During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song (1068 CE), Su Shi, who was the general judge of Hangzhou, was transferred back to Bieliang by an urgent secret order from the imperial court.
The autumn mood of Xiao Ser enveloped the city of Bieliang. Su Shi looked at the worn-out clothes on the streets, and his mood was also very heavy. Wang Anshi has changed the law for many years, but the lives of ordinary people have not improved much. He followed the eunuch to the Langyuan Courtyard where Emperor Shenzong was painting, and Emperor Shenzong was looking at the two paintings hanging on the wall in a daze.
When Emperor Shenzong, who was vassal and elegant, saw Su Shi, he seemed to be expecting a savior. He grabbed Su Shi's right hand and dragged him to the two five-generation Guan Tong's "Daishan Elevation Diagram" that he copied, which were two identical paintings. Su Shi found a difference at a glance, the first brush was flexible, and there was a vigorous vitality between the landscape and water, while the second brush force was desolate, and a autumn depression had jumped on the paper. On the emerald pen holder on the table next to the painting, there are also two black pole brushes.
Su Shi picked up the two brushes and couldn't help but take a long breath, these two brushes were extremely precious cold food pens. The so-called cold food pen is a brush made of cold food bamboo into a pen tube. Yu Shang of the Tang Dynasty said in the "Bamboo Spectrum": Cold food bamboo is held in the hand, no matter how hot the weather, the palm will not sweat. Emperor Shenzong used these two identical cold food pens to paint two identical landscape paintings, but after looking at them, two different results appeared. These two cold food pens were still given by Sima Guang to the current emperor.
Emperor Shenzong knew of Su Shi's fame in the world of calligraphy and painting, so he gave him the task of inquiring into the strangeness of the cold food pen. Su Shi and Sima Guang were good friends, and Su Shi came to Sima Guang's mansion with these two cold food pens. A year ago, Sima Guang lost his official position because he opposed Wang Anshi's change of law, and in a fit of anger, Sima Guang traveled all over the world. He was entertained by Sima Guang's nephew Sima Qingfeng. Sima Qingfeng was the head of the Criminal Division, and because he had repeatedly solved major cases, he was very appreciated by Lord Wang of the Punishment Division.
Su Shi and Sima Qingfeng chatted, only to learn that these two cold food pens were made by the Beijing Yunfeige Pen Shop, just three months ago, the YunfeiGe Pen Shop was in a tragic fire, and the owner of the pen shop had died in the fire.
How could Sima Guang present two cold food pens to the emperor to draw different paintings? Su Shi had difficulties, Sima Qingfeng naturally could not stand idly by, his new wife was Gu Xiaoyun, the owner of the Gujia Pen Shop in Beijing, and Gu Xiaoyun's father was Gu Qiancheng, the elder of the Pen Circle in Beijing. Maybe Gu Qiancheng can crack the mystery of these two brushes.
Su Shi and Sima Qingfeng came to Gu Jia's pen shop. Gu Xiaoyun was also very impressed with Su Shi's talent, and after eating the dinner, Su Shi took out the pen box in his arms. Gu Xiaoyun took these two strange pens and looked left and right, and his face was also full of doubts.
Cold food bamboo is the world's first strange bamboo. In the legend, it is the essence of Qu Yuan, the doctor of the Three Lu Dynasties. For this kind of psychic deity, many calligraphers and painters flock to it. However, this kind of cold food bamboo has been extinct more than a hundred years ago, so the brush made of this cold food bamboo is absolutely priceless.
Listening to Gu Xiaoyun's eloquent words, Su Shi also nodded his head continuously. Gu Xiaoyun couldn't guess what mysteries these two brushes contained, so he had to ask his father Gu Qiancheng.
When she pushed Gu Qiancheng out of the wooden wheelchair, Su Shi was stunned. Gu Qiancheng was a prominent figure in the pen industry in Beijing at that time, not only a literary and martial all-rounder, but also a fine brush in the pen, but now Gu Qiancheng has suffered a stroke and is paralyzed!
The corners of Gu Qiancheng's mouth kept dripping saliva. He looked at the two cold food pens with godless eyes, and he kept shaking his head.
Gu Xiaoyun had no choice but to push his father to the back to rest. When the attentive Gu Xiaoyun returned, she was holding a balance for making pens.
