Chapter 65

Chen Wenzong stood beside the desk, holding the *xuan* paper and quietly reciting the poems about autumn one by one, serene as jade.

He didn't know why, but a thread of regret and sorrow rose in his heart. What he regretted was that these poems, with the exception of the one about the "withered vine, old tree, dusk crow," all only had one line. Although a single line of poetry is exquisite, it ultimately lacks complete meaning and cannot be considered a complete work.

Chen Wenzong was about to put down the *xuan* paper, but picked it up again... It was precisely these incomplete regrets that made his heart itch uncontrollably. He scrutinized the handwriting of the poems: the handwriting was elegant, certainly not written by a worldly son. Chen Wenzong recalled that when the maid lifted the curtain earlier, it was the White Carp County Lord holding a brush. Could it be the County Lord who wrote them? The next time he saw the County Lord, he definitely had to ask what these complete poems were like. This legitimate eldest son of the Chen Manor in Luocheng was so captivated by the poems that he completely forgot that his younger brother, Chen Ji, was also present.

"Elder brother, why are you standing there motionless?" Chen Wenxiao asked.

"Hmm, I'm looking at poems," Chen Wenzong came back to his senses.

At this time, Lin Chaojing also stood up and walked over, wanting to see what Chen Wenzong held in his hand: "Is that the poem written by the worldly son? Before, at Donglin Academy, I advised him not to mess around in the academy, but he simply wouldn't listen." As he spoke, when Lin Chaojing clearly saw the nine lines of poetry Chen Wenzong held, he was also stunned.

More and more people gathered in front of this desk. The White Carp County Lord had a total of three pages of *xuan* paper, so these three pages of *xuan* paper circulated among different people.

Two maids walked up, smiling and saying: "Young masters, our young lady has arrived!"

They saw Liu Hangtou slowly ascend the wooden stairs. She looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old, her appearance was not particularly gorgeous, and compared to the meticulously dressed women in Hongyi Lane, she seemed somewhat ordinary. But precisely between her eyebrows and eyes, waves flowed, possessing a kind of lively charm.

Liu Su went upstairs, but saw all the scholars gathered in front of a desk, and no one looked at her. The maid was about to remind the crowd again, but Liu Su smiled and stopped her. She tiptoed closer, a full smile on her face: "What are you looking at?"

"Ah, we're looking at poems." It wasn't until a fragrant breeze hit his face that the scholar reacted.

Liu Su looked at the poems on the *xuan* paper and asked curiously: "Yi, which young master wrote these?"

"The worldly son of Jingwang Manor wrote them, and he has already left."

"Left?" Liu Su went to the edge of the window, leaning against the window lattice to look down at the embroidered building below, and saw the worldly son and his group just chatting and laughing, bickering as they walked out of the embroidered building. The scenery below the building was much more interesting than the scenery above.

Liu Su smiled and said: "They are so lively. I still wanted to keep them for a drink, or go drink with them."

The maid was startled: "Young lady, what should we do now? Should I go invite them back?"

Liu Su smiled: "No need. Interesting people are better viewed from afar. Getting closer makes them less interesting. Let's go, we still have to deal with those uninteresting men."

"Should we find people to fill the three empty private rooms?"

"Sure, it's the same no matter whose money we earn."

The worldly son came out of the embroidered building, clearly having been driven out, yet he was as arrogant as a victorious general. Someone at the door saw him come out and asked curiously: "Didn't the worldly son go into the embroidered building? Why did he come out so quickly?"

The worldly son laughed heartily: "I can't write poetry, so I just came out!"

"Did you see Liu Hangtou?"

"Didn't see her. It's good I didn't spend money, otherwise I would have lost big time!"

At this time, along the blue stone paved road of Baiyi Lane, every household had hung up well-shaped lanterns, some in the shape of carp, some in the shape of buildings, exquisite and interesting. The streets were filled with scholars coming and going, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography.

The worldly son and his group walked loudly along this small road, appearing out of place. After leaving the embroidered building far behind, the worldly son quietly asked White Carp: "Did I do the right thing today?"

White Carp smiled and said: "You did. You are indeed my brother. That's how a person should be, straightforward."

"Heh heh," the worldly son proudly stretched his clothes: "They look down on us, and we look down on them! Since we can't compare in poetry, then let's not compare anymore!"

White Carp's eyes crinkled with laughter: "That's right, what's the point of comparing back and forth?"

Liu Qu Xing added: "Look at Lin Chaojing's showing off just now, like a peacock spreading its tail."

She Dengke said in a muffled voice: "You haven't learned much of Master's medical skills, but you've inherited the skill of harming people."

The crowd burst into laughter, and the unhappiness they felt just now was completely swept away.

At this time, Liang Gouer asked: "Worldly son, where are we going now? To the Gold Workshop in Hongyi Lane or somewhere else?"

