Hai Rui leaned back on a wicker chair in the main hall, silently staring at the poplar tree in front of the court. When he moved here, his predecessor Nanjing Grain Reserve was arrested by the Inspectorate for dereliction of duty, and this small courtyard became official property.

Because Hai Rui was a foreign official, he had no real estate, and because he was too poor to afford real estate, Nanjing Xuancheng gave this small courtyard to Hai Rui to live in.

This is a self-contained courtyard located on the west bank of Mochou Lake. Although the scenery is good, there are no other houses in the surrounding area, which makes this small courtyard seem particularly lonely. According to Feng Shui, this courtyard is lonely, which is not conducive to the residents, and ordinary people will never be able to live in it.

But Hai Jui likes it very much, he likes the feeling of standing proudly and not in the crowd. This is also directly related to his bumpy life.

Hai Rui's ancestors were officials, but when he reached his father's generation, he did nothing, and his father Hai Han died very early, and Hai Rui was raised by his mother.

Since then, their orphans and widows have relied on each other, barely surviving on the dozens of acres of land left by their ancestors.

But Hai Rui's mother Xie has an extremely strong personality, although she is a young widow, she is not discouraged, but she transfers her hope of becoming a talent who hates her husband to her son Hai Rui.

She was extremely strict with Hai Rui, and when other children were still having fun in the fields, Hai Rui was confined at home and read poetry and books hard. And Hai Rui is indeed a person who can endure hardships and is self-disciplined, he has been reading poetry and books since he was a child, but he does not think it is hard, but he is determined that if he becomes an official in the future, he must be a good official who does not seek personal gain, does not flatter the powerful, and is upright.

Therefore, when he was a teenager, Hai Rui named himself "Gangfeng", which is to remind himself from time to time that he must be strong and upright, not afraid of evil, just like a standing mountain, let the wind and rain blow, but he will not move.

Of course, this is also inseparable from Wang Yangming's "Xinxue" doctrine that prevailed when he was studying. Wang Xue advocates the unity of knowledge and action, advocates "sincerity", and opposes the hypocrite-style "hometown wish" style. These theories are the direct cause of Hai Jui's uprightness and intransigence in the future.

Thinking of this, Hai Rui turned sideways, picked up the holy decree spread out on the table, held it in front of him with both hands, and looked at it carefully in front of him, and then read it again and again, and read it three times in a row.

He even pondered the strokes of each word, but he still didn't have a clue. He closed the holy decree and twisted it tightly with both hands, as if he wanted to take out the water from this holy decree, put it in his mouth and taste it carefully, what does Mingshenzong Zhu Yijun mean.

I am determined to be a good official, but also a clean and honest official, I want to fight against the evil forces, and I want to avenge the people. However, the ups and downs of decades of life, such as being promoted, teaching, becoming an official, being neglected, being imprisoned, being pardoned, resurrected, trapped, retreated, and rehabilitated, made Hai Rui's heart extremely uncalm when he took this holy decree.

He stood up with a "hoof", walked quickly to the window, looked at the fallen leaves outside, and his heart was full of hesitation.

He wants to do things, he wants to do great things, and his lifelong wish is to kill all the corrupt officials in the world! This decree is something he has been looking forward to all his life but has not obtained! It wasn't until today that his long-cherished wish has come true! But...... But this year, he Hai Rui and Hai Qingtian are already sixty-seven years old!

In ancient times, this was already close to the age of antiquity, how many people couldn't even hold their jobs, and how many people had turned their skin and flesh into ashes in the erosion of the soil day after day, but they received such a holy decree to go to Beijing as an official.

The crown prince's guest is an honorary title, and the first-class viscount is also a painless title, these two have no pressure on themselves, but this left deputy governor of the Inspectorate is definitely not a bone that can be gnawed down so easily.

