The old steward said: "I was still there last night, but early this morning, we opened the door and went in to find that Xiangye was gone." ”

Old Lady Xie and Old Lady Wang glanced at each other, and said, "Don't worry, I'll call someone to ...... later."

There are so many people in the clan, and the old steward also knows about it, and they are willing to help, but he was relieved when he heard it, and thanked him repeatedly.

Although it is not easy to find a lost person in Chang'an City, with the help of the secret guards of the clan, it is expected that they will be able to find it soon, after all, with Qiao Xiangye's footsteps, he will not go far.

But this time, everyone miscalculated, and as evening approached, no one was found.

The fact that the prime minister of a country is lost is simply a joke in the world. Wang Xu, who was hurriedly called back from the ministry to help find people, opened his mouth as soon as he entered the door: "It's better to let the government post a notice to find people, the people all over the city are looking for it, and it's a lot easier to come." ”

"Lord Wang, no!" Although the old steward was sweating profusely early, when he heard his proposal, he immediately denied it, "Everyone knows that Xiangye's illness can't be done. ”

Wang Xu was silent, but he also understood their concerns. Qiao Xiangye is such a stubborn person, if he was willing to retreat, he would have retreated a long time ago, since he refused to retreat, this disease would not be able to be talked about in front of everyone.

Old lady Wang glanced at him and said, "It is the time in the city to criticize Chen Shan, and it is best not to have anything else involved at this time, lest this fire will be extinguished before it burns." ”

Wang Xu silently: This does make some sense, but what should I do if Qiao Xiangye is lost?

Old lady Wang thought about it, called the old butler over, and asked, "It's not a problem to look like a fly like this, what unusual behavior has Qiao Xiangye had recently had?" ”

The old steward looked at each other for a while, lowered his head and thought about it, and suddenly a subordinate said: "Recently, Xiangye always said that he wanted beads or something, and I took the pearls and Buddhist beads in the treasury later, but after taking them, Xiangye was furious and knocked over everything." ”

"The old man has worked with Xiangye for so many years, but I have never heard of Xiangye dressing up or anything, how can he ask for beads? Did you hear me wrong? Old lady Wang touched her nose, obviously thinking that it was too ridiculous for Qiao Xiangye to want pearls, and asked, "But what else did you say?" ”

The steward thought for a moment, and then stood up with a slap of his head: "Xiangye also said yesterday that he couldn't remember anything recently, and he wanted to find a friend to treat him or something." After a pause, he sighed again, "It's just a friend, but Xiangye didn't say it." ”

"Xiangye is quite sober, and he still knows that he can't remember things at this time." Old lady Wang shook his head and sighed for a moment, "Looking for a friend to treat the disease?" Buy beads...... Hey? Wrong! ”

Everyone saw that he shook his head and nodded, and he was a little confused for a while, just when he was puzzled, he saw the old lady Wang slap his thigh and stood up from the chair suddenly: "I know where Xiangye has gone, come with me!" ”

……

The lively return to the garden in Su Ri is empty at this time, and those young people and girls who were happy to play polo in the past have also walked on the streets today, either out of sincerity, or join in the fun, all adding fire to the Huns entering the customs.

Without the sound of people returning to the garden, the noisy sound of the craftsmen working in the Yuci Zhang Mansion next door became louder and louder in the entire Heavenly Master Road.

"It should be inside." The old lady Wang who got off the carriage looked at the slightly hidden gate and sighed, the words "Pei Yuan" on the gate were dignified, although Pei Zong's people were not in Chang'an, but there were people in this place who often lived here temporarily, that is, the orphan of the Zhang family, the clever young man named Zhang Jie.

As soon as she thought of that child, Mrs. Wang felt a little regretful in her heart: the children of the Zhang family's generation are really outstanding, but ...... It's a pity.

As soon as I heard that Xiangye should be inside...... There was no more politeness to be had, and the servants of Qiao's Mansion hurriedly walked over and pushed open the door, looking at the scene in the courtyard, and were stunned on the spot.

In the courtyard, an old man and a young man are sitting opposite each other, and a chessboard is placed on the stone table, and the two are playing against each other. One of them, isn't it Qiao Xiangye who they have been looking for for a day today? For the servants of Qiao's Mansion, they don't care so much, and they don't care who Xiangye plays with.

"Aren't people here?" Old lady Wang gestured to Wang Xu, who was following behind him, and asked him to order him to go down and let the secret guard come back, so that he didn't have to look for it anymore.

"Xiangye, Xiangye......" The old steward's excitement turned to astonishment and surprise after a moment. He saw that Qiao Xiangye, who was playing a game, seemed to be a different person at this time, he was in good spirits, his hair was neatly combed, his beard was trimmed, his clothes were even more neat, and he was seriously playing against the young man in front of him.

