Records of the King of Xin'an County

The fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month is really an auspicious day. After the new snow, it clears up and the sky is high and cloudy.The Hibiscus Garden, which has not been opened for a long time, finally welcomes the long-lost visitors, and the sound of laughter resounds in the fragrant plum garden, adding a bit of vitality to the long-quiet plum forest, as if returning to the world from a fairyland.

In the viewing building at the corner of Meiyuan, several old men surrounded Mr. Song, either laughing heartily, or pretending to be dissatisfied, talking all about his new disciple.And the young man who became the topic of their mouths was wearing a cloak and was talking with a dozen or so young men of the same age with a slight smile.No matter in appearance or demeanor, he is like a radiant gem, making it difficult to look away at a glance.If you listen carefully to his elegant conversation, it will make people linger and stop, unwilling to leave.

"Tsk tsk, the old man also asked why you finally thought of accepting disciples. I didn't expect such a piece of talented and beautiful jade to be cheated by you. You complained all the time that you shouldn't have agreed to be recommended by the Chaju to be an official, and you shouldn't have entered the Imperial College to do what you want Book, don’t you feel any regrets now? Merely meeting this disciple, your grievances over the past 30 to [-] years are worth it!! Which one of you will recommend the old one? Let the old one also go to the Imperial College or the Imperial College to study carefully Look? See if you can take in one or two good disciples?"

"You don't even think about it carefully. He has guarded for 30 to [-] years before he has such a disciple. If it were you who kept guarding for so many years, the bones would be turned into ashes, and you might not be able to find any rough jade. !However, this disciple is really talented, if he is good at teaching for a few years, he will definitely be in the first rank."

"Speaking of which, the old man is very curious. You are just the head of the Imperial College. How can you have the face to hold a teacher's apprenticeship ceremony in the Furong Garden? Is it the help of Jijiu or Siyebang? Is there any chance to come again in the future? Alas, we all A group of old people from the countryside are used to seeing the scenery of Nanshan Mountain on weekdays, but they have no chance to come to this famous Furong Garden. Although it is a feast for the eyes today, it is just a plum garden, and there are many gardens beside it Woolen cloth……"

Mr. Song grinned, unable to hide his complacent look: "If you have the opportunity to come here, you must cherish it! Look around carefully, maybe you can make a few paintings when you go back! In the future...hehe, if in the future The old man is in a good mood, so I will ask for you! As for whether you can still come, the old man’s words don’t count!”

After finishing speaking, he said again: "What is it if you are just a No. [-]? The old man's disciple must be the youngest No. [-] in the country! After three or four years, he will be sure to take the provincial exam! That kid from the Yang family , It’s nothing more than mediocre, let’s let him shine for a few years first!” After patting his chest, he narrowed his eyes and laughed, showing off: “It’s just that you don’t take the Jinshi exam, and you are promoted by martial arts, the old man My disciples will never lose to anyone! Ritual music shooting Yushu, everything is top!"

The rest of the elders were naturally unconvinced, and yelled to call the disciples over for a competition: "It's just a few casual compliments on your disciples, do you really believe it?! Who doesn't have a few outstanding disciples? It's okay if you praise your disciples all the time." Forget it, how dare you be so arrogant?! Hmph! After your precious disciple loses, let's see how proud you will be in the future?!"

"Isn't it?! What do you think of us? How many lifetimes of face will he trample on at will?! You wait for the old man to see how the old man's disciple will deal with your precious disciple! If he loses, he can't hold his head up. Come on, never recover from a setback, then don't blame your old age for being ruthless!!"

Mr. Song was furious, and summoned his disciple, the prince, over: "If you don't defeat all of their apprentices, today's ceremony of apprenticeship will be over! Let's admit defeat, master and apprentice, and go back to practice for a few years. When the time comes It is necessary to give them some color and take a good look!!"

After hearing this, a group of old men became even more angry.Almost everyone's face was flushed, and the veins on their foreheads were throbbing, as if they could spew out fire in the next moment.And their disciples all looked helpless, smiled wryly at the prince, and bowed their hands as a salute.On the other hand, Wang Zixian nodded calmly: "All disciples will follow what Master said, everyone, please."

The so-called birds of a feather flock together and people are divided into groups, he really thought too much before.My husband's friends are almost all unknown hermits, but their temperament is similar to his, and they are all very straightforward old children.People like them are naturally looked down upon by those who compete for fame and fortune, and they are easy to be satisfied. The two have nothing to do with each other, but they are very quiet.

