Cao Yongguo is over forty years old, with a beard under his chin, a white robe, red shoes, and a scarf, his face is charitable and solemn, he walked in a square step, with one hand behind his back, and one hand stroked his beard, and came to Xia Xiang.

Needless to introduce, Xia Xiang also knew that the person who came was the master of Cao Mansion, so he hurriedly took a step back, was upright, held the junior salute, and bowed for a long time: "I've seen Cao Gong." ”

Because Xia Xiang didn't know Cao Yongguo's official position, he was called by the honorific title of the honorable person.

Cao Yongguo returned the salute: "Xia Langjun doesn't have to be polite. Thanks to Xia Langjun for saving the dog's life, Cao was grateful. ”

"Cao Gong is polite, seeing people in trouble, reaching out to help is the way of being a person, a trivial matter, not enough to worry about." Xia Xiang didn't dare to accept Cao Yongguo's salute, so he hurriedly returned the salute and said respectfully, "What's more, I'm good at swimming, if I don't know how to water, I definitely won't go into the water to save people." ”

Cao Yongguo's first impression of Xia Xiang was not bad, not to mention Xia Xiang's handsome appearance and calm bearing, just to say that his bookish atmosphere and humble attitude around him made people feel close. It's just that after Xia Xiang finished saying the next sentence, he was stunned, and strange thoughts appeared in his heart.

This Xia Xiang is really interesting, not only the traditional way of helping the world in Confucianism, but also the frank and honest side, which is rare among readers.

Cao Yongguo smiled silently, sat down in the first place, his eyes fell on Xia Xiang's teacup, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he threw a meaningful glance at Cao Shuli.

Cao Shuli noticed Cao Yongguo's gaze, but pretended not to know, pursed her lips and smiled, and twisted her head to the side. Cao Shujun deliberately caused trouble, coughed deliberately, and smiled: "Daddy, my sister's Ru kiln is never taken out to show people, let alone let people use it?" Even my father is afraid that he has not appreciated it a few times, Xia Langjun came to the door for the first time, and he was in Ruyao, and he was really eccentric, the girl was outgoing, and the ancients did not deceive me. ”

Cao Shuli was not ashamed or anxious, and smiled generously: "San Lang said this, don't you feel guilty? Xia Langjun is your life-saving benefactor, don't say that you want high-quality tea and Ruyao cups, even if you want to offer thousands of family property, you should also be. Could it be that San Lang thinks that your life is not as valuable as the Ruyao Cup? ”

"I, I ......" Cao Shujun was choked by Cao Shuli's face turned red, and wanted to refute a few words, but he had nothing to say, so he had to laugh awkwardly, "Sister is talking to Xia Langjun like this, does she really like him?" It just so happens that Daddy is also there, Xia Langjun, if you like your sister, you can propose to Daddy in person. ”

"Nonsense." Cao Yongguo's face sank, "In front of Xia Langjun, you were rude and then discouraged, how do you look at this time, where is there still a little bit of restraint among scholars?" ”

"Daddy, the child didn't want to read, and he didn't want to be a reader." Cao Shujun stood up suddenly, came to Cao Yongguo, looked at him, and bowed, "The thing that surprised the horse just now is that the child is unbearable to his father's coercion and wants to escape, but in a hurry, something almost happened." If it weren't for Xia Langjun's action, even if the child didn't die, there would be innocent passers-by. Daddy, I have made up my mind to the Tao, and after this incident, I can be regarded as a new life. Xia Langjun saved my life, just like a reborn parent, whether I am reading or seeking, I also want to listen to his words. ”

Xia Xiang almost applauded Cao Shujun's words, what a sharp-toothed guy, first started with the startling incident, pointed out the seriousness of the problem, and then next time I am afraid that there will be accidents. and then that he is Cao Shujun's life-saving benefactor, just like his parents throwing out the topic that he wants to bargain with Cao Yongguo, so that Cao Yongguo has to respect his suggestion, step by step, and fortify everywhere, so that Cao Yongguo has no way to retreat.

Cao Shuli smiled and said nothing, she had seen Cao Shujun's cunning and wit, anyway, she had an attitude of staying out of the matter, Xia Xiang and her father debated, no matter who won or lost, it was the same for her. Xia Xiang won, which shows that Xia Xiang's talent is above his father, and it is normal for the country to have talents from generation to generation. Daddy's victory shows that Daddy is more knowledgeable than Xia Xiang, and it will take time for Xia Xiang to reach Daddy's height.