This image gap is too different from the confused appearance of the past, so that the words "back to the light" popped up in his mind, and the whole person's face turned white. He was obviously not the only one who had this idea, and the servants all looked like this, and the old lady Wang frowned, and after a while, as if he understood something, he left a sentence of "don't be cranky" and walked in.

"Qiao Xiangye." When he got closer, the old lady Wang shouted, raised her hand towards Qiao Huan, sat down on the stone bench on the side, and watched the old man and the young man play the game.

Qiao Huan raised his head and said to him happily: "Wang Situ, Changming's grandson is good, he is a manufacturable material!" ”

Old lady Wang looked at the young man on the side, and saw that the young man bowed to him with a calm face, so he nodded, turned his head to look at Qiao Huan and responded: "Yes, he is indeed a good boy." ”

Qiao Huan exclaimed: "Changming, this old guy is really, where did the family go up and down?" Only one child is left here to look after the family, is it like words? I don't know who hung the plaque outside, but I walked around here several times, but I almost didn't find it. If I hadn't seen this kid, I would still be spinning here! ”

When the old lady Wang heard this, she stared at him thoughtfully for a while, then smiled and asked him, "Xiangye, what are you doing here to find Master Zhang Datian?" ”

Qiao Huan patted his head and said to him: "I don't know what's going on lately, I always can't remember things, I want to look for him, I don't believe anyone else." ”

"I see." Old lady Wang snorted and looked at him again, "Master Zhang Datian has returned to Jinan, not in Beijing, what do you have to do, it is better to wait for him to come back." ”

"Really, his family has gone back to Jinan, why don't you say anything to me?" Qiao Huan sighed, suddenly as if he remembered something, and asked him, "Wang Situ, I've been forgetting things lately, has the pearl of this old guy's family come back?" He always praised the granddaughter of the family as if he was something, and if he came back, he would have to tell me, so that I could recommend it to His Majesty in advance! ”

It turned out that the bead in Qiao Huan's mouth was this bead, and Zhang Changming told him a lot before his death, so that he still remembered this matter on the premise that he remembered it piecemeal.

Old lady Wang thought about it and said with a smile: "I'm back...... It's a very nice kid indeed. As he spoke, a figure flashed in his mind, and the smile on his face was even worse.

"That can't be like this, just leave such a young child to take care of the house." Qiao Huan said and looked at the young man who was playing silently against him.

Old lady Wang said: "Then when Master Zhang Datianshi comes back, we will talk to him again." ”

"Well, it must be said, don't forget." Qiao Huan patted his head and turned his head to face him, with a serious expression, "Wang Situ, this matter is very important, if I forget, you have to remember to remind me." ”

Old lady Wang snorted and looked at him.

Under the sunset, Qiao Huan had a faint smile on his face, and it seemed that overnight, the wrinkles on his face were smoothed out, and the traces of time were lost like some memories. It is no longer the decadent madness of the past, but the quiet years are good.

"It's getting late, and I'll stay soon." Qiao Huan said and reached out and touched Zhang Jie's head, looking at him with love in his eyes.

Zhang Xie looked at him silently.

He smiled happily, and didn't care, and said to the old lady Wang again: "Wang Situ, you must remind me that I have to personally tell this old guy Changming about this matter, which is very important." ”

Old lady Wang nodded: "Okay." ”

Qiao Huan breathed a sigh of relief, thought about it, covered his lips with his hand again, approached him, and said to him: "I've been thinking about it for a long time, his pearl's courage is extraordinary, Da Chu has our old guy to stabilize the situation, but what he lacks is the ability not to break or stand, the pearl of his family is this unbreakable force, he should be allowed to retreat early, so that my Da Chu can be for generations to come!" ”

Old lady Wang looked at him and squinted: It turned out that Qiao Huan had thought like this. just admits that the premise of this unbroken force is that Zhang Changming is there, and after Zhang Changming is not there, this unbroken and unbroken force is regarded by him as a threat...... Of course, with the character of that girl, it is normal to be seen as a threat. To this day, it is really difficult to say which is right and which is wrong, and in the final analysis, the two sides do not know each other well enough.

After saying this, Qiao Huan stood up, dusted off his body, and put his hands in front of him, and the old lady Wang looked at the energetic figure and bent down towards him. The afterglow of the setting sun passed over him, a little dazzling.

"Another day, I'll play chess with you again." Qiao Huan said the last sentence to Zhang Commentary, turned around and walked out with the group of stunned Qiao Mansion people.

When everyone in Qiao's Mansion left, Old Lady Wang sat for a while, stood up from the stone bench, and was about to get up to leave, but the voice of the young man next to him suddenly sounded.

