Three days had passed since the night Liu Tan visited Wangji Tower. The matter that Yu Shu entrusted to Xue Rui to inquire about was still unclear. On the surface, there was no progress in the case.
On April 15th, there was Fang Zijing's morning class. It was arranged in the Soaring Yellow Building of the northern courtyard, one of the four collections. There were hundreds of paintings and picture books here. They had been handed down from generation to generation, and quite a few of them were very valuable. Under normal circumstances, it was not open to the public unless it was personally led by academicians.
Yu Shu had been here twice before and saw that the door downstairs was locked. So she had a chance to enter when Fang Zijing was giving a lecture here.
The Soaring Yellow Building was different from the other three, but it was built on a flat mountain rock. It was cool and deep, and there were windows on all sides.
Yu Shu looked around and entered the building. Situ Qinglan, who was standing at the staircase, saw her at a glance. She told the two female students next to her to go up first, and then walked quickly to Yu Shu.
"Miss Yu."
"Miss Situ," Yu Shu nodded to Situ Qinglan, who was smiling at her, "I'm not late, am I? Has Academician Fang arrived?"
"Grandfather is upstairs, come with me." Situ Qinglan pointed to the stairs and walked in front to lead the way for Yu Shu, while talking to her.
"Today we have a feast for the eyes. We are going to appreciate a few treasured River Maps. Grandfather also specially took out a private collection. By the way, you didn't forget to bring the Bagua compass, right?"
"I brought it." Yu Shu patted the bag tied to her waist, which contained the new compass that she had just exchanged a while ago. It was from the Xin Family's Great Exchange Shop.
The two of them went up to the second floor and went straight to the corridor. They went around a screen embroidered with jasper and magnolia, and saw a large hall with windows on both sides. The hall was brightly lit, and on one of the white walls hung a few paintings of different lengths. Two of them were covered with cloth, and under the wall stood six or seven students, both male and female, whispering to each other. There were also two female students who were newly admitted this year. They had changed into the newly made Xiang Fei dress, which was bright pink. It was very eye-catching.
However, when Yu Shu saw the clothes, she felt that it was an eyesore. She turned her gaze and saw that there was an armchair placed under a rattan rack not far away. Fang Zijing was sitting there, looking at the scenery outside the window with his long sleeves covering his knees. His grizzled hair was coiled behind his head, and he wore a brown scarf, giving him the air of an old pedant.
"Miss Yu, you can go ahead first. There are still a few people who haven't arrived yet. I'll go down to meet them." Situ Qinglan led Yu Shu to the door, then turned around and went downstairs.
Yu Shu glanced at Fang Zijing. Seeing that he wasn't paying attention to her, she didn't go up to speak. He walked over to the wall where the paintings were hung and picked a spot where no one was and stood.
Some of the students who were listening to the zither by the bridge on the ninth day of the New Year had seen her and recognized her. After hesitating for a while, two or three of them came forward one after another to greet Yu Shu. They saw that she wasn't in the mood to chat, so they all retreated. They didn't ask for trouble.
Not long after, Situ Qinglan led the last two students who had rushed to the morning class upstairs. When everyone was present, Fang Zijing turned his attention from the window to the room and coughed lightly. He made the dozen or so people in the room quiet down and stand facing him.
Fang Zijing first swept his gaze over the students, and his gaze swept past Yu Shu. He only paused for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and slowly said, "The four arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The four arts of Manjushri are all related to the study of Yi, and their techniques are in harmony. They are the earliest strange arts, which is also the origin of the strange arts. In the last lecture, I explained the similarities between zither music and the study of Yi. When you go back, you should also do your homework. After today's lecture, I will leave someone alone to test you. Today, I asked you to come to the Soaring Yellow Tower to enter the realm of painting and take you to see the River Diagram. "
Speaking of this, he stopped and raised his hand to stroke his goatee. He asked, "Who can tell me about the origin of the Eight Diagrams and the River Diagram?"
Every three years, a batch of new people came to the Taishi Shuyuan. The 18 academicians also talked about the old topics every three years. It could be said that they accommodated the new students, but there were some old students who followed Fang Zijing for the first year, so it didn't matter to them to study again.
As soon as Fang Zijing's voice fell, after a short pause, someone came forward to answer, "I know. It is recorded in the Ci of Yi that the Eight Diagrams of Fuxi were derived from the River Diagram on the back of the dragon horse. The River comes out of the diagram, and the Luo comes out of the book. It is a natural divine object, and it is the rule of the sages."
The person who answered was a young man of the same age as Yu Shu. He had a bright voice and a good appearance. Yu Shu looked around and saw a few people who opened their mouths but didn't get to speak. They didn't make excuses for Fang Zijing's question and seemed to be very willing to answer.
Thinking about it, it was natural. After all, this was the Taishi Shuyuan. No one who could stand here was an idiot. No one from an aristocratic family would lose face outside. "That's right.
The River Diagram uses ten numbers to form five directions. The five elements, Yin and Yang, and even the image of heaven and earth. It is very grand. Look at the two sketches on the wall. You should know that the white circle is Yang, symbolizing the sky above your head, and the black dot is Yin, symbolizing the earth below your feet. Take out your divinatory compass and compare it to find the five elements first. "
As Fang Zijing spoke, Yu Shu took out the Eight Diagrams compass like the other students and observed the black and white dragon horse on the wall. Although she could recite the position of the River Diagram by heart, it was the first time for her to listen to such a detailed explanation.
