Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 59: The Red Silk Reveals the Universe and Hidden Male and Female

"Sometimes I want to ask, what are the stories in your dreams?" Guan Yin woke up, and the person standing in front of him was still Liu Jiaoan. The latter held her chin up, and when she opened her mouth, she looked like a little girl.

"It's a friend..." It seemed like a dream, but not a dream. It was clear that Cheng Heng was the person he met in real life. Guan Yin himself could not tell the truth from the false, so how could he explain it clearly to Liu Jiaoan?

When things don't go as planned outside of a dream, it's natural for people to become immersed in the dream. Liu Jiaoan pursed her lips and didn't continue the topic.

After passing by, Liu Jiaoan took the letter from the bookshelf behind Guan Yin and handed it to the latter: "Whether we should investigate this matter or not depends on what you think."

After talking about their identities and stories, Liu Jiaoan still put all the choices in Guan Yin's hands: "You are not her after all. You can just let go of the past and live your own life."

This was the first time that the two of them had an open discussion about their future plans. Liu Jiaoan knew that Guan Yin had too many thoughts beyond the restrictions here, and he also understood that if possible, Guan Yin's greatest wish was to leave.

"Since I am using her identity now, I naturally cannot leave her past." I have never read the system tasks in those online novels, and there is no necessity for revenge at all.

But when the story of the past was laid out before him exactly as it was, and the people in the story stood before him intact, Guan Yin understood: no matter whether it was a stroke planned long ago, or a drop splashed for no reason, the moment the ink fell on the scroll, it was destined to become a part of the brush and ink.

"It's a remote place, and maybe no one still remembers this past."

"You remember, the people on the other end of the letter remember, and the people who harmed Guan's father remember."

Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know that everyone's future is destined to be inseparable from the past.

The ups and downs of history made Guan Yin dare not say that all good deeds have good results, but for the students he taught, Cheng Heng who was obsessed with "fairness", and even himself, no matter what happened, it was not without reason...

"Okay." Liu Jiaoan knew clearly that Tongtong and Guan Yin in front of her were not the same person, but because of Guan Yin's words, she unconsciously recalled the girl who always insisted on having a "clear conscience".

The letter was not even a proof. When Guan Yin, disguised as a man, appeared in front of the teacher, the latter laughed and said, "I was right that day."

The visitor did not ask why Guan Yin did not reveal his identity when he saw him that day. On the bustling streets, there were many shops that were not built by the Liu family. It would be of no benefit to either party if they told the truth.

"Once you lose power, all your merits and demerits will be judged by others. But now the evidence is all on this man. If I want to clear your name, I may still need to fight for my fame."

What does it matter if you study hard and get a good reputation? Can you definitely become an official and serve the people? Can you really stick to yourself and not be corrupted? But for the sake of the teacher who taught me, I have to give it a try: "The teacher has always had the people in his heart. If the things that happened back then are not investigated, it will be difficult to prevent future troubles."

The teacher's surname was Cheng, his given name was Jianwei, and his courtesy name was Yinghui. He passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve, but because of his teacher's death, he never took the imperial examination again and stayed in the countryside to teach for a living.

Cheng Jianwei was named by Guan's father, which means "seeing the big from the small" and was originally a very good expectation. He was also given the courtesy name "Yinghui" early on, but it was a pity that Guan's father passed away before Cheng Jianwei came of age.

"Please think back and see if the master has mentioned any details of the past events. Perhaps that is the key to breaking the impasse." Cheng Jianwei is of the same age as Cheng Heng, but his personality is much calmer than Cheng Heng. Even though he has never felt the loneliness of living under someone else's roof as a disciple of the master, he has grown up early enough to be able to stand on his own.

In public, Guan Yin would certainly not be able to explain to Cheng Jianwei that his core was no longer his original self and that he could not remember anything about the past.

"Guan..." Cheng Jianwei's eyes swept around the stall and finally fell back on Guan Yin, "Brother Guan, have you ever thought about the path of imperial examinations?"

Guan's father never refused to pass on his life's learning just because his child was a girl. It was precisely because of Guan's father's open-mindedness that the original author was able to make a living with these writings.

As for the original person disguising herself as a man, it was nothing more than a means of self-protection from the beginning to the end. Later, it created an opportunity to rescue Liu Jiaoan from an involuntary marriage. Even Guan Yin never thought of replacing anyone else to take the exam.

