Changjun's adoptive father came to take over Wu Taishou's position. The Lin family is placed in Pingning Lane in the north of Xun'an City, every morning, the hawkers step on the bluestone slab path and start selling, at the same time, the rows of shops are also open one after another, there are tailor shops, pastry shops and teahouses, because the owners are ordinary people in Pingning Lane, so the scale of the shops is not large. Although it is not as prosperous as the south of the city, it is also lively and noisy. It is said that 50 years ago, there lived in the famous Luo family, and the descendants of the Luo family were all high-spirited, familiar with the sages, caring for the common people, and often helping the poor families. It's a pity that fifty years ago, the Luo family suddenly fell overnight, and the head of the family was weak and sick since childhood, and he was bedridden after that night and died soon after. Perhaps due to grief-stricken, Luo's wife, Shen, hanged herself a few months after the death of the head of the family. After that, the Luo family walked away, scattered, and the glory of the past was gone.

The location of Changjun's house is the location of the old house of the Luo family, there is a peach blossom tree in the courtyard, which is said to have been opened for a hundred years, can eliminate disasters and avoid disasters, and is worshiped as a sacred tree. There are rumors that the Luo family had an accident that the sacred tree did not bloom in the year of the Luo family's accident, and they were afraid that they would be punished by this retribution because they angered the sacred tree, and some people said that the Luo family was concerned about the Li people and contributed their luck to God, and at the cost of this heavenly punishment to Wu Taishou, there were even rumors that it was because the head of the Luo family was stained with unclean things when he went up the mountain. In short, no matter which statement can give a reasonable explanation, there is no trace of the existence of the Luo family in Pingning Lane now. Changjun didn't believe in this, he never believed in ghosts and gods, and he didn't believe in the so-called mandate of heaven.

Since that day, Zhen'er has lived in Changjun's house, and Zhen'er has a special status, so Changjun lied that Zhen'er was his newly purchased maid. The neighbors in Pingning Lane are warm and hospitable, and they are very fond of this lovely girl, and every time Zhen'er goes to the street, she can receive a lot of small gifts. Over time, because of Zhen'er, Changjun also began to interact with others. Last month, when Changjun took Zhen'er out, a strange thing happened, when they went to the street to buy peach blossom crisp, the aunt who sold peach blossom crisp returned to her parents' house, so it was the old lady at home who came out to help, who knew that the old lady saw Zhen'er and cried, and asked why, she didn't speak, just held Zhen'er's hand.

When she got home, Changjun asked her what had happened to her when she came down the mountain fifty years ago, and she only said that she knew the old lady, who had been selling peach cakes on the street fifty years ago, and had nothing else. A few days later, Changjun visited alone, and the old man who had calmed down revealed his reason. It turned out that fifty years ago, the head of the Luo family often took a little girl about seven or eight years old with him when he went out, and the little girl and Zhen'er looked very similar. The old man had benefited from the Luo family when he was young, and he regretted what happened to the Luo family, and he couldn't let go of it for many years. Changjun asked her the name of the head of the Luo family, but his name was Qianxiu, and the old man said no, the name should be Yunsheng, and the name of Mrs. Shen was Jingjiao. The old man was surprised why Zhen'er's appearance was so similar to the girl next to the head of the Luo family back then, and suddenly said that his appearance was somewhat similar to that of the head of the Luo family back then, so he asked Changjun if he was a descendant of the side branch of the Luo family. Changjun replied no, saying that his surname was Lin and his parents had settled in Xunyang.

Changjun often goes to the teahouse in the south of the city to drink tea, and occasionally brings Zhen'er. Not long ago, Changjun took Zhen'er to Pinxiangzhai as usual, but something strange happened again. On that day, they bumped into Master Wu and Ah Jing in the teahouse, Changjun saw Master Wu for the first time, and couldn't help but observe, Master Wu under the layers of protection was just a thin old man, his face was full of wrinkles, and he did not have the kindness of the old man, but he had a fierce face, and there was no anger on his body, like a dried corpse wrapped in expensive fabric. And Ah Jing beside her is bright and moving, smiling, extremely beautiful, dignified, showing everyone's spirit. The two are in stark contrast, and no matter how you look at it, you will feel sorry for Ajing. Ah Jing saw Changjun from a distance, nodded, and bowed slightly. Master Wu also noticed Changjun, his eyes stopped on Changjun, thoughtful, but when she saw Zhen'er, she was shocked, and her mouth repeatedly muttered: "They are back." "It caused quite a commotion in the teahouse.

