My wife has a secret

Chapter 71 Nie Mansion
"The Master Nie that you are looking for is now living in the most prosperous Xuefu Street. Are you confident that you can see him?"

Qin Shuying also knew that Lu Wanhe had never traveled far, so she was giving her a heads up.

After all, Master Nie’s current attitude is unclear. If the other party does not want to get involved in muddy waters, he can simply refuse to acknowledge the original master-disciple relationship.

"If we can't find a solution in the capital, I'll find a hotel to stay in first, and I'll contact you after I finish my business."

Lu Wanhe calmed down and said with a forced smile: "I have troubled my sister enough on this journey, don't worry about me."

After saying this, Lu Wanhe looked at the musical instrument case behind Qin Shuying, revealing a hint of regret.

"When I was in Suzhou, I often heard my sister's music and dance skills. After learning music scores with my sister for the first time these two days, I really saw a different world. No wonder the teacher said to Wan He when he was young that there are 360 ​​professions and every profession has its top scholar."

Lu Wanhe paused for a moment and continued, "I wonder when I will be able to hear the same piano music again after we part today?"

Qin Shuying pursed her lips and smiled, "Sister is really a knowledgeable person. Jiaomu is my most valuable talent. Only patrons who paid a large sum of money could hear it."

"You're making sarcastic remarks again."

Lu Wanhe glared at her helplessly, then prepared to walk towards the exit of the pier.

But the two girls didn't know that on the clock tower of the pier, a tall and thin old man was staring at them.

Not far behind him stood Yaoguang Star Lord, his entire body hidden in a black robe and hood.

"Envoy Chunsheng, we didn't go looking for them, but these people came to us on their own."

"Lord Yaoguang, what is the general trend of the world?"

Yaoguang Star Lord did not say anything because he did not know how to answer.

"The general trend of the world is mighty and powerful. Those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish. My Holy Church is about to open an altar in the capital, the place where the dragon rises, and perform rituals. Naturally, countless ants will flock to it to ascend to immortality and become gods."

The old man tilted his head slightly, revealing his gray hair and aged face, giving people a feeling of being on his deathbed.

But the bottom of his voice was heavy, not like that of an old man.

"Let them go. How can the light of a firefly compete with the brightness of the bright moon?"

……

Qing Palace.

The white and smooth hall reflects the clear water drops like morning dew, ethereal and illusory. The beautiful scenery is like a flower across the clouds, making it difficult to distinguish which is the real scene and which is the reflection.

The candles on the surrounding lamp stands emit a soft glow.

A female official wearing a flower crown and a fu hat and a round-necked beaded skirt appeared. She bowed slightly to the figure behind the screen and saluted solemnly.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty just came to the palace gate to pay his respects, and left after staying for three quarters of an hour."

The human figures emerging from the embroidered tulle are vague and dreamy.

"You've been by my side for so long, but you still don't have the energy to become a dragon. How pitiful."

The Queen's voice was as calm as ever, and the silvery bell-like sound that shone through the barrier was still as gentle and beautiful as ever.

"Lianhua, has Qing'er arrived in Beijing?"

"Your Majesty, Young Master Xu was delayed by the rain all night and will arrive in the capital a day late."

Lianhua Jun knew that the Queen Mother cared most about her nephew, so she paid close attention to the news from the south and kept every little thing in mind.

The graceful figure behind the screen's gauze curtain stood up slightly. Her figure was graceful and upright, and the perfect curves outlined by her skirt showed off her slender legs.

"Three days later, it happened to be New Year's Eve, and we stayed up all night to celebrate the New Year and be united."

Lotus Lord lowered his head and said, "Queen of Heaven, Lianhua will arrange for the staff right away."

"First, check on the movements of Qing'er's two concubines."

"Yes."

With her sleeves fluttering, the empress dowager's figure disappeared into the bedroom.

The candlelight in the hall flickered, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

……

"Should it be here?"

The bustling and wide streets of the university are busy with cars and pedestrians.

At the end of the street, there is a majestic glazed tile building complex rising from the ground. It is the Imperial Academy, a holy place for literati located in the heart of the capital.

The mansion that ranks first and is always crowded on this academic street is naturally the legendary Master Nie.

"Sir! Could you help me hand this Huaiyang Fu to Master Nie?"

"Sir! I also have a song and lyrics here, which can be regarded as a talent of the time!"

"..."

As soon as the door of the Nie Mansion was opened, the students who were waiting everywhere swarmed in and squeezed in front of the housekeeper.

