This year is the third year after the death of Xu Zhiliu, the former small owner of Hutian kiln. This day is the day of his death.

The carriage galloped on the outskirts of Jingdezhen and headed for the mountain temple not far away. In front of the mountain gate, the horse's hooves were raised high, and the red horse stood firm after a long cry.

The coachman got out of the car first, lifted the curtain, and said, "Little boss, it's here." ”

"Hmm." A very low response, and his voice was calm and concise.

After a few moments, the man in the carriage put down the ledger and bent out. The coachman immediately stepped forward to help, the man waved his hand, and walked down the pedal step by step by the wall of the car, the coachman handed over the crutches in time, the man put in the crook of his arm, and caught a glimpse of the driver's burned arm, and his expression was slightly paused.

By the time he looked away, the coachman had lowered his head so that the owner would not see his ugly face.

"Are you still taking medication these days?" The man spoke suddenly.

The coachman nodded: "I've been using it, in fact, it doesn't matter, the pain will be relieved after a while, but I won't die after all, even if this skin is repaired, it will no longer be me." After speaking, he paused slightly, "Little boss, you don't have to worry about me anymore. ”

Don't say that again. If the effect of the medicine is not good, stop the medicine first, do not have to force it, I will look for a new doctor, now the kiln port shipping is prosperous, the north and south traffic is smooth, the news has been sent, once you find a doctor who specializes in treating fire burns, you will go with the merchant ship. ”

"I don't, I'm going to stay with you, and I won't leave if I die, you ......"

"Age." The man interrupted him.

His voice was not heavy, but the majesty was far from what it had been three years ago.

People change, and when you are young, you will find that nothing is impossible when you grow up. Surviving under the blade to this day, the iron and stone are still refined into real gold, let alone a living person?

At that time, it was clear to everyone that the person in front of him was no longer the immature teenager he was three years ago.

Now he is in charge of the two major kilns, is the head of the three kilns and nine associations, and there are attendants in and out, most of the kilns in Jingdezhen are in his control, and even the official kilns of the royal system want to find a kiln to burn the people, and he has to be. He grows day by day like a willow branch, and his youthful feeling is gone, leaving only the hardness and thorns of the branches.

Looking at him now, every word and deed has its own merits, and the depth of his thoughts is no longer spied on by others, and he is no longer more than his son, and he is no longer an inferior servant who dares to imagine at will.

Therefore, he did not speak again for many years.

The man lifted the hem of his clothes and walked up the stairs step by step, and the host had already waited for him in front of the temple gate and led him to the meditation room in the backyard. On the way, he asked the host about the identity of the visitor, and the host smiled predictably, and only asked him: "Does the donor want to ask for a sign or divination?" ”

"I don't ask for a lot, I don't tell a fortune."

Naturally, there is no comment. The host pursed his lips and asked again: "Can the donor believe in numerology?" ”

"What do you have to say?"

"I see that the donor's face is broad, his facial features are clear, and he is a great blessing, but," the host paused, his eyes fell on the clouds and mountains and mist, and turned into a sigh, "The fate is unfortunate, I am afraid it will not be possible." ”

The man frowned slightly.

"Is there a solution?"

"Faith is what you do."

The man shook his head: "I also believed in my fate, but now I ...... I don't believe it. ”

The host seemed to be expecting it, so he stopped talking, but said again before leaving: "You should believe in life, numerology has life and death, a past life, and this life, and if you believe in it, you will have both." If you don't believe, you live and die. ”

After that, the host gestured to the wing room, and there were nobles from all the way to Beijing living in it. The nobleman was filial, and wanted to burn a life-length Guanyin porcelain for his eighty-year-old mother.

This is the burden that An Nineteen temporarily handed over to him last night, and he naturally can't refuse, and he can't refuse. After reaching an agreement with the nobleman, he was about to retreat, but as soon as the door opened, a fiery red figure swept over and knocked him backwards.

In order to receive the nobles, the mountain temple declined the visit of foreign guests, and the person who can run crazy in this backyard must also be noble. Liang Peiqiu thought of something in an instant, didn't care about her legs, and only protected the woman.

The two fell to the ground.

The woman screamed, ready to suffer pain, who expected that there was no expected pain, after a while she opened her eyes, the big round eyes and the four eyes of the man under her, suddenly full of peach blossoms.

A reproach came from behind him: "Zhao'an, you are naughty again." ”

Zhao'an stuck out his tongue and got up with the help of a group of servants, only to find the crutches on the side. She was startled for a moment, and then looked at the man, who had already gotten up and stepped aside.

Seeing that his face was slightly pale, Zhao An was holding his leg with his hand, as if he had touched the wound, he blamed himself in his heart, and went up to ask, "Are you injured?" ”

"Out of the way."

