One stay for more than a month.

Wu Shijiu knew that the Water Dragon Gang had frequent activities in this area and had many eyes and ears, so he asked Xiao Wangbei to inquire about the whereabouts of the fat master. In his spare time, Xiao Wangbei was afraid that he would be depressed, so he accompanied him to visit the streets and alleys of Yingtianfu and eat all over the restaurants.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, low-alcohol rice wine fermented with glutinous rice was the mainstay, and there were also rice wines, fruit wines, and medicinal wines. By the time of Song Renzong, the annual tax revenue on alcohol alone accounted for one-third of the country. The most famous wines in Yingtianfu are Guixiang and Beiku. If you want to drink authentic wine, you must go to the Huixian Tower near the canal wharf.

There was nothing to do about this day, Wu Shijiu went out for a stroll by himself, and drank cinnamon once a few days ago, and the fragrance of his lips and teeth has always been unforgettable. He vaguely remembered the route, and he followed him to the Huixian Tower.

As soon as I entered the restaurant, the bartender, the tea doctor, the mother-in-law who scalded the wine, the idler who helped pick up and deliver the money, and the singer who held the pipa shuttled back and forth. There are drinkers in the private room who are making loud noises, and the junior two in the lobby are busy serving wine and food, so it is not lively.

Wu Shijiu found a quiet corner to sit in, asked for some tea and snacks, and made a few corners of cinnamon wine, and poured himself a drink. While drinking, keep an eye out for the diners in the lobby. At a glance, I saw a middle-aged scholar sitting alone in front of the window, with pen, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table, and a few pieces of rice paper full of words next to it. He took a sip of wine, wrote a few words, and felt bad again, so he crumpled the piece of paper into a ball and threw it into the paper basket, and stopped writing, but he was not satisfied.

Wu Shijiu recognized that it was the middle-aged scholar who was on the way that night, but this time the little scholar was not around. Wu Shijiu saw him concentrating on writing, and remembered Teacher Wu who was at the desk to correct homework when he was a child. At that time, his parents got off work late, and after school, Mr. Wu took him home for dinner and homework. Later, after graduating from elementary school, he never saw him again.

At every stage of life, there will be unforgettable experiences and unforgettable people, they are buried deep in their memories, and there will always be at a certain moment, because they meet a similar person or scene, they inadvertently open the memory box, and jump out of some long but familiar fragments, so that people are in it, and they don't know when it is.

At this moment, the sunlight poured into the window, as if the outline of the scholar was gilded with golden light, Wu Shijiu looked at it, and couldn't help but be stupid.

At this time, four young diners walked in with a smile, sat at the next table, clamoring for a singer and a hot soup mother-in-law to serve, and dragged Wu Shijiu out of his memory.

Just listened to one person: "Brother Wen Jin is Lu Xiang's protégé, this time, no matter what the examiner says, he has to look at Lu Xiang's face and give Brother Wen Jin a fame, right?"

The person known as "Brother Wenjin", named Li Wenjin, was preparing to enter Beijing to take the exam, and at this moment he showed a smug face, sat down on the main seat with a big smile, and said with a smile: "Today, the Empress Dowager Liu is in charge of the court, and it is all up to Lu Xiang to maneuver left and right, so that there is this peaceful and prosperous era. He is an old man who is lonely, and we, the juniors, should share our worries for Lu Xiang. ”

Another said: "Brother Wen Jin's high school emperor list is needless to say, in the future, he will find an official and a half-job, but don't forget that all the neighbors here are small." ”

Li Wenjin laughed: "That's natural, with Lu Xiang's presence, there will be the benefits of my Li Wenjin." With the benefit of my Li Wenjin, can I still lose my friends? hahaha......"

At this time, the refreshments and snacks have been served, the mother-in-law scalded a few pots of cinnamon incense, and there were singers playing with the strings on the side, and several people were noisy and loud.

