coobybook Chapter 187 Sitting and Discussing the Dao
Chapter 187 Sitting and Discussing the Dao
The Zhou family's main entrance.
The lintels of the carved beams and painted rafters are engraved with auspicious animal patterns such as "Qilin Treading on Spring", "Two Phoenixes Arriving", and "Emperor Returning".
A sea of people thronged around him, and the Zhou family members stood behind him. That figure, just like it had been thousands of years ago, remained unchanged, protecting him for eight hundred years.
With white hair and a youthful face, exuding an air of otherworldly grace, Jiang Cheng, fishing alone with a rod, looked up at Ying Zheng.
That one-eyed white mask, that fiery cloud robe fluttering in the cold wind.
Jiang Cheng sat cross-legged on the ground, gently placing the fishing rod on the white shirt on his right shoulder.
He picked up a pebble from the ground, held it up, and squinted at the sun, his eyes blinded by the sight of the stone.
Ying Zheng crossed his arms and glanced at Jiang Cheng indifferently, "Isn't your Zhou family quite good at fortune telling? Do you need to ask me?"
“Divination is for resolving doubts; what is the point of divination if there are no doubts?” Jiang Cheng laughed, picking up a pebble and placing it in front of him. “I am not a descendant of the Zhou family, but a descendant of Jiang Ziya. My surname is Jiang, my given name is Cheng, and my courtesy name is Taigong.”
When Ying Zheng heard Jiang Cheng say this, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he thought to himself, "The Zhou emperor enfeoffed the world before the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms."
Jiang Ziya not only assisted King Wu in overthrowing King Zhou, but also protected the Zhou Dynasty for over 800 years.
Now that you've come up here and introduced yourself, distancing yourself from the Zhou family, is there some deeper meaning behind this?
Ying Zheng calmly said, "You want to inherit the will of your ancestors and protect the Zhou family for another eight hundred years?"
Jiang Cheng did not answer the question directly, saying that the Jiang family had already sacrificed too much for the Zhou family.
The Zhou family originally had the surname Ji, with King Wen being Ji Chang and King Wu being Ji Fa.
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, in order to preserve the Zhou family bloodline, the Jiang family paid a bloody price by having all members of the Zhou clan change their names to Zhou, in order to avoid suspicion and seek benefits and avoid harm.
Behind Jiang Cheng stood many members of the Zhou family.
He couldn't express his true feelings directly, so he changed the subject:
"Before coming here, I originally intended to have my fortune told, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Do you know why?"
Ying Zheng said, "I would like to hear the details."
Jiang Cheng released the fishing rod with his right hand, placed his hands on his knees, and began to speak slowly and deliberately:
"Just as I was about to perform divination, a porcelain cup on the table was knocked to the ground and shattered by a white cat."
I am but a humble scholar, and have only grasped that there are two aspects to the witty remarks.
White represents purity. The cat, who was cautious and prudent throughout its life and never took risks, accidentally spilled its drink on the ground, thus demonstrating the saying "a hundred plans can have one slip-up."
A porcelain cup, made of unglazed clay, is fired and tempered in a kiln, and eventually shatters on the ground. Hence, the metaphor is "formed before broken".
I would appreciate your corrections (or guidance).
Ying Zheng's inner monologue: "Even the most meticulous plans can have a flaw, which must refer to a major mistake made by the Jiang family in recent years."
"The phrase 'first success, then ruin' likely refers to the Jiang family's initial success under the Zhou family's patronage, followed by their eventual downfall. It seems the Jiang family is currently facing difficulties as well."
In this life, one must learn to speak human language to human beings and ghost language to ghosts.
With a straightforward person, there is only a certain degree of directness; with a roundabout person, there is only a certain degree of indirectness.
After understanding the deeper meaning behind Jiang Cheng's words.
Ying Zheng pointed to the sky and uttered a single, insightful statement: "This is an ominous sign! All things that begin with vitality will inevitably perish in the end."
Ying Zheng closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground. "Is this what they mean by 'To repay the emperor's kindness on the golden platform, to wield the jade dragon and die for the emperor'?"
(This is what is often referred to as, "Are you willing to die for the kindness and favor shown to you by your sovereign?")
Jiang Cheng gave a helpless wry smile and shook his head. "A wise man keeps his talents hidden until the right time to act."
(A wise person keeps their wisdom, virtue, and extraordinary abilities hidden within them, waiting for the opportune moment to act.)
Ying Zheng immediately understood Jiang Cheng's implied meaning and nodded thoughtfully, saying:
"what do you want?"
"You may leave today, sir. Tomorrow, I will withdraw my entire clan from the Zhou family, if the current head of the Zhou family keeps his word." Jiang Cheng nodded humbly to Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng: "What if he doesn't keep his word?"
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Jiang Cheng: "A narrow-minded person is no gentleman."
Ying Zheng nodded: "No poison, no manhood."
The original meaning was: "A man without magnanimity cannot be a good man." Later interpretations have changed this meaning, suggesting an overemphasis on its original interpretation.
For example, the motorcycle advertisement slogan "Riding is endlessly enjoyable" is a variation of the idiom "Its joy is endless".
Jiang Cheng cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Ying Zheng and said:
"The sea does not refuse any water, therefore it can become vast; the mountain does not refuse any soil or stones, therefore it can become high."
"At that time, I hope you will accept my Jiang family."
Ying Zheng stared into Jiang Cheng's eyes and tentatively asked:
"Why not give it a try and conquer the world?"
Jiang Cheng smiled and shook his head, saying:
"We're not destined for that! You may not know this, but for a small family like ours, it's already a miracle that we've managed to survive in this chaotic world."
That's how powerful and influential families operate: they cast their nets wide and diversify their investments.
Just like the Zhuge family during the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang worked in Shu, Zhuge Jin worked in Wu, and Zhuge Dan worked in Wei.
You should never put all your eggs in one basket.
The masters come and go, but the families remain constant.
"Jiang Cheng speaks eloquently and must be a man of great ambition. His decision to step down to a secondary position in order to preserve his family shows he is quite a character," Ying Zheng thought to himself.
He nodded and smiled at Jiang Cheng:
"Show me your skills, lest I think that the descendant of Jiang Ziya is just a glib-tongued, good-for-nothing."
"Then I'll have to offend you!" Jiang Cheng smiled and slapped the ground with his hand.
In an instant!
Centered on Jiang Cheng, a Tai Chi Bagua pattern appeared and spread out on the ground!
From the inside out, the sequence is: Tai Chi symbol, Five Elements character wheel, Eight Trigrams character wheel, Earthly Branches character wheel, and Heavenly Stems character wheel!
A very distinctive compass.
Ying Zheng looked at this thing and was slightly taken aback. He thought to himself in surprise, "Although I used this Yin-Yang and Five Elements method when I executed the White King."
However, that was still within the Nibelungen, unlike him who could create a barrier with his bare hands in the real world.
This world truly is teeming with heroes!
When the Zhou family saw the huge compass on the ground, they were immediately in an uproar!
"Look! The young master has made his move, the Heaven and Earth Compass!"
"It's been so many years since I've seen Little Grandfather use this move! The last time I saw him use the Heaven and Earth Compass was the last time!"
"You're using way too much nonsense!"
"Don't you realize the crux of the problem?" After saying this, the Zhou family member frowned and quietly retreated behind the crowd.
"What's the key?"
"For the young master to take this so seriously, do you think this guy who came to offend our Zhou family is an ordinary person?"
"Yeah, that's true... Oh! No, we should keep a safe distance!"
"Maru spicy!"