Xia Xiang didn't speak, with a shallow smile on his face, waiting for Cao Yongguo to speak.

Cao Yongguo's face was as calm as water, he glanced at Xia Xiang quietly, then withdrew his gaze, and then looked at his nose, nose, mouth, mouth, and heart, and was silent.

Cao Yongguo didn't speak, the atmosphere in the room was a little dignified, it was the dead of night at this time, and the room was quiet for a while.

Xia Xiang was so calm that he also looked at his nose, nose, mouth, mouth, and heart, and neither opened his mouth to break the silence, nor did he open his mouth to say goodbye. Xiao Wu was even more interesting, standing behind Xia Xiang, with his hands behind his back, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was asleep.

Cao Shuli didn't take the initiative to speak, a pair of beautiful eyes turned around, jumping on Cao Yongguo, Xia Xiang and Cao Shujun, and finally stopped on Xia Xiang's lowered eyes for a moment, and smiled.

It was Cao Shujun who couldn't hold his breath first, he and Cao Shuli sat side by side, sitting opposite Xia Xiang.

"Xia Langjun......" Cao Shujun glanced at Xia Xiang several times, Xia Xiang turned a blind eye, and he had no choice but to ask in a low voice in a hurry, "Daddy is very knowledgeable, see you today, you can ask him for advice in person, don't miss the opportunity." ”

Cao Shuli also felt embarrassed to continue like this, and chuckled: "Xia Langjun, do you know who this year's Zhigongju is?" ”

Zhigongju is the chief examiner of the provincial examination, which means "the special master is in charge of the tribute examination", and is generally served by the famous minister of the imperial court. When Sima Zuo served as Zhigongju, he vigorously advocated a plain style of writing and opposed the Taixue style, so the brothers Lianche and Lianyi were able to stand out, which influenced the literary style of Daxia to change from the flashy and untruthful of the previous dynasties, and then turned to simplicity and simplicity.

Zhigongju's preference determines whether the test can be high school, even if you are a brilliant pen and an unworldly talent, but the style of writing does not meet Zhigongju's preferences, it is in vain. During the Tang Dynasty, there were countless famous poets who were as brilliant as the stars, but in fact, at that time, because they did not take the Jinshi examination, they were depressed all their lives, and even there were many people who were poor. The brilliant psalms left to posterity are nothing more than a by-product of the difficulties of life.

The Zhigong Ju of Bactria is not fixed, but takes a temporary dispatch, which varies from year to year and is not permanent. Xia Xiang went to Beijing to take the exam, if he didn't know who this year's Zhigongju was, he wouldn't have been.

"This year's Zhigongju is Yang Li, a bachelor of Hanlin." Xia Xiang didn't know why Cao Shuli had this question, so he said, "Bachelor Yang was a top student in high school, and his style of writing is elegant and refined. ”

"How much does Xia Langjun know about Bachelor Yang?" Cao Yongguo opened his slightly narrowed eyes and asked with interest, "Your style can enter his magic eyes?" ”

Soon after Yang Di won the top prize, his father unfortunately passed away, and he was so grief-stricken that he didn't eat water and rice for several days. Later, on the grounds that Fenglu was not enough to support his mother, he lived idlely until the government urged him to take up his post. Soon after, he resigned due to his mother's illness.

The emperor once summoned Yang Li to see him and asked him what year and first, but Yang Li was silent and did not answer. Only then did the emperor know that Yang had been the champion and regretted asking. Since then, the emperor has great respect for his character of not being proud of himself.

"I don't know much." Xia Xiang told the truth that he had just come out of Lingshou and had just entered the capital, so how did he know how Yang Yan was a human being.

"Yang Tuo advocates cumbersomeness for literature, has no certain teaching method, and is pedantic and eccentric when drafting edicts, and is often ridiculed, and he doesn't care." Cao Yongguo smiled indifferently, "In my opinion, you and Yang Di are still human beings regardless of academic style, there is a big difference, if you want to be admitted to him, I'm afraid it will not be easy." ”

Preemptive? Don't let him open his mouth to intercede for Xia Shujun? Xia Xiang was shocked in his heart, Cao Yongguo was silent for a while, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he wanted to make a move on the thing he cared about the most, what did he want? No, the topic that led to Zhigong's lifting of Yang Tong was first started by Cao Shuli...... Thinking like this, Xia Xiang looked at Cao Shuli again.

Cao Shuli sat still, dignified and elegant, everyone's beautiful demeanor was unobstructed, her eyes were lowered, reserved and reserved, and she no longer looked at Xia Xiang more.

