Chapter 1737: Discussing the Mystery of the Tao, the Situation is Worrying

The Xie family of Chen County emphasizes passing down poetry and literature from generation to generation.

Even the doorman has a scholarly air.

Su Mingzhe chatted with the other party for a few words, then turned around and teased Mingyan:
"Mingyan, if you can reach the level of this elder brother in the future, the position of the chief steward of the Su Mansion will be yours."

"Master, I will try my best not to let you down!"

Mingyan is a lazy person. Asking him to study is no different from forcing him to die.

Su Mingzhe teased him a few times, and the boy's face was full of pain. It was obvious that he had given up hope of becoming the steward of the Su Mansion.

……

Soon, the maid Qingyin came to the door to welcome Su Mingzhe into the house.

"It's time for you, girl!"

Su Mingzhe bowed to the maid Qingyin and followed her to the side hall of Xie's mansion.

After Su Mingzhe sat down, Qingyin went back to the back hall and asked Xie Daoyuan to go out and entertain the guests.

……

"Qingyin, what is the character of this Mr. Su like?"

Xie Daoyuan didn't know yet why Su Mingzhe came, and was afraid that he was here to cause trouble. She felt very nervous and couldn't calm down.

"Mr. Su is handsome and dignified, and he is a good match for Miss Zhou."

Although Qingyin was a maid, she was talented herself as she was kept by a great talent like Xie Daoyuan.

Her comments immediately made Xie Daoyun frown:
"Qingyin, I was asking you about Mr. Su's character, not your appearance."

Qingyin couldn't help but cry out in grievance after hearing this:

"Miss, I am just a little maid. How can I have the ability to test Mr. Su's character?"

Xie Daoyuan looked embarrassed and could only sigh, then gritted her teeth and went to the side hall.

……

In this era, men and women are required to keep away from each other.

Therefore, even if Su Mingzhe had a business card from Nishan Academy, Xie Daoyuan could only meet him through a gauze curtain.

Although there was a gauze curtain between them, Xie Daoyuan could still see Su Mingzhe's appearance clearly.

It was this one glance that caused a flash of astonishment in her clear eyes, and then she felt sorry for the younger sister of the Zhou family:

"This Su Lang has a face like a crown of jade, eyes like stars, and aura like a deep abyss. His appearance is more beautiful than Pan An, and his manners are as beautiful as Song Yu... If the younger sister of the Zhou family had met this Su Lang in advance, I'm afraid she would not have run away from the marriage."

"Mr. Xie——"

When Su Mingzhe saw Xie Daoyuan appear, he greeted her with a formal greeting and at the same time, handed over the invitation letter from the headmaster Wang Shiyu.

"Mr. Su, please take a seat!"

Xie Daoyuan returned the greeting, sat down on the couch, and took the invitation letter handed to her by the maid. Only then did she know the purpose of Su Mingzhe's visit.

After secretly breathing a sigh of relief, she immediately declined politely:

"Master Su, Dean Wang is praising me too much. Xie Daoyun is not talented enough to teach, so I will not go to Mount Ni to mislead the students."

Su Mingzhe had long anticipated Xie Daoyuan's rejection.

After all, the mainstream of the times is that men and women should not touch each other and should be kept separate.

Even if Xie Daoyuan herself doesn't care, she still has to consider the reputation of the Xie family.

The reason why Wang Shiyu thought of inviting Xie Daoyuan was, firstly, that he could not find other famous scholars, and secondly, he was old and his mind was much more open than others.

……

Because Wang Shiyu had told Su Mingzhe that he would not blame him regardless of whether the invitation was successful or not.

After being rejected, Su Mingzhe did not continue to persuade, but asked Xie Daoyuan for advice in the name of seeking academic knowledge.

This was also the most elegant activity that famous scholars and literati in the Wei and Jin Dynasties enjoyed talking about - discussing metaphysics and philosophy.

The "Xuan" and "Dao" here do not only refer to Taoism, Taoism and Taoism, but also refer to "One Feng, Two Fu, Three Xuan, Four Books and Five Classics".

The first style is "Guofeng".

The two fu are from the Han Dynasty.