The butler was annoyed and had to signal the servants in the yard behind him to drive the group of people out.

The crowd was moved behind the stone lions, leaving a space in front of the Nie Mansion.

"The guest who came to my house today is Ma Quan, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites."

Two strong men brought in a table covered with cinnabar from behind the door, on which a poem was neatly written in black ink.

The butler rolled up his sleeves and moved his fingers up and down the verses, as if he wanted every scholar watching to see it clearly.

"This is Doctor Ma's famous work, 'Travels to Beichuan'. If any of you can surpass him in poetry, you can wait for me to go in and report, and let the master recommend you to be an official."

The scholar holding the scripture blushed and hid in the crowd, shouting angrily: "Poetry is for appreciation, how can you use it as a doorplate like you do?"

"If you can't write a poem, just shut up."

The housekeeper has seen this kind of thing many times and is no longer surprised.

He sneered and continued, "Tomorrow's guest is not as famous as today's Doctor Ma. You can come again tomorrow to see if the questions in front of you will be easier."

"You are short-sighted! You judge people by their appearance! I want to let you servants know...Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. Don't look down on the young and poor!"

After saying those harsh words, the scholar walked to the corner where he had been waiting before, ready to pick up his book and leave.

The same was true for the other onlookers. After all, Ma Tanhua's reputation back then was so great that it was enough to make the literati of the time stay away from him.

"cough……"

Seeing that the situation in front of the mansion was as he had expected, the butler was about to turn around and go back home, but suddenly heard an untimely cough.

In front of the Nie Mansion, there are often many scholars who think they are noble and have the ability to govern the world. But there has never been a woman among them?

When he looked up, he happened to see a woman in a thick white dress and a snow-white fox fur coat walking upstream from the crowd and arriving in front of the open space.

She took off the veil that covered her face, revealing a beautiful face with eyebrows as dark as distant mountains.

The skin on this woman's face is crystal clear, and no matter from which angle you look at it, it looks like an extremely exquisite work of art.

It’s a pity that the woman’s eyebrows seemed to be half-closed, as if she had some unresolved worries.

"Miss, who are you looking for?"

The butler took one look at the texture of the fox fur on the woman's shoulders and knew that she was from a wealthy or noble family, so he spoke in a more polite tone.

But the other party did not hand over a name card, nor did they arrange a time in advance, so she could not be allowed in. "Miss, my master's rules are here for everyone, regardless of high or low status... If you can't solve this problem, please come back another day."

Seeing that the housekeeper's attitude was so cold, Lu Wanhe realized that it was hopeless to give his name on his own initiative, so he tilted his head to glance at the poem on the red board.

When the familiar poem appeared before her eyes again, Lu Wanhe thought of her husband's uncertain future.

When the crowd saw a beautiful woman coming up to the gate of the mansion, they all gathered back.

Seeing so many people coming to Xuefu Street, people from other streets also slowly came over to watch the fun.

Suddenly, more and more people gathered to watch, and the number exceeded a thousand, seriously hindering the passage of horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts.

Seeing that the situation was getting worse, the housekeeper hurriedly said, "Miss, if you can't think of it, forget it. Come back tomorrow... I'll give you the first place."

Hearing the housekeeper's reminder, Lu Wanhe woke up from her memories with Xu Qing.

She gave him an apologetic smile and bowed.

"I was distracted just now... This poem is not difficult to write, because it is not a top-notch work."

"what?"

Looking at the woman's behavior and actions, the housekeeper thought that she should be a well-read lady from a noble family. Why would she belittle Ma Zhonglang's travel notes of Beichuan?
You know, Master Nie highly praised this poem. Is there any poem better than this one?
"The phrase 'The green is full of sounds at dawn' should not be paired with 'drinking wine among flowers'. It should be changed to 'Last night the moon was hidden and the wind was blowing. The lonely fishing fires were empty on the river. I lay on the boat and bid farewell to the rain, listening to the chirping of insects. 'The green is full of sounds at dawn'."

Lu Wanhe repeated exactly what Xu Qing said at that time.

The steward was just about to accuse this woman of sensationalism and stealing the show when he suddenly noticed that the scholar below had fallen into a daze.

"This woman seems to be quite capable."

"Yes, this revised poem seems to be much better than Ma Tanhua's poem...mainly in terms of the artistic conception, which is completely different."

The students and scholars who were watching were originally prepared to laugh at her, but no one expected that this seemingly weak woman could have such literary talent.