With Fang Zijing's attainments, when talking about the River Diagram, he quoted from many sources, from ancient times to modern times. Even if he didn't enlighten her, Yu Shu, who was a self-learner halfway through her life, benefited a lot.
Situ Qinglan stood beside her grandfather, Fang Zijing, and from time to time refilled his cup of tea to moisten his throat. Looking at the expressions of the young and old Masters of Yi who listened carefully, she couldn't help but feel proud. Since she was eight years old, she had been taught by Fang Zijing personally. She respected her grandfather more than anyone else.
The morning class lasted for an hour, and no one felt bored. When the sunlight shone on Fang Zijing's feet, he stopped to speak. Only then did the students realize that the morning class was over.
"Qinglan, go and open the Taishi Shuyuan Dragon Horse Scroll hidden in Teng Huang and the Auspicious Cloud Map that I have hidden for them to see. After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, put them away. How much they can comprehend will depend on their luck."
After Fang Zijing gave the order to Situ Qinglan, he stood up, rolled up his sleeves and left in the direction of the hall. Everyone bowed to send him off. When they turned back, they saw Situ Qinglan walking over. She ignited the incense burner on the round table, rubbed a stick of incense, and then lifted her hand to lift up a painting on the wall.
The first thing that entered Yu Shu's eyes was a ball of golden light. When she fixed her eyes on it, it was an ancient image of a dragon horse drawn with gold lacquer and silver ink. It had a dragon head, dragon claws, golden scales on its neck, and water under its feet. When she saw the densely packed lines on the back of the dragon horse, her mind was suddenly shocked. She only felt that she couldn't hear any distracting thoughts, and she couldn't have any distracting thoughts in her mind. She focused all her attention on the painting.
After an unknown period of time, she heard a "ding" sound in her ears, and then she woke up from that wonderful concentration. Her mind felt as if it was being caressed by the warm spring sun, and her whole body was warm from head to toe. She was at a loss for a moment, and when she came back to her senses, the ancient image of the dragon horse had already been covered.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly turned her head to look at the other painting, but she was one step too late. Situ Qinglan had already walked to the side of the painting, and reached out to pull the knots on the wall, and the painting was covered again. She only had time to see a red light.
At the same time, there was a series of sighs in the hall. It seemed that many people were like Yu Shu, unable to attend to one thing and lose sight of the other.
"Shijie," a new student was not willing to miss a good opportunity, and put his palms together, and said to Situ Qinglan, "Let us look at it a few more times."
Situ Qinglan smiled sweetly, from the beginning to the end, she didn't look at the painting on the wall. She shook her head, and said to the young man who made the request, "Junior brother, you may not know this, these two River Maps, the first look is the most beneficial, but if you look at it again, it's not good for people. If your mind is not firm, you will get hysterical for a few days, and then become stupid, I can't bear the responsibility. "
After saying that, she walked to the side of the incense burner, and put down a small copper hammer in her hand. It was the 'ding' sound that she had used to hit the incense burner just now, and Yu Shu had heard.
The group of people was disappointed, but they knew that they couldn't force it, so they watched Situ Qinglan carefully take the two strange paintings, roll them up, and put them under her armpit.
The day after tomorrow, the academician will give a lecture at the Black Ink School in the afternoon, remember to come early. "
Situ Qinglan smiled at Yu Shu, and walked out of the door. Yu Shu understood and followed, and the two of them left the hall and came to the corridor.
Without waiting for Yu Shu to ask, Situ Qinglan, a clever woman, told her, "What Miss Yu saw just now is the Taiyi Dragon Horse Scroll, which was given to the Taishi Library by Qingyang Yi Zi sixty years ago. It is said that the painting was drawn by an enlightened immortal, who refined the sixty-four red gold tripod legs offered by the Sanqing Temple, and hooked them into a dragon horse on the Yellow River on the Double Ninth Day. When ordinary people see this painting, they can wash their minds, and not sleep for three days, they can also be a hundred times more energetic. Those who are lucky can even open up their nine apertures and open their minds. "
Hearing this, although Yu Shu was surprised, she had to believe it. After all, she had experienced it herself, and now her mind was much clearer than usual. But to say that she was a hundred times more energetic and open her mind, she felt that it was an exaggeration.
"Thank you for telling me." Unfortunately, she didn't get to see what the other strange painting looked like.
"You're welcome. Then I'll go upstairs first. I have to return this Taiyi painting first." Situ Qinglan stopped at the stairs and said goodbye to Yu Shu.
Yu Shu looked up the stairs and wondered, "Is it safe to put such a precious thing here? Aren't you afraid that it will attract thieves? "
Situ Qinglan smiled and told her vaguely, "Thieves can't get in upstairs."
Yu Shu didn't understand. She thought that there were other mysteries in this attic, so it was not good to ask further. So she separated from her and went downstairs.
.....
After leaving Soaring Yellow Tower, Yu Shu didn't go anywhere else. She walked all the way to the front gate of the library, planning to return to Wangji Tower. While she was full of energy, she should speed up sorting out those files.
The carriage parked on the street saw her coming out, so it drove over and stopped in front of her. The curtain was lifted, revealing a figure sitting by the window.
"Shu."
"Eldest Brother? Why are you here? "Yu Shu was a little surprised to see Xue Rui. He hadn't appeared in Taishi Library for a few days.
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