Chapter 26 Twenty-three, see Nanzi

Confucius did not expect that Nanzi actually aimed at a sentence that Confucius once said: "I heard that the master once said a famous saying: It is difficult to raise a woman and a villain. I would like to hear what it means." Confucius was shocked again when he heard this, he never expected that the woman's words would be so aggressive, and her wit was directly at my embarrassment... After the Gongshushu incident, although Nanzi's status has not been affected, the government and the public are very dissatisfied with her favored and monopolized power, especially the contempt for her affair with Mi Zixia.So she wanted to summon Confucius in order to give herself a good reputation as a virtuous corporal.She knew that although Confucius was a man, he was a world-renowned sage. If Confucius could visit her, it would obviously be good for raising her status.

One afternoon, Wei Linggong hugged her in the back garden of the palace and looked at the birds in the cage. Nanzi said, "My lord, do you want to be praised by the ministers for being elegant and respectful?" Wei Linggong said with a smile: "Of course, of course, but which corporal is my wife planning to honor?" "I want to see Confucius." "Meet Confucius? That's easy. When I summon him in a few days, can't you just be there?" "No, I will summon him alone." "To be summoned alone? Then Confucius once said that only women and villains are difficult to raise. You are not making fun of yourself."

"Because of this, I want to meet him, and I want to give him a lot of insight." "My wife, then you can try it, anyway, I have no objection." Confucius was sitting and chatting after giving his disciples a lesson, when his family members came in to report Mi Zixia's visit. "What is he here for?" Confucius asked strangely, but he stood up and went out to meet him. "Ah, it's Doctor Zixia, please come in, please come in." Mi Zixia was allowed to sit in the main room and said: "Today's visit is at the order of the monarch and Mrs. Nanzi, and I will tell my master that Mrs. Mrs. Nanzi sees you."

Mi Zixia took out the letter from Duke Ling of Wei to Confucius from his sleeve and presented it.Confucius took it and unfolded it, and saw the writing on the yellow silk: Gentlemen from all over the world do not take it as an insult. Those who want to become brothers with the widow must meet my wife. My wife hopes to see you. Confucius said in embarrassment: "How dare you disobey the order of the king, but please let us discuss it." Mi Zixia said: "That's fine. Please don't decline, because this is an invitation from the monarch, then I will sue." After sending Mi Zixia away, Confucius returned to the main room to discuss with his disciples.

Zilu resolutely objected: "Nanzi has a bad reputation and is a lewd woman. The teacher must not go see her." Zigong was noncommittal and said, "However, this is an invitation from the monarch, so I'm afraid it's inappropriate not to go." Confucius looked at Yan Hui. Yan Hui said: "Nanzi's reputation is not good, but she is the wife of the monarch, and the invitation is issued in the name of the monarch, and Dr. Mi Zixia personally came to invite her. I'm afraid it would be impolite not to go." Confucius nodded and said: "Although Nanzi has some scandals, she is the wife of the monarch by name, and the monarch sent someone to invite him. It would be impolite to refuse. Besides, we have been living in Weiguo for a long time now. If we don't go, we will be afraid of life It doesn't matter, I don't think it's a problem."

Zigong nodded and said, "Teacher should go." So it was decided to go to see Nanzi. Three days later, Nanzi sent Mi Zixia to pick Confucius up in person.Confucius put on his formal attire, put on his hat and got on the chariot. Accompanied by Yan Hui, Zi Gong and Zi Lu, he drove towards the palace. When they arrived at the gate of the palace, Mi Zixia led Confucius in, and Zilu and other three disciples sat in the car and waited. Passing through the resplendent front palace, walking into the passageway of carved beams and painted buildings, and stepping on the courtyard of Qiongzhiyu leaves, you will come to a palace with towers, pavilions and pavilions that look like a fairyland. Confucius guessed that it must be Nanzi's bedroom.There were guards holding halberds at the foot of the palace gate, Mi Zixia said a few words to the guards, and the guards went in to report.

Mi Zixia walked over to Confucius and said, "Master, this is the bedchamber of the monarch's wife. I have notified him to go in. Someone will come to pick you up in a while. I will take my leave." Confucius looked around and saw the painted pillars and carved beams of the harem on the white jade steps, which are very unique. Various famous flowers were planted in the courtyard, and various strange stones were displayed. The fragrance of the flowers came in bursts. Confucius was watching and heard: "My lord, please follow me." Confucius followed the officials up the jade steps and entered a simple and elegant hall. The palace man said: "My lord, please wait here for a while, my wife will come soon."

