Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 52: Spring is easy to recognize, and all beauties live in peace and harmony for thousands of years

The rain in the south of the Yangtze River has stopped, and the number of people coming and going on the bluestone streets has increased. Whether doing business or walking, they no longer have to hide under the eaves to escape.

Cheng Heng sat alone in the study, looking here and there, hoping to find a "detail" that did not seem to match his original identity, just like in the first world, like the book "Romance of the West Chamber" and the letter sandwiched in it...

But an "old-fashioned" man who has taken in a girl from a private school would obviously be more prudent and would not leave such an obvious handle for others to see.

A rain washed the streets and also cleared Cheng Heng's somewhat confused thoughts - those who walk in the rain know best how heavy the rain is and how cold the wind is.

After figuring it out, Cheng Heng was no longer worried and just followed the trajectory of history. It was actually not difficult for him, and it could not be said that he was forcibly influencing the future of these students - Guan Yin would surely not be able to find fault with him.

"Teacher, I saw Zehuo Ge and Huofeng Ding in the Book of Changes. I heard that the idea of reforming the old and establishing the new is derived from these two hexagrams in the Book of Changes. Could you explain to me the relationship between the two?"

When he was sleepy, someone handed him a pillow. Cheng Heng was originally thinking about how to smuggle his private information without being noticed. Ying Sheng's question not only pointed out the need to "reform the old and establish the new", but also pointed out the inevitability of the development of an era.

“Fire refines gold, taking its essence and discarding its dross.”

"Wood makes fire, but many people add fuel to the flames."

Ying Sheng, who had just stood up, seemed to be frozen in place. Was what the gentleman said an endorsement of his own ideas? Or did the gentleman not understand what he meant at all?
"Sir, what the student means is..."

"The wisdom in the Book of Changes can be interpreted as one thing, and no matter what you mean, the Book of Changes is enough to give you an explanation." Recalling what the drama school teacher said in class, when Teacher Du Jinfang was learning drama with teachers Wang Yaoqing and Mei Lanfang, the first thing the two teachers gave her was a copy of the Book of Changes.

Cheng Heng also once thought that "The Book of Changes" was something mysterious, until it was presented on stage again and again, which finally made Cheng Heng realize why the teacher told this story to the students in the first place - now, "The Book of Changes" has once again helped Cheng Heng to avoid Ying Sheng's sarcastic questions.

Just like practicing Tai Chi, the power in Ying Sheng's words was dissipated and passed on to every student present.

"Sit down, you will understand slowly."

Sitting down slowly, Ying Sheng was still doubting Cheng Heng's intentions. What was even more puzzling was that when Ying Sheng cast a doubtful and hesitant look at Ying An, the latter turned his head away and intentionally avoided communication.

Looking at the reactions of the two siblings, Cheng Heng nodded, and when he turned around, there was still a smile at the corners of his eyes that had not yet disappeared.

"How did you..."

Seeing Ying Sheng was about to catch up with Ying An who was walking in front, Ying An stopped first. The certainty in his words startled Ying Sheng: "What you said makes sense, sir."

"You!" Facing his sister's response, Ying Sheng felt very disappointed and betrayed at the same time.

But Ying'an obviously didn't think there was anything wrong with what he did. He walked quickly towards home. Ying Sheng followed behind him, looking rather embarrassed as he tried to speak while running.

"Ying'an!" He stretched out his hand to block Ying'an, and the heavy movement made Ying'an stop in pain.

"Ying Sheng, can you not be so childish in your actions?"

Shaking off Ying Sheng's hand, while the former was still stunned, Ying An's figure had already disappeared from the bluestone street. When Ying Sheng came to his senses, the only sound accompanying him was the rustling of water flowing in the waterways on both sides.

Ying Sheng stood there for a long time without moving at all - there was clearly a hint of helplessness in Ying An's eyes just now.

It was clearly Ying An who "betrayed" me, so why did she look at me like that?

Could it be that Ying An had some unspeakable secret? If so, then did his mother and father also just make do with each other for many years?
"Ying Sheng." Ying Sheng was reckless. Although Cheng Heng was not very old, he had seen many people and acted many roles. As long as he was willing to put aside his youthful vigor and calm down and look at others, he would be much more mature than his peers, not to mention Ying Sheng, who was in his teens.
A familiar voice sounded. Ying Sheng didn't know why the teacher followed him and the other two out, but 'a little impatience can ruin a big plan'. Two students were missing from the private school in one month. Ying Sheng specially squatted at the gate of the new-style school and indeed saw them.

