Shen Rui raised his head and saw a Confucian scholar in his twenties standing aside, speaking to Zen Master Hong Shan with a very respectful expression. Because there were outsiders coming, Wu Xuan and Shen Rui could not sit in the same place, so Wu Xuan
Pulling Shen Rui to his feet, the two of them retreated behind Wang Shouren.
Zen Master Hong Shan glanced at the Confucian scholar and said, "Are you the son of Sister Gui? What's your rank?"
The Confucian scholar replied respectfully: "It's the young man. Brothers behave like five brothers. He is the youngest son of his mother."
Zen Master Hong Shan nodded and said, "Are you going out?"
The Confucian scholar replied: "I was sent to Beijing by my eldest brother's orders to follow my mother. Seeing that the master was here, my mother wanted to come and pay respects, but she felt it was rude and sent me to come first to say hello. After my mother had freshened up, she came to pay homage to the master.
Please greet me."
Shen Rui looked at it a little strangely. Looking at the exchange between Zen Master Hong and the Confucian scholar, it didn't look like a monk and a believer, but like an elder talking to a younger person. Xilin Zen Temple is originally the property of the Lu family, and Zen Master Hongshan is also a Lu family. Could it be that this
Is this kid a descendant of the Lu family?
Then I saw Zen Master Hong Shan saying: "There are many people downstairs, and it is inconvenient for women to come in and out. We'll meet in the guest room later."
The Confucian scholar bowed in response, then turned around and went upstairs to reply.
Zen Master Hong Shan said to Wang Shouren: "He is a junior of Lao Na's lay family."
Wang Shouren asked curiously: "Looking at the appearance of the Lu family children who often come to the monastery, they don't look alike. Are they just side branches?"
Because the ancestors of the Lu family believed in Buddhism, every generation of the Lu family has someone who has become a monk or a layman. Hongshan is not the only Lu family member in Xilin Chanyuan. Occasionally, descendants of the Lu family come to the monastery to pay respects to their fathers, ancestors and elders in the name of worshiping Buddha. Wang Shouren
I have lived here for half a year and have seen a few of them.
Zen Master Hong Shan said: "He is not a child of the Lu family. He is the fifth son of the He family, and his biological mother is a daughter of the Lu family."
He's parents' room? Shen Rui was nearby and couldn't help but frown, remembering He Nansheng whom he had met years ago. He Nansheng was the Lu family's nephew? That kid just now was Lu Nansheng's younger brother?
However, Shen Rui's brows immediately widened. So what if he met the He family? It was not him who usurped other people's property. Even if he felt guilty, it was not his turn. Since he had jumped out of the fourth room of the Shen family, he should not be affected by those things anymore.
Emotions. Look at what you have and be satisfied; thinking about what you have lost will only lead to resentment.
Wang Shouren was thinking about something else. He knew all about what happened to Shen Rui. He had heard about what the He family had done, so he inevitably had a bad feeling for the He family. For Zen Master Hongshan, it was a chance encounter, but for Shen Rui, it was a narrow road.
He glanced at Shen Rui and saw that his expression was calm and showed no abnormality, so he couldn't help but nodded secretly.
After all, he was an official, and he remembered the position of the children of the He family in the government. The eldest son of the He family was a Beijing official and one of the nine ministers, and the He Lu family was a third-grade imperial concubine. Thinking of this, he sighed that Songjiang has outstanding people and a great place.
In this land, there was actually a minister, a nine ministers, and other local officials, and there is no need to count the casual officials. Among the famous surnames that Songjiang can count, they are all heirlooms of farming and education, and their children have taken the imperial examination and become officials. That is to say, in the south of the Yangtze River, the literary style is at its peak.
The seeds of reading are so endless.
Although the Wang family has been inherited for thousands of years, in terms of imperial examination and official career, it is not as good as Songjiang and other century-old famous families. Wang Shouren's father was the first Jinshi in the Wang family.
