Ziying thought about this and stopped insisting. She cherished the manuscript and wished she could go back and read it.

Since Liu Fengchun cooperated with Wanjuanlou, her identity has naturally not been concealed.

But every time Ziying got along with Liu Fengchun as a daughter, she always felt uncomfortable for some reason.

It was the same now. After talking about business, the topic was gone for a while. Liu Fengchun didn't take the initiative to say goodbye. She had just taken advantage of others, so she couldn't say goodbye dryly, so the two walked forward slowly. As they walked, there was an awkward atmosphere surrounding them. "that--"

"I'm--"

Ziying turned around and was about to speak when Liu Fengchun also spoke.

"You speak first."

"You speak first."

The two of them made some concessions and immediately laughed, breaking the subtle embarrassment in the air.

"I heard that you live in the purple bamboo forest on the outskirts. It's inconvenient to go in and out of the city every day. Why not find a house nearby." Ziying finally found a topic.

She calculated in her mind that these days, Wanjuan Hall paid Mr. Liu thousands of books at least, and buying a house in the capital was just a piece of cake for him. Coupled with Liu Fengchun's popularity among the people in the capital, if he fell in love with that house, I'm afraid the other party would gladly offer it to him.

"Purple Bamboo Forest is located in a remote area and has a quiet environment. It is most suitable for idle people like me. I have no intention of coming to this busy city."

"Mr. Liu is indeed as popular as the rumors say, and he has the legacy of the Five Lius."

"Mr. Jingjie did not bow down for five buckets of rice and retired to the countryside. It is certainly a noble act and a clean one." Liu Fengchun said, "But in my humble opinion, throughout the ages, most literati have been willing to resign and retire when their official careers are smooth. It was at the end of the road that I had to do this, so I pretended to go into seclusion and find an excuse for myself not to give up for five buckets of rice. This is especially true for people in this world. "

"Mr. Liu's words have a different meaning."

"Haha, it's just the nature of storytellers. They just talk nonsense when they feel like it. Don't take it to heart, Boss Gu."

"In my lifetime, I have only seen one person who truly retired to the mountains and forests." Ziying said suddenly, "I will name this person and see if you can find out his faults?"

"Who?"

"The solitary mountain in the West Lake, Lin Bu, Lin He Jing!"

"You said Mr. Hejing." Liu Fengchun smiled knowingly, "When I was in Hangzhou, I also paid a visit to Mr. Hejing. In the West Lake, on the solitary mountain, there is a plum blossom and a crane. He has no shortage of food and clothing, and is free and comfortable. I am envious. We, if Tao Yuanming had this condition at that time, he would not have "planted beans at the foot of the southern mountain, and the grass was full of bean sprouts." Mr. He Jing said that he was going to live in seclusion, but that was not true, it was just his ambition. "

"What about Mr. Liu's ambitions? Are they also in the mountains and forests?"

"Also in the mountains and forests." Liu Fengchun said sincerely, "It's just that I don't have the conditions to hide in the mountains and forests, so I'm still wandering around in the busy city."

"The conditions for being hidden in the mountains and forests?"

Liu Fengchun smiled and pointed at the manuscript in Ziying's hand, raising his eyebrows: "Gold and silver, too~~"

"Hahaha." Ziying was amused by this rare naughty look on his face, and immediately understood his ambition, "Sir's idea is really strange. He doesn't like the busy city, he loves the mountains and forests, and wants to hide in the mountains and forests without gold and silver."

"If you don't like the busy city, you will love the mountains and forests. If you want to hide in the mountains and forests, there will be no gold and silver. This is a wonderful saying."

Liu Fengchun praised him with an armrest.

After sending Ziying to Wanjuan Tower, Liu Fengchun said goodbye to him and returned to his residence in the suburbs alone.

He didn't know why he insisted on walking a little longer with her. After all, they had to part ways. So what if he walked a little longer and said a few more words?
But he couldn't control himself. He accepted every invitation to tell stories these days, just to have a reason to go to the city and have a chance to see her.

As soon as he saw her, he couldn't help but feel happy. He no longer even thought about hiding in the mountains and forests, but what she liked and what could he give her? Well, don’t think about it, she likes to make money, so help her make money!
He was also extremely happy to see her expression of genuine surprise when she saw his manuscript. Liu Fengchun could feel that Miss Gu had no romantic feelings for him, but at the very least, he was valuable to her, and that was enough.

Liu Fengchun sat at the table, caressing the beautiful woman on the scroll and talking to himself.

"That's enough."

He carefully put away the scroll, took out a pen and paper, and began to write a storybook legend.
-
Ever since I got the book "Plum Blossom Fan", Wanjuan Tower was busy printing books. Ziying was so busy that her feet didn't touch the floor, but Song Guichen was free.

