Stony Creek County.

Zhao Xuanqi buried Yuan Caiyun well, and watched Yuan Caiyun enter this hometown that belonged to her, and enter this soil where the two got acquainted, and then gradually felt at ease.

He sat in the carriage and set out on the way back to Beijing.

Along the way, many people escorted him.

The convoy is stable,

It stands to reason that there will be no accidents along the way, and there will be no unblinking people to touch porcelain.

However, the unexpected came so suddenly.

Zhao Xuanqi was sitting in the car and resting, when he suddenly felt a commotion, and there seemed to be someone in front of the convoy.

He asked the coachman, "What's going on?" Who's up ahead? ”

The coachman replied respectfully: "Wu Anjun, there is a tattered old lady who doesn't know if she is crazy, and she actually blocked the frame and wants to see you." ”

"She is dressed in tatters, and she is still holding a broken bowl in her hand, I guess it should be a beggar, Wu Anjun rest assured, the guards have already started to catch her, and it won't be long before we can continue to hurry!"

Zhao Xuanqi was silent.

There will be an old lady stopping the car halfway, which is really impossible to evaluate.

It can't be begging, right?

It's not good for you to beg for someone, but you just found Wu Anjun, this is really bold!

He opened the curtain of the car, poked his head out and looked ahead, and saw that the commotion was soon over.

A group of guards carried an old lady, and they wanted to throw the old lady far away, so as not to disturb the frame.

The old lady struggled frantically, but how could she, an old woman, struggle past a group of tall and strong guards?

She was carried by everyone and gradually moved away, but she could be heard shouting loudly: "I am the old man of the Taishi, I want to see the Taishi, I beg you..."

While shouting, tears flowed down his face.

There was also a guard next to him muttering: "The begging person is so bold these days, he actually begged on the body of the imperial master, and he still wants to pretend to be the old man of the imperial master, I have seen a lot of this kind of person, one is counted as a liar!" ”

It's just that Zhao Xuanqi frowned.

He looked at the crying and fussing, a desperate and lonely old lady, and listened to the so-called old words in the old lady's mouth, after all, he still moved his heart to hide.

Anyway, it's just a meeting, and it won't take much time!

"Tell her to come and see me, and I'll see what she wants to say."

The others were a little surprised, but they immediately replied, "Yes!" ”

The man then went up to deliver the order, and it wasn't long before he led the group of guards to easily press the old lady to the frame.

Zhao Xuanqi was able to see the old lady's face clearly.

The old lady Mo was about sixty years old, with a clumsy body, a little hunchbacked, her skin was tanned, she was in tatters, and she was on crutches, and she looked like a beggar.

Beggars, although the Wei State is now prosperous, but there are still beggars everywhere, even in modern China 2000 years, there are beggars, not to mention this backward ancient times?

He didn't know the old lady.

Zhao Xuanqi asked casually: "I don't know you, what's the matter with me?" ”

The old lady came closer, raised her head and looked at Zhao Xuanqi, her eyes were already hazy with tears, and then replied: "Master, you should know me, I am really your old friend, I didn't lie to you." ”

The tone was respectful, and he trembled when he spoke.

Zhao Xuanqi looked at the old lady's serious attitude, obviously not lying, frowned and asked, "Which of my old friends are you?" ”

The old lady introduced herself: "My father's name is Wu Youwei, when you were in the entrance examination, when you went to Chang'an City from Ziyun County, you took my father's frame, and the reason why you were able to enter Qingyun Scholar is also the qualification that my father helped obtain......

"My name is Wu Xuefei, I am Wu Youwei's daughter, you and I met in Chang'an at the beginning, but unfortunately I ended up marrying Luo Shuichuan......"

With the words of the old lady, Zhao Xuanqi's eyes lit up, the memory in his mind was churning, and his heart moved, remembering such a character.

Wu Xuefei!

The woman of the high-ranking family at the beginning!

I keep saying that I only marry a girl with three grades!

A figure emerged in Zhao Xuanqi's mind, with a delicate figure, a beautiful and delicate face, small and exquisite, like a porcelain doll, with skin as white as snow.

Compared with the delicate face of the woman, her face was more arrogant and arrogant, a natural posture of superiority, as if anyone was inferior to her.

