Wu Ciyou was able to walk as usual after half a month due to internal medicine and external qigong treatment. Hu Gongshan and his apprentice came over to say goodbye.

"I'm going to break up with my husband from now on," Hu Gongshan and Wu Ciyou didn't have a deep friendship when they were in Beijing in the past, but this time they met by chance on the rivers and lakes, but they enhanced their mutual understanding. Thinking of going their own way, Hu Gongshan couldn't help but be gloomy in his heart, and said with a frown, "Although the sky is different, I hope that in the future, I hope that in the future, I will meet and don't forget the love of a glass of water!" ”

Wu Ciyou smiled: "How dare you be negative! But you and I won't meet each other, at most we will meet strangers. Although I can't be a dignitary, I will never forget Brother Hu's life-saving grace. Hao Laosi next to him took the opportunity to interject and smiled: "Our master and apprentice are outsiders, but Mr. is a man of temperament. The handwriting that Mr. Jian wrote to Wu Liuyi was excellent, why not write one for us too? ”

"Breeze, don't talk nonsense!" Hu Gongshan said, "We travel all over the world, where can we hang it when we write it?" ”

Wu Ciyou stood up and said with a smile: "The fourth child is also difficult to open, he is an old man, and he is so fateful, I will draw you a picture!" As he spoke, he came to the table, picked up the pen, glanced at Hu Gongshan and Hao Laosi, and then smeared it up, and soon sketched two Taoist images: one with a sword on his back and a gourd hanging from his waist; One holds a whisk in his hand, and two eyes seem to be spinning in the bones. Hu Gongshan, Li Yunniang, and Hao Laosi hurriedly came over to watch. The green monkey shouted on the side: "This painting is not good, is it not good!" Like two thieves, no one is in shape! Wu Ciyou said with a smile: "Although the green monkey is clever, how do you know that a bad official is not as good as a good thief - look at my pen this thief!" As he spoke, he wrote three words on the inscription:

Thief! Thief! Thief!

Everyone was stunned, but Wu Ciyou went on to write:

There is a shadow and an invisible can't hold it, just because he stole the immortal pill, but he came to the world to help the poor!

smiled and asked Hu Gongshan: "How?" ”

"Wonderful!" Hu Gongshan laughed and said, "This painting and this poem ** have been comprehended, those who know me are better than Mr. Wu!" He took it with both hands, rolled it up, handed it to Hao Laosi, bowed down and floated away.

Bidding farewell to Hu Gongshan, Yun Niang thought about it again and again, and she was about to resign. It's not because she listened to Hao Laosi's persuasion that "if you leave, you will be close", but because she feels that following a person who always loves others all day long has a sad ending and terrifying words. If it is spread out, how will the people on the rivers and lakes see themselves, and how can they deal with themselves? But leaving Wu Ciyou at this time, she felt uneasy. For a few days, Yun Niang has been depressed, and often sits in a daze when she is free. Although the green monkey knew some truths, she didn't understand her hardships, and she happily ran before and after helping Yun Niang decoct medicine and deliver food all day long.

The eighth day of the fourth month is the Buddha Bathing Festival, and the folk make dumplings and eat beans [1]

, Yun Niang fried the medicine for Wu Ciyou, and rushed to the town to buy back three catties of wrapped raw flat food, and asked the green monkey to cook it, and then came to Wu Ciyou's room. Wu Ciyou has already taken off his cotton robe, only wearing a white bamboo cloth jacket, holding a thin needle with his five fingers together, and pinching the corner of the robe with the other hand, gritting his teeth and frowning to thread the needle. Yun Niang couldn't help but sneer when she saw his focused expression, and hurriedly came over to take over the work in Wu Ciyou's hands, and sat on the chair to make up for it.

The interior is very quiet, and the midday sun shines brightly outside. The oriole and the "cup of tea" jumped and chased among the jagged branches, making a squeaky chirping sound, which made the room even more quiet and warm. Until the completion of the supplement, neither of them said a word.

"Hyun-oh, Yun Niang!" Wu Ciyou saw that Yun Niang bit the thread with her teeth, stood up and wanted to leave, so he hurriedly said, "You seem to have a lot on your mind?" ”

"Nope." Yun Niang said, she breathed a sigh of relief, "It's like a day to see my husband sick every day these days, it's too late to be happy." But where do you go next? ”

"Visit Confucius, worship Confucius Temple, and then go to Tai'an on the eighteen plates, watch the sunrise over the sea of clouds, and then go to Beijing." Wu Ciyou smiled, "Didn't you say it's okay?" ”

Yun Niang smiled sadly and said, "Mount Tai is so tall, Mr. has just recovered from a long illness, can he go up?" ”

"With you," Wu Ciyou said, "With you, are you still afraid that you won't be able to go up?" ”

"Am I carrying you, or am I carrying you?"

