The next day, they said goodbye to Fang Xiaoru, left Yingtian, and left for Jinan. Yuan Hui had already explained to Nangong Qiu that he was on a mission and could not go to Mount Tai, and he could only stay in Jinan for a day, and he would go on the road immediately after Shen Ruoxiao finished doing it. To the surprise of the two of them, Nangong Qiu did not express any objections, nodded very sensibly, and said that there will always be a chance to go in the future, and she will not make trouble if she follows them.

Four days later, they arrived in Jinan. After settling down in the accommodation, Shen Ruoyu told Nangong Qiu to stay in the inn and not to run around, and asked Yuan Jue to watch her. Then he walked out into the street alone.

The hometown of the second brother, the world-famous spring city of Jinan. There was once Emperor Shun, Li Qingzhao, Xin Qiji and Zhang Yanghao, and Shen Ruoyu had a good impression of this ancient cultural city. However, he did not have time to visit the beautiful scenery and monuments, and he only wanted to find the mansion of the Shandong Counselor immediately.

Tie Xuan's reputation in Jinan is very high. The passers-by listened to his inquiry, and showed him the way in the same cordial and detail, and then asked, without exception:

"Are you a relative of Tie Gong? When I saw Tie Gong, I persuaded him to pay attention to his body and not to work so hard all the time. ”

Shen Ruoyu once asked Yuan Hui, and Mr. Yuan told him that this Tie Xuan was a famous Qing scholar in the current dynasty, and he was originally a student of Guozijian, and he performed well and was awarded the position of Like in the matter. Although the rank of the six departments is low, the power is not small, and they can directly report to the Son of Heaven on the dereliction of duty of officials of various ministries. Tie Xuan held this important position, was impartial and upright, and was transferred to the Governor's Mansion to investigate the case, and he did not stay overnight to resolve the lawsuit. Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and personally gave him a word, called "Keystone". Zhu Yunwen heard Tie Xuan's name for a long time, and after ascending the throne, he promoted him to participate in politics for Shandong.

In fact, there is no need to know this, just the fact that he and Fang Xiaoru are personal friends is enough to make Shen Ruoyu believe that this Tie Daren is an upright, honest, diligent and loving person. Now, what passers-by said to him convinced him even more. He found Tie Xuan's mansion, but Tie Xuan was not there. The people of the Iron Mansion did not care at all about his status as a cloth cloth, and warmly invited him in and led him into the hall.

Mrs. Yang was born dignified and demure, and when she heard that he had come from the capital and personally served him tea and snacks, she was embarrassed to be alone with a strange man again, so she went out and went to the room.

Shen Ruoyu sat in the hall and waited. He looked around; As he expected, Tie Xuan's home was as poor and frugal as Fang Xiaoru, the house was simple but clean and tidy, and the whole house was filled with the fragrance of ink. It was early winter, and most of the weeping willow leaves in Quancheng had fallen off, leaving only a few withered yellow dry leaves still shrunk on the soft willow branches. The sun shone faintly on the thin walls; In the courtyard outside the gate, a servant was fetching water from an old stone well, and the wheels on the well were swaying slowly.

He stood up and looked back at an ink stain on the wall, which read the words of Confucius:

"Learn and learn, don't you also say? Have friends come from afar, are you happy? People don't know and are not ashamed, aren't they also gentlemen? ”

He looked at these few short lines of calligraphy, and felt that the pen was clear and round, soaked with vigor and fortitude, which was not the same as Fang Xiaoru's feeling, and he thought that this iron master was also very different from Mr. Fang. He sketched Tie Xuan's description in his imagination, with sharp edges and corners, decisive and free, not only with the elegant literati brand on Fang Xiaoru's body, but also with the rigid temperament of some military generals.

