Xiao Yan then read the gift list.

Every time he read someone, Xiao Cong explained the origin and official position of the gift-giver, the relationship between these gift-givers, entanglements, etc., casually, very familiar, which made Xiao Yan very surprised, and couldn't help but admire: "Brother is so amazing!" ”

Xiao Cong smiled slightly.

In these years, he did not lie on the sickbed in vain, his father taught him with all his might, not only personally taught him the way of classics, history, poetry, calligraphy, chess and painting, but also took Mr. Ren and Gu Changshi as teachers, teaching him vertical and horizontal strategy, the official system of the court, the relationship between the scholar family, the relationship between officialdom, the current situation in Hexi, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the surrounding forces, and so on. Therefore, although Xiao Cong is sick and lives in Chenghe Hospital, his understanding of world affairs and important civil and military officials is probably deeper than that of many officials who have ascended to the palace.

Saying this, it was time for the eclipse.

Since Xiao Cong recovered from his illness, he no longer takes the study as a place for living and lodging, usually with Shen Qingyi, he eats in the East Pavilion downstairs in the inner courtyard, if there are guests in the outer courtyard, he greets him in the front courtyard hall or the East and West Pavilion, and on the day Xiao Yan comes, he will eat in the West Pavilion of the study nearby.

The three of them had a daytime eclipse in the West Pavilion, rinsed their mouths and cleaned their hands, and returned to the study to continue.

"Qinzhou Thorn Shi Geshu Night, Master He Faxian Westward Jade Bone Buddha Beads, Khotanese White Jade Buddha Statue, Gold Foil "Diamond Sutra" Two Volumes, and Khotanese Green Jade Wooden Fish ......"

Xiao Yan laughed out loud as he read "poof", "Buddha beads, Buddha statues, Buddhist scriptures, wooden fish...... Is this Geshu stabbing history really in Brother He's recovery? "Everyone else's congratulatory gifts are all with medicinal herbs, this one is good, there is no medicine shadow.

"What does Ah Yan think?" Xiao Cong smiled back.

Xiao Yan snorted, "At first glance, it's to please Liang Guogong!" ”

Xiao Yu worships Buddha and is known all over the world.

As soon as Xiao Cong heard her tone, she knew that she had a grudge against her father.

How can you not complain? Xiao Cong sighed in his heart, if he changed him, he was afraid that he would also complain.

Shen Qingyi said in a faint voice: "The Khotanese white jade Buddha statue, the gold leaf Buddhist scriptures, and the Khotanese green jade wooden fish are fine, but the string of jade bone Buddha beads was brought back by Master Faxian when he traveled west to seek Buddha. This time I sent it, I was very willing. ”

For Xiao Yu, this string of Buddhist beads can be described as precious and precious.

"The so-called courtesy is subordinate to others, so it is good to cast on it, is there nothing to ask for?"

Xiao Yan listened to the sound of this cold spring, and the resentment in his heart seemed to be caressed by flowing water, and it was quiet.

I heard my brother say: "Brother Shu is a general, but he is suppressed by Qinzhou to govern the people, and he is inevitably depressed. In the seventeenth year of Yongchun, when he was the general of the right army in the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate, he killed an arrogant lieutenant under his command, but that person was the brother of Li Changxu's favorite concubine of the Anxi Metropolitan Protector......"

Xiao Yan smiled suddenly.

It turned out that this unlucky brother Shuye offended Anxi Duhu, so he was sent to Yizhou as an assassin, wanting to find a way back to the army. Although Emperor Sejong Wen started to promote civil governance, the grade of civil officials was improved, but the status of military generals has not been reduced, and they are on a par with civilian officials.

"He wants to be transferred to the Hexi Army?" Xiao Yan asked.

Xiao Cong nodded, "Anxi, he will definitely not be able to go back, as long as Li Changxu is here." "Li Changxu transferred Ge Shuye away because Ge Shuye was unruly and disobedient, Li Changxu had long been awkward, and finally moved him by internal relocation, how could he let him go back?

Xiao Yan had a bad feeling for that Li Changxu in his heart, and asked, "That Li Changxu can't be Sanyuan Li or Lihu Li, right?" "Li Weigong and Li Yinggong really have such descendants.

