No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 719 The Old Man from Peach Blossom Spring [Please give me a monthly ticket! ]

As the day turns to dusk, fishermen sing in the evening.

On the south bank between the twin peaks, next to the official road.

A carriage built to the specifications of a princess from the Zhou Dynasty was parked by the roadside.

The White Tiger Guards patrolling around seemed to be accustomed to this cart shaft and no one stepped forward to interrogate it.

But the shaft of the cart now looks a little strange.

There was no one in the carriage, but there was someone behind the curtain on the carriage.

Wei Anhui looked at the "dejected" setting sun in the distance through the rose-red gauze on the shaft of the carriage.

Due to the perspective problem, the setting red sun is right between the south and north peaks of the Twin Peaks, and falls behind the river in the middle.

Wei Anhui looked a little dazed.

There was once a retainer of the Wei family who came from the east coast. When she presented treasures to her father, His Royal Highness Prince Liang, she also reported that the sun on earth rises from the end of the East China Sea every day, goes west, and is suspected to fall into a similar "West Sea".

When Wei Anhui was young, he eavesdropped outside the gate of the palace and wondered more than once whether a fireball as big as the sun would make a crackling sound every time it fell into the sea, similar to the sound of a branding iron hitting water, and ten thousand times louder than the usual sound.

Until now, she would think of it occasionally, but she no longer had the obsession and confusion she had when she was a child, because now she knows clearly that there are no answers to many things in the world, so why bother herself all the time?

"Why did the princess come out?"

Just as Wei Anhui was lost in thought, Wei Wu came from a distance and took the position of coachman in the carriage.

He is still the same old look.

The groom's clothes and a white cloth strip on his head.

Wei Anhui withdrew his gaze and looked at Wei Wu, and found that he seemed to have a string of beads in his hand, which he had put into his sleeve. He couldn't see their appearance clearly, but it seemed that they were given to him by his uncle, King Wei.

Speaking of similar Buddhist beads, Sister Rong seems to have a string of white jade in her hand...

Seeing Wei Anhui was in a daze and didn't speak, Wei Wu asked again:

"Where is the purple dress? Did the princess meet Ms. Rong?"

Wei Anhui shook his head.

"Sister Rong doesn't want to see me. I asked Commander Yi to deliver the skirt. She just came back from Xunyang City and passed by here..."

Wei Wu nodded slightly.

Wei Anhui looked in the direction of Xunyang Grottoes and asked:

"What did Uncle Wu do just now?"

Wei Wudao lowered his head and said, "I will go and collect the Third Young Master's tablet and ashes. The princess can take them back the day after tomorrow."

"it is good."

Wei Anhui pursed his lips. Wei Wu suddenly asked:
"Why did the princess invite Li Fusu? Didn't you tell us not to invite him before? Why did you take the initiative to invite him this time?"

Wei Wu turned his head, but could not see the little princess's specific expression behind the rosy red curtain. He could only see that she seemed to be lowering her head.

Wei Anhui did not answer, but asked:
"Uncle Wu, why do you want me to leave early on the 15th?"

Wei Wu did not blame him for the previous incident, and nodded with a dull expression:
"That day could be dangerous."

Wei Anhui asked: "Are there any rebels? Then wouldn't it be dangerous for us to go to Hukou County? I heard that there are pirates and bandits there, and the soldiers are suppressing them."

Wei Wu shook his head: "I have already sent someone to make arrangements in advance. Princess, don't worry, just set off."

Wei Anhui whispered: "Don't worry, go ahead..."

She felt the carriage beneath her suddenly start moving. It was Wei Wu who started the carriage.

The square-faced man driving the car suddenly said:
"Princess, he doesn't seem to respond to you this time. It's no use calling him."

Wei Anhui behind the curtain said nothing.

……

"Mr. Wu...Mr. Wu."

In Xingzifang, Chengtian Temple, two old friends were reuniting in front of a vegetarian courtyard.

Yuan Huaimin couldn't help but shout.

The skinny old man patted his shoulder, looked him up and down with some satisfaction, and asked kindly:
"Why don't you invite me in to sit down?"

Yuan Huaimin's first reaction was to walk past the skinny old man nervously, then walk out the door and look around the alleys, as if he was worried about something.

"I am the only one here, so you don't need to look at me anymore."

The skinny old man waved his hand and said calmly.

Yuan Huaimin confirmed that there was no one around, turned around, and found that Mr. Wu had walked into the yard with his hands behind his back.

He had no choice but to follow him in, close the gate tightly, and hang up a wooden sign to refuse visitors.

The skinny old man first walked around the yard with interest.

Yuan Huaimin followed behind, feeling a little helpless.

