Chapter 35 Visit friends to relieve worries

"I don't know that the teacher is in vain, please forgive the disciple for not being welcomed!" Qu Shixu, who was dismissed from office at home, came out of the gate in a formal dress, and said with his hands clasped.His tall and strong body is slightly arched, and a pair of shining eyes under the bushy eyebrows are intently looking at the steps below, with a respectful and serious expression on his rectangular face. This is one afternoon half a month after Qian Qianyi returned to Changshu, the westward sun shone down from the quiet and narrow alley, and the tall and beautiful shadow of the gate tower of Qu Mansion was clearly outlined on the white powder screen wall opposite the gate. The screen wall is covered with an exquisite tile roof and carved brick border.

Qian Qianyi, who had just stepped out of the sedan chair carried by four people, raised his gray-haired head when he heard this familiar greeting, and showed an intimate, almost flattering smile on his dark face. "Hey, dear old man, why be so polite!" he said loudly, and went up to greet the master who was stepping down, "To be honest, I was thinking about it along the way, afraid that you would go out!" "No—brother Erfeng, Yunmei and Zichang are all here, looking at calligraphy and painting in Qingyun Pavilion!" "Oh, are they all here?" "If the teacher has something to do..."

"It's okay, it's okay! I'm just walking around too. Well, I heard that you recently received a picture of Zhao Ziang, and I just wanted to see it!" "Yes, please—" "Please!" After saying this, the two walked towards the house side by side. In Changshu city, Qu Shisi can be regarded as the person who has the deepest relationship with Qian Qianyi.He was not only Qian's early student, but also his granddaughter promised Qian Sunai.In terms of academic background, he should call Qian Qianyi a teacher; in terms of in-law relationship, Qian Qianyi has to respect him in turn as a "grandfather".Not only that, they also worked together in the court, and were dismissed together by Wen Tiren in the second year of Chongzhen; for more than ten years, they also stayed at home and were not employed.A few years ago, a local helper named Zhang Hanru, adhering to the will of Wen Tiren, went to Beijing to report Qian Qianyi's corruption and lawlessness at home.Fortunately, Wen Tiren fell from power soon, and they escaped danger.For all these reasons, the relationship between the two is indeed extraordinary.However, Qu Shixu was upright by nature, and he respected Qian Qianyi rather than flattering him.Therefore, Qian Qianyi also avoided discussing with him some shady things.However, now that he has fallen into the current unlucky situation, the Qu family has become an ideal place for Qian Qianyi to seek comfort.

When Qian Qianyi walked into Qingyun Pavilion accompanied by Qu Shixu, several local celebrities who arrived first were sitting or standing, gesticulating and appraising calligraphy and painting.Seeing Qian Qianyi coming in, everyone stopped talking and came up to meet him.These celebrities are also regular visitors to Qian's Mansion, and they are very familiar with each other.But seeing them now, Qian Qianyi couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "Well, I don't know if they've heard about the bad luck?" He thought, trying to put on a calm look on his face, but secretly paying attention to everyone's expressions.He didn't feel relieved until he found that everyone showed no abnormal expressions. "After all, we have been dating for many years, so..." So, he began to salute and greet everyone with great enthusiasm, listened to every word everyone said, and then, with a friendly smile, answered even the most Trivial question...

"Ah, Mr. Mu, come here, come and see this painting! They said it was Song Huizong, how could it be Song Huizong!" an excited voice suddenly called out.It was a local celebrity named Feng Ban.He has a ridiculous red nose and wild, drunken eyes.On the bald and shiny forehead was a half-new square scarf that was crookedly buttoned, revealing the disheveled hair underneath, and the straight chest was full of oil stains and wine stains.However, despite his sloppy appearance, he wrote good poems and studied calligraphy. He was well-known in the Jiangnan literary circle, and he was called "the second Feng of Changshu" together with his brother Feng Shu.