Xiao Cong chuckled, "Longxi Li." ”

Xiao Yan let out an "oh", and his expression of "sure enough, there are many children of the royal family" made Xiao Cong smile again, and said: "Li Changxu is the second son of King Chen, and he is the founding marquis of Xinyang County. Seeing that Xiao Yan was at a loss for King Chen, he explained, "King Chen is the fifteenth brother of the saint. ”

Xiao Yan said "oh" again, and said in his heart that he was the emperor's nephew, this Li Changxu was not very favored, otherwise how could he be put so far away in Anxi? I heard Shen Qingyi's cold voice say: "This Buddha bead, I'm afraid my father won't be used." ”

Even if Ge Shu is a rare general, even if Xiao Yu, the Duke of Liang Guo, doesn't pay much attention to Li Changxu, but he still has to be decent on the surface, after all, the Anxi Metropolitan Protector Gongwei Hexi Road is in the west, and he can't be too slapped in the face, and if the Buddha beads of Master Faxian are worn out, they will be too eye-catching.

Xiao Cong groaned: "This Buddha bead is indeed eye-catching. ”

Shen Qingyi's cold eyes were gloomy, and he said: "The last time I went to visit Mrs. Tai with my mother, she was in good spirits, and she talked about Buddhist scriptures and stories, which was fascinating. ”

Xiao Yan was puzzled when he heard it, why did he get involved with Mrs. Tai?

Xiao Cong's eyes lit up, and he slapped his palm and said with a smile: "Grandmother is very sincere in her devotion to the Buddha, and my father is very filial, of course these Buddha treasures must be filial to my grandmother." ”

In this way, he not only wiped Li Changxu's face without knowing his face, but also hinted at Ge Shuye's acceptance, this kind of talent is worth encompassing.

Xiao Yan also understood at this time, and muttered in her heart that there were so many ways in this, but fortunately, she decided to follow the martial arts, and muttered in her mouth: "These twists and turns are really annoying, will my brother be like this in the future?" She raised her eyebrows, "I think it's better to be a general." ”

Xiao Cong said in a sigh: "Why? ”

Xiao Yan straightened his chest, "A qiē ghost trick in the face of force, it is all ashes!" ”

Xiao Cong was stunned and laughed.

Shen Qingyi's cold voice said: "No matter how brave Xiang Yu is, he has never been able to defeat Liu Bang's ghost tricks, and those who are martial artists are usually played by conspirators. ”

Xiao Yan lowered his eyebrows and thought for a while, raised his eyes, the light was bright, and his voice was crisp and firm, "That's not really strong enough!" ”

Shen Qingyi raised his eyebrows.

Xiao Cong frowned and said, "Ah Yan wants to be a general? He understood this in the seventeenth chapter.

There are many people in the Xiao clan in Lanling who are generals.

Xiao Daoqian, the founder of the Great Liang Dynasty, started with the military exploits of Liu Song in the Southern Dynasty, and was promoted all the way from a general to join the army, protect the army, and general...... The general, brave and brave across the battlefield, after standing on behalf of Liu Song, immediately issued the "Clan Martial Arts Edict", requiring the children of the Xiao family, including the prince, to practice martial arts, in order to drive away Hu Lu and unify the Central Plains.

Emperor Gao's edict drove the entire Southern Dynasty scholars to rise to the wind of martial arts, but this wind only lasted for Emperor Gao, Zhaolie, Emperor Xiaowu three dynasties, to Emperor Wen, the style of writing is blazing, the scholars are not going to be angry, this martial wind will be reduced, even if the imperial clan is pressed by the edict, most of them have coped with things, and how many people can endure that kind of hardship? Even the emperor has his eyes closed, as long as he can get by on the surface, if he really wants these princes and clans to go to the battlefield, he may be scared and fall off. It was precisely because of the weakness of the martial arts that Emperor Wen was defeated by the Tang Dynasty, which unified the north and advocated martial arts, after three dynasties. When the iron-blooded Empress Gaozong Dynasty, Xiao Cheng, the head of the Xiao family, rose up with martial arts, re-established the Xiao clan rules when Emperor Gao of Liang, and ordered the sons and daughters of the clan to pay equal attention to civil and military.

Among Xiao Cong's brothers, the eldest brother Xiao Zhang, the third brother Xiao Cheng, and the fifth brother Xiao Ying have all been on horse piles since they were five years old, practicing Wuxing boxing at the age of six, and practicing horizontal knives at the age of eight......