Suddenly, someone said loudly: "Today, there are more than 17,000 people in the internal and external government offices, outside the clan, side branches, different surnames, and doormen can all be sealed as officials, redundant soldiers, redundant officials, and redundant waste of the country's foundation, and there are still people who sharpen their heads and find ways to eat empty salaries, occupy mountains, and make friends, which is really the misfortune of the country, the people, and the world." ”

Li Wenjin and the others were stunned for a moment, feeling that these words were particularly harsh, and when they turned their heads, they saw that it was the middle-aged scholar on the table next to them who spoke, and they couldn't help but feel angry.

"According to this gentleman's meaning, if you don't become an official in the scientific examination, what do you do? Today's Prime Minister Lu Yijian is doing his best for the country, and I and other protégés and disciples sit idly by and ignore them, and if we don't share our worries and solve problems, the world will be easy to govern?"

The middle-aged scholar didn't look back, and continued to say loudly: "Open a department to take scholars, and those who are capable live in it." If everyone from the Son of Heaven to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State is in line with the original intention of selecting talents for the country and electing officials for the people, it is naturally a good thing, and there are naturally good officials. Some people rely on clinging to the powerful, only thinking about fame and fortune, but in fact, they are inactive, even if they become officials, they are mediocre officials and redundant officials, and if they don't do it well, they will become dog officials who are scolded by the people!"

Several people stood up "hoof", pointed at the scholar and said, "Who are you scolding with your mouth?"

"Whoever becomes a mediocre official, a redundant official, or a dog official in the future, I will scold him!"

Li Wenjin was trembling with anger, pointed at the scholar and said: "Okay, what's your name, I want to know, who are you, a gentleman full of benevolence and morality." ”

The scholar stood up, waved at a few people, and said loudly: "In Xia Fan Xiwen, I have an errand to find a teaching chair in Yingtianfu Academy, and I can't talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality, but I teach for the country, and I dare not mislead people's children, and I still have a little worry about the country and the people." ”

As soon as Fan Xiwen said three words, half of the people in the lobby of the restaurant said "oh", Wu Shijiu's heart was shocked, and he thought, what a coincidence, he actually met the historical celebrity Fan Zhongyan here.

The middle-aged scholar is the Northern Song Dynasty master Fan Zhongyan (the word Xiwen), Yan Shu in the Ying Tianfu service, invited him to preside over the Ying Tianfu Academy, the world school, from which the rise of the Ying Tianfu Academy, Ying Tianfu Academy has produced a lot of talents. At this time, Fan Zhongyan was already famous all over the world, and even Emperor Zhao Zhen loved his articles and talents.

As soon as Li Wenjin and the others heard Fan Zhongyan's self-registration number, they suddenly became half shorter, and they only felt that they had no confidence to speak. So he hurriedly settled the wine money and went away in a daze.

At this moment someone came in at the door at a trot, shouting as he ran: "Sir, sir, your letter." ”

Wu Shijiu took a look, it was the little scholar, holding a letter in his hand, panting and running to Fan Zhongyan's table, picking up a bowl of tea and drinking it all.

"Slow down, slow down, you see you are reckless, what letter can't you wait for me to go back and read it?"

"It's a letter from Mr. Mei's friend, have you forgotten? Last time he wrote a letter, called "Pecking Wood", and you didn't reply to him, didn't you write another one? Yan Zhifu said that Mr. Mei is also a county magistrate, and he is also your friend...... Huh, is this candied fruit delicious?" the little scholar said, picked up the dim sum on the small plate and stuffed it into his mouth, nodded with satisfaction: "The dim sum in Huixian Lou is really delicious, sir, you really know how to pick a place to make a fuss, there is a lot of trouble here, can you write it?"

Fan Zhongyan looked at the way his mouth was stuffed with snacks, and he was angry and funny: "If you are not quiet in your heart, even if you sit in the wilderness without people, you are just as upset. ”

"I don't believe that Mr. can still be like water in this kind of place, otherwise, how can he write so many pieces of paper? Look at this ball of paper all over the ground......" The little scholar said and went to pick them one by one, Fan Zhongyan couldn't help him, shook his head, sat down and opened the letter.