Although he was tall and slender, he followed the skinny old man and acted as reserved as a young wife.

"There are two of you living in this yard, right?"

"Ah."

"It doesn't matter where you are, you are all alone and live comfortably. It doesn't matter what your circumstances are, as long as there is wine and music. When I first saw you in the dilapidated temple in Chang'an, I knew you were such a person. You were drunk and didn't know where you were when you woke up. You even asked me to borrow money with a flattering face.

"I was so poor that I had to paint for bald men. I am already old, how could I have the money to lend you? You are so shameless. You boasted that day that your ancestors were very rich and spent money like water. You said you would take me back one day and let me take whatever I wanted and your ancestors would pay for it... But when I left Chang'an, I saw you pay off the debt in a hurry. Hahahaha. Yuan Huaimin felt embarrassed when he heard this.

Can't help but say:

"But I still took you back, Mr. Wu, and gave you something, fulfilling my promise. I only realized now that the gift I gave you would cause a disaster..."

Wu Daozi seemed not to have heard it, and walked forward with his hands behind his back, smiling:
"However, your optimism and open-mindedness, as if you can make it all back even if you lose all your money, is very much to my liking."

Yuan Huaimin seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

Wu Daozi suddenly stopped in front of a study. His smiling face froze for a moment, and he said "eh" softly. He walked into the room, picked up a stack of scrolls on the table, and looked at them carefully.

Wu Daozi turned around and said seriously:
"You are still painting. You have not lost any of the painting skills I taught you. On the contrary, you have become more and more advanced. But I don't see you using them to become famous."

Yuan Huaimin shook his head: "It's just a last-minute effort. Mr. Wu also knows that I want to present a painting to the saint."

Wu Daozi was amazed and said, "No, you are not just trying to catch up. You have already learned everything from me in terms of painting. There is no need to be modest."

Yuan Huaimin said nothing.

At the same time, he also did not mention that during his years as Sima of Jiangzhou, in addition to focusing on painting, he was also fascinated by other skills such as pipa and zither music, and recently he studied straight wooden sticks with Brother Li Yu... These are all useless, or unwanted, but interesting things.

Wu Daozi put down the scroll, walked back to the courtyard, and sat down leisurely.

Yuan Huaimin had no choice but to go forward and pour him some tea. During the pause, he lowered his head and said:

"I have always been puzzled. Mr. Wu, you are a great painter. You have become famous for painting in the Chang'an Buddhist Temple. Even the two saints came to invite you in person. You were extremely honored. Why didn't you continue to paint in the palace?"

"Then, little Huaimin, why are you unwilling to show off your painting skills? Well, as for your poetry and literary talent, why are you keeping silent? Why don't you go and sing praises to the Queen of the Great Zhou Dynasty about the peaceful and prosperous times?"

Yuan Huaimin was speechless.

Wu Daozi took the teacup, looked down at the tea, and asked:
"That fall must have been a serious one. No more of your excellent poems have been published. Chang'an has lost a romantic and unrestrained talent, and Jiangzhou Xunyang has gained a poor Sima who is always drunk and late."

Yuan Huaimin whispered, "I deserve it. I shouldn't have criticized the government."

Wu Daozi said calmly:
"I think your poem is correct. She, Wei Zhao, is a hen crowing at dawn, a thief who stole the country. What's wrong with a few complaints in a scholar's poem? Playing that literary inquisition is no different from covering one's ears and stealing a bell. Why don't you allow people to talk about it? After a hundred years, the history books will still write that she, Wei Zhao, stole the country in the first year of Tianshou in the Great Qian Dynasty."

Yuan Huaimin waved his hand:
"At that time, I was ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. I indulged myself in brothels and was coaxed by my bad friends. I said whatever I wanted and wrote whatever poems I wanted. I was too young and frivolous. It didn't matter if I was demoted, but later I also implicated my family. They saved me so that I would not lose my head... It's good that I'm like this now. Like Qiu Niang said, I must learn this lesson well and not drag them down anymore."

Wu Daozi smiled and raised his index finger, shaking it:
"No, no, no. They say the truth comes out when drunk. Little Huaimin, if you really admitted your mistake, you wouldn't have stayed silent for so many years, and you wouldn't have disobeyed the family's arrangement and returned to Chang'an. You had so many chances, but you didn't seize them. You were fighting like a little kid. Tell me, do you really have no breath left in your heart about that matter?"

Yuan Huaimin still shook his head.

He smiled and said:
"I have lived a good life in Xunyang these years. When I think about the past in Chang'an from time to time, it seems like a dream, as if it were a lifetime ago.