Only Xiao Cong is an exception.

He has been sick and weak for so many years, and he has long passed the age of martial arts.

Xiao Cong also didn't want Xiao Yan to follow the martial arts.

Those who swim are drowned, those who are good drinkers drown in wine, and those who are good at fighting die by swordsmen.

It's too dangerous to kill soldiers.

With Ah Yan's demeanor, as long as he learns some poetry, he will be recommended to enter the court to be a "Qing Yao", noble and leisurely, and his brother will protect him, and enjoy wealth and peace for a lifetime, wouldn't it be better to fight immediately? !

Xiao Yan glanced at Xiao Cong's face, and sighed in her heart, her brother didn't know about martial arts, did she hide it or take the opportunity to confess?

She hesitated for a moment.

Xiao Cong furrowed his eyebrows more and more, and his voice raised a little, "Ah Yan? ”

Xiao Yan decided to confess, raised his eyes and said, "Brother, I've been practicing stakes for several years. ”

Xiao Cong stared in surprise, and his face turned black in an instant.

Xiao Yan lowered her head, she didn't think there was anything wrong with practicing martial arts, but she was a little embarrassed to hide it from her brother for so many years, and said a reason in the blink of an eye: "Practice martial arts to strengthen your body, not afraid of fighting." ”

Not afraid of fighting?

Shen Qingyi raised his eyebrows.

Xiao Cong also choked.

It's reasonable to be strong, but what kind of thing is fighting?

"You're fighting people?" Xiao Cong's face tensed, secretly wondering who she could fight with in Jingyuan?

Xiao Yan glanced at him, "Brother Fourteen, fight every year." Yueyuedou, she added in her heart.

Xiao Cong raised his eyebrows in surprise for a moment, the expression on his face changed, surprised, understood, pity, annoyance, and guilt......

Could it be that Ah Yan has been bullied by Ah Cheng all these years, so he wants to practice martial arts so much!

His chest was sour, not only annoyed that Ah Yan was hiding him, but also heartache for Ah Yan's suffering, and he felt guilty that he didn't take good care of him. He said in a sad tone: "It's my brother who doesn't take good care of it." ”

Xiao Yan blinked and shook his head, "What does this have to do with Brother?" He grinned again, "I didn't suffer." ”

Xiao Cong was speechless for a while, he didn't know what to say, Ah Cheng was also his younger brother - Xiao Cong felt even more guilty.

Xiao Yan raised his eyes to look at his brother, and said with a bright gaze: "I will protect my brother in the future." ”

Xiao Cong laughed, "Brother still needs your protection?" But I was moved in my heart, and my thoughts turned a few times for a while.

Shen Qingyi said: "Don't talk too far. Seventeen continued. ”

Xiao Yan sighed secretly, the matter of practicing martial arts was finally explained, her heart was relieved, and the sound of reading the gift list became brisk, like a stream running in the mountains.

Every time he reads a paragraph, Xiao Cong explains the family background of the gift giver as usual, what the official position is, what the false position is, what the real power of the office is, and so on.

Xiao Yan listened to this, and felt more tired than practicing martial arts.

Shen Qingyi listened carefully and took everything Xiao Cong said in his heart.

Those who are qualified to be on this gift list are all one side of the party, and their interests are intertwined, forming a network of elites in the court and localities.

She still has a lot to figure out.

With such a gift list, before you know it, it is close to the unitary time.

Xiao Yan glanced at the leaky pot, and stood up a little reluctantly, "Brother, sister-in-law, I have to go back." ”

Xiao Cong's hand that was reaching for the tea cup paused.

The gift list is not finished yet, of course, this is only secondary, mainly Ah Yan's schoolwork. Now going to Seonghein once every ten days is too evacuating. Their Xiao children were all born at the age of three, and they entered the clan at the age of six, and they were taught by the master and son, and Ah Yan had been delayed for too long. Shang Niangzi taught the etiquette of the scholar clan, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting well, but the scriptures, history, literature and poetry were weaker, not to mention, the scholar genealogy, family relations, and human feelings and sophistication also had to be learned.

