Chapter 97 8. The courtyard of Xiangqilou, three generations of Wang's grandparents and grandchildren appreciate the moon couplet poem

Eighty-three-year-old Xiangqi is in a particularly happy mood recently. This is because Difang, the seventh daughter who married far away in Guizhou, has returned to her natal family to visit her relatives. Difang has been out of the court for nearly twenty years, and has only returned to her natal home twice.One time, three years after marriage, she went back to Yunhu Bridge to visit her father with her two-year-old son and her husband Ding Tijin.Seeing her daughter's happy family life, the old man Xiangqi couldn't keep her mouth shut for joy.Difang lived at home for two months. The old man teased his grandson every day, talked with his daughter about the family, and helped her change poems. The life was very pleasant.After the daughter's family returned to Guizhou, the old man was depressed for a long time.The second time was four years ago, when middle-aged Ding Tijin suddenly died of a sudden illness, and Di Fang cried like hell.Wang Kaiyun was also very sad, and wrote to ask his daughter to return to her mother's house for a period of time.Difang took her twelve-year-old daughter Shaochun back to her natal home, and the father and daughter cried when they met.The old man comforted his daughter that there is a life and death, there is no need to be too sad, but to live a good life and bring up the children.In order to dilute his daughter's grief, the old man read poetry to his daughter every day, and Shaochun also listened to it.Shaochun was as intelligent and eager to learn as her mother was when she was young. The old grandfather loved her very much and taught her to write poems and lyrics.

Difang used writing to dispel her worries and wrote a lot of poems, which the old man carefully revised for her to help her improve.After living in my natal family for half a year, I actually wrote more than 100 poems. Adding the 70 or 80 poems written when I was a girl and the more than 200 poems written more than ten years after I got married, there are a total of more than 400 poems.The old man wanted to fulfill his promise when he married his daughter, and in order to give comfort to the newly widowed daughter, he took out three hundred taels of silver, hired a good engraver, and carved a collection of poems for his daughter for a full month. It is called "Nianyun Shicao".Nianyun is to miss Difang's biological mother, Mo Liuyun.These two words entrust the common feelings of the father and daughter. "Nianyun Shicao" has been printed in two hundred volumes.On the day of completion, the old man set up six tables of wine, invited scholars from four villages, introduced his daughter's "Nianyun Poems and Grass" to everyone, and gave each of them a copy.Difang was inexplicably grateful for her father's deep love.Eight months later, Difang's mood had calmed down, and the old man Xiangqi agreed to their mother and daughter's return to Guizhou.

Last month, Difang took her daughter back to her natal home for the third time.Difang, who returned to her natal home this time, was very different from last time, and she was in a much better mood.She was especially relieved that last year her seventeen-year-old son took the first place in the county school examination.The old man Xiangqi cheerfully said to his daughter that there are successors in the Ding family, and the number one in the county is the head of the case, and he was also a scholar who entered school a few years ago.Seeing that my granddaughter, Shaochun, who is slim and handsome, actually did a good job in poetry, the old man became more and more happy, and said to everyone, my granddaughter is also a talented girl!Difang came back from a long way to visit her relatives, her sisters Efang, Shuaifang, Pufang, and her younger sister Jintong all returned to her mother's home from her husband's home.The sisters said their goodbyes together, chatted about family affairs, and there was a cheerful atmosphere in Xiangqi Building.

It is the early summer season, the vegetation is luxuriant, and the flowers are in full bloom.After dinner, Wang Kaiyun was smoking in the courtyard, and Mother Zhou brought him a cup of tea.Zhou's mother is also almost sixty, she looks fatter than before, but her hands and feet are still very flexible, and she is more thoughtful and meticulous in serving the elderly than before.Wang Kaiyun couldn't leave her for almost a moment, and wherever he went, even if he was a guest at his daughter's house, he had to take Mama Zhou with him.Everyone in the upper and lower ranks inevitably gossiped and pointed at the vest. Only Zhang Dengshou, a disciple of the blacksmith, understood him and covered it up for him, saying: "The eighty-year-old man makes a policy with a stick, and there are ancient rituals. Mama Zhou, it's just Master Xiangqi's 'policy' That's all." Wang Kaiyun praised Zhang Dengshou's words: "Zhang Tiejiang's ancient books are really read well." He also used the topic to play: "People nowadays don't read the ancient books well, so the country is getting worse and worse."

