There was a long table in front of the window, which was also full of books, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. A cup of tea rose with light smoke.
The sunlight shone through the paper bed and lit up the dark stacks.
The old Hanlin first opened the window and let the sunlight in, facing the lotus pond and the locust tree.
Xu Xian praised, "It's really elegant here!"
These Hanlin Scholars with idle jobs might be the saying that they lived in seclusion in the imperial court. Different from those new Jinshi who were eager to make progress, their life was a cup of tea and thousands of books. They didn't have the luxury of wine and meat, nor did they have the ups and downs of officialdom. They spent their whole life in these piles of old books.
Xu Xian sighed slightly. If he didn't have to do those things, this kind of life was not bad.
"Look at what's written in this book. Well, and this one, this one." The old man took out several books from the pile and handed them to Xu Xian, saying harshly.
Xu Xian took a look, it turned out to be 'Records of the Three Kingdoms', 'Book of Jin', 'Book of Later Han', not waiting for Xu Xian to react, the old man also found 'Wei-Jin World History', 'Book of Continued Han', 'Book of Wu' and a whole bunch of other books and placed them in Xu Xian's hands, there were actually dozens of them, in the end Xu Xian had no choice but to hold them with both hands, hugging them.
Xu Xian said helplessly, "Your honor, why are you showing me these?"
The old Hanlin was anxious at once, "What?!
I want you to see how ridiculous your Romance of the Three Kingdoms is! "
Xu Xian threw away the books in his arms and said indifferently, "Since it's a romance, of course it's fake."
"Fake!"
The old Hanlin was stunned. He didn't expect that Xu Xian would admit it so easily. It was as if he had hit nothing with great force. His chest was stuffy. He adjusted his mind and asked, "Why did you write it if it's fake?!"
Xu Xian said frankly, "Of course it's for money!"
The old Hanlin took three steps back and pointed at Xu Xian with his eyes wide open, "You, you …" In this era where a gentleman was ashamed to talk about benefits and pay particular attention to "a gentleman is always poor", he never thought that a gifted scholar of his generation could say such a thing. His face turned red for a moment.
Xu Xian didn't expect that his words could make the old man so angry. He didn't want to kill him again. He quickly stepped forward and patted the old man's bony back, passing a warm current into the old man's body. The old Hanlin finally coughed violently and took a deep breath. He sat on the chair and slammed the table, saying angrily, "You can't be taught! You can't be taught!"
Of course, Xu Xian couldn't be angry with such an old man, so he half-coaxed and half-persuaded, "At that time, I wanted to write a medical book, but I didn't have enough money, so I wrote it for fun!
In my opinion, medical books are related to human lives, so we must strive for perfection without the slightest mistake.
The words of novelists are just entertainment. How can they be taken seriously? "
Writing a medical book?
In a trance, the old Hanlin remembered that Xu Xian did publish a medical book at that time, but he didn't care much about this miscellaneous knowledge. Besides, the Compendium of Materia Medica was far less popular than the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He didn't expect that the money Xu Xian earned from selling books was invested in this book. The anger in his heart couldn't help but dissipate a little. He slightly relaxed and said, "You have done a good deed!
But a gentleman must die for righteousness. Don't keep talking about the word 'profit'. If you are stained with the smell of money, you will be ashamed of the sage's teachings and what you have learned. "
Xu Xian said with a smile, "A gentleman loves money. He takes it in the right way and uses it in the right way. Why should he be ashamed?"
The old Hanlin was shocked and showed a thoughtful look.
"A gentleman loves money and takes it in the right way." This was an idiom that only existed in later generations. Now it was said casually by Xu Xian, but it was somewhat enlightening.
"You, you have a point!"
Xu Xian saw that the old Hanlin was not the kind of unreasonable, stubborn person who took advantage of his seniority.
"Old sir, do you think my Three Kingdoms is not good?
I'm not the only one who writes novels now. I don't know how many people write the Romance of the Qin and Han Dynasties. Don't just come at me. "After the popularity of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there were bound to be many people who followed the trend.
The old Hanlin pushed away Xu Xian's arm and picked up the only open book on the table. It was the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Xu Xian didn't notice it just now. It turned out that the old Hanlin was reading this book. He sighed and said, "Alas, it's not that it's not good, but it's too good.
I've read through all the historical novels that you've mentioned. They're all smelly, far inferior to your book. But that's not necessarily a bad thing! "
Xu Xian was surprised and said, "A good thing?" He vaguely understood what the old Hanlin meant.
The old Hanlin held the corner of the table and sighed with emotion. "Their Romance can only confuse people for a while, or even make a fool of themselves. But your Romance will be passed down through the ages, so that future generations only know the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but don't know the History of the Three Kingdoms.
