"Let me help you take a photo! If you didn't take photos when you were on vacation, it meant that you had never been here before.”
Wang Yifan magically took out a camera from his pocket. Bai Mengfei was stunned for a moment before she smiled at Wang Yifan and said,""There's no need. I don't like to take photos. The photos only tell us what I used to have and what I will remember in the future. It was just a memory, and I always kept it in my mind. I never took pictures of it.”
Hearing this, Wang Yifan smiled and put the camera in his pocket. "As a girl, I thought you would like it. I didn't expect it. I'm sorry.”
"There's nothing to be sorry about. We just met and don't know each other very well. If there's a chance in the future, let's get to know each other better!”
Wang Yifan nodded. To be honest, this girl had brought him too many surprises. What kind of girl was she? He really wanted to find out, but his rationality told him that he couldn't. He was a person who had an engagement. Although his parents had arranged it since he was young, in the countryside, the order of parents and the words of matchmakers were still useful. Unless one party proposed it, even if they had never met, they would still get married. However, the party who proposed it couldn't get the dowry back. This had long become a common practice in the countryside. Therefore, even if Wang Yifan had never met his so-called fiancée, Qi Miao, he had to marry her unless the Qi Miao family proposed it.
Qi Miao's family lived in Willow Pool Village, which was not far from their village. According to his father, Qi Miao's father's business had been doing very well in recent years, and the whole family had moved to the city. Wang Yifan's father had been urging Wang Yifan and Qi Miao to get married because there were no boys in Qi Miao's family. There were only Qi Miao and her sister. Qi Miao's father also hoped that they would get married as soon as possible so that Wang Yifan could help him. No matter what, Wang Yifan was now a soldier. In the countryside, whoever's child was a soldier proved that the child's character was good. Otherwise, the army would not have accepted him! This time, Wang Yifan was on leave. This matter had long been put on the family agenda by their parents.
Sometimes, people's plans could not be calculated by the heavens. When Qi Miao's father went overseas to do business, he was accidentally hit by a car. The marriage could only be postponed. Otherwise, Wang Yifan might have already gotten married. He wouldn't have met Bai Mengfei. Sometimes, Wang Yifan didn't know if he really liked Qi Miao or if Qi Miao really liked him. Sometimes, he imagined that in this materialistic era, love was really a luxury, especially for him who was born in the countryside. He really didn't know what was so good about Qi Miao, but if he wanted to marry her, he really didn't know if he could give her happiness.
Perhaps in the countryside, happiness depended on what your family ate every day. What were they wearing? Did he have a car or a motorcycle at home? Did he have a big house or a single-story house? Was it a high-rise building or a shack? No matter what the children were like, as long as the adults could afford to build a house, they would have a wife. He did not know what kind of tradition this was, nor did he know what kind of convention it was, but everyone seemed to be abiding by this eternal law. Looking at Bai Mengfei now, as a man, it was impossible for Wang Yifan not to have any ideas. However, even if he had ideas, he might not necessarily have to implement them.
Wang Yifan tidied up his smile. Even if she was just a passer-by in his life, why not leave a good impression on her? He began his joking tour guide style again.
He pulled Bai Mengfei to the wordless monument and introduced her,""This is a wordless monument. Although there are words on it now, they were written by scholars after the Tang Dynasty. Look at this monument. This is a complete boulder. It is 7.53 meters high, 2.1 meters wide, and 1.49 meters thick. It gives people a sense of solemnity and thickness, and also a sense of beauty. Look, although there are no words on the surface of the monument, there is a horned dragon in the middle, four on the left and four on the right. If you count, there are nine, so this monument is also called the Nine Dragon Monument. When he was young, he heard the elders in the village say that there were several explanations for the wordless monument. One was that Wu Zetian felt that it was better not to write the inscription because she knew that she had committed a grave sin, forced her husband to kill her son, and harmed the Li family. One said that she erected the Wordless Monument to praise herself, to show that she was the only female emperor who had never been seen before and would never be seen again, and that her merits could not be expressed in words. Another theory was that Wu Zetian's son, Tang Zhongzong, Li Xian, hated his mother's actions. He didn't know how to comment on his mother, but he couldn't let the world say that he was unfilial, so he set up the Wordless Monument. As for whether his mother's merits and demerits were left to future generations to judge!”