"Hey, Mr. Mu, come here and have a look!" Feng Ban called again, regardless that Qian Qianyi was talking to someone else. "Dingyuan, you are always on fire!" Qian Qianyi smiled and reproached, left the conversation, and walked to a Song painting on silk hanging on the wall. This is a "Golden Pheasant of Furong": a branch of hibiscus in full bloom obliquely extends from the upper left of the painting, and a golden pheasant with bright feathers stands on the branch.Its weight weighs the flowering branches down slightly.A cluster of sparse autumn chrysanthemums is arranged in the lower left corner of the painting, and a pair of colorful butterflies fly symmetrically in the upper right corner.Below the butterfly is a five-character quatrain inscribed in a thin gold book:

On the lower right side, it is signed: Xuanhe Palace Imperial System and Book Qian Qianyi looked at the frame casually.He had seen this painting many times in Qu Shixu's house, and had repeatedly discussed its authenticity.In the past, he would immediately express his opinion.But at this moment, out of a thoughtful consideration, he wanted to give Feng Ban some face. "Dingyuan, where do you base your claim that this painting is not Huizong's imperial brush?" He turned his head and asked. "Hey, Mr. Mu, look at the inscription, the first sentence, the character 'Sheng' in 'Autumn Jin Refuses Shuangsheng' is obviously a mistake in the word 'Wei'! The next word 'Sheng' here is not only ordinary. It's unworkable, and it doesn't work! It must be the word "Wei" to be poetic and rhyme. How can there be a majestic royal pen, and the absurdity is not like this! It must be a fake and it must be in the hands of extremely obscene and ignorant people!"

Feng Ban said that the word "Sheng" was a typo, but Qian Qianyi never noticed.He walked up to take a closer look at the poem with a painting, and then smiled.But he didn't say anything right away, instead he nodded: "Dingyuan's words are right, this painting may not be the real work of Emperor Daojun." "Hey, how's it going? How's it going? Ah?" Feng Ban, who had been waiting for his answer with wide eyes, jumped up excitedly and shouted triumphantly. "But..." "But..." Several voices expressed dissatisfaction at the same time.Qian Qianyi waved his hand to calm them down.

"I said that this painting is not an authentic painting by Daojun. I mean it might be so. It is because in the painting academy in Song Dynasty, some painters did write for Daojun. The so-called "Painting for the Emperor" is it. However, if this painting belongs to this category, Then there will be no mistakes in the inscriptions. Even if there are indeed mistakes in the inscriptions at that time, they will not dare to present them to the emperor, let alone let them spread, but will destroy them immediately." At this point, he paused for a while After looking at everyone for a while, he continued, "Actually, 'Resisting Frost' is another name for Mu Furong. 'Resisting Shuangsheng' means that this flower is in full bloom. Therefore, the word 'Sheng' is not unreasonable. If it is changed to the word 'Wei' , but it's not right..."

In this way, several people who hold different views nodded frequently.Feng Ban stretched his neck like a rooster that had been strangled by someone, his eyes widened, and he couldn't get any more airy. "However, things in the world are erroneous, and there are many people who can't be understood by common sense, so we can't make a conclusion based on this." Qian Qianyi glanced at Feng Ban, and added, "But I look at this painting. The layout is rigorous, the guest and host are clearly distinguished, dense and dense, the color is bright, and the rendering is exquisite. Even the unobtrusive chrysanthemums on the lower left corner are swaying and colorful, deliberately looking for work. The masterpiece of the painting - this is what I see, what do you think?"

