Daxuan Wusheng: Start by practicing and adding points

Chapter 530 II
Chen Mu was born in a wealthy family, with fine clothes and delicious food, and countless servants.

Anfu.

It was a well-known family power in the local area. One of their ancestors had served as an official in the court and had reached the rank of second rank, which was already a top-notch official. Later, there were many fourth-rank assistant ministers. By the generation of Chen Mu, although there were no officials in the court anymore and the highest official in the family was only a sixth-rank Tongpan, they were still powerful local tyrants.

The branch that Chen Mu was born into is the main line of the An family. He happens to be the eldest grandson and will most likely inherit the family business in the future. Therefore, he was destined to have a noble status since birth, which is far beyond the comparison of the side branches.

The An family naturally attached great importance to this eldest grandson and named him "An Mu", hoping that Chen Mu could revive the An family and become a high-ranking official.

There is a reason for this.

That is, Chen Mu has been different from ordinary people since he was born. He has never cried. Although he is a man of few words, when he occasionally says a few words, it seems that they contain some truths that even adults find difficult to understand.

A child of seven or eight years old can express principles that even adults need to understand, as if he was born with such knowledge. He is like a born saint. If this child were in an ordinary family, he would definitely brag and spread the story everywhere.

But the An family is extraordinary after all. Their ancestors were high-ranking officials in the court and have experienced ups and downs. They know that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Therefore, they focus more on protecting Chen Mu and rarely let Chen Mu contact the outside world.

Even the teachers who taught Chen Mu various classics were all the influential elders of the An family. However, after discovering that Chen Mu had an almost photographic memory and could point out the essence of everything in a single sentence when he was ten years old, these elders gave up teaching him. As there was not much left to teach, they allowed Chen Mu to enter and exit the library freely and study on his own.

in this way.

In a flash, more than ten years have passed.

Chen Mu, who has grown into a young man, is sitting in an elegant study room, wearing a brocade robe, holding a book in his hand. He seems to be looking at the book, but also seems to be looking at something else. He always has a slightly frown on his face, as if he doesn't understand something.

"Master Mu, it's time for tea."

Suddenly there was a light knock on the door.

Then a pretty girl in silk clothes walked in. She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old. She came to Chen Mu's table with a tea tray in her hand. There was a pot of tea and some snacks on the tray.

"Well, leave it there."

Chen Mu didn't look at it, he just said it casually.

The girl gently poured a cup of tea for Chen Mu. Seeing Chen Mu frowning slightly, she hesitated for a moment. After a while, she couldn't help but whispered, "I see that you frown every day, Master Mu. Is there anything confusing you? If it's okay, why don't you tell the maid? Although the maid is dull, she may have other ideas that can help you share your worries."

She is Chen Mu's personal maid, and came to serve Chen Mu three years ago. She was born as a servant of the An family, and was very clean. She was taught and trained since childhood and was arranged to serve Chen Mu. In fact, the An family intended to make her Chen Mu's concubine to pass on Chen Mu's bloodline. After all, Chen Mu seemed too "arrogant" in recent years, and no girl from any family could catch Chen Mu's eye, which undoubtedly made the old people in the An family a little anxious.

Another reason is that Chen Mu's ability is too outstanding. He was admitted as the first in the county examination and the prefectural examination, and even won the first place in the provincial examination not long ago. For ordinary people, the provincial examination is a hurdle that can easily lead to a successful career. If you pass it, you will become a juren. Although juren is nothing to the An family, and they may even manipulate the situation, Chen Mu was able to win the first place in the juren examination with his own ability. This is extraordinary and almost gave the elders of the An family hope for revival.

After all, he was able to win the title of Jieyuan in his early twenties. With such talent, it is almost certain that he will pass the imperial examination in the future. Once he can pass the imperial examination, he will be an official of the seventh rank in the future. With the background of the An family, and some other opportunities in the future, he may be able to become a fourth rank official and enter the court again!

With such ability and his status as the eldest son, although Chen Mu is not very old, he already has a lot of say in the An family. No one can force him, so the matter of marriage has been delayed again and again.

of course.

The specific reason for such a delay was actually because the An family had other considerations. What they hoped most was that Chen Mu could "win three prizes in a row" and become the top scholar. Then, he would be qualified to marry the daughter of a prince.