Changjun looked back at Zhen'er, but Zhen'er hid behind Changjun timidly, it seems that Zhen'er and the man named Qianxiu caused a lot of trouble fifty years ago, at least to provoke Master Wu. In order not to make things bigger, Changjun left the teahouse with Zhen'er. On the way back, Zhen'er seemed to have a lot on her mind, so Changjun said with concern:

"What's wrong? But not feeling well? ”

Zhen'er shook her head and asked rhetorically, "Changjun, why has the appearance of Wu Taishou and the people selling peach blossom cakes on the street changed so much?" ”

"Because it's been fifty years, unlike you monsters, people will get old." Changjun explained.

"Then why aren't you old?"

"I'm only eighteen years old, and I'm not yet at the age of a weak crown, how can I be old?" Changjun couldn't cry or laugh. "Zhen'er, the lifespan of human beings is very short, no more than a hundred years......" Speaking of this, Changjun realized something and immediately closed his mouth.

"What will happen at the end of life in that hundred years?" Zhen'er asked.

Changjun didn't want to answer, he was afraid that Zhen'er would notice that the humble cultivation she had been waiting for for many years was probably no longer alive.

"What will happen? Changjun. Zhen'er grabbed the corner of Changjun's clothes.

"Hmm...... It will go to a far place and become a part of this world. ”

"Can I still see them?"

Changjun stopped talking, and the most helpless thing in this world is death.

"Let's go home." He digressed the subject, "I'm going back and buying you something delicious." ”

"Okay, okay, buy more, I want to eat peach blossom crisp......"

In early summer, the weather is gradually starting to get hot and dry. The streets are bustling with pedestrians, hawkers tearing their throats, liquor shops are noisy, and merchants are whispering. Suddenly, the clouds began to roll in, the sky became dark, and it looked like it was going to rain. The pedestrians quickened their pace and hurried away, and Zhen'er took the corner of Changjun's clothes again. At that moment, Changjun looked at the innocent girl beside him, and seemed to feel that it was okay for the days to go on like this, making wine with pine flowers in spring, cooking tea with warm wine in winter, appreciating the willows on the moon in autumn, and listening to the rain on summer nights. With Zhen'er, let's live like this. But it was only for a moment that he came back to his senses and clearly knew that this was an unspeakable extravagant hope. Zhen'er is not a human being, and one day she will understand the mercilessness of time, know that there is no eternity in the world, and accept death as the norm in the world.

There are a lot of books in Changjun's library, and Zhen often comes here to eavesdrop. The library pavilion is next to the backyard of the house, and Zhen'er knows that the backyard of the house is a very beautiful place, with pavilions and pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings, clear water reflecting the bluestone rockery, and willows lining the small corridor winding round. In the spring, the grass and trees are full of flowers, and there is a large lotus pond, every midsummer, the lotus pond will be full of red lotus, there is a delicate pavilion in the lotus flowers, and the ladies of the house like to play and joke there.

After coming to the Lin Mansion for nearly two months, entering the middle of summer, the cicadas are noisy, the heat is steaming, the heaven and the earth are like a huge steamer, the breeze, the sunshine, and the earth are sandwiched with heat. Zhen'er was afraid of the heat, so she ran to the lotus pond to cool off, only to see a large area of lotus leaves and delicate lotus flowers shrouding the pond surface, purple stem Wenbo, red lotus lotus. Vera loves it because it has a view that she can't see from the mountains. On this day, Zhen'er found a woman sitting quietly in the pavilion, and Zhen'er recognized that this was the woman next to him when she met Master Wu in the teahouse that day, and her name seemed to be Ajing. Ah Jing is a guest at Lin Mansion today.

