Ning Gu

It was nightfall when Xie Wuling returned to the mansion from the gate.

The boy he brought back from Binzhou, a young man called Jiumu, greeted him when he came back and said, "Xianzhi came to look for him, but after hearing that Xie Wuling was still in Chongque, he left in a dull mood." .

Xie Wuling didn't wait until the next morning when Xianzhi came to hand in the fu, and sent a message to Xianzhi, saying that his master would definitely be waiting for him at the house tomorrow morning.

But plans don't always keep up with changes.

On the second day, Zhao Zuo returned to the court. In the main hall, the Holy Majesty, as he said, bestowed on Zhao Zuo a feudal city, the lord of Gu Zang, and the food household Qianshi.There was an uproar between the ruling and opposition parties, and there were different opinions.

Xie Wuling got off the court and wanted to ask Zhao Zuo's blessing to slip away, but before he broke through the crowd to congratulate Zhao Zuo, he was called by Fu Gonggong.

In fact, it was Emperor Hui who criticized the folding in the Changming Hall and called him to make tea.Once the tea was boiled until sunset, Xie Wuling was ordered to go home.

Xie Wuling sat on the frame of the return home, thinking about what Emperor Hui asked him, gradually lost his mind, he didn't even know that the frame stopped.It was Namu who called him outside the frame before returning to his senses.

Chongque sits in the north of the city, and Xie's mansion is near the east of the city.On the city map made of parchment, the Xie Mansion is not too far away from Chongque, but in fact, after Xie Wuling returned home, the moonlight was gradually entering the court.

The moon is bright and bright, shining on the top of the apricot tree, and the silver snow falls between the fingers like summer flowers growing between the leaves.Xie Wuling was admitted to the hospital, but he saw that the row of verandahs facing the door were all lit with lamps.

The dim light became a bit of consolation on this winter night, making his heart soft and thoughtful.

Originally, when he went to Qingxu Temple, he always looked like this at night. If Senior Brother Huixuan didn't return that night, the real person would have to light the candles in every room.She once said that someone has to wait, so that Huixuan will not forget to return.

But today he had such a thought, he always felt that someone was waiting for him in that room, his footsteps became faster and faster, and he didn't even hear what Mu said behind him.

He pushed the door of the main house recklessly, but the moment he turned his head to look at the light, he suddenly felt that years had passed.

Xie Wuling seemed to suddenly know what Jimu said behind him, and what he said seemed to be: "Master Guzang and the little Wangsun are waiting for you in the house."

When he followed the light, it was Zhao Zuo standing behind Xianzhi, holding Xianzhi's hand, teaching Xianzhi to write a pen, the brush was dipped in vermilion, from this point of view, it seemed that he was teaching Xianzhi to paint.

Such a scene is just like the old days.

At that time, he was not recovering from his illness, and Xian Zhi didn't want to be too far away from him, so he practiced calligraphy in the veranda where he lived.Sometimes Zhao Zuo would personally teach Xianzhi how to write in his spare time at night.At that time, he was leaning on the head of the bed, silently counting the leaks.It's a pity that Xie Wuling has only seen this scene once or twice.

Goodbye now, my heart is still shocked.He felt a sense of loss in his heart, feeling a moment of emotion.

What is righteousness, what is the common people, should not be like this.

"Are you back?" Zhao Zuo withdrew his hand upon hearing the sound, raised his eyes, and asked.The light was dim, and before Xie Wuling could see his expression clearly, he heard Xianzhi's face saying angrily: "Master! Xianzhi has been waiting for you for a long time! Father also..." pushed back the aunt's dinner invitation to accompany Xianzhi.

"Okay, Xian Zhi," but before Xian could say anything, he was interrupted by Zhao Zuo, who paused and said, "Aren't you hungry?"

Wen Yan envy's mouth twitched in an instant, and he nodded abruptly.Seeing this, Xie Wuling was about to turn around and give instructions so he didn't go prepare some food, but then he saw Zhao Zuo made way for Xianzhi, and said to Xianzhi, "How about you go and serve food?"

Xian Zhi nodded, jumped out of the room, and kindly turned around and closed the door.

As soon as the door was closed, Xie Wuling felt even more anxious.After all, Zhao Zuo entrusted Xianzhi and that mansion to him.

His eyeballs twitched in his eyes, pretending to easily repeat Zhao Zuo's words just now, and asked, "Are you back?"