Xiao Cong's mind was determined, and he said in a soft voice: "Ah Yan, my brother was not energetic before, but now that he is sick, the teaching once every ten days is too loose, and I am afraid it will not be good for your studies." Brother thought, from tomorrow onwards, you will come here every day after the eclipse to study your homework, do you think? ”

Xiao Yan hesitated suddenly, "But ......" She practiced martial arts for three hours in the morning, practiced calligraphy for one hour, practiced piano and chess for half an hour in the afternoon, and then practiced martial arts until dinner time, practiced calligraphy for half an hour at night, studied scriptures, history, literature and poetry for an hour, and then went to bed, this is fixed. Mother said that practicing martial arts should be qualitative, practicing calligraphy is qualitative, and practicing the piano is to clarify the heart. Since she is determined to use martial arts, she must be consistent as her mother said, and she can't slack off, so she raised her eyes and said apologetically: "Brother, I want to practice piano and martial arts in the afternoon, and I can't quit." ”

Xiao Cong was disappointed in his heart, but seeing that Ah Yan's face was firm, he sighed secretly, took a step, and said, "You come over on the first day, every fifth, every tenth, and eleventh." On Fridays, Xiao Chengzhong will instruct you in your knife skills, saving you from pondering by yourself, not to mention practicing your body, and practicing Xiao's knife skills out of shape. ”

Xiao's knife method is the high emperor Xiao Daoqian after the establishment of the beam, the collection of the world's knife masters to create the melee knife method, named the horizontal knife combat skills, and Xiao's horse war lance method to cooperate, each has nine styles, later into the Tang Dynasty Xiao Shi another martial arts genius, the horizontal knife combat skills increased to thirty-six styles, to Xiao Cheng and the horse war lance method changed to Mo knife knife method, these two martial arts are not passed on, but allowed to run through the Xiao surname of the pro-soldier and guard practice, Xiao Chengzhong is Xiao Cong's guards in the horizontal knife combat skills practiced the most exquisite.

Xiao Yan was immediately overjoyed when he heard this, his eyes were as bright as stars, he got up and raised his sleeves and solemnly bowed, "Thank you, brother!" I thought I would go back and tell my mother, and my mother would agree.

Xiao Cong saw her overjoyed appearance, shook his head and smiled, and said "you", and the displeasure in his heart disappeared.

Xiao Yan suddenly hesitated again, and said, "But, my father ...... "The Liang State Guild agrees that she will come to Chenghe Yuan frequently?" Still learning knife skills with Xiao Chengzhong? Hum!

Xiao Cong smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll go and talk about my father." ”

Xiao Yan's tone was still a little hesitant, "Will it delay Brother ......?"

"It's okay, I will come to the Governor's Mansion in the morning after the New Year, and it will not conflict with the time to teach you. That's it. Xiao Cong told her, "Remember to go back and tell the lady." ”

Xiao Yan hesitated to respond, put on a mask and left, a little happy and a little apprehensive in his heart.

After returning to Qingningyuan, he told his mother about it.

Shang Qing groaned and was silent for a long time.

"Mother......

Shang Qing raised her eyes, and when she saw Xiao Yan's expectant eyes, she raised her eyebrows lightly, "Xiao Wunian, you really want to go?" ”

Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, "Mother, the Xiao family is a scholar family with the surname A. "The family surnamed A is a first-class family.

Shang Qingdao said: "So what? ”

"Brother said a lot of people in the noble clan and officialdom today, and I don't understand a lot of them......" Xiao Yan raised his face, "These will always be used in the future." ”

She stepped forward and hugged her mother's waist, the body fragrance with a faint agarwood and orchid fragrance made people extremely nostalgic, "Wait a minute...... Go out, Wunian will take you to Jiangnan, enjoy the mountains and rivers written in those books, and live a happy life that no one can care about. ”

Only by getting ahead can she take her mother out of this trapped garden, out of Lanling Xiao Mansion, and let her go freely.

Shang Qing's light ink eyes froze, and he raised his palm and patted Xiao Yan's head, "Yes." His eyes gradually darkened, "If your fourth sister-in-law teaches you to study medicine, she will give you three more afternoons in January, and practice martial arts until the evening." ”

Xiao Yan was suddenly surprised, couldn't help but raise his head and kiss Shang Qing's face, and said with a smile: "I knew that my mother was the best." ”

(l~1`x*>+``+