Zhen'er looked carefully, Ah Jing was really beautiful, her skin was like snow, her eyes were bright, her eyebrows were bright, she was wearing a blue dress, the fan in her hand was gently fanning, her eyebrows were tactful, gentle and flawless, and a tear mole in the corner of her eye added a lot to her appearance, and her gestures were really elegant. Zhen'er looked at Ah Jing and thought to herself, how could such a beauty be committed to Master Wu? Ah Jing also saw Zhen'er, so she beckoned Zhen'er over, and Zhen'er was flattered. Approaching Ajing, the more she looked closely, the more she felt that Ajing was beautiful, and Zhen'er couldn't find any words to describe it, so she could only remember what she read in the book: "Take care of the city, and then look at the country." When she heard that there was a saying that beauty misled the country, she was puzzled, and when she saw Ajing, she suddenly felt that if she was a king, she would be intoxicated by Ajing's beauty.

"Little friend, I heard that you often stay by Changjun's side?" Ajing's voice is as pleasant as a silver bell, and it is also very nice and gentle.

Zhen'er nodded, looked at Ah Jing up close, and thought of the cloud in "Poem": "Clever smile, beautiful eyes."

"What's wrong? Seeing that I don't speak, don't be afraid, I'm not a man-eating tiger, and Changjun and I are still old acquaintances. "Ah Jing's smile is sweet, which is beyond the reach of Hibiscus in the pool.

"Sister, you are so good-looking." Zhen'er praised from the bottom of her heart.

Ah Jing smiled again and motioned for Zhen'er to sit beside her: "Little friend, what's your name?" ”

"Zhen'er."

"Zhen'er, what a good name." The name came out of her mouth, and it seemed to sound even better.

"Zhen'er, is Changjun's biological mother still in good health?"

"I ...... It's just a new maidservant, and Changjun hasn't told me about his biological parents yet. Sister, can you tell me a little bit about Changjun's past? ”

"Actually, I don't know very well," Ah Jing fanned the fan in her hand, "I only remember that when Changjun was six years old, the imperial court sent Changjun's father to Xiangyang, do you know Xiangyang?" There and the Hu people fought for many years. After his uncle went, he never returned, so he sent someone to inquire, but the army said that his uncle had defected to the enemy, so they executed him according to the military order. But my uncle is loyal and righteous, and he has a good heart, how can he join the enemy? The aunt felt that something was wrong, so she left Xunyang, and then Changjun was adopted by the Lin family. ”

"Sister, what happened to Changjun's father?"

"It should have been executed."

"Will we ever see him again?"

"Silly boy, when a person dies, he will never be seen again." As soon as the words fell, Ah Jing noticed that Zhen'er's face was not good.

"Zhen'er, what's wrong with you? But uncomfortable? ”

"No, not really." Zhen'er barely managed to squeeze out a smile

It turns out that the end of life is death, and death is disappearance, that is, it will never be seen again. Does Changjun miss his father very much? Just like she misses Qian Xiu, when it comes to Qian Xiu, after a few decades, he will also become a gray-haired grandfather, is he also dead now? It turns out that in this world, no one is spared from birth, old age, sickness and death...... After all, she and Changjun couldn't see the person they wanted to see.

At night, the clouds on the horizon seemed to be dyed with ink, and the moon wheel was blurred.

Zhen'er sat on the roof in a daze, her thoughts drifting far, far away, and at this moment, she suddenly wanted to see Qianxiu.

"Qianxiu, is that you?" In the hazy moonlight, the blurred figure was familiar and unfamiliar.

"No, it's Changjun."

Changjun approached Zhen'er and sat down beside her.

"It's not Qianxiu, I'm a little disappointed." Changjun asked, in addition to his words, there was also some inexplicable loss - in the end, it still couldn't be replaced.

"No, I'm very happy to be Changjun." A smile stretched on Zhen'er's face, but Changjun always felt that this smile was a little reluctant.