Su Shi put the two pens on the scale. The brush engraved with the word "food" was slightly heavier, and it was no different from that cold pen!
The three people analyzed for half a day, and did not study the final results. The two young couples went back to their rooms to rest, and Su Shi also blew out the candles and fell asleep. He slept in a daze until the middle of the night, and overheard a "clucking" sound coming from the room, the sound was extremely slight, if he didn't listen carefully, he couldn't hear it at all, was it a rat that came out to feed? Su Shi felt the fire fold and lit the candle, stared at it, and couldn't help but scream, it turned out that the balance was moving, it was the tray on the side of the balance gently tapping the table... Two cold food pens are placed at both ends of the scale, how can they move on their own?
When Su Shi called Sima Qingfeng from the next room into the room, the scales were no longer moving. The balance flutters, and the most likely thing is that there is something in the pen tube that can be moved. Gu Xiaoyun hissed, extinguished the candle on Zhuo, the three people waited in the room for half an hour, the flat sky "clicked" again, there must be something hidden in the pen tube, Gu Xiaoyun did not wait to light the candle, he listened to the camphor flower window behind him "bang" a loud noise, was slapped and broken, a black-clad masked man flew in like a whirlwind, and went straight to the brush on the scale to grab it.
When Sima Qingfeng saw that the man in black wanted to grab the pen, he slashed straight at the man in black with a sword. The man in black fought and retreated, and the last "harrier turned over" came out through the window, and Sima Qingfeng fled when he saw the black clothes, and then chased after him.
Gu Xiaoyun was not assured of her husband's safety and went outside to check the movements. After waiting for less than half an hour, Sima Qingyun, who was covered in sweat, returned, and he did not chase after the man in black, who was so skilled that he had already escaped without a trace. When the two people returned to the house, they found that Su Shi was also missing.
God, it won't be the man in black who killed another horse gun and robbed Su Shi away, Gu Xiaoyun shouted - go to see my father, the two people rushed to the back house, and in the distance they heard a loud "bang" in Gu Qiancheng's house, followed by the sound of fighting.
Sima Qingfeng kicked the door open, and Gu Xiaoyun followed Sima Qingfeng and rushed into the room, only to see Su Shi holding two vases in his hand and smashing into the black-clad masked man in the room! The wooden bed in the room was empty, where did Gu Qiancheng go?
The man in black was holding a paper-pressed iron ruler in his hand, dodging left and right, seeing Sima Qingfeng killed into the house, was about to take the road to escape, Sima Qingfeng roared, killed forward, Gu Xiaoyun saw his father missing, believed that it was made by the man in black, and picked up a long iron candlestick. He said, "Thief, where did you kidnap my father?" After drinking, he picked up the candlestick and stabbed at the chest of the man in black, only to hear a "snort", the shirt of the man in black was lifted, and the cold food pen in his arms "clicked" and fell to the ground. The man in black retreated wildly. One foot broke the pen shaft.
Sima Qingfeng and Gu Xiaoyun stepped up their attacks, and Su Shi looked at the black-clad man who had been defeated and retreated and sneered, "Brother Qingcheng, you don't want to act anymore." I already knew it was you, so you should admit it quickly! ”
The three people who were fighting on the floor of the house were all stunned, and Sima Qingfeng's knife swept against the black-clad man's ear and actually cut off his masked scarf. The man in black is really Gu Qiancheng, Gu Qiancheng has a stroke and is crippled, how can he be a masked thief!
When Gu Qiancheng saw that his identity was exposed, he sneered and said, "Yes, that cold food pen was stolen by me, Su Shi, what do you want to do with me?" ”
Sima Qingfeng and Gu Xiaoyun had doubtful looks on their faces. Su Shi first lit the candle, then bent down to pick up the cold food pen that had been broken, and said: "Sure enough, this brush tube with the word "food" written on it is full of bamboo beetles, and the bamboo beetle is about to break the shaft of this brush."
The brush was actually mothed by insects, and it was no wonder that the painting drawn by this "food" pen was full of desolate death. Sima Qingfeng and Gu Xiaoyun also suddenly realized. But Gu Qiancheng was in good health, so why pretend to be crippled by a stroke.