Hai Rui's heart was crying, why! Why not twenty years earlier! No! Fifteen years! Even if it was ten years earlier, he would have been obliged to go to Beijing and do a good job of this offending messenger. However, after all, he is sixty-seven years old. How many years do you have to live?

Thinking of this, Hai Rui stepped out of the main hall and slowly came to the backyard, the ancestral hall of his mother Xie. He put the holy decree on the incense table in front of his mother's spirit, knelt down tremblingly, fell to the ground with his hands, and knocked his head down!

When he straightened up, Hai Rui muttered to himself, as if asking, "Should I go?" Or not going? ”

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Hai Rui knew that it was his old servant Xie Guangsheng.

This old servant is a distant relative of his mother, and has always called his mother his aunt, and has accompanied him since he was a child, and has followed his ups and downs to this day. If there is still one person in this world who can be fully trusted after the death of his mother, it is this person - Han Guangsheng!

Hai Rui suddenly felt a pang of endless misery. Since his marriage to several wives and concubines, he has had four children. The first three of them all died young, and only the youngest daughter lived to be five years old.

That time, the little daughter stole a piece of the servant's bread, which was inconsistent with the etiquette, and she ordered her to repent and think about it, but who knew that the child was so fragile that she was frightened to death!

And several wives and concubines, but because of discord with their mothers, they were divorced by themselves and expelled from the house. Today, although he has fallen behind the world's clear name, but every time there is a reunion festival, or in the middle of the night, who do you complain to about the sadness in your heart!

Hai Rui felt very depressed, carefully speaking, he can be regarded as benevolent in this life, according to his original intention, it must not be regarded as unsuccessful, and it can even be said to be a great success! But why do you always ask yourself, so heart-wrenching pain in your heart?

Han Guangsheng came to clean the ancestral hall, and when he entered the door, he was startled when he saw Hai Rui kneeling in front of Xie's statue. He walked up tremblingly, stretched out his hands tremblingly, tremblingly held Hai Rui's left arm, and said tremblingly: "Master! Why are you kneeling here! It's cold, you have to take care of your body! ”

Hai Rui gently shook Han Guangsheng's hand away, looked at the portrait of his mother, but asked Han Guangsheng: "Guangsheng, you say, should I go?" ”

Although Han Guangsheng is just an old servant and does not know how to write and ink, he follows Hai Rui I, and he knows the companion in front of him who is two years younger than himself but extremely stubborn. He thought for a moment, coughed, cleared his throat of the perennial blockage, and said in a hoarse voice: "If my aunt is still here, I must have let you go." ”

When Hai Rui heard this, his waist stiffened when he knelt on the ground, he looked at the portrait of his mother, suddenly leaned down, and knocked his head three times!

When he straightened up, he said loudly: "Fish, I can do whatever I want; The bear's paw is also what I want, and I can't have both, and the one who gives up the fish and takes the bear's paw. Life, also what I want; Righteousness is also what I want. You can't have both, and those who sacrifice their lives to take righteousness are also. ”

As he spoke, he held the holy decree in both hands and continued to the portrait of his mother: "Mother, the child is not filial, and the Hai family has no queen!" But Hai Jui can't be that disloyal person anymore! The child is willing to go to Beijing with an old blood! ”

After saying that, he held the ground with one hand and tried to stand up. Han Guangsheng went to help him, but Hai Rui waved his arm and pushed him aside. After a long time, this stubborn old man stood upright again in front of the portrait of his mother Xie with his old waist.

He held the holy decree in both hands, fell to the ground deeply, looked at the portrait of his mother, and said desolate but tragic: "Mother, Hai Jui is now on his journey!" It's just that the mountains and rivers are far away, and the child is old, so I'm afraid that there will be no return date! It's also hard to sweep and clean for you. That's it! That's it! Guangsheng! You will stay here, for my unfilial son, for my mother and your aunt, and do your filial piety! ”

Han Guangsheng hurriedly said: "Ruxian! You and I have been companions since childhood, and it has been sixty and three years now, why do you want to leave me when you are old? Could it be that I can still be a burden to you? As he spoke, his throat twitched, and his eyes were red, but he was afraid that if Hai Rui spit out half a word, he would burst into tears!