That was enough, Ying Sheng was very satisfied with himself.

"gentlemen."

Seeing the child's indifferent greeting, Cheng Heng had already guessed what the child was thinking - who hasn't been to school? This perfunctory response was something Cheng Heng had played with in the past.

"Poem 300, do you remember the last line?"

Ying Sheng didn't know what the gentleman wanted to say, but he continued patiently: "In a word, it is: pure thoughts."

"Do you still remember the article "Rogue"? " When Cheng Heng saw a little girl named Ying'an sitting in the private school, he recited the article "Rogue" that very day, fearing that the little girl would be easily deceived by the "solemn promises" of some rogue.

Now that Cheng Heng brought it up, Ying Sheng certainly remembered it. He quickly recalled the contents of the entire article in his mind and waited for Cheng Heng to continue asking questions.

To Ying Sheng's surprise, Cheng Heng did not ask any questions, nor did he ask Ying Sheng to talk about his understanding of the article. Instead, he mentioned his elders for no reason: "Then do you think that someone who can run the pharmacy so well and abide by the motto of 'avoid cheating' will break his oath? Or that someone who manages everything well inside and outside will not know how to turn back in time?"

“You have to trust the people around you so that you can take the next step and go further.”

When Ying Sheng opened his mouth to ask what the gentleman wanted to say to him, Cheng Heng had already turned around and prepared to leave.

Turning around, Cheng Heng was secretly happy about his "retirement with honor", hoping that he could use this opportunity to make Ying Sheng let go of his exploration of his parents' love.

Jiangnan cannot do without rain. No matter it is the misty Jiangnan or the ink-and-wash Jiangnan, without moisture, it would lose most of its aura and become just like everyone else.

Thus, the small bluestone street was washed by the rain again. This time, Ying Sheng did not come to the private school for three consecutive days. Just when Cheng Heng thought that Ying Sheng had gone to the new school as he wished, Ying Sheng came again...

The rain in the south of the Yangtze River came and went, and the number of students in the private school became fewer and fewer, so that Cheng Heng began to sit in the yard more and more often, looking at the sky and thinking back to his first spring in this world.

In the summer after the first spring, Cheng Heng went to find the only girl in the school, found Ying An, and also found out about an old story that had long been tacitly understood between his original self and Ying Xuecheng and Ning Yaochen.

"Thank you for your hard work, sir." Ying An's first words were just like the shock that Cheng Heng's words brought to Ying Sheng, leaving Cheng Heng a little confused.

“Why should I be so hard…” “Sir, you have to satisfy them and let us see a bigger world. It’s not hard at all.”

Cheng Heng had never thought that Ying An, who was only fourteen or fifteen years old, could see everything so clearly. But Cheng Heng was not going to admit it.

"Sir, there is no need to be modest."

"The teacher sacrificed himself to comfort those who were still living in the past. He also let us know what we should do... The teacher's righteousness is worthy of the saying 'to establish a mind for the world, to establish a destiny for the people, to carry on the lost knowledge of the past sages, and to bring peace to the world for all eternity'."

The familiar sentences spoken by such a young girl suddenly had weight and fell on Cheng Heng. Cheng Heng felt that he could not bear it.

"It's just a quote from the ancients, how hard is that?" Perhaps the original body was really sacrificing himself. Without any written records, Cheng Heng was not sure what the "old-fashioned" was doing.

But now Ying An's words seem to have become the proof that such a person once existed and truly read those books of sages to his heart - not just a bunch of nonsense, nor the principle of "unity of knowledge and action".

Instead, he truly used himself to exchange for the peace and stability of a village, and for a group of students to grow up slowly under his shade and know what they truly pursue.

"If we instill modern ideas into them, how can it not be like child brides?" Cheng Heng chewed over the words he had just figured out, "Wouldn't this be like the 'cramming' teaching method we hate?"

When he put himself in other people's shoes, Cheng Heng finally realized that the wisdom of some gentlemen is truly worthy of the title of "Sir".

Even though everyone pointed the finger at "me", "I" knew why and for whom I was doing this. Perhaps the "old-fashioned" also had regrets. When he saw the number of students in the private school decrease, was he happy or sad? Cheng Heng wanted to ask the original body very much, but he knew it was impossible.

