A new round of morning sun rose high, and the golden light shone through the window, shining on the face of the newborn little Huineng, like a red and bright golden apple.

"Huineng—"

With a call, a little boy of three or four years old ran back from the street in a hurry. He pushed away the firewood, returned to the courtyard, walked up to his mother, who was sewing clothes, and said, "Mother, you call me?" ”

Li said: "Neng'er, go to the paddy field and call your father back." Fan Yang, his hometown, brought a letter and asked him to come back quickly. ”

Xiaohui happily jumped and jumped out of the courtyard gate.

Li stared at a large envelope on the small square table, and before he knew it, the needle and thread in his hand stopped; Gradually, the two red bars in the middle of the envelope turned into a big red satin; As a result, the joyful gongs and drums and the festive suona sound changed from light to heavy, coming to her from a distant place, getting closer and closer......

Her husband Lu Xingyao, wearing an official uniform, a gauze hat, and red flowers, was hugged by many officials and sent to a green sedan chair, trembling and carried into a tall and majestic yamen......

This is a dream that her husband has had almost every night since he was relegated to Lingnan, a dream that he has been looking forward to for 18 years. After getting married, he also described the scene of the reinstatement of the official to the Li family many times with great hope......

"Ma'am."

Li's hand trembled, and the sewing needle pierced his finger. She also woke up from her dreams.

Lu Xingyan said half-jokingly: "Madam, what do you want to do well?" Look at how happy you look. ”

Lee's face turned red, and he sucked on his pricked finger with his mouth.

Lu Xingyan asked eagerly: "Fan Yang has a letter?" Where is it? ”

Li nodded, glanced at the small square table, and said, "In the middle of the night, the messenger from the county government sent a letter. I can't read, so I don't know if it was sent from Fan Yang's hometown. ”

Lu Xingyu walked to the small table and said, "Eighteen years of wandering in Lingnan, the wild goose has come to ...... long over"

Xiaohui can quietly ask Li: "Mother, mother, why is my father always like this every time I hear a little news from Fan Yang?" ”

Li wanted to speak and stopped.

Lu Xingyu picked up the letter, which was quite damaged due to his travels to many places, and shouted in surprise:

"Ah, it's Brother Wenlong's font! Brother Wenlong's letter is finally here! ”

Li Shi asked with a little surprise: "Wenlong? Who is Wenlong? Why haven't you heard that there is a person named Wenlong in your hometown? ”

Lu Xingyu said: "Brother Wenlong is my classmate, the same year. At the beginning, the two of us were selected as the magistrate of the county by the Ministry of Officials. In the blink of an eye, it has been eighteen years since the breakup. ”

An indigenous woman from the Li family still didn't quite understand: "He, why did he suddenly write to you?" ”

Lu Xingyan didn't answer and asked: "Madam, do you know how I treated the people when I was an official in the north?" ”

Li smiled: "I have never been back to my hometown, how can I know how you are in the eyes of the common people?" However, judging from the current situation of our family being poor and lacking food and clothing, it at least proves that you are not a corrupt official. ”

Lu Xingyu said: "Our Lu family has been an official for generations, and our ancestor Lu Zhi has left a legacy to warn future generations to be honest and honest as officials. Back then, in order to repay the grace of the imperial court, and in order to glorify the Lu family's court, I have been diligent in my administration. It's just that because of occasional mistakes, they were exaggerated by jealous colleagues and reported to the officials. It is unfair for the court bureaucrats to dismiss me and exile me on this basis alone. Therefore, I have never given up, I am not reconciled! When I came to Lingnan, I asked Brother Wenlong to excuse me in the court and look for an opportunity to make a comeback. Later, when I heard that Brother Wenlong had been promoted to a bachelor of Hanlin and became a Beijing official, he had a better chance to speak for me. ”

Li wanted to speak and stopped.

Lu Xingyan opened the letter with hope and couldn't help but read it out loud:

“…… Brother Xingtao Nian entrusted, how dare you forget! The predicament of my brother in Lingnan is like a tiger falling into Pingyang, which is also something Wenlong can think of. Wenlonghui contract bureaucracy, contact in the same year, several times to the ministry to play, but ......"

Lu Xingyao's face changed sharply, as white as a piece of paper, his eyes gradually became in a daze, and he stood still stupidly. In a trance, the letter seemed to turn into the indifferent, mocking face of the old man in the middle of the hall, and announced to him over and over again:

"Your Lu Xingyi's crime is unforgivable, and since you have been demoted to a civilian, you will never be renewed!"

The voice was colder and heavier each time, like a heavy hammer, hitting Lu Xingyao's temple again and again. His face turned from white to blue, from blue to black, and he screamed "wow", and a stream of blood shot out of his mouth and fell to the ground with a bang......

Li and Huineng exclaimed in unison:

"Old man......"

"Daddy—"

The small county town of Xinzhou seems to be a mud ball inadvertently thrown onto the shore by the winding Xinjiang. Although its name is also called "Zhou", it is under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou.

Li Shi pulled Xiao Huineng and staggered into the south gate of Xinzhou County. She looked around, her eyes wandering from shop to store. In the end, she hesitated, walked to a grocery store, and asked the shopkeeper: "Little second brother, may I ask you, where is the pawnshop in the city?" ”

Dare to love, this old and young are not here to buy things! The smiling face of the shopkeeper immediately turned cold, and he said impatiently: "Go and go, inquire about gossip and go elsewhere!" Walk around ......."

Li Shi pulled Huineng and was about to turn around and leave, when a middle-aged rich gentleman walked out of it. He is the owner of a grocery store named An Daocheng. He drank the second child in the store and said to the Li family: "Old sister-in-law, you are from the countryside, right?" ”

Li said: "Yes, yes, our mother and daughter are from Xialu Village. The child's father is sick and has no money to get medicine, so he thinks of ...... in the pawnshop."

"You go all the way down this street until you reach the third junction to the east, then turn north again, and then ......"

Li Shi smiled very awkwardly and asked, "Please, may I ask, which side is north?" I kind of turned to ......"

An Daocheng was just about to stretch out his hand to show her the direction, but after thinking about it, he said, "Forget it, forget it, I'll take you on a trip, so that you two don't have to go wrong." ”

Li thanked him and followed An Daocheng to the pawnshop. The pawnshop counter was very high, and Li's body was so thin, she struggled to raise her arms before handing over a bag of clothes.

The shopkeeper shook out a half-new official uniform from his baggage, and looked at Li condescendingly: "You, where did this official uniform come from?" Did you steal it from the Yamen? Say! ”

Li said very stubbornly: "Although our Lu family is poor, we would rather starve to death than steal other people's things. ”

The pawnshop shopkeeper picked up his official uniform and asked aggressively: "It's not stolen, you are a common people, where did you get your official uniform?" ”

Li said: "My lord used to be an official in the north, of course he has an official uniform!" ”

The shopkeeper weighed the official uniform repeatedly: "This official uniform is the same as that of the old man in the county office." It seems that your lord once worked as a magistrate. As an official for one term, he has been rich in business for three generations. Since you are an official eunuch, do you still have to estimate clothes to get by? ”

Li sighed, speechless. At this time, An Daocheng, who was on the side, clasped his fists with his hands to the pawnshop shopkeeper and said: "Big shopkeeper, seventeen or eighteen years ago, there was an official who was demoted from the Central Plains to our new state. It seems that these two girls are his family. I don't think you should be embarrassed for her. ”

The big shopkeeper muttered while packing up his clothes: "Nearly twenty years ago, I was cut to serve the people, and I was so poor that I couldn't open the pot, and I still kept this official uniform for what ......"