Hong Yu and He Nan were walking slowly on the small road, one behind the other. The reason why they took the small road instead of taking the official road probably does not need to be elaborated too much.
Thinking with your buttocks, you can know that no matter whether Qi Dan learns the news sooner or later, He Nan will definitely be wanted for his escape. His current identity is probably between a ranger and a fugitive. Of course, Hongyu, who is responsible for protecting him, cannot wear that conspicuous red dress. At this time, the two of them are wearing the most ordinary gray-brown cloth. It looks like They are just ordinary people.
Speaking of clothing, Hongyu originally wanted He Nan to wear a black night clothes and a black cloth mask to hide his identity, but He Nan rejected it on the spot: "You really don't understand? Or do you want to kill me? .”
"When you come out like this in broad daylight, you don't look like a good person. If you are not a fugitive, you are better than a fugitive. The most popular thing for ordinary people is to gossip. If I really listen to you, I am afraid that I will be beaten as soon as I enter the inn. The report was reported to the local official. The more roving criminals I am, the more I have to dress more simply to blend in with the crowd - have you heard so many storytelling stories that you really think that gangsters must wear black? , the villain must have the word evil written in his name?"
He Nan originally thought that with Hong Yu's experience, she would not understand such a superficial truth. She said this deliberately to embarrass herself, but how did he know that Hong Yu really didn't understand these things - although Hong Yu also had a hidden arrow? It has been nearly two years, but she has always been well protected by the people around her. How can she have any experience in the world? That is to say, only those like He Nan who have been mixed up among the human spirits since childhood can understand these things.
After all, no matter how outstanding Hong Yu's martial arts talent is, she is still a little girl of seventeen or eighteen who is inexperienced in the world.
The two of them were riding horses leisurely and slowly. Suddenly Hongyu turned around and asked He Nan as if she remembered something: "Why are you..." For some reason she changed her words again: "I have been observing you for a long time - you seem to Always like to walk behind others?"
"It's not that I like walking behind others, but I don't like others walking behind me."
"Is there any difference?" Hongyu blinked her beautiful eyes, very puzzled by He Nan's words about the wheel.
"Since you asked the question sincerely, I will tell you with great mercy -" He Nan bared his teeth and claws on the horse and said: "I will teach you some practical experience...turn your back It is a very dangerous thing to leave it to others - you can see the danger from the front, and it is easier to detect and avoid it, but the danger from behind is completely different... As the saying goes, there is a clear gun. It's easy to hide, but it's hard to guard against hidden arrows." He Nan poured out his experience and said, "You think so."
Hongyu nodded, deeply convinced of his words.
He Nan has been away from his hometown for a long time. Now that he has left Shanhe Mansion, he feels relieved. Naturally, he wants to go home to worship his ancestors first. But the direction the two of them are traveling now is not to the north, but to the west. This is also He Nan's idea - his origin and ancestry must have been clearly investigated by Qi Dan. If he wants to send someone to capture him, he should go north. Naturally the first choice. But he doesn't have to go straight north and throw stones at every fork in the road. As long as he doesn't go back along the original path, he can go anywhere - even he doesn't know where he is going, so how can Qi Dan know? No matter how many people he sends out, the possibility of finding him is like finding a needle in a haystack. As long as he delays for a while before returning home, the risk factor will be greatly reduced, and the road shown to him by the land father-in-law is to go west first.
The first destination of their trip was Luoyan City, northwest of Bai Yujing.
Most of the Sheng Kingdom's land is located in plains, and the road is almost unobstructed. It only takes less than ten days to rush from Bai Yujing to Luoyan City, but He Nan deliberately slowed down to "give" some time to the pursuers. Go in front of me. Now that I have been walking for nearly twenty days, I finally entered the county of Luoyan City.
"Let's rest here for one night today. Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, and there will be sacrificial activities and programs in the city. We might as well go to the city tomorrow to celebrate the festival." The two came to a small village, and He Nan looked around. , said to Hongyu.
