Emperor Kangxi: Yuyu Chengxiang

Chapter 14 Seeking Talents and Meeting Talents
Feng Zhiren rubbed his hands, smiled nonchalantly, and said, "It's not clear if enough is enough! As long as Zhongcheng has a relationship, there is no need to spend a penny. I really don't know what the status of the officials in the frontier is." I know. Blind Liu, my fellow villager, donated 300 taels of silver to a fellow acquaintance. He voted for Mingxiang’s connections. Lack of magistrate. Jiangxi Liu Ruben used 500 taels of gold to make a Buddha and sent it to Suo Zhongtang as a birthday gift. After the ticket was drafted, he would be awarded the Huaixi Salt Road. There is also a cousin of mine, Xu Qiuren, who came to Beijing at the beginning of the month. I heard that Bringing [-]... This is actually the same principle as doing business, the buyer is willing, the seller is willing, you get what you pay for, you get what you pay for, you get what you pay for, and there is no cheating!" He said, Jin Fu was already His face changed color, he leaned back, and said with a stiff neck: "If this is the case, I don't have any! I am such a high-ranking official, I can't act like that. This five thousand and five thousand is just to buy a safe, if it doesn't work, I have to Let him do!"

Just as he was talking about this, Sige, the door boss, came in and reported: "Zhongcheng, there is a young woman with two children outside who wants to see Zhongcheng—it is said to be a family member of Mr. Li Anxi..." After finishing speaking, his lips twitched After a while, he hesitated to speak.Jin Fu was taken aback when he heard this: Li Anxi is Li Guangdi, and he usually only had affection when he met, but now he is an honored minister of the state, how could he entrust his wife and children to him, and how could he not even have letters of letters or famous thorns? Come to pay respects?I was wondering in my heart, but I ordered: "Why are you standing there, please come in!" The long follower bowed and agreed: "Yes...but the three of them...the servants really don't look like officials. The clothes are torn like a beggar, and the shoes are torn..."

Hearing this, Jin Fu stood up, sat back down again, and looked at Feng Zhiren a little at a loss.Feng Zhiren asked: "You didn't tell her that Mr. Jin didn't bring his family, so it's inconvenient to receive him, and he's going to leave his post and go to Beijing soon?" The chief follower hurriedly said: "Return to Master Feng, the slave said it. She said that's exactly what she heard. When Zhong Cheng came to Beijing, he asked Zhong Cheng to read the same court as the court love, and take her mother and son with him, and go to Mr. Li. She has nothing to worry about..." Jin Fu hesitated for a while, sighed and said: "In that case, Please come in and meet and talk."

After a while, Guo Jianchang came in with a young woman in ragged clothes.When Jin Fu looked at her, she was only 27 or [-] years old, with a slender figure, two slender eyebrows on Guazier's face, and a slight frown at the tip of her eyebrows. He dragged a child into the room, and before Jin Fu could speak, he squatted down with two blessings, then knelt down, and said softly, "The concubine Li Xiuzhi kowtowed to Mr. Jin..." Jin Fu gave a little help with his hand, Said: "Madam, please stand up and watch the seat. I dare not do it. Your Excellency Jin Qing is the lucky minister of today's son. Jin Fu relies heavily on Zheng. How can this be done?"

"Return to your lord," Li Xiuzhi sat down, took the tea offered by the servants, and said with a blushing face, "it's a matter of courtesy, a concubine is not the right match for Jin Qing..." said and handed the tea to the left hand The child said in a trembling voice, "Xingbang, drink some, and then give it to your younger brother..." The child took a small sip of the tea before handing it to the child on the right, saying: "Xingguo, drink..." Xingguo probably I was so thirsty, I took it and drank it upside down.

Feng Zhiren watched carefully.The two brothers are about the same size, about the same attire, and about the same appearance. They are about seven or eight years old, and they look very much like twin brothers. Because they asked: "My lord, Feng Zhiren. Excuse me for being rude, but I dare not ask Mrs. Li why she has fallen to this point?" Zhi's eyes turned red, and she leaned forward and said, "The three of us, mother and son, sold our property and went from Hangzhou to Anxi, Fujian. We couldn't find relatives, and we traveled thousands of miles here. I heard that Mr. Jin is going to Beijing. I would like to take us to Beijing to see the light." ...I can barely support it, but the two children can't walk anymore..." As he spoke, tears began to flow down.

"Is there no one in the Li family in Anxi?" Jin Fu asked in surprise.

"Yes..." Xiuzhi sobbed, her sleeves were already wet with tears, she just kept her voice reserved, "They...they refused to recognize their relatives..."

Jin Fu and Feng Zhiren quickly exchanged glances. Li Guangdi's family is a famous family in Fujian. How could it be so unreasonable?Jin Fu muttered for a while, and finally asked: "How old are the two young masters this year? How could they be born in Hangzhou?"

"My lord, don't ask me this question." Xiuzhi wiped her tears and said, "If you suspect that I'm pretending to be a relative, please punish me; if you believe me, take me; if you don't want to take me, that's all. I owe you this The love of the glass of water, I will return it to you in the future." Saying that, he was about to get up.

The young woman spoke softly and said a few words, which stunned Jin Fu for a moment, and hurriedly said: "Please don't misunderstand, I didn't doubt your intentions, if you really pretend to be an official, how dare you go with me See Jin Qing?" Feng Zhiren had called someone over earlier, ordered the house to be tidied up, arranged for tea and dinner, and also asked someone to go to the street to buy clothes for his wife.