The worldly son waved his hand: "Let's not go to Hongyi Lane first. The little monk should have finished reciting the scriptures by now. After we pick up the little monk, we'll go to the Gold Workshop together! How can we abandon him alone for such a happy occasion? We even carried out the one with a lame leg, how can we miss a monk?"

"...Then after returning to the manor, you can't just leave me in the medical hall and not care whether I live or die. I don't want Chen Ji to go drinking."

"No!"

"Let's go, back to the manor to pick up the little monk, not one less!"

"Pick up the little monk!"

Chen Ji watched with wide eyes as this group of madmen hooked shoulders and wrapped arms, giggling and laughing. They decided in a moment of madness to walk another half *shichen* back to the manor to pick up the little monk, and then walk another half *shichen* back to the East Market. Just like when everyone was young, they could be unrestrainedly crazy and waste time.

As long as you still stand proudly in youth, if you sleep on it, the world will forgive you. At a certain moment, you will be convinced by the world that this is wrong. But when you stand in your twilight years and look back, you will suddenly realize that this world originally has no right and wrong, success and failure. Singing loudly on the table with friends until dawn, looking at the girl you admire and laughing foolishly all day, that is the truly good time. Because you can never go back.

Chen Ji asked: "White Carp County Lord, are your brothers usually this crazy?"

The White Carp County Lord smiled faintly: "They might be even crazier than this sometimes. Last year, during the Shangyuan Festival, he returned to Luocheng, drank too much, and insisted on running to the Tuoluo Temple to strike the bell. He and a few rascals secretly climbed over the wall in the middle of the night. The sound of the bell alarmed hundreds of nearby households, waking them up. Father hung him on the house beam and beat him for a day."

"Why did he want to strike the bell?"

"He said he wanted to wake up the people of the world who wouldn't wake up..."

"He indeed woke up quite a few," Chen Ji said solemnly and respectfully.

"I'm following him out now because I'm worried he'll do something absurd again."

"Are you heartbroken that your brother was beaten?"

White Carp shook her head: "Last time, Father beat him for a day and then got sick from exhaustion. It took him half a month to recover. Father was already busy and tired, and he might not be well because of him."

Chen Ji: "Deep father-daughter affection."

By the time the crowd picked up the little monk and returned to the East Market, it was already late at night. Hongyi Lane was still brightly lit, with two rows of red lanterns hanging from the beginning to the end of the street, as if the fireworks would never extinguish.

When Liang Gouer carried a bamboo chair between the buildings, the girls above the buildings laughed coyly and waved their handkerchiefs: "Isn't this Brother Gouer? Which rich master are you bringing to drink flower wine today? Don't go to the Gold Workshop to find Miss Yaner, you can't outdrink her. Come drink with me, I'll fall after two cups!"

Liang Gouer laughed and scolded: "I won't drink with you, I'm afraid you'll suck my yang energy!"

The girls above the buildings scolded back: "Liang Gouer, the wine you buy is enough for that Yaner to open another Gold Workshop! You are being coaxed and not listening to advice. What she drinks with you is fundamentally not wine, it's water!"

Liang Gouer continued to carry the bamboo chair forward, laughing and responding as he walked: "I'm willing!"

At this time, a bright and beautiful girl came out of the Gold Workshop to welcome them: "Brother Gouer, you're here!"

Liang Gouer laughed heartily: "Miss Yaner, you don't need to greet other guests today, just call the girls to greet us. Take good care of our table, don't neglect my new friends."

Yaner glanced at the worldly son's silver silk dark patterned python robe and immediately smiled in response: "Okay!"

She led the crowd up to the second floor and arranged an extremely spacious private room. Dishes, wine, and water were served like a flowing banquet, one after another. In no time, a group of girls rushed in with fragrant breezes. White Carp glanced at them and pointed at Chen Ji: "He doesn't need company, he is injured."

At this time, a girl wanted to sit on the worldly son's lap. The worldly son looked at White Carp and smiled shyly: "Not proper, not proper. Drinking wine is good."

At this time, a guest outside said: "Did you hear? That straw bag worldly son from Jingwang Manor wrote twelve lines of poetry in the embroidered building."

"Oh, how did he write?"

"Haha, do you know Lin Chaojing? He's the one who has the most hope of competing with Chen Wenzong for the top scholar this year. He said the worldly son wrote complete nonsense. Each poem only wrote half a line, not a single line was complete. He didn't know where he picked them up, or if he bought them."

"What did other people say?"

"Other people also said this, saying that the worldly son's level can only piece together half lines of poetry."

"A straw bag worldly son indeed."

The worldly son sat quietly in the private room. He drank a large bowl of wine, exhaled a mouthful of wine gas, and asked: "Girl, I want to ask you, how is this line of poetry written: '塞下秋来风景异,衡阳雁去无留意'?"

The girl smiled and said: "Good brother, I don't understand what you're saying."

The worldly son scratched his head and asked again: "'空山新雨后,天气晚来秋', is this line well written?"