"I'll call the Imperial Doctor."

She was in a hurry, and immediately called someone to come over to see Liang Peiqiu. Seeing her eyes fluttering, the imperial doctor said that the injury was more serious. When Zhao'an heard this, he immediately begged: "Mother, I am afraid that it is inconvenient for him to go down the mountain if he is injured, can you let him stay here for one night?" Tomorrow I will send him down the mountain. ”

"Nonsense, Mr. Liang still has important business, how can he delay others?"

"But, he's hurt." Zhao'an looked at his mutilated leg and kept twisting his handkerchief, "Mother, please, let him go down the mountain like this, I'm uneasy." If you don't want to, I'll write to my father at once, and ask him to judge me. ”

"Your father is far away in Beijing, and by the time you finish flying the pigeon, the people will have already left. Besides, your father must be cold when he sees the letter, and usually asks you to write a letter to report safety, but you push back, but you have to write a long story for this little thing, not afraid of upsetting your father? ”

"No, my father loves me the most, and my mother doesn't care about Zhao'an."

Liang Peiqiu listened to their back and forth, and couldn't interject. Listening to the identity, it should be a great royal noble. No wonder An Nineteen repeatedly told him to be careful, but he didn't dare to go rashly, probably for fear of violating the taboo of nobles.

Eunuchs, there is no shortage of eunuchs in that imperial city.

Moreover, An Nineteen became increasingly addicted to being the emperor of Jiangxi, and he didn't want to recall the past, so he licked and suffered unnecessary humiliation.

The nobleman seemed to be reluctant, but he couldn't bear the soft grinding and hard bubbles of his little daughter, so he finally agreed, but he still asked Liang Peiqiu what he meant first. Liang Peiqiu pondered for a moment and did not refuse, so Zhao'an personally sent him to the front yard to settle down.

Zhao'an said: "I thought the little god was a little old man, but I didn't expect you to be so young." ”

Liang Peiqiu chuckled silently.

Although he is dressed simply, he is not plain, with jade around his waist, and there is a dazzling light in the light. Zhao An looked dumbfounded, and his face turned even redder: "You, how did you hurt your leg?" ”

Liang Peiqiu turned her head to look at her and didn't speak for a long time.

Zhao'an touched his face: "What's wrong?" ”

He hurriedly lowered his head: "The grass people are disrespectful, I hope the county lord will forgive the sins." ”

"Ahh Zhao'an quickly reacted, "It's me talking to my mother, you guessed it, right?" ”

Liang Peiqiu nodded.

Zhao An said: "It's right that I'm reckless, what's wrong with you?" If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be hurt, and I'll ask the Imperial Doctor to see you again in the evening. ”

"Don't bother the county lord. The grass people have discomfort in their legs and feet and want to rest early. ”

"That's right." Zhao'an seemed to regret, "Then I'll send you down the mountain tomorrow and go around the city." ”

She is the lord of the county, and since she is one, one cannot be refused.

Liang Peiqiu snorted and didn't speak again.

After the twilight, the mountain gate is closed, and the whole mountain forest is shrouded in a cloud and mist. At this time, a figure appeared on the mountain road, walking in a hurry, staggering down the first step, it was the person who rested early under the pretext of the recurrence of an old injury.

The jujube red horse was still in front of the temple gate, and another inconspicuous green felt carriage stopped at the foot of the back mountain.

Liang Peiqiu boarded the carriage without saying a word.

When he left the city at noon, he was still thinking about how to stay overnight under the pretext of being a nobleman, and he didn't want Zhao'an to solve the trouble for him directly. He asked the little monk to go down the mountain to deliver a message to Shi Nian, and presumably An Nineteen's eyes also heard it.

At this time, no matter how painful the old trouble is, it doesn't matter, Liang Peiqiu listened to the sound of the car turning, thought of the place where he was fascinated, and smiled slightly.

An hour later, the carriage stopped in the deserted countryside. Liang Peiqiu got out of the car, took the basket handed by the coachman, and advised, "You just wait for me here." ”

The coachman saw that he was going to carry a basket and a lantern, and was afraid that it would be inconvenient, so he was about to speak, and met his gaze, but turned silent.

Liang Peiqiu walked about half a column of incense in the overgrown woods, and then stopped in front of an unnamed monument. It wasn't a long journey, but it took some effort for him to walk slowly, and to change his hands with baskets and lanterns.

He first removed the weeds around the tombstone, then wiped the dust and dirt off the tombstone with a handkerchief, and after sprinkling and sweeping it around, he opened the basket, took out the offerings and placed them one by one, and sat down on the grass with his knees down.