The old gentleman is extremely dissatisfied with the state affairs of the past few years.He has never been in favor of a democratic republic. There is only one master in a country, and that is the monarch. How can the people be the master?Once the people become the masters, there will be many masters, and in the end, there will be many governments, and the result will be no masters.And it will also bring excuses to careerists.They are also citizens, and they also want to intervene in state affairs.In this way, it is no wonder that the country is not chaotic!He often said to his disciples: "You can see that in the first three years of the Republic of China, the prime ministers of the state have been changed five times. Now it's all right. Even the prime ministers are gone, and the name is changed to Zhengshitang. The constant change of prime ministers is a characteristic of troubled times. This is all the chaos brought about by the democratic republic." After complaining, he sighed: "It's not easy for the fourth son of the Yuan family to be in this family. He has no capable people around him to advise him or steer him. Yang Xizi is in Beijing, so he doesn't need it. But then again, Yang Xizi hasn't been honed yet, and he's a little too young to be a prime minister. Unfortunately, I'm getting old again!"

So all the disciples complimented: "Mr. is not old. As long as President Yuan invites Mr. to come out of the mountain, the world will be peaceful. Isn't Jiang Ziya also in his eighties when he came out of the mountain?" The old man laughed heartily. The moonlight is fine tonight.Wang Kaiyun took a few puffs of cigarettes and drank a few sips of tea, feeling very relaxed.Looking at the shadowy and hazy Yunhu Bridge under the moonlight, it seems to be more beautiful than in the daytime, and I feel poetic.I also thought of Difang's love of poetry, and Difang's daughter also loved poetry.Why don't you learn from the legacy of ancient couplets, and come tonight with a couplet of Wangmen's poems to make up for this delightful thing, and leave a good story in the poetry world for future generations.

Thinking of this, Wang Kaiyun was very excited, and said to Zhou's mother, "Invite all sisters Difang out, and each of you should bring a stool." After a while, Difang brought her daughter Shaochun, Efang, Shuaifang, Pufang, Jintong and others to the courtyard, gathered around her father, and asked, "What did Daddy ask us to come out for?" "Sit down!" Wang Kaiyun waved with a smile, and the daughters all sat down beside their father. "It is very rare for Difang to take her daughter back to her natal home. Although the rest of you sisters are all nearby, it is difficult to come back once or twice a year, especially when the sisters get together. I just thought of an idea, everyone Have fun together, I wonder if you would like to?" After Wang Kaiyun finished speaking, he looked at the daughters with kind eyes.

"Yes, yes!" Difang answered first. "Daddy, what good idea have you been thinking about?" Jin Tong asked. Wang Kaiyun stroked his white beard and said with a smile: "Poetry is the family heirloom of my Wangmen family. All of my Miss Wangmen can recite poems, which is very valuable. How about a couplet of poems from our father, daughter, grandparents and grandchildren tonight?" All the daughters applauded.Shaochun had never made a couplet before, so he said anxiously: "Grandpa, I'm not good at couplets, I won't participate!" Wang Kaiyun said cautiously: "That won't work. If you don't participate, then there will only be two generations of couplets. How can we do without a whole generation!"

Everyone laughed. Seeing the embarrassment on his granddaughter's face, Wang Kaiyun said happily, "Okay, I'll give you preferential treatment. One is that you will be the last one to get in touch, and the other is that you are allowed to think for a while. If you really can't think of anything, you can ask mom for help." Allowing his mother to help, Shaochun became more courageous, so he nodded in agreement. Jin Tong has always been naughty.She yelled loudly: "Father, I think there should be rewards and punishments." "Okay!" Wang Kaiyun said with a smile, "You are all daughters' families, and you will not be punished with alcohol or money. That's all right. After the couplet is finished, everyone will judge. The first judge will be rewarded with a piece of flower silk, and the last one will be rewarded." , fine her to make a new pair of shoes for dad!"

"Good, good!" All the daughters cheered. Wang Daiyi heard the lively shouts in the courtyard and hurried out to look.Jin Tong wanted to play tricks on his elder brother, so he said to his father, "Father, if you want to talk about poetry, the number one poetess in our family is the fourth sister-in-law. Now the fourth sister-in-law has gone to Beijing, and the fourth brother will replace her." Wang Kaiyun was worried about the discord between Dai Yi and Uncle Ji. Hearing Jin Tong's words, he immediately thought it was a good idea to ask Dai Yi to write a letter for Uncle Ji, and then ask Jin Tong to write a letter to Sisao After reading the letter, her uncle will have a good impression of Dai Yisheng, and maybe she will change her mind.So he said to his son: "Sit here too, and say something on behalf of Uncle Ji, good luck, don't lose face in front of your sisters."