This discussion made everyone nod their heads in agreement.Only Feng Ban was still unconvinced, he muttered: "I think that golden pheasant is badly drawn, it looks weird, it looks like a dead chicken!" At this time, Qu Shiqi had already ordered someone to put away the "Picture of Golden Pheasant in Lotus", picked one out of the box, handed it to the servant to hang up, and said to Qian Qianyi, "Teacher, this is the picture that the student recently bought." I got the painting "Two Horses Across the Stream" by Zhao Ziang." When Qian Qianyi heard this, he suddenly regained his spirits.He forgot to answer Qu Shixu's words, and stared at the wall with wide eyes.I saw the painting scroll slowly turning in the servant's hand, firstly a horse's head was revealed. The horse's head was outlined with concise, vigorous and varied lines, with muscles and muscles showing, nostrils open, and eyes gleaming. With the unruly light, the end is full of radiance, and the look is amazing.Then a strong neck, a flying mane...the second horse appeared, it was a piebald horse.It is lowering its head and moving forward tenaciously. Below it are eight powerful legs, which may be bent or stretched, stepping on the splashing water on a wide and swift stream... All the people in the audience were attracted by the unusual charm of this masterpiece, watching quietly, and no one spoke.Qian Qianyi was even more intoxicated.For a while, he retreated far away, brushing his beard, squinting his eyes to appreciate the whole picture, and for a while, he walked forward, almost touching the tip of his nose to the picture to observe the details. After a long time, he nodded repeatedly and sighed: "Shenpin, Shenpin !" "If the teacher likes it, the students will give it to them." Qu Shixu said. Qian Qianyi was startled suddenly, turned back to look at his master hastily, and stammered and asked: "You said, you said..." "The student wants to give this painting to the teacher!" "Ah, this, this, how can this be done! Taiqian, don't play tricks, no... this, I..." Qu Shixu waved his hand, and said calmly: "A mere painting is nothing to worry about!" Then, he turned around and told the servant, "Pack up this painting, and send it to Master Qian later!" Qian Qianyi no longer refused, but still murmured: "Sin, sin!" At the same time, he squinted his eyes and watched the two servants put away the painting and put it in a long boxwood box , and put it on a separate table, and then, as if relieved, he turned his head and bowed deeply to the host.When other guests saw him, they also gathered around and congratulated Qian Qianyi with envious expressions. At this time, a voice suddenly called out: "Oh, it's terrible! It stinks! It stinks! You bastard, put it away! Do you hear me? Put it away!" Everyone turned around in surprise, and found Feng Ban standing in front of a calligraphy that had just been hung up, covering his nose with his sleeve desperately, waving his other hand angrily, jumping and screaming.Everyone walked forward curiously, and it turned out that what hung out was a self-written poem "Dengkuai Pavilion" by Huang Tingjian in the Song Dynasty.The calligraphy is vigorous and thin, and the strokes are powerful and powerful. It is a fine work at a glance.Everyone was a little puzzled, and Feng Ban seemed to be unable to bear it anymore. He rushed out of the crowd and stood far away, covering his nose and waving, whining endlessly. Everyone was surprised and amused.Gu Ling couldn't help but asked loudly: "Brother Dingyuan, what's wrong with you, could it be that this is another fake made by that dirty and ignorant person?" Feng Ban shook his head from a distance, but he refused to put his sleeves down from his nose.Everyone only heard him babbling, but couldn't hear what he said.At this time, his elder brother Feng Shu spoke. "My little brother already knows the meaning of Dingyuan—" he said slowly, "but, his views are too biased. Although his opinions are strange, he has a way of being loyal, forgiving and kind. I'm afraid he will suffer from this in his career all his life. Go!" At this point, he sighed regretfully, but stopped.This Feng Shu was tall and thin, and his personality was the exact opposite of his younger brother's. He always spoke and acted slowly, and often went around in circles for a long time without getting to the point.Everyone was well aware of his temper and understood that it was useless to urge him, so they all quietly waited for him to continue. "He is still addicted to alcohol, which is even worse." Feng Shu said again, looking up at the beams of the roof, "For example, last year's scientific examination, he was late drunk and insulted the master. Wait……" Hearing him expose his younger brother's shortcomings in such a slow manner, everyone secretly laughed. Feng Ban listened from a distance, his eyes widened, and he suddenly put