At that time, Zhao Xuanqi went to the capital to participate in the Jinshi scientific examination, and stayed at Wu Youwei's house, the woman misunderstood that Zhao Xuanqi liked her, and said that she would only marry three products, and then refused Zhao Xuanqi to entertain herself, and left with another suave man.

That proud attitude, that attitude of no one in her eyes, is simply engraved in her bones.

This is the most unseen woman Zhao Xuanqi has ever seen, and it is also the proudest woman he has ever seen.

Since then, Zhao Xuanqi has never seen Wu Xuefei again, nor has he had too much contact with the Wu family.

Thoughts gradually return from memory.

Zhao Xuanqi lowered his head, his eyes looked at the old lady in front of him, he was down-and-out, lowly and pitiful, and for a moment he couldn't believe that the lady of the sky who was high up in the sky would be so down.

He opened his mouth and immediately asked, "The Wu family is a big family, and your father is also an official of the imperial court, how could you be so downcast?" ”

Zhao Xuanqi couldn't believe that this down-and-out old lady was Wu Xuefei, and there was a look of doubt in his eyes from beginning to end.

The old lady saw Zhao Xuanqi's suspicions, so she trembled and groped in her arms, and finally took out a life card, which was her father's token, and the words "Wu Youwei" were written on it.

Zhao Xuanqi used to have such a jade plate, which was a token given to him by Wu Youwei, as long as he had this jade plate, he could go to the Wu family when he encountered difficulties, and the identity certificate belonging to the Wu family belonged to him.

He took the token handed over by the old lady, and then he was sure that the old lady did not panic, this person was indeed Wu Xuefei!

Wu Xuefei stood in front of the frame, looked up at the noble and noble man sitting in the frame in front of her, and then cried and said:

"The reason why my family was able to rise was entirely because of my father, who was a senior official in the imperial court, and also had a high school jinshi, who was deeply loved by Emperor Jingming, and finally became a very popular minister, so that my family was prosperous and rich, and the family became more and more prosperous."

"But later, my father was old, and there was no one in the family who could provoke the big beam, my father has always doted on me, afraid that I would be helpless after my death, so he wanted me to marry a wishful husband."

"At that time, he chose you, but I chose Luojia Luoshuichuan, so in that year, I married Luoshuichuan."

"It didn't take long for my father to pass away."

"Sure enough, with his death, the family has no principal, and there is infighting within the family, which gradually falls apart."

"The world says that the skinny camel is bigger than the horse, it stands to reason that my family should be able to guarantee glory and wealth, and even be an official in the imperial court, and it is also a great force to unite together, but the civil strife has led to the decline of the family!"

"Later, with the death of Emperor Jingming, I lost the trust of the Son of Heaven, there was no one in the Wu family, the country was in turmoil, and my elder brothers and younger brothers quickly lost all their family property and were penniless!"

"I'm married to Luo Shuichuan, who is known as a genius."

"I originally thought that Luo Shuichuan would be able to enter high school and become a reliable backer, bringing me glory and wealth, bringing me power and wealth, and at least being a third-grade official."

"As a result, he didn't even get into the Jinshi!"

"Failed once in the exam, lost once and was discouraged once, his grades were not as good as once, his mentality was too bad, and he became more and more stunned."

"I only know how to drink and drink all day long, my gentle and elegant temper becomes irritable, and I begin to beat people, and I beat me when I have nothing to do, I only know that I vomit at the women in my family, I really regret it, I was always bruised and purple during that time......"

Wu Xuefei said while shedding tears.

It seems that he wants to tell all the grievances he once had.

Zhao Xuanqi asked, "What if your husband can't pass the Jinshi exam?" At that time, he was also a man, and his family was in the capital, and the family had a big business, why shouldn't you fall to such a point, what happened later? ”

Wu Xuefei came back to her senses, her wrinkles were squeezed together, her hand holding the cane was bruised, and a resentful expression gradually appeared on her face, and she said with a look of disgust:

"It's all to blame Luo Shuichuan!"

"He's crazy to get into the Shikao."

