That night, when Yang Yong and his wife finally came back from shopping, Song Wenjing specially invited them to have a good meal at Xianhe Tower.
Among them, Song Wenjing found Feng Wanqing and asked her about Wang Xiangqin.
Unfortunately, there has been no news from her for several months since she took leave and returned. I don't know if it is because she is too sad because of her husband's death, or because she needs to take care of her children at home or other reasons.
Song Wenjing felt a little regretful. Being able to work in Xianhe Tower should be a very good job for Wang Xiangqin. Unfortunately, her job has been replaced by someone, and even if she comes back, there will be no position for her.
After dinner, Song Wenjing did not return to the video room, but chose to go home and sleep.
This period of time was so tiring. I had to learn skills during the day and take turns guarding at night. There was not enough sleep time at all, and even the dark circles under my eyes were clearly visible.
Early the next morning, Song Wenjing bought a few steamed buns and rode his newly purchased bicycle to the home of his master Shang Shaohua.
The whole morning of learning is not too hard, but it requires concentration, especially now that I have started to learn some wood carving techniques from Shang Shaohua.
"Wen Jing, don't go back to the store this afternoon. Come with me to Wen Yuan's house. Yesterday he came to see me and asked me to tell you something. I think you will be interested." Shang Shaohua smiled,
He took off his glasses and looked at Song Wenjing.
Song Wenjing suddenly became curious, "Master, what exactly is Professor Zhang asking me for? Don't you tell me?"
"Haha..." Shang Shaohua laughed and said, "He learned that a family member has a vertical plaque in his house and wants to sell it. Are you interested?"
When he heard that it was a vertical plaque, Song Wenjing was immediately interested. He knew that Zhang Wenyuan would not be innocent. If it were not an antique of some value, he would not come over to explain to him.
"What kind of vertical plaque?" Song Wenjing asked eagerly.
Shang Shaohua stroked his few beards and then said: "I heard from Wen Yuan that there are only four words: number one scholar and the first place. It was written by Emperor Qianlong himself and awarded to a number one scholar. Who is it specifically?
I don’t know, Brother Wen Yuan should know better.”
"Oh?" Song Wenjing was immediately happy, "Let's go, master, let's go there now. If it's possible, I'll find a way to win it no matter what!"
In fact, Shang Shaohua was also interested in going and taking a look, so he suggested that he finish his homework in the morning and go there after lunch. But he didn't expect that his apprentice was more anxious than him, so he couldn't help but feel funny.
Therefore, the two of them stopped delaying and bought some food on the way, preparing to take it to Zhang Wenyuan's home for everyone to have a look after eating.
"Dong dong dong..." There was a knock on the door.
"Shaohua, Wenjing, they came here at noon. I don't have anything to eat here."
When he opened the door and saw the two of them, Zhang Wenyuan was happy and also joked.
"I know you haven't prepared anything to eat. Look here. We all brought it here ourselves. Do you want to drink two cups at noon?" Shang Shaohua raised the stewed food in his hand and other packed food high.
"Haha..." Zhang Wenyuan laughed loudly, "Okay, no problem, the three of us will have a bottle at noon. My son brought a few bottles of good wine here during the Chinese New Year, and we will just deal with it."
On Zhang Wenyuan's side, except for his own relatives and some old friends, there were usually very few people visiting. When he saw Shang Shaohua and Song Wenjing coming over to drink with him, he was of course extremely happy.
As a junior, Song Wenjing naturally started to get busy. After everything was ready, the three of them officially took their seats.
"Wen Jing, are you here specifically for the plaque?" Zhang Wenyuan took a sip of wine and turned to look at Song Wen Jing with a smile.
Song Wenjing quickly picked up the wine glass and offered a toast, "Old man, what do you mean, if I have nothing to do, I can't come to your place and have a drink with you? You are treating me like an outsider!"
"Haha..." Zhang Wenyuan laughed heartily and said, "You have such a eloquent mouth right now. But I see that you are running a prosperous video studio now. I heard from Shaohua that you are also very diligent and hardworking in learning your craft. What's wrong with that?"
You still have extra time to look at me, an old man."