However, Wang Shouren was not discouraged. On the contrary, his morale was high. He was already thinking about whether he would take his younger brother Shouwen out to teach him when he returned from Kaifeng Mansion.
The provincial examination will end at the age of twenty-one; the third brother should give it a try next year.
The four of them returned upstairs. Since a visitor would arrive later, Wang Shouren asked Wu Xuan to go to Zen Master Hongshan's room to help prepare tea. Shen Rui followed Wang Shouren back to his room. Since he did not bring any books with him for this trip, he left.
Wang Shouren recited it to Shen Rui and then explained it.
I heard Wang Shouren say: "Confucius said: The year is cold, and then you know the pines and cypresses."
Shen Rui recited an article and remembered that it was from "Zihan Pian".
Wang Shouren had already explained: "At the coldest time of the year, you will know that the pines and cypresses will eventually wither." After speaking, he paused and said, "Trees are like this, and so are people."
Shen Rui listened silently and remembered it in his heart. Even though he had forgotten almost all the content of "The Analects" earlier, in the past two months, he had read "The Analects" every day, and he had memorized it again, so he could not help but have some doubts.
Because Wang Shouren taught in sequence before and did not learn the "Zihan Chapter". Could it be that Wang Shouren's records were mixed up?
Wang Shouren has already recited the next verse: "The Master said: When you see a virtuous person, think about it; when you see a virtuous person, you should reflect on yourself."
Shen Rui twitched the corner of his mouth and recited it again.
The meaning of this sentence is that when you see a person with both virtue and talent, you should think about being like him. When you see an unvirtuous person, you should reflect on yourself and see if you have the same problem. This comes from "Li Ren Chapter", which was written by Wang Shouren earlier.
He had already taught it, but he would take it out and explain it again every three to five days.
However, Shen Rui did not feel bored. You must know that scholars have learned the Four Books and Five Classics since enlightenment. This is what they learn when they become a scholar and become an official. This is what they learn when they are promoted to Imperial College. This is what they learn when they enter the Imperial Academy.
Several books can be taught at different levels of difficulty.
If we talk about other items in "The Analects", Wang Shouren's current teaching is at the elementary level, then "Li Ren Pian" has reached the advanced level.
Wang Shouren made no secret of his expectations. While Shen Rui was flattered, he was also a little frightened. He was unwilling to disappoint Wang Shouren and took his studies more seriously.
Wang Shouren talked about the next story: "Zengzi said: A scholar cannot be without great perseverance. The responsibilities are heavy and the road is long. Isn't it important to be benevolent when one considers one's responsibilities? Isn't it too far to just die?"
Zengzi said: "Those who are ambitious must be strong and courageous, because the responsibility is great and the road is far away. Isn't it also very important to regard the promotion of benevolence and love as one's ideal? Isn't it also very far away to stop until death?"
Shen Rui was reciting along with Wang Shouren, and was speechless. Why did he jump to "Tai Bo Pian" again? Has this been mentioned before? Could it be that without "The Analects of Confucius" in front of him, Wang Shouren's memory was a little confused? Shen Rui felt that he couldn't
"The Analects of Confucius" is only about 10,000 words in total. Shen Rui only studied it once, picked it up again, and recited it in order without explaining it. There is no problem. How could Wang Shouren be inferior to Shen Rui?
Outside the door, the Confucian scholar who had just appeared downstairs was a little hesitant. The sound of the boy reading in the room was so loud that it seemed impolite for him to interrupt like this. Besides, he was from the He family after all, so who knew whether the young boy from the Shen family would be embarrassed.
In the room, Wang Shouren had already taught another lesson: "Zi Gong asked: Is there a saying that can be carried out throughout life? Confucius said: Forgive! Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you."
This is from the "Wei Ling Gong Pian". Shen Rui was too lazy to think about why Wang Shouren's teaching was so confusing. Because this was a new chapter and he was teaching it for the first time, he listened carefully to Wang Shouren's explanation.