Dai Yi misses his wife and wants to show courteousness to her, so he quickly said: "If you want what you want, father can rest assured, I can't even keep up with my sisters, what a man!" Difang said: "Don't brag first, everyone will criticize at the end!" Jin Tong urged: "Father, you should say something first!" Wang Kaiyun picked up the copper hookah and put the spout into his mouth. After a rumbling sound, he exhaled a few puffs of white smoke, and then chanted: "The land is far away, the mountains are quiet, the air is clear, the sky is bright. Jiaci Court Lanxiu, it's time for the moon to come." The first four sentences of Wang Kaiyun start from the courtyard, depicting a quiet and beautiful moonlit night, setting a tone for the whole couplet, and opening up a vast world for the daughters to display their talents.After listening to the four lines of the old father's poem, everyone was savoring them carefully, not knowing who should link them. Seeing this, Wang Kaiyun said: "From the oldest to the youngest, connect in order. Efang first, you have the largest number here. Next are Cen Fang, Shuai Fang, Dai Yi, Di Fang, Jin Tong, and finally Shao spring." So Efang bowed her head and thought hard.Efang is the eldest daughter of Mrs. Cai, the eldest among her sisters, and her husband is Deng Guoxian, the son of the famous poet Deng Fulun.Efang is honest and honest, and under the influence of her parents and father-in-law, she can write very good poems.She thought she was the first couplet, and she had to do it well. After concentrating on thinking, E Fang said: "A good night is better than an autumn evening, and the jade hairpins are scattered around. The crimson fire shakes the shadows of the flowers, and the clear wine washes away the dust." "Well done, it's Cen Fang's turn next." Wang Kaiyun was very satisfied with the eldest daughter's couplet. Cen Fang was also born to Mrs. Cai, and she was the third eldest among the sisters. She married into the Chang family.She thought for a while, and said: "The patterns are rare and confusing, and the high-pitched screen is full of sounds. I don't want to write poems like the past, but I am happy to serve you today." "Not bad, not bad." Poetry sees temperament.Cen Fang's couplets revealed a sense of filial piety, and Wang Kaiyun was very satisfied. Shuaifang is next.Shuai Fang is the eldest daughter of Mo Liuyun.Mo Liuyun had six daughters, but no son.She is a competitive person, which Wang Kaiyun called "Half Mountain".Banshan is the name of Wang Anshi, the prince of the obsessive prime minister. Wang Kaiyun thinks that Liuyun's personality is a bit like Wang Anshi's.Because she didn't have a son, she didn't close her eyes when she died; and because she didn't have a son, she educated her daughters like sons, always urging them to read poems, so Shuaifang's poems are also good. After thinking for a while, Shuai Fang continued: "Xingchao love is easy to enjoy, and the mood is very pleasant. There is no reward in the Qin and Sui Dynasties, but you can often find it in the Xuan and Tang Dynasties." "Shuai Fang recited the last two sentences well." Wang Kaiyun put down the smoking bottle and added, "It's like the ancients!" Shuai Fang was very proud of her father's praise. It was Dai Yi's turn.He wanted to suppress all the poems of the first three sisters, but he was discouraged by the two sentences "there is no reward in the Qin and Sui Dynasties, but Xuan and Tang can often be found".I had no choice but to bite the bullet and read: "The Cailing River is flooded, and the flying canopy is covered with frost and dew. And the singing stream, Amei, doesn't hurt the invasion of time." Wang Kaiyun nodded and said, "It's just so-so, but the masculinity is not enough." Everyone laughed, and Dai Yi was embarrassed. Difang wanted to relieve her brother's embarrassment, and immediately chanted "The dew hangs down the wind and enters the sill, and the osmanthus in the Yao Palace is already forested. The green clouds are faintly mixed, and the few wild geese are deep." "Very good, very good!" Wang Kaiyun patted the armrest of the seat and praised loudly. These four poems are indeed well done, surpassing the couplets of the above four people.There is another reason for the old man to praise loudly: he has special sympathy for this talented and beautiful seventh daughter.Widowed at a young age, talented women of all ages have suffered a lot, but Di Fang has become another example!Tonight, even if Di Fang's poetry is mediocre, my father will give her the reputation of being the best, let alone such an excellent job! The hearty Jintong said: "Everyone listen to me: Ascend to look at the Beizhu, and the clear water reflects the Nanling. The lotus can't be seen, and the wind blows my lapel." Difang said: "Bamei's poems are a bit masculine." Turning around, he said to his daughter, "Have you thought about it? It's up to you to end it." Shaochun looked at his mother, his face was flushed, and he seemed a little nervous. Dai Yi cheered up from the side: "It doesn't matter. I want to read a sentence, but I really can't read it. Fourth Uncle will help you." Shaochun said: "Don't help me, I will