Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 28: The waves are rolling by the bridge, and the old street is in a state of confusion
“Are the books of sages for the country or for the people?”

Dusk creeps into the study, dyeing the fruits on the loquat tree outside the window with a mature orange hue.

Cheng Heng muttered to himself as he looked at the group of students in front of him, not expecting the latter to give him a suitable response. After a moment, as the wind moved and the shadows shifted, he finally chose to ask and answer his own questions, giving this sentence a definition that belonged to future generations.

"Alas... everyone has his or her own path and mission. Not everyone needs to be an official to truly do good things for the country and the people."

The students left one after another. Perhaps only Cheng Heng himself knew who he was talking to. He straightened his clothes and walked out of the study. Looking at the loquat tree that was climbing up to the top of the wall and even faintly surpassing it, Cheng Heng suddenly thought of the words "There is a loquat tree in the yard, which was planted by my wife in the year of her death."

Perhaps it was the sadness of the sunset that filled his heart. Cheng Heng wanted to walk out and away from the loneliness brought by being alone in the huge yard. He ran in the direction where there were many people, followed the flow of people, and came to a main street.

"Who doesn't know the kind-hearted Ruan family member? But do you think kind-hearted people will always be rewarded?"

Ruan family? Was it Ruan Bi? Cheng Heng focused his ears on the conversation of people on the roadside aimlessly, and then he heard some unexpected but reasonable words.

"He borrowed money from other families and then helped others. Now he has a deficit and can't pay it back. This is not kindness. It's obvious that he doesn't know his own weight. How can this be considered kindness?" When asked, the man didn't know why, as if his tail was stepped on, and began to mock Mr. Ruan, "This is obviously his stupidity!"

Stupid? Stupid for what? Even if he sold his property and borrowed money from others, it was clearly for those in need, but he didn't want to be taken advantage of by someone with ulterior motives. Cheng Heng just felt that such people were not worth it.

If it falls on him, ask him if he regrets taking the task of directing that show? Cheng Heng feels that even if he goes back to the past with his memories, he will still not regret any of his choices - a life with a clear conscience is a life with a clear conscience.

"Why do you say that? I remember you..."

"What? You don't doubt that I didn't pay you back, do you?" The person who spoke last raised the paper bag in his hand, "I'm really not so conscienceless... It's just that too much is as bad as too little. It's stupid to be grateful for a little and hate for a big thing!"

"You don't know that by his generation, the Ruan family had accumulated so much wealth that they could have trained his son to be a serious scholar! Not to mention that doing business is bad, but it is still looked down upon by outsiders."

"Now, I heard from his neighbor that he can no longer afford to go to school, so he plans to let his son study medicine... Studying medicine is hard!"

Study medicine? Cheng Heng recalled the information he had looked up for the script at the time, and remembered the details about Ruan Bi's history - was it because he failed in the exams many times, or was it because his family was not financially able to support his studies?

"How does this not count as destroying his family's foundation?"

"It was his own choice after all, and no one can be blamed."

As if he was helpless or just making sarcastic remarks, Cheng Heng suddenly had an idea. He wanted to wait for Ruan's father to take Ruan Bi to leave and then keep Ruan Bi.

"Could it be that my words made him think that I wanted to drive him away because the Ruan family couldn't afford the tuition?" Cheng Heng wondered if his appearance was originally a part of history?
The night brings the dreamer again, and this time it is not only Cheng Heng who is looking forward to seeing each other. After the earlier experience, Guan Yin realizes that the word "linked" in the former's mouth seems to have a very important meaning, and it is even necessary for him to survive in this era.

"You..." There was silence after the unanimous voice. This time, Cheng Heng did not think of "ladies first". The sudden change in historical concepts made him eager to speak.

“I thought, what if we are part of history?”

"Impossible." Guan Yin said firmly. "If, I mean if. If we are part of history, then does everything we have done count as nothing..."

"I told you, it's impossible." Guan Yin sighed, "Although I don't know why you traveled to the real historical era, I can guarantee that any changes to history that shouldn't exist should not exist."

"You should know that there is no trace of 'modern man' in later generations."

Cheng Heng disagreed with Guan Yin's statement: "Many people say that Wang Mang was a time traveler. Moreover, there is a book that envisioned the future in the late Qing Dynasty, and how many similarities there are with the present. Could it be that a modern person traveled through time to the ancient times and left it behind to avoid being exposed?"

"Are you talking about Lu Shizhen?" Guan Yin sighed. This kid must have read too many marketing accounts, one moment about Wang Mang, the next about Lu Shizhen. He really should read some history carefully.

"otherwise?"

Guan Yin suddenly didn't want to talk to Cheng Heng. After thinking about it, he finally thought of something that he thought would resonate with Cheng Heng: "If you say so, could it be that Tang Xianzu and Cao Xueqin were also time travelers?"

"What if all the evidence has been revised by history?" Cheng Heng had a bold idea, which stunned Guan Yin for a moment.

"Corrections?"

"What I mean is, if there is no evidence of time travel in the future, but so many literary works are written and written, is it possible that everything we do will be corrected by history to be reasonable?" As expected of a director, Cheng Heng's every sentence is very imaginative. "Doesn't that mean that nothing we do will affect history?"

"Or, if we just traveled to a parallel world, what does that have to do with history? Can't we just do whatever we want?"

The series of outputs left Guan Yin no time to think.

"If time travel is really possible, how many people would want to travel back to when their country is in danger? Wouldn't it be nice to take them with us to make cannons and airplanes?"

Cheng Heng's words made Guan Yin even more confused: "But this is impossible. No matter how many sacrifices are made..."

"Yeah, that's impossible."

"So admit it, the world we travel to may not belong to our history at all. Then since we are in control of the script, why can't we enforce justice and let good be rewarded and evil be punished?" Cheng Heng has a pursuit of justice and absolute fairness in his heart. From school to society, it has even accumulated to the level of obsession.

"But..." Have you ever thought that what you think is fair and just will definitely bring the best ending? Unlike Cheng Heng's destruction before construction, Guan Yin's life is just like what she is used to now, stable and orderly.

Cheng Heng woke up from the dream and did not hear Guan Yin's next words. He was thinking: Ruan Bi has the brains to benefit the people through business. If he were put in the officialdom, coupled with his father who is kind and generous, he would definitely become a respected official.

Those who owed the Ruan family money would naturally pay back what they owed - good people should get what they wanted.

(End of this chapter)