In the courtyard outside the window, the poplar leaves were covered with a thick layer, Ma Hong picked up a broom and swept it, and it took a lot of effort to sweep the leaves into a pile and pile them up under the poplar roots. Mr. Shui Jing held a plate in his left hand, which contained a plate of fried praying mantis, and a bowl of salt water in his right hand sat on the stone steps and watched Ma Hong busy thoughtfully.

Ma Hong swept and played with leaves, and sat down next to Mr. Shuijing with a broom, opening his mouth but not making a sound, because he didn't know how to speak. Mr. Shuijing picked up a fried praying mantis and put it in his mouth, bit off the head of the praying mantis, put it on the plate again, chewed for a while and drank a sip of salt water, and said to Ma Hong: "Do you have something to say to me?" ”

Ma Hong nodded and said, "Yes, teacher." ”

Mr. Shuijing hummed, put the remaining half of the praying mantis in his mouth and chewed for a while, then took the salt water and rushed into his stomach, before he said slowly: "It's for Ziyang!" ”

Ma Hong nodded and responded: "Yes." ”

Mr. Shuijing put the plate and bowl on the ground, plucked out a white hair and looked at it for a while, blew the hair out with a gentle blow, and said slowly: "Unconsciously, I am already old, looking at your vitality, I think of when I was young, there were many things I forgot to do. ”

As Mr. Shui Jing spoke, his eyes became clear in that moment, but for a short moment, he closed his eyes again, and when he opened his eyes again, his eyes had returned to normal.

Yesterday, Liu Ye's family brought news from Chengde (Chengde, Jiujiang County, Yangzhou) to let Liu Ye return to Chengde as soon as possible. The reason is that Yuan Shu intended to be the emperor in Shouchun, and Liu Ye, as a relative of the Han family, lived in Chengde, which was very close to Shouchun, and may be influenced by Yuan Shu. If Yuan Shu is the emperor, it is likely that he will control Liu Ye's family, Liu Ye is a member of the Han family, and Liu Ye, a relative of the Han family, is genuine, a hundred times stronger than Liu Bei, who is difficult to study. If Yuan Shu wants to be the emperor, it is a blatant usurpation of the Han, and Liu Ye's family is likely to be wiped out under its sphere of influence. Therefore, Liu Ye's father, Liu Pucai, hurriedly recalled Liu Ye to discuss countermeasures, and Liu Ye immediately asked Mr. Shui Jing to resign after getting the news.

Mr. Shui Jing asked Liu Ye who was in a hurry: "If you go back?" Can you come back a year ago? ”

Liu Ye replied no.

Mr. Shui Jing said, "If you can't come back, then you haven't studied in my village for three years, and strictly speaking, you can't be considered my student." ”

Liu Ye knew that although Mr. Shui Jing was very particular about food, he was very particular about the rules, and he couldn't convince Mr. Shui Jing to go back first, and he couldn't say goodbye, because once he left Shui Jing Villa, Mr. Shui Jing would never recognize him as a student again. Xu Shu is also a very well-behaved person, so he will not come to intercede for Liu Ye no matter what. Pang Tong was the first to plead with Mr. Shui Jing, but it turned out to be in vain, Ma Hong came and brought a plate of fried mantis to the teacher.

Ma Hong has been sitting, looking at Mr. Shui Jing, Mr. Shui Jing finished eating the praying mantis and drinking the salt water, and saw that Ma Hong still didn't go back, and asked, "Do you think rules are more important or favors?" ”

Ma Hong pondered for a while before saying, "It's all important. ”

Mr. Shuijing snorted, and then said: "The fish is also what I want, and the bear's paw is also what I want. The choice is painful, but not difficult, and when Ziyang came to see me, I think he already had the answer in his heart. ”

Ma Hong said in a deep voice: "The student can see that Senior Brother Ziyang is in pain. ”

Mr. Shui Jing snorted and said, "It's not a pleasant thing to come up with an answer. ”

Ma Hong held his right hand with his left hand, put his right hand on his right knee, and said secretly in his heart: If Senior Brother Ziyang is returned to Chengde like this, then according to the development of history, he will inevitably throw himself into Cao Cao. If he can get my favor, maybe he will be able to conspire with him in the future.

Seeing that Ma Hong was silent, Mr. Shui Jing picked up the empty plate and knocked on the slate, and asked, "So, do you have an answer?" ”

Ma Hong turned his head to look into the teacher's eyes and smiled slightly: "When I came to see the teacher, I didn't have an answer yet, but after listening to the teacher, I already had the answer." ”

Mr. Shui Jing snorted and said, "A teacher who can help students find answers will not be a bad teacher, and I am considered a good teacher today." Come on! Tell me your answer! ”

Ma Hong stood up and walked in front of Mr. Shuijing, knelt down, pressed his left hand to his right hand (palm inward), arched his hand to the ground, and slowly lowered his head to the ground, and said, "Teacher, my answer is to follow Senior Brother Ziyang to Chengde." I will do my best to help Senior Brother Ziyang, try to help him solve the trivial matters over there before the year, and bring him back. ”

Mr. Shuijing's eyes lit up, and he stretched out his hand to help Ma Hong and said, "The answer that I didn't expect, I don't know if it's the right answer or the wrong answer." ”

Ma Hong straightened up and said, "It doesn't matter if this is the right answer or the wrong answer, but this is what I want to do, please do it teacher." ”

Mr. Shui Jing snorted, straightened up, patted the dust on his body, raised his eyes and looked at the sun and said, "Since it's what you want to do, let it go!" ”

Ma Hong was overjoyed in his heart, and wanted to express his gratitude to the teacher, but the teacher grabbed his wrist and said, "Do what you want to do, do you think it will be painful?" ”

Ma Hong's eyes were misty at that moment, and he said softly: "Students only know that if they don't do it, they will regret it, maybe for the rest of their lives." ”

Mr. Shui Jing lowered his head and looked at Ma Hong's eyes, there was a mist in those eyes, this was not at all like the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy, and these words should not come from the mouth of a thirteen-year-old boy, the maturity of his apprentice exceeded his imagination, what did he go through? would say something like that. If Pang Tong said such a thing, Mr. Shui Jing would not be surprised, but Mr. Shui Jing knew that Pang Tong would definitely not have such eyes when he said this. Mr. Shui Jing looked at Ma Hong's eyes, remembered his young self, and suddenly felt a pain in his heart, and the memories began to melt in his mind again, and he smiled at this moment.

"Go for it! But remember to do what you can and don't get hurt again. Mr. Shui Jing said.

"Student, go tell Senior Brother Ziyang." Ma Hong said goodbye to the teacher, and then trotted all the way back.

Mr. Shuijing looked at Ma Hong's back, and saw Ma Hong disappear from his sight, he raised his head and stared at the sun with wide eyes, the sunlight penetrated into his eyes, but he couldn't squeeze tears out of his eyes. Many years ago, he also had the same eyes as Ma Hong, but his teacher erased his choice, and now he can only suffer in memories.

After a long time, Mr. Shui Jing lowered his head, his eyes were burning, he lowered his head, covered his eyes with his right hand, and said to himself: "My students may all leave a strong mark on this history. ”