Chapter 77 The Cenotaph (2 in 1, please read and collect)
Hearing this long-lost name, Xie Guanchao's deep eyes suddenly flashed with light.

As the saying goes, there are only wrong names, but no wrong nicknames.

The short word "crazy man" seems to be able to outline the trajectory of Xie Tingfeng's life.

He raised his head and glanced at the attic with a complicated expression.
Withdrawing his gaze and looking at the three juniors in front of him, Xie Guanchao suddenly let out a long sigh.

this moment,
It seems that the huge stone that has been weighing on my heart for many years has quietly begun to loosen.

In the face of Li Cheng's question, he did not answer directly, but said softly with a look of reminiscence:
"The Xie family is of our generation, with four brothers and one sister.

The second brother died young, but the third brother and I actually grew up together, as well as my little sister who is older than the third brother..."

Speaking of which,

Xie Guanchao, who is over fifty years old, has shed his majesty as the head of a wealthy family and looks as kind as a teacher in the village:

"We say we grew up together, but actually because I'm much older than them, I look like I'm taking care of the kids more often."

“Their two personalities have been completely opposite since they were young.

The younger sister likes to be quiet, and usually does not want to interact with others. She is quiet and modest, and prefers to read and practice martial arts alone.

The third brother, on the other hand, is very active and sometimes goes crazy. When guests come to the house, he dances the most happily..."

Li Cheng, who was silent, felt a little enlightened when he heard these words.

He suddenly understood why Xie Tingfeng, who had been behind closed doors for ten years, could make the entire Xie family in Danyang work hard.

He even paid a lot of money to ask Taoist Yurun to light a sky lantern to extend his life, and no one from the whole clan stopped him.

In the final analysis, it is because of the deep love between brothers and sisters.

Xie Tingfeng is an idler, so naturally it is impossible for him to have such a big show.

But there is Xie Guanchao, who is like his father, and there is Xie Yongxu, the female swordsman who is like his mother.

Taoist Yurun is a thug, but he doesn't know the inside story of Xie's family.

If he believed how much Xie Yongxu valued his younger brother, he would not have made the previous judgment.

But most Xie family members know this.

Even if they are just pretending, they still have to show how sad they are.

Many things are not done for the dead, but for the living.

Li Cheng, who had figured these things out, paused slightly when he saw Xie Guanchao opposite him, and continued:
"...Later, by chance, my little sister was accepted as a direct disciple by the old master of the Sword Sect.

The third brother was worried that his sister would go to Shu alone, so he begged his father to let him go too.

Unable to resist his pleading, his father had to compromise and let him go, and the two of them stayed away for eight years. "

While speaking, his eyes changed like bitter tea on the table:
"In the past eight years, my parents have passed away one after another, and I have succeeded as the head of the family and shouldered the heavy responsibility of the Xie family.

It was also during these eight years that the world was turbulent and wars were rising, and the Wei Dynasty gradually turned from prosperity to decline.

The situation was difficult, but the late emperor was very stubborn. He did not listen to the dissuasion of the temple princes and made three consecutive expeditions to the Northern Barbarians in person, hoping to see the scenery of Xueman City. Alas..."

A long sigh.

With too many indescribable emotions.

When the body dies and the Tao disappears, forget the past.

It has been 16 years since Emperor Wei Ming's soul returned to the underworld. It would be meaningless to pull him out and give him a beating.

What's more, a son doesn't speak of his father's neglect, and a minister doesn't speak of his ruler's fault.

As an old man who experienced the emperor's six voyages to the south of the Yangtze River, Xie Guanchao missed that high-spirited era very much.

After hearing this, Li Cheng remained calm on the surface, but he was a little disapproving in his heart.

When his cheap grandfather was in power, the gentry in Jiangnan had a good life, but the people in other places were in bad luck.

The thousand-mile Grand Canal and the glorious city of Luoyang are all built on piles of bones.

Emperor Wei Ming regards the people of Li as worthless, if he can die well, it will be called the sky has no eyes.

These thoughts, Li Cheng has never revealed half of it on the bright side.

His cooperation with the Jiangnan nobles could not be said to be seeking the skin of a tiger, but it was not that pure either.

Everyone gets what they need.

If the other party wants to recreate the scene of Emperor Ming's era from him, then he naturally cannot stop his thoughts.

As for if it really comes to the day when the yellow robe is added to the body,
He would probably give the powerful Jiangnan families a little shock.

Thinking silently, at the same time, he noticed that when Xie Guanchao spoke, there was a little regret in his eyes:

"The 11th year of Shengde, that is, eight years after my younger sister and third brother went to Jianzong.

I still remember that it was the summer solstice, and my third brother suddenly returned to Jiangdu without any notice and told me that he was going to take the provincial examination. "

"At that time, the third brother was already at the peak of the sixth level of cultivation, and he was also considered the best among the talented disciples of the Sword Sect.

I am very curious why he suddenly decided to abandon martial arts and follow literature, and the answer he gave me is still fresh in my memory. "

Having said that,

He suddenly turned his head to the right, staring at the eldest son who sat quietly on the side, who seemed to have no sense of existence, his eyes were bright, and he paused every word:
"Your third uncle said that learning martial arts cannot save the people of Wei.