I have to say that this pair of siblings from different families who were taught by Guan's father are very similar in one respect: besides being brave enough to do and take responsibility for their actions, Guan Tongtong and Cheng Jianwei are also too "daring".

When Guan Yin was unable to recover from Cheng Jianwei's unreasonable words, the latter had already revealed his thoughts: "No matter what, it won't be worse than it is now, right?"

The worst that can happen is death. Cheng Jianwei is an orphan, and now there is no housekeeper. It is much better for two people to fight together than to fight alone. Cheng Jianwei dare not expect that her adopted sister can find a husband of her dreams, but the latter is determined to redress the injustice done to her husband.

"Maybe my father..." Although Liu Jiaoan and Cheng Jianwei did not have much interaction when they were young, Tongtong had already told her about the character of this sworn brother.

Independent and resolute, now it is clear that it was because of Guan's father's trust in his "classmate" that the originally perfect family came to this situation. Cheng Jianwei may find it difficult to trust any outsider.

Fortunately, Guan Yin has not yet revealed his identity, otherwise Cheng Jianwei would be left alone on this road from which it would be difficult to see the way back...

"Brother Guan, you should think about it carefully. This may not be the only way to go." Looking at his adopted sister who grew up with him, Cheng Jianwei did not want the price of clearing his master's name would be the loss of his last bloodline. "Brother Guan has no job now, so you should think about your future."

Cheng Jianwei never questioned the relationship between his adopted sister and Liu Jiaoan. The latter lived in the Liu family and must have many things she couldn't do. His adopted sister couldn't stand these injustices since she was a child, let alone the sisters who were sworn sisters.

"Okay, I'll give you an answer soon."

Before meeting Cheng Jianwei, Guan Yin had never thought about the possibility of this path, and he didn't know how much he could achieve with his original personality.

But Cheng Heng's words were still echoing in his ears: "Since ancient times, people who write drama scripts have at least had some literary skills." Cheng Jianwei's words today undoubtedly proved this point. If the original body were a man, he would have passed the imperial examination long ago!
If she prepares for the imperial examination herself, Liu Jiaoan will be able to reconcile with her father, and Cheng Jianwei will be able to get more help in the exam... What's more, most dynasties did not have explicit regulations prohibiting women from taking the imperial examinations. If she happens to make the right bet, all her worries will be solved.

"Brother Guan, you should know that the longer you put things off, the harder it will be to do them."

Cheng Jianwei was reminding his sister: the longer time goes by, the fewer witnesses there will be. If they want to bring down those people and prevent the dam breach from happening again in Huizhou in a different form, they must make a plan as soon as possible.

"it is good."

After leaving the address of the private school, Cheng Jianwei did not stay for long. He said goodbye to the two girls one by one, left some money for them to supplement their household expenses and a letter that he had written long ago, and then turned away. "I will support you no matter what you decide." Before meeting today, Liu Jiaoan had some prejudice against Cheng Jianwei.

If Cheng Jianwei had appeared earlier, would Tongtong not have cried alone looking at the moon in the middle of the night? Would she have stayed in that cannibalistic music school for less time? Would she have dared to have more expectations for life?
"It makes sense that Cheng Jianwei doesn't trust my father."

Guan Yin and Liu Jiaoan didn't say anything else along the way. They just waited to get home as soon as possible to open the letter and see what Cheng Jianwei was reluctant to explain face to face.

"I have been looking for your whereabouts since I returned home. I still remember the two characters 'Yin Yun', which was the courtesy name that the master specially gave you."

In this era, very few girls had a courtesy name, and after the original girl was given a courtesy name, few people called her by that name. It just happened to become a secret code between brothers and sisters.

"When I finally found the music school, I heard that you were no longer there, which is why I have been delayed until now."

The following text was very short, and there was no more content related to Guan's father's injustice. However, in these three or two plain words, every stroke and every stroke expressed Cheng Jianwei's heartache for his adopted sister...

At this moment, Guan Yin had no time to think about whether Cheng Jianwei would regret not finding the only remaining bloodline of his master earlier if she knew that he was no longer his sister.

The words written in black ink on white paper can be engraved in people's hearts more than those deafening words. When Guan Yin realized that his emotions had been unconsciously brought into the original body, any rationality seemed to be insufficient to stop a young man from pursuing the truth...