He was looking at it when he suddenly heard the sound of reading from another room:

"Fish, I want too; Bear's paws, as well as I want; You can't have both, and you can't have both, and you can give up the fish and take the bear's paw. ……”

A young girl's voice, as crisp and melodious as a silver bell, continued to read:

“…… Life, also what I want; Righteousness is also what I want; You can't have both, and those who sacrifice their lives to take righteousness are also. Life is also what I want, and what I want is more than the living, so I don't want to get it; Death is also evil to me, and the evil is worse than the dead, so I can't avoid it. If a man desires more than he lives, then why not use those who can live? If there is no worse than the dead, then why not avoid the sick? From the yes, there is no need, and from the yes, you can avoid trouble and do nothing. Therefore they desire more than the living, and evil more than the dead. Not only the sage has a heart, everyone has it, and the sage can not lose his ears. ”

Shen Ruoyu listened attentively, and couldn't help but secretly admire in his heart.

The girl's voice continued:

"A spoonful of food, a bean soup, if you get it, you live, and if you get it, you die. And with it, the doers of the way are receiving; With it, the beggars disdain. ”

The voice suddenly froze, and Shen Ruoyu couldn't help but suddenly see the poem "It's difficult to go down the drifting ice of the Phantom Spring". He listened in bewilderment. The girl seemed to have read something incomprehensible, and her voice became hesitant and hesitant, no longer as smooth as Fang Cai, and continued to read down jerkyly:

“…… Wan Zhong accepts it without arguing about propriety and righteousness, so how can Wan Zhong be wrong with me? For the beauty of the palace, the dedication of wives and concubines, and the poor who know me to get me? …… The township is not subject to the death of the body, and now it is the beauty of the palace; The township is not subject to death, but now it is the worship of wives and concubines; Township for ......"

The sound stopped abruptly, and it didn't sound again for a long time.

"The ice fountain is cold and astringent, and the condensation never stops for a while"[1]—the sound of this book is so quiet and moving. But why did it suddenly stop?

Shen Ruoliao was wondering, when suddenly a voice outside the door shouted: "Mother-" With the shouting, a young girl walked into the house, saw Shen Ruoliao, exclaimed, "Ah", and stopped.

Shen Ruoyu was also stunned. It was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl, born with bright eyes and bright teeth, and handsome eyebrows. With a straight nose, a bold chin, and a flashing alertness and intelligence in his eyes, Shen Ruoyu could see at a glance that this must be Tie Xuan's daughter.

"Who are you?" The girl asked, confused.

Shen Ruoyu said: "I'm here to visit Lord Tiegong. Madame told me to wait here. ”

The girl said, "Oh, he's busy in the mansion, you can wait patiently, he should be back soon." ”

Shen Ruoxiao smiled lightly: "The girl is Miss Tie, right?" Are you the one reading next door? ”

The girl's eyes flashed: "Hey, how do you know?" ”

"You look very similar to Ling Zun," Shen Ruoyu had never seen Tie Xuan, but he said boldly. At least, the appearance of the girl in front of him is extremely similar to the Tie Xuan he sketched in his imagination.

The girl laughed: "A lot of people say that I am very similar to my father." My name is Tie Liu, and I am my father's eldest daughter. There is also a younger sister named Tie Feng; A little brother is called Tie Song, the word Fu'an. ”

"It's all good names," Shen Ruoyu couldn't help but admire, "Miss Liu's name is especially beautiful, although the weak willow supports the wind, the beginning of the surname Tie is full of fortitude; The girl's name is very much like that of a heroine. ”

Tieliu pouted: "I think my sister's name is better." Maple trees sound stronger, especially in autumn. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "However, it's a little too strong, and it sounds a bit tragic." The name Tie Feng is more suitable for men. ”

Tie Liu said: "What's your name?" ”

Shen Ruoyu thought about it for a while, and felt that the first time she went to someone else's house, she hadn't met the male owner yet, so she had a stubble with someone else's daughter, which seemed a little improper; However, Tieliu is simple and straightforward, and doesn't seem to think that there is anything wrong. He is not good at squirming in front of a girl.