Although those who have come forward to propose marriage are all from wealthy and powerful families, including some local officials of the fourth or fifth rank, the An family actually wants to wait a little longer. After all, Chen Mu is so talented and his future is unpredictable, so there is no need to rush into getting married.

However, the issue of continuing the family line is still very important. Even if he does not get married for the time being, it is no harm to have more concubines. However, Chen Mu has changed many concubines over the years, both fat and thin, but none of them can get his favor.

So that
Even the elders of the An family were a little worried about this.

He also secretly invited a famous doctor to check, but the result was that everything was normal with Chen Mu, he was just indifferent by nature. So, he felt helpless and could only let nature take its course. He arranged as many young and beautiful concubines as possible, hoping that Chen Mu would like one of them.

"..."

When Chen Mu heard Shishu's words, he looked away indifferently and glanced at her.

This calm look frightened her so much that she knelt down beside the table and said timidly, "I just wanted to share your worries, Master. You just think I was talking nonsense. Please punish me lightly."

The master did not say anything, but the maid took the initiative to ask. This was naturally an act of usurpation, and it was normal for her to be severely punished.

Chen Mu looked at Shi Shu, and suddenly threw the book in his hand in front of her, saying:

"Can you write?"

"know a bit."

"Go and copy it."

"Yes."

The secretary responded quickly and stepped aside with the book in his hand.

Chen Mu looked at the maid who was copying books on a stool nearby. He felt that this maid was somewhat similar to Xiao He when she was young. After looking at her for a while, he suddenly remembered some interesting things from his previous life.

The gentle and lovely maid was listening to the punishment, but he punished her to copy books. For a moment, he felt inexplicably funny. After all, things and people have changed. His thoughts and ideas are very different from those in his distant previous life.

Although he was reading a book, what he was thinking about in his heart was still the road of life.

What are years?

He used to be a solitary hunter, and now he is the young master of a wealthy family, and the top scorer in the imperial examination... What is the connection between these identities and the road of time?
Chen Mu didn't understand.

He was even a little uncertain about his attitude towards the people in this world. He didn't know whether this world was a real world or just a virtual world evolved for him by the system panel. At least he couldn't see through it now.

If this was the real world, he didn't want to leave behind too many causes and effects, especially bloodlines. If he left offspring in this world, how would he deal with it? Would everything be over when this life ended?
But if you don't want to be contaminated by cause and effect, you should become a monk and practice.

Becoming a monk and practicing Buddhism in every reincarnation?
The system panel could allow him to come in in his original state, and travel around this world as a monk to witness the changes in the world. There was no need for him to enter the mortal world and experience such a real mortal life in it.

At present, Chen Mu cannot figure out which path is the right one, and his comprehension of the Avenue of Time has reached a bottleneck. He is hesitant for a while, but after all, his time in this world is unlimited, and he has endless years to spend and squander. If he cannot comprehend it in this life, there will be reincarnation and the next life.

“Whether you are in the world or a layperson, perhaps it is all the same.”

"To the Avenue of Time, all of this has nothing to do with it. Time is always there, like a witness, looking down on all living things without any emotion."

Chen Mu shook his head slightly in his heart.

Perhaps what he should do is not be so deliberate, but should be more integrated so that he can experience the years more deeply.

He stood up and walked to the maid Shishu, who was still bending over a stool copying a book. Although she was squatting, she still wrote lines of beautiful small characters. The writing was beautiful. It was obvious that she was not "a little knowledgeable" as she said, but she had been cultivated since childhood, and her appearance and figure were both top-notch, so she was arranged to be by his side.

"Shishu." Chen Mu suddenly spoke.

When the little girl heard the call, she paused and looked up at Chen Mu.

Chen Mu asked, "How long have you been with me?"

The secretary responded obediently: "In reply to the young master, three years and twenty-seven days."

Chen Mu said: "You remember it very clearly."

The maid smiled sweetly: "To be able to serve the young master is something that many people envy, of course this servant remembers it clearly every day."

Chen Mu stretched out his hand, and gently stroked her cheek with his fingers. Then he turned around and walked out of the study, saying:
“Stop copying books.”

"Come back to your room with me."

The secretary held the pen in one hand and watched Chen Mu turn around. She was a little dazed for a moment, but she quickly reacted. A blush suddenly appeared on her pretty face, and there was a hint of joy and shyness in her eyes.

