Time is like an arrow, the sun and the moon are like a shuttle, after the Spring Festival, in a blink of an eye, it is the season when the cicadas are singing and ripening.

"Neng'er...... Neng'er ......" Li called loudly at the door.

Xiao Huineng Huineng was going to the huge old lychee tree by the village river with a few little Huineng children who were a few years older than him in the village to watch the adults lay lychees, and suddenly heard his mother's voice calling him, and he didn't bother to pick up the lychees that fell from the tree, so he ran home quickly.

He pushed away the firewood, walked to his mother who was sewing clothes, and said, "Auntie, you call me?" ”

As soon as Li saw the panting little Huineng Huineng, he said loudly: "Neng'er, go find your father and come back, there is a letter from his hometown, tell him to come back and see it quickly." ”

"Yes, mother. Daddy and Uncle Zhang, they are laying lychees by the village river! After Xiao Hui Neng said that, he walked out of the door again like a gust of wind.

Li Shi looked at the big envelope on the stage again, and gradually, the two red bars in the middle of the envelope turned into a red ......

As a result, the joyful gongs and drums and festive suona sound changed from light to heavy, coming to her from a distant place, getting closer and closer......

She saw her husband Lu Xingyao wearing an official uniform, a gauze hat, and red flowers, and was hugged by many officials to get into this red sedan chair, and carried it into a tall and majestic yamen......

This is a dream that her husband Lu Xingyu has had almost every night since he was relegated to Lingnan Xinzhou, a dream that he has been looking forward to for more than 20 years......

After getting married, Lu Xingyu also described the scene of the reinstatement of the official to the Li family many times with hope......

"Ma'am." Lee's hands trembled, the loom pricked her fingers, and she woke up from her dream.

Lu Xingyan said half-jokingly: "Madam, seeing that you can't help but be happy, what good things do you think in your heart?" ”

Lee's face turned red, and he sucked on his pricked finger with his mouth. Lu Xingyu asked eagerly: "Fan Yang has a letter here?" Where is it? ”

Li nodded, looked at the table with both eyes, and said, "Just now, the messenger from the county government sent a letter. I didn't dare to open it, I guess it was sent from Fan Yang's hometown. ”

When Lu Xingyu heard this, he chanted excitedly as he walked: "Drifting in Lingnan for 20 years, the wild goose has been lost......

Xiao Huineng quietly asked Li: "Auntie, why is Daddy always so happy every time I hear a little news from Fan Yang?" ”

Li wanted to speak and stopped. Lu Xingyu picked up the letter, which was slightly damaged due to traveling to many places, and shouted in surprise: "Ah, it's Brother Wenlong's font!" Brother Wenlong finally got a letter! ”

Li Shi asked with a little surprise: "Wenlong? Who is Wenlong? Why haven't I heard you say that there is a person named Brother Wenlong in your hometown? ”

Lu Xingyao said: "Brother Wenlong is my classmate in the same year. At the beginning, the two of us were elected as prefects by the Ministry of Officials. In the blink of an eye, it has been more than twenty years since the breakup. ”

Li is a country woman, and she still doesn't quite understand: "Why did he suddenly write to you?" ”

Lu Xingyu didn't answer and asked: "Madam, do you know how I treated the people when I was an official in the north?" ”

Li smiled: "You have never taken me back to your hometown, how can I know how you are in the eyes of the people?" However, judging from the fact that our family is now impoverished, lacking food and clothing, it at least proves that you are not a corrupt official. ”

"Our Lu family has been an official for generations, and our ancestor Lu Zhi left a testament to warn future generations to be honest and honest as officials. Back then, in order to repay the court's reuse, I was the one who glorified the Lu family's court, and I have always been diligent and honest. It's just that I was framed by traitors and exiled from office. Therefore, I have never given up and been unwilling! When I came to Lingnan, I asked Brother Wenlong to excuse me in the court and look for an opportunity to make a comeback. Later, when I heard that Brother Wenlong had been promoted to a bachelor of Hanlin and became a Beijing official, he had a better chance to speak for me, so last year, I asked someone to bring him a letter. Lu Xingyu gushed out.

Li wanted to speak and stopped.

Lu Xingyan opened the letter with hope, and couldn't help but read it out: ...... Brother Xing Yanian's entrustment, how dare you forget! The predicament of my brother in Lingnan is like a tiger falling into Pingyang, which is also something Wenlong can think of. Wenlong united with his colleagues, contacted in the same year, and several times to the ministry to protect the performance, but ......

Lu Xingyao's face changed sharply, as white as a piece of paper, his eyes gradually became in a daze, and he stood still stupidly.

In a trance, the letter paper seemed to turn into the indifferent and mocking face of Leng Yushi in the middle of the court, announcing to him over and over again: Your Lu Xingyi's crime is unforgivable, and since you have been demoted to a civilian, you will never renew it!