It's a mistake! "
Xu Xian admired the old Hanlin's vision. He deserved to be a writer of history.
There was no shortage of Romance in the history of China. Many people wanted to imitate the deeds of their predecessors, but only a few of them were passed down to the world. The only one that could really be called a masterpiece was that one book.
It was this Romance of the Three Kingdoms that made people have a special feeling for the history of the Three Kingdoms. Without this book, this history would not be so profound. It was just like without the wonderful writing of Shi Shuo Xin Yu, it would be difficult for future generations to directly experience the elegant demeanor of the scholars of Wei and Jin Dynasties.
But the real history was indeed distorted and rewritten. Ordinary people did not care about what the real history was. When they thought of the Three Kingdoms, they would only remember the "Three Kingdoms in the Peach Garden" and "riding a horse for a thousand miles". How could such a thing not make the old historian in front of him sigh with emotion and even feel that it was unfair?
Xu Xian advised, "You don't have to worry too much about it. What's wrong with it?
Even the History of the Three Kingdoms may not be all true. There is a great master in our country who once said that half of history is false! "
The old Hanlin jumped up from his chair. "Who said that!?"
Of course, Xu Xian could not tell him that this was what Mao Taizu said. The original words were, "Most of the twenty-four histories are false, and most of the so-called historical records are also false!"
He could only say, "Don't worry about who said it. For example, the events of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors happened thousands of years ago, and there are no written records. How did Sima Qian know about it? It's just a guess and some rumors. It's the same for the later dynasty to write the history of the previous dynasty."
The old Hanlin was not as anxious as Xu Xian expected. Instead, he slowly sat down and looked directly at Xu Xian with his eyes shining. He said, "Then I saw it with my own eyes. It can't be false, right?"
Xu Xian felt uncomfortable under his gaze. "Saw it with your own eyes?
See what? "
The old Hanlin smiled slightly. "Today, I will let you see what it means to say that the writing of history is like iron!"
After that, he pushed away all the books on the table, leaving a large empty space. He spread out a piece of white paper, rolled up his sleeves, took out a weasel's bristle, dipped it in ink, and wrote on the paper, "Xu Xian, courtesy name Hanwen, from Qiantang.
His mother dreamed that an immortal fell into his arms, so he got his name. "A line of black characters was clearly left on the white paper.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"
The old Hanlin shook his head and said, "Of course I'm writing a history biography!"
"For me?
I'm still young. Why should I write a history or a biography?
And there's no such thing as dreaming that an immortal fell into his arms! "
The old Hanlin was surprised and said, "No?"
"How would I know!"
The old Hanlin said regardless, "It's necessary to make appropriate processing."
"Are you really a historian?"
The old Hanlin continued to write, "His talent was extraordinary. He was more than eight feet tall, and people at that time might be different.
Read less poetry and books, and have a photographic memory. "
"What 'people at that time might be different'? I grew so tall later. Alas, I'm afraid of you. You can play by yourself. I'm leaving!" Xu Xian waved his hand helplessly and was about to leave.
The old Hanlin held the weasel's bristle, squinted at Xu Xian and said, "Leave?
You're digging your own grave! "
Xu Xian was about to step out of the door. Hearing this, he turned back and said, "What grave?" And, don't steal my lines.
The old Hanlin didn't even look at him. He just kept writing, with a bit of fanaticism in his earnestness.
Xu Xian felt creeped out when he thought that the old Hanlin was writing about himself and was going to pass down what he wrote to the future generations.
"You're too famous, and the title of 'First in the World' is a taboo in the literary world!
The other Hanlins have already set up a battle array in the inner courtyard. You only need to smash the cup as a signal. Then, fifty executioners will come out from behind the screen and take your head. "
Even though Xu Xian had a strong sense of reason, he couldn't help but open his mouth wide when he heard this, "You, you said they're going to kill me?"
Not to mention that the title of "First in the World" was not self-conferred. Even if it was self-conferred, it was a taboo in the literary world, but it was not necessary to do this. Was it the Hanlin Academy or the mafia?
The old Hanlin stopped writing and thought for a while. He said, "Well, I'm wrong. I've read too much of your Romance of the Three Kingdoms!"
Xu Xian said helplessly, "Then what's going on?"
"The other Hanlin Academy knew that you were the Third Flower in the examination. They discussed it for half a night and then decided on the rules — to give you a show of strength."
"You discussed it for half a night, and that's the result?
That's too inefficient! "
"We discussed it for half a night before we figured out how to deal with you."
