When the old woman in the temple stood up, the woman handed the broken celadon vase to the old woman and said that a young man in rich clothes had just come outside. He was young and quite ignorant of etiquette. He clearly saw that the lady was sincere here. To worship Buddha, he almost walked in. If he hadn't stopped him, he would have disturbed his wife's worshiping Buddha. Although he was born handsome and elegant, it's a pity that he was spoiled since he was a child and had no rules. God knows why there has always been no one in this village. People are asking for a visit, why did such a strange person come here today?
The old woman's eyes were dull, but her face was very peaceful. It seemed that she had been worshiping Buddha and practicing Zen for many years, and she couldn't care about anything. After hearing the woman's thoughts, she raised her lips and smiled, saying that it is best to be more generous when dealing with others. Maybe they really have something urgent. , not caring about all the etiquette, he immediately took the wooden staff from the woman's hand, and with support, he carefully and tremblingly stepped across the threshold of the temple, and then walked towards a thatched cottage that he seemed to be familiar with, without turning his eyes on the road. He looked forward very dullly, his eyes gray. A few families in this village all recognize this very old woman, who is only half a hundred years old. Judging from her face and facial features, she must have looked good when she was young. Unfortunately, I don't know if it is because of the exposure to the wind and frost in the suburbs of the capital. He is still depressed all day long, which makes his face look as if he is not half a hundred years old, but as if he is in his sixties.
This old woman has been here for nearly ten years. Everyone around her knows that she is relatively well-off and her children are probably promising, but she has never seen anyone come to visit her. This is also a strange thing, but the old woman He was kind-hearted, and when he saw the poor residents whose huts were in disrepair, he would always take out some money and give it to the girl, and hire craftsmen elsewhere to repair it. This abandoned temple in the middle of the village still seems to be a It's a bit shabby, but it's only because the old woman asked people to come and repair it several times that it looks like it does now.
After returning to the house, the old woman sat alone, but she picked up the porcelain vase again, and rubbed it up and down carefully for a long time. Her expression did not change much, but she was reluctant to put down the porcelain vase, even if it was The woman tried hard to persuade her, saying that she hadn't drunk any water for half a day. Even though the porcelain vase was unusual, she still had to drink water first. However, she still couldn't persuade the old woman to rub the porcelain vase inch by inch with her rough hands until the evening. , then handed the porcelain bottle to the woman, saying that she should put it away carefully.
"Madam, do you know that young master? Why did you come here to deliver such a porcelain vase for no reason? It seems that you haven't met anyone in the capital until now, let alone the man who was arranged by the master at the beginning. Could it be that the master sent someone to deliver this thing? ?」
After all, the woman was still young and couldn't hold the words in her heart. After placing the porcelain bottle in a prominent place, she hesitated for a moment and asked the old woman who was holding a cup of tea.
"Speaking of Master, do you remember why you were expelled from the house?"
The woman immediately wilted and lay down on the table with a sad expression. After a long time, she complained to the smiling old woman, "Madam always brings up that sad thing, but it seems that it is not a bad thing now. Madam has no relatives or friends around the capital, so it would be great to be able to help Madam."
"I think there was nothing wrong with you at the time. You just saw my son studying hard every day and you couldn't bear it. You used your own money to buy a small clay figure. You should be able to relieve his boredom. I am still a very cruel person. My husband cares too much about the word "promise" and insists on the shoulders of children of that age to support the Xun family. It's a pity that I still stayed in the capital at that time. Although I was thinking about it, I didn't know that my husband had such thoughts. Even you received thirty punishments with a cane, you are about the same age as my son, how could you withstand such a severe beating?"
The old woman felt very sorry for this smart and pretty woman. Not to mention the past ten years of taking care of her, even at that time, she felt that Xun Ji had gone too far in doing such a thing. She raised her eyes and looked in the direction of the woman. Sighed, "Others don't know, but I have known it for a long time. The reason why the Xun family still has such a good reputation in Qingchai to this day is that many outsiders don't know why the Xun family left the capital. In a small place like Qingchai, one can always imagine that there is Prime Minister Xun standing above the court today, guarding hundreds of officials. Secondly, the Xun family still has money, so no one dares to offend him, but they all Come forward to flatter me, not to mention the servants and maids in the Xun Mansion. Who dares to disobey the master? You are the only one who really cares about my son these years."
Having said this, the old woman paused, and then she laughed out loud and said, "Back then, I was an ordinary woman, thinking about my handsome lover all day long. Now that my son is old, he can think about his life's affairs.
, are you willing to marry? "
The face of the very pretty woman lying on the desk turned bright red, but she soon calmed down, her eyebrows lowered. After a while, she remembered that she had not replied, so she forced a smile and said, "Ma'am, I'm just joking. It is said that the young master will be the future head of the Xun family. Just because of his photographic memory since childhood, he will probably be a capable person who will become famous in this capital in the future. The servant is just a lowly maid serving the wife, and has never been a good match. , and you don’t think that your appearance is of national beauty and beauty, and if you have no talent or virtue, how can you have such blessings? It’s better not to think about it.”
