Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 46: Knowing that the breeze is blowing from one place, but entering the hot summer, four dreams come together

"Hush, don't you know our gentleman is a bit of a fogey?"

When did being partial become being old-fashioned? Cheng Heng was already awake, but decided to take a nap.

"The world outside is no longer like this. You are the only one who still refuses to cut your braids."

Is this the first story again? Cheng Heng was a little unsure and decided to listen again.

"But if we want to take the imperial examination, we have to..."

"Imperial Examination? Don't you know that the Imperial Examination has long been...Nowadays, people go to study abroad in the West!"

Oh, at this point, Cheng Heng finally knew the approximate era he was in now - it should be the story of the medicine shop that he had made up in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.

The students' chattering faded away slightly after Cheng Heng opened his eyes. Cheng Heng said nothing, but just sighed.

"Sir... Sir, the students just..."

Since he was an old-fashioned person, he had to act more realistically. Cheng Heng pretended to be angry, so some students began to confess.

"Why bother saying just? Sir, we think..." Before he could finish his words, the look from the girl next to him shut him up.

Cheng Heng only noticed the girl sitting in the corner at this moment. She could tell a hot-blooded young man who dared to argue in front of an "old-fashioned man" to shut up with just one look, and the two looked somewhat similar.

Obviously, this little girl is not simple.

And in a classroom where students refuse to cut their braids and are still talking about those "old-fashioned" things, it is not simple that there is such a "arrogant and domineering" little girl.

It’s very interesting, more interesting than any previous story – is the girl in front of me Ning Yaosheng or Ning Yaochen?

Cheng Heng himself still remembers the origins of these two names. When he was writing this story about the medicine shop, the couplet "I would rather let the medicine on the shelf gather dust" kept lingering in his mind, so he came up with the names of these two sisters.

Now that he was really going to see that stubborn and upright old lady, and see the love between the two young girls and the young man, Cheng Heng wanted to know: would they be more shy, or sweeter?

Cheng Heng pressed down the corners of his mouth that were about to turn up to the sky. He was now worried that if there was a mirror, he would see an old man with long braids and his mouth pressed into a wavy shape.

"Cough cough." After pretending to cough, Cheng Heng decided to do what an old-fashioned person should do.

For example, first find a ruler and tap the book to scare the children, then pick a random passage and ask the one who looks the least serious to recite it.

A ruler? A ruler? Sure enough, it was stuck in the book on the desk. It looked very similar to the old teacher in the episode of Chunxiang making trouble in the school in The Peony Pavilion!
After a few random "crackling" sounds, Cheng Heng casually flipped through the book, trying to find a question suitable for testing this group of students... then he saw a person hurriedly running towards the door.

"Sir, there's something going on at the Ying family, I need...ah, Ah Sheng, Ah An, you two should go home quickly!"

Before Cheng Heng put down his book and reacted, the visitor had already found the target he was looking for. It was indeed the young man who spoke so much, and the little girl who could shut him up with just one look: "Ying family?"

What could possibly happen to the Ying family? When the few of them were still so young, could it be that this was when Mr. Ying passed away?
But Ah Sheng? Ah An? Are these the nicknames of the two children when they were young? Cheng Heng quickly followed them for two steps, and after confirming that the two children were not kidnapped, he walked back again - he couldn't lose his "old-fashioned" image!
After this incident, the students became restless. Cheng Heng knew that they had no intention of learning, and he also needed some time to sort out his thoughts, so he simply asked them to read.

“Read a book a hundred times and its meaning will become clear.” Cheng Heng was used to this lazy teaching method and did not deny his irresponsibility.

Sitting down, Cheng Heng had time to secretly complain: "The Story of Han Dan, The Peony Pavilion...they have four beauties and two difficulties, why do they become four dreams and two difficulties in mine?"

The orange sunset is a kind of salvation for the students and teachers sitting in this room. After class, both of them are like birds just released from a cage, stretching their legs, twisting their waists, and gazing into the distance.

A little breeze came out from the gap between the two walls, blowing away the drowsiness of the day. Cheng Heng, an old-fashioned man, took rhythmic steps, intending to join in the fun - to see what was going on with the Ying family.