Su Shi patted his head and sneered, "I know, the Feiyunge Pen Shop is on fire, it must be related to you!"
When Gu Qiancheng told the inside story, everyone in the room was stunned.
It turned out that Yunfei Pavilion supported Sima Guang of the conservative faction. However, Gu Jia Pen Shop explicitly supported Sima Guang, but secretly admired the courage of the reformists and sided with Wang Anshi. Sima Guang, in order to please the emperor, tried to make a comeback. The task of making two unique brushes fell on the shoulders of the owner of Yunfei Pavilion. In order to frame Sima Guang, Gu Qiancheng sneaked into the Feiyun Pavilion in the dark night, and even hid several bamboo beetles in the barrel of the "food" pen. Originally, I thought that after the brush was broken by the bamboo beetle, the emperor would lower sima Guang, and Fei yunge would also be implicated because of the disadvantages of writing, but what he did not expect was that Emperor Shenzong had not touched the two cold food pens for several months. His plan to kill two birds with one stone also failed.
Gu Qiancheng really couldn't wait, one night, he put on his night clothes and secretly entered the Yunfei Pavilion, and a fire actually burned the Feiyun Pavilion that he had robbed himself of doing business in white. Half a year later, the emperor remembered the two cold food pens, and when he used them, he found the problem, and Gu Qiancheng saw that the shrewd Su Shi found his own palace, after all, he was a thief with a weak heart, and finally he remembered the idea of destroying the pen.
Su Shi turned his face to face Sima Qingfeng and said, "Sima Catcher, now that Gu Qiancheng has personally admitted the fact of the crime of arson, you must enforce the law impartially!" ”
Gu Qiancheng sneered, "The son-in-law I chose for my daughter, he will naturally turn to me, but." But......! After he finished his last words, his body shook, and a mouth spat out a mouthful of blood.
Gu Xiaoyun hurriedly stepped forward and helped his father, whose face was like a white paper, into a wooden wheelchair. Gu Qiancheng touched the top of his daughter's head and smiled bitterly: "I have long found that my lungs have a malignant lump, as soon as I use internal force, the lump will rupture and bleed, Gu Jia Pen Shop will be handed over to you after that, you must continue to operate well!" ”
Gu Xiaoyun nodded tearfully.
Gu Qiancheng beckoned to Su Shi, and Su Shi walked to Gu Qiancheng's side. Gu Qiancheng whispered a few words in Su Shi's ear, and Su Shi's face changed and he looked at Sima Qingfeng, who had a strange look in his eyes.
After Gu Qiancheng finished speaking, he smiled miserably and said, "Wang Anshi always wants to change the law, always wants to move the interests of the princes and ministers, but he didn't think about it carefully, who is the backstage boss of these princes and ministers, and is the current emperor,...... How could such a change succeed? Originally, I didn't want to participate in political struggles, but under the nest, Ann had the egg, and the two parties fought, either you died, or I died, you, me, him, who can go to the toilet! After Gu Qiancheng finished speaking, he laughed, spat out another mouthful of blood, and finally died of despair.
A broken pen, the painting must be permeated with death, a dying dynasty, no matter how to change, in the end it is also difficult to escape the fate of extinction!
Su Shi was holding the insect moth's cold food pen in his hand, his eyes were full of tears of excitement, he was ready to go to the court tomorrow, desperately trying not to, but also to explain this matter to Emperor Shenzong in detail. But there is one thing he can never say--Sima Guang suspected that it was the Yunfei Pavilion that Gu Qiancheng burned, he obviously wanted to get the support of the merchants and Gu Qiancheng to marry his family, secretly he wanted to arrange his nephew to Gu Qiancheng's side as an undercover, Gu Xiaoyun and Sima Qingfeng were very affectionate, or tell them to stay away from the whirlpool of political struggle.
Gu Qiancheng had cut off his internal pulse, he had no way to retreat, he could only choose to commit suicide. The next day, Su Shi went on to the court to speak out, and Emperor Shenzong was furious after hearing his theory of the beetles, and Su Shi was immediately demoted to a civilian position and exiled to Huangzhou.
40 years later, the Jin army invaded, and the decaying Northern Song Dynasty disappeared.