The Return of the General to the Field

In the palace examination in the fourth year of Yongping, Tanhualang Gu Bin was the most eye-catching, not only because he was talented and handsome, but more importantly, he was a real humble scholar.

In the first grade of the palace examination, the number one scholar was the eldest son of the Minister of Rites, and the second place was a well-known talented scholar from the south of the Yangtze River. Their talents had spread all over the country long before high school.These two people have profound family knowledge, and the family has poured so much effort into them that it is expected that they will be named on the gold list.This further highlights how amazing Gu Bin's high school prospect is.

Who is Gu Bin?Before he was appointed by the emperor as Tanhua, no one knew about this unknown little man.After inquiring, I found out that he was from the wild southwest!

The southwest is full of miasma. In the eyes of the people in the Central Plains, the people there are uncivilized barbarians who can't even speak Mandarin.How could there be such a talented and polite Tanhualang?

The current emperor had many younger brothers who were older brothers, but his favorite was Zhou Jingyi, who had the same father as him, and was named Mr. Ruiyi.

This Mr. Ruiyi, because of his deep love, never pays attention to the rules of his brother's family, he is a little savage!He secretly went to watch the banquet after the palace examination, and it was incredible. Zhou Jingyi, the son of Ruiyi who was most loved by the emperor in the Zhou Dynasty, had a glance at Tan Hualang, and immediately begged his emperor's brother to marry him after returning.

Zhou Jingtang also admired Gu Bin very much, and wanted to train him to be his pure minister, so he agreed to his brother's request.

In the resplendent Jinluan Hall, the Ninth Five-Year Lord sits on the dragon chair on the ninth step.After the champion and the second place both thanked the emperor for his kindness and retreated to the ranks of civil servants, Gu Bin was full of expectation that the emperor would confer an official position on him.

"Where is Tanhualang Gu Bin?"

"exist!"

Gu Bin came out respectfully, bowing his body and bowing. Although there was no aristocratic air in his smooth and flowing movements, it was also impossible to pick out the slightest mistake.

Seeing Gu Bin's actions, Zhou Jingtang felt even more satisfied, and then awarded Gu Bin an official position as usual.

Gu Bin thanked him loudly: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live!" There was unconcealable joy in his voice.

When Gu Bin stood up straight, Zhou Jingtang asked very confidently: "Aiqing has both ability and political integrity. I am very happy. I want to betroth Mr. Ruiyi to you. What do you think of Aiqing?"

Gu Bin's face changed suddenly and he was shocked, then he immediately collected himself, restrained the panic in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Ruiyi's gold branches and jade leaves are worthy of such a despicable person as Gu Bin. I hope His Majesty will take it back!"

Zhou Jingtang's face turned dark. From his point of view, his younger brother is a brother whom many men want to marry. Let's not talk about Jingyi's stunning appearance, just say that he is his favorite younger brother. As long as he is willing Refers to marriage, which man is not ecstatic to thank him, but this Gu Bin is unwilling to marry?

"you are not willing?"

"Your Majesty, take it back!" Gu Bin repeated firmly, expressing his refusal.

"Bold!" Zhou Jingtang roared, and Gu Bin knelt heavily on the ground with a thud.

"Give me a reason." The emperor didn't say the last part of the sentence, but Gu Bin knew what the emperor meant.Indeed, the emperor refused to marry his beloved younger brother to him, which seemed very ignorant to anyone.But Gu Bin will never agree, even if he is executed, he will not betray his promise.

"Your Majesty, I already have someone I like, and I only want to be with him for the rest of my life. It is impossible for me to fall in love with anyone again. I don't want to wrong the noble Mr. Ruiyi, and I hope that Your Majesty will make it happen. Besides, Weichen is indeed from a humble background, how can he be worthy of him?" Young Master Ruiyi."

"Hmph! I was wrong. You really are not good enough for my Ruiyi. You don't have to stay in the capital anymore. You can go to the Southwest to be an official!"

Zhou Jingtang is not a tyrant, his subjects have their own wishes, and he doesn't want to force others to make things difficult. Just kidding, this Gu Bin doesn't know how to flatter, and there are other better men, will his younger brother worry about marrying?

Moreover, Gu Bin's identity is of great significance. A low-income scholar in high school represents the emperor's attitude of treating everyone equally and encouraging progress. This is extremely powerful for supplementing the poor officials of the Zhou Dynasty and attacking the power of the family, so Zhou Jingtang didn't plan to do anything about it. Like Gu Bin, but small punishments and big admonitions, after all, anyone can brush up the face of the royal family?In addition, this Gu Bin gave up his all-round good brother for a not-so-good country brother, so he is not allowed to teach himself a lesson as a brother?