Confucius stood near the door. He looked around and saw a spacious hall. This must be the place where the monarch's wife received guests in the harem!I felt at ease in my heart, and when I looked up and saw the curtain in front of me, I felt even more at ease.Seeing him across the curtain shows that the lady of the monarch is very fond of etiquette.So Confucius's aversion to her was lessened invisibly. I also saw copper tripods placed on both sides of the hall, incense candles were burning inside the tripod, and candles burning in the hall made the room look quite bright.Two maids of honor stood guard on both sides of the door.

After a while, I heard the palace man shouting: "The lady of the monarch is here." Confucius quickly stood at attention. Following the clinking of the jade pendants and the fragrance that wafted in, Confucius saw that the monarch's wife had come behind the curtain. Confucius hurriedly kowtowed and kowtowed to the monarch and ministers, and said: "Kongqiu of the State of Lu kowtowed to Mrs. Wei, Mrs. Da'an." A solemn but clear and pleasant voice came from inside the curtain: "Master, don't pay homage to your body." Then there was a sound of clinking jade pendants, and Nanzi also got up and bowed back: "Nanzi pays homage to the sage, Master."

Confucius thought to himself, he did not expect this woman to be so polite. "Master please take a seat." "Mrs. Xie Guojun." Confucius then sat down on the brocade mat brought by the maid.Confucius looked straight ahead. Although Nanzi's face could not be seen clearly through the brocade curtain, her tall hairstyle and dignified clothes could be seen vaguely. It was obvious that Nanzi was summoned in formal dress.Confucius' hanging heart finally let go. Nanzi also couldn't see Confucius' face clearly from the gap in the curtain, but his burly figure, full heavenly court and thick eyebrows and big eyes were vaguely visible. , admired him very much, and said:

"I invite my master to come to the Han Palace today. Firstly, I have admired the saint's name for a long time, and secondly, I want to ask the master. I have heard that the master pays attention to respect and benevolence. It is a great honor to be taught today." Confucius was startled when he heard this, and he couldn't even believe his ears. How could this woman with a bad reputation be so respectful, and her behavior and speech did not lose her status as the wife of a monarch. The son's antipathy has dropped a little bit, and he is willing to talk to her. "Why doesn't the master assist the king in the state of Lu, but take his disciples to other countries?" "It's to maintain the etiquette system. Now Zhou etiquette is completely lost, not only in Lu, but also in other vassal states." "So, according to the Master's opinion, it means that courtesy can save the country, and benevolence can rule the world?" "Precisely, because propriety is for the maintenance of benevolence, and benevolence is for the protection of the people, the country and society can only be safe and prosperous if the principles of propriety and benevolence are realized. .” Nanzi sighed in his heart: he is a real saint.So he asked again: "The sage is really wise. May I ask how the Wei country should be governed so that the country can live in peace and prosperity?" Confucius was very surprised when he heard this, and thought to himself, this woman not only has no obscene words, but also cares about state affairs. Confucius couldn't help showing some respect for Nanzi, and then replied: "The state of Wei should also implement Zhou rituals like the state of Lu, so as to prevent ministers from killing the king and the risk of rape and loyalty." "Is the master willing to help the king of Wei and revive the country?" Confucius was refreshed and thought that the purpose of staying in Weiguo twice was to show his ambitions in Weiguo, so he got excited and his voice became louder, and he replied: "Is there any king in the world, Weiguo Lu?" The whole country belongs to the emperor of Zhou. Although Kong Qiu was from the state of Lu, he also wished to assist the ruler of the state of Wei to make the world prosperous. Besides, when Qiu came to the state of Wei, he definitely did not wish to receive a reward for nothing. He was willing to do his best for the master. " Nanzi said: "Sir, your intentions are high, and I will give my lord admonishment and use my master." "Mrs. Xie Guojun." Confucius thought, let it go when you see it, and was about to get up and leave when he suddenly heard Nanzi's words turn and asked: "I want to ask my master a question, is it possible?" "Speaking." Confucius did not expect that Nan Zijing repeated the words of Confucius once said: "I heard that the master once said a famous saying: It is difficult to raise a woman and a villain. I would like to hear what it means." Confucius was shocked again when he heard this, he never expected this woman to be so aggressive in her words and words, and her wit was directly at my embarrassment.Just as he was about to answer, he heard Nanzi say: "I heard that the mother of King Wen was pregnant, and the mother of King Wu was too concubine. They were all the mothers of Zhou. .In this regard, I would like to hear the Master's opinion on women." Bad, Confucius thought, maybe this sentence of mine should be corrected, but it cannot be corrected on this occasion... Confucius hesitated. "Isn't Master's words biased?" Nanzi chased after him. Confucius was a little caught off guard when he saw Nanzi's approaching, thinking that I thought I would meet a little girl today, as long as I did not break the etiquette, but I never expected to be stopped by her few words. When Confucius was in trouble, Nanzi seemed to have glimpsed Confucius' state of mind, so he changed his tone and said in a very gentle tone: "Master, it is inconvenient to answer, but fortunately, Master will live in Weiguo. If there is a chance in the future, I would like to come back again." Listen to the teachings of the master. Now I can listen to the teachings of the saints with my own ears. I am really grateful." Confucius felt relieved when he heard this, and hurriedly got up to salute, "You are welcome, madam, and Qiu will leave now." Unexpectedly, Nanzi said: "Master is not busy, I still need to ask for advice." Confucius had to sit down again. "I heard that the master is not only good at etiquette, but also good at music, so I want to ask the master to play a piano to appreciate the rhythm of the music." Seeing that she was speaking sincerely, Confucius took the qin from a court lady and played "Turtle Exercise". The sound of the qin was melodious and desolate. At this time, Confucius was completely immersed in the realm of poetry.The sound of the piano brought him to the border of Lu State. He stood on the hill and looked at the mountains and rivers of the motherland, holding up a piece of land in his hands, and his mood was ups and downs... He thought of the three days of wandering around the border of the country, thinking about the half-life of being underappreciated... ...can't help but sigh. Ah, the saint is sighing, does he also have sorrow? ... Nanzi was thinking, what makes me sad is that I can't stay with the one I love forever, but my father and king use him as a diplomatic tool and marry an old man far away.And what did he, the saint, mourn?His sorrow is nothing more than the difficulty of developing his ambition, otherwise how could he drift to another country... Alas, Nanzi also sighed softly, life is hard!I thought I was the only one who mourned, but didn't the sage also look at the "world" and sigh? After hearing Nanzi's lament, Confucius was startled from the artistic conception, only to find that Nanzi was playing the sheng, and it was very charming and sad. He thought that this woman had such artistic talent. At the end of the song, Confucius stood up again and said, "Confucius bid farewell." Nanzi said again: "I never thought Master could play the qin so well. I admire it very much. I heard that Master is playing Zhengle. I want to know what kind of music is Zhengle. I wonder if Master can teach me?" Confucius had no choice but to sit down and reply: "Happy but not lewd, sad but not hurt." "Ah, it's too profound." Confucius stood up again and said, "Confucius bids farewell." After Confucius saluted, when he raised his head, he saw that Nanzi was also bowing to return the salute, and then there was the clinking of jade pendants. "Send off the master." Nanzi called out in a crisp voice. "Send off my wife..." the palace servants sang loudly. After giving the order, Nanzi stood up and respectfully sent Confucius off. After Confucius bowed and left, Nanzi turned around and left the house. Confucius walked all the way, and today's audience changed his view on Nanzi, and at the same time, he also thought whether his always contemptuous attitude towards women should be corrected. But Yan Hui, Zilu, and Zigong waited outside the palace for a long time but still did not see Confucius coming out, and they were all very anxious.Zilu got impatient for waiting, so he got angry at Yan Hui: "I said I can't go, but you actually agreed to let the teacher go, how is it now? You can't get out!" Yan Hui didn't make a sound, just stared at the palace gate without blinking, why isn't he very anxious, yes!The teacher should have come out a long time ago...Of course he firmly believed in the teacher's character, but he was afraid that something would happen to Nanzi. Zigong also said anxiously, "Shall we try to go in and have a look?" But the guards are so strict that it is difficult to enter even with wings! When the three of them were running around in a hurry, they saw Confucius being sent out of the palace by Mi Zixia, Yan Hui and the three immediately went up to meet him. Yan Hui first asked, "Teacher, are you alright?" Confucius replied with a smile: "How can something happen? Mrs. Nanzi is a very polite person." Zigong also asked, "Why did the teacher go for so long? It made the three of us very anxious." Confucius said: "Oh, that's because Mrs. Nanzi asked me for some advice." Zilu who was standing by the side heard this and said angrily: "Didn't the teacher once say that girls and villains are hard to raise? Why are you suddenly interested in girls today?" "Ah!" Confucius replied in amazement, "Why would I be interested in her? It is a last resort to go to see Mrs. Nanzi today. If I have any thoughts about her, then let the sky punish me! "Confucius repeated again: "Then let the sky punish me!" After hearing this, Zilu hurriedly said: "The teacher is fine, we can rest assured, why should we swear to the sky!" Yan Hui also said: "Teacher does not need to swear, we can all trust the teacher." Zigong also said: "Zilu was just in a hurry and said a few angry words. Teacher don't need to pay attention." With the help of Yan Hui, Confucius got into the car and went back to his residence.