Zhao Zuo looked at the person in front of him, Lan Ribbon changed into a jade crown, his eyebrows and eyes were the same as before, burning like Zhao Xing's peach blossoms; his face was a little pale, and his lips seemed to be smudged, looking very bright.Xie Wuling took off his wind robe, and the court clothes under the wind robe were quite loose.It seemed that the thick clothes were wrapped in skin and bones, and he was too thin, which made Zhao Zuo want to frown.But it was only a moment before this frown was stopped by Zhao Zuo.

Zhao Zuo nodded, suppressed the inexplicable anger in his heart, and responded: "Thanks to Mr. Xiao, I'm back."

"You..." Xie Wuling's thousands of words were choked in his throat the moment he looked at Zhao Zuo, and now he wanted to say it, but he didn't know what to say.

"Me? I'm fine," Zhao Zuo smiled, but that smile made Xie Wuling feel timid.However, Zhao Zuo did not let go of his thoughts. Zhao Zuo regarded the person in front of him as a close friend, a person who could entrust his family property and his life.So Zhao Zuo wanted him to be safe, wanted him to settle down in Fufeng City, and wanted him to be able to educate and envy him for himself, instead of stirring up the world for his own life.

Zhao Zuo asked in a deep voice: "Where is Mr. Xiao? Are you okay?"

"An, well." Xie Wuling's eyes flickered like candlelight, a little at a loss, bit his lip subconsciously, perfunctory.

"How are you?" Zhao Zuo took a step closer, sizing up the person in front of him, his expression gradually becoming stern and unseemly.

Xie Wuling forced himself to calm down, then raised his eyes to meet Zhao Zuo's gaze, curled the corners of his lips, and said, "I listened to Shanlang, because I thought it was not good for Pingzhi to be in Binzhou?"

Xie Wuling turned around and put two cups on the table, added a cup of tea for himself and Zhao Zuo, pretended not to care about the inexplicable coldness from Gu Zhao Zuo, and said to himself: "Binzhou is originally a prosperous place, Pingzhi took office for three years, except During the great epidemic, apart from being a little hard to bear, there is no anxiety."

Zhao Zuo's eyes followed him.He is always like this, understatement, avoiding the important and taking the light.

But he didn't know that Princess Changle who sent letters to him would always send letters to Zhao Zuo every month.The three sentences in the letter are inseparable from Xie Wuling, if Zhao Zuo didn't know that the person Changle's heart likes is Xuancheng, I'm afraid he should think that Changle's heart has someone else.

Letters are written in concise language, and in those few years, the few words written by Changle are more detailed than Xie Wuling's "During the great epidemic, it is a bit hard to bear".

"On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, I received a book, Feiping's handwriting, saying, if Ping's illness comes, don't disturb."

"On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the New Year's Eve is approaching. Ping Zhi sent a painting to envy him, and congratulated the New Year, saying that his friends were rude in the past month."

"On the third day of March, it was originally the Hua Dynasty, but the mother and concubine were restless. I broke the branches for my brother, and after asking each other, I found out that the emperor allowed the officials of Binzhou to write a letter to change the coffin after the epidemic to cremation. "

"On the fifth day of April, the method of disposing of corpses after the epidemic was changed last month, which aroused objections from the people. Although the father was very annoyed, he still insisted."

"On the eighth day of the seventh month, half a month ago, Prime Minister Zhaoxing Xie died. Pingzhi asked me to present a lamp for him in front of Prime Minister Xie."

... For some reason, Zhao Zuo remembered everything clearly without taking the letterhead.

But when Xie Wuling just met his eyes, he knew that he was powerless to question.

Xie Wuling's eyes are still the same as what he saw when Zhao Xing, with those bright lips, even more gorgeous than Taoyao, very much like the apricot plant in his mansion, although it is scorching, it is no longer elusive.

Zhao Zuo seemed to understand the person in front of him at that moment.

That gaze is not affectionate as before, nor arrogant and unruly, but a kind of firmness, as if Shou has carried a million burdens, but he is also resolutely firm; just when Zhao Zuo wanted to keep the firmness in his eyes, the corner of his mouth With a swipe, a little helplessness arose.

However, before Zhao Zuo could take a closer look, he turned around and went to refill the tea.

"The tea is cold," Zhao Zuo took a step forward, stopped Xie Wuling from adding tea, paused and said firmly, "You will be the next minister to thank."

