Chapter 223 Poetry and Painting (Updated)

After lunch at home, Chen Heng couldn't wait to pack up his things and sat in the carriage at the door. Today is a good day for playing. The sun is warm and there is wind, but it is not cold.

Xinda sat in the driving seat and chatted with his brother in the car for a few words, then saw Daiyu leading Lin Jue, Zijuan and Xueyan out.

"Brother Xinda."

"Miss, Master, get in the car quickly."

After a few people greeted each other, Daiyu looked at the two carriages in front and behind, and suddenly she got brave and rushed in front of her brother, stepped on the horse stool and went up in a flash, lifted the hanging curtain, and sat opposite Chen Heng with a slightly red face.

"Brother."

She called out, and then looked at the other person quietly with the corner of her eye. Chen Heng was dressed very casually today. He only wore a white jade crown on his head outside a wide-sleeved scholar's robe. Without the scarf to cover up the atmosphere, the brother's calmness was slightly reduced, and there was more willful youthfulness.

"Sister." Chen Heng smiled, but his eyes were very reckless. After Daiyu sat down, she looked at her from head to toe. The purple dress with white sleeves has always been Daiyu's favorite. The elegant dress, coupled with the girl's bright eyes and smart temperament, makes people unable to look away.

"What are you looking at." Daiyu muttered, raised her hand and stroked her bangs. Who would have thought that her words were heard by Chen Heng, and he immediately said.

"Of course I'm looking at good-looking people."

Lin Jue, who was outside, just stretched out his hand, and his expression froze when he heard it. He always felt that he came at the wrong time, and was thinking about whether to take the next one.

"Master?" Zijuan, who was following behind, was a little confused. Lin Jue laughed awkwardly and lifted the curtain to come in, "Ha, ha ha, big brother, big sister, I'm here."

Daiyu was blushing, and she felt even more embarrassed when she saw her brother walking in. She was really unreasonable. She didn't vent her anger on the main person, but glared at her younger brother.

The young master of the Lin family secretly said in his heart, "It's terrible. I feel that I came at the wrong time, and hurriedly stood up and said, "I'd better go back to study."

Everyone in the car was looking forward to going out to play, how could he let him do what he wanted. Even Zijuan and Xueyan persuaded the young master to sit down. Xinda confirmed again and again, and when he saw that everyone was seated, he waved his long whip and walked forward.

On the way, everyone was in a good mood. The topic ranged from the origin of Xiangshan Temple to the reason why the temple was established in the Tang Dynasty. It was rare for the girls in the family to go out like this. It was only with the cover of Lin Jue and the leadership of people like Chen Heng that the elders of the Lin family allowed these people to go out and wander around.

In order to let everyone have a good time, Xinda parked the carriage not far from the shopping street. There is still a mountain road from Xiangshan Temple, but it is already very lively.

They came in the afternoon, and there were many tourists on the shopping street who went out with their families to enjoy the autumn. As one of the three mountains and five gardens in the future, Xiangshan is not high in terrain, but as soon as autumn comes, the red leaves all over the mountain are really a must-visit place in the capital.

The Lin siblings love this kind of excitement the most. As soon as Lin Jue got off the car, he was already running around nearby. Chen Heng had a headache watching this, and hurriedly gave Xinda a look, asking him to keep an eye on this kid. He accompanied the excited Daiyu and strolled on the mountain steps. After walking a few dozen steps, they arrived at the archway of Yong'an Temple in Xiangshan.

Yong'an Zen Temple was the name established in the former Ming Dynasty, and Xiangshan Temple was the name of the Tang Dynasty. When it came to Dayong, the name of Xiangshan Temple was used. For this archway, there was no additional repair, and it still retained the appearance of the Ming Dynasty. Chen Heng led Daiyu past the archway, and saw more than 30 shops on the mountain road on both sides. The more famous ones are "Wanxinghao, Xinyuanzhai, Qingchunlou" and so on.

Accompanying Daiyu to visit various shops, they also asked for a fortune for each other from the temple of the God of Wealth. Chen Heng was a little proud. He got a good fortune, so he leaned his head close to Daiyu, wanting to see what she got. Unexpectedly, this girl covered her hands tightly. It seemed that she was afraid that her brother would peek. When she saw Chen Heng leaning over, she pushed him with her elbow.