"I remember the first few nights when I came to Xunyang City. Every time I saw the dark mountains outside the window, I was a little scared. They were different from the bright lights and the eternal glory of Chang'an. But after seeing this scene for a long time, I gradually realized that I was a lazy and vulgar person who could not adapt to the great changes in Chang'an."

Wu Daozi shook his head:
"Xiao Huaimin, you are not a vulgar person. You say you are a vulgar person, but you are not. Many people may say that you are lazy and shameless, but only I know that you are a noble person. Others laugh at you for being too lazy, but you laugh at others for not seeing through you...

"But aloof people cannot live happily. On the contrary, the more vulgar people are, the more likely they are to thrive. If you want to be successful, the first thing you need to do is to admit that you are a vulgar person, because this world will not allow aloof people to succeed. That would be too arrogant and everyone would be dissatisfied. Don't you think it's a pity?

"But this is not absolute, because over the past thousands of years, there have always been a few noble people who have hit upon great fortune, a blessing from heaven that has allowed them to rise to prominence without any intrigue, and have become figures that attract worldwide attention. This is also the kind of heroic figure that many little kids love to read about in their storybooks.

"But such people will never think that they are lucky or that they have hit the jackpot, because they are noble and think that they are extraordinary. Do you think this is infuriating? How can the millions of unlucky but hardworking people not be indignant and jealous?
"This, in turn, makes it increasingly difficult for similar noble people, noble people without luck, to exist, because they will keep falling and falling until they accept worldly things. This is also the ending of most noble people, at least that's what I've seen... But there is an exception.

"Wh…what exception?"

"You are an exception." Wu Daozi looked Yuan Huaimin up and down and said with great emotion: "The more you fall, the more noble you become. Even though you have fallen to this point, from the prosperous and wealthy Chang'an to the poor and remote countryside of Xunyang in Jiangzhou, you just won't change. You are still very noble. You are really proud in your heart! So proud!"

Yuan Huaimin fell silent, and all the words he wanted to say were stuck.

Wu Daozi looked at him meaningfully.

He drank a sip of hot tea and suddenly said:

"Little Huaimin, if I gave you a great fortune, and let you be a noble person with great fortune, a person who attracted worldwide attention, a hero that little kids love to read about in storybooks, would you not want it?"

Yuan Huaimin turned his gaze away, looked at the ground beside him, and said in a somewhat stiff tone:
"Mr. Wu, please stop joking with me. Please leave now. After you rejected the olive branch from the saint, the court has been looking for you all these years. Not to mention the previous incident, when you took something from my Yuan clan's secret vault in advance... Go away. If you leave now, I will pretend that you have never been here and I know nothing."

Wu Daozi was not in a hurry at all. Instead, he asked in a different way with an interested look on his face:

"Well, since you say you like to eat and do nothing, and that you are a vulgar person, then why don't you just be more free and easy? How about I take you to a place that is more suitable for living alone?"

When the skinny old man smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits, almost invisible:
"That place is called Peach Blossom Spring. You may have heard of it. The people there are nice. I've been there too."

"Peach Blossom Spring?"

"Well, how about it, are you interested?"

Yuan Huaimin asked, "Is this Peach Blossom Spring the one mentioned in the Peach Blossom Spring? Is there really such a place? Mr. Wu, have you found it?"

The skinny old man smiled unchanged: "Little Huaimin, choose one."

"No, Mr. Wu, what exactly are you doing here this time? I am exiled to Xunyang, and I don't have anything to give you generously."

Wu Daozi's face calmed down and he said:
"I don't want your things. In fact, I have always regarded you as a student, a student who is both a teacher and a friend, ever since you woke up in that shabby temple in Chang'an and asked me to borrow money."

Yuan Huaimin couldn't help himself, his tone became a little heated, and a few spit flew out:

"I do consider Mr. Wu as my teacher, but that's all. I am just a teacher who teaches you how to paint. I don't want to get involved in what you are doing, nor do I want to criticize you."

He shook his head vigorously and said:
"I'm not going anywhere. Xunyang is great. I won't leave. I don't want to have great fortunes, nor do I want to go to some Peach Blossom Spring. I just want to stay here and live a stable life. When I have enough money, I will go to Xunyang Tower to listen to the pipa. When I'm short of money, I will go to my friend's house to eat. After work, I can also go with my friends to pick up sticks and branches..."

Wu Daozi asked curiously, "Then why did you present a painting to the Queen of Great Zhou this time? Isn't it just to flatter her and seek credit?"

Yuan Huaimin did not answer. He reached out and rudely snatched the thin old man's teacup, then turned his head to look to the side.

The meaning of seeing off guests is self-evident.

Wu Daozi looked at him with a happy smile and asked with some regret:

"What if I insist that you inherit my mantle?"

(End of this chapter)