It has been more than a month since the death of Mrs. Du Dexu of Qi Guotai, Cui Taizhi and Cui Gezhi's brothers reported to the Ministry of Rites for the first time, and then dismissed the official system, because the two of them are the Huangmen Shilang, and the other is the Taifu Qing Inspection School Yushi Zhongcheng, both are officials above the fourth grade, according to the practice of the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Cui Gezhi is a young son, and he is not such a real position under the Zhongshu Sect, so it is natural that Ding is worried about the vacancy, and Cui Taizhi received the edict of revenge.

However, Cui Taezhi received three love edicts in half a month, but he wrote three times to resign, and was finally relieved of his job and served filial piety at home. Now up and down the Cui Mansion, in addition to Cui Tai's two brothers and children, the other four rooms are also for Du De, the elder, to serve the corresponding mourning period, during the entire Chinese New Year, Cui Mansion has never had Yan Le, even the family banquet is no meat and no wine, even the footsteps and talking of the servants and maids seem to be lighter than to rì.

Therefore, Wu Jiu, who stepped into this hairpin family mansion for the first time, looked a little trembling. Compared with him, Yang Zongwan, a masonry who stepped into Luoyang again a year later, was even more unhelpful. Although the two Cui family slaves who supported him and Wu Jiu to go south to Guangdong this time were conscientious and conscientious, and solved a lot of troubles for him along the way, he also knew that Du Shiyi had a deep relationship with the Cui family, but when he stepped into the aconitum gate, and then came to the splendid Zhu Gate with the front halberd in the gate, he couldn't help but get nervous in his heart. This kind of nervousness was even more intense because he heard that Cui Jiaxin had lost Mrs. Tai, and when he stood in the foyer on the left side of the main entrance and waited, he even wondered if Du Shiyi would suddenly change his mind and let him fall back to the bottom of despair from the peak of hope with the money.

Just when two people with similar circumstances but different minds were waiting anxiously, a Cui family servant who had entered the house with them and reported it first finally came out. Probably because he did form a bit of friendship along the way, or maybe it was because the master was quite generous in rewarding him, he nodded at the two with a smile and said, "My family's Eleven Langjun and Du Langjun want to see you." ”

Cui Jianxuan's study is in the southeast corner of Cui's house, the three rooms have never been partitioned, transparent and bright, but there are no shelves and porcelain jars where books are placed in ordinary studies, the east wall is hung with carved bows, the west wall is hung with swords, and the big case in it is stacked with a high stack of thread-bound books, which is the kind that is quite popular among scholars today. But Du Shiyi stepped forward and flipped through it, but found that it was actually a stack of Buddhist scriptures, which made him angry.

"Do you count as a promiscuity?"

"Of course not!" Cui Jianxuan said confidently, "When my grandmother was alive, I believed in Buddhism, and I also copied Buddhist scriptures for her old man." Now that she is said to be immortal, I still should, put two Buddhist scriptures on my desk to read! Having said that, in Du Shiyi's eyes that seemed to be smiling, he quickly coughed dryly, "Anyway, it's okay to talk about it in front of people." What I can learn, I have already learned from Master Lu, but I have read the history like you, and I am not interested in the rest of the scriptures. As you can see, I'm more interested in bow and horse swordsmanship. You have to admit that I am not as good as you in reading and doing poetry, but you are not as good as me in the talent of bow and horse swordsmanship! Grandpa's title is inherited by his brother, he is better at reading than me, as for me, it's a big deal to go into battle and fight! ”

"You think the war is about cutting vegetables and melons?"

Du Shiyi secretly wanted to know how Cui Gezhi and Mrs. Zhao Guo would have a face when they heard that their son had set such an ambition, but the sound of the announcement came from outside the door at this time, so he didn't continue to joke. Seeing that Wu Jiu was the first to enter, and Yang Zongwan who was behind was a little cramped, he smiled and waved his hand to tell the two of them not to be polite, and when Cui Jianxuan sat down on the main seat, he also sat down happily, and motioned for Wu Jiu and Yang Zongwan to also sit down and talk.

"I heard that although there were twists and turns on your way back and forth, it was generally smooth?"

"Yes." Wu Jiu hurriedly replied, "Because the mountain is high and the road is far away, and I am afraid that the road will not be smooth, and the things I bring will be heavier, so I heard that Liu Dudu, who took over Song Xiangguo as the governor of Guangzhou, had some friendship with Cui Fuqing, so on the way back, we asked him to help him and walked by water." Fortunately, Lang Jun asked us to buy the Duanxi rough stone, now the Duanyan is quite popular in the Lingnan land, the price is not expensive, if the stone inkstone is collected, I am afraid that it will not be much, but the original stone is slightly easier. Brother Yang is also a masonry from Jīng, who not only received a lot of high-quality rough stones, but also brought out two masons who couldn't stay in the local area. ”

As soon as these words came out, Du Shiyi immediately raised his eyebrows, and then said thoughtfully: "But the masonry quarrying is hard, and the carving is hard, but the majority of the income is taken up by those Yazhai who sell stone inkstones?" ”

"Lang Jun is only half right." Yang Zongwan did not report good news or bad news like Wu Jiu, he took a breath lightly and said in a bitter voice, "Although Duanxi Stone is not famous in Heluo, Guanzhong, it is quite popular among literati and scholars in Lingnan

It's not surprising that tens of thousands of dollars are on the side. Therefore, Shi Yan has always been a monopoly of several wealthy families, and the masonry has worked hard to carve the stone, but the income is not enough to eat and wear, my grandfather is because of the quarrying and broke his leg but has no money for treatment, so he left me and my mother early.