Chen Heng just laughed and said curiously: "I have shown it to you, sister, let me see it too."

"No." Daiyu puffed her face and walked forward angrily. In this way, she came to the master who understood the fortune. After the other party talked a lot, I don’t know what method he used, but Daiyu was amused again. She returned to Chen Heng happily and played with the "medium fortune" in her hand proudly at him.

"The master said that I met a noble person by chance. This sign can be interpreted as 'mountains and rivers are so dense that you think there is no way out, but when you turn around, you will find another village.'" Daiyu showed a rare childishness, and her mind became relaxed, and she began to care about Chen Heng. "How did you interpret the sign, brother?"

He naturally would not spoil the fun, but he wanted to be nice, and said with a smile: "The master said that I am destined to have many children and grandchildren. Who knows, I can open a clan temple and set up my own family in the future."

What a ridiculous thing to say, Daiyu blushed, knowing that Chen Heng was teasing her, but she didn't want to be a turtle in a jar, so she simply stamped her feet and went to the next mountain temple.

How could Chen Heng dare to let her leave in anger, and hurriedly chased after Daiyu and apologized to the petty beauty. After talking and laughing and visiting several places along the way, they began to walk towards the Xiangshan Temple on the top of the mountain.

The mountain is not high, and you can stop and go as you go. You can enjoy the flowers and trees when you pass the forest path, and you can enjoy the mountain scenery when you come across a pavilion. In this way, we arrived at the temple gate. We saw that the temple was quiet again, with bamboo forests and secluded paths. The buildings were built beside the mountain, and were scattered in an orderly manner. Occasionally, male and female pilgrims came and went in the corridor, and in the distant forest leaves, we could only hear laughter, but we could not see the people.

Chen Heng led everyone up to the Qingxia Jiyi Building. They stepped on the wooden ladder and made a low sound, and came to the third-floor railing. When we went out, we could see the red maple leaves on the mountain, and there were green leaves of pine and cypress interspersed among them.

Daiyu sighed, pointed to the blue waves under the bright sun in the distance, smiled at Chen Heng and asked: "Brother, what do you think of when you look at them?"

Can this still stump him? Chen Heng thought for a moment and then said: "A pool of clear water is like jade, contrasting with the red, green and yellow mountains. In my opinion, it is exactly the same: the sun dyes the maple forest with fresh autumn colors, and the east wind blows the old jade into smoke."

When Daiyu heard this, she first thought that her brother would read some poems by Taibai and Dongpo. Who would have thought that the other party would recite an unpopular poem, but looking at Chen Heng's full smile, he realized it and asked with a smile: "I don't know who the idiot wrote the poem. Why did he only write half of it? What about the second half of the poem?" Woolen cloth?"

"I haven't figured it out yet." Chen Heng smiled with his hands spread out, and put his hands behind his hands to face the wind. He held his head proudly, "I made half a song when I came here, and another half when I went back. What do you think, sister?"

Before Daiyu could answer, a familiar joking voice came from the stairs outside the door. "Sour, so sour, so sour Yangzhou Chen Chixing." The voice came from far to near. Xue Biao, dressed in a blue robe, walked to the light while shaking his fan.

"Why are you here so late?" Chen Heng laughed and greeted his friend.

"It's not too late, it's not too late." Xue Biao stretched out his hand, made a false gesture of stroking his beard on his empty chin, and said with a smile, "If I had come early, I'm afraid I wouldn't have seen the scoundrel appearance of Zhi Xing."

Chen Hengquan took it as a compliment and happily accepted his friend's teasing. He looked behind him again and saw Bao Qin, who was wearing similar clothes to Xue Biao, stepping out and waving his fan to salute him.

"Second brother."

"Sister Lin. Big brother."

"Brother Xue."

"Hello, Sister Lin."

The four of them greeted each other and then leaned against the railing, gazing at the same autumn scenery. The Xue family brothers and sisters have just returned from the palace. This morning, they followed the queues from various prefectures and went to the palace to deliver gifts. This is what they came for on this trip.