"Brother Liu, I've come to see you, are you okay? Today's trivial matters are tedious, and it's late, don't blame me. ”

In the past few years, An Nineteen has been keeping an eye on him, and he always has to think hard to come to see him. Sometimes I think about it, what if I can't come, Brother Liu has never disappeared in his heart. Risking to come here, I am afraid that many years of dormancy have fallen short, and even Shi Nian has persuaded him more than once, but he just can't pass the hurdle in his heart, always thinking that he will be a ghost all year round, and he will one day come to the old man and be a person again.

In front of Brother Liu, he is the Xiao Liang of the year.

"Brother Liu, you used to say that the porcelain industry should be difficult to maintain eighty lines, although I agreed, but I didn't have a personal experience, after all, I can't understand your state of mind, and now I have gone through this road to really understand. Maybe I can only get closer to you if I follow the same path as you? ”

What he has been thinking about all these years, if he was ignorant in the early years, it was not very clear, but now with the exhaustion of lamp oil every day, his mind is becoming more and more invented.

Those account books, those kiln work, those rules of the ship gang porcelain shop, and those inexplicable clues, all told him the answer.

Xu Zhong occasionally wanted to kiss him, but he only opened his mouth, but he didn't know how to go down, and then he gave up. Maybe they've all seen it, right?

They could see that An 19 was not blind either.

In the first two years, he obeyed everything and worked carefully, An Nineteen was in the kiln industry, while letting him do it, he had to guard against him, and he didn't care much about him personally, and now he held Hutian Kiln and Anqing Kiln in his hands, and in turn he could contain An Nineteen, An Nineteen gradually came back to his senses, and began to test non-stop.

As far as An XIX is concerned, he was tricked by a puppet.

To test the puppet's heart, it is best to use affection.

He didn't want to accept those women who appeared in the house every once in a while, but he was a normal man, and he should have a family at the right age. If you continue to shirk it, I am afraid that An Nineteen will be suspicious, and it will inevitably be a killing.

"If I get married, I can dispel a little of his doubts, and I don't have to sneak around when I come back next year, then I am very willing."

"I'm afraid I'm going to be sorry for my wife."

"Brother Liu, my heart doesn't belong to me for a long time."

He babbled about the events of recent years, and told Xu Zhiliu everything in detail. Later, he began to cough, and this cough seemed to be unstoppable, until a mouthful of cloudy blood splashed on the tombstone.

Liang Peiqiu was stunned.

The blood was unusually bright red, wrapped in black, and carried a fishy smell, like a very poison. He twisted his eyebrows and thought about it for an unknown amount of time, and suddenly remembered the words of the host, what is lifeless, how can he believe it? He picked up the handkerchief and wiped the blood off little by little.

"A month ago, someone bought Tong'an 19 with a sum of silver, and wanted to build the new hall in the best Xiashan Lane, which is not far from the Three Kilns and Jiuhui and the Fenghuo Temple, but to build a new hall, you have to knock out the two kiln factories and three billet households that were originally on the front and back streets of Xiashan Lane."

When he went to Anfu to report on the kiln affairs, he saw the box go in and out, carrying it more than ten times, about 100,000 taels. However, when An 19 asked him to complete the task of the new guild hall, he only gave a sum of money according to the building specifications and construction period standards, and no other amount was paid.

For this reason, he was caught up in a labor negotiation that could not be negotiated at all.

"Probably because of this, I run around every day and can't sleep properly to vomit blood, right? Brother Liu, you don't have to worry about me, I'm fine. ”

He tucked the blood-stained handkerchief into his sleeve and closed the bassinet.

Under the moonlit night, he stared intently at the wordless stele, there was nothing on it, but he seemed to be describing the inscription at a glance. In the inscription, there is an endless heartfelt heart, longing and unspeakable affection.

Then he turned around and left, his back was gone, and there was only one sentence left in the wind: "Brother Liu, I'll come to see you next year, don't forget me, I'm Xiaoliang." ”

The next day, the imperial doctor obeyed Zhao'an's order and saw Xu Zhiliu again. This time, Xu Zhiliu stretched out his wrist and asked the imperial doctor to diagnose his pulse. The two talked for a long time behind closed doors.

Before Zhao'an came in, the imperial doctor closed the medicine box and returned as usual.

Zhao'an was very happy to see that Liang Peiqiu was fine, and took a group of attendants down the mountain with him, but she said: "The mother concubine only gave me three days, and I will leave in three days." ”

She looked at Liang Peiqiu reluctantly, "Can you accompany me for the past three days?" ”

Liang Peiqiu looked at her, still looking at her before, for a moment, with thought. Only this time, he didn't bow his head, but covered it with a light smile and said, "Okay, these three days will be given to the county lord." ”

How could he have said something so gratifying! Zhao'an's heart was puffing, he covered his face shyly, and smiled brightly.