Every day, he teased little Qiyuan, watching him dance with his little hands and feet, and then admired Atui's martial arts practice. Under the guidance of Uncle Wu, Atui's martial arts improved by leaps and bounds. Song Guichen would also practice wherever he wanted. With swords, guns and sticks, one does not seek to acquire magical skills, but only seeks to strengthen one's body.

As for Ah Qi, he has been immersed in reading all day long. Not only has he read hundreds of schools of thought, but he has also recently become obsessed with the art of yin and yang. He talks about "Tai Chi Bagua" and "Yin and Yang poles", and from time to time he makes calculations for everyone. Not to mention, you have asked him to forget about it several times, which made Atui look at him as if he were a god.

At first, Atui had always admired Brother Ah Qi, who was not much older than him. Now he was even more outrageous. He directly shouted that there was no one better than Brother Ah Qi in the world! In addition to practicing martial arts all day long, I just hang around Ah Qi.

"It's so boring, Brother Aqi. Look at the crisp autumn weather today. It's the day to go hiking. Let's go hiking."

After A Cui practiced martial arts in the morning, he spent the morning reading books with Du Qi in the study. He was really bored. While talking to Du Qi, he threw the book in his hand far away. The book landed accurately and steadily on the bookshelf. Up, impartial, just right.

"No wonder there is a black air on your forehead today. It should be here." Old God Du Qi is here. "If you go mountain climbing, you will definitely suffer a bloody disaster!"

Atui suddenly became energetic: "Originally I only wanted to go there, but now that you say it, I really want to go there."

Du Qi couldn't resist, and he was also curious about how unlucky At Cui would be today, so he agreed: "I'll go ask my sister-in-law if she can go. She's been at home these past few days, and I'm afraid she's bored too."

Of course Song Guichen is going!

So they changed into convenient men's clothes and the three of them went hiking together.

There is Luoluo Mountain outside the city, and there is a Fairy Temple on the mountain. Shili chrysanthemums are planted near the Fairy Temple. During the Double Ninth Festival, many scholars come to enjoy the chrysanthemums.

The three of them were all experienced in martial arts and were very fast. They passed many people who came to climb the mountain and soon reached the chrysanthemum garden.

The chrysanthemums are vying to spit out their pistils, and tourists gather in groups, creating an idyllic atmosphere.

"Such a beautiful scene, your brother is very busy, so we can't see it anymore."

Song Guichen felt a little sad when he thought of Du Qingshan, who hadn't even had a day off recently.

Du Qi sighed: "The Queen Mother is seriously ill and the new emperor is young. On the surface, the court is calm, but underneath there are turbulent undercurrents. My brother is young, but as the emperor's teacher, every step he takes is like walking on thin ice. It is really difficult."

Song Guichen looked at Du Qi happily, his eyes filled with the pride of having a grown-up son in our family.

She also knew something about the situation in the DPRK from Du Qingshan's mouth.

After experiencing a series of demotions of ministers such as Kou Xiang and Ding Wei, she had already felt the dangers of serving as an official in the court.

History is vast and the days keep moving forward. There will always be people in those positions, but there will never be one person who will always be in that position.

Song Guichen asked: "Since being an official is dangerous, how does Ah Qi view being an official?"

"Those who serve as officials must serve the people. The sage said, 'Those who serve as officials must first be virtuous, and those who are in politics must obey the people.' Fan Gong also said, 'Be concerned about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness.'"

"However, I'm afraid there are not many officials who truly serve the people, especially in the center of a political whirlpool like the capital. People who are dedicated to serving the people may be eaten here without even leaving their bones. How does Ah Qi view the way to survive in the officialdom? "

Du Qi thought for a moment, then slowly said:
"The way to be an official is to be patient. A true hero is a man who can endure and is willing to give in."

Song Guichen didn't understand what he meant and continued to ask.

Du Qi replied: "A Qi believes that being an official should be like Li Hang and the princes of the past, 'gentle and firm', 'respectful and peaceful', magnanimous and magnanimous, with a keen eye for talents. If not, he should be like the prime ministers of today." ”

"Lord Wang Zengwang?"

"Exactly. In the struggle with Ding Wei, Mr. Wang adopted the word "forbearance". It was precisely because of his ability to endure that he was able to overthrow Ding Wei in the Gailing case. If he was as upright as Kou Xiang, I am afraid that now The prime ministers are still Ding Wei and others. Therefore, I believe that if an official wants to benefit the people, he must first protect himself and adopt the golden mean."

Song Guichen asked again: "However, how easy is it to choose and stick to the golden mean in a difficult situation?"

"So people like Li Hang, Wang Dan, and Wang Zeng are all sages in Ah Qi's heart." Du Qi shook his head and smiled, "More scholars often can't abide by the officialdom because they can't stand it in difficult situations. If you choose to resign and go into seclusion out of your heart, you will be free, but you will suffer for the people of the world. "

Hearing this, Song Guichen thought of his master and his old man far away in Gushan, and was filled with emotion and was speechless for a moment.

(End of this chapter)