When I was free in the afternoon, I was invited by Chen Heng and Daiyu to come to Xiangshan Temple to enjoy the scenery. Chen Heng couldn't help but ask about the scene when the other party entered the palace. Xue Biao only said a few words. He didn't even see Li Zhi's face. He only listened to Li Zhi's encouragement to Xue Ai in the palace and considered it a success.

This is normal and Chen Heng won't care. He asked again about the gifts prepared by Yangzhou, and that was all. Xue Biao was very excited and said: "When the letter from August 伶 arrived in Yangzhou, the female workers on Qiupu Street followed your instructions and embroidered a picture of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains on the brocade cloth."

"Unfortunately, at the end of August, the craftsmen in the workshop and the palace craftsmen finally woven new cloth. As soon as we thought about it, we simply embroidered the Qingming River Scene on the new cloth."

Chen Heng was shocked when he heard this and said ecstatically: "Did it really happen?"

"Yeah, hahahaha." Xue Biao laughed and nodded. He knew that his friend would be very happy when he heard the news. Before he could continue talking, Bao Qin had already poked his head out from Dai Yu's side, "Brother, if you have some free time, you can go to my place and have a look. I wanted to tell you tomorrow, but my brother is very quick to talk."

"Okay, okay." Chen Heng reached out and slapped the railing, laughing. After listening to Bao Qin explain the origin of the new cloth, he said: "It's really hard to find it without wearing iron shoes. It takes no effort to get it."

The good news didn’t end there, Xue Biao continued to share: “The Huanglu Village you introduced is really amazing. Not long after you left, he improved the looms in the workshop. Now the female workers can save a lot of time and effort when doing it. My sister made the decision herself and gave me three hundred taels as a reward."

"It should, it should." Chen Heng couldn't help but nod. He knew that Huang Luzhuang was a person. This kind of person who specializes in arithmetic and has attainments in invention and physics is really a rare horse nowadays. Chen Heng wished he could be imprisoned and kept at home doing research all day long. Let alone three hundred taels, you can give me even five hundred or six hundred taels.

Daiyu saw Chen Heng's silly joy and saw him singing harmony with Xue Biao. He smiled and said to Bao Qin: "Look at these two people, they have not changed at all from when we visited the lake during the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Baoqin covered her fan and laughed lightly, playfully saying: "Every year the people are the same, but the flowers are different every year."

Daiyu looked at her, then at herself, and smiled again, "It's true that the flowers are different. Wenjun tied his hair into magnolias..." Before she could finish her words, Baoqin already refused and said, "Sister Lin."

The four of them were talking and laughing upstairs. There was a group of people, but they were looking for traces of them everywhere on the bluestone path of the temple.

After Baoyu got the news from Lin Jue, he made up his mind to come to Xiangshan Temple to block a block and try his luck to see if he could catch Chen Heng and Daiyu. He did not come out alone. He was accompanied by girls from the Jia family, the newly arrived sisters from the Li family, and Baochai, Xiangyun, and Xing Xiuyan.

They walked around the temple without bumping into anyone. Tanchun and Xichun are the strangest. I don't know what my brother is looking for. Only Baochai had a vague guess about something, but it was hard to tell, so he just wanted to be a companion for fun.

No matter what, for these people to go out, they still have to rely on Baoyu's golden face. That is to say, only if he can speak this way can he persuade Mrs. Jia to nod. The latter was in deep distress because he messed up the matchmaking for Baoyu, and how could he refuse his grandson's willful move.

The Jia family had been walking around in the temple, and all the girls were a little tired. Baoyu looked anxious and distressed. Seeing that Qingxia Jiyi Building was behind him, he said: "Since we are all here, how about we go upstairs to take a look and have a rest."

This young lady who usually stays close to home has long been tired of going around in circles. Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this. He hurriedly followed Baoyu into the building, and when he reached the second floor, he heard laughter coming from upstairs.

"Brother, what poem are you going to write?"

"It's okay to recite a few poems, but forget about writing poems. In a place where Taibai and Dongpo have both been here, you will be ashamed of yourself if you write anything."

Baoyu would remember the voices of these two people even if he heard them in his dreams. He immediately stepped up several steps at a time, and ran towards the third floor amidst Tanchun and Baochai's exclamations.