The girl refilled his wine and smiled: "Worldly son, don't make things difficult for me. If you want to use poetry to attract girls, you should go to Baiyi Lane. In our Hongyi Lane, it's better to fill your wine first. We don't accommodate scholars here!"

The worldly son was startled, then burst into laughter: "This is good, this is good! I don't like those scholars either!"

The girl covered her mouth and laughed: "There are also middle-aged literary men who like to come to Hongyi Lane quietly. Before going to bed, they will quietly take some sea dog pills to cure impotence with wine, and tell me to wait, not to hurry. When the medicine hasn't taken effect, he will chat with me about Han history, about classics, from astronomy to geography. At that time, I really admire him. When the medicine takes effect, I ask him where Sirius is, and he says not to ask, just take off your clothes quickly."

The little monk listened with a red face and hot ears, reciting scriptures while listening, and listening while reciting scriptures.

The worldly son recalled what the other guests said just now. It turned out that the poems he had always cared about were not as important as he had imagined: "When I first went to Donglin Academy, I saw Chen Wenzong, Lin Chaojing, and the others reciting and pairing poetry, and I admired them to death. How could they be so graceful and romantic, and I couldn't fit in? If I could also write good poems, write good lines like '人生若只如初见，何事秋风悲画扇', I could stand with them. Today, I suddenly realized that I and they are fundamentally people from two worlds, and there's no need to force it."

The worldly son held up his sea bowl and raised it to Chen Ji from a distance: "Sorry, your poems were insulted along with me."

Chen Ji smiled and comforted him: "It's okay, you paid the money."

The worldly son drank a lot, and his words also became much more numerous: "And there are also the gentlemen in the academy, they demand that we be self-reliant, but they themselves bring concubines into the academy! Those Donglin faction people."

White Carp frowned heavily and twisted the worldly son's waist: "Brother, watch what you say."

"Haha, not saying, not saying, drinking wine, drinking wine!"

That night, the worldly son didn't know how much wine he drank. Chen Ji originally didn't want to drink, but unexpectedly, he also drank until he was dizzy without realizing it. What secret office, what military office, what Luotian Sect, what fighting skills, what sword path, all were thrown to the back of his mind, only the sweet wine in Hongyi Lane remained.

Chen Ji forgot why he drank so much. He only remembered that when he was in a daze, someone shouted "Let's go, climb the drum tower to watch the sunrise," and then a group of people carried him out the door.

Before leaving, Liang Gouer pulled Yaner's hand and asked: "Are you going to watch the sunrise?"

Miss Yaner smiled and said: "There's still business in the Gold Workshop."

Liang Gouer asked again: "Are you going?"

Miss Yaner replied: "Going."

They ran madly in the night towards the Luocheng Drum Tower. White Carp gave the soldier guarding the drum tower a silver coin, and only then did they let them pass.

When they reached the top of the drum tower, a cool autumn wind blew, and Chen Ji opened his eyes. He saw the worldly son sitting alone on the railing, seemingly about to be blown down by the wind at any moment.

The worldly son asked in a loud voice: "Liu Qu Xing, what do you want to do in the future?"

"I want to inherit my master's mantle and become an imperial physician!"

"Good, you will be my imperial physician at Jingwang Manor in the future!"

The worldly son asked in a loud voice again: "Liang Maoer, what do you want to do in the future?"

Liang Maoer thought for a moment: "I want to buy a few *mu* of land."

"I'll give it to you tomorrow!"

The worldly son then asked: "Chen Ji, what do you want to do in the future?"

Chen Ji said hazily: "I really don't know, let's just live on for now."

The crowd laughed heartily: "Living on counts as what idea?"

"Worldly son, what do you want to do in the future?" Liang Maoer raised his head and asked.

"I want to be a great knight-errant!" The worldly son smiled and said: "I just realized that reading those classics is useless. From now on, whichever page the wind blows to, I'll read that page. Whichever page is hard to read, I'll tear it out! Beat the drum!"

After saying that, he picked up the drum mallet and was about to strike the big drum on the building. However, White Carp pulled him: "Brother, you should think clearly. If you strike the drum once, the soldier guarding the drum tower below will be exiled to the army!"

The worldly son shyly let go of his hand: "Then I won't strike it."

Chen Ji looked to the other side again. Liang Gouer was looking at the sky in a daze, and Miss Yaner was leaning gently against him, not knowing what she was thinking. Liang Gouer hugged her: "Liu Xian, where have you been all these years?"

Yaner tightly grasped Liang Gouer's collar, as if wanting to grasp the warmth of this prodigal son. She said softly: "I'm back."

"It's good to be back, it's good to be back."

As the words fell, someone shouted: "The sun is coming out!"

Chen Ji raised his head to look, and saw a red sun just slowly rising at the end of the world. Clouds flowed, and the red light gradually shone on everyone's bodies. On one side, a group of fools were drinking themselves senseless, but even the sunrise in autumn was so gentle.

White Carp looked at Chen Ji: "What are you thinking?"

Chen Ji smiled and said: "I want to make the clouds above stop."