"......" Wu Ciyou was speechless. He suddenly thought that this person wearing a azure Doro gown was no longer a "virtuous brother", and it was not appropriate to carry it on his back. After pondering for a long time, and just as he was about to say more, the green monkey came in with a big plate of dumplings with a smile, and shouted in his mouth: "Hot, hot, too much!" He hurriedly threw the plate on the table after a few steps, and said with a shushing hand: "The first pot of dumplings and two pot noodles, I tasted one, it is fragrant, please Mr. and - Master use it!" ”

"Let's eat together," Yun Niang's mood seemed to be better, "Green Monkey, you can also sit down and eat." The green monkey agreed, and went to mix a small bowl of ginger, garlic and vinegar sauce, and the three of them sat down to eat together.

Yun Niang ate very tastelessly, and from time to time she peeked at the calm Wu Ciyou and the gobbling up green monkey. Suddenly, Wu Ciyou ate a bean dumpling, looked at it and asked, "What kind of stuffing is this?" ”

"Mr. Wu is a great blessing!" The green monkey said, "There is only one bean dumpling for you to eat—ouch!" What is it? "It turns out that he also got one.

After listening to Yun Niang's explanation, Wu Ciyou couldn't help laughing and said: "Since it is said that whoever eats it will be blessed, then I and the green monkey are blessed and destined, why haven't you eaten it?" Yun Niang felt very unlucky when she heard this, and reluctantly smiled: "I am an unblessed person, and I can't compare with you." It's just that there can only be one bean in this way, why do you eat both? Saying that, she was stunned, and it turned out that she also ate one, "How did you get this business, trying to save money?" Wrap so many green bean dumplings! ”

"One is to make more money, and the other is to make everyone lucky." Wu Ciyou said, "This is also their kind heart." Today's Buddha Bathing Festival, everyone eats beans, and they will all become Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the future, isn't it more interesting than eating alone? As he spoke, he laughed.

"My husband becomes a Buddha, my master becomes a Bodhisattva, I can't do it." The green monkey said seriously, "I will be satisfied to be a golden boy by the Bodhisattva lotus!" If Mr. Wu can't become a Buddha, he will become a great official in the future, and when he meets us, don't forget to eat dumplings today! ”

"What 'met you'?" Wu Ciyou put down his chopsticks and asked, "Aren't you going with me?" ”

"What he said was true." Yun Niang whispered on the side, "Sending off dumplings to catch the wind noodles, this is a little bit of our heart when we broke up." ”

"Why?" Wu Ciyou asked, "You don't come to Beijing-" He suddenly remembered that it was impossible to "make an errand", and his expression was gloomy, and he sighed for a while: "Okay, that's the only way." Gathering and scattering are fixed, clutch is fateful, although it is a dry rut, it is better to be scattered in the rivers and lakes and look at each other, I hope he will meet in the future, we don't pass by......" Speaking of this, Wu Ciyou felt a little choked in his throat, and he endured no tears.

Yun Niang saw that Wu Ciyou was so sentimental, and she really wanted to say "I'm not leaving", but she couldn't. She snorted for a moment and forced a smile: "Sir, why should you have a love for children!" You and I are still young, the green water will not change for a long time, and the green mountain road will turn around, afraid that we will not be able to see each other again? When you say goodbye, is there any reason to pass by? ”

At noon that day, Wu Ciyou, Yun Niang and Qing Monkey had a farewell meal together, and in the middle, a thousand words and ten thousand instructions said a lot of words to take care. Wu Ciyou decided to visit Yanzhou Mansion tomorrow, and the government sent him back to Beijing. Yun Niang and the green monkey reluctantly got on the road.

"Auntie," the green monkey turned around, and saw that Wu Ciyou was still looking at the weeping willows at the entrance of the ancient road, and asked puzzledly, "I really don't understand, so good, why do you have to go?" ”

Yun Niang looked blankly at the clear water and green trees in the distance, and said blankly: "You are young, you will naturally know when you grow up." ”

"Where are we going?"

"Don't go far yet, if you live here for a few days, your master and uncle will probably not go far."