When he arrived at the door, he saw four figures, shoulder to shoulder, facing away from him. Baoyu glanced at it again and again, and then couldn't help but said: "Cousin..."

The four of them moved upon hearing this, and when they turned halfway, they saw Baoyu, who had arrived at an unknown time, standing in the shadow of the doorway.

Can this happen too? Chen Heng secretly thought of a clever word. Daiyu probed her head and asked doubtfully, "Why is cousin here?"

When others ask, Baoyu may answer, or not. When Daiyu asked, he stuttered: "Accompany...accompany the guests at home and go out for a walk. You know, the Li sisters just came to the capital. I...will show my friendship as a landlord."

I know what this does. Daiyu rolled her eyes, and her good mood for the game suddenly disappeared. She just responded with a dry "Oh" and turned her eyes to Baoqin.

At the critical moment, Baochai came out to save Baoyu some face. She followed them upstairs and saw Xue Biao and Bao Qin. She was surprised and said: "Brother Biao, when did you come to the capital, you never told me."

Xue Biao couldn't pretend not to know this cousin, and said hurriedly: "Cousin, we arrived in the capital yesterday and came to do some things. We will be leaving in a few days, so we didn't tell my aunt and cousin. Letter informs.”

When Baochai heard this in her heart, she started to sigh. His face was still calm and he said: "Now that I'm here, even if I stay for half a day, I should still tell my family."

Xue Biao smiled, he really didn't know what to say. This time when he followed Xue Ai into the palace, the name given to him by his family was the Xue family of Yangzhou. The division of families and sects has already been fully drawn, and there is no turning back.

The first and second houses both gave up their ancestral home and property. Before Li Zhi could take action, the four major families in Jinling had already left. Baochai didn't know the reason for the pressing situation, and only lamented the situation where the two families were drifting apart.

Baoyu didn't care about Baochai's thoughts at all, nor did he care about Xue Biao's complicated mood. A pair of eyes all fell on Baoqin. He has met many good-looking guys, such as Qin Zhong, Qi Guan, etc., as well as Jia Lian and Xiang Lian.

But all these people together are not as beautiful as Bao Qin. The other party has a special temperament, a combination of squeamishness, nobility, and heroism, which is really unforgettable.

"Who is this?" Baoyu asked. This was the first time he met Baoqin, and he didn't know there was such a good-looking man in the world.

"She is mine..." Baochai paused for a moment and then said, "She is my cousin."

Baoyu didn't even care about why Baoqin and Daiyu were standing so close, still holding hands, and just sighed: "The scenery in Xiangshan is amazing. But this scenery, in front of Sister Bao's cousin, is just... It’s easy to do.”

"Second brother is saying something weird again." Shi Xiangyun suddenly came out from behind and led a group of girls out. The gallery was full of beauties, and they were surprised to meet Daiyu here. Everyone talked, laughed, and had fun among themselves.

It's interesting to say that when there were few people, Bao Qin's beauty could not be clearly seen. Nowadays, the girls around are all stunning, and each has their own unique strengths. It happened that such a group of people stood together, which actually brought out Baoqin's appearance as the king of flowers.

Xue Biao's words at that time: "In ten years, you can go to the world and see who is more beautiful than my sister." It can be said that it is a prophecy.

With so many people crowded on the corridor, it is dangerous and inconvenient. Someone suggested that we go downstairs and go shopping elsewhere. Everyone agreed and went downstairs to play around Shuiyue Kongming Hall and other places.

The Jia family prepared many servants for the trip of these young masters and ladies. When there were more people, it inevitably became noisy, attracting the glares of many pilgrims. Xue Biao couldn't stand the noise and only gave Chen Heng a look. The two quietly fell behind, and the former suggested: "What's the point of playing with these young masters and ladies? Why don't we run away first and find our own destiny?" Happiness is the best.”

"Isn't this good..." Chen Heng hesitated, but he was not worried about Daiyu. His sister's temperament is not something that can be manipulated by others, and with Zicuckoo and Xueyan around, he feels very relieved. He is not afraid of Baoyu, but he is afraid of Daiyu. Afterwards, Daiyu settled his account, and it was not you, Xue Biao, who suffered the loss.