"If the revised poem is not good enough to meet Master Nie, please give this poem to you."

The butler took the envelope with slightly trembling hands, opened the letter inside, and stood there in a daze.

Although his knowledge of poetry was limited, his signature stamp at the end of the article was clearly visible.

"you are……"

The butler closed the paper, and as if something had suddenly dawned on him, he realized the identity of the woman in front of him.

He opened his mouth, not knowing how to address the other person.

"Is this Butler Yao stupid? Why is he still standing there?"

"I guess he didn't expect that the questions he set would be solved!"

"It's a pity that such a talented person is actually a woman...If she were a man, she could at least find a good job."

The housekeeper came back to his senses from the noisy discussions and hurriedly stretched out his hand to greet the servants inside the mansion gate.

"Quick, take the things away and welcome Miss Lu into the mansion... and send a fast horse to contact Doctor Ma to cancel today's event."

"Yes."

After the butler finished speaking, he went to the mansion to find two nimble maids and told them to follow closely the young lady in the snow-white fox fur coat.

The maid who received the order nodded hurriedly and followed Lu Wanhe in fear and trepidation.

A few people walked through the gate and along the corridor next to the main hall, and came to the backyard of the Nie Mansion.

Lu Wanhe could see the appearance of the pavilion from afar across the waterside pavilion.

There, an old man and a young man were playing chess on a stone table. The old man had white hair and a kind face.

"Please stay here."

The housekeeper stopped Lu Wanhe and ran quickly towards the pavilion.

The objects on his body jingled, distracting the boy who was playing chess, and he secretly looked in the direction of the strange sound.

The child's gaze passed the blushing butler and stopped at a woman with beautiful features.

"Ziwen, do not look at what is not proper, do not listen to what is not proper, do not say what is not proper, and do not do what is not proper."

Old Master Nie looked at him levelly and taught him, "You must immerse your mind in this chess game to find the true meaning of the chess pieces."

The boy broke up the lifeless chess game in front of him and replied in a childish voice: "Grandpa, this is too difficult... Ziwen doesn't want to be a national player anymore."

"You, you, if you give up halfway, you will accomplish nothing."

"Ziwen gave up before he even learned it. That's called self-awareness!"

"You are so sharp-tongued at such a young age, and you dare to talk back to your elders. Wait until your mother comes back and grandpa will let her beat you up."

The boy made a face, his face full of dissatisfaction.

At this time, the butler ran to the two of them, panting, and told them about the sudden unexpected situation.

"Master, a new woman came to visit today..."

"Yao Cheng, how come you are so confused at your age? You actually let women from outside enter and leave your mansion. Aren't you afraid that my colleagues in the Imperial Academy will gossip about me?"

The butler was running with great effort and could hardly utter a coherent sentence, so he could only pass on the letter in his hand.

Master Nie realized that there must be something special about this woman, so he took it and began to read the words.

"Everyone says Jiangnan is beautiful, but visitors should only grow old in Jiangnan."

The first sentence at the beginning made Master Nie fall into memories of many years ago.

Ever since he left Jiangnan many years ago, it has been difficult for him to see the scenery there again.

Especially the words on the letter paper, they are so beautiful and graceful, and the strokes are so vivid.

"The spring water is bluer than the sky, and I sleep on a painted boat listening to the rain. The woman beside the wine shop is like the moon, and her white wrists are covered with frost and snow. Don't return home before you are old, or you will be heartbroken..."

As the words became deeper, Master Nie's face became slightly condensed, and the ease he had when playing with his grandson disappeared.

His eyes revealed vicissitudes of life, as if he had experienced countless ups and downs in life.

"The author of this poem is..."

Suddenly, Mr. Nie saw the name seal on the letter paper.

He turned his head in disbelief and happened to see Lu Wanhe brushing up her hair and standing facing the light.

"Wanhe!"

The little boy pouted and whispered, "The old man also told Ziwen not to look at anything inappropriate."

……

Lu Wanhe stood in front of the corridor of the water pavilion for a while, and then got permission to meet Master Nie.

But when she entered the pavilion, she happened to meet the housekeeper dragging out the child of seven or eight years old.

"he is……"

The child struggled and shouted, "Save me! Save me! Beautiful sister, save me!"

The housekeeper covered the child's mouth and smiled at Lu Wanhe twice, "Master Nie ordered him to be put in solitary confinement. It is a common thing in the mansion. Miss Lu does not need to take it to heart."

(End of this chapter)