The Three Mysteries are "Laozi", "Zhuangzi" and "Zhouyi".

The Four Books are "The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius".

The Five Classics are: The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals.

Among them, "Guofeng" was compiled into "The Book of Songs", and "Zhouyi" was revered as a classic by both Confucianism and Taoism.

……

As one of the four great talented women before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, although Xie Daoyuan's historical status is slightly inferior to that of Ban Zhao, Cai Wenji and Zhuo Wenjun, her talent is indeed top-notch.

No matter what topic Su Mingzhe brought up, Xie Daoyuan could easily answer it by citing classics.

If an ordinary student faced Xie Daoyuan, even if he was unwilling to acknowledge her talent, he would be impressed by her background.

However, Su Mingzhe's knowledge was far more profound than Xie Daoyuan's, and he was not afraid of the power of the Xie family.

So, a simple topic was dragged out to the extreme, and the two people quarreled until the sun set, and they were really angry, but no one was the winner.

This situation often occurs among literati and scholars.

Sometimes, discussions on metaphysics and philosophy can drag on for months before a winner is determined.

At this moment, seeing that it was getting late, Xie Daoyuan took the initiative to invite Su Mingzhe to stay overnight.

Naturally, Su Mingzhe would not refuse.

On the second day.

After a night of preparation, Xie Daoyuan continued to talk with Su Mingzhe about yesterday's topic.

……

In the blink of an eye.

Su Mingzhe has lived in Xie's house for three days.

During these three days, Xie Daoyuan and Su Mingzhe discussed metaphysics and philosophy, which were quite consistent with each other's ideas, and they became close friends.

this day.

It was rare that Xie Daoyuan did not continue to talk about philosophy with Su Mingzhe, but instead invited him to visit Dongshan.

The two stood in the pavilion on the mountain ridge, sipping tea, eating Torreya nuts, and looking into the distance.

All you can see are the distinct layers of fish scale pits (terraces), endless rows of Torreya grandis trees, and the people working tirelessly.

Su Mingzhe suddenly let out a long sigh.

Xie Daoyun, who was watching the scenery, was interrupted by the man's long sigh and asked curiously:
"Master Su, isn't this scenery beautiful?"

"beautiful."

Su Mingzhe sighed:

"It's a pity that such a beautiful scenery can't last forever. It makes people sigh with regret!"

"My lord, are you worried about the court?"

As the most famous child of the Xie family, Xie Daoyuan, despite being a woman, still received a lot of information from the court.

Su Mingzhe just sighed, but she expanded it and associated it with the court situation.

"Not bad!"

Su Mingzhe did not deny it, and even said bluntly:
"When the Grand Commander (Han Wen) was on the Northern Expedition, many people in the court hindered him, which led to his failure. Now the Grand Commander is ostensibly resting in Jingzhou, but in fact, he is frantically trying to win over important officials in the court, hoping that everyone will support him to take that position."

"He won't succeed!"

Xie Daoyuan was a descendant of a top-ranking family, so she naturally knew that the aristocratic families were not optimistic about or supportive of Huan Wen.

Without the support of the aristocratic families, it would be a pipe dream for Huan Wen to ascend the throne and become emperor.

Faced with Xie Daoyuan's flat denial, Su Mingzhe nodded silently, indicating that he agreed with Xie Daoyuan's point of view.

But then, Su Mingzhe sighed again:

"I am now worried that after the Grand Commander leaves, whether his successor will have the same magnanimity as the Grand Commander... If so, the court and local governments will fall apart, and the northern barbarians will take the opportunity to move south, and the consequences will be disastrous..."

It's more than 'unimaginable'.

Xie Daoyuan imagined that if the situation Su Mingzhe described really happened, there would be three extreme situations.

First, the imperial court sent troops to stop the offensive of the northern barbarians.

Second, the successor to the Grand Commander sent troops to stop the offensive of the northern barbarians.

Third, no one can stop the offensive from the north, and the barbarians can go south to drink water.

Judging from the situation Su Mingzhe imagined, the first two are basically impossible to happen.

If that happens, the imperial court will either be destroyed by the barbarians or by the warlords.

(End of this chapter)