"He didn't want to be an official with a meritorious reputation, so he thought about stumbling on the fame of Jinshi, and finally fell into the devil, and later took the entire family to persuade the head of the Luo family, that is, his father, to bribe the chief examiner..."

"This kind of thing like cheating in the imperial examination, such a big thing, how dare he do it!"

"As a result, the East Window incident happened, the examiner was dismissed, Luo Shuichuan died miserably because he was the mastermind, and even the entire Luo family was limp because of this incident and lost the status of officialdom, I was regarded as a bad omen, and I was directly kicked out of the Luo family..."

"They all thought I was unlucky, thinking that I was married to Luo Shuichuan, which caused Luo Shuichuan to be so miserable! This led to the fall of the entire Luo family, and they put all the blame on me! ”

"I have become a bad thing, even the whole capital thinks so, everyone sees me as an ominous thing, refuses to accept me, and I am disgusted when I come into contact with me, and my relatives and friends also dislike me......"

"At that time, I was already three months pregnant, with no relatives, only a small amount of money on me, and I was alone, and I couldn't stay in a big place like the capital."

"I was desperate, so I took my few possessions, returned to Ziyun County alone, returned to my hometown, rented a dilapidated house, and began to live alone."

"I was holding my breath at the time, I thought that even if I was alone, I could pull the big child, and I could be bright, I was not a bad omen!"

"So, I began to live alone, and gave birth to a child in one winter, a handle, and the birth of a child also consumed all my possessions."

"In order to raise this child, I got up early and worked hard at night, but some things are easier said than done."

"I've been pampered since I was a child, I don't know anything, I have to learn everything again, in order to earn money, I can only do everything, do the lowest and most tiring work!"

"I can only do hard work to earn money, and I can do what the peasants can do, whether it is embroidery and needlework, or carrying burdens and cutting firewood, or planting and cutting rice..."

"I want to raise my children, and let them study, so that he can glorify his ancestors!"

The old lady told about the difficulties of these years.

She chattered, and slowly poured out all the hard work of these years and all the white eyes and grievances she had received.

It can be seen that in order to earn money and support her family, she has indeed paid too much.

So that she was originally proud and arrogant, but now she has become so old, so vicissitudes, so bitter and depressed.

Only when talking about children will Wu Xuefei's face show a short period of happiness.

It's just that this happiness didn't last long.

Wu Xuefei suddenly showed a heavy sadness, her voice trembled a little, and she continued with a sad emotion:

"Over the years, I have worked hard, got up early and greedy for darkness, and there were thick calluses on my hands, and the burden of life also crushed my shoulders and made me a hunchback, and I finally pulled this child to grow up......"

"My son gradually grew up, began to study, was admitted to the examination in his twenties, got married, had children, and gave birth to a son."

"My son has a great grasp of lifting people, waiting for the time of the imperial examination, he is gentle and considerate, and considerate of my mother, the family situation is gradually getting better, and life gradually has hope...

"I've been tired for so long, I've worked hard for so long, I've been fighting for this family for so long, I feel that the light is in front of me, I feel like I'm going to get out of this sea of suffering, but ah, it's ......"

"Just a few days ago, my son took his grandson out to play, accidentally fell into the river, and finally died!"

"My grandson anxiously went into the water to save his father, and as a result... As a result, they drowned in the water together, and both father and son died at the same time. ”

Wu Xuefei couldn't restrain her emotions anymore, broke up and covered her cheeks, crying and telling eloquently: "My daughter-in-law committed suicide by throwing herself into the river under the sadness of her daughter-in-law, and in the blink of an eye, I was the only one left in the family!" ”

"It took me a long time to get to this juncture, and I finally saw the light, but it was gone!"

"Why did God do this to me?"

"I not only lost my son, but also lost my grandson, the male in the family died, my white-haired man sent the black-haired man, God is so unfair!"

"It's a pity that their bodies are still floating in the river, sinking into the river and difficult to find, in order to hire someone to recover their bodies, I have exhausted all the money in my family..."

"It's a pity that my family has no money, can't buy land, can't buy a coffin, can't let my son and grandchildren settle down, and no one wants to help me..."