The voice was colder and heavier every time, like a heavy hammer, hitting Lu Xingyao's heart again and again.

Lu Xingyao's face turned from white to blue, from blue to black, and he screamed "wow", a stream of blood spurted out of his mouth, and his whole body fell to the ground with a bang......

Li and Xiao Huineng exclaimed in unison: "Husband, ......"

"Daddy......"

……

The county seat of Xinzhou in the Tang Dynasty seemed to be a grain of mud that was inadvertently thrown onto the shore by the winding Xinxing River.

Although its name is "Zhou", it is under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou.

In order to save Lu Xingyao's life, Li pulled Xiao Huineng and staggered into Xinzhou County.

Entering the south of the city, Li looked around, his eyes were patrolling a store, and finally, she hesitated, walked to a grocery store, inquired about the shopkeeper, and asked earnestly: "Little second brother, may I ask you, where is the pawnshop in the city?" ”

The shopkeeper looked at the old and the young, and guessed: This old and the young are definitely not here to buy things!

When the shopkeeper heard this, it turned out that he had come to inquire about the pawnshop, so he said impatiently: "Go and go, inquire about gossip and go elsewhere......"

Li Shi pulled Xiao Huineng and was about to turn around and leave, when a middle-aged man came out of it.

He is the owner of this grocery store, and his surname is An Michisei.

An Daocheng drank the second child of the store and said to the Li family: "Sister-in-law, you are from the countryside, right?" ”

Li said: "Yes, my mother and I are from Xialu Village. The child's father is sick and has no money to get medicine, so he thinks of ...... in the pawnshop."

An Daocheng said: "You go all the way down this street until you reach the third intersection to the east, then turn north again, and ...... again."

Li Shi was very embarrassed, "Excuse me, which side is the north?" I'm a little dizzy......"

An Daocheng was just about to stretch out his hand to show her the direction, thought about it, and said, "Forget it, I'll lead you guys on a trip, so that you two don't have to go wrong." ”

Li thanked him and followed An Daocheng to the pawnshop.

The pawnshop's counter was so high, and Lee's body was so short, she struggled to raise her arm before handing over a bag of clothes.

The shopkeeper shook out a half-new official uniform from his baggage, and looked down at Li condescendingly: "You, where did this official uniform come from?" Did you steal it from the Yamen? Say! ”

Li said very stubbornly: "Although our Lu family is poor, we would rather starve to death than steal other people's things!" ”

The pawnshop shopkeeper picked up his official uniform and asked aggressively: "It's not stolen, you ordinary people, where did you get your official uniform?" ”

Li said: "My lord used to be an official in the north, of course he has an official uniform!" ”

The shopkeeper weighed the official uniform repeatedly: "This official robe is the same as that of the prefect, it seems that your lord once served as a prefect, served as an official, and was rich in business for three generations." Since you are an official eunuch, do you still have to estimate clothes to get by? ”

Li sighed, speechless. At this time, An Daocheng, who was standing on the side, folded his hands to the pawnshop shopkeeper and said: "Big shopkeeper, twenty years ago, there was an official who was demoted from the Central Plains to our Xinzhou, it seems that these two women are his family, I think, don't be embarrassed for her." ”

The big shopkeeper packed up his clothes, took out a few pieces of broken silver from the drawer, and muttered: "Twenty years ago, I was cut to serve the people, and I was so poor that I couldn't open the pot, and I still kept this official uniform for what ......"

Li took the broken silver, and under the guidance of An Daocheng, he pulled Xiao Huineng into the Chinese medicine shop.

This is the first time that Xiao Huineng has been in the city since she was born.

……

The winding Longshan Mountain is still steaming and the weather is myriad, while the thatched hut of the Lu family at the foot of the mountain has lost its laughter and vitality.

Xiao Huineng sat quietly under the eaves, fanning a small tandoor oven with a fan to boil medicine.

Indoors, Lu Xingyao was lying on the bamboo bed, motionless, like a dead corpse.

After a while, I could see his eyeballs roll, and two huge tears were helplessly dripping from the corners of his eyes.

Li wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and comforted, "Husband, you want to open some." ”

Lu Xingyao's face was painful, and his face was sad: "Madam, there is no hope of reinstatement, and there is no time to return home, can I think about it?" ”

Li said: "If you are not an official, you should not be an official." What's so good about being an official? The sky is unpredictable, the situation is unpredictable, and I am worried all day long, and if I am not careful, the black yarn hat will be lost. ”

Lu Xingyao said: "However, I have been studying hard for ten years, full of economic articles, how can I fulfill my life's ambitions if I don't become an official? The eldest husband was born in the world, and he should rule the country and level the world, and it will be remembered forever in history. Besides, I was dismissed and exiled like this, which brought shame to the ancestors of the Lu family, if I can't make a comeback and rebuild my family, I won't be blind! Lu Xingyan coughed violently, her body trembled, and she couldn't breathe.