"Old man, I take the time to read the book you lent me every day. If there is anything I don't understand, please give me your advice." Song Wenjing offered another glass of wine and drank it himself.
"I found out that this guy came here to cheat and drink. He toasted one cup to the left and one cup to the right. In the end, this guy drank the most. Haha..."
It was rare for Zhang Wenyuan to be so happy, so he started drinking.
Of course, the origin of the vertical plaque was also explained clearly to the two of them.
It turned out that one of Zhang Wenyuan's chess friends accidentally mentioned this matter. One of his neighbors, Ma Mingyu, kept such a vertical plaque in his home. This vertical plaque was given by Emperor Qianlong to the then top scholar Hu Changling.
Originally, this vertical plaque had been kept by the Hu family, but it was lost during the turbulent years. Somehow, it ended up in the hands of Ma Mingyu. As for how it was obtained, Ma Mingyu was very secretive and unwilling to say more.
Zhang Wenyuan guessed that it was probably due to some circumstances that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, and his home was ransacked. Otherwise, Ma Mingyu would not have failed to explain his origins clearly.
Hu Changling, courtesy name Xigeng and alias Yinzhu, was born in Tongzhou, Jiangnan. In the 54th year of Qianlong's reign, he was awarded the number one scholar in the Hanlin Academy. In the 60th year of Qianlong's reign, he served as the Imperial Academy to offer wine sacrifices and presided over the examination of Shandong. In the Jiaqing period, he was appointed to the Ministry of Rites.
Shangshu.
He has an outstanding reputation for talent, is rich in knowledge, and is an upright and upright official. With Ma Yuzhang, Li Yizeng became one of the "Three Heroes of Jiangdong".
In the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong's reign, the year when Hu Changling became the number one scholar in high school, Emperor Qianlong personally wrote the four characters "The number one scholar and the first place" and made a vertical plaque as a reward to Hu Changling.
These are all recorded in historical materials and really exist in the world.
"Old man, have you seen that vertical plaque? What do you think?" Song Wenjing asked eagerly.
"Nonsense, of course I went to see it immediately. Judging from the handwriting, it is indeed the handwriting of Emperor Qianlong, but as for whether it is authentic, I dare not vouch for it. Your master has better research on these woods.
, you can go and see for yourself.”
Zhang Wenyuan said thoughtfully: "I asked someone to find out about Ma Mingyu some time ago. He is not a simple man. He was one of the leaders of the rebellion. Later, because of some mistakes, he was arrested and imprisoned for several years. The children
They all avoided him and left him.
Now he lives here alone and makes a living as a gatekeeper for a factory. I very much suspect that the vertical plaque was obtained by ransacking his house and kept it for himself. Seeing that the policy has been relaxed now, I want to take it out.
Exchange money.”
Hearing what Zhang Wenyuan said, Song Wenjing became more convinced of the authenticity of the things. Moreover, he even thought that this Ma Mingyu might have more than one thing in his hand, and there might be other good things that he had hidden and not taken out.
Ask around.
Half an hour later, the three of them finally had enough to drink and eat. Then they rode directly to Ma Mingyu's home.
The distance was not very far. In less than twenty minutes, the three of them had arrived at their destination, and Zhang Wenyuan also took the initiative to knock on the door.
"Who is it? They don't let people take a lunch break even at noon?" An old voice came from inside the house.
The door opened and a gray-haired old man came out.
According to Zhang Wenyuan, Ma Mingyu is about 50 years old, but based on the appearance of the man in front of him, some people may believe that he is 70 years old.
How he got through these years is unknown to Song Wenjing, but judging from his physical condition, he is probably frail and sickly.
"Lao Ma, it's me. I'm bringing my friends over to see you!" Zhang Wenyuan took the initiative to say hello.
Ma Mingyu was originally a little wary when he saw a stranger, but when he saw that it was Zhang Wenyuan, he immediately let go of his wariness. He still trusted Professor Zhang, who was a famous scholar.
"Professor Zhang, please come in quickly. The house is quite shabby, so don't worry about it." After saying that, he stepped aside half of his body and welcomed the three people in.
When I say shabby, I'm not being polite. The house is about 30 square meters, divided into one bedroom and one living room. There is basically no furniture. The only places for sitting are a chair and two benches.