Chapter 363 – Ru Hua

There is an irrigation ditch on the outskirts of Yihe City in Youzhou, and in the fall, the large reed swamp looks like a blanket of snow.

A few villages near the river are scattered among them, a carriage turns from the official road into a small road, bumpy and non-stop, the horseman is a young man dressed in strange clothes, mute expression.

Behind the driver was a man in a plain cotton coat, leaning against the wall of the carriage, his legs hanging out of the carriage, swaying gently along with the ups and downs of the carriage.

In the dusk of the small road, the carriage caught up with an old farmer who had finished working, when the carriage passed the old farmer, the man in cotton clothes turned his head to look at the old man who happened to cast a curious look at himself, the old man had a very unattractive face, with furrows all over the place, but although he was hunchbacked, he was still half a head taller than those old men in the south, and his footsteps were quite vigorous, which showed that the old man must have been a good hand in his younger days.

The man in cotton gently shouted a sir, the driver will carry the reins, the carriage slowly stopped, the man jumped out of the carriage, smiled and greeted: “four grandmaster?”

The old farmer was full of consternation, do not know why this look very fresh juniors to call their fourth grand master, probably deterred by the man in cotton clothes, the old farmer hemmed and hawed, uneasy, do not dare to talk.

Cotton-clothed man smiled in the most authentic Youzhou vernacular accent, “I ah, the end of the village of Chen Wang, the fourth grandmaster, do not recognize?”

The old farmer stared wide-eyed, vigorously sizing up this scion who claimed to live at the end of the village, then snapped out of it, a smile blossoming on his wrinkled, vicissitudes of life face, “Little Wang?!”

Chen Wang grinned, “Yes.”

The old man sighed, then wondered, “How come you’re back again? Didn’t you go to the capital to catch the examination?”

Chen Wang laughed: “Long ago finished the examination, this trip home to see. Back then, Fourth Grandmaster also lent me two taels of silver to come, can not dare to forget.”

The old man waved his hand and asked curiously, “How did you do?”

Chen Wang softly said, “Not bad.”

The old man gave a sigh, perhaps worried about hurting the young man’s face, did not get to the bottom of it, not to mention the old man who has been dealing with the yellow earth all his life, in fact, he could not ask for a reason, but just sighed, “It’s a pity.”

Chen Wang’s face was calm, as if he did not understand the regret in the old man’s words.

Chen Wang walked back to the village side by side with the old farmer, chatting about this year’s crop harvest, the marriages of his peers, and whether all the village elders were still alive.

Through small talk, Chen Wang learned that his yellow mud house ancestral home has long been in disrepair, a wall has collapsed, which makes sense, ten years have not returned to the countryside to repair, the house is very simple, how can be safe and sound. Chen Wang’s parents in the examination before the successive death, the owner of the house, not those who seem to be weak reeds, this fall a wither there is a glory in the spring of tomorrow. The old farmer some words did not say out, in fact, in this small hope after the capital, the village has a woman, originally will often go to clean, clean, just like her own home in general, year after year, a number of secretly love to her young people, but also all dead, married and had a child, and that the yellow blossom of the girl gradually turned into an old girl. Just now she people are gone, and then with Chen Wang said these what is the use, not to mention Chen Wang in the end is in the capital to stay so many years of people, maybe also can not remember her, right? Otherwise, if she really had the heart, even if she couldn’t go home for so many years, why didn’t she even send back a letter?

Already near the head of the village, the old man raised his head to look toward the smoke curling village, could not help but sigh, the girl’s home is at the head of the village, how virtuous a child, a hundred miles to give a thumbs up, the matchmaker in the early years of the threshold of her family almost stepped through, but she did not agree, her parents could not help, no one expected to even the end of the day, it will happen to the tragic event. The people are resigned to their fate, life is not good, no one to blame. This is the same as a disease, carry through can live, carry down, is God does not reward food, as the ground for peace.

Chen Wang did not enter the village, suddenly stopped and asked: “Fourth grandpa, where is her grave?”

The old man froze for a moment, lowered his voice and said, “How do you know where she …… is?”

The old man did not continue to speak, and Chen Wang likewise did not speak.

The old man pointed to the side of the ferry and said, “Right there, although the grave is small, it is also good to find.”

Chen Wang took out a heavy money bag and a letterhead, “Fourth grandmaster, please help me pay back the village’s account to the Li Zheng or the nearby private school teacher, it’s all written clearly.”

The old man hesitated for a moment, but finally didn’t refuse, carefully accepting the letterhead and money bag, he asked, “Not going back to the village to take a look?”

Chen Wang shook his head and said, “I won’t go. After visiting the graves of my parents, I have to leave immediately to go back over to the capital.”

The old man lamented, “This is a bit too urgent.”

Chen Wang smiled.

The old man walked out a few steps before suddenly turning around and asking, “Xiaowang, are you really a big official in the capital?”

Chen Wang seemed to be at a loss for words, “A big official in Tai’an City? A yellow and purple official, ranking in the center of the government, a dynasty of chancellors?