Xie Xiang left, Wang Cheng begged for the bones, and there was no one in Fufeng except Xie Pingzhi.Emperor Hui recruited him into the palace every day, and the meaning couldn't be more obvious. He wanted to embrace him and embrace him.

The three generations of Zhaoxing, except for the Prime Minister Wang, were all from poor families. Emperor Hui naturally couldn't let go of the hearts of the people from this poor family.So he Huidi and him take what they need.

Zhao Zuo squinted his eyes, looked at the person in front of him carefully, and always felt that Xie Wuling in front of him was different from the past in his eyes.

Zhao Zuo was startled by his gestures, which were still the same as in the old days, just like when he saw Wang Cheng thanking his prime minister.So he is so sure.

"Me?" Xie Wuling smiled, his smile seemed bitterer than that cup of cold tea, "Master is a master, I can only..." Xie Wuling paused for a moment, then said again, "It's me."

Zhao Zuo didn't understand this at the time, and he didn't know that Xie Xiang had told Xie Wuling "stay loyal in troubled times, and be a sycophant in prosperous times".

"Let's go, let's set up a table under the tree and catch up on the past?" Xie Wuling touched the tip of his nose, and left the room with Zhao Zuo, leaving behind two cups of cold tea and a dim light.

Outside, under the apricot blossom tree, there was a table of delicacies, three or four figures, very lively.

After the banquet, Xie Wuling dragged Zhao Zuo and his son to the new garden non-stop.

It's the moonlight falling all over the garden, where the canal forms a pool, floating light and flowing beads.The cloisters and curved bridges are built in the meantime, and people passing by seem to pass by the Milky Way.The lake rocks piled up and spread out again, and the moon shone, reflecting on the quiet path.

Xie Wuling held the lamp and walked in front, Xianzhi followed behind him, calling in a low voice, as if the bright moonlight in the garden was blinding his eyes, even his steps slowed down a lot.Zhao Zuo followed behind Xianzhi, and Ren Xianzhi pulled his sleeves to lead him forward.

When he looked up, he saw Xie Wuling looking back and smiling, behind him was the dim corridors and halls.

In the depths of the recession, only this person catches the eye.Those peach-blossom pupils seem to be filled with tonight's bright moonlight, which is more fascinating than the scenery in this garden.

I don't know what kind of woman can be worthy of Xie Wuling, Zhao Zuo thought about it, so he ignored Xie Wuling's words in his ears.It was Xianzhi who tugged on his sleeve robe and came back to his senses.

"What?" He bowed slightly to ask Xianzhi.

"Master told me to live here tonight." Xianzhi's eyes lit up, and he whispered, "This garden is what Master wants to give me."

No matter how quiet you are, you can't hide the excitement in Xianzhi's words.Zhao Zuo heard him say it countless times that day, and his ears were almost callused.But seeing his excited head, he didn't want to say anything to spoil his interest.

Zhao Zuo raised his head to look at Xie Wuling after he finished speaking, his brows were knit together, and when he was about to speak, he asked Xie Wuling to take the lead.

"Tomorrow is a good time to take a bath, but lead him around this garden, after all, it will be his."

"You..." Zhao Zuo thought about the words in his heart, "It doesn't have to be like this."

In fact, they all know that even if Xie Wuling is willing to give Xian a painting, and then drag Xian Zhi to pay homage to his teacher, Xian Zhi can still be valued according to his strength.

And this garden is much more precious than what I imagined just now.

"It was decided a few years ago, and I can't change it." Xie Wuling joked, "Besides, I have been stigmatized since the epidemic in Binzhou. Now I want to give this garden to Xianzhi, and I am worried that Xianzhi will not accept it." Well." Xie Wuling looked up at that month, and sighed with emotion, "It would be great if it was still that year."

After a while, he withdrew his eyes, his expression as usual.Unfortunately, there are not so many ifs.

He still complied with his master's request and went to Binzhou to treat the epidemic; he still wrote to Emperor Hui, please change the method of disposing of the corpses; The stigma that human life is worthless.

And in the future, maybe this road will go dark.

"How could it not be accepted, so I will thank his master for Xianzhi from the mountain." Zhao Zuo bowed when he heard the words, and after bowing, he heard the emotion in his ears, and didn't say much.

There is no turning back when the bow is opened. From the time he came to Zhaoxing to Zhaoxing and Xie Pingzhi, these... were doomed.