"Yes, but it's not what you are worried about. It's the time when we first meet that can often determine many things. We haven't seen each other for many years. Even if we meet again, we may not leave a good impression. I don't know when we can change it."
The woman stared blankly at the old woman with a peaceful face, then looked at the porcelain vase again, her eyes widening.
"As a mother, even if your eyes are now useless and your ears are getting weaker, how can you not know that you are looking for flesh and blood? Broken bones are still connected to the tendons. It doesn't matter if you haven't seen your son for ten years. In fact, when my son stepped into the temple today , I knew it, it’s just that I have been suffering from the opportunity to meet each other for so many years, but I just couldn’t recognize each other.”
There is no mother in the world who cannot recognize her son. Even after many years, the crying child has transformed into a handsome young man, but the old woman still instantly recognized the tone of the young man's voice. .
"Don't blame him. You feel that he knew I was in the temple but didn't come forward to recognize him. Speaking of which, I feel guilty as a mother. No matter how many years I pray to God and worship Buddha, I always do good deeds, but the one who has been in the car for so many years The crying child beside the tent has never left my eyes. I have stayed here for a long time, and I have never even gone to Qingchai to give him a gift. My word, when the time is right, send me a letter home to the capital, but it’s not time yet.”
"Give me that porcelain vase again."
The old woman took the porcelain vase. The body of the vase was warm, but the glaze had peeled off a lot. The old woman rubbed the porcelain vase and hummed a nursery rhyme.
I don’t know how many times I had to rub this porcelain vase, which was not in very good condition, until all the glaze on the outside peeled off. How much effort did it take for that child in Qingchai who never left home to study the sages’ books all day long? Walking to this capital, others may only see signs that the Xun family lineage is finally resurrected, but only the mother knows how many roads her son has to walk, how many books he has read, and how much leisure in the world he has given up. Only then was he able to walk from Qingchai to himself.
Now that we have arrived in the capital, getting to know each other is not something that is far away. Slow down, and then slow down.
After Xun Wenqu went to court today, he walked quickly through Panlong Street as usual. However, when he passed Xun Yuantuo's mansion, he saw a soldier on duty outside, his expression slightly moved, but in the end he just shook his head and went straight back home.
Xun Wenqu was alone in the capital. As for his wife, children, and family, no one had ever heard of Xun Wenqu, let alone seen him. According to the rules of the court, officials who could see the Holy Face had to move their families to the capital. Among them, no one has ever seen that this subordinate Xun Xiang has a family. He has been living alone in the capital for a long time, going to court by himself, returning to his hometown by himself, and going out for a little walk when there is nothing else. It seems that this An old man standing firmly at the top of the court. There has never been a Xun family behind him, and no one has heard of Xun Wenqu. Apart from admonishing the late emperor to banish the Xun family from the capital, what else has he done for the Xun family? It's a big event, the whole place is in front of you, but it's empty behind you.
But today, after Xun Wenqu returned home and had some snacks, he did not unfold the paperwork on the desk as before, nor did he go out for a walk. Instead, he called a doorman outside the door into the house.
Although the disciple is young, his words are mature. He said that Xun Yuantuo and his people left the city today, most likely to the new residence of Sun Fulu, the second-grade ugly man. However, he left in a hurry and returned in a hurry. No one saw the trace clearly outside the city There has been no change in the village for more than ten miles, at least no appearance has been made. It is really impossible to guess where Mr. Xun went when he came and went. Although there are informants above the capital city, they have never been able to guess. Where did Mr. Xun go? It took only half an hour to leave the city and return to the city. He could not make it twenty miles if he galloped like this.
"Twenty miles is exactly the distance required to go to that village and turn back, but if you want to go
When we recognize each other, we won't turn around and leave after saying a few words in a hurry. At the time of leaving, I would like to remind the villagers that we should be more serious in our work. If we really talk about it, if a young talent who can spend six hundred dollars does not spend some thought, Maybe I really want to make him stir up some trouble, don't think that I can get paid for being outside the capital. If the next time Mr. Xun goes out of the city for half an hour again, but he says that there is no change, I will probably think of killing the bird. The branch where the bird roosts. "
The doorman knew that these words had made Xun Wenqu angry. He bowed respectfully to the old man, then said goodbye and went out. After a few steps outside, he picked up a dead branch on the roadside, passed the branches across the snow, and skipped away. .
Under the solitary lamp, the old man sat in front of the desk, his eyebrows lowered than usual.
"Zhou Kefa and Xun Ji all have ambitions as high as the sky. They never thought that such a heavy burden could crush the shoulders of a junior?"