Speaking of this, Wu Xuefei suddenly knelt on the ground, her trembling body, and kept kowtowing to Zhao Xuanqi:

"I heard by chance that you were passing by here, and I really can't do anything but ask you for help."

"I hope you can help me for the sake of our acquaintance, and for the sake of my father who helped you."

"I just need a little money, I don't need too much, just let my children and grandchildren go to the ground, then my daughter-in-law will be in the ground......"

Zhao Xuanqi listened to Wu Xuefei's words.

Listen to her tragic past.

It's not a good taste in my heart.

White-haired people send black-haired people!

Son, grandson and daughter-in-law!

Overnight, the world was turned upside down, but that's it!

It stands to reason that Wu Xuefei ridiculed Zhao Xuanqi when she was young, and even looked down on Zhao Xuanqi, Zhao Xuanqi would not sympathize with her too much, she should be unscrupulously ridiculed at this time, and she should fall into the ground.

In fact, Zhao Xuanqi didn't have the slightest sense of ridicule, he only felt uncomfortable in his heart, and he also sighed.

When everyone was young, everyone was ignorant, Wu Xuefei's arrogance and ignorance when she was young had already taught her a lesson in life.

No matter how Wu Xuefei is, she has actually not really harmed Zhao Xuanqi, no matter how she can be regarded as an old friend of Zhao Xuanqi, her father has indeed given Zhao Xuanqi a great help.

The old man is down!

The people of the past are gradually withering!

Zhao Xuanqi is fifty-eight years old, and Wu Xuefei is also sixty years old.

All he has in his heart is the feeling of the old people being downcast and the old people withering.

In the past, the prosperous and proud women of the big clan, arrogantly shouted that they only married the proud women of the third grade, but now they have ended up in such a miserable end, the world is unpredictable, it is really embarrassing.

Zhao Xuanqi looked at the woman who was kneeling on the ground and kept kowtowing humbly, looking at her hunched back, and her cheeks full of vicissitudes of hard work, and he felt very uncomfortable.

Immediately instructed others: "She is indeed my old friend, give him 200 taels of silver, and escort her home safely by the way!" ”

This amount of money is nothing to Zhao Xuanqi, but for ordinary people, it has been enough to live happily for more than ten years.

At Wu Xuefei's age, she can use this money to let her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson settle down and hold a beautiful funeral.

At the same time, she can also use the remaining money to support her family and spend the surplus old age, which is enough to give her a stable and happy old age, and she no longer has to run around for money.

The bystander nodded and said, "Obey!" ”

The guard took out 200 taels of silver from the side and slowly handed it to the woman who was kneeling on the ground.

"Thank you, thank you!"

"I still want to bury my son and grandchildren, so I will retire first."

Wu Xuefei kept kowtowing in thanks, then slowly took the silver and tried to stand up.

She slowly walked off the side of the road, refusing to be escorted by others.

She limped, her back hunched, and she could only walk with difficulty with crutches, and her back was extremely depressed.

Zhao Xuanqi looked at Wu Xuefei's distant back, and sighed in his heart.

The world is impermanent.

Being able to meet this old man here and look at the vicissitudes of life made Zhao Xuanqi feel a lot of emotion!

However, when he lowered his head, he realized something.

I saw where Wu Xuefei was kneeling just now, I don't know when the ground was sprinkled with some silver, it turned out that she didn't take all the 200 taels of silver away after she took the 200 taels of silver, she only took one of the ingots of silver, and the other excess silver was quietly scattered on the ground through her wide clothes, and she didn't take it away!

She just took away the money that could bury her son and grandchildren!

Other money, not a penny is not much hard!

The 200 taels of silver can make ordinary people rich and rich for a lifetime, she was not moved at all, she only took away the money that should be taken away, and rejected Zhao Xuanqi's kindness!

This made Zhao Xuanqi extremely stunned.

Suddenly felt,

So many years have passed.

This woman is still proud!

Although life smoothed out her edges and corners, let her not bow her head to do some hard and tiring work, make her look humble and lowly, and let her earn money with hard work, but she has always been proud and proud in her heart, otherwise she would not have gritted her teeth alone to raise her child to adulthood, and let her child study, and let her child be admitted to Xiucai, she has this pride in her heart from beginning to end!