After Ah Niang died, I swore that I would no longer quarry and carve for those black-hearted guys, and quietly took a dozen hidden jīng products to the north, but who knew that I was hit on the head. If it weren't for Lang Jun's mercy, I would have been cornered. This time I went back with such fanfare, if it weren't for Cui Fuqing's reputation and the Guangdong Governor's Mansion, not to mention those rough stones, those two masonry workers who defected to me would probably not have been able to arrive safely. Xu was that they felt that we were not working against them in Lingnan, so they let us go. ”

"What to let you go! I knew that there were these black-hearted guys, so I personally wrote to Liu Shibo and asked him to teach them a good lesson! ”

Seeing Cui Jianxuan suddenly burst out of these two sentences, Du Shiyi couldn't help coughing dryly: "Dengfeng Xu's family was not the same as it was back then?" The strong dragon does not suppress the head snake, and now this result is already ideal. The land of Lingnan is someone else's territory, but their hands can't reach out in this river Luoguan, and the well water does not interfere with the river water, that's all. Since you have brought out two masonry, settle them down first, and put the rough stone first. I asked the senior brother to carry a message back, and in a few years the two ink workers I invited from the eastern capital to Songshan will also come back, and then you can try to see if the ink I asked them to make last year is compatible with this Duanxi inkstone. ”

Cui Jianxuan almost didn't think about it before he spoke: "Although there are many hostels in Dongdu, they are different from each other, and the safety is not good, and the other is inconvenient. My house is not small, and it doesn't matter if you live a few more people. Du Shijiu's yard is almost empty, and his Kunlun slave lives there, you are all his people, you might as well move over and live together, and if you have anything to do, you don't have to look for people everywhere...... Su Gui! ”

He suddenly tore open his throat and screamed, and a big man outside immediately entered the study, it was Su Gui, the son of Cui Jianxuan's mother, who had been to Songshan to give Lu Hong a New Year's gift the last time.

"You take them down and place them in front of Du XIX's courtyard. Also, send someone to pick up the other two people at the place they said they said, and remember to count the good stuff and don't leave it behind! ”

When Wu Jiu and Yang Zongwan followed Su Gui down, Cui Jianxuan stretched his waist, and suddenly looked at Du Shiyi and said with a smile: "If the ink and inkstone are compatible, do you plan to go back to Chang'an and use this as a stepping stone?" Those ministers will send a piece, but it will be very helpful for you to take the imperial examination. ”

"I'm not that bad!" Du Shiyi shook her head with a smile, and then smiled, "If it's just a favor, I don't have to go to such a big length!" ”

Cui Jianxuan arranged for a few people to live in Du Shiyi's courtyard, and others didn't care about it, but Cui Jiuniang, who heard about it, sniffed out a little unusual. Her mind is now full of Du Shiyi's meaningful words, but she can see that her sister, as usual, still goes in and out of the library every three or five times, and stays for a long time every time, Du Shiyi is also immersed in the library every time, she can't believe that there is nothing in it. However, no matter how much she tried to get the words from her mother, Mrs. Li, her mother was always silent, and she was so anxious that she was in a hurry. But in a blink of an eye, it was the second day of February when her grandmother was buried, and since the first three days, the whole family had been busy preparing, and she had no time to pay attention to Du Shiyi for a while.

At the beginning of the funeral, the Cui family gathered again. The brothers Choi Tae-zhi and Choi Ge-zhi, who went to wear a scarf, staggered out with their sons and Choi Kyung-zhi's two sons, and after crying according to the ceremony, they ascended to the coffin and set up a memorial service. Five minutes before the start, after listening to the first drum beat, the locomotive was neatly placed in front of the locomotive. Because Mrs. Du De of Qi Guotai sealed a product, there are four quotations, six phis, eight left and right, two black lines, two yellow lines, two paintings, plus Fang Xiang, Zhishi, big coffin car, etc., but I saw that the spacious courtyard from the front gate to the Auterium Gate was full.

The second drum sounded, both inside and outside, and after weeping again, it was a complete curtain to block the coffin. After the third drum turn, the hearse entered the inner door. With the setting of the curtain to lift the coffin in the car, it was a memorial and crying ceremony, and the hearse slowly went out. When the funeral procession turned from the aconitum to Changxiamen Street, there had already been ordered in advance to maintain order by the Henan Prefecture officials, along the way in addition to the passing people standing onlookers, the relatives and friends of the Cui family set up a road sacrifice. As a foreigner, Du Shiyi, who was riding a horse and following the ox cart of Du Shisanniang and Cui Wuniang and Cui Jiuniang, couldn't help but be moved.

It must be known that when today's son has admired simplicity from the beginning of his accession to the throne, the scale of the funeral is too large and often to be reprimanded, so the Cui family's funeral is not a big deal, and now many famous families have put out these many road sacrifices on the way out of the funeral, which shows that the deceased elder has won people's respect!