"gentlemen!"

"Sir, my son today..."

When Cheng Heng saw these students on the first day, how could he tell who was whose parent? He said a few polite words to deal with them and continued along this narrow Qingshishi Road, preparing to visit the Ying family.

"Where are you going, sir?"

"The Ying family." The two students left early, and it was reasonable for the teacher to visit. Cheng Heng couldn't admit in front of other parents that he was just there to join in the fun!
"The Ying family... the Ying family today, it's better for you not to go there, sir."

Cheng Heng's eyes lit up. It seemed that the person in front of him already knew what happened to the Ying family today.

"how?"

"The Ying family is really in a mess today. If you want to look for them, you might as well do it another day... After all, it's their family affair. If you were here..."

Judging from the hesitant look, it doesn't seem like the master of the Ying family has passed away, but rather some family conflict. If this is the case, Cheng Heng feels that he has to go - the timeline does not seem to be what he originally imagined.

"He is just a poor scholar. The imperial examination has been abolished for so many years. Dad and Mom, why do you want me to study with such a teacher? I want to go to a new-style school! My sister will come with me, otherwise it will ruin her life sooner or later!"

"Pa!" When the slap hit Ying Sheng's face, as a father he was of course heartbroken. But when he saw the villagers standing not far away, the parents of his son's classmates, and the down-and-out scholar his son mentioned... Ying Xuexin knew that this slap was right.

"father!"

My father had never hit me since I was a child, let alone humiliating me in public? Ying Sheng was not convinced.

But the child had grown up after all. With the red slap mark on his face and tears welling up in his eyes, he refused to let the tears fall in front of everyone - Cheng Heng knew that the child had grown up and also wanted to save face.

"Ying Sheng, I tell you, you can't do that, especially if you go to study abroad in Japan. Don't you know who broke into the capital? Don't you know how many people died at the hands of those beasts?"

"Say it again, Ying Sheng, you are not my son!"

"Just because I doubted your love for mom, do you hold a grudge against me..." "Bang!"

It stands to reason that family disgrace should not be made public, but if Ying Sheng continues to talk like this, not only will it be a family disgrace, but all the things that happened to his parents will be exposed!
"You just need to know that the master is a good man, and you should learn how to be a good person from him. As for anything else, you, Ying Sheng, are not my son, and you can take whose surname you want!"

Things have come to this point, and the son certainly didn't dare to say anything more. The farce was about to end, and Cheng Heng, who was standing not far away, became the new target of public criticism.

"In fact, what the boy from the Ying family said is not wrong. This scholar...is not worth much now."

“Who knows if there will be more?”

"Is there any? My family has been reading books for generations. Are all the books I read in vain? Do I have to start all over again?"

"But those new-style schools are indeed in full swing."

"We are doing it, but who knows what will happen in the future?"

After hearing that it was no longer lively now, Cheng Heng realized that this was the world after the story in his script ended, and he also realized his identity this time when he traveled through time.

He is no longer a teacher at the forefront of the times, but more like Kong Yiji, a product of the backward times.

It can be seen that the Ying family has a very good family tradition. There are children who dare to explore, and there are also fathers who stick to their country. Perhaps everyone has reasons from their own perspective, but without the verification of time, no one will have the opportunity to convince anyone.

Cheng Heng certainly understood this. Just like at that time, countless people wanted him to give up what he had been insisting on and take exams for medicine, teaching, computer science, which either looked high-end or traditional and stable professions, but he held back his enthusiasm and went to drama school anyway.

What will happen in the future? Cheng Heng didn't know. At least for now, he could play an "old-fashioned" teacher based on his expertise. He couldn't play a doctor, and he probably couldn't play a programmer in front of a computer.

"Sir, please don't take their words to heart."

Cheng Heng certainly wouldn't take it to heart, because he knew that everyone in this era was helpless. He just didn't know why this group of people still respected such a gentleman full of old ideas?
On the way here just now, Cheng Heng saw the somewhat desolate new-style school. There was a teacher dressed exquisitely and elegantly, standing at the entrance of the school, looking at the people coming and going with compassionate eyes...

"So, why?" Cheng Heng asked Guan Yin directly when he met him for the first time in half a month. Guan Yin's dialectical materialism should be enough to answer his question.

