For several days, Xia Rongrong hid from Lu Tong.

In the past, Lu Tong sat in the hospital hall during the day, and Xia Rongrong's master and servant would follow behind to help, but in the past few days, she hid in the hospital and refused to come out, and she took a detour to avoid it when she bumped into it. This move was too obvious, Du Changqing asked a few times in secret, but Xia Rongrong perfunctory, thinking that the two of them were quarreling behind their backs.

Outside, the clouds were rolling, and the silver kite helped Lu Hitomi move a statue of a Bodhisattva made of white porcelain to the small Buddha cupboard in the house.

Guanyin statue Lu Tong from the West Street incense and candle shop invited back, the shop owner said that it is to ask the master of Wan'en Temple to open the light of the spiritual object, Lu Tong saw that the small statue of Guanyin carved lifelike, and remembered that there was a small Buddha cupboard in the bedroom where he lived, just to fit this image, so he spent five taels of silver to bring back the porcelain Guanyin.

The white-clothed Guanyin was put into the small Buddha cupboard, and the small Buddha cupboard was not as empty as before.

Yin Zheng looked left and right, and smiled: "The size is just right, but there is a lack of a niche cage, and I will look for a suitable one when I am free." ”

Lu Tong let out a "hmm", glanced at the courtyard outside, and said, "Let's go." ”

It was the afternoon, and the air was surprisingly stuffy, and the sky was overcast, as if a mountain rain was about to come.

Du Changqing lay on the shop table to take a nap, and when he saw the two of them going out, he raised his head lazily: "Don't forget to take an umbrella." ”

"Got it."

When the backs of the two disappeared outside the medical hall, Xia Rongrong lifted the felt curtain and came out of it, followed by a look out, and asked Du Changqing: "It's about to rain, where is Dr. Lu going?" ”

"Fresh fish shop, Wu Xiucai, dead." Du Changqing wiped his face.

"They're going to deliver the money."

……

The wind was so strong that it rattled the white paper lanterns under the eaves.

In the yard, filial piety curtains are stacked on top of each other, and paper horses comb their hair like mountains. In the flickering shadows of the ever-bright lamp, a black lacquered wooden coffin stopped in the mourning hall.

Wu Youcai, dressed in coarse linen filial piety clothes, was kneeling by the wooden basin in front of the coffin and filling the fire with paper money.

Aunt Wu went a few days ago, the divination teller He Blind calculated the auspicious time for his mother to enter the earth and left, Wu Youcai had no other relatives in Shengjing, the neighbors of West Street helped to complete the funeral, accompanied the spirit for two days, said some words of mourning, and dispersed in twos and threes - everyone has their own days.

He was alone in this place to keep a watch.

The mother's clothes were folded and put aside, and they were buried together when they were buried in the earth. Wu Youcai's eyes fell on the folded clothes.

The coat is embroidered with a cluster of golden flowers, which bloom with six petals, like a smile.

It is a daylily flower.

Wu Youcai looked at it, and his eyes gradually turned red.

Aunt Wu is thrifty and rarely buys new clothes, and a linen dress can be worn for more than ten years. Sometimes the elbow and knee are broken, and I am afraid that the patch will not look good, so I pick up the thread that others don't want and embroider some flowers to make up for it.

Daylilies give birth to the hall steps, and the wanderer travels to the end of the world; The loving mother leaned against the door of the hall, but there were no daylily flowers.

Daylily flowers are mother flowers.

Mother......

Confucian tears rolled down.

All the sorrows in the world are nothing more than death and life. Even though he already knew that his mother's life was short, when that day came, Wu Youcai still felt sudden.

Obviously, she also told him in the evening that she had a bad appetite these days, and she wanted to eat mung beans and cold rice tomorrow to appetize, and when he went to wipe his mother's body at night, his mother's body was already cold.

The neighbors who came to send the money persuaded him that his mother was unconscious, there was no pain, and it was joy and mourning, and told him not to grieve. But after so many days, Wu Youcai still can't let go.

He hasn't won a golden high school yet, he hasn't won a fight for his mother's life, he hasn't even let his mother enjoy a day of happiness, he has praised a word, why did his mother go?

Don't give him a chance.

The yellow paper in his hand was crumpled, the man choked and couldn't help himself, his figure was as lonely as a homeless dog, tears smashed into the brazier, and turned into ashes along with the paper money.

The wind was louder outside.