He wanted to try to do something to change the world. "

After a slight pause, Xie Guanchao's voice raised slightly:
"I laughed at his naivety from the bottom of my heart and asked him what if he failed?
He said at that time that it was nothing more than a single thought to save people. Even if he failed, there was always another way to go. "

Li Cheng:......

Xie Jingzhi:......

Although he understood that Xie Guanchao was taking the opportunity to teach his son, he pointed out that Xie Jingzhi should have great ambitions.

But when he heard "No more than one thought to save the common people", Li Cheng couldn't help but feel his heart surge.

Hearing this, Xie Jingzhi was slightly startled, and then nodded gently.

Compared with the third uncle when he was young, he really felt that he was inferior and his structure was smaller.

After pondering for a while,

Li Cheng caught a glimpse of the little junior sister next to him, holding her heart in her hands and supporting her little head, as if she was fascinated by what she was listening to. He smiled from the bottom of his heart and asked softly:

"So, uncle, do you agree that my uncle participated in the provincial examination that year?"

After saying that, Li Cheng suddenly felt that the title in his words was not quite right.

It's a bit of a mess, and everyone really talks about it.

However, Xie Guanchao did not notice anything strange and nodded, with an indescribable emotion in his tone:

"Well, at that time I was impressed by my third brother's ambition, so I didn't think much about it and agreed to let him take part in the provincial examination that year.

At that time, I never expected that it would be Wei’s last provincial examination..."

Hearing this, Li Cheng silently started doing arithmetic problems in his heart.

Shengde is the reign name of his cheap grandfather, which lasted for 13 years.

The 11th year of Shengde was the year of Yichou, and this year is the year of Guiwei, which is exactly 18 years apart.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously asked tentatively:
"Did uncle already have a reputation as a scholar at that time?"

To take the township examination, you must first take the examinations organized by the county and county.

Those who pass are called students and are awarded the title of scholar. Only then are they qualified to participate in the provincial examination.

"Never," Xie Guanchao said without changing his face, knowing that he had nothing to hide:

"Third brother, he spends all day practicing swordsmanship in Shu. The journey is far away and he has no time to go back to Jiangnan to take part in the county examination."

Whether in the Jin Dynasty, the Wei Dynasty, or the previous dynasties, the imperial examination was a sacred and solemn matter.

Even though the 11th year of Shengde was not far from the demise of the Wei Dynasty, the north and the Central Plains had already become a mess.

But after all, the Confucian sect of Nuo University is not for nothing.

Since the provincial examination was held that year, it means that everything must be done according to the rules, and it is still extremely difficult to operate behind the scenes.

And Xie Guanchao’s subtext means,
He used the privileges of the head of the Xie family to help the then Third Master Xie get on the bus first and then pay for the ticket, thus obtaining scholar status.

Just like the imperial power does not go to the countryside,
Confucianism's high degree of supervision over the imperial examinations only started with the provincial examinations.

If you want to get the fame of a scholar, as long as you are not an illiterate person, plus if you have connections.

Then you really don’t know where to click, so easy!

In other words,
At first, Xie Tingfeng relied entirely on self-taught, and then took a wild path to gain the title of scholar.

Then, within two months of studying at home, he dared to take the Jiangnan Provincial Examination alone.

This courage is truly worthy of the name of a madman.

However, often the ideal is as full as the reality is.

Li Cheng, who had already guessed the result of Xie Tingfeng's local examination, continued to listen to Xie Guanchao who was opposite him:

"After the provincial examination, the third brother did not attend the Luming Banquet, but chose to leave Jiangdu and went to Luoyang alone..."

"Father, please wait a moment."

Xie Jingzhi, who had the same idea as Li Cheng, frowned slightly and said:
"According to what you said, uncle will not pass the provincial examination, right?"

Xie Jingzhi's words contained deep doubts.

It wasn't that he looked down on his uncle, but that Xie Jingzhi knew very well how difficult the Jiangnan Road Provincial Examination was.

This is the lesson learned through blood and tears that he tried three times in a row without success.

It was really unimaginable to him that his uncle, who had been studying for less than two months on a temporary basis, actually passed Qiu Wei? !

impossible!Absolutely impossible!
Li Cheng, who had just captured Jie Yuan, had the same idea, but he was not as obvious as Mr. Xie.

be honest,

If it weren't for the examiner Fei Yan's intention to promote him this time, and Lu You's song "Iron Horse Falling into Dreams on the Ice River" would be too eye-catching.

Then he might not even be able to get into the top ten, let alone win Jieyuan.

Looking at the eldest son's burning gaze, Xie Guanchao, who had always been as steady as a rock, actually trembled for a moment.

He didn't want to hit his most valued eldest son.

But once something is mentioned, you can't hide it if you want to.

So Xie Guanchao was silent for a while, then simply broke the jar and said:
"Your uncle was...Jiangnan Road Yichou Kexiang Examination, Jie Yuan."