"Don't worry about Sister Lin. With my sister here, the two of them are very clever. Even you can't play with them..." I don't know how much Bao Qin has changed over the years, so that Xue Biao can be like his own sister. evaluate. He stood on tiptoe and looked around. How could Jia Baoyu, who was leading the way, look at them? Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, Xue Biao stretched out his hand to grab Chen Heng and turned to the path beside the road.

After getting away from everyone in this way, the two of them had a moment of peace. The good mood came back to their hearts, and they turned to the Puxian Hall and Manjusri Hall in front of them together, and took a clear look at the scenery everywhere.

Xue Biao was becoming more and more like a painter. He looked at the dazzling murals, and sometimes pointed to the colorful paintings on the walls, explaining their subtleties to Chen Heng. The colorful paintings of the capital's temples tell the story of beautiful wooden clothes and invisible elephants. The composition begins within a short distance, and the ink falls within a square inch.

Xue Biao was so happy that he couldn't help but ask the monk to borrow a calligraphy treasure, fainted on the paper, and painted green bamboos and flowers on the blank wall outside the temple. He just painted by himself, and always suggested that Chen Heng also paint ink, so as not to miss the moment of elegance.

Chen Heng refused, so he took the monk's brush and began to concentrate. If you want to leave calligraphy and painting in a place like this, you don't have much real ability. If you don't devote your whole life to it, you will be embarrassed to take the risk.

The monk watched carefully and said to himself: If these two people are good at painting, just tell the abbot that there is an elegant scholar in the temple. If the painting is not good, find someone to cover it up before the host finds out.

Chen Heng held the pen behind his hands and walked around the hall first. He saw Manjushri Bodhisattva raising his right hand to form the "Giving Fearless Seal" and his left hand hanging down to form the "Giving Wish Seal". The Buddha's majestic appearance seems to be able to overcome all the suffering in the world. The tone in his heart suddenly turned into the urge to splash ink.

When he went out again, Xue Tadou had already painted the green bamboos and flowers, and began to ink the birds with spread wings and stopped branches. Chen Heng looked at it and realized that Xue Biao's painting skills had greatly improved. No matter whether he looked at it from a distance or up close, he could look real. It can take into account the surrounding scenery and integrate with the surroundings in every detail.

Chen Heng asked the monk to bring a stool and stepped up. Standing on top of Xue Biao's head, one person is painting the world of flowers and plants, while the other person is starting to draw the brush from top to bottom.

"Who knows the misfortune of the world? All living beings in the world have suffered from it. Since I am passionate about you and have few affairs, I would rather not drink wine when we meet." After finishing the poem, Chen Heng suddenly heard the faint sound of chanting sutras coming from the temple, and then looked down. Xue Biao, who had taken a step back and recited Chen Heng's poems. The latter thought for a while and then said with a smile: "Yes, yes, but we still need a monk who can knock on sutras and carry water."

After saying that, he pulled up his sleeves, stood forward, and wrote in the blank space. Chen Heng got off the stool, looked at his friend's paintings for a moment, and then looked up at the sky. I know that when the sunset rings the bell, the scrawled murals and poems will surely be filled with red light. When my mind is racing, I also rise and continue to write on the other side.

In the previous song, he used regular script, which he was most proud of. For this song, he decided to use a more freehand and uninhibited cursive script. A little further away, a little lower. It is right opposite the water-carrying monk painted by Xue Biao.

Following the direction of the monk's toes, Chen Heng wrote one after another: "Yesterday the loess sent bones away, and tonight red candles warmed the tent furnace. The box is full of gold, and the box is full of silver. How come the temples are covered with frost again, and I think of a foreign country as my hometown. "(Note 1)

Chen Heng's cursive script is slightly inferior to regular script, but here and now, the unrestrained cursive script wandering on the mottled walls is more suitable for the occasion.

A line of cursive writing from left to right falls exactly on both ends of the water-carrying monk. Looking from a distance, the fonts of different sizes look like a river running through the monk. This ingenuity and Zen can only be discovered when one gets closer and carefully observes the flowing river water.