Listening to Wang Yifan's introduction, Bai Mengfei observed carefully. There were eight Horned Dragons on the left and right sides. They were ingeniously intertwined with each other. Their scales were distinct, and their bones were exposed. They were quiet and lively. On both sides of the stele were pictures of rising dragons. Each of them had a dragon flying in the air. It was carved in lines, and the dragon soared like a soaring dragon. It was lifelike. The front of the stele seemed to have a picture of a lion and a horse fighting. The horse bent its hooves and bowed its head, looking docile and cute, while the lion raised its head and glared angrily, giving people a very dignified feeling. There were also many flower and grass patterns on the monument. It was already more than 2000 years old, but the lines were still as fine and smooth as before. Bai Mengfei stood in front of the Wordless Monument in a daze as she looked at the words left behind by the literati. She looked at the other tourists who stopped in front of the Wordless Monument, staring at it, taking photos as a memento, and giving comments. Perhaps in the eyes of these tourists, the Wordless Monument was not only a symbol of Qianling, but also a symbol of Empress Wu Zetian's power! However, Bai Mengfei had a unique charm to it. She was more inclined to those legendary stories.
"Actually, this is the best and most sensible way, isn't it?”Bai Mengfei asked Wang Yifan in return. Perhaps some things were like the Wordless Monument. It was not that they did not say anything, but that everyone knew.
Bai Mengfei suddenly felt thirsty. She had just eaten at Wang Yifan's house and walked so far. Of course, she was thirsty. Just as she was hesitating whether to tell Wang Yifan, Wang Yifan took out two bottles of mineral water from somewhere. He handed one to Bai Mengfei and said,"Are you thirsty? If you're not thirsty, take it. Don't worry, I just bought it. There was no special seasoning added to it.”
His words amused Bai Mengfei, and she fell into deep thought again. Wang Yifan walked over and looked at the Monument of the Saint. It was that one. He pointed at the monument opposite the Wordless Monument and told Bai Mengfei. "The difference between this stele and the wordless stele is that this stele was personally written by Wu Zetian. His son, Li Zhongzong, wrote a letter to praise Li Zhi. Look at this monument. What does it have? Forget it, I know you don't understand. Do you know the five elements?”Bai Mengfei nodded.
"This stele is arranged according to the five elements. There are a total of seven sections, representing the sun, moon, metal, wood, fire, and earth. Of course, it is to put gold on the face of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi. It means that his martial arts and culture illuminate the world. Do you understand? He heard from the old man that there used to be steles and pavilions, but they no longer existed. It was said that in the past, apart from the first and fourth sections, the other three sections were engraved with words on the front and both sides, especially the front of the inscription. Why was it that the painter of each word was filled with gold chips to shine? However, we can't see it now. After all, so many years have passed. The golden fragments have naturally fallen off, and most of the words have been eroded. What we can see now is only what remains. I wonder what our children and grandchildren will see in a few years.”Wang Yifan looked into the distance and sighed softly. As a local who grew up at the foot of Qianling Tomb, not everyone could understand the pain of seeing Qianling Tomb aging day by day.
In this era of excessive development of scenic spots, all local governments are thinking of ways to increase their financial revenue. How can they not make use of such tourist attractions? However, we have to respect history and the precious wealth left behind by our ancestors! However, excessive development and utilization had resulted in adverse consequences.
It was said that some places were used to connect with historical celebrities and historical stories. When he read the news, some places would even go so far as to wipe out history in order to snatch these things. What was even more ridiculous was that they dug out some of the villains, such as Xi Men Qing's hometown, Pan Jinlian's former residence, and Wu Dalang's shoulder pole.
Sometimes, we are really speechless and helpless because we are all ordinary people. Who has the ability to care about this? Who has the time to care? After all, this is the behavior of some government. However, what will be left for our descendants after such excessive development? When we were young, we could listen to the elders in the village. Then when we get old, what can we tell our children? Although electronic technology is very advanced, we have to store these things in computers and save them so that we can tell our future generations that this is how it is. However, no one can say clearly what this has to do with history. In an era where everything was assessed by the country's GDP, who would consider the future?
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。