down his sleeves and said loudly, "You don't need to say it! I'll say it!" Feng Shu paused. He shifted his gaze from the roof beam to his younger brother, "Say it, of course I don't need to say it." He agreed, so he stepped aside again and stopped talking. "Gentlemen, the first class I hate when discussing poetry in my life is the Laoshizi Jiangxi school!" Feng Ban said angrily, "Jiangxi's body is probably like a farmer's palm or a donkey's heel. It is hard and disgusting. , but boast of being 'strong'! Another example is the bed mat of the old monk's concubine, which is very smelly and annoying, but boasting of 'lonely'! Another example is the old woman teaching the bride, and the school teacher's disciples. What 'I'm serious'! This old guy surnamed Huang is the first stinky and hateful person in the Jiangxi School. I didn't expect to meet face-to-face today, but it's not the boss' bad luck!" After Feng Ban finished speaking, he covered his nose again . Everyone couldn't help laughing.Sun Yongzuo joked: "Unexpectedly, Feng Dingyuan, who is not afraid of heaven and earth, was so frightened by the Jiangxi faction that he almost jumped off the wall and left!" Feng Ban shook his head and said: "If you offend the world, it's nothing more than smashing your body to pieces; when you meet the Jiangxi faction, you will make people feel like falling into a dung pit, with their internal organs tumbling, and they can't survive or die! If this old man Huang ever comes back, I will definitely Avoid it, or you will not find a living, and you will never speak rhyme!" Qu Shixu smiled and said: "Since brother Dingyuan said so, this painting can't be hung anymore, put it away quickly!" Feng Ban came back when the boy took down the scroll and put it away again. He sighed and said, "After all this filth and smell, I will lose my poetic thinking for three days!" During this uproar, Qian Qianyi didn't interrupt.Because his whole mind was focused on Zhao Ziang's "Two Horses Crossing the Stream".From the moment Feng Ban ran away, he retreated and sat on a rosewood armchair. Although he also smiled with everyone on his face, the corners of his eyes kept looking in the direction of the painting box, wishing to take the painting immediately. Take the baby that belongs to him home now, close the door and appreciate it carefully again.Only out of politeness, he reluctantly held back.Finally, when the turmoil about Huang Tingjian and the Jiangxi School of Poetry came to an end, he stood up and prepared to leave.However, at this time, a family member of Qu's mansion came in with a greeting card and said: "Mr. Xu asked to see him, and said that there is something important to come to Mr. Chen Qian immediately!" This Mr. Xu, named Xu Jun, is an old scholar in this county.Because he can write a few lines of poems, and is especially good at putting the things in front of him into the lines, creating a bizarre and comical meaning, which makes people laugh when they read it, so Qian Qianyi also has contacts with him from time to time.Now that he heard that he had followed up to Qu's mansion and said that he had something important to tell, Qian Qianyi was surprised.He looked back at everyone, had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​leaving for the time being, and sat down again. Xu Jun appeared soon.He has gray hair, wears an old felt hat, and a black cloth straight dress that has been washed white, with a large patch on the elbow of the right sleeve, and a pair of old black cloth shoes under his feet are threaded in several places, revealing white sock.However, his expression is very dignified, with a flushed face, wide cheekbones, and a snub nose. When he walks, he holds his head up slightly and swaggers, showing a supercilious look. "Oh! Elder Mu, you used to hide here for fun, but it was hard for me to find you!" Xu Juan yelled angrily, saluted everyone, and then sat down on the chair. "Tea!" he said loudly, looking at Qu Shixu unceremoniously. Qu Shiqi gestured to the servant, and the tea was served.Xu Juan took it, drank it dry in one gulp, wiped his beard with his sleeve, and seemed to have taken a breath. "Old Mu, the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River are becoming more and more unspeakable!" he said. "Ah, what?" "They've been making rumors and making trouble out of nothing. It's been a long time, that's all. But this time it happened to your brother, you can't be angry! Hmph, it's a good thing they are Fushe!" After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but "ah".Qian Qianyi's face turned red all of a sudden, he moved his mouth, wanting to say something, but finally he didn't have the courage to say it. "A few days ago, I went to Gusu," Xu Juan continued, obviously not noticing Qian Qianyi's expression was unusual, "That day, I had nothing to do, so I went to the bookstore to pick up