Hongyu also looked at the small village with smoke curling up from the kitchen stoves, and nodded in agreement.
The two of them led their horses into the village, with Hongyu still taking the lead and congratulating Nan on the rear. Not long after, He Nan found a more spacious yard and called Hong Yu over. In the yard, there was a burly man with kite shoulders and turtle spines fetching water from the well. When he saw the two approaching, he asked, "What do you two do for a living?"
He Nan cupped his hands in front of the man and lied that they were husband and wife and said: "My husband and I are rangers who travel around the world. We passed by here and wanted to go to Luoyan City to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, but it was already late today and we were afraid that the county and city would have a curfew. After closing the city gate, I thought about finding someone to stay here for one night... The rent will be calculated according to the standard of the inn in Luoyan City. I wonder if it can be convenient, brother?"
The man looked at He and Nan carefully for a moment, smiled boldly and said, "That's easy to say." Then he opened the small fence gate in front of the yard and motioned for the two to come in. "There is a small courtyard behind the house, which is where I usually store sundries. If you don't mind tying the horse there, that's fine. There are three rooms in my house. I live in the middle one. You can stay there tonight. The one on the right is fine. The bedroom is a bit small. If there is anything I'm not satisfied with... please forgive me." After the man finished speaking, he rubbed his hands with a silly smile.
Seeing that the man had already received him so warmly, He Nan couldn't possibly raise any objections. He thanked him and took Hong Yu to the backyard to tie up his horse. He also took a look at their bedroom tonight.
As soon as the two of them entered the small room on the right, Hong Yu frowned. The space in the house is not large, and the piles of clutter take up half of it, but it does not give people a feeling of disarray. Instead, it is tidied up in an orderly manner, and the whole house feels inexplicably clean and warm.
"What's wrong with you? Why do you look a little unhappy?" Seeing Hongyu's expression of confusion, He Nan asked. "Could it be that...you think this house is not good?"
Hong Yu silently stretched out her finger and pointed at something in front of the two of them, which was a bed leaning against the inside of the wall. The reason why she didn't speak was simple - once she mentioned how to sleep on a bed, He Nan would definitely not fart, so she simply stopped talking.
Unexpectedly, the sun came out in the west today, and He Nan showed a rare understanding: "You want to say that you can't sleep on a bed? That's easy. I'll go to the elder brother later and ask for a quilt. Spread it on the floor, I'll sleep on the floor and you can sleep on the bed."
Why did this man change his gender today? Normally, he would either say glibly, "Of course the husband and wife should sleep together," or he would look impatient, "Of course I'll sleep on the bed, you can sleep wherever you like." If something went wrong, there must be a monster. Hong Yu couldn't help but wonder in her heart what bad thing He Nan wanted to do again.
"What? You want to sleep with me?" Seeing Hongyu's silence, He Nan really started to flirt again. Hongyu turned around and glared at him, then quickly threw the luggage in her hands onto the bed and took up a good position. He Nan found it interesting to see her acting anxiously like a small animal protecting its food. He smiled without taking it seriously and walked out of the room.
The man seemed to have finished his work and was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, holding a book in his hand and reading. He Nan came over and sat next to the man. He thanked the man and introduced himself: "Congratulations to Nan... He is from Fuyang County, but he is an independent person from Xianyun Yehe. The girl is my wife Hongyu, follow me. Traveling around the world together."
The man put down the book in his hand and saluted with clasped fists: "In Xiameng River, I am a native of Zoujia Village, Luoyan County... I want to be a teacher in the county."
As soon as these words came out, He Nan staggered with fright and almost died in the seat. He originally thought that this rich and powerful brother was a simple and honest farmer, or a butcher who slaughtered pigs and cattle, but he did not expect that he claimed to be a teacher. "Brother, please don't joke with me..."
Unexpectedly, Meng He replied sincerely: "Brother He, don't judge people by their appearance. Although I have a rough appearance, which is different from ordinary white-skinned scholars, I am a genuine scholar who has passed the examination - who said that scholars Can’t you be tall and strong?”