Tan Hualang, who had a bright future, suddenly lost his grace and was released mercilessly. He even could not return to the capital in his life. All the ministers felt sorry, especially Gu Bin's teacher, It's almost like killing me.He is Gu Bin's chief examiner, and Gu Bin passed the Jinshi examination under his invigilation, so he has naturally been included in his line of officials. In recent years, the emperor has paid more and more attention to poor family scholars. It is conceivable that after a few years, there will be many more poor family officials holding important positions in the court.All of a sudden, everything went to waste!How could he not be annoyed.

But Gu Bin didn't think so. It was his wish to return to a place he was familiar with as an official. Although it wasn't the province he was born in, it would be better if he could be closer.

Zhou Jingyi couldn't believe that someone would refuse to be his son-in-law. Thinking of him as a majestic son of Ruiyi, if he wants to have good looks and status, there is still a brother in this world who is as noble as him?This Gu Bin actually rejected him, no way!He must ask why.So Zhou Jingyi went out of the palace non-stop to intercept Gu Bin.

Gu Bin didn't have much money, and he didn't have time to buy a house. Originally, in order to give his wife a comfortable environment, he had already decided on a suitable house, but now it was unnecessary, and the world was unpredictable.

Gu Bin has already received the official document, is packing his luggage, and will leave for his post in a few days.After he was ready to settle down, he tried to find a teacher for the village, and then took his Master Yu over.

The more Gu Bin thought about it, the more beautiful he became. He was busy, but there was a man who was dressed in normal clothes but knew that he was extraordinary at a glance, and came to invite him: "Master Gu, my son is here to invite you."

Who else is he related to?Gu Bin immediately realized that it was Mr. Ruiyi who asked to meet, and felt a little headache, but he still wanted to go to the appointment.

Zhou Jingyi was waiting in a teahouse not far from the inn where Gu Bin stayed.As soon as Gu Bin pushed open the door, he found a very well-dressed brother leaning on the wood-brown window sill.

"Master Ruiyi, Chang'an!"

"Gu Bin, I don't want to talk nonsense with you. I just want to ask you why you don't want to marry me? Is the brother you love as beautiful as me? Can I help you much?"

Zhou Jingyi raised his chin to question, but Gu Bin didn't answer directly, but asked with a smile: "Mr. Ruiyi, do you want to hear the story between me and Master?"

"Master?" Zhou Jingyi reacted for a while, almost didn't jump up, his eyes widened in disbelief, "Aren't all masters men? Don't tell me that the person you like is a man!"

"Of course not, the master is a brother." Gu Bin felt a little amused by the young man's way of thinking.

"That's not right! How can you like your wife?"

"Why not? Master Ruiyi still wants to hear it?"

"Listen, why don't you listen, I really want to know what kind of brother makes you willing to reject me!" Zhou Jingyi said very conceitedly, in his opinion, he is the best brother in the world.Zhou Jingyi lightly raised his hand to signal Gu Bin to take a seat.

"Master Ruiyi knows that I was born in the southwest!"

"Um"

"The village I was born in is very poor. How poor is it? Let's put it this way! Have you ever seen the land in the capital?"

"That's natural. I will follow Brother Huang to the spring plowing every year."

"That's good." Gu Bin bought himself a cup of tea, and then said, "If the land in the capital is said to be piece by piece, stretching to the sky, endless, then the land in our village is one piece at a time, one knife at a time, It’s like it’s sliced ​​off the spine of a big mountain. So what’s grown in the fields isn’t enough to eat at all, not to mention that there’s a considerable amount of taxes every year.”

Hearing Gu Bin's words, Zhou Jingyi suddenly became sympathetic, since he was born in rich clothes and well-fed, he couldn't imagine the days when he didn't have enough to eat.

Gu Bin felt Zhou Jingyi's sympathetic gaze, smiled inwardly, and continued to say slowly: "Therefore, every household in the village will go to the mountains to find some wild animals to subsidize the family. The day I met my wife, I was only 14 years old. Hunting in the mountains."

"You can also hunt, I thought all of you scholars could only read books!"

Gu Bin didn't answer him, at this time Gu Bin had already fallen into memory.

"I found the master under a tree. He was wearing simple linen clothes, his hair was loose, and there were many bloodstains on his body, and blood was still oozing in some places. The master was lying on his side, and there were several hideous lines on his face exposed to the air. The scar, I can't see clearly."

"hiss--"

"I ran over quickly and helped Master up. When the other half of Master's face appeared in front of me, I seemed to have lost my words. The Master is very beautiful, with slightly frowned eyebrows and closed eyes. Her thin lips are bloodless and her complexion is very pale. White, as cold as the moonlight in the mountains on the fifteenth night."

"It's so beautiful! It's a pity that it's disfigured!" Zhou Jingyi sighed.

"Well," Gu Bin looked far away, "I found out later that the wound on Master's face was scratched by himself with a hairpin. Before he passed out in our village, he suffered too much. From then on, I knew that It is impossible for me to feel so sorry for any brother, I want to do my best so that my master will not suffer in the future!"

