"What does that mean?" Zhang Jiao looked at the two words on the ground and asked a few old men.

"Brother is born in the year of Jiazi...", an old man trembled in front of the words composed of ashes, and his voice was very excited.

"In this case, let's take the ashes of this soul banner as a relic of Master Wei and bury it." Zhang Jiao lay on the ground to collect dust, meticulously.

Everyone put the ashes back to the mourning hall, and Zhang Jiao burned incense and sang a requiem, hoping that the deceased would rest in peace. Although he didn't know if the picture he had just seen was a soul, it was always some of Wei Fan's will, and Zhang Jiao decided to have a chance to ask his senior brother or father and son.

People's will always need some sustenance, from the soul of the call and persecution will always exist, people name this feeling as loneliness, when people temporarily empty themselves, loneliness will naturally appear silently, like the snow when the dead trees swaying quietly, like the mourning hall quietly burning white candles, but also like the lush green forest sea at this time silently falling in front of Zhang Jiao's eyes.

People are afraid of this feeling, so people gather together to form villages and countries. We grew up, lived and thrived in the gathering place, so that this gathering place carries our joys, sorrows, and sorrows.

As a result, a gathering place became a safe haven for some people to escape from loneliness, and then called this land their hometown.

But one day people will understand that no matter how powerful or humble, no matter how long it is, whether it is elsewhere or in the homeland, loneliness will always exist, as eternal as death, just notice it or not.

Maybe Wei Fan has always been lonely, so part of his will is that he always wants to return to his hometown regardless of life or death. Maybe here, the loneliness like the appendage is not so terrible, and even willing to embrace loneliness and devote itself to death, becoming a part of the hometown until eternity.

The next day, Zhang Jiao participated in the funeral for Wei Fan, and the Wei people took the ashes as Wei Fan's ashes.

Wei Zisheng chose a sleeping place for his father next to a laurel tree, and he buried the box of dust under the osmanthus tree, hoping that his father could smell the refreshing fragrance of osmanthus that he liked every year.

"Big brother, I miss Daddy and Auntie." The atmosphere of parting also evoked the loneliness of Zhang Jiao and the three of them, and after the funeral, Zhang Liang took Zhang Jiao's hand and said.

"I'll go back tomorrow morning, good!" Zhang Jiao directly picked up Xiao Zhang Liang.

The Wei family's farewell ceremony to Zhang Jiao was very grand, a group of white-bearded clan elders stood by the river on crutches, and an old man held Zhang Jiao's hand in a daze with teary eyes. The Wei family even brought a few large bags of sea salt, dozens of catties of finless porpoise meat, a few jars of wine, and even a few pigs and dragons in cages from the warehouse.

Zhang Jiao wanted to put things in the Qiankun bag, but found that the living pig Polong couldn't fit it, so he had to put other things in it and wave his hand to send the cage to the boat.

"Master, let's go." Huang Zu's eyes on the side were a little dark, and his legs were still a little weak, which looked extremely incongruous.

"Are you sick?" Zhang Jiao looked at Huang Zu curiously, this kid was obviously in good shape, but he looked sick.

"No... No, it's just that I loaded the goods last night and didn't rest well..."Huang Zu blushed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I take my leave." Zhang Jiao bowed his hand to the Wei family to bid farewell to the people, turned around and boarded the deck.

The return journey is always fast, and with the blessing of Zhang Jiao, everyone returned to Jiangxia in only one day.

The little water thief named Su Fei kept his promise and waited at the Huang family with dozens of men for a long time, and some people were not willing to leave the water thieves as guards, but only promised not to attack the Huang family's merchant ships again.

Zhang Jiao and the three ignored the Huang family's incorporation of the water thieves, and as soon as they returned to Jiangxia, they said goodbye to Huang Ben and asked for a carriage to hurry home.

There were still some scattered escort teams on the way back, but Zhang Jiao didn't pay attention to them, so it only took two days to get home.

"You kid, where have you gone?"

In Zhangjiawu Fort, Yu Ji watched Zhang Jiao take down a few pigs from the carriage in amazement, and asked in surprise.

"The previous county guard was falsely accused of being a party member, and we rescued his family from the hands of the officials who escorted him and sent him back to his hometown in Huiji County. Zhang Jiao said to Ji as he put the gifts in the Qiankun bag in the warehouse.

"Senior brother, is that old man okay?" Zhang Jiao asked again.

"He was imprisoned in Luoyang Prison, and I rescued him." Yu Ji said as he turned around and went back to the guest hall.

Zhang Huailin and his wife were very happy about the return of their three sons, and hurriedly went to prepare a meal.

"What? How many children in the village were selected to be servants in the palace? During the meal, Zhang Jiao looked at his parents in surprise while sandwiching a piece of finless porpoise meat into his little sister's bowl.

"Alas, it was the playmates of those Liang'er in the village, and the official messenger dropped a few buckets of corn and took those poor children away." Liu Yue'e hugged Zhang Liang, feeling sad in her heart.

"Also, the new county guard has raised taxes again, what is the recruitment tax this time, saying that Xianbei is still on the margin, so they all have to raise taxes, and now this grain is about to be harvested in autumn, I really don't know how much rations the villagers can have left." Zhang Huailin sighed and took a bite of the pig dragon meat hatefully.