The word "forgiveness" here does not mean to forgive, but to change one's stance and compare one's feelings with one's own.
When Wang Shouren finished explaining, his mouth was dry. He ate half a cup of tea and said seriously: "The road to learning to be a gentleman is long and full of obstacles. It is not only necessary to have strong ambitions, but also to have a right heart first. If the heart is right, the road will be open, and if the heart is right, you will not be confused.
And there is no need to imitate those old Confucians who are humble and tolerant. A hundred forbearance may not make you strong, but your character will become bad. Even if you are a gentleman in front of others, you are still a hypocrite. When you are happy, you will be happy, and when you are angry, you will be angry. But after you are happy and angry, you will discard it like a piece of shit, so there is no need to take it to heart.
"A gentleman's worries lie in his lack of knowledge, his people's lack of wealth, and his country's lack of strength. They should not worry about other insignificant things."
After hearing this, Shen Ruisu felt his heart heavy. He was just an ordinary person, just like the "hypocrite" in Wang Shouren's words. He seemed gentle and tolerant, but he had his own calculations in his heart. How could it be that the gentleman who followed his own moods and anger in Wang Shouren's words was not
Is it so easy to do? Should you insist on being yourself, or should you learn to be a gentleman as Wang Shouren taught?
Seeing his silence, Wang Shouren frowned and scolded: "Are you upset when you meet the He family? You are not as focused on studying today as before."
When Shen Rui heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook his head and said bluntly: "The He family and the disciple are just strangers. The disciple is not upset, but he is confused as to why the teacher did not follow yesterday's lesson."
With smart people, it is better to tell the truth.
Wang Shouren's expression relaxed and he said: "I see. I was worried that you were depressed, so I came up with these articles to explain it to you. It seems like it was superfluous."
Shen Rui said hurriedly: "Sir, I care about my disciples. I am only grateful. It is because my lack of concentration caused me to be distracted."
Wang Shouren smiled and said: "I did not act like this for no reason. In fact, when I was a young teacher, due to occasional setbacks, I felt resentful, acted in extreme ways, and took many detours. I don't want you to make the same mistakes again, which is why I am so verbose.
But it seems that your temperament is more lenient than mine, so it would be an honor to be my teacher."
Shen Rui was a little embarrassed by the praise, so he had to act shy. How could the two of them be compared? Although they both lost their mothers as teenagers and went through hardships after losing their mothers, Wang Shouren was a real young man at that time.
The mother was extremely resentful after being beaten and scolded by her stepmother, and the relationship between father and son was alienated by her stepmother. Shen Ruike was already an adult in his heart. Apart from being cold and hungry for a few days when he first arrived, he had not suffered any other hardships, and he would not expect to be with her.
When Shen Juren talked about the love between father and son, his heart was as calm as water.
*
The face of the Confucian scholar outside the door turned red and white for a while, and he almost wanted to turn around and go back. But thinking of my mother's instructions, he took a long breath, raised his hand and knocked on the door.
The door opened with a "squeak" sound, and it was Shen Rui who opened the door.
"This gentleman?" Shen Rui was a little confused. Isn't Zen Master Hong Shan next door? This guy went to the wrong house?
The Confucian scholar said: "Excuse me, are you Brother Shen? I would like to congratulate Beisheng. On my mother's orders, I would like to invite you to speak in the master's room."
Please go there by yourself? Shen Rui couldn't help but frown. Could it be that the He family was like He Nansheng, thinking that they were sorry for themselves and wanted to make up for it. It was really pointless to do this after the fact.
Shen Rui turned back to look at Wang Shouren. He wanted to ask Wang Shouren to decline for him, but he remembered that Fang had learned the saying "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" and shut up. Because he was traveling with Zen Master Hong Shan, he couldn't help himself.