two new books. I chose ink scrolls, but I ran into two fangjin friends chatting there. My brother didn’t pay attention at first, but later I heard him mention the old man, so I paid attention. Who knows, it’s okay to listen to it, but once I heard it, I almost missed it. He didn't get mad at him! ——That little bastard whose surname was Fang or Wang actually made up an anecdote of lying all over the sky, saying how Elder Mu colluded with Elder Zhou Ge in Beijing to reverse the case for Ruan Yuanhai, and how to give him Zhou Zhongyu and Chen Dingsheng saw it through and came to question him. He said it so vividly that he made a big deal. The younger brother was angry, so he went up to argue with him and said: "Mr. Mu is my old friend. We are together every day. Why don't you listen to me?" Talk about this? Shut up quickly, no one is here to insult people’s innocence!’ But those two little beasts said with a smile: “If people don’t want to know, unless they do nothing! Now this matter is spread in all counties in the south of the Yangtze River. It’s all over! It’s not like we’re talking nonsense!’ They, they also said: ‘Mr. Qian Mu is afraid that he wants to join the cabinet and is crazy, so he did such a thing!’ Mr. Mu, you say, this is really annoying. Angry!" When Xu Juan spoke in such an unobtrusive manner, the uninformed guests like the Feng brothers all opened their mouths in astonishment, as if they had heard some strange talk from overseas.As for Qu Shiqi, Gu Ling, Sun Yongzuo and others, they either participated in the matter, or heard some rumors, but they just pretended to be ignorant in front of Qian Qianyi because of their affection. Looking carefully at Old Man Qian's expression, he estimated that he would jump into a fit of rage immediately. However, unexpectedly, Qian Qianyi did not.He just stared blankly at Xu Juan, his eyes showed despair and gloom, and his face became paler and paler.Finally, he lowered his head and murmured, "No, that's not the case, that's not the case!" "Of course not!" Feng Ban, who was taken aback by this shocking news, suddenly jumped up and shouted loudly, "Why are they slandering people like this? Damn it! Old Mu, don't be afraid, with me, Feng Ban, I will never tolerate it." That gang of shameless people is doing everything wrong!" He ran towards Xu Jun, "Brother Boyan, tell me who those two bastards are, I'll go to Gusu tomorrow to settle accounts with him! I want..." He wanted to go on, but Qu Shixu stopped him with a gesture.Qu Shixu walked up to Qian Qianyi, was silent for a while, and said: "The worries of most people are beyond the understanding of fools. The teacher has high morals, and it is inevitable that he will look sideways at those with ulterior motives. He slanders with his eyebrows, and the same is true in ancient and modern times. However, It's nothing more than a fly shaking a tree, which is just enough to see that it can't control itself! What's more, the current state affairs are already unbearable! In a few years, there will be major changes. Teachers don't need to compete with their peers for a day's short and long. According to the students' See, it's better to stay on the east mountain for the time being, and wait quietly to observe the changes. It is not too late to wait for the Jiuzhong edict, to board the car and take the bridle, to save the country and the common people!" Then, Gu Ling and Sun Yongzuo also came over and tried their best to comfort them.Only then did Qian Qianyi's mood relax a bit.He sighed and said: "I am already in my twilight years. I dare not hope for saving the country and helping the common people in this life! But if I can travel in the forest, read and cultivate my character, and live quietly for a few years, I can't wait for it!" I'm satisfied. It's just, alas..." "Oh, when it comes to studying and cultivating one's character, Mu Lao's Fushui Villa is the first class!" Gu Ling hurriedly joked, "Everyone says 'Xu Family Opera's Qu Jiayuan' is my second beauty in Changshu, but the student always I feel that Fushui Mountain Villa only needs a little repair, and I'm afraid it may not make Lao Jia more beautiful!" Qu Shixu also said: "What is my dilapidated garden! It's just a vain name! I was teased all the time, and I really wanted to spend some time repairing it. A few days ago, I sent someone to Liudu to invite it. Ji Wufei came to help me with the survey, if the teacher wants to build Fushui Villa, then let him take a look together!" Qian Qianyi looked up at Qu Shixu and then at Gu Ling, but he didn't make a sound.What he said just now about "reading to cultivate character" was originally a perfunctory remark to ridicule, but now they said it seriously, it reminded him, and he felt that this was also a way to forget the situation in front of him.He stroked his beard as if realizing something, and finally nodded slowly.