Xu Shi expected that this kind of thing was very likely to happen, and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, chess game, piano platform, bow and arrow had already been prepared.First, there was the competition of writing, calligraphy and painting. The prince offered a risk and won in a dangerous place. All the gentlemen recognized that his calligraphy and painting were superior in artistic conception and style.Because he traveled abroad since he was a child, what he saw and understood is different from other people, so the technique is secondary, but the aura can be revealed from the scroll.After that, he recited poems, wrote prose, and gave oral answers to policy discussions. He put in a lot of effort in this area, intending to win the first place. How could he lose so easily?

The serious literary battle has won, but there are still some elegant trails.Playing chess, playing the piano, and even cooking tea, etc., as a son of a family, he is naturally good at everything, and he is slightly better.

Then there was a bow and arrow competition, several young men hit nine out of ten shots, which caused their masters to stroke their beards and laugh out loud.Mr. Song couldn't help snorting: "What's the point of shooting nine out of ten? My disciple has always hit ten out of ten! He never missed!" These words naturally made a group of old people even more furious: "You usually even shoot a hare! If you don’t hit, how do you know how rare it is to hit ten shots?! Talking nonsense is not afraid of making people laugh!”

"Oh? Ten hits every time? Then... I... I have to take a good look at it." Amidst the excitement, no one noticed an old man strolling over with his grandchildren.The old man looked a little pale, as if he was sick and weak, but he was still in good spirits, and he walked with a certain demeanor, which made people feel awe, obviously his status was not ordinary.However, his clothes looked very ordinary, just like an old man from an ordinary official family.Of course, if a person who knows the goods takes a closer look, he will find that those seemingly ordinary clothing accessories are rare treasures, and even the rich and powerful may not be able to get them.

Hearing this, the handsome young man and the beautiful young lady beside him all smiled: "Grandfather, don't worry, Zixian will not disappoint grandfather." The smiling appearance of the young man is different from that of the people around him who are either nervous or nervous. The excited expression was completely different, and he was so calm that people couldn't help but want to believe him after seeing him.

Behind them, a chubby figure was moving with difficulty.Occasionally, he caught a glimpse of the calligraphy and painting in the Yanxi Pavilion next to him, and immediately "rolled" over quickly, admiring, as if his face became radiant in an instant.A middle-aged beautiful woman also walked over with another young lady with a big belly on her arm, and another young man stood by their side, acting very cautiously, as if he was afraid of hurting them accidentally.

The three of them ignored the person in front of them, and seeing the "grand occasion" in front of them, they were all a little surprised: "Isn't it a ceremony of apprenticeship? Why is it compared to arrows? However, compared to the ceremony of apprenticeship, it is more interesting than arrows." .”

Although Wang Zixian didn't look around, he vaguely heard a very familiar voice, and the corners of his lips twitched slightly.In the eyes of outsiders, he is naturally confident and confident.I saw that he slowly drew the bow and arrow very casually, not aiming at the target carefully like others at all, he let go of the bowstring almost instantly - the arrow branch was like a shooting star, whistling, and the arrow hit Then came another arrow, faster and faster, as if instinctively, without stopping, let alone hesitating!

But for a moment, he shot fifteen arrows in a row, all fifteen hit!All the young gentlemen around suddenly went into an uproar, with expressions of admiration on their faces.The masters looked sour, and looked angrily at Mr. Song, who was laughing up to the sky, and had nothing to say for a while, but could only be bitter that he was really "lucky".Another old man couldn't help stabbing: "Except for poetry, prose and policy theory, you have never taught him anything else. What is there to be proud of?"

"Having accepted such an excellent disciple, why don't I let the old man be proud?" Mr. Song squinted at them, somehow, out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of the smiling Prince Xin'an in the crowd.He nodded slightly towards the little county king, and just as he was about to announce that the auspicious time was approaching, when the apprentice ceremony began, he found a young lady and an old man with a familiar face beside him.Although it has been 30 or [-] years, he has been a small official from the seventh rank, so he has no chance to participate in the daily court meeting.But every first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, he is also a Beijing official who can meet the Holy Spirit!No matter how far away you are, you can vaguely remember the saint's description! !

So - Mr. Song suddenly became stiff, and the elation he had just now was thrown out of the sky by him in an instant.Of course, he didn't care about the saint's opinion of him, and he was never worried about his official career, but he was suddenly startled, feeling that the rumored big man was coming, and he couldn't react well.What's more, the so-called "image of celebrity" has completely collapsed, after all, it's a little guilty, isn't it?