The long wind swept up the white flags of the conjuring spirits hanging in the courtyard, the sky was gloomy like evening, and there was a faint thunder in the black clouds.

In the sound of this gentle wind, the sound of the chai door being knocked faintly sounded, and Wu Youcai was stunned.

At this time, how can anyone still come?

The neighbors who came to help have already returned, and Hu Yuan, who was most concerned about him, also had a family to take care of. The neighbors who have a little friendship on West Street have already sent money, and the Wu family has no other relatives.

As he thought so, he heard a knock on the door stop and then, followed by a "squeak."

The door was pushed open and someone walked in.

Wu Youcai raised his head.

The dark clouds pressed the sky into darkness and darkness, the mourning hall was lonely and bleak, the paper money in the courtyard was like snow, and the footsteps of someone were slowly approaching, not in a hurry.

The woman's whole body was wrapped in a plain white dress, the wind blew the corners of her clothes to blow, and the frost-colored silk flower between the temples was as clean as mutton fat.

Wu Youcai looked at the woman in front of him blankly, thinking: Why is she wearing filial piety clothes?

The woman stopped in front of him and looked at him with low eyebrows: "Wu Gongzi." ”

Wu Youcai suddenly came back to his senses.

"Doctor Lu?"

The person who came was Lu Tong, the doctor of the Renxin Medical Center.

He shuddered and hurriedly stood up: "Why is Doctor Lu here?" ”

Since his mother's death, he has been in a daze, and it is only now that he remembers that he hasn't seen Lu Hitomi for a while.

Wu Youcai is very grateful to this Doctor Lu, who previously visited his mother and rescued her from the ghost gate, and then asked the silver kite girl to send medicinal materials to her mother every once in a while.

Wu You knew that the little medicine money he gave was far from enough for what Lu Tong sent him. He had nothing to repay, but to hide this gratitude in his heart.

Lu Tong put the gold wrapped in a white cloth into Wu Youcai's hand.

Wu Youcai hesitated: "Doctor Lu, I can't ......"

Lu Tong had already walked into the mourning hall, squatted down in front of the burning brazier, picked up the yellow paper on the side and filled it with fire.

Wu Youcai was stunned.

The day is gloomy, the lights in the mourning hall are bright, she is plain in white clothes, and the hairpins in her hair are like snow, in this dark and cloudy day, like a bride ghost who crawled out of the grave, young and beautiful, thin and cold.

Wu Youcai inexplicably felt a little chilled.

Lu Tong asked: "On the first day of next month, do you want to go down?" ”

Wu Youcai was stunned for a moment and replied, "Yes." ”

He squatted down in front of the brazier and burned paper money with Lu Tong. The living don't know if the dead can receive the money, but they always have to have a thought.

Wu Youcai said: "It's a pity that my mother can't see it......"

In the past few years, every time he returned home from the examination room, his mother would wait for him at home. But this year, he was the only one left. When he came back from the exam, there would be no more light from the window in the house, and when he pushed the door, he would no longer see his mother's sewing under the lamp.

He was immersed in grief when he suddenly heard Lu Tong speak: "Actually, this is a good thing. ”

Wu Youcai raised his head, not understanding what she meant by this.

"Even if you don't go down this year, you won't win, and instead of letting her down again, it's better to let her go with hope, isn't it a good thing for her?"

The woman's tone was as beautiful as ever, but the words she spoke were completely different from the harsh ones of the past.

Wu Youcai was stunned for a while before he understood the sarcasm in her words, he looked at Lu Tong angrily, and his face turned red all of a sudden.

"You!"

"Angry?" Lu Tong smiled slightly, raised his hand and filled a piece of paper money into the brazier, "Do you know, your mother's illness is not a terminal illness, she was cured a few years ago, and she will not only live for a few years." ”

"It's a pity that it was delayed."

Wu Youcai's face suddenly turned pale.

Of course he knew.

His mother was unwell at first and didn't tell him. At that time, she was devoted to the fresh fish shop, and only wanted to sell a few more fish every day to save money for him to save money for pen and ink books, and did not want to delay the business of the fish stall.

Later, he gradually became uncomfortable, but he went to see a doctor without telling Wu Youcai. The doctor told Mrs. Wu that the disease needed to rest well and be recuperated with expensive medicinal materials, but Mrs. Wu was reluctant, and she was worried that she would miss the fish stall business, so she gritted her teeth and endured it.