"It's not over yet."

Only then did the old lady Wang notice the endgame on the table: although it looked evenly matched, one side had faintly gained the upper hand...... It's Zhang Jie.

"You kid......" Old Lady Wang shook his head, "Why don't you go down tomorrow!" ”

Zhang Xie looked down at the chessboard.

Old lady Wang smiled and turned to leave, but when she was about to go out, she heard the young man's voice coming clearly from inside.

"Maybe it's too late......"

Old lady Wang paused at her feet, this child is not that girl...... It was only a brief pause, and then he walked out.

But that sentence was still taken to heart, so that in the middle of the night, when he suddenly heard the bad news of Qiao Huanxue's death, the old lady Wang was just shocked in his heart, and quickly calmed down, as if he had been prepared.

When I arrived at Qiao's Mansion at dawn, it was a messy time in the house, Qiao's Mansion was sparsely populated, and the only daughter was married to Jinan, this time, it was a dispute over whether to invite Mrs. Ye, who was far away in Jinan, to come back.

"When Xiangye was sober, he once said that he asked the young lady and his aunt not to leave Jinan, and to live and die with the people for the local parents." It is the steward of the house who insists on this sentence, although he is not a serious master, but he has served Qiao Xiangye for many years, and no one in Qiao's mansion takes him as a person.

Several of Qiaofu's side sons and nephews objected: "But now it's not what happened in Jinan, but what happened to my uncle himself, how can a son and daughter not come back?" ”

"Jinan is in chaos right now, you don't know, what if something goes wrong with the young lady's back and forth?" The steward argued, "This is not going to work. ”

"Then can you guarantee that your cousin will not be blamed if she finds out in the future? What's going on? Parents' business! I can't help but tell you. No matter how much you and I do here, we can't always compare to hers. ”

……

It's really that both sides are justified and disputed.

"Go to a letter, it's up to Mrs. Ye to decide whether to come back or not." Old Lady Xie interrupted them and said, "Write the meaning of Xiangye in the letter, none of you are Mrs. Ye, and you can't replace her decision." ”

"I'm going to Jinan...... Even if you rush back day and night, I'm afraid it's too late! The steward shook his head, "Miss can only put incense on the pillar when she comes back, and it is not too late to come to incense when the war is stable in Japan, nothing is more important than the safety of the living." ”

"That's the reason." Old lady Wang glanced at the steward and said, "But it's not you who makes the decision." This steward has served Qiao Huan all the year round, and he has a little bit of vision, but the word "love" has never been reasonable throughout the ages.

A servant is a loyal servant, and at this time, the reputation of a bad servant will outweigh the loss.

……

……

"Brother Xie said he was fine, let me not worry."

"At this time, the people in Chang'an City scolded Chen Shan for treason!"

"There is chaos in the city, but His Majesty did not stop it, it seems that he deliberately connived!"

"And ...... Qiao Xiangye is gone. The girl held the letter for a moment, and did not read it any further, but looked down at the contents of the letter, and after reading it, she just sighed and put the letter away.

Pei Zongzhi's eyes were quick, and he vaguely saw the words "playing chess" and "looking for grandfather" at the end of the letter, but he didn't ask much, just looked at the situation in front of him, and said: "Chang'an is chaotic, why not here?" ”

They did not stay outside Jinan City at this time, after leaving Jinan City that day, they went to the direction of Fancheng, and happened to pass by the Huns on the way, and did not meet head-on.

At this time, the two of them were already standing in the middle of Fancheng, watching the retreat of the defenders and the plundered city in a daze. In the game of power, Fancheng was given to the Huns as an outcast.

Gone are the once bustling streets, filled with smoke and smoke that the Huns had set on fire when they left, and half of the houses in the city had burned to ruins. There were no living creatures to be seen, and the proprietors and men in the wine shops on the street were already dead at the moment the Huns came, with long knife wounds cutting most of their bodies, and they were lying on the ground and could not distinguish their original faces, allowing mosquitoes to bite.

The whole Fancheng is like a Shura hell, and the Southwest Army ...... It's crazy!

Noticing the slightly trembling body of the girl beside him, Pei Zongzhi reached out and hugged her into his arms. She wanted to see Fancheng, so he accompanied her. Even if you are prepared for what is happening here, the impact you see with your own eyes is beyond imagination.

He was born with a lack of seven emotions and six desires, cultivating the country, and counting the change of dynasties, for him, the homework that needs to be completed assigned by the gentleman in the classmate hall is no different. But at this moment, he suddenly had a different kind of emotion: he had stood outside the world and watched the general trend of the world for more than 20 years, and this time he wanted to participate in it personally. Because...... He doesn't like such a lord of the world.