Just like he couldn't really have a complete conversation with the characters he wrote... Cheng Heng could only silently feel how much wisdom and righteousness this "old fashioned man" he had never met possessed that he couldn't imagine.

"Yes, this is what it means to carry on the legacy of the saints."

Establishing oneself, fixing one's mind, establishing one's words, and establishing one's destiny are all things that a person must uphold on his or her own, and are not easy at all.

"To bring peace to the world for eternity" seems like an illusory concept to most people, but for teachers, "to carry on the lost knowledge of the sages" is a mission they are born with due to their unique conditions!

They are given the mission of carrying forward the past and ushering in the future, bringing forth something new from the old.

Cheng Heng suddenly wanted to meet Guan Yin and tell her what a teacher should be like - no matter whether Guan Yin understood it or not, Cheng Heng felt that he understood it at this moment.

"Sir, I'm leaving and heading north." While Cheng Heng was still immersed in his own thoughts, Ying An knocked on the door and walked in.

"Going north?"

"Well, I think it's time to go check it out."

"Then there will only be three or two people left in my private school." Cheng Heng smiled and saw certainty and determination in Ying An's eyes. At this moment, he felt that the original "old-fashioned" person should be happy when he saw that there were fewer and fewer people in the private school.

"I will write to you, sir."

"Once I settle down, I will definitely write to you, sir..." Ying An saw an inexplicable expectation in Cheng Heng. This expectation seemed to determine what choice he would make.

"Well, I hope I can still see it then."

I originally thought that the protagonist of the story was Ying Sheng, but I didn't expect it to be Ying An. When Cheng Heng figured it out, he felt that maybe it was time for him to leave.

When the letter arrives, I wonder if the original "old-fashioned" one will be reading it...

"Where are you going, sir?" Ying An didn't seem to expect an answer from the gentleman halfway through the question. Instead, the latter part of the question turned the former into a rhetorical question, "Don't worry, sir, Ying An will settle himself as soon as possible."

"Just take care of yourself." Cheng Heng obviously had no intention of answering.

"Sir, after I left, my brother... he was really childish." Ying Sheng seemed determined not to leave until all the students in the private school were gone. Until now, he didn't know how much Ying An had done privately. "Thank you for your concern, sir."

"Of course." Oh, there is still the problem of the nail house that has not been resolved. Thinking of Ying Sheng, Cheng Heng felt angry and amused. This kid actually asked Ying Xuexin and Ning Yaosheng exactly what he had told him at the beginning.

Fortunately, the two of them had been together since childhood and had been together for so many years. After giving his ignorant son a good beating, Ying Sheng finally came to an end to the trouble with his parents' marriage.

The sunlight shone on Cheng Heng's face through the dense leaves. He leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes slightly. Among the only two or three students left in the private school, most of them had no intention of studying. What was Ying Sheng waiting for?
Cheng Heng was a little worried, wondering if Ying Sheng had completely given up his original passion during these long years.

The sky was overcast again, and voices could be heard on both sides of the bluestone street. Some were collecting clothes, some were tidying up the shop, and the chaotic noises came into the house, making Cheng Heng feel a little restless.

Three years were enough for Cheng Heng to understand the era he was living in. The storm was coming, the rivers were weeping blood, Ying Sheng should not wait any longer...

Cheng Heng stood up and suddenly felt the oldness of his original body. He staggered half a step and barely stood firm by holding on to the pillar next to him.

It was raining, and Cheng Heng was not busy collecting the flowers and chairs placed in the patio. Instead, he hurriedly looked for an umbrella, thinking that maybe he should go see a doctor.

It would be a good idea to go and see Ying Sheng under the pretext of seeing a doctor.

The clouds in the sky stayed gloomy for a long time, until the distant mountains shrouded in them turned from a fairyland shrouded in clouds and mist to a gloomy and eerie one, as if they were going to swallow up the entire village. At that moment, Cheng Heng finally dug out a moldy umbrella from the corner.

"Tsk." It seemed as if everything and Cheng Heng indicated that Ying Sheng's previous ideals had also become moldy.

The tung oil paper surface was already a little sticky. Cheng Heng tried to open the umbrella, only to find that the part of the umbrella that was not moldy seemed to have become brittle. After a series of "crackling" sounds, the umbrella was barely opened.

He pushed the door open with confidence. The rain poured down the moment Cheng Heng walked out of the door. The moment it touched the umbrella, a stream of water flowed along the handle of the umbrella and into Cheng Heng's palm.

(End of this chapter)