It wasn't until she couldn't hide it anymore that Aunt Wu told Wu Youcai about her illness. When he took Aunt Wu to see the doctor again, it was already too late. It's not about recuperation that can be well recuperated.

The person in front of him was still talking, and every word seemed to poke into his heart, "As long as her disease is discovered at the beginning, she can be cured by using tonic herbs to warm up and rest, but because she wants you to study with peace of mind and not delay your fame, she missed the opportunity." ”

"It's you, delaying her."

There was a "boom", and there was a flickering sound of thunder in the distance.

Wu Youcai covered his face, and a trace of pain escaped from his throat.

He muttered, "It's me, it's my fault...... It's my incompetence, it's my incompetence......"

If it weren't for him, if it weren't for him, how could my mother have sacrificed so much! He has accumulated fame all his life, thinking that he has never met talents, but in fact, he does not dare to admit that his talents are mediocre and he has achieved nothing!

He was the one who killed his mother!

Confucian buried his face between his fingers, tears dripping from his fingers, and the sorrow in the crying voice could be heard moving.

Lu Tong raised his head and looked at the sky in the distance.

Ordinary people are always like this, when they encounter something, they blame themselves and regret it, and they always find the reason from themselves, and they can't wait to blame themselves for all the faults in the world.

Is it the same with fathers and mothers?

When they learned of Lu Rou's death and Lu Qian's imprisonment, would they also blame themselves for not protecting a pair of children, would they be as difficult to let go as Wu Youcai? Will it cry blood? Will you cry?

The flames licked the yellow paper, illuminating the dim hall.

Lu Tong looked down at the weeping man, and after a while, she said: "Wu Youcai, you left the field for the first time at the age of eighteen, and it has been twelve years since now. ”

"It's been twelve years, haven't you ever thought about why you can't pass the exam once?"

The crying stopped abruptly.

Confucius raised his head, his face full of tears, and he spoke blankly and subconsciously: "What? ”

"If you're really mediocre, for twelve years, why do you insist on it? Is it because you believe in your own article, you will definitely be able to be famous on the gold list? ”

She took out a folded paper from her sleeve and put it in front of Wu Xiucai's eyes.

Confucius looked at the paper in front of him and muttered, "What is this?" ”

"Since your first exit, Sheng Jing has been on the list. What is circled is the famous gentleman in Shengjing. Lu Tong said: "These people, you only need to inquire a little to know that they are shallowly educated. Why can they win, but you can't? ”

Wu Youcai looked at her and subconsciously repeated: "Why? ”

"Because of luck." She curled her eyes, "Do you believe it?" ”

As if a bright light flashed in his mind, Wu Youcai vaguely guessed something, but he didn't dare to say it, just staring at the person in front of him.

"There are many possibilities." She spoke, her tone still light, "For example, they bought off the judge of the Ministry of Rites and made an article on the ranking. Or they bribed the examiner and hired someone to take the exam for them. Or perhaps, if your papers are mixed with other people's papers, your ranking will naturally become the ranking of others. ”

"You only have pen and paper and knowledge, but you don't have money and doorway, Wu Gongzi, just such a thing, how can you compete with others for fairness?"

"Boom—"

Another thunderclap rang out, and a cold wind wailed from outside the door, as if it were about to blow into his heart.

Wu Youcai shook his head: "Impossible...... It can't be ......"

"Why can't it be?" Lu Tong smiled, "If you think about it carefully, are the articles you have done all these years really so bad?" ”

Like a muffled thunder hitting his face, Wu Youcai couldn't speak.

If he hadn't been confident in himself, why would he have persevered for 12 years? He is not a stubborn person who does not know how to change, if he really feels hopeless, he will find other ways to live - what kind of life in this world is not life, and he does not have to go all the way to the dark.

He just wasn't reconciled.

Scholars and friends all say that his articles are brilliant, and others have nothing to do, and he himself thinks the same. Who knows that twelve years have passed, from a high-spirited young man to a mediocre middle-aged man, year after year, the golden lotus is still far away.

The eyes of his neighbors gradually changed from envy to ridicule, and perhaps sympathy, and he could not avoid those expectations, and asked himself every night, is he really talented? Will he really have the day of high school?

However, today there is a person who told him that the long-cherished wish he has had for so many years is because someone has taken away "fairness".

"If it's true," Confucius pursed his lips, his eyes burning like a blazing fire, "I'm going to sue them, for this kind of fraud is so heinous that the people of the Ministry of Rites will thoroughly investigate it—"

"Who will believe you?"

