On April 17th, it rained again yesterday. The Taishi Library was temporarily shrouded in a cool and humid air, which calmed many restless emotions.
Yu Shu had just listened to Academician Sima Kui's astrology lecture yesterday. It happened to be the seventh day, so she came to the Ink Shop again this afternoon to listen to Fang Zijing's strange art lecture.
Zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting were the earliest origins of the strange art. It would only be interesting if it was taught by an old teacher. Yu Shu had a deep impression of Fang Zijing's Dragon Horse River Diagram in his first class. She was looking forward to seeing some treasures of calligraphy today.
However, Fang Zijing did not prepare a long lecture today. He gave each of them a piece of willow paper and asked them to come forward one by one. He asked them to dip the paper in the ink from a fishtail inkstone in front of him to write. It was obvious that he was going to tell their characters.
The first one to go up was a 20-year-old male fortune teller. Before he picked up the brush, Fang Zijing only asked, "What do you want to know?"
As one of the strange arts, word reading was considered very common. However, the traders who set up stalls on the streets were mostly putting up a front and selling dog meat. They couldn't be real. However, in the Great Exchange Hall, they would often arrange for a fortune teller who was proficient in this art to answer the questions in the minds of some special customers.
Fang Zijing was certainly not just for show since he could sit here.
The male fortune teller thought for a while and asked, "I lost a waist ornament last month. I like it very much. May I ask if I can find it again?"
Fang Zijing nodded his head and gestured for him to write a random word. Even the cleverest housewife can't cook a meal without rice. No matter how amazing a word is, one must first know what the person is asking and then look at the person's writing. Only a random word would not be able to tell any clues.
The rest of the students were watching from a distance. Yu Shu saw that he had written the word "Xun". There was nothing else, but the color of the ink was slightly different from ordinary ink. It was not jet black, nor was it jet black, but a slightly viscous blue-black color.
She guessed that the small inkstone. There must be something behind it.
Fang Zijing took the word in front of him and looked at it carefully for a while. Then he said, "The art of word telling covers all kinds of things. Some connected the feet, some pierced the heart, some chopped, some added strokes, and some subtracted strokes. I'm sure you've all heard of the Northern Yi Wenchen Clan. Their forte lies in the art of word prediction. There's also a wondrous art of fortune telling that was passed down by Wen Chen Yizi in the past, but it's not worth mentioning to outsiders. "
First, he said something off-topic. Yu Shu had heard about the Wenchen family, so she remembered Wen Shaoan, who entered the university with her this year. She wondered how he was doing now and which academicians he had studied under.
"This old man has been immersed in strange arts for dozens of years. He had seen more than a hundred strange arts, and he had mastered eighteen of them. Among them was word telling. Even though it can't be compared to Wen Chen, it can still be taken out. Whenever you look at the words, apart from life and death, there is an explanation. "
Just like everyone else, Yu Shu's heart palpitated when she heard Fang Zijing casually mention that he possessed eighteen kinds of strange techniques.
Rare techniques were hard to come by, and those who obtained them would treasure them dearly. One of the most basic conditions was to have a unique skill that was passed down in the family. If others could master one skill, they would be thankful. However, this ordinary-looking old man in front of them had mastered eighteen!
Fang Zijing looked at the respectful faces of these young people with satisfaction. He didn't mean to show off, but he wanted to motivate them. If a learner had no desire to learn, no matter how good his aptitude was, it would be a waste.
As he said this, he passed the willow paper to the male disguise master opposite him and said, "This word 'Xun' is wide open and can be removed or removed. There is a square inch of space at the bottom, and it is not far away. As I expected, the thing you lost was not picked up by someone else. Go back and look for it in your resting place. You'll find it in less than three days. "
The male Yi Master was delighted. He didn't doubt Fang Zijing's words at all. After thanking him, he stepped aside and took the place of another person.
Yu Shu watched from the side. Fang Zijing tested word by word without any hesitation. However, some people were happy, while others were sad. She stayed until the last person, and then she stepped forward and asked an unimportant question, "The Celestial Commissioner made a seal. My operator seal has not been sent yet. Could you please help me check when it will be sent to me?"
After saying this, she wrote a word on the paper, "Wait."
Fang Zijing glanced at her, and his expression was the same as before. However, when he looked at her words, he obviously spent a little more time before he gave her an answer, "In less than three days. Wait."
Yu Shu nodded and stepped back.
There were a total of fourteen students today. After they solved the questions one by one, the class was over. Originally, a group of people was immersed in the question just now, but when Fang Zijing said a few words, it was like throwing a brick into a pond.
"From today until the end of the year, if there is someone among you who doesn't miss the class and is diligent, I'll teach him the strange technique that I used today."
Even the children of aristocratic families who had inherited the family inheritance could not help but be excited when they heard Fang Zijing's promise.
This was a strange technique, who would complain about having too many?
Compared to the restlessness of the people around, Yu Shu seemed calm. It was not that she was not tempted, but she had the rule of the Time of Misfortune in her hands. There would be a day when she could complete it, so she didn't have the mood to covet other people's things.
"Alright, let's disperse for today. Go back and prepare the black and white chess pieces. In the next class, we'll talk about 'chess'." Fang Zijing leaned back in his chair and waved his sleeves at the group of students. Before he finished his words, he stopped Yu Shu, "Yu Suanzi, stay here. I have something for you to do."
Everyone looked at Yu Shu enviously. It should be known that she had done what the academician asked her to do. After a long time, she would have private advice.