"Jiaoan, if it were her, what would she choose?"

"I'm not Tongtong, I don't know what Tongtong would do. But he is her brother, her father..."

But in the eyes of outsiders, Guan Yin is now the original body, and her choice is the choice of the original body.

"What Cheng Jianwei said makes sense. It seems that the result can't be any worse than it is now." Guan Yin knew that this was his choice.

The bookshelf behind him is filled with words left by the original body. Those words written long ago just prove that if it was the original body standing here now, he would most likely make the same choice.

"Sanheng." Liu Jiaoan did not respond to Guan Yin's words, but walked slowly to the door and called Sanheng in. "Sanheng, since father wants you to look after your husband, then you should go back to the Liu Mansion and tell father that your husband is going to take the imperial examination now."

"I'm afraid he will still need your support in the future, so don't bother your husband everywhere... If you don't want to stay, just stay in Liu's house and don't come back."

The road ahead will be even more difficult. Liu Jiaoan doesn't want Sanheng to be here, and she doesn't want her father to know Yin Yunshan's true identity so early - maybe the boss her father needs to curry favor with is closely related to the housekeeper's affairs.

"Madam, are you going to chase Sanheng away again?"

People in the Liu family were not treated as human beings, and even Sanheng's parents had never given him much company. Only with his wife and husband did Sanheng truly feel a little warmth, and of course he was reluctant to leave.

"I'm not trying to drive you away. It's just that my husband is preparing for the exam, so our family is naturally not well off. You don't have to suffer with us. Go back to the Liu family, and you can at least have enough food and clothing."

"Madam, if Sanheng leaves, do you want Madam to chop wood yourself?"

"Madam, the roads on Huangshan Mountain are slippery and difficult to walk on in winter. How can Sanheng..."

The green mountain not far away is very large. In the eyes of literati and poets, it is a good place for strange pines, strange rocks, sea of clouds and hot springs. However, on this side of the mountain, apart from the residential areas, there are few tourists.

The mountain road was difficult to travel, and the road was blocked by ice and snow. After leaving Sanheng, who could go up the mountain to collect firewood for a girl who had been pampered since childhood and a fake husband who wrote articles in the house all day? With the little money they had, they could not even survive the winter by buying some charcoal at the market.

"you……"

"Madam, if Sanheng is willing to stay, then he can stay." Liu Jiaoan didn't feel comfortable backing down at this time, so Guan Yin handed it over in time.

Although his husband said so, San Heng still didn't dare to let his heart rest. When he cast his eyes on his wife, the latter slightly lowered her eyes and nodded: "Since my husband said so, you should just listen to him."

"Sanheng, since you want to stay, just treat this place as your home." Guan Yin had long been unaccustomed to the so-called master-servant distinction. Having already confessed his identity to Liu Jiaoan, he took the opportunity to treat Sanheng as his sworn brother.

Moreover, now that he has made up his mind to expose the truth about the housekeeper, Sanheng might still be of great use if he stays here: "If you are willing to take the imperial examination together, that would be great."

This time, Sanheng did not hesitate, and kept shaking his head: "Husband, please stop joking with Sanheng. Sanheng is not qualified to take the exam. Sanheng can't understand a single word of those words!"

"That's because you've never had a teacher to teach you how to read."

"But... Sanheng is useless even if he can read."

"There is no such thing as mastering knowledge in this world." Guan Yin's occupational disease came back. Hearing San Heng's unmotivated words, his brows furrowed at the same time. "Maybe not today, not tomorrow, when you can use it, you will understand the role of literacy!"

"My husband can read, and my wife can read a little, but we still need Sanheng..."

San Heng finally gave in to Guan Yin's gaze, and while swallowing his saliva, he swallowed the words he wanted to say: "Well... San Heng will listen to my husband."

"That's it. The countryside values farming and reading. If you want to change the status of your descendants and not have your children have to obey orders like you, then you have to study more."

There have been several sleepless nights, with the green hills outside the courtyard shining in the setting sun. Guan Yin is a teacher, and she dare not say that she has seen how much change this generation of children has undergone through reading - but many of her colleagues have gone to big cities through reading and changed their original lives through reading.

Unconsciously, Guan Yin finally deviated from his original idea and began to make choices that his original self would not have made.