contact you myself." Several aunts boasted in unison: "Ambition!" Shaochun rolled his two black eyes, summoned up his courage and chanted: "The yellow crane soars above the sky, and the dragonfly sings to the steps. There is nothing to do to hide the robes, but to tune the plain qin." As soon as Shaochun recited these finale poems, everyone was stunned and thought to himself: how could such a beautiful line come up at such a young age? Wang Kaiyun couldn't help being overjoyed, walked up to his granddaughter, patted her on the head and said, "Good boy, with your granddaughter, my grandfather will be satisfied in this life. Work hard, and the future is limitless." Difang listened to it from the sidelines, tears streaming down her face with joy. Jin Tong shouted: "Tonight's leader, those of us who are aunts and uncles, don't even think about it." Everyone laughed and agreed. At this time, Mama Zhou hurried over with her two little feet on her feet and said, "Old man, the county government has sent an official document, saying it's from the presidential palace!" "What, came from the presidential palace?" Wang Kaiyun was surprised and delighted. "Why does the fourth child of the Yuan family think of my old bones? It must be what Wu Yi and Xizi said?" Wang Kaiyun left the courtyard and came to the study, followed by Dai Yi, Di Fang, and Jin Tong.Zhou's mother picked out the oil lamp brightly, and brought the reading glasses.Wang Kaiyun put on his glasses and opened the official document. The seven bright red official script characters of "Presidential Palace of the Republic of China" were impressively printed on the top of the large light yellow letterhead.He read softly: Wang Kaiyun read to the end of the letter, but he was not very happy.He thought to himself: Yuan Shikai originally wanted me to go to Beijing to be the director of the national history curator, to collect historical materials and set up monuments for him. Why does this kid treat young and old uncles like this?Inviting me to go to Beijing, I should be his teacher, the teacher of the Republic of China.Yuan Laosi should learn from the Regent of the former Qing Dynasty and set up a Bute Academy in the center, and I should be the dean of the Bute Academy. Wang Kaiyun put Yuan Shikai's letter aside, picked up the hookah and smoked without saying a word. Mother Zhou laughed from ear to ear when she heard that President Yuan wanted the old man to become an official in Beijing.Beijing is the place where the emperor lives, there is a world of flowers, and there are all kinds of delicious and beautiful things. She wants to go to Beijing.She knew that the old man couldn't do without her, and if the old man went, he would take her with him.So he continued to encourage: "President Yuan is the emperor. He invites you to be an official in Beijing. This face is greater than the sky. If there is any hesitation, just choose a good day and take office!" Dai Yi thought that he happened to go to Beijing with his father to visit his uncle, and reconcile with her, so he persuaded, "Father, go, it's a great thing to write history!" Difang didn't quite agree.My father is over eighty years old, what kind of official is he going to Beijing for?It's better to enjoy your life at home.She said: "I don't think Dad needs to go to Beijing, Beijing is cold, how can Dad bear it?" Jintong also didn't want his father to go out, so he said, "I heard that there is no rice or chili in Beijing, and they eat miscellaneous grains every day. Dad is so old, how can he get used to it!" Zhou's mother said: "It's easy to eat chili. I'll chop up a few jars of black bean chili and take it with me tomorrow." Jintong has always disliked Mother Zhou, so he rolled his eyes at her and said, "You can bring peppers, but how about rice, how many loads can you take?" Zhou's mother was pushed so hard, she murmured: "Xizi and Wu Yi are doing well, and my old lady Uncle Ji is also doing well, why can't the old man do well?" She was afraid that Jintong would scold her, so she left the study while talking. Wang Kaiyun exhaled a few puffs of smoke and asked Dai Yi, "Has the person who delivered the official documents from the county government left?" Dai Yi replied: "It's late at night, I didn't let him go, so I'll sleep at home tonight and return to the city tomorrow morning." "Go and tell him that you want the county government to send someone to the Changsha provincial government to send a telegram to Young Master Yuan Si on my behalf, and tell him that I have accepted his favor because I am old and weak and cannot accept the order." Dai Yi felt cold when he heard this.If Dad doesn't go to Beijing, he won't be able to see Uncle Ji either.He begged: "Father, you should always go, no one else can ask for it!" Jin Tong hurriedly said, "Fourth Brother, if Dad tells you to go, you can go, don't talk anymore." Dai Yi went out quickly. Wang Kaiyun didn't expect that, only seven days later, the reply call from President Yuan arrived in his hands.This reply made the old man read more and more ironically: In this reply, he repeatedly called "Old Senior" instead of "Old Mister" in the previous letter. This change made