When Hai Rui heard this, his chest also rose and fell violently with excitement. He knew that he was sixty-seven years old and Han Guangsheng was sixty-nine years old, and if he parted this time, it would be almost a parting of life and death, and there would be no day to see each other again. But my mother is here......

He looked at the portrait of the woman who had the greatest influence on his life, and was silent.

Han Guangsheng suddenly shouted: "Houqi! ”

It turned out that there was another footstep outside the door, and when he heard Han Guangsheng's voice, a voice immediately responded: "Dad!" The children are here! ”

While speaking, a man in his forties came in, who was Han Guangsheng's son, Han Houqi.

Han Guangsheng raised his hand tremblingly, pointed at his son and said, "Child! The master wants to go to Beijing as an official immediately, and your father and I will definitely go! Therefore, your aunt's mourning hall has been handed over to you since then! Take good look! If you go out of the pool, there is no sacrifice on the solar terms, or on the fifteenth day of the new year - after you die, you are not allowed to enter the ancestral tomb of the Han family! ”

This requirement is already extremely strict, and when Han Houqi heard it, his father, who was nearly seventy years old, wanted to enter Beijing with Master Hai Rui! First of all, I was shocked, and the old man was crazy? When I wanted to persuade him, I saw that the two elders were very excited, and their white beards trembled!

Han Houqi knew that no matter what he said at this time, these two stubborn old men would definitely not listen.

He felt a pain in his heart, knowing that although his father had a peaceful temperament, every time he made up his mind, he would be difficult to follow. This time he said he wanted to go, and that was to go.

It's just that this old man's body has been worse every year in recent years, and so is Master Hai Rui, who risked his life in the middle of last year, so why bother to fight for the court again?

Thinking about it, tears involuntarily flowed down, kneeling in front of the second elder with a "plop" sound, and crying: "Yes!" Father! Remember, child! Be sure to guard your aunt's spiritual position! ”

Hai Rui and Han Guangsheng saw Han Houqi's sadness crying, they were all sad, and after a long time, Han Houqi stopped crying.

Hai Rui suppressed his emotions and said in a deep voice: "Houqi! Get up! Since then, the family has been handed over to you, and you have to take care of it! And here I went with thy father. If...... If you receive a letter of condolence, we are two old bones, and we are still counting on you to collect the body and send it to the end! ”

Han Guangsheng's excited old face turned red, and he couldn't speak, just nodded.

Han Houqi knelt on the ground again with a "plop", kowtowed three times in a row, but did not answer, and burst into tears in the cry.

Hai Rui wiped his eyes, suddenly cheered up, laughed twice and said, "Okay! Don't cry anymore! I'm going to be an official, not to the court! Don't cry anymore! ”

As he spoke, he pointed at Han Houqi and said, "Houqi, you go and prepare some things for me, the old man will use them when he goes to Beijing to face the saint!" ”

Han Houqi wiped away his tears, stood up and sobbed: "Master, even if you command, the little one will do it!" ”

Hai Rui's eyes shot a divine light, and he said: "The old man is old and dying, and he is willing to follow the method of the ancients and admonish the saints!" In order to get rid of the increasingly prevalent corruption in this dynasty, it is necessary to restore the criminal law of the Taizu period - to treat those who are greedy for ink, they must be stripped of their skin, filled with weeds and made into human-shaped skins, and stand in front of the hall to warn future generations! ”

Everyone was shocked!

Hai Rui didn't care about that, and then said: "And the provision that those who bend the law up to eighty times will be sentenced to hanging!" Since the Holy God wants me to go to the Inspectorate, then I will give up this old life and carry the coffin to Beijing! Do your best until you die! ”