Gu Bin took a sip of tea and continued: "That day, I hurriedly carried my master down the mountain and handed him over to the village doctor who is good at medicine. I will never forget the weight I carried on my back along the way. "

Zhou Jingyi also seemed fascinated by what he heard, and didn't interrupt anymore.

"Master took care of him for several days before he woke up, and it took him a long time to recover. After he recovered, he wanted to help with some things, and he was unwilling to eat free food. The whole village likes him very much. As I said before, we People in the village would exchange some wild animals in the market for money, but because of their illiteracy, they were often framed by profiteers, and often worked hard, but could not get back the equivalent money. The master recommended himself to do it when he knew this. The master in our village teaches the children in the village to read and also teaches the adults some simple knowledge. He doesn’t charge money, but only asks us to use something that can wrap the stomach as a bundle repair. If he can’t afford it, he won’t receive."

"Don't you have a wife over there?" Zhou Jingyi couldn't help asking.

"No, there are not many scholars in our county, how could there be a master."

"After the master settled down in our village, the situation in our village became much better. First of all, several well-qualified children passed the examinations of Tongsheng and Xiucai, and our village received a lot of support from the government. Secondly, there was no more business. The thing was cheated. In addition, the master taught the brothers in the village a lot of techniques in prosperous areas, such as beautiful embroidery, and the villagers had an extra income. In fact, these are still secondary, the most important thing is Master has brought us hope. So everyone in the village respects Master, and everyone calls him Master, regardless of age. Everyone says he is as kind as a fairy."

As if recalling something good, Gu Bin’s eyes were full of smiles, “I liked him very much from the first time I saw him, so I took time to study with him every day. The name Gu Bin was also given by my master. It's an orphan, no father, no father, no name, it was brought back from the side of the road by the village chief."

"Ah!" Zhou Jingyi became more sympathetic.

"This is also good. The master took special care of me. Later, I even ate at the master's house. All the children in the village were jealous of me. Every day I had to fight with many children because of this, and then the master would help me with the medicine! I It must be said that it fell while hunting. We are all very good in front of the master, but the master is not here, so we will hit what should be beaten!"

"I'm very talented, and I'm good at everything. My master likes me more and more. Later, I was born with the idea of ​​letting me take the imperial examination. I never refute my master's words, so we reached an agreement. In one During one teaching session, he told me a lot of things outside. He let me know that not all places are high mountains. He always said that I should not be buried in a small mountain village. Then I fell in love with him."

"I told him that I liked him and wanted to marry him when I was still a boy, but he refused. He said that I shouldn't like him, he is my wife, and I shouldn't marry him and be chained in the mountains. , I should go outside, take the imperial examination, and then benefit the simple villagers in the village."

"Your wife is really kind!" Zhou Jingyi seemed to understand why Gu Bin loved that brother whom he had never masked so much, feeling a little sour in his heart.

"I know Master likes me because he always hides the scars on his face in front of me on purpose. So I threatened him that if he doesn't agree to me, I won't take the imperial examination! Master really panicked, he bit He gritted his teeth and said, let me take the test, if I am willing to marry him after seeing the scenery outside, he will marry him! Then I said, it's a deal!"

"Master's knowledge is not very high. Strictly speaking, he is only my mentor. In order to marry him, I started studying while taking exams. In order to raise the first sum of money, Master paid for the town I have been embroidering for a long time for a wealthy family, and I have kissed his red eyes..."

"Hiss—" Zhou Jingyi couldn't help blushing.

"During my studies, I worshiped many teachers, but in my heart, there will always be only one husband! I will only love one person! I have loved him for many years, and I have waited for him for many years. Do you understand?"

Gu Bin stared at Zhou Jingyi with scorching eyes, staring at Zhou Jingyi until he felt guilty. It seemed that because of his willfulness, he accidentally caused a tragedy.

"I see, I, am I the kind of unreasonable person? I wish you and your wife a happy marriage for a hundred years!"

Zhou Jingyi got up and left, followed by his servants.

"Master Ruiyi!"

"Huh?" Zhou Jingyi held on to the door without looking back.

"Do you know that Zhuangyuan Lang has admired you for a long time?"

"Why, why, he doesn't like it..." Zhou Jingyi seemed to have remembered something, quickly pushed the door out, and ran away.Gu Bin sat at the table and smiled without saying a word.

Many, many years later, there was a strange fu written by a clean and honest official, which was said to have been written by him in his old age.This Fu has a peculiar style of writing, with a sense of ridicule and show-off in the seriousness, and the writing has a sense of strangeness.It is the story of him and his master.This upright official has always been a petty official, but his deeds are widely publicized. The most widely publicized is the love story between him and his lord. Loved him and his lord very much.

This Fu is called "Half-faced Angel".