"So you didn't sleep all night?!"
"Don't you ask how they want to deal with you?"
Xu Xian exhaled and asked, "How do they want to deal with me?" In a trance, he understood why he didn't meet many people along the way.
The old Hanlin hesitated for a moment and said, "I shouldn't have revealed the secrets of the Hanlin Academy. But for the sake of your sincerity, I can't bear to let your reputation go to waste. Come closer."
Xu Xian hurried forward and heard the old Hanlin say, "They want to use all kinds of clever tricks, such as crossing the sea by deceiving the sky, waiting for you to be exhausted, blossoming on a tree, hiding a knife in a smile, and so on. They will form a series of tricks to deal with you."
Xu Xian was in a cold sweat. "Can't it be simpler?" The old Hanlin said word by word, "Seven Absolutes!"
Xu Xian was shocked and said, "Seven Absolutes?" He had never heard of it. Was it some kind of weapon?
The old Hanlin nodded with certainty and said, "Yes, Seven Absolutes?"
Xu Xian took a deep breath and said, "Can you be more specific?"
The old Hanlin took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and said, "To be specific, seven couplets!"
Xu Xian was speechless for a while and said, "It turns out to be so specific. I thought it was poetry again!"
"Who dares to test your poetry? Besides, I heard that you read a lot of books and have a photographic memory. I'm afraid that ordinary classics and history sub-collections won't be a problem for you. Yesterday, the Hanlin racked their brains and searched all over the library. It took them a whole day to sort out seven world-shaking Eternal Absolutes. They will let you do it then."
Xu Xian said, "Is the Hanlin Academy so free?
They are thinking about dealing with me day and night!
Forget it. Can you tell me, what are those couplets? "
He knew what he was capable of. Couplets needed quick wit, which couldn't be dealt with by reading a lot.
Not to mention that it was not easy for a group of Hanlin to come up with the absolutes, even a slightly more difficult couplet would be a big problem for him.
The old Hanlin said, "I can't tell you this. After all, I am also a member of the Hanlin Academy. I can only give you a plan."
"Hmm?"
"It's better to run away!"
Xu Xian said, "You want me to run away?"
He wanted to run away, but he would come here to "work" in the future. The Hanlin Academy was his work unit. This was the standard "a monk can run away, but the temple can't run away".
He originally wanted to be an idle Hanlin, but he didn't expect that there were so many things in the Hanlin Academy. Sure enough, people in Jianghu couldn't help themselves.
The old Hanlin said earnestly, "Don't be impulsive. Those seven couplets are very difficult. With your talent, you may be able to match them. But even if you can match them, you can only show off for a while and hurt the faces of your colleagues. How can you get along with each other in the future?
You have just entered the official career, and it's not good for you to have a reputation of being arrogant and unable to work with others!
It's better to leave first and visit the Grand Secretary's Mansion in the future. If you abide by the etiquette of a disciple, he will be too embarrassed to embarrass you. "These words also showed that he didn't study history in vain these years.
"Well said!
Hanlin, what this lord said is the words of gold and stone. "A clear voice came from outside the window. Pan Yu walked into the room with her hands behind her back.
"Mingyu, why are you here?"
Pan Yu said, "They asked me to come to you." Then she cupped her hands to the old Hanlin and said, "Student Pan Yu pays respect to the old lord."
The old Hanlin quickly stood up and returned the salute, "This is this year's Zhuangyuan!" He and Pan Yu were at the same level, and both were editors of the Secondary Sixth Rank. Of course, he couldn't take advantage of his seniority.
"Mingyu, what do you think?"
Pan Yu smiled faintly and said, "Whatever you want is fine!"
She wanted to see what the Seven Absolutes were. Even if Xu Xian couldn't match them, she was confident that she could. At that time, she could send him a voice transmission.
Although the old Hanlin's worry was not unreasonable, Xu Xian's background was a mess. Even if he offended someone, he didn't need to be afraid.
Xu Xian thought for a moment and said, "Let's go! Let's go!"
The old Hanlin advised, "I know you have something to rely on, but you can't always borrow power, let alone rely on it. You need to cultivate yourself." He thought that Xu Xian relied on his relationship with Pan Yu.
Xu Xian grinned and said, "Thank you for your concern, sir. I will handle it well. Didn't you want to trouble me just now?
Nothing has happened to him! "
The old Hanlin took a deep look at Xu Xian and nodded. "Then you go!"
The two said goodbye to the old Hanlin. On the way, Pan Yu said with a smile, "Hanwen, you have a plan in mind!"
Xu Xian nodded and said, "Let's go. Let's see what the Seven Absolutes are."