"The government will investigate!"

"The government itself is in it, do you want them to check themselves?" Lu Tong sneered, "I'm afraid that you will report this matter to the government on the front foot, and you won't even be able to get out of the official mansion door on the back foot." ”

Her voice was soft, but it made Wu Youcai's heart completely cold.

What Lu Tong said is very likely.

Over the years, he has not doubted, but whenever he doubts this, it is like a taboo, and he does not dare to think about it further. It seems that the intuition is a bottomless abyss if you think about it, but today there is a person who tears open the false illusion to him without any scruples, this is an unfacing, naked reality.

The thoughts in his heart were chaotic, Wu Youcai looked at Lu Tong and said in a dumb voice: "Why are you telling me this?" ”

Why tell him this?

Tell him the truth in a muddy nightmare, and force him to admit the reality that it is impossible to change after telling him the truth, so that he can recognize his own incompetence.

"Because," she said, "I want to help you." ”

"Help me?"

Lu Tong smiled slightly.

The coffin was black, the curtain was white, the line between cold and warm was blurred, her eyebrows were incredibly beautiful in the lamplight, and the silk flowers on her sideburns were blooming vividly. For example, those evil ghosts who wear the skin of beauty from the spirit and strangeness, on a rainy day, come out of the book to make a deal with people.

You know she has bad intentions, but you can't say no.

She said: "Now the entire field has been bought, and the people in the Ministry of Rites have also been colluded, and there have been countless examiners in the past 12 years, every time you have fallen behind, and every time there are people who should not be lifted, do you know what this means?" ”

"It means that every year's examiner is bought." Wu Youcai replied calmly.

"Yes, if the fraud in the imperial examination is not dealt with, then after you hang up filial piety and burn paper, buy land and bury your mother, you will be the same as before, and you will be rubbed for life and succumb to mediocrity. This is your destiny. ”

These words were so terrible that Wu Youcai couldn't help but shudder.

He looked at Lu Tong, as if looking at the Bodhisattva goddess who had suddenly descended in hell, and his eyes were even a little pious, eager for the other party to show him a clear path in this bottomless abyss.

"Doctor Lu, what should I do?"

Lu Tong asked, "Wu Youcai, do you want to be fair?" ”

"Yes."

"If the people in the Ministry of Rites are really bought, you have repeatedly fallen to Sun Shan over the years because of fraud in the science field, and you are willing to expose it, no matter what price you pay, even if it is your own life?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll tell you what to do. ”

Wu Youcai looked at her blankly.

"If you make a sue before you end the game, there is no evidence, and most of the people in the government will arrest you or even kill you. Except after the game. ”

"After the game?"

"Yes, after the end, all the candidates are in the dormitory, if there is a substitute examiner, even someone will bring the paper and get the stolen goods. But ......"

"But what?"

"But you are soft-spoken, and the dog officials are complicit, maybe they will find a reason to arrest you and release you after the autumn, and there will be no evidence."

"Isn't there no way around it?"

"It's not impossible, just make things bigger."

Wu Youcai was stunned: "Make things bigger?" ”

"That's right," Lu Tong said in a relaxed tone, "If someone dies in the examination room, it won't be a trivial matter that the Ministry of Rites alone can suppress." The more people, the worse it will be, and the more important it will be, and the interests of all parties will be mixed, and the originally simple things will become complicated. ”

Wu Youcai grasped the key to her words: "What does it mean to be killed?" ”

Lu Tong smiled and did not answer.

It was getting darker, the wind was howling in the yard, the lightning was faintly appearing in the clouds, and the rainstorm was coming.

Wu Youcai looked at Lu Tong.

The woman's thin silhouette is wrapped in a plain white shirt skirt, slender in the palm of her hand, and I don't know when there is an extra paper bag wrapped in oiled paper.

Her voice was also gentle, with a bit of quiet demagogy.

"Those examiners are well-dressed, disrupting officialdom, making the talented people oppress the untalented, if it is me......"

Wu Youcai muttered: "What would happen if it were you?" ”

She smiled slightly, put the paper bag in her palm into Wu Youcai's hand, leaned over to his ear, and spoke word by word.

"Of course, kill him."

"Boom-" sounded.

Thunder rolled by, and a bolt of lightning illuminated the Dark Hall, illuminating her indifferent eyes.

In the courtyard, heavy rain fell.