Yu Shu also learned some rules of the Taishi Library from Xin Liu. She knew that it was a good thing to help the academician, so she stayed obediently. After everyone left, Fang Zijing turned around and took a foot-long brocade box from under the bookshelf. He handed it to Yu Shu and said, "Qinglan is not here today. You can help me run an errand. A few days ago, I was enlightened by Daozi and comprehended an astrology technique. This is a thank you gift. You can send it to him on my behalf. "
“.....”
"What are you waiting for? Go quickly and don't forget to come back and reply." Fang Zijing did not care why Yu Shu looked strange. He stuffed the gift box to her and lay down on the rattan chair beside him to close his eyes to rest.
Yu Shu was very helpless. She thought to herself, "Why is she so lucky?" She had obviously been avoiding Jing Chen, but everything was related to him.
Every time she saw him looking at her with a cold face and ignoring her, how could she feel good in her heart?
No matter how tangled Yu Shu was, she still left with the box.
Fang Zijing crossed his arms and opened his eyes a slit, watching as her figure disappeared. He snorted and said to himself, "It's hard for me not to step into this muddy water."
***
On the way, Yu Shu met an older student and asked him about it. She learned that Jing Chen had been giving lectures in the Fragrant Hut next to the garden these days, so she went to find him.
The garden of the Taishi Library was not very big, and there were not many exotic flowers and plants. However, the gardeners were diligent. During the change of spring and summer, it was also luxuriant and prosperous.
Yu Shu looked all the way, but her path was blocked by the hanging branches. She picked two small flowers and smelled them. They still had a fragrance, so she put them in her sleeve.
The Fragrant Hut was built on a stone mountain. Yu Shu climbed up the stairs. Halfway up, she heard a familiar voice coming from above. She listened carefully and found that it was Jing Chen giving a lecture. The voice was clear and easy to recognize, "… The seven passes referred to above are Yunken Pass, Shangwei Pass, Zichen Pass, Shangyang Pass, Tianyang Pass, Yusu Pass, and Taiyou Pass. The corresponding seven stars are Tanlang, Jumen, Lucun, Wenqu, Lianzhen, Wuqu, and Pojun. "
Yu Shu stopped at the last few sections of the stone platform. She was hesitating whether to go up or not. Suddenly, Jing Chen's voice fell, and another cold female voice sounded, "I heard that Maoshan Taoism has the number 'Rush to Nine', which can be used to observe the stars. Academician is from the Maoshan Taoism, can you explain it to me?"
The woman's voice stunned Yu Shu, and then her face darkened. Because the person who spoke was Ji Xingxuan, whom she had been 'thinking' about recently.
For some reason, she took two steps back and stood on the steps, listening to Jing Chen and Ji Xingxuan's questions and answers, which involved astrology. Whether it was deep or shallow, whatever Ji Xingxuan asked, Jing Chen did not understand.
The harmonious relationship between teacher and student made Yu Shu's heart feel heavy, and she felt cold even though there was no wind.
She thought that Jing Chen had really made a clean break with her. He knew that Ji Xingxuan had a grudge against her, and that they were old enemies, but he still gave her advice. He had even promised her to stay away from Ji Xingxuan, the scourge. He must have forgotten all about it.
Should she praise him for his diligence as an academician, or be angry at him for not keeping his promise?
In the distant past, he was still that ignorant fool. She had once imagined the day he recovered his memories, and how he would guide the stars and moon and talk about metaphysics with her. What sort of scene would that be? But now it would seem that it had actually become an illusion, an empty dream.
Perhaps what she had hoped for was the fool who never left her side, and not the Daozi who was as bright as the moon.
Yu Shu stood silently for a long time, and her eyes flashed with self-mockery. After she calmed down, she stepped on the cold, moss-covered stone steps and walked up to the fragrant hut. She reached out to open the curtain and looked up. She saw the situation inside the hut.
He saw a spacious and bright room. On a soft mat, Jing Chen, who was dressed in a jujube muslin robe, sat cross-legged. He held a scroll in his hand. Two seats below him, a slender woman with light yellow hair sat alone.
The sound of the curtain falling was heard by the two people in the room.
Jing Chen had already noticed that someone was eavesdropping outside the hut, but he didn't care. When he looked up and saw the person walking in, he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the scroll in his hand.
Ji Xingxuan also turned her head. When she saw Yu Shu walking in, she gently raised her eyebrows, and a sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth. She stood up with her hands on the ground and greeted Yu Shu: "Greetings, female fortune-teller."
A fall into the pit, a gain in her wit. She had been attacked by Yu Shu once at the observatory and made a fool of herself in public. How could she give Yu Shu a chance to find fault with her?
Yu Shu slowly glanced at her, too lazy to answer. She walked forward, bent down, and placed the gift box in her hand on the desk in front of Jing Chen. She said: "Academician Fang asked me to give Daozi a gift to thank you for solving his doubts not long ago."
Jing Chen looked down and watched as she put down the box. A bright red color inadvertently fell from her sleeve. It was a blooming albizia flower on a tree in the courtyard.
Yu Shu didn't pay attention to it. She put down the box, said goodbye, and turned around. She walked past Ji Xingxuan, who was bowing her head in greeting, and lifted the curtain to leave.
Ji Xingxuan saw the estrangement between them. Her eyes moved, and she bowed to Jing Chen and also said goodbye.
"Thank you academician for your explanation today. This student will go first."
"En."
Ji Xingxuan walked out of the Fragrant Hut and stood on the steps. She looked at Yu Shu, who hadn't gone far. She lifted the hem of her skirt and quickly followed.
In the hut, Jing Chen gently picked up the bewitching Acacia flower and smelled its sweet fragrance. He stared blankly for a while, then slowly stood up and walked to the window, flicking his sleeves and tossing it away.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