"And Uncle Xu hasn't come back yet, some people say he may not come back." Zhang Ru also raised his head and said to Zhang Jiao.

"I heard that there is also a country in the far west, and the emperor there has sent an envoy to visit the Han emperor in Luoyang, in order to show the strength of our Great Han Kingdom and the enrichment of the treasury. Yesterday, the county guard also ordered another tax to be collected, and I really don't know how much it will be collected this time. Zhang Yue'e also sighed.

……

After returning home, Zhang Jiao sat and talked with his family for a long time, and sighed after learning some of the recent situation in his hometown. As for Zhang Liang, after knowing that several of his playmates had entered the palace as eunuchs, he had been depressed.

"Jiao'er doesn't have to worry about these things, it's still far from our house. Miss Guo will be in time in two days, Yu'er has gone to Guo's house to accompany Miss Guo yesterday, you can pick up some gifts and go to Guo's house tomorrow. Liu Yue'e felt that this pig polong and finless porpoise meat were very rare, and asked Zhang Jiao to bring some to the Guo family.

"Alas... The people are already miserable..."Zhang Jiao took Zhang Liang in his arms and sighed leisurely.

"Now that we have the ability, we can do what we can, as for the rest, we can't control it if we want to, don't think too much about it, it's the right thing to go to Miss Guo's house tomorrow." Zhang Huailin patted Zhang Jiao on the shoulder, and went out to prepare gifts with Zhang Yue.

"Brother, I want to save them..."Zhang Liang didn't know when he was already in tears, and raised his head to look at Zhang Jiao and Yu Ji.

"Ah Liang... We... I can't save it..."Zhang Jiao was very distressed, gently wiped away his brother's tears, and didn't know how to comfort him.

"We can save, we're already very good... I want to save my friend..."Zhang Liang fell into Zhang Jiao's arms, hugged Zhang Jiao tightly, and his voice was weak.

"But... That's the Imperial Palace... In the place of the Son of Heaven, even if we rescue them, their families will not be able to bear the wrath of the Son of Heaven. Zhang Jiao didn't know how to comfort him.

"Ah Liang, don't cry." Zhang Ru also ran over and patted Zhang Liang on the back to comfort him.

"Senior brother..."Zhang Jiao looked at Yu Ji pleadingly as if he had been drained of his strength.

"This ...... There's nothing we can do about it... Alas..."Yu Ji also shook his head.

"Don't cry Ah Liang, they will be fine, at least in the palace, their life will be better..."

"But they are no longer human beings......" Zhang Liang seemed to be poked in the heart, stood up and angrily punched Zhang Jiao, and ran out crying.

"Ah Liang......" Zhang Jiao and Zhang Ru both shouted. Zhang Bao and Yu Ji chased out.

"Brother, I also saw it that day, their parents clearly didn't want to sell, why did those people still buy Ah Liang's friend with a few buckets of grain......" The little girl also began to burst into tears.

"Because... Because they are officials, we are... People. Zhang Jiao's words were like a file to his heart.

"We are not the cattle and sheep they raise, there are already so many people in the emperor's family, and they are still here to rob people...... Amu also said that he would marry Xiaoru in the future, although Xiaoru didn't like him, but he didn't want him to be taken away like a sheep. Zhang Ru cried, because those children were not only Zhang Liang's playmates, but also her playmates.

"Xiaoru doesn't cry......" Zhang Jiao burst into tears, and his heart was sad, because not only those children, but even felt that he was a sheep raised by the emperor, just a stronger sheep.

The early autumn wind still carries the last trace of dryness in summer, blowing through the golden fields, but it does not make people feel happy, Zhang Jiao walks in the village with Zhang Ru in his arms, only to feel that the autumn wind is extremely cold, like a sharp knife in the heart.

The doors of every house were closed, and even the barking of dogs could not be heard, and it was as quiet as a ghost. The branches of the willow forest are no longer soft in the eyes of people, they are stiff like whips, and they are angrily whipped in the air under the drive of the autumn wind.

Zhang Liang no longer cried, and in the company of Yu Ji and Zhang Bao, he was sitting on the edge of the river in a daze, and the clods of soil in his hands were constantly thrown into the river, splashing in circles of dirty ripples.

The sky was like a fire-burning ash slag, half red and half gray, and the dazzling red glow penetrated the clouds and shone on the young Zhang Liang, as if stained with dark red blood.

"Liang, I'm sorry... Let's go home......" Zhang Jiao put Zhang Ru down, silently walked behind his younger brother, and wanted to pat him on the shoulder, but he trembled and put it down.

"Brother, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be too willful." Zhang Liang turned his head silently, his dull gaze seemed to have been drained of many colors, and under the light of the red sunset, it seemed to be flowing with blood and tears.

"Ah Liang, I invite you to eat the flower cake that Sister Guo brought last time, but it's sweet, you eat some, sleep, and you won't be sad tomorrow." Zhang Ru held Zhang Liang's hand and led him home.

"Because there is no hope today, I can only hope for the so-called tomorrow......" Yu Ji looked at the people who went home and muttered.

The darkness soon engulfed the hostile red sunset, enveloping the land, like an eternal loneliness, lingering in the heart.