In order to reject these people directly, Wang Shouren said: "Sir, since the Zen master and lay family members are next door, I will go with Mr. He to have a look."
Wang Shouren stood up, walked behind Shen Rui, and glanced at He Beisheng outside the door several times.
He Beisheng felt uncomfortable being looked at, so he bowed his hands and said: "I am He Beisheng. I have met Mr. Wang and I have admired his name for a long time. I am very honored."
Wang Shouren narrowed his eyes, bowed in return, and said bluntly: "Mr. He, you are very polite. As far as I know, your disciple and I are not related, so I don't know why you are calling me a child."
He Beishengqiang smiled and said: "My mother has a long history with Brother Shen. When she heard that Brother Shen was here, she wanted to meet Brother Rui."
Wang Shouren glanced at He Beisheng again and saw that although his smile was a little stiff, his eyes were clear and magnanimous, so he touched Shen Rui's head and said, "Since Mrs. Lu has summoned me, Brother Rui will come over."
When he followed He Beisheng to the next door, Shen Rui saw an old woman in her fifties sitting under Zen Master Hong Shan. Next to her stood a little girl in her prime. Shen Rui didn't want to look at it too much, so he lowered his head and thought in his heart Thinking about why Wu Xuan was not there, no wonder it was He Zhongsheng who went to call someone next door.
"I have met the master." Shen Rui met Zen Master Hong Shan first, and then he said to the old woman: "My dear Shen Rui, I have met Lu Taishu."
The old woman was not wearing a uniform. She was wearing a half-new jacket with a forehead wipe. She looked a little serious between her eyebrows, but she was not annoying. I heard Shen Rui call her "Tai Shu". "She looked slightly startled, and then said: "You and I are also related by marriage, but it's a little far away, so it doesn't matter. But when your mother was alive, she called me aunt, and my brother called me uncle Hejia. That’s my mother-in-law.”
Is this Shen Nansheng's mother? She doesn't look as domineering as Shen Nansheng.
In the Songjiang area, every household has a close relationship, so a title means nothing, so Shen Rui honestly changed his words and said, "I have met Uncle He's family."
Seeing that he was so quiet and well-behaved, the old woman felt pity in her eyes. She pointed at He Beisheng next to her and said, "This is an old and young son. You congratulate your fifth uncle."
"Congratulations to Uncle Wu." Shen Rui greeted him.
The old woman pulled the little girl standing next to her and said, "This is your third uncle who has gone. The only daughter left by your third uncle is Sister Yun, who is two years older than the younger brother." After that, she pushed the younger one again. Girl: "I haven't met your brother Rui yet."
The little girl is already dressed as a girl. She is tall, half a head taller than Shen Rui. She is wearing a sky blue dress and is elegantly dressed. However, there are embroideries on the skirt, which is not a filial piety dress. Pushing forward, parents cannot be filial. The total of the overlapping periods is six years. When this little girl lost her mother and father, she must have been much younger than Shen Rui now.
"I have met Sister He." Shen Rui bowed and felt strange. What on earth is Mrs. He doing? Is she really so thick-skinned that she pretends that the feud between the two families does not exist? This is an introduction to her son and an introduction. My granddaughter’s is totally the best of the family.
Sister He Yun lowered her eyes and bowed to Shen Rui: "I have met brother Rui."
The voice was soft, like a small feather sweeping Shen Rui's heart, causing Shen Rui to glance at Sister He Yun involuntarily. Apart from the maid of the Shen family, this was the first time Shen Rui saw a Ming girl of a similar age. Because she lowered her head I couldn't see her face clearly, but I could only see a small face with oval seeds, her skin was as white as jade, and her beautiful nose and mouth were like a little lady walking out of an ancient painting. Although both her parents were dead, her face was not sad, only The shyness of a girl.
Shen Rui hurriedly looked away and heard the old woman say to Zen Master Hong Shan: "Uncle, my niece wants to borrow her uncle's house to have a few private words with Brother Rui..."