Xia Xiang secretly felt funny in his heart, thought about it, and said: "If you feel it, you can understand, there is water in thousands of rivers and thousands of rivers and moons; Inorganic and unbreakable, cloudless and skyless...... If Master Yang is the bright moon in the sky, I am a thousand rivers on the earth. ”

As soon as these words came out, Cao Yongguo was slightly moved. It's not that he was shocked by Xia Xiang's words, but Xia Xiang's answer was both ingenious and appropriate, just borrowing the couplet on his own shadow wall.

Thousands of rivers have water, thousands of rivers and moons, thousands of miles of cloudless and thousands of miles of sky - it is a very high realm of Buddhism. The first sentence, the moon is like Buddha nature, a thousand rivers are all beings, rivers are no matter how big or small, and water can reflect the moon; There is no distinction between high and low people, and some people have Buddha nature. Buddha-nature is in the human heart, omnipresent; Just like the moon shining on the river, everything is reflected. In the second sentence, there are clouds in the sky, and above the clouds is the sky. As long as there are no clouds in the sky, then the sky will be blue for all miles. Whether the clouds are there or not, the blue sky is still the blue sky, and it will not change in the slightest because of the presence or absence of the clouds. I can't see the blue sky because I have clouds in my heart. Once there is no cloud in the heart, it is a thousand miles of blue sky.

In the same way, Yang Li has no fixed law, and changes as he pleases in his literary style, but Xia Xiang doesn't care whether Yang Li is on the first quarter of the moon, the next quarter moon or the full moon, he only goes to the thousands of rivers, let the full moon and the moon rise and fall, and the thousands of rivers have water, and the thousands of rivers reflect the moon.

This son is not only extraordinary, but also extremely intelligent, quite wise, Cao Yongguo nodded slightly: "Responding to all changes with the same, and changing with all changes, are all ways to workaround, Xia Langjun, if Shu Jun has half of your understanding, he will not still achieve nothing today." ”

"Where am I doing nothing? Daddy, I know astronomy, geography, three religions and nine streams, omniscience, hundreds of schools, everything, how much better than those nerds who die reading? Cao Shujun was indignant, he thought that there was a world of difference between him and the unlearned and unskilled children around him, but he was not recognized by his father, so he was naturally angry, "In life, there is not only one way to go through the imperial examination, Xia Langjun, you come to evaluate the theory, is it that in addition to gaining fame, it is useless for a boy to be born in the world?" ”

"What knows astronomy and geography is just a trick, not worth mentioning." Cao Yongguo shook his head disappreciatively.

"Of course not." Xia Xiang knew that it was time for him to come forward, his face was calm, and he said calmly, "Zi said: 'Those who are born to know are also up, those who learn and know are second, and those who are sleepy and learn again and again. If you are sleepy and don't study, the people are the next one, reading is to learn, and learning is to settle down. The sages of the ancients never regarded studying and gaining fame as the same. The sages were all born when there was no imperial examination, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Mencius, who has fame? The poet immortal Li Bai's poems and saints Du Fu are all promoted to the rank of scholars, but the names of the poems have been passed down through the ages and praised by future generations. The purpose of reading the books of the sages is to establish a heart for heaven and earth, a life for the people, a continuation of learning for the saints, and a peaceful ...... for all generations."

Xia Xiang took a deep breath, and saw Cao Shujun's eyebrows raised, Cao Shuli was stunned for a while, Cao Yongguo was silent, he was sure in his heart, and said even more impassionedly: "As long as you have the will to serve the country and the hearts of the people, why do you have to seek fame and origin?" If you are not a good person, you will be a good doctor, if you are good, you will help the world, and if you are poor, you will be good to yourself, as long as it is your responsibility to save the people in the world, what is the difference between being in the court or the rivers and lakes? ”

"Well, well said!" Cao Shujun stroked his palms and applauded, got up and bowed to Xia Xiang, "Xia Langjun's words are better than ten years of reading and being taught." I don't want to be famous, but I also care about the common people. Even if you indulge in the mountains and rivers, you have to leave the poems that have been recited through the ages, and it can be regarded as making some meager efforts for the prosperity of the Great Xia. ”

"Humph!" Cao Yongguo sneered at Cao Shujun and glared angrily at Cao Shujun, "If you can't even get fame, what ability do you have to leave poems for the ages?" Pipe dream! All you like is some tricks and tricks, and they are not right...... If you talk nonsense again, you will be grounded for three months. ”

"Grounded? Daddy, you have forgotten that the boy almost rode north an hour ago, and if it had not been for the horse start, I might have been drinking with the Tatars outside the Wall. Although Cao Shujun is a little afraid of his father, but since he has today's events, if he does not have a firm attitude, he will inevitably fall short, not to mention Xia Xiang's help, it is also because Xia Xiang's words are reasonable, which makes him more courageous, "Whether it is north to the north of the Great Wall or south to the south of the South China Sea, Daddy, the child is confident that he can ride a horse and whip, one person and one ride, and the world can go." ”

How could Cao Yongguo not hear the threat in Cao Shujun's words, he couldn't help but be furious, and was about to shoot the case, but Xia Xiang came forward in time.