Could it be that……

She quickly put down the pen in her hand, and in her panic, she even accidentally knocked over the chair. She quickly picked up the chair, but saw that the ink on the pen had stained the floor tiles again. She was even more panicked and wanted to wipe it off again.

Chen Mu listened to the noise coming from behind him, shook his head and laughed for a moment, and inexplicably felt more at ease in his heart, and continued walking forward.

……

The elders of the An family were very happy.

Because Chen Mu, who has always been indifferent, finally took a fancy to a concubine named "Shishu", everyone was relieved. After all, for a talented young master of the An family like Chen Mu, not being interested in women can even be considered a defect.

Just one year later, Shishu gave birth to a bastard son for Chen Mu, and her status rose rapidly, from a concubine to a concubine.

A few more years passed.

Chen Mu went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and won the first place in the joint examination, known as Huiyuan. Unfortunately, he did not get the top scorer in the final palace examination and failed to win three prizes in a row. However, he won the third place in the palace examination, also known as An Tanhua, and was appointed editor of the Hanlin Academy.

A year later, he married the second daughter of Wang Han, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue. After that, his career prospered and he was promoted repeatedly. Finally, decades later, he was promoted to the Minister of War. At the age of 63, he asked for retirement and returned to his hometown, finally leaving the court unscathed.

At the age of 64, Chen Mu, who returned to his hometown, still liked reading, and often went to temples, Taoist temples, etc. to chat about Taoism with the abbots of various temples and Taoist temples.

At the age of 72, the aging Chen Mu finally reached the end of his life and was bedridden.

"Master, master..."

The maid, now with white hair and wrinkles all over her face, lay beside Chen Mu's bed, crying softly. She was Chen Mu's first concubine and the first aunt who gave birth to Chen Mu's children. Her status in the family was second only to Chen Mu's wife, but compared to the wife, she had the deepest feelings for Chen Mu and had been with him the longest.

Looking at Chen Mu lying on the bed, dying, she just kept sobbing and kept saying "it will get better".

Chen Mu was quite calm.

At this moment, his body was extremely weak, and he had difficulty moving even one hand. He had never been so weak before, but his eyes were always indifferent. Looking at the equally old Shishu in front of him, he gently raised his hand and stroked her white hair.

"I won't die, don't be so sad."

Chen Mu said.

"Yes, yes, the master is a man of good fortune, and he can be well..."

Shishu said, choking with sobs.

She knew that Chen Mu often went to Taoist temples and other places to seek immortals and Buddhas, and he often said some surprising words. But now, listening to Chen Mu's words, she did not show too much emotion, but just held Chen Mu's hand tightly.

There were several men and women next to her, the oldest was about fifty years old, and the youngest was only in his teens. The young ones were all crying, and several of the older ones looked at Chen Mu with complicated eyes.

They all have complicated feelings towards their father Chen Mu.

Whether it is a legitimate son or a concubine's son.

Because Chen Mu was indifferent to everything, and there was almost no father-son relationship between them, but at the same time, they had all received Chen Mu's guidance and support. Among them, An Lan, the eldest son, has now become a governor.

But even though he was the governor of a region, An Lan always felt that Chen Mu had never looked at him straight in the eye, or that Chen Mu's attitude was very strange, as if his current achievements were just ripples in Chen Mu's eyes.

Although Chen Mu previously served as the Minister of War, he has now taken another step forward and become the Minister of War.

"An Lan."

Chen Mu suddenly spoke.

"Father."

Although An Lan had a complicated look in his eyes, he still responded softly when he heard Chen Mu calling him and walked forward: "What do you want me to do?"

Chen Mu looked at him, but didn't say anything in the end. He just gave An Lan a look that he could never understand.

An Lan has seen this look almost since he was a child.

He couldn't help but step forward, wanting to ask what Chen Mu really thought of him, but when he got closer, he saw that Chen Mu's pupils had dilated, and he was leaning against the head of the bed, without making a sound.

All of a sudden.

The whole house and outside were filled with cries.

The person who died was not only a former Minister of War, but also the father of the current governor.

Amid the torrent of crying, An Lan opened his mouth slightly, but eventually closed it again. Then he slowly raised his head, looked at the ceiling, and closed his eyes, with only one thought swirling in his mind.

What are you looking at in your life?

What were you thinking about at the end?

(End of this chapter)