"This is another embarrassing thing." After Xiuzhi and the others went out, Jin Fu let out a long breath, and smiled at Feng Zhiren, "The Li family in Fujian does not recognize her, and Li Anxi does not recognize her. Between the two. I'm afraid there is something hidden here!"

Feng Zhiren tapped the back of his hand with a fan, and pondered: "This matter has been known for a long time, but she still defends Mr. Li and refuses to say it. During Mr. Li's funeral, he actually had an affair with a brothel woman. This' The word "Taoism',... Sigh!" Jin Fu was stunned, and suddenly an ominous premonition came to his heart, and he said: "Actually, the crime of being careless in mourning is still second. Li Guangdi is very popular now, waiting to enter the study, how can he admit to these two major crimes?" He gasped.Feng Zhiren suddenly smiled and said: "Dong Weng is too worried, I think this is a rare commodity to live in. If you cover up the past for Mr. Li in Beijing, the favor is probably worth more than ten thousand silver. Dong Weng, Li Jinqing Suo'etu is the most proud student!"

A day later, Jin Fu took Feng Zhiren, Xiuzhi, mother and son and set off.Because the silt of the Yellow River had already broken the trough waterway, seeing that it was impossible to take a boat, I went retrograde along the North Embankment of the Yellow River to the west, and checked the river conditions along the way.After passing Kaifeng, turn north and enter the territory of Zhili.Jin Fu and others did not enter Handan City, but went to the Linmingguan Post Station in Huangliangmengbei to settle down.

After dinner, it was already dark.Jin Fu wore a crimson red robe, without a gown, and walked out of the courtyard with Feng Zhiren.Seeing the bright lights in Huangliangmeng from a distance, reflecting half of the sky, he asked: "Zhiren, you have passed by many times in rushing for exams, and the front is bright, where is the place?" Said: "Master Futai, if you want to leave tomorrow, I advise you to go and have a look. That kind of excitement is rare in the world! Tomorrow April [-]th, Huang Liang Meng Saishen, there are only six theaters set up." Jin Fu nodded with a smile, and said to Feng Zhiren: "Walk with me, let's digest food!"

The two chatted and walked, and the scene of half a meal came to Huangliangmeng, and it was really lively.There are thousands of candles inside and outside the temple, and hundreds of cylinders of sea lanterns are lit with egg-thick lamps, illuminating the surroundings brightly.There are teams of stilts who play the Eight Immortals, Guanyin, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and also sing stories about the West Chamber and Peony Pavilion.Six major operas, three in the east and west sides, sang to each other, and the gongs and drums were beaten like rain beating on the shed.Firecrackers and cannons ping-pong, and it was impossible to hear what was being sung on the stage.Under the stage, the crowd rushed to and fro.Selling melon seeds, sesame candy, butter tea, wine, food and snacks, there are stalls, clusters, everything you need, the gentleman who makes divination, divination, and fortune-telling has a loud voice, but he shouts loudly... Feng Zhiren said with some emotion: "Dong Weng, it seems that Confucius is hard to compare with Taishang Laojun and Tathagata Buddha! I have also seen Qufu offering sacrifices to Confucius. How can there be such a pomp and excitement!"

"The peace and prosperity have been revealed before the war is over." Jin Fu's mood became more relaxed, "As long as there is no war, the recovery will be very fast! Zhiren, do you see? There are also foreign goods stores here, such a big chime bell They're all on the counter——Wei Dongting is a man of skill!" "That's right." Feng Zhiren said with a smile, "I've seen silks, satins, tea, and porcelain shipped out from the customs; That silver is in the sea!" As they said that, the two of them went into the back temple, and looked at the predecessors' inscriptions along the wall by candlelight in the hallway of the Shinto stele.Some extol the Shinto, some pray for a child, and some express their ambitions and complaints.Seeing Gao Shiqi's comment, Jin Fu used the three characters "dog fart" upside down, and laughed loudly: "This Gao man is really frivolous and arrogant!"

"It's inevitable for a well-known talented person in Qiantang to have high-mindedness and empty-mindedness." Feng Zhiren said with a smile, "I heard that he criticizes other people's articles and poems, and he only has these three words. For this reason; 'dog farting' is to blame its misconduct, and the text is still acceptable. 'Farting dog' refers to a dog who specializes in farting and blames its poor character and literary quality..." Before he finished speaking, Jin Fu couldn't help laughing. Said: "In short, it's all fart, but the pros and cons are subtle - oh, this Chen Huang's poem is interesting: 'I want to borrow a pillow from my husband'. The words are also quite elegant - Chen Huang, this name is so familiar, I can't remember who it was!"

Feng Zhiren shook his fan and pondered for a while, then said: "Chen Huang——Chen Tianyi! The younger brother of Chen Shouzhong in Qiantang. Because of the lack of water in his horoscope, he couldn't help playing with water and tides since he was a child, and he became a talent! Zhong Cheng must have forgotten, you After reading his "Yangshui Bian", didn't you come here to praise him?" Jin Fu sighed: "It turned out to be him! It's a pity that he was so unfortunate that he ended up living here! It's a pity to envy the ancients who dreamed of being romantic-I just wish I could see it! "

"I'm not here," someone behind him suddenly said, "What advice do you two gentlemen have?"

(End of this chapter)