With all her pride, when her son and grandson died, she had to bow her head to Zhao Xuanqi to borrow money, but the only remaining pride made her choose to take only one ingot of silver, and her face and lining let her never take more, this is her few self-esteem, and it is also her only pride left in front of Zhao Xuanqi, the old man.

But after burying her son and grandchildren, Wu Xuefei's family has no money at all, how can she live as an old lady?

Zhao Xuanqi closed his eyes, looked into the distance again, and took one last look at the back of the old lady who was fading away.

There was a sudden sadness in his heart, and with the last hope for a better life, Zhao Xuanqi silently wished the old man a happy future life.

There may have been some unpleasant contradictions, but now Zhao Xuanqi is indeed sincerely blessed......

This is just an episode.

After Wu Xuefei left, Zhao Xuanqi's convoy continued to hurry, and it didn't take long to successfully return to the capital and return to the bustling Luoyang City.

The Zhao family's mansion is spacious and luxurious.

However, Zhao Xuanqi's heart is empty, and without a wife at home, he always feels that he is getting older.

He subconsciously wandered through the empty house, but he could not find a place to stay.

The family is very large, but Zhao Xuanqi has left few traces, because he usually doesn't stay at home much, and he is out to deal with government affairs.

The things in the house are all purchased by the wife, and the wife is indeed gone, and the only thing left is a room full of paintings, all of which are slowly embroidered when the wife misses her husband.

These paintings accumulate over time, spread throughout the house, and are hung in various rooms, and are huge in number, symbolizing all the thoughts of women.

Zhao Xuanqi came to his wife's room, looked at the room full of paintings, and his heart suddenly emptied.

"Time is so hard, my wife is old and dead, and I am old!"

He picked up a painting casually, looked at the young and handsome self on the painting, and then looked at himself in the mirror next to him, who was now old and vicissitudes.

Suddenly I have a feeling that I am really old!

This era is no longer its own!

I have become a character of the old times!

Zhao Xuanqi is now fifty-eight years old, close to sixty years old, his body is seriously ill and weak, and his energy is not as good as day by day, he suddenly feels that it is time for him to end.

Now, Emperor Qianli is fifteen years old, inheriting the heroic appearance of his father Emperor Qinglong, tall and powerful, and already has his own unique opinions, as well as extraordinary minds,

Zhao Xuanqi knew that Emperor Qianli respected and obeyed him on the surface, but secretly made some small moves with those big Confucians every day.

Emperor Qianli is not close to Zhao Xuanqi, he is the son born by Emperor Qinglong and the palace girl, and he has no name.

The throne was parachuted in for Emperor Qianli, and he was usually educated by the little palace maid, so his personality was relatively cold since he was a child.

In addition, Emperor Qianli was educated and raised by several other great Confucians, and Zhao Xuanqi has always been the regent, for an assertive emperor like him, Emperor Qianli's senses for Zhao Xuanqi are not much better.

Zhao Xuanqi's mind was churning, and he suddenly remembered his sons.

Most of the time, Zhao Xuanqi was busy dealing with other things and had no time to educate his children, so the children were brought up by his wife since childhood.

The wife's personality is cowardly and gentle, and she only knows how to dot on her children and daughters, and now she is completely gentle.

Not only do they not know how to behave, but they are also very easy to offend people, they are not good at reading and studying, and they are not good at practicing martial arts.

It can be said that they have not achieved enough things and have more than they have failed.

If the sons really have some ability, maybe Zhao Xuanqi can still fight, but their appearance, everything is meaningless, Zhao Xuanqi only feels that the mud can't support the wall, and it is a good ending to be able to eat and wait for death to be able to eat and wait for death.

Zhao Xuanqi felt that if he didn't do something at this time, then after he died, the descendants would be so incompetent and offended so much, and the entire family would be liquidated.

The back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves, and the front waves die on the beach.

This era, after all, belongs to those young people.

Things are people, everything is resting, and it is time for the curtain to come to an end in its own era.

Zhao Xuanqi sighed, his chaotic eyes revealed a different kind of complicated emotions, and suddenly muttered, "Maybe...... Maybe it's time for me to take the initiative to talk to the little emperor......"

(End of chapter)