fake gentry

For the next two days, Xie Hong enjoyed himself in the small courtyard.

Wang Dun did not summon him again after the private banquet, and Xie Hong knew that Wang Dun was waiting for him to take the initiative to request an audience.

But Wang Dun wasn't in a hurry, and neither was he.

These past two days, he has been reading the books that Wang Bin gave him in the courtyard, then writing some calligraphy and playing some music, and occasionally chatting with the beautiful maids.

Seeing that he was easygoing, Song Yi boldly brought up the singers' request, and Xie Hong readily agreed.

However, nowadays, apart from the zither which can be notated in writing, other instruments like the flute, zheng, and pipa can only be passed down orally. There is no set method for notating these instruments. Xie Hong is only a dabbler; he knows nothing except for the novelty of the pieces.

It could only be that he passed it on to Song Yi, and then Song Yi passed it on to those songstresses.

However, Song Yi directly summoned the songstresses, and more than a dozen beautiful girls filled Xie Hong's villa, with the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments filling the air and creating quite a commotion.

These songstresses learned quickly; in half a day, they had learned the two songs Xie Hong had taught them.

One song for farewell, one song for joy.

A wicked thought popped into Xie Hong's mind, and he actually taught them to arrange an ensemble using the qin, zheng, dizi, and pipa, in preparation for seeing Wen Qiao and Wang Bin off when they left.

This could absolutely be a sensation.

The courtesans had never met such an easygoing gentleman as Xie Hong. Not only did he not look down on them in the slightest, but he even gave them careful guidance.

I won't take advantage of them.

Those chosen by Wang Dun to be singing girls must have been skilled in music. They had never heard such a joyful tune as Huanqin, especially its captivating rhythm, which even surpassed the singing girls of Shi Chong's Golden Valley Garden back then.

In this seemingly peaceful life under house arrest, Xie Hong suddenly thought of someone.

How could I forget Guo Pu? The patriarch of Feng Shui, the originator of immortal poetry, and a super charlatan!

Before Xie Hong traveled through time, he was working on the restoration of Wei and Jin dynasty clothing. In order to verify the style of clothing in the tomb murals, he spent a lot of time reading Guo Pu's "The Book of Burial" online.

If I could meet him now that I'm in Wuchang, this trip would definitely be worthwhile.

Moreover, Guo Pu is going to be killed by Wang Dun next year, and Xie Hong wants to see if he, a minor charlatan, can save the life of a major charlatan.

That evening, Xie Hong, accompanied by Song Yi, arrived at Guo Pu's villa.

An old servant opened the door, and Xie Hong introduced himself. The old servant quickly welcomed him inside.

"The master invites the young master to the study."

The old servant led Xie Hong to the study and then left. Xie Hong gently knocked on the door, and a gentle voice came from inside: "Please come in."

Xie Hong pushed open the door and entered. He saw that the room was full of bamboo slips and hemp paper, some neatly stacked on the bookshelf, and some scattered in the corner of the table. The air was filled with a faint smell of ink and mildew.

A middle-aged scholar with black-rimmed robes and wide sleeves was bent over his desk, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his left hand and a pen in his right, copying something onto the hemp paper beside him without looking up: "Thank you for sitting down, young master. I will finish copying soon."

Xie Hong didn't dare to disturb him, so he asked Song Yi to wait at the door and quietly went in.

Guo Pu was slender and refined, with a few long wisps of beard under his chin, gentle features, and a calm and focused gaze.

After about fifteen minutes, Guo Pu put down the bamboo slips and asked with a smile, "What brings you here, Young Master Xie?"

Xie Hong quickly bowed deeply to Guo Pu: "I have long admired the name of Master Jingchun. I am sorry for my presumptuous visit. I hope Master Jingchun will not take offense."

Guo Pu did not return the greeting, but looked Xie Hong up and down several times, a very deep look in his eyes: "Where do you come from, Young Master Xie?"

Xie Hong's heart suddenly pounded wildly.

Holy shit! !

That can't be that amazing, right?

Xie Hong used to be a staunch atheist. He believed that if he actually encountered a beautiful ghost in the wild, he could make her his mother.

But after traveling through time, he wavered.

Who is this person in front of me?

One of the most famous scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he was erudite and versatile, proficient in classics, exegesis, astronomy, and calendrical calculations, and was especially famous for his annotations of the Erya, Fangyan, and Shanhaijing.

More importantly, it is said that he wrote the Book of Burial, which contains the saying that burial is about harnessing vital energy, that vital energy disperses with the wind and stops at water, which directly laid the theoretical foundation for Chinese Feng Shui.