Wang Kaiyun very comfortable.Wang Kaiyun had a big shortcoming in his life, that is, he was not selected as a scholar in the Imperial Academy.At the age of twenty-two, he took part in four examinations but failed to sell, and his self-esteem suffered a great blow.The last time, in the early years of Guangxu, he covered himself up by "unwilling to kowtow to the five or six-year-old child emperor, and deliberately did not finish the article well", and he has not entered the ceremony since then.In the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu, Wang Kaiyun, who was 76 years old and 54 years old in the middle school, was finally granted a Jinshi background by the imperial court because of his reputation, and was awarded the review by the Imperial Academy.Wang Kaiyun not only fulfilled his dream of Jinshi and Hanlin, but also won a great honor.Because in the past, Zhu Yizun, Mao Qiling and others were admitted to Hanlin Academy after passing the Examination of Boxuehong CI, although they couldn't help but pass the exam, and Wang Heyun was directly awarded Hanlin without taking an exam. For a commoner, this is really an odd number. But at this time, the Imperial Academy is not as noble as it used to be. Many people who have returned from studying abroad and have special skills, the imperial court also rewarded them with the title of Imperial Academy, such as Imperial Academy of Dentistry, Imperial Academy of Dyeing and Weaving. the last one.So he wrote a couplet to laugh at himself: "I am ashamed of being called a senior in toothless record, fortunately, I have the dentistry to follow in the footsteps." Those who entered the Hanlin Academy later were called seniors, and those who were first in two subjects were called old seniors, regardless of age.Because Wang Kaiyun was the last serious Hanlin, he said he was ashamed, and no one called him senior anymore.Now Yuan Shikai calls him an old senior. Although Yuan has never ordered Hanlin, he is the president, so he is naturally better than Hanlin. How can he not like it when he calls him an "old senior"? What comforted him next was that the telegram mentioned that Zeng Guofan favored him.Wang Kaiyun likes others to list him and Zeng Guofan's names together.Today, all the famous ZTE ministers have withered away, and Zeng Guofan is the only one who has been friends with him in the whole world.Can he not be honored? In the end, the signature of the reply did not include the words "President of the Republic of China".This also makes him look kind.In Wang Kaiyun's eyes, Yuan Shikai was a nephew. How could a nephew write a letter to Uncle Nian with an official title?Has a son written a letter to his parents and signed the letter with a palace title? However, after all, these are still secondary. The most important reason is that this reply no longer mentions "specially appointed curator of national history", but uses words such as "seek to see" and "please train".In this way, Yuan Shikai wanted to invite him to be a national teacher, not to detain him with an official position.Wang Kaiyun thought that going to Beijing in such a capacity was in line with his long-cherished ambition. While admiring the call back narcissistically, he received another long letter from Yang Du. In the letter, Yang Du reported the political situation in Beijing to his teacher in detail.He also told the teacher that his magnificent career has had an excellent start, and he will surely have brilliant achievements. The teacher will be very pleased to see with his own eyes the ideals he has pursued throughout his life put into practice.Both he and Wu Yi hoped that the teacher would come to the capital to teach at any time as soon as possible, so as not to catch him.At the end of the letter, he said that everything was fine for Shu Ji in Beijing, but the husband and wife separated, which was not a long-term solution. Please ask your mentor and Dai Yi to come together to make their husband and wife reconcile. Yang Du's letter made Wang Kaiyun fall into deep thought.In the past three to four years, China's political situation has undergone such major changes, and the imperial system that has lasted for more than two thousand years has been overthrown overnight.Wang Kaiyun is incredible.As much as he disliked the system, the system came about after all.The emperor no longer exists, and whether the study of emperors that I have studied all my life is still useful, these years even Wang Kaiyun himself is not sure.But it seems that Xizi, a bookworm, is still obsessed with this career.In such a chaotic situation today, what can he do as a scholar?Having said that, Wang Kaiyun praised his disciples for their loyalty to the emperor's study.The disciple is determined to put it into practice. As a teacher who imparts this knowledge, when the disciple needs help, can he stand by and do nothing?Moreover, it is not good for my uncle and concubine to live alone in Beijing, and it is not good for the son and daughter-in-law to live apart for a long time.For the sake of my son, it is also advisable to go to Beijing. Wang Kaiyun finally changed his mind and decided to go north to Beijing at an octogenarian age.