"Because he is more like a spiritual pillar for those people."

"those people?"

"Kong Yiji's gown is a concrete manifestation of Kong Yiji's spiritual support, and this teacher is the concrete manifestation of the spiritual support of that group of people." This problem is indeed not difficult for Guan Yin. It is much easier than how to make a better living in this era.

Disguising as a man certainly made it easier for Guan Yin to move, but it just made it impossible for her to do any work. Guan Yin thought about it for a few days - if she couldn't be a teacher, maybe what she could do was copy books for others and earn some money to make a living.

Therefore, Cheng Heng's questions are more like those of a person who lives too easy a life and is full of curiosity about everything, so he wants to get to the bottom of everything.

"You mean, as long as this teacher and his private school are still there, the books they read seem to still have meaning."

"Yes, in fact, to some extent, it's because their sunk costs are too high." Guan Yin remembered the words on the Internet that advised not to be in a relationship without knowing how to withdraw in time, and suddenly thought that how could these people not be considered an alternative kind of "PUA"?
It’s just that the “PUA” brought about by a lengthy feudal society obviously covers a larger area, and it is easy to find a symbol that can be used as a symbol of sustenance - such as the teacher that Cheng Heng transformed into.

"But why did this teacher accept a girl?"

"In theory... In fact, only a few open-minded families would hire private tutors for girls, and they usually invite them to their homes."

In this way, this "old-fashioned" teacher did not seem to be as boring as he seemed. The more Cheng Heng thought about it, the more curious he became about the original person's identity: "Since he is a representative of the feudal imperial examination, why did he do such an unusual thing?"

"Maybe he just can't let go of his past identity." Guan Yin said perfunctorily.

There is a teacher who is "pestering" Liu Jiaoan, and the story between the original body and Liu Jiaoan is unclear. Guan Yin's own affairs are much more complicated than Cheng Heng's.

Hearing Guan Yin's perfunctory response, Cheng Heng began to do nothing again. Cheng Heng had walked around the small house again and again, and was familiar with every corner, which obviously had no appeal.

So when Cheng Heng was about to turn around and ask Guan Yin about the progress of his last scene "Reunion", he saw a plate of food next to the latter.

"Is this a fermented rice cake?" Cheng Heng recognized the fermented rice cake from the red dots on it. "I haven't eaten it for a long time."

After moving to the city when he was a child, his parents became busier at work. When his grandparents' generation passed away, the process of making fermented rice cakes gradually ceased at home. Cheng Heng looked at the cakes in front of him and his nose felt inexplicably sour.

"Yes." Guan Yin belatedly retracted his gaze to Cheng Heng who was not far in front of him. When their eyes met, he finally responded.

Cheng Heng didn't touch the cakes after all. He raised his eyes and looked directly at Guan Yin in front of him, and gave him some advice: "I was thinking, if all this is a dream, you can still write more later."

"Otherwise, it wouldn't be easy for you to be a teacher in this world... You have to do something to make a living."

Guan Yin didn't say it, but at this moment she was almost 100% sure that Liu Jiaoan knew that her original body was a girl. It's not that those who came from the Jiaofang can't take the imperial examination, but if they disguise themselves as men, even in stories like "The Female Prince Consort", they will almost be beheaded.

The first precedent in history for women taking imperial examinations was during the Song Dynasty.

"Okay." Guan Yin agreed, but he didn't know how to implement Cheng Heng's suggestion.

Guan Yin didn't say anything, but Cheng Heng could see the hesitation when she responded, and the confusion that flashed across her eyes: "It's just a big dream. When you wake up, you will find that prosperity and decline, honor and disgrace are only temporary, so you will retreat to Buddhism again."

It's always difficult for people to ask questions proactively. Having seen children who care about face, Cheng Heng knows that face is also important among friends.

"Just like you said, whether it's the undercover trial or the 'Sword of Imperial Justice' from top to bottom, it's all too unrealistic." Cheng Heng gave Guan Yin a way out.

The light shines on the open space not far away. The water that leaked a few days ago has long been evaporated, but the green mountains in the distance are still misty...

(End of this chapter)