So he could only smile and say, “Not really.”

The old man said in relief, “That’s also very outstanding, Fourth Grandmaster knew a long time ago that your kid is definitely not bad!”

Chen Wang smiled quietly.

The old man did not forget to glance at the young man standing beside Chen Wang, and when he turned to leave, he was full of suspicion, and the clothes looked quite odd.

Chen Wang and the young eunuch, who was the same age as the country, walked slowly forward, and his parents’ graves were not far away from the village.

Chen Wang raised his hand and brushed the reeds.

When he was studying hard, he didn’t even dare to think about what the scholar and the gold list, his parents have no such extravagant hope, they only think that their son can read and write, it is already a great thing to shine the family name. Northern Liang bitter cold, a family can be out of a scholar, it is very remarkable, and the Central Plains, especially the rich Jiangnan side is very different, where like to pay attention to the cultivation of reading and passing on the family, in the northern Liang here, the young and strong to join the army from the military is very common, holding a book in the hands of the people is very rare. He just entered the capital to participate in the examination, Beiliang is the only one in the city of Tai’an did not set up the test hall, unfamiliar with the place, not to mention the care of fellow seniors in the imperial examinations, had to stay in a small temple, the Beiliang accent so that he bumped into walls, the same book of antiquity, the shopkeeper sold him to be a lot more expensive. Even if later participated in the Imperial Examination, is still in the officialdom without half of the friendship of the same year, Beiliang also counted as a unique. Jin Lanting in the city of Tai’an soaring, Yan Jiexi jumped to become a royal relative, the two out of personal grudges, both deliberately did not go to change this, even if Yao Baifeng served as the left priest of the State Prince Supervision, is still the heart but not enough power.

He Chen Wang, Chen Shaobao in the eyes of the whole dynasty, the left scattered riding standing minister of the Hall of the province, the future chief minister of today’s son of the most relied on, is the heart and powerful, but can not do.

Chen Wang walked slowly, on both sides is higher than the top of the reed bushes, large soft reed flowers, with the autumn wind and have to rise, do not know where to fall.

Chen Wang arrived at the grave, pulled out the fluffy weeds, and then corrected the lapel, kneeled down and kowtowed three times.

I want to raise my son, but my parents are not waiting for me.

The old man who was honored by the man in cotton as the fourth grandpa, may not know in this life, the younger generation handed over to him two things, money bag letter paper, the latter just by the last name “Chen Wang” two words, is worth a thousand pieces of gold.

Northern Liang twenty years, in the official field of Liyang only a few people, which Jin Lanting official to the Ministry of Rites, Yan Jiexi was appointed university scholar, science master Yao Baifeng in charge of the State Council, but these three together, may not be as heavy as the weight of the Chen Wang one.

It can even be said that, in a large sense, it is this Northern Liang scholar who has left his hometown, his two secret letters, changed the pattern of Northern Liang.

On the way back, Chen Wang met a man of his age with a sturdy figure, and upon seeing him, the man had a complex look of indignation, awe, surprise, and incomprehension.

The man breathed heavily, then handed Chen Wang a rough cloth traveling bag with a stern face, “The things my sister left behind are all the books you left behind back then, return them to you.”

Chen Wang took the cloth bag and was stunned.

The man turned to stride away, stopped and said in a hoarse voice, “Wangzi, although my sister …… did not feel that she died a clean death! She was cleaner than anyone!”

Chen Wang covered his mouth and looked at the back of the man who often hooked up with himself in the early years and shouted a brother-in-law, and vaguely said, “I’m sorry.”

The man muttered, “Say that to her.”

Chen Wang was silent, scarlet color seeping out from between his fingers.

He did not move for a long time.

Holding the cloth bag, Chen Wang went to the ferry and found the small grave.

The eunuch was nowhere to be found.

Chen Wang sat cross-legged in front of the grave.

Sitting opposite the small grave.

There was a woman who could not read or write, who would find a clean place under the sun, sunbathe her books, spread out one by one, and put away one by one.

There is a woman who has not married, will go to that small ferry when no one is there, waiting for someone, looking at it from afar one at a time, turning around one at a time.

Chen Wang gently open the cloth bag, look down, there is no more familiar “Li Ji”, “University”, there are also more ancient years of the Montessori readings of three hundred thousand.

Back then, either working in the fields, or pounding clothes on the ferry, or in the snow, or picking reeds, he often memorized books for her to listen to.

This year and that year, has been ten years apart.

He and she, too, have been separated by yin and yang.

Chen Wang closed his eyes and softly recited, “When the state is in trouble, the king dies to the gods of earth and grain, the great doctor dies to the temple, and the people finally die in the countryside ……”

“The gentleman said ‘Great virtue is not official, the great way is not a tool, great faith is not about, great time is not aligned.’ To be aware of these four, you can have the will to learn ……”

“So that the people of the world, Qi Ming dress, in order to undertake the sacrifice. Ocean, as in its upper, as in its left and right ……”

In the twilight, the reader reads.

The wind blows the reeds gently swaying, like a woman nodding her head, smiling like a flower.