General's Gown

Seeing Yan Changqing's cautious and alert face, He Lian Rongchuan knew that he had successfully aroused his curiosity, and said, "If you want to know who it is, Master Yan, come with me, and consider it a good deed."

Two people, two horses, a basket of dates, and no attendants.After leaving Yaocheng, head south all the way, and soon arrived at the foot of Baiya Mountain.Here facing the sun and facing the river, it has not been burned by a big fire in the Helianrong River. The vegetation is lush and the water is gurgling, which is quite quiet and quiet.There is only a cliff in the distance of Baiya Mountain slanting out. The towering and steep black rocks are like giant palms, carefully half covering the unremarkable wooden house at the foot of the mountain.

Yan Changqing's white horse, Shuangzi, saw that the grass and trees here were clean and plump, and snorted a few times for nothing. Yan Changqing knew that it was hard work for the horse to run all the way, so he got off the horse and tied it to a place where the grass grew the densest and tenderest. Let him eat his fill.But Helian Rongchuan didn't tie the horse, the owner was unruly, and the horse was willful, as soon as the man was put down, the horse ran away without a trace.

The people in the wooden house heard the sound and came out.It turned out to be a frail old woman with gray hair and crutches.Helian Rongchuan held the basket of spring dates, and said with a smile: "Ma'am, I picked the dates for you, they are very sweet."

Hearing the sound, the old woman turned her head stiffly, only to see that her cloudy eyes were covered with a layer of white cloud, she nodded with a smile: "It's really troublesome."

This old woman is blind.

Yan Changqing was slightly taken aback.Suddenly, I felt that the face of this old woman was very familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere, but I couldn't remember it.

He Lian Rongchuan had already helped the old woman to the door, seeing that Yan Changqing was still standing there, he said, "Hey, what are you doing standing there, come in quickly."

The old woman said: "Sir, did you bring other guests here today?"

Helian Rongchuan raised his eyes and glanced at Yan Changqing, and said with a smile: "This guest has a lot of background, Madam, sit down and let me tell you."

Yan Changqing stepped into the wooden house, frowning slightly.The house is extremely clean and tidy, and it is a bit more spacious than it looks from the outside, even—— grand.Whether it is the layout or the decoration, it looks very simple at first glance, but the materials used are of high value.

Helian Rongchuan had already exchanged greetings with the old lady at the small table, and suddenly said "Huh", and said, "Ma'am, where did the Bodhisattva on your neck go?"

The old woman let out a long sigh, and patted her legs regretfully: "On the day I met you in the village, I lost it for some reason, and I couldn't find it after searching for a long time. It's all because I'm a blind old woman, blind old woman..."

Helian Rongchuan said: "It may not be lost, maybe it's in this room. Today we two discerning people will help you find it." After talking, he really started to search.After rummaging through boxes and chests and looking for it on the ground for a long time, Helian Rongchuan let out an "ah", ran over with a smile, spread out his palms, and said to the old woman, "Touch and see, isn't it?"

When the old woman touched it, her complexion changed suddenly, her clouded eyes seemed to light up, and she said happily, "That's it! That's it!"

In the palm of Helian Rongchuan lay a small Guanyin jade pendant, which was lifelike, and the quality of the jade was extremely fine and clear.It's just that the red pendant seems to have been stained by something, showing the color of dried and dirty blood.

Helian Rongchuan continued: "By the way, I still want to introduce you. The distinguished guest I brought is a high-ranking official. Didn't your aunt say that your son wants to join the army again? Let me tell you, The high official has already agreed."

The old woman opened her blank eyes wide in disbelief: "But it's true? The official doesn't despise my son..." Her tone was almost trembling.

Helian Rongchuan said: "Of course it's true, if you don't believe me touch this official's sword—" Helian Rongchuan stretched out his hand to wrap around Yan Changqing's waist who didn't know why, and patted his hip lightly——

"—!"

Yan Changqing was caught off guard, he never expected that Helian Rongchuan would do this, he glared fiercely at him and was about to explode, but Helian Rongchuan was serious, and politely flirted with him: "Go quickly."

Yan Changqing: ...

I had to take a few steps forward.

The old woman stared at the white eyes, cautiously leaned forward, and reached out to touch the scabbard at Yan Changqing's waist.Big and big muddy tears flowed down from the eyes in an instant, and the old woman suddenly knelt down on her knees and kowtowed tremblingly: "Thank you, officer! Thank you, officer!"

Yan Changqing was startled, and quickly helped the old woman up.He Lian Rongchuan's tone was a bit smug: "Look, it's true!"

The old woman wept with joy: "It's true, it's a real official! My son said that only a real official, a great general, can wear such a good sword. My son is blessed to be able to fight against such a great official. Killing the enemy is really getting what you want, getting what you want!"

Helian Rongchuan said: "It's just a pity that the conscription is too urgent this time. Your son didn't have time to come back and tell you, so he went on the road first. Fortunately, this official is reasonable and considerate of his subordinates. Don't worry."

The old woman was even more excited when she heard the words, and she was so grateful that she almost knelt on the ground and kowtowed again.Yan Changqing hurriedly helped her up, glanced at Helian Rongchuan, and said, "Grandma, your son has a disabled leg?"

