After Aunt Hong finished saying that, she helped me put down the tent again, and after a few words, she lifted the curtain and went out, and I obediently lay back on the bed, but I couldn't sleep for a long time.

When I was in the river, I had actually seen the arrow in Butu, and I knew that he had been shot in the vital point.

But hearing about his death still left me a little confused.

This person has been following Pei Yuanxiu's side for so many years, from being taken captive by him to Shengjing when he was in Dongzhou, to meeting again in Jinling later, until now I have watched him die in Xichuan, I don't have a deep friendship with him, in the end, I am already familiar with each other, watching a familiar person die in front of me like this, my heart is still very uncomfortable.

Moreover, I also know very well that this person is Pei Yuanxiu's right-hand man.

The war in the Central Plains has not yet burned to Xichuan, and the "civil strife" of the Yan family has not yet been officially unveiled, but one person has died, and I vaguely feel that there may be something that cannot be avoided.

……

When I woke up, the injuries on my body didn't hurt much, but my shoulders couldn't move casually, Aunt Hong came over early to serve me to get up, she obviously didn't have to do these anymore, but because I didn't have Su Su with me, she probably didn't worry about handing me over to the lady who was used to doing heavy work in this village, so she did everything herself.

After freshening up, she helped me out of the bedroom.

Outside is a very large room, although there is no gorgeous decoration, but there is a particularly simple, heavy feeling, there is already a large table of food, hot porridge, side dishes and snacks on the table, Aunt Hong helped me sit down, and chattered and said: "This place can't make anything good, so I can only grieve the eldest lady." ”

I smiled and said, "What kind of grievance is this, such a fresh thing can't be bought with money in the city." ”

There was a murmuring sound outside, and there was a cold water vapor lingering around, Aunt Hong glanced out the window and said, "It's raining again, and as soon as autumn comes, there will be more and more rain here." ”

Indeed, an autumn rain and a cold, I didn't even bring my luggage because I was in a hurry, and it was raining outside at this time, and it was cold in the house, so I planned to ask Aunt Hong for a change of clothes after eating.

Just as I had just finished eating, Aunt Hong beckoned two young and sturdy peasant girls to come in and clean up, when I saw a person walking by outside the window.

Tall and thin, with a hat, he shook it all at once.

Then, the figure appeared in the doorway.

He took off the hat on his head, shook it outside, and then put it on the wall to dry, and then I saw that it was an old man, and he was very old, not only his hair was gray, his face was wrinkled, and even his back was a little rickety, but he should have been a very tall man when he was young, even if his back was a little rickety, he still looked very tall, but he was also very thin, and the trouser legs on both legs were pulled up, revealing lean calves and ankles, and a pair of straw shoes under his feet, which were stained with mud.

He stood under the eaves and kicked his feet, scraping all the mud onto the steps before he turned and walked in.

Looking like this, it should be the peasants in this village?

I was wondering what such a person was doing here, when the two girls walked out with dishes in their hands, and when they saw him, they all bowed down respectfully and saluted: "Old man." ”

"Hmm."

The old man nodded, and looked at the dishes they had packed up again, I didn't eat much, and Aunt Hong prepared too much, so there was a lot left. The old man took one look at it and ordered, "Don't waste the rest, send it to my house, and I'll have a hot meal later." ”

"Hey."

I sat at the table, and for a while I was still a little embarrassed by this sentence, and as soon as Aunt Hong turned her head and saw him, she immediately stepped forward with a smile: "Old man." ”

"Hmm."

The old man walked in, didn't look at her, just nodded, and his gaze fell directly on me.

He asked, "This is—"

Aunt Hong hurriedly said, "Yes, this is the eldest lady." ”

The old man came up to me, bent down and saluted, "Miss." ”

Now, I understood.

This old man is not an ordinary farmer, he is what Aunt Hong said last night, I came here to find the old man Ma who followed Grandpa to do things at the beginning, and later guarded the ancestral hall for the Yan family here!

I hurriedly stood up on the table and reached out to help him: "Old man, don't be polite. ”

Aunt Hong came over, helped me to sit back again, I raised my head to look at this old man, look at his facial features, when he was young, he was probably a strong and handsome young man, but he was so old that all the glory of the past was gone, how to look at him and think he was just an ordinary farmer.