He Nan's eyes fell on the book Meng He had put aside. The word "Wen Jing" was clearly written on the cover of the book. It was a classic compiled into a volume by the great Confucian scholars of the previous dynasty and his disciples who gathered their wisdom and collected articles. The pages of this book have been rolled up, and there are traces of being deliberately pressed flat. It seems that Meng He often studied this book and kept it well. He nodded towards Meng He, with a bit of shame on his face and a bit of respect in his heart: "What Brother Meng said is absolutely true, but I was a bit presumptuous."
He thought about something again and asked: "Since Brother Meng has passed the examination as a scholar, why not further obtain the title of a scholar and become an official? Why only be a teacher in this county?" As soon as he said these words, He Nan regretted it. If Meng He's talent and learning were poor and he failed to pass the examination and became a failed scholar, wouldn't his words be exposing others' scars?
Unexpectedly, Meng He also gave He Nan an explanation: "I passed the examination, but it's a pity that I was replaced by someone else... But I didn't want to be an official at first, so it's not a bad idea to be a teacher. On the contrary, I feel leisurely and comfortable." ." Meng He's expression was still smiling, and he didn't seem to care about this matter. But He Nan's eyesight was outstanding, so how could he not see that this honest man's eyes were filled with sadness and that he still had some grudges in his heart?
"How many examples are there of people being impersonated like you?" He Nan was a little curious about this.
Meng He glanced at He Nan with a strange expression: "Brother He, I think your manner of speaking is quite extraordinary. You must have read some books. How could you not know that there are many tricks in today's imperial examinations?" He touched his chin. , recalled: "Many of the candidates who went with me and got to know me well were far better than me in talent and learning, but among these people, only one out of ten passed the examination. Some people who were ignorant and ignorant were very happy." After becoming an official... I'm not complaining, but the things involved are thought-provoking if you think about it carefully."
"This is really..." He Nan didn't know how to answer. He volunteered to join Shanhe Academy, and he had to deal with the exams in Shanhe Academy. Although the difficulty level is higher than that of the imperial examination and the selection is more stringent, and some outstanding candidates even have to go through an interview hosted by Li Zhanchun himself, as long as they pass the prefecture examination, they are students of Shanhe Prefecture, and they can be considered half-footed in. Vanity Fair. Over the years in Shanhe Mansion, he had heard of examples of examiners and candidates colluding with each other, but he never expected that only 23 out of 10 truly talented people would be hired.
"Brother He, I see that you are quite young. I'm afraid you are not yet in your prime. You must have never taken the imperial examination. But you don't have to worry too much. If you are really talented and learned, you will definitely be able to pass the examination." Meng He saw He Nan looked gloomy, thinking that he was worried about his future, but instead he came to comfort He Nan. "These injustices in the world are commonplace and not surprising. Worrying about these things is worse than living a carefree life."
"But the things that people take for granted in this world must be good things and correct?" He Nan's face was heavy, as gloomy as if he could squeeze out water. He asked Meng He such a question.
A trace of surprise flashed across Meng He's face, but he replied without hesitation: "Of course not necessarily."
The answer he gave was also the answer He Nan wanted, but he didn't know who could change this world. He Nan nodded and said slowly: "I hope there will be a great sage in this world who can manage the world and benefit the people..."
After hearing the words of congratulations, Meng He was also a little moved. He is twenty-nine this year, and looking at He Nan is like looking at his old self, and he can't help feeling a sigh of relief in his heart. "Brother He, how do you drink? I have several jars of rice wine at home. If you don't mind, we can drink and talk."
He Nan was overjoyed when he saw Meng He's initiative to invite him. He followed Meng He to get a jar of rice wine and two small bowls. He also went to a small wine shop in the village and bought a roast chicken and two kilograms of cooked beef, and sat here. Zhang Shi was pushing cups and changing cups at the table, talking eloquently.