After reading the first few sentences, there was still a smile on his face, and the more he read, the more solemn his face became.

"This Mei Yaochen...... I was replying to his letters, and I couldn't write them until I was halfway through writing, and I always thought about my old friendship, but he was wise enough to protect my life, and persuaded me to be like him. Look at this sentence: The phoenix sings from time to time, hoarse and dumb, and scolds Yu Yilu. He also said: Hu Bu is not like the phoenix, and people are not surprised or surprised. Hmph, he is ridiculing me for not being a phoenix, but I am croaking like a crow, attracting scolding......"

The more Fan Zhongyan spoke, the more angry he became, and when he reached the end of the letter, he couldn't bear it anymore, slapped the table and stood up and said: "I'd rather tell the world out loud, even if I am misunderstood and die, than live in silence...... The great husband stands in heaven and earth, as it should be!"

Then he picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote eight words at the end of the half-written article, and let out a long breath after writing, as if he was bored in his chest.

The little scholar leaned over and said word by word: "Rather die in silence, live in silence...... Mr. is famous again, these eight words can be regarded as a portrayal of Mr., but ......"

"Just what?"

"Isn't it a bit abrupt to reply to Mr. Mei like this? He is also for your own good, so that you can talk less and don't offend people. ”

Fan Zhongyan smiled: "If he Mei Yaochen is a friend, he should always have this kind of mind." ”

In fact, Fan Zhongyan was demoted several times later, all of which were related to these eight words. Just because he is upright by nature and would rather bend than bend, he offended many powerful people, including Mei Yaochen, who received a reply, and also hated the rest of his life because of this "Lingwu Fu". But it is precisely based on this that he is not stained in the greasy officialdom, and has achieved the background of life to move forward bravely.

Rather die than live silently. These eight words made Wu Shijiu awe-inspired. When he was a child, he took Chinese class to read classical Chinese, and his biggest headache was these "who are also good", but he didn't expect that one day, he would feel the golden sentences of celebrities in person, and he was so heroic and empowered.

"A good one who would rather die than live silently, they all say that Mr. Xiwen can be Anbang, Wu Ke Dingguo, it is really a rare talent. ”

One person said, walked out of the elegant seat on the second floor, walked to Fan Zhongyan's table, and gave a deep salute: "In Xia Yuwen Jiugu, I have admired Mr. for a long time, and I don't want to see him here today, fortunately." ”

When Wu Shijiu saw Yuwen Jiugu, the suspicions, depression, and anxiety in his heart came up these days, and he couldn't wait to catch him immediately and ask him, where did he take Shuangxixi? Why did he become Yuwenxi? Seeing him go straight to Fan Zhongyan, he faintly felt that this person must have bad intentions, so he stood up and took a step forward and said, "Mr. Yuwen, we meet again." ”

Fan Zhongyan returned the salute and was about to answer, but saw someone walking over quickly, and after a closer look, it was the young man who interceded for him that night, and he had a good impression in his heart.

Yuwen Jiugu was originally eating and drinking in the restaurant, and when he heard someone below generously speaking, it was actually a contemporary Hongru Fan Zhongyan, who already had the idea of making friends in his heart, but as soon as he appeared, he was interrupted by Wu Shijiu, and he was very unhappy.

"It's you kid, what's the matter? I picked up a life, and I haven't died for a while, and I'm going to find myself boring?"

Wu Shijiu said: "I only want to ask you one thing, what happened to the two girls?"

Yuwen Jiugu rolled his eyes and sneered: "Correct, her name is Yuwen Xi now, my daughter, what do I let her do, it's my family affair, what do you have to do with it?"

I heard a person in the elegant seat on the second floor laughing weirdly: "Brother Yuwen Xian, tell him quickly, your daughter is already my princess, hahahaha." ”