While beating him on the back, Li shouted sadly: "Master...... Lord......"

Lu Xingyu finally spit out a mouthful of bloody thick phlegm. gasped and said, "Master? Whose family is my Lu Xingyao? There is a flat-headed common man, and he can only call the master of the family! ”

Lu Xingyan sometimes laughed wildly, sometimes cried bitterly, like crazy, tossed for a long time before falling asleep.

In the courtyard, Xiao Huineng, who was boiling medicine, seemed to be caught in some kind of thought, and the expression on his face was extremely dazed.

The fan in his hand fanned the wind from time to time, but it did not fan to the air inlet of the stove.

Li shouted indoors: "Neng'er, is the medicine boiled?" ”

But Xiao Huineng didn't realize it, and meditated as before.

Li screamed twice, but still did not answer, so he walked out of the room.

She saw that Xiao Huineng was in a daze, so she gently knocked him with a wooden stick.

Xiao Hui was startled, and Fang Jue dreamed of it, and asked in a daze: "What's the matter, A-Niang?" ”

Li Shi said angrily: "What's the matter! What do you say? Let you boil the medicine, where did your soul go? ”

Xiao Huineng realized that the fire was about to go out.

Xiao Huineng hurriedly added a few pieces of firewood to the tandoor, and asked while fanning the wind: "Mother, why has my father's official uniform been kept until now?" ”

Li said: "Your father has always fantasized about the reinstatement of the capable official and wearing it back to Fanyang. Therefore, he protected him like a baby, and he didn't let him go to the pot without rice at home for a few days. ”

Xiao Huineng asked with concern: "Now that we treat it as a treat, can we still come back in the future?" ”

Li let out a long sigh: "Alas! What are you coming back for? Your dad is dreaming! Once he is dismissed and exiled, how can he be reinstated! No, the letter came, and the court said that it would be cut for the people and never renewed. ”

Huineng tilted his head and asked, "Dad vomited blood for this, and he was so angry that he got sick?" ”

Lee said, "Who said it wasn't. He has been in Lingnan for 20 years, but he has been looking forward to being reused by the imperial court one day, and now his hope is shattered, and without this breath, he will not be able to hold on......"

Xiao Huineng asked again: "What's so good about being an official?" Why does Daddy dream of being reinstated? ”

Li said: "People die for the name, and birds die for food." Your father is not here to gamble, to make a good name in front of others. ”

Xiao Huineng asked: "Reputation is so important? People live for a name? ”

Li was stunned and didn't know how to answer. When the medicine was boiled, Li poured it into a bowl and brought it into the house.

……

Lu Xingyao's illness is getting worse day by day, and he is losing all six spirits and coughing. Xiao Huineng came in with the medicine, blew it, and said, "Daddy, it's time to take the medicine." ”

Lu Xingyu shook his head weakly, and said intermittently: "Can you ...... Son, you ...... You don't have to boil medicine every day. Dad's disease can't be cured by medicine, Bai ...... Wasted money. If you finish the things at home, you two won't even be able to eat in the future......"

Lu Xingyu refused to take medicine.

Li fed him, his teeth were clenched, and the medicinal soup was spilled. Xiao Hui was so anxious that she cried on the side, but there was nothing she could do.

After nightfall, Lu Xingyu struggled on the line of death, looking extremely painful.

Li stroked his chest, and Xiao Hui was able to wipe the phlegm from the corner of his father's mouth with a cloth towel. Lu Xingyu gasped for a while, and his consciousness was a little clearer.

He looked at his wife and children, who were about to become orphans and widows, with infinite compassion, and said in a very desolate manner: "Madam, Neng'er, leave me alone. I'm a big man, I can't glorify my ancestors, I can't support my wife and children, what's the use of living......"

Li cried and said, "Master, what nonsense are you talking about....."

Xiao Huineng also puffed up his chest and said: "Daddy, you get better quickly, in the future, I will be a big child, I will help you farm and work." ”

Lu Xingyan smiled brightly: "I am alive, dragging you down in vain, but when I die, I am left with you orphans and widows, how can I live in the future......"

The family sobbed.

Outside the window, wind and rain, lightning and thunder.

Lu Xingyu has reached the point of death.

For a moment he was like a sharp blade cutting through his heart, and the pain was unbearable; After a while, it was like the devil pressing on the top, and he was terrified.

He's been babbling something: "...... No...... No...... I can't die...... Unwilling to ...... I want to go back to Fanyang......"

Xiao Huineng and Li's love couldn't help, so they could only hug their heads and cry.

There was an earth-shattering thunderclap, and the oil lamp was blown out by the wind.

In the darkness, Xiao Huineng's desperate cry came: "Daddy......"

Lu Xingtao had no hope of reinstatement, and all thoughts were lost, so when Xiao Huineng was three years old, he gave up his good wife and beloved son and died.

When Li saw it, he felt a burst of pulling his liver and lungs, and his heart was broken......