"By the way, Zhen'er, this is for you." I saw Changjun hand Zhen'er a delicate hosta, "I saw it on the street today, I think it suits you very well." ”

Qian Xiu had also bought a lot of gifts for Zhen'er before, but most of them were toys and the like, and it was the first time she received a hosta, perhaps because she was still a child at the time. Being treated as an adult for the first time, Zhen'er felt a little happy in her heart. She took the hosta.

"How could Changjun have thought of buying me this?"

"Although you are a little fox, you are also a girl's family, so you still need some jewelry." For some reason, Changjun was a little cramped and looked restless.

"Do you like it?"

"Well, I like it very much, thank you Changjun." Zhen'er put the hosta up and shook her head at Changjun, "Is it good-looking?" ”

This is the first time Changjun has observed Zhen'er's appearance up close, with fair skin, big watery eyes, and a small nose, Zhen'er is undoubtedly good-looking. Her good-looking is not the same as Ah Jing. Her good-looking is never as delicate as a peony, but as beautiful and beautiful as a hibiscus. The more I look at it, the more I feel delicate, and the more I look at it, the more cute I feel.

"What's wrong? Changjun. ”

"Ahem—" he came back to his senses, his heart beating like a drum, "it's nothing, it's just that I suddenly noticed that you have a bit of a look." ”

"What do you mean?" Zhen'er's eyebrows frowned slightly, she was a little annoyed, and pouted: "I'm also a fox demon anyway, and my appearance is naturally not bad." It's just that it's definitely not as good as Sister Jing. ”

"Did you see Ajing?"

"Hmm. Changjun, how could a good-looking woman like Sister A Jing marry Master Wu? ”

"Hmm......" Changjun pondered how to explain Zhen'er to understand.

"There are many reasons, the main reason is that Ajing's mother's family needed a lot of money at that time, and Ajing could get this money after marrying Master Wu. Can you understand if I explain it this way? ”

"Sister Ajing is really pitiful." Zhen'er lowered her head and sighed, her words revealing infinite regret. "I thought that it was the common sense of heaven and earth that a beautiful woman was matched with a talented man."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because of how the poems are written, and Sister Jingjiao, who accompanied Qianxiu at the beginning, is also a beautiful woman with a beautiful national color."

"Your sister Jingjiao is Qianxiu's wife?"

"That's right, Sister Jingjiao, she-"

"Zhen'er—" Just as Zhen'er was about to praise her Jingjiao sister, Changjun suddenly stopped.

"Zhen'er, there's something I have to tell you. I wasn't sure before, but now I'm sure. ”

"What's the matter?"

"The person you met when you went down the mountain more than fifty years ago was indeed a humble cultivator, but later when you went up the mountain, the person who liked to practice martial arts was not a humble cultivator, he was a child of humble cultivation."

"Then where did he go?"

"Humble him......" Changjun was worried and concealed something.

"Qianxiu, he left Xun'an City."

"Because of Master Wu?"

"That's right, it was Master Wu who drove Qian Xiu and Jing Jiao out of Xun'an City," Changjun didn't look at Zhen'er, his gaze wandered elsewhere, after all, he never wanted to lie to Zhen'er.

"But Qianxiu's child stayed in Xun'an City, and he heard about you somewhere, so he was not surprised to see you when he went up the mountain. In order not to make you sad, you mistook him for a humble cultivator, and he didn't say anything...... Fifty years have passed now, and neither the children of humility nor humility are gone......"

Changjun looked at Zhen'er, thinking that Zhen'er would not be able to accept this fact, but she acted calmly.

"Qian Xiu, his children, and Sister Jingjiao will spend the rest of their lives in peace?" Zhen'er spoke slowly, she looked up at Changjun, and there seemed to be a clear pool flowing in her eyes, spotless.

Changjun looked up at the cold jade wheel in the air, silent, and the summer insects in the quiet courtyard were tirelessly noisy. Finally, Changjun spoke: "They are safe and joyful, and they have no worries in life." ”