"Tomorrow afternoon, I invited some friends from Fengxiang, Changle and Chongque, to celebrate Xianzhi's birthday in advance?" Xie Wuling and Zhao Zuo sent Xianzhi to the bedroom behind the main hall, and then stood on the front steps of the hall On the small platform wading down the water, he said in the moonlight.

"Okay." Zhao Zuo thanked him tepidly, "Thanks for your hard work, Mr. Xiao."

"Cong Shanlang, let's talk about hard work in the future. When the garden is really delivered, there will be no easy days. You have to have fun when you can, right?" Xie Wuling looked sideways at the people beside him, and his heart sank. waves.

It would be great to be able to do this for the rest of my life.

"What do you want me to do next?"

"Here." Xie Wuling pulled out two small booklets from his sleeve like a magic trick, and handed them to Zhao Zuo.

Zhao Zuo took the fold and said, "The Wujin paper fold was given to me by Master that year, and it is all that Zhao Xing had in Fufeng; as for the brocade book fold, it was given to me by Sang Luo back then, and I prefer..."

Xie Wuling didn't continue talking, but instead said: "Forget it, it's over."

"You were arrogant at that time?" Zhao Zuo raised his eyebrows, pursed his lips and smiled, teasing, but he didn't want to say these words in Xie Wuling's heart.

It made Xie Wuling's eyebrows droop, and he said angrily: "Yes, yes, I was arrogant at that time, but I know the pain."

After finishing speaking, he glanced at Zhao Zuo, and said softly, "That shackle really hurts; Binzhou really hurts."

Now it was Zhao Zuo's turn to be shocked.Since Xie Wuling put all his wealth in front of Zhao Zuo's eyes, Zhao Zuo's heart trembled, and then he half-truthfully complained to Zhao Zuo.

If Qi Zhisheng had listened to what he said, he would only pretend that Xie Wuling wanted to beg for wine, so he pretended to be pitiful, but Zhao Zuo was not Qi Zhisheng, so he could only choose to believe in the simplest way.

Seeing Zhao Zuo's eyebrows frowned, Xie Wuling regained his expression and said angrily: "Idiot!" After Zhao Zuo's eyes closed, he confessed, "I told you to trust me, now it's time for me to trust you."

Xie Wuling put his hands behind his back and said again: "Since he is in the Ministry of War, he was granted Gu Zang again. Pingzhi still waits for the Lord Lang to be able to control the northwest."

Zhao Zuo was silent for a long while, and instead of thanking Wuling, he asked another question: "Is Gu Zang your idea?"

"Lang Jun thinks so, so it is." Xie Wuling smiled, brought back the conversation, and said: "There is Lu's family in the north, Shen's family in the east, Fengxiang in the west, and the capital city..."

"Changle." Zhao Zuo nodded and looked sideways, adding, "If I leave Fufeng and go to the northwest, there will only be Changle in the capital."

"Exactly." Xie Wuling bowed his head and sighed, "The Holy One also mentioned her today."

"What did the emperor say?"

"He said that Yunmeng Daze couldn't raise Han Ou, and asked me to choose a flower for him and give it to those two."

"Father..." Zhao Zuo stopped talking, but he fully understood what his father meant.

It is only today that Zhao Zuo understands the word "Father Huang". Compared with "Father", it has more imperial prestige, and compared with "Emperor", it has more father's kindness.

"From Shanlang's opinion, how about Haitang? Or iris?"

"What's the difference?"

"The former lovesick, the latter parting." Xie Wuling responded without thinking.

"So understand?"

Xie Wuling raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips, and confessed: "I heard from my old friend in Yangzhou."

Zhao Zuo didn't think so, and sneered in his heart, the old friend in Yangzhou was only talking about the crown, but in fact he couldn't be called the geisha waving silk and waving his sleeves in the red building.

Zhao Zuo suddenly said coldly: "Yuwei." After speaking, he turned around, as if he was going back to the house

"Huh?" Xie Wuling was puzzled by Zhao Zuo's sudden change of attitude, and he probably said something right.

"Father can't protect him, and it's impossible with our strength. It's better to stop thinking about it earlier." Zhao Zuo made it clear, and went back to the room after saying that.

Xie Wuling didn't stay on the wading platform for long, he went back to the small restaurant he had prepared for himself, and fell asleep with the moonlight in the courtyard.