He said: "The villain's surname is Shen, and there are few cursive words, and there are few words like the morning star." ”

Tie Liu's eyes flickered and looked at him, and he smiled, "Your name is also very good." Where are you from? ”

"Ying Tian; I was entrusted by Mr. Fang Xiaoru to come here to find Lord Lingzun. ”

"Uncle Fang," Tie Liu suddenly realized, "How is he now?" Are both Jeonga and Shua alright? It's been half a year since I last saw them. ”

Zhen'er and Shu'er are the two daughters of Fang Xiaoru. Shen Ruoyu blushed and said:

"I'm a guest at Fang's house, and I've only seen two young ladies once, so I don't know very well, it looks like I'm doing well."

Tie Liu saw his embarrassment and smiled.

Shen Ruoyu was not embarrassed, so she had to divert the topic and asked, "Iron Maiden is reading Mencius just now, right?" Why did you stop halfway through it? ”

Tie Liu was slightly stunned, blushed, and said, "I can't read anymore; There are a few words that I really can't figure out what they mean, I want to run and ask my mother to come, but you are here. ”

"I don't understand, let me take a look?" Shen Ruoyu said.

Tieliu opened the book, held it up in front of his eyes, and pointed it out to him. Shen Ruoyu explained everything she didn't understand in detail for her.

Tie Liu suddenly realized: "Then I understand." In the past, the 'Wan Zhong' who would rather die than accept it is now 'accepted without discerning propriety and righteousness' for the sake of 'the beauty of the palace', 'the dedication of wives and concubines', and 'the poor who know me'. 'Yes or can't it be?' ’”

Shen Ruoyu smiled and continued: "'This is to lose its original heart. ’”

Tieliu smiled happily, "Thank you." You will come and teach me to read every day from now on, is that okay? ”

"Huh?" Shen Ruoyu was stunned for a moment, not hearing her words clearly.

"It's a good idea," a cheerful male voice sounded outside the door; A man came into the house and said, "Sir has been waiting for a long time; Tie Moufang was entangled in a case, his mind was dull, and it was really difficult to solve it quickly, so he dragged it on until now, delayed your time, and was harassed by the little girl. Tie made amends to Mr. ”

Shen Ruoyu was so frightened that he hurriedly saluted: "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be, Lord Tie is too polite, the villain is just a grass farmer in the market, where can he be worthy of being called a gentleman......"

"Those who can teach for little girls, three teachings and nine streams, Tie should be honored as Mr." Tie Xuan smiled unhesitantly, "Please ask Mr. Honorable Name?" ”

Shen Ruoliao said: "The villain's surname is Shen, and the cursive characters are few, I was entrusted by Mr. Fang Zhengxue to send a letter to Lord Tie." ”

Tie Xuan smiled: "'Wouldn't it be nice to have friends from afar?'" What's more, there is also Fang Xizhi's letter. Sir, you may be seated. Liu'er, you go and make a good pot of tea, and then tell your mother to prepare a table of good dishes, and I will invite Mr. Shen to have dinner and drink two cups together. ”

Shen Ruoyu hurriedly said: "No, no, Lord Tie, you are too polite, I really have other things to do here, I can't delay, please Lord Tie accept the letter, I have to leave." ”

"In such a hurry?" Tie Liu looked at him dissatisfied, "You came to my house as a guest, how can we not keep you for dinner?" ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "I really have something; The kindness of the adults and the young lady, Shen Ruoyu received it in his heart, and asked the two of them to forgive me. ”

Seeing that he was not convinced, Tie Liu looked at his father and said coquettishly: "Dad-"

Tie Xuan smiled: "If Mr. refuses to appreciate the light, please forgive Tie for being rude and refusing to accept the letter you sent." The gentleman insisted on leaving, and he could leave now. Fang Xizhi's letter, please also take it with you. ”

Shen Ruoyu was taken aback; He promised Fang Xiaoru that he would personally hand over the letter to Tie Xuan; Now, Tie Xuan refuses to accept the letter, which means that he can't leave Tie Mansion, he has to stay and eat.

He had no choice but to say, "In this case, it is better to obey your fate if you are less respectful." ”

Hearing him say this, Tieliu cheered and ran away happily.

********

[1] Bai Juyi, "Pipa Xing"