In the Chinese New Year's Eve, Ma Qingfeng, the middle of the ancestral hall, was in a happy mood and radiant, and everyone in the mansion could see that if Master Ma was not dressed too thick and round, he could simply jump and walk.

The last time Master Ma was so happy was ten years ago, when the epiphany he raised bloomed.

Raising exotic flowers and plants is one of Ma Qingfeng's special hobbies.

At that time, in the whole city of Suzhou, he was the only one who raised two epiphyllum plants, and only one of them bore buds.

Originally, he just wanted to make an appointment with three or five old friends and talk about life at night in the flower room.

Who knew that the news leaked, and the literati in Suzhou City could count the names, and half of them came, uninvited, and refused to leave when they came, and stayed at his house all night.

Dozens of pots of sake were drunk, and hundreds of cups of tea were served.

Finally waiting for the epiphany to bloom.

Epiphany is reserved, not powerful, not flattering, should bloom one, only one.

The literati excitedly drew countless pictures and wrote countless quatrains.

Later, it was also collected into a book, which became a major event in the literati circle of Suzhou City at that time, and many years later, some people still talked about it.

It's a pity that the times changed later, with the general trend, and then the new master, moved to Chang'an City, Ma Qingfeng's enthusiasm for flowers, birds, insects and fish, now only one thing is left to raise flowers.

No matter how busy he is with official business, Ma Lang almost doesn't socialize much when he gets out of the court, and spends most of his time on flowers and plants.

In the eyes of outsiders, Ma Qingfeng is a strict wife, and he is usually completely obedient to his wife at home.

Mrs. Ma herself told her best friend Mrs. Chen that the control of Master Ma was only that he was not allowed to have three wives and four concubines, and he was not allowed to look for flowers and ask willows outside, and he had never cared about anything else.

Ma Qingfeng never cared about these things, and comforted Mrs. Ma and said: "I only mess with flowers and grass at home, and I don't go outside to look for flowers and ask willows, and if you are strict, you will be strict." ”

Mrs. Ma is also a wise person, just this sentence, she is relieved, and she no longer asks for trouble.

Ma Langzhong has been in an official position for a long time, and he is still an elegant literati in his bones, and he has only made friends with Dr. Chen, a confidant, for a long time in the court.

Every literati has his own ideals.

Ma Qingfeng's ideals can only be understood by Dr. Chen.

Suzhou's old friends all think that Ma Qingfeng bends his waist to flatter the new master, some are getting away from it, some are angry and break off friendship, and some write letters to scold.

The officials of the new dynasty, including the former ministers of the previous dynasty and the new non-commissioned officers, often made Ma Qingfeng feel that he had degenerated to the point of greed for life and fear of death.

However, after only a year of hard work, Ma Qingfeng has rounded the edges and corners and dissipated his ambitions. After losing his old friends and not being able to integrate into a new circle, he only felt that his heart had been wounded and could not be healed.

Every day when I go to the court, I come and go, and I see that I tear each other down for personal gain, and the officials layer by layer are just to fill their private pockets, regardless of the safety of the world, and get by, only when they are facing the flowers and plants, can they take a breath temporarily and see a moment of purity.

Seeing that the end of the year is approaching, there is an endless stream of guests who come to the door every day in the house, and they can't push it off, and their faces can't hold back their smirks.

When he saw that Mrs. Zhou was going to push away Mrs. Zhou's banquet post, he immediately called someone back, replied to the post in person, and promised to arrive on time.

Zhou Shaoqing, he didn't know about this person, but when he was in the last dynasty, he saw it from afar, and knew that Zhou Zhengyi was very trusted by the emperor, even if he was seriously ill, he still ordered Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, and he didn't have to go to court every day.

It just so happened that Zhou Shaoqing and Dr. Chen were brothers-in-law, and he just took this opportunity to understand the emperor through Zhou Shaoqing's mouth.

The luncheon in the Xinglin Pavilion made Ma Qingfeng feel lucky.

Although Zhou Zhengyi is not talkative, he is a bright and upright person, knowledgeable, both civil and military, and ambitious, which impresses him.

As a literati, as a civil official, and as a civil official who is rich and rich, Ma Qingfeng also looks down on military generals in his heart.

When he saw Zhou Zhengyi, he knew what it was to do what he said.

Listening to Zhou Zhengyi speak, he realized that his ideals were just a thought, how to do it, whether he could do it or not, it was just a vague shadow.

Ma Qingfeng was excited, drank a few sips of hot tea, ate a few pieces of mutton, looked at the buddy in the Xinglin Pavilion with a knife and brushed the leg of mutton, remembered his pride when he was studying, and remembered that his six arts were also masterable, and he couldn't help but be enthusiastic, and he wanted to recreate the courage of the year.

It's a pity that the ideal is full, and the reality is not cooperative.

In just three or five strokes, he slashed his hand deeply.

Ma Qingfeng was afraid of blood, and the moment he fainted, he was discouraged.

No matter how dissatisfied he is with reality, no matter who he imagines the leg of mutton to be, no matter how much passion he evokes again, he is still weak, he still can't change the status quo, and he will still lead by example.

He felt that this knife was very much in line with his mind and his current situation.

Ma Qingfeng was so sad that he really wished that this knife was not cut on his hand, but on his heart, so that he couldn't wake up at all.

When Zhang Jinwen took his hand and gave him the medicinal powder, he was already conscious, but he didn't want to open his eyes.

For him, the world is upside down.

When you close your eyes, it's dark, and when you open your eyes, it's dark, and it makes no difference whether you open your eyes or not.

When Zhang Jinwen's voice said softly but firmly, "It's okay", his heart was bright, and he only felt that it was like falling down when he was a child, and his mother picked him up, rubbed the sore spot for him, and told him "It's okay".

He really felt that his heart was stable and bright.

He tried his best to open his eyes and tell everyone that he was fine, that his wife should not worry, and that he remembered what his responsibilities were.

When he heard Zhang Jinwen say that thirty strokes was fine, and when he heard Zhou Zhengyi unhurriedly counting twenty-nine or thirty, he felt that the force was impacting him and bringing encouragement to his whole body.

The fingers were wrapped like a single ball of sugar gourd, and it didn't seem to hurt much.

What excited him was the surprised and delighted gaze of his wife.

How long has it been since he'd seen a look like this?

For several years, Mrs. has always been gentle and obedient to him, but because his ideals cannot be upheld, the two have never looked forward to the future with great interest.

He likes his wife to show him a look full of love and admiration, which makes him feel that every day is full of fighting spirit for the future.

Ma Qingfeng originally wanted to take advantage of a finger injury to simply get seriously ill, take this opportunity to return to his hometown, and be a carefree outsider, if he can't be a good official, he will create a paradise.

Xinglin Pavilion changed his mind, and he felt that his inner wound had healed along with the wound on his finger.