When the word Jieyuan was spit out gently, the sound of heavy rain outside the building seemed to be a little quieter.

Xie Jingzhi:...? ! !
Li Cheng:......

Bai Mengyan: ()
He looked at Mr. Xie calmly, who was a little doubtful about life.
Li Cheng silently picked up the warm tea in front of him and took a few sips to cover up his inner shock.

Reasonable.

Everything makes sense.

No wonder he didn't know much about Xie Tingfeng, and no one had told him about Mr. Xie in the past.

The contrast between such a dazzling past and the current abject poverty is a great irony.

therefore,

Those who knew about the past were worried that Xie Tingfeng, who was in a state of despair, would fall into emo, so they chose to remain silent.

Putting down the teacup gently, Li Cheng concealed his surprise well and thought of a saying for no apparent reason:
The world is so crazy that mice are bridesmaids for cats.

Xie Tingfeng's success in winning Jieyuan was as outrageous as a civil science student who had not graduated from elementary school suddenly being elected as an academician of the two academies.

There’s not much to say, just two words, awesome!

Suddenly I thought of something,
Li Cheng quietly took out a piece of candy from his sleeve, unscrewed the thin candy wrapper, and silently stuffed it into Bai Mengyan's little hand.

Different from the previous life, even white sugar is considered a luxury product in Dajin.

The status of sugar water is even equal to that of nutritional supplements.

So, she lowered her eyes and looked at the expensive candy at hand, and silently broke it in half with her slender fingertips.

Then,

She contained the relatively small half in Cherry's small mouth, and without waiting for Li Cheng's reaction, she stuffed the other piece into the other's mouth.

This scene all fell in the eyes of Xie Guanchao and his son.

Xie Jingzhi, who had long been accustomed to the intimacy between his cousin and Li Cheng, had not yet gotten over the shock his uncle had given him, and had no time to care about it.

Upon seeing this, Xie Guanchao opened his mouth slightly, wanting to say something, but in the end he pretended not to have seen it.

But when he picked up the tea cup again, he felt that the tea in the cup had become more bitter.

Probably, he also needs a piece of candy to moisten his mouth.

Tasting the rich aroma of peanuts in his mouth, Li Cheng looked at Xie Guanchao with a natural expression, looking forward to what he would say next.

Holding the celadon tea cup in his hand, Xie Guanchao paused for a moment, then spoke:
"After my third brother arrived in Luoyang, he wrote letters to the government every few days.

In the letter, he said that he had made many like-minded friends, and as the eldest brother, I was also happy for him. "

"Towards the end of the year, my third brother wrote a letter saying that he would not come back to celebrate the New Year, and that he wanted to help his sworn brother stabilize the situation in Luoyang City.

In the blink of an eye, in February of the following year, the rebel army broke through Xingyang City, the granary of the Central Plains, shocking the world.

The late emperor fled Luoyang in a hurry and took a dragon boat south to visit Jiangdu, so the examination was put on hold for the time being..."

Having said that,

Xie Guanchao's straight back became slightly stooped, and there was deep regret in his voice:
"At that time, the third brother wrote to me, saying that brother-in-law's father had taken the position of staying behind in Jinyang, and he wanted to accompany brother-in-law to the east of the river.

At that time, I wanted to write back to stop him, but thinking of his consistent stubborn temper, I finally nodded and agreed. "

With a long sigh, Xie Guanchao looked at the attic with remorse in his eyes:

"It's just a matter of a thought.
If I had sent a minister to forcibly take him back to Jiangdu, my third brother would not have died in depression and died young. "

When he heard the official name of 'Jinyang Stay', Li Cheng's eyes couldn't help but darken slightly.

Jinyang is located on Hedong Road and is the place of Longxing in the Jin Dynasty.

Emperor Wucheng started a rebellion in Hedong as a stayer in Jinyang.

Taking Guanzhong, breaking through the Central Plains, and riding horses across Hebei and Jiangnan, they swept the world and laid the foundation of today's Jin Dynasty.

From a timeline perspective,

Jinyang left behind, who was appointed in the 12th year of Shengde, is undoubtedly the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wucheng.

He is also Li Cheng's cheap grandfather.

Therefore, the identity of the sworn brother with whom Xie Tingfeng has a close relationship seems to be ready to be revealed...

Li Cheng looked at Xie Guanchao with burning eyes, and there was a subtle tremor in Li Cheng's voice:
"I don't know, what's the name of my uncle's sworn brother?"

Turning his head, Xie Guanchao slowly spit out a name without hiding it:
"Li Xuanji."

With this remark,
Except for Bai Mengyan who listened with gusto, Li Cheng and Xie Jingzhi were all shocked.

This name was a taboo among taboos at that time.

Because he is the eldest son of Emperor Wucheng, and he was once His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Jin Dynasty.

If there had been no Suzakumen Incident, he would have been Emperor Taizong of the Jin Dynasty in the history books.

Unfortunately, no if.

The night rain was still falling in the yard.

Li Cheng was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to the two inconspicuous tombs under the willow tree.

He seemed to finally know who was being memorialized here.

……

……

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(End of this chapter)

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