Wu Ciyou didn't sleep until late that night. The figures of Yun Niang and the green monkey have been shaking in front of their eyes - the medicine in the medicine hanger was fried by Yun Niang herself in the morning, and it can be used as long as it is warm. For a moment he seemed to hear the sound of the stove outside; After a while, he seemed to hear the sound of Yun Niang mixing medicine with a spoon and blowing cold. A few days ago, he was still joking with Hu Gongshan and Yun Niang, and he went clean all of a sudden, leaving him alone.

I don't know when, it rained outside, and the dripping water in front of the eaves fell on the green brick floor, and the sound was non-stop. Wu Ciyou looked back on the bumpy and changeable past, and looked forward to the future like a cloud, and felt that two lines of tears ran down his cheeks: "Alas, it seems that I have really attracted the taboo of creation and become an ominous body, the world is so big, but I am not allowed to be proud of the rivers and lakes, and I will be accompanied by plum blossoms for a long time!" He tossed and turned all night, and when the day was about to dawn, he fell asleep.

Yanzhou Mansion is an ancient city in Shandong, a famous county city, and the location of the Holy Mansion. The government is located in the northwest corner of the city, and there is a box hanging on the eight-character pink wall, which contains a pair of official boots left by the former official, which has fallen old dust.

Wu Ciyou took a green cloth sedan chair and came down from the palace. He dragged his heavy footsteps slowly to the front of the ya, and saw that there was a person who looked like a scribe at the door was pacing around, so he stepped forward and stabbed his name and said: "Please report to the hall of honor, just say that Yangzhou scholar Wu Ciyou visited." ”

The scribe took the post, and when he saw the three words "Wu Ciyou", his face immediately smiled, and he said on the spot: "This matter is small and understandable, the former Lord Taizun once sent a constitutional edict to search for Mr. Wu's whereabouts everywhere, and instructed us to inquire around. This adult is now home and worried. The new Zheng Taizun has not long been printed, but I am afraid that he may not know, and the small one will report it. As he spoke, he got up and left.

Wu Ciyou's heart hanging in mid-air was steady: at least he wouldn't be turned away. Just thinking about it, I saw an inconspicuous small side door on the east side of the government open with a "ah". The scribe was the lead, followed by an official, with a white face, two black beards like ink, just into a "eight" shape, wearing an official robe with eight pythons and five claws, decorated with white pheasant mending clothes, the red tassels on the white glass top trembled, and the feet pedaled with mille-feuille bottom soap boots, and came out with a square step of eight figures. Behind him, there was also a person, like a master, wearing a black satin gown, a green satin melon skin hat, a pair of big crystal sunglasses on his eyes, and the betel nut purse tied around his waist swayed, and he couldn't help but look at Wu Ciyou with his eyes.

When Wu Ciyou saw that it was Taishou who came out to greet him in person, he hurriedly took a step forward and bowed to salute, and said: "Wu Ciyou, who was born late, has long admired the name of Taizun, passed by Guizhi, and came to visit. ”

"Ah, sir, you don't dare to do this!" The official hurriedly returned the salute, grabbed Wu Ciyou's hand and said, "Student Zheng Chunyou, I have already received instructions from the Constitution to interview Mr. Wu." I thought that Mr. had already gone south, but unexpectedly, Gui Toe actually came to the government in person—oh, this Kong Lingpei is a saint. After the students arrived, they invited Brother Kong to come to the government for guidance and help. When we were chatting in the back office, we also mentioned that Mr. was coming, and I didn't think Mr. had already arrived, which was a blessing, a blessing! ”

Wu Ciyou seems to have heard the words "Zheng Chunyou" somewhere, but he can't think about it for a while. Seeing that Zheng Chunyou was full of spring breeze, amiable, and very hearty and talkative, he was secretly happy in his heart. Kong Lingpei, who was next to him, arched his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. seems to be a little sick, the banquet behind him has not yet been feasted, so he should wash the dust for Mr." Zheng Chunyou smiled: "Exactly! Since I came, I will stay here for a few days, I have all the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting here, and I will definitely meet Mr. Appetite. If Mr. doesn't give face, do I want the overlord to keep guests? ”

Zheng Chunyou smiled, was very courteous and affectionate, and let Wu Ciyou into the back hall: "Come, please come here, it's in the west wing of the flower hall!" ”

Wu Ciyou stepped into the flower hall, and immediately stunned on the ground, shocked as white as paper, unable to move an inch, it turned out that the king of Pingxi who led people to arrest him in the Yingfeng Pavilion of Anqing Mansion drove the guards, beat the tiger and the emperor to protect the pillar, and was sitting at the banquet table with a smile and waiting!