I raised my hand: "Old man, please take a seat." ”

He pulled out the stool and sat down, then looked up at me, and said with a smile: "The old man lives in the township, but he has also heard a lot of stories about the eldest lady, but I didn't expect that they said that the people who went south and north, went up the mountains and went to the sea, were so weak and weak. ”

I laughed and said, "I want to be stronger, but I don't want to grow meat." ”

"The eldest lady is pressed by her heart, if she lives in our village, she will be kept and raised in vain within two months. The girls and boys in our village are all sturdy. ”

"I think not only is the girl sturdy, but you are also very strong."

"Hey, hey, old, eighty."

"But you still look so tough."

"I can't say, this molar on the right side this year, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep it."

I listened to him talk a little nostalgic, and I felt a little closer to him, and said with a smile: "I heard that the old man followed my grandfather back then, and I don't know what he did?" ”

The old man laughed and said, "I raise horses. ”

"Raising horses?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I was an orphan, and when I was a teenager, I was picked up by the old lady and raised, and then he found out that I could raise horses, so he asked me to raise horses." Back then, the old lady was dominant in Xichuan, and his horses were all handed over to me to raise. ”

I gasped.

Although what he said was very common, it was just an ordinary memory of an old man, but I understood that if he could follow his grandfather and take over all the horses, he would be more powerful than the current An family.

But now, Xichuan has only heard of an family, and has never heard of his surname Ma.

As if sensing what I was thinking, the old man smiled and said, "The eldest lady must be thinking about the horse farm that settled down, right?" ”

"Hmmm......"

"His horses were all taken from me."

"Why?"

As soon as I asked this sentence, I regretted it myself, and sure enough, the old man himself was silent for a while, and I looked at his eyes, which looked a little chaotic and gray because of old age, and a light flashed, as if he remembered something, but he didn't say anything, just smiled at me.

Actually, I understand it myself.

Of course, it's because he's here to guard the ancestral hall.

It's just that I still don't understand in my heart - although he looks different from ordinary old people, he is not a saint, and I don't believe that anyone would leave such a big family business for no reason and be willing to go to such a countryside to guard the ancestral hall.

It's just that when we met for the first time, it was not appropriate to talk deeply, and I didn't want to ask too much, so I just smiled back at him.

At this time, Aunt Hong came up to me and said softly, "Miss, let's get down to business." ”

"Oh, good."

I nodded hurriedly, and then said to the old man: "The old man should also know that I came here this time because I wanted to ask the old man for help." ”

"Well, as soon as Honggu came here, she also told me."

"That's—"

Seeing that I was looking at him a little nervously, Old Man Ma smiled calmly: "The old man has been guarding the ancestral hall here for so many years, and he has never been to ask about the Yan family." ”

As soon as I heard his words, it seemed that I had the meaning of pushing, and hurriedly said: "But the Yan family is in trouble, and the old man can't turn a blind eye." ”

He frowned slightly and looked at me: "Is it really the Yan family in trouble?" ”

I took a deep breath and said, "To say that the Yan family is in trouble, in fact, it is light, in fact, Xichuan is in trouble." ”

His eyes widened slightly.

I said: "Since the old man is a person who has followed his grandfather, of course he also knows that the Yan family has accumulated today's family business and prestige after several generations in Xichuan, the Yan family is like a big tree, deeply rooted here, intertwined, even if someone wants to uproot the shake, it is not so easy, such a big family, it is impossible to be shaken, but there are only two possibilities, it will perish." ”

He looked at me, "Which two?" ”

"One is that there are people of their own who commit suicide, which will lead to the complete destruction of this family."

“……”

His eyes flickered.

I continued: "Now, Old Madam Yan is in collusion with Pei Yuanxiu of Jinling, and they want to use troops against the imperial court in the Central Plains together. ”

“……”

"This is a dead end!"

He looked at me and asked, "Why does the eldest lady think so?" ”

I said: "All the money, population, and even weapons, grain and grass needed to fight a war are available in Xichuan, but there is one most important thing that Xichuan does not have. ”

"What?"

"Righteousness."

“……”

"Nishikawa has no reason to fight."

Old Man Ma narrowed his eyes slightly: "The eldest lady should know that many people in Xichuan have had the belief of restoring the previous dynasty and restoring the old system. ”

"Yes, once," I looked at him, "but now, is there anyone like that?" ”

“……”

"Pei's founding has been a country for three generations, and the merits are right and wrong, and naturally some descendants will comment, but in the end, today's emperor is still a monarch who works hard and wants to make a difference, and his new policy is really doing things for the people."

Old Man Ma looked at me, his eyes were slightly sharp: "The eldest lady supports this emperor? ”

“……”

I was silent for a moment and said, "I don't have a support for him." ”

“……”

"I just want to buy a little bit of time for what he's going to do."