Haha, should have thought of that earlier.With Prince Xin'an, will King Pu be far behind?Can the saint be far behind?That's the favored grandson of the emperor, and he should also tell his elders to participate in the apprenticeship ceremony of his best friend.By the way, the elders came to join in the fun, as if, it seems, probably, maybe... is it reasonable?

The sage didn't care about those frank old men, because he also had a self-willed and casual side. Instead, he looked at Wang Zixian with interest, and said with a smile: "Bring your bow and arrow, and show it to the old man!" This was the second time he had seen this young man, and he had a deeper impression on him.Such young talents with both civil and military skills are indeed rare.Just now, he also read his poems, prose, strategies, calligraphy and paintings, and he is indeed superior to others, with a sharp and unique vision.

When the prince heard that he called himself "Old Man", he knew that he didn't want to reveal his identity, so he offered his bow and arrows respectfully.The sage looked at the bow, and casually pulled the bowstring: "It's just a three-stone bow. It should be a bit light for you, right? Are you usually good at using a five-stone bow?"

"What your Excellency said is very true. However, the student has also practiced the three-stone bow hard. As long as he controls the strength, it should not hinder the aim." The prince offered back.All the young men around listened and admired him even more.Five stone bows are not common, so they are not ready. One stone bow, two stone bows, and three stone bows are the most commonly used, and they are chosen by everyone.In this way, although they lost, they still took advantage of a lot.

"Holding a bow that doesn't fit your hand, it's really rare to be able to shoot fifteen out of fifteen shots!" The saint clapped his hands and laughed, "A Hui, later, you can go to my library and pick out a good bow for him. You can count it as my apprenticeship to him." Congratulations!"

"Thank you, grandfather." Li Hui smiled, and Wang Zixian immediately saluted to thank him.The people around only thought it was a gift from the elders of the prince's friend's family, and didn't think much about it.Among the crowd, only Yan Balang barely concealed his astonishment, guessed the identity of the old man, and had a clearer understanding of the friendship between Li Hui and Wang Zixian and the status of King Pu's family in the hearts of the saints.

"Don't you want to be a teacher? Don't delay the auspicious time." The saint reminded again.

So, Mr. Song finally came back to his senses, glanced at his disciples secretly, and led everyone to the viewing tower.The ceremony of apprenticeship has its own rules, and there will be no mistakes if you follow it.However, Mr. Song, who should have been extremely excited, had the reserved appearance of a "celebrity" and was "indifferent" from beginning to end.The rest of the old men who knew his true nature felt more and more that he was putting on airs, but they didn't know that he really had a lot of suffering in his heart.

And when His Royal Highness King Pu found a group of celebrities, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to meet them.Seeing that his grandpa didn't want to reveal his identity, he became smarter and called himself Li San. He had a great conversation with the old people, and soon they became close friends and made an appointment to meet again next time.

As for Wang Zixian, he followed the sage, accepted his examination, and received his praise, and felt very satisfied in his heart.He didn't think about whether this was the satisfaction and joy of a subject being appreciated by the lord, or just because he was affirmed by his friends and elders, he felt very happy.

Yan Shi, Zhou Shi and Li Xin may not have seen such a lively scene for a long time, even though they just watched from a distance, they still felt in a good mood.Princess Changning found that a group of old children were more interesting than anything else, and wrote down their words and deeds one by one, intending to tell grandpa and grandma.

In this way, today's ceremony of apprenticeship, except for Mr. Song, can be regarded as a happy event for everyone.

The author has something to say: Mr. Song: When you were bragging, did you get swollen when you were bumped into by a boss?

Wang Langjun: Will you be demoted?

Mr. Song: _(:3」∠)_, no, if you lower your voice, you will lose face.

Wang Langjun: Will the salary be cut?

Mr. Song: _(:3」∠)_, the BOSS can’t handle it so finely, right?

Wang Langjun: That's up to you, anyway, that guy may not remember who the husband is.

Mr. Song: QAQ...you unfilial disciple, you keep poking the teacher's wound!Keep poking!Keep poking!You still poke!

Wang Langjun: Hehe, sir, don't worry, even if you lose your official position, your disciples will still be able to support you.

Mr. Song: Where did you get the money to support me?

Wang Langjun: My money...is all in A Hui's place.

Mr. Song: _(:3」∠)_

Xiaojun Wang: (￣▽￣) "It doesn't matter, it's okay to raise one more.

Wang Langjun: ^^