Guo Pu served as a secretary in Wang Dun's staff, responsible for drafting documents and organizing classics. He was a close friend of Huan Yi, Wen Qiao, and Yu Liang, and the stories he left behind are all supernatural and mysterious.

He once consulted a divination and it was said that the world would fall under the rule of foreign tribes and his hometown would be ravaged by the Xiongnu. So he secretly contacted dozens of relatives and friends and moved south to the southeast.

He once told Huan Yi, "You may come and go as you please at my house, but please do not look for me in the toilet, or we will both suffer misfortune."

Later, Huan Yi, drunk, came to find Guo Pu. Hearing that Guo Pu was defecating, Huan Yi went over to him. Guo Pu was shocked and said, "This is fate! One of them died at the hands of Wang Dun, and the other died at the hands of Su Jun."

Even more mysteriously, Yu Liang's younger brother, Yu Bing, asked Guo Pu to divine the fate of the Yu family. Guo Pu said that Yu Liang's children and grandchildren would be rich and noble in the future, but if a white dragon appeared in the world and the tombstone turned to gold, then death would befall them!

Later, Yu Bing's son, Yu Yun, became the governor of Guangzhou. A small white dog appeared in his concubine's room, its origin unknown. The concubine took a liking to it and secretly kept it. When Yu Yun found out, the white dog suddenly disappeared. Yu Yun recalled Guo Pu's prophecy and sighed, "Perhaps this dog is the White Dragon! A great calamity is coming."

Sure enough, not long after, the Yu family was destroyed by the powerful minister Huan Wen.

Before plotting his rebellion, Wang Dun ordered Guo Pu to divine the outcome, and Guo Pu told him it would be unsuccessful. Wang Dun then asked how long he could live if he started the rebellion. Guo Pu explained that if Wang Dun remained in Wuchang, his lifespan would be unpredictable, and that starting a rebellion would inevitably lead to disaster.

Wang Dun was furious and asked, "How long do you live?" Guo Pu replied, "My life ends today." Sure enough, in his rage, Wang Dun had him killed that very day.

Xie Hong is a cheater.

But this one...

He's a fortune teller!

He forced himself to remain calm and smiled slightly at Guo Pu: "From where I came from."

Two beams of light suddenly shot out in Guo Pu's eyes, and he asked again, "Where to?"

Xie Hong replied, "Of course, I'm going to where I'm going."

Guo Pu remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Young master, your divine bearing is lofty and refined, like jade trees in a jeweled forest, like pearls and jade on tiles. It's a pity your sharpness is too outstanding; is this a blessing or a curse for the common people?"

Xie Hong was sweating profusely.

This person before me is even more divine than Ge Xianweng; he truly has something special.

He was just pretending to be a charlatan, while the other person really was a charlatan.

Seeing Xie Hong in a daze, Guo Pu immediately instructed the old servant to brew tea and tidied up the bamboo slips on the table, making room for Xie Hong to sit.

After Xie Hong sat down absentmindedly, an irrepressible impulse welled up in his heart.

After the old servant served tea, he put down his teacup, sat up straight, and said in an extremely respectful tone, "I have long admired Master Guo. I have studied Master Guo's book, 'The Book of Burial,' repeatedly. It says, 'Gather things so that they do not disperse, and move things so that they have a stopping point.' This is called Feng Shui, and every word is a gem."

Guo Pu paused, his hand holding the teacup still.

He raised his head and looked at Xie Hong with a very strange gaze: "Every word is a gem? Master Xie, your words are truly eloquent. However, I have never written a 'Book of Burial,' so how did you come to know that?"

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Xie Hong's heart, but he still braced himself and said, "Isn't the 'Book of Burial,' which specializes in burial methods, feng shui, and geomancy, written by Master Guo?"

Guo Pu put down his teacup, then looked at Xie Hong and slowly said, "I have annotated the *Erya*, the *Fangyan*, the *Shanhaijing*, and the *Mu Tianzi Zhuan*. As for the *Zang Shu*..."

Xie Hong knelt on the ground, his face turning pale, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

A strong sense of absurdity welled up in my heart.

Let you show off.

Having finally traveled through time and met the real person, the person clearly refused to admit that he had written the book. Moreover, it seemed that no one else besides Guo Pu knew about the book, which is why there were various controversies in later generations.

So, how did you know that?

Seeing his stiff expression, Guo Pu silently picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then looked at him with a calm yet meaningful tone, saying, "My lord, please rest assured. Everyone has their own destiny. This is the will of Heaven, and no one can go against it."

Xie Hong's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, suddenly sank. He looked up at Guo Pu and asked abruptly, "Has Lord Guo heard anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"Man can conquer nature!"

Now it was Guo Pu's turn to be stunned.