"As the saying goes, 'no one sees the landslide and the ground cracks, and the peaks and loops turn and meet'!" When Huangfu Baozhu saw him come in, he laughed and got up and said, "Mr. is really auspicious, he can survive a catastrophe, and he doesn't want to reunite with Mr. here, isn't it fortunate for three lives?" ”

"Western Election Officer!"

"N-yes!" Zheng Chunyou raised two thin eyebrows, dragged out his voice and said with a smile, "The students have been cold for ten years, three articles, two Jinshi, and the palace examination is ranked in the second and eleventh." Although not as noble as Mr., he is also a Sven person! Sir, don't be afraid, please sit down and we'll talk about it. ”

"Okay!" At this point, Wu Ciyou knew that he had entered the iron array of the copper net, and sat down as the chief in his heart, raised his glass and drank it, and said with a smile when he saw the bear's paw and roast pig on the table, "These two things, if they are burned well, they are delicacies, and if they are not burned well, they can't eat a mouthful - they can't be done without a hundred taels of silver. As he spoke, he picked up a piece of roast pork and pork meat and tasted it in his mouth, and said with a smile, "It's really a blessing to think about food after a long illness and taste this delicious taste-Mr. Ling Pei, your ancestor said that Wen Shao didn't know the taste of meat in March, I'm afraid it's not true." ”

"Happy!" Huangfu Baozhu felt a little ashamed of himself when he saw Wu Ciyou so arrogant, got up and poured wine for Wu Ciyou and said with a smile, "Mr. is elegant and elegant, he has been under the command of King Pingxi for more than ten years, and it is rare to see such an open-minded person!" Kong Lingpei said with a smile: "General Baozhu has been here for three months, and he is waiting for news from Mr. and does not want Mr. to come to visit." The three words "your ancestor" said by Wu Ciyou were very useless when he heard it, so he replied sarcastically.

Wu Ciyou ate another glass of wine, his pale face flushed red, pushed the cup flat on the table, and sneered: "That's Wu Mou's bad luck and he met someone who was waiting for the rabbit!" ”

"I'm afraid not, right?" Zheng Chunyou smiled and poured wine for Wu Ciyou, "How can there be such a big tree in the world - the upper leaves are dry and green, the lower roots are connected to three springs, swaying can generate wind, breathing can cause rain, the unicorn red leopard lives below, the Luan bird phoenix nests on it, breeding everywhere, intertwined and intertwined......"

"This is just the tree of the Ghost Valley, it will change for a long time and become a wood monster, thinking that Wu doesn't know it?" Wu Ciyou knew as soon as he heard that this was a set of words in the "Guiguzi to Su Qin Zhang Yi Book", and he responded casually, "If God is angry, the wind and clouds change, the lightning shines in the sky, the thunder and fire strike, the wind and the wind drum its wings and fight, Zhu Rong rises in flames, the god of dragons and snakes serves his life, and the Fuxi clan drives the car of the six dragons and heavenly horses on Wuhua Mountain, then this tree will survive?" ”

Zheng Chunyou shook his head and talked proudly, but he was suddenly blocked by Wu Ciyou's words of "skyrocketing fire", but he couldn't make a good article to overturn the case for a while, so he picked up the cup and drank it with a dry laugh, and said with a smile: "Where is there so much anger, but the article can be read." Baozhu and Kong Lingpei next to him saw that as soon as the two of them met, they clashed with lightning and couldn't help but admire each other in their hearts.

"Something to say, right?" Wu Ciyou sneered, "That's a good opening statement. At this time, he held on to his strength, and he didn't look like a person who had just recovered from a long illness.