Xia Xiang got up, opened the folding fan in his hand, shook it a few times, took a step forward, and handed it to Cao Yongguo: "Cao Gong, the weather is hot, it is not easy to get angry, come, dissipate the anger." ”

Cao Yongguo didn't know what to do, and it was difficult to refuse, so he had to take the fan and fan it a few times.

"In the eyes of Cao Gong, compared with a good poem or a fan, which one is more liked by the people?" Xia Xiang's topic shifted not only in time, but also in an interesting way.

Cao Shujun didn't know why Xia Xiang asked this, and his eyes widened. Cao Shuli was also slightly surprised and expectant, thinking that Xia Xiang was really a witty and changeable young man who couldn't figure it out, calm and a little witty, and a little cunning in wit, so smart at such an age, if he entered the officialdom in the future, he couldn't say how many people would look at him.

"How can this compare?" Cao Yongguo didn't know how to answer for a while, and thought for a while, "For ordinary people, when it's hot, having a fan in their hands is better than a good poem to cool off." ”

Although Great Xia was much stronger than the previous dynasty, for ordinary people, reading was still a time-consuming and money-consuming affair. Most families can't afford to afford a person to read. Although Great Xia emphasized literature over military force, for more than 100 years since the establishment of the dynasty, there are still five or six out of ten illiterate people.

"Why did Xia Langjun say this?" Cao Yongguo returned the fan to Xia Xiang, with doubts in his heart, eager to know Xia Xiang's true intentions. After only a few rounds, he realized that Xia Xiang was not only extraordinary, but also flexible, unlike ordinary scholars who were rigid and conservative, not that Xia Xiang was scheming, but in his opinion, Xia Xiang often had unexpected actions.

"Readers, read well, take the Jinshi examination, and can govern the country and level the world. If you don't pass the Jinshi exam, you can be honest, self-cultivation, and family-oriented. Xia Xiang opened the fan, the fan is made of sandalwood for keel silk fabric, exquisite and practical, "The same is true for fans, a fan is not done well, you can use it yourself to drive away the heat." If you do it well, you can benefit the people of the world, and everyone can spend the summer in peace. Cao Gong, if one person has the ability to govern a county, and the other person has the skill of securing the world, who is higher and who is inferior than the two? ”

Cao Shuli was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Xia Xiang's intention was to ask, then thought about it, smiled understandingly, and after laughing, he shook his head helplessly, thinking that compared with Xia Xiang, although his father is more knowledgeable, more knowledgeable and knowledgeable, but he does not have Xia Xiang's versatility and touch, maybe he really wants to lose a chess move.

Cao Shujun forcibly suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, and originally wanted to use Xia Xiang's mouth to persuade his father not to force him to take the exam anymore, but he just had the mentality of giving it a try, but he never thought that he would inadvertently pick up a treasure, Xia Xiang was erudite and talented, and he was also resourceful, which was too unexpected and too surprising to him. It's just that he can't figure it out, when did Xia Xiang discover his secret?

Cao Yongguo had never thought about it like this, and was suddenly stunned by Xia Xiang's sudden question, and thought for a while before saying: "Govern a county and benefit the people of a county." Make a fan to benefit the people of the world. It's all about helping the world at the same time, so how can there be a difference between superior and inferior? ”

"Cao Gong has a high view, and he helps the world, regardless of superiority! Good ministers and good doctors, farmers and businessmen, peddlers and pawns, generals and soldiers, as long as they serve the country wholeheartedly, they are also noble and low. Xia Xiang pushed the boat down the river and led the topic to Cao Shujun step by step, "The surrender of the four seas of Great Xia, the rise of the world is peaceful, it is a peaceful and prosperous country." It is a glorious thing to worship the prime minister, keep your heart, be a craftsman, as long as you can live in peace and be useful to the people, why do you have to get fame? People who care about the common people may not all be in the court. ”