Poetry stops, painting stops. Painting helps poetry, and poetry inscribes painting. The two friends felt happy and both put away their pens and turned around. I saw the young monk from before, and I didn’t know when to call the abbot, the monk Zhike and others. They didn't know how long they had been waiting. When they saw Chen and Xue looking over, they hurriedly said: "Two Tan Yue, I don't know Gao's name. If you have time now, I would like to invite you two to talk to each other in the studio."

"My surname is Xue, and his surname is Chen." Xue Biao looked at Chen Heng, who nodded and accepted the invitation: "We are destined to meet each other. Master, please invite me."

"Please, Tan Yue, both of you."

…………

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Lin Daiyu was speechless when she discovered that Xue and Chen had escaped alone. Xiangshan Temple is so big, they don't know where to play. Baoqin comforted him with a few words, and then took Daiyu to play with him An Xin.

Walking and walking, we played along the back hill all the way to the front yard. When we arrived at Manjusri Hall, we saw a wall surrounded by people. Baoyu was the most curious and hurriedly stepped forward to ask why. When I heard that there were two literati just now, they were writing here. He immediately took a closer look at the mural, first from a distance and then from close up.

I feel that although the paintings are sloppy and hasty, the freedom and Zen spirit contained in them are really hard to put down. It was as if I had transformed into a water-carrying monk, walking through the mortal world surrounded by wild grasses, flowers, and chirping birds. Poetry became water and flowed into his heart. Read the poem below first, then look at the one above.

"I've been in love with you for a long time, so I don't miss the wine when we meet. Well, it's so well written." Baoyu couldn't help but nodded. He waved to the sisters behind him and told everyone his interpretation of the poems and paintings one by one.

Li Wen and Li Qi were both proficient in poetry and calligraphy. When Xing Xiuyan was a child, he had a friend from outside the country who knew more about Zen principles than ordinary people. Seeing that Baoyu was talking eloquently and meaningfully, a group of people nodded in agreement.

"Gold and silver are like water, they cannot be obtained or pursued." Baoyu shook his head. He loved this otherworldly artistic conception.

Xiangyun smiled before saying anything and joked: "Is the second brother thinking about becoming a monk?"

"When did I say that I wanted to become a monk?" Baoyu was puzzled and subconsciously looked at the back of the team.

Daiyu and Baoqin were not interested in this matter and just stood far behind. Baoyu saw that Du Dumei and Du Dumei were no longer interested in joining in the fun, so she came up with a smile, trying to lure them to see the good things that she both admired.

My cousin was really noisy, Daiyu frowned slightly. It was Bao Qin who noticed the pale color on Baochai's face and only looked at Daiyu to comfort Sister Lin. The two walked side by side in front of the mural, but they looked at each other intently. Looking at each other, they both felt something was wrong.

This handwriting and strokes look familiar? !

By chance, a young monk who knew guests hurriedly came from the inner hall. He was holding a wooden sign ready to stand in front of the wall. Baoyu asked intentionally about the origin of the mural, and the young monk immediately answered with a smile: "It was a coincidence that the donor asked. This mural was just completed not long ago."

"Look, I said it was a new painting." Baoyu said proudly, and then asked, "I don't know who painted it."

"I don't know them. I only know that one person painted and another person wrote poems. One of them is surnamed Xue and the other is surnamed Chen. They are in the dining room in the east, chatting about Buddhism and Zen with several teachers."

"Oh..." Baoyu's expression froze at that moment.

Daiyu and Baoqin came forward happily. Great, he left us halfway and came here to have fun.

They walked to the monk who had the sign and asked in a low voice: "Little monk, we are the family of these two people. I don't know where the abbot of your temple is. We are just looking for them to go home. Please lead the way."

The little monk turned around and saw the appearance of Daiyu and Baoqin. He hurriedly said "Amitabha" and then said: "Two female donors, wait a moment. I will take you there after I finish this matter."

Daiyu and Baoqin looked at the wooden sign and saw that it was written in font: Chen Heng and Xue Ke of Yangzhou.

Note 1: It's a song called "Dream of Red Mansions", sung by Chen Zhi. Hahahaha, I've finished posting it today, all because of polishing. It's just a small update, I hope you like it. It's the beginning of the month, please vote.