"Well-that's right," Bao Zhu was somehow a little impressed by Wu Ciyou from these two contacts with Wu Ciyou, and said with a slight smile, "Actually, Mr. already knows that we have been ordered by the king, and there is no way to do it, it is better to ask Mr. to go to Yunnan in person to meet the prince, many things are very easy to discuss." ”

"I'm not going to Yunnan." Wu Ciyou said categorically. With a disdainful look, he took a bite of food and chewed it, "That place is full of black smoke and miasma, and I don't want to send it to death." If you want to die, it's better to die in the Central Plains. ”

Zheng Chunyou laughed when he heard this, leaned his face closer to Wu Ciyou and said, "It's okay not to go." I heard that the emperor asked Mr. to draft something, why not teach me, Mr. Guan Bao is still wandering the rivers and lakes, and no one will trouble you. ”

"What if I refuse to be taught? Don't forget, I, Wu, came to vote for your mansion, but there are many people who know! Wu Ciyou looked at Zheng Chunyou with a smile, gently tapped the wine glass with his fingers and asked, "At this time, I remembered." Hmm, Zheng Chunyou, whose courtier are you? You are wearing the official uniform of the imperial court, but you secretly arrested people for Wu Sangui, wrote plaques and sacrificed medicine for Zhong Sanlang Xiangtang, how many masters do you have? Is it three, two, or one? ”

Wu Ciyou revealed his relationship with Zhong Sanlang Xiangtang in front of Huangfu Baozhu, and Zheng Chunyou was slightly flustered: the third prince of Zhu and the snake were agreed by Wu Sangui's nephew, but further collusion was his own idea. Zheng Chunyou gritted his teeth with hatred in his heart, and said with a sneer: "It's better for you to think more about your own affairs at the moment." You must know that it is unusual for scholars to kill people. For example, if the scribe who has just come in and delivers you a famous thorn, it will be difficult for you to guess where he is now, dead or alive. ”

"Whatever you want." Wu Ciyou smiled indifferently, stood up and asked, "Is it in the well, or on the beam?" Is it with a knife, or with a donkey? Please advise. ”

"I'm reluctant to kill you!" Huangfu Baozhu smiled, "But Mr. is indeed a little arrogant, so let's do this - Mr. has just recovered from a serious illness, so let's live in the study in this garden first, our affairs are not in a hurry, Mr. slowly thinks about it, and we will go on the road again." There are dozens of brothers here serving Mr., and they just have to tell me what they want, but when the weather is bad outside, they don't have to go out. As he spoke, he got up and waved his hand, and two big men stood at the door early. Wu Ciyou stood up, flicked his sleeves, and followed without looking back.

This strong scholar refused to give in, and the three of them made difficulties. When Wu Ciyou went out, Zheng Chunyou glanced at Kong Lingpei inquiringly and asked, "What do you see?" ”

"This is a person who eats soft rather than hard." Kong Lingpei smiled and said, "Why don't we follow Cao Mengde's example and also have a 'small banquet in three days, and a big banquet in five days', the beauty and jade silk will raise him, which is made of iron, and it also melts him - it's a pity that the girl Ziyun has gone to Beijing." Bao Zhu smiled: "This plan is feasible. After being a saint in the end, the methods he came up with were all with a 'Shao Le' flavor. But that's not a matter of three or two days. ”

"It's better to take him back to Yunnan as soon as possible!" Zheng Chunyou pondered for a while, and finally felt that it was not a matter of detaining Wu Ciyou in the mansion for a long time.

Baozhu listened disapprovingly, hesitated for a long time and said: "Yunnan is far away from this thousands of rivers and mountains, if Wu Ciyou is willing to go, he will not say anything more." He refuses to go now, and the court visits him everywhere, if I leak a little news, I may not be able to return to Yunnan even if I have great ability! Besides, what the prince wants now is Wu Ciyou, if he doesn't eat or drink along the way, will I pull a dead body to see the prince? ”

Kong Lingpei shook his fan and said in a deep voice: "In this way, Wu Ciyou has fallen into our hands, and I don't think it is necessary to send it to Yunnan. It doesn't matter whether Wu Ciyou is dead or alive. Bao Zhu said: "It's better to live, I guess the prince wants to get him, but also to recruit talents, and it can be used as a pretext for refusing to withdraw the domain, and it is worthless if he dies." ”

"This sour man doesn't eat soft and hard, what can you do with him?" Zheng Chunyou is usually extremely conceited, today's article failed, and he felt very frustrated.

"Soft doesn't necessarily mean you don't want to eat it." Kong Lingpei said with a smile, "Just raise him, good tea and good food." We can also take the opportunity to make friends with him, and after a long time, we will be able to find a crack,—— Baozhu is not very fond of playing chess, and can often play with him. ”

[1]

The edge bean is the green bean. In the Qing Dynasty, it was customary to eat green beans on the eighth day of the fourth month to fortune. Wrap green beans in dumplings, wontons, buns or steamed buns, and whoever eats them will be blessed.