The old woman was taken aback, the corners of her mouth trembled, and her gray eyes pleaded: "Yes... yes, but don't worry, the official, it is completely healed, no different from normal people, no difference at all!"

Yan Changqing said: "Do you know who injured his leg?"

The old woman said: "I know, it's a famous general on the battlefield."

Yan Changqing let out a soft "oh", lowered his black eyes, and fell silent.

But the old woman said to herself: "My son was very brave on the battlefield, but the general was too powerful, so my son couldn't beat him after all, so he was caught. But I didn't expect that the general was kind, even though he was hurt gave him a leg, but finally let him go."

Yan Changqing thought he had heard it wrong: "You have a kind heart?"

The old woman nodded and said: "My son has a strong temper and always wants to be a great hero and die in battle, so from now on he will hate that great general and why he didn't give him a good time and let him die with great vigor and vigor. His name will go down in history, but he will become a useless person who has been captured."

"But think about it, every year when there is a war, so many people die, they dig a big pit and bury them together, how many of them know their names? My son wants to be a hero. But as a mother, I only want my own child Survive. The general could kill my son with a single sword, but he let him back. This is not kindness, what is it? Although he hurt my son's leg, I am actually very grateful to him."

Yan Changqing nodded stiffly, but couldn't say anything.

After leaving the wooden house, Yan Changqing didn't want to lead the horse.He looked up at the steep Baiya Mountain not far away, the Baiya Village on the top of the mountain could only be seen as a point, and it was still emitting black smoke.

The darkness, bloodiness and filth of that village seemed really far, far away from this old woman.

Yan Changqing suddenly wanted to walk away, so Helian Rongchuan followed him.The two of them were silent all the way, only the chirping of birds in the mountains and the gurgling of the stream could be heard.

I don't know how long I walked, and I came to a calm blue lake.Yan Changqing finally stopped.He turned around and said:

"That mother-in-law is actually Dayan's mother, isn't she?"

"You brought me here because you wanted to act in a play, to fulfill that mother-in-law's wish, and to untie my knot, didn't you?"

Almost a statement tone.Helian Rongchuan lowered his head and smiled lightly, but did not answer.He stretched out his hand to pick up a stone, and threw it flatly towards the lake. Several water birds flew up in shock, causing ripples on the lake.

"I just ran into this mother-in-law during the battle at Baiyazhai that day. I heard her tell a very interesting story, so I want you to listen to it too. As for whose mother she is, I don't know."

Yan Changqing glanced at him quietly and remained silent.After a long time, he let out a long sigh and said softly, "Thank you."

Helian Rongchuan looked at Yan Changqing silently, without making fun of him for the first time.He knew that the majestic young general in front of him, who looked like a god to outsiders, was quietly and carefully revealing a small piece of softness under his armor.

A gust of wind struck, blowing Yan Changqing's long hair, which was tied up like black satin, into a mess.It was very still.

"Actually, I have been thinking about what is the best destination for those fighters who would rather die than surrender on the battlefield."

When he met Dayan, he was only 17 years old. When he first entered the battlefield, he couldn't get used to the blood licking with the tip of a knife and the bloody head falling to the ground.Especially when dealing with those enemies who knew they were dead but were still unwilling to give in, after all, they still brought a bit of youthful softness and simplicity.It wasn't until later that he practiced slowly for a long time that he realized——

"A real soldier should die on the battlefield. Instead of just living in vain." Yan Changqing looked at the calm lake, his black eyes reflecting the sparkling water, and said, "So, although Dayan has done a lot of bad things, but I I always thought that at the beginning of this story, I was the one who was wrong."

It was he who ruined a hero with his own hands and drove him to hell.

A gust of wind blew the few strands of hair on Yan Changqing's forehead into a mess, and the surrounding area was extremely quiet.

"But you see, that old woman is actually very grateful to you. She doesn't blame you."

Helian Rongchuan said softly: "When I was young, I visited the mountains and rivers, and I passed by an academy. Although it was destroyed by the war, a pair of couplets was well preserved. Do you know what is written on it?"

He Lian Rongchuan said: "The couplet says right and wrong are judged by oneself, reputation is judged by others, gains and losses are settled by numbers. It probably means that right and wrong, only to live up to the original intention, as for praise and derogation, it is up to you. Let him go. You and I are not gods. Our life is only a few dozen years. What we want to do is done quickly. As for the result, we can only leave it to God. Whether it is good or bad, I just want to have a clear conscience, and the rest Yes, whether he is good or bad, what does it have to do with you?"

The sun is about to set, and the warm golden light obliquely reflects the distant mountain peaks and the nearby weeping willow lake.It's as if everything is covered with a soft, furry edge.

Judging right and wrong is up to oneself, listening to others for reputation and praise, and taking care of gains and losses?

There was a very soft, long sigh of relief.

Against the light, Yan Changqing looked at Helian Rongchuan's well-defined and handsome side face, and suddenly felt a little hairy in his heart.

Yan Changqing paused for a moment, turned his face away from Helian Rongchuan's brown eyes.

"Helian Rongchuan", this was the first time Yan Changqing said this name directly, his voice was very soft, but Helian Rongchuan could hear it clearly.

"Thank you."