After being mistaken for a fellow by Long Aotian

This sudden change disrupted Zhou Xun's original plan.Seeing Prime Minister Lu covered in blood, Zhou Xun called a carriage and sent him back to the Lu Mansion.

Lu Mansion is much less prosperous than he imagined.Many of the furnishings are too simple in terms of Prime Minister Lu's status.After all, he was responsible for the splashing of blood. No matter from the perspective of etiquette or emotion, Zhou Xun has a reason to stay in Lufu.

What's more, Prime Minister Lu warmly invited him to stay for dinner.

Prime Minister Lu was still changing and washing, so Zhou Xun was sitting alone in the main room.To his surprise, the courtyard was very lively, the servants of Lu Mansion were moving things back and forth.

Seeing Zhou Xun looking over, the butler of the Lu Mansion beside him explained: "Zhou Shilang laughed, the master just came back from Jiangzhou this morning, and the servants are still packing their luggage, so they seem rather busy..."

Just came back from Jiangzhou?According to the steward, didn't Prime Minister Lu just come back from Jiangzhou, so he went to the Ministry of Households to look for him?

"Jiangzhou?" Zhou Xun tentatively asked, "So the prime minister is also from Jiangzhou?"

As he spoke, he saw a hand scroll hanging in the main room, placed in the most conspicuous position.Above is a line of poetry.

"There is a long way to go."

"Zhou Shilang is also from Jiangzhou?" the housekeeper said.

"Prime Minister Lu returned to Jiangzhou this time to visit relatives?" Zhou Xun asked.

"Visiting relatives is not, but looking for an old friend."

When Zhou Xun turned his head, Prime Minister Lu had already walked in from the door of the hall.After seeing Zhou Xun, he seemed a little embarrassed: "That old man and I...were childhood friends. We haven't seen each other for the next 20 years."

"We haven't seen each other for 20 years. It's really not easy for Prime Minister Lu to find him." Zhou Xun said politely, "I'm afraid even my friend's address has changed. Prime Minister Lu really put his heart into it."

Even though he said so, he was thinking in his heart, what kind of friends are they who haven't seen each other for 20 years?

That's not three or five years, but 20 years.And the distance between Jiangzhou and the capital is not too far.If you are really good friends with no other inside information, you won't see each other for 20 years.

"The old man, did Prime Minister Lu find him?" Zhou Xun said.

"...I found it." Prime Minister Lu said, "I'll go..."

He lowered his eyes and smiled: "I worshiped her."

Zhou Xun: ...

It turns out that this friend of Prime Minister Lu has passed away.

Hearing this story that had nothing to do with him, he had no choice but to say: "Prime Minister Lu is in mourning."

Apart from this sentence, he had nothing else to say.

"You were looking at this painting just now, weren't you?" Prime Minister Lu found a topic.

Zhou Xun nodded: "Yes. Prime Minister Lu's handwriting is very strong."

"The road is long and long, and I will search for it up and down. This is what my friend said to me when she met me for the first time. It is also what she said to me when we met for the last time. When I just washed, I I lost a lot of hair, and there are already gray hairs in it. Looking at those white hairs, I remembered that it was 20 years ago."

Prime Minister Lu touched the calligraphy and painting with his fingers, as if he was caught in a certain memory: "Many years ago, I hated the rain very much. Because whenever it rained, no one patronized the calligraphy and painting booth I set up, even if it was No matter how good an oil-paper umbrella is, it can’t stop the heavy rain. When it’s not raining, I can earn several silver coins by selling calligraphy and paintings, but when it rains, I can only bring back a few copper coins. These coins and silver coins have to be counted and used. When it rains, I will go home very early, put the silver dimes and coppers I earned in the past seven days on the table, and then divide them into three piles. The first pile is taken to the pharmacy of the Lin family to get medicine for my mother, and the second pile, It is used to make ends meet, and the third stack is saved to wait for the exam in Beijing."

"This..." Zhou Xun listened to him tell the story of his past, and said, "I heard that Prime Minister Lu was also from a scholarly family, how could..."

"My family is not rich, not to mention, my father fell in love with a woman in a brothel, took her as a concubine, and the concubine's house took care of the accounts. My mother and I want to live a better life, and we have to count every penny." Prime Minister Lu briefly said .

Zhou Xun's fingers began to grab the corner of his clothes.He was not familiar with Prime Minister Lu, but Prime Minister Lu told him his own story—suddenly confiding in his heart, suddenly being so kind to him.

There is anxiety and vigilance in his heart - he is not the kind of person who is innocent and kind, so he will accept all good intentions for no reason.He must know the reasons behind his good intentions, otherwise he will never feel at ease.

And he also remembered how Prime Minister Lu accused him at the beginning—concubine had a son.

But Prime Minister Lu looked old at the moment, he looked like an old man trying to talk to him.Prime Minister Lu looked at him, and said to him cautiously: "The matter between me and my friend...do you want to hear it?"

Zhou Xun mocked himself coldly in his heart, he thought, Zhou Xun, you have no reason to listen, you should pity yourself.

But he nodded after all.

Prime Minister Lu said that it was also a rainy day when he met his friend.He broke up with his father and opened an art booth in a fit of anger, which caused the concubine's room to find some local ruffians to trouble him.He couldn't dodge in time, and bumped into a girl who came down from the temple to worship Buddha.The girl was bumped by him, but she was not angry. Instead, after hearing what happened to him, she said to him, "Little scholar, the road is long and the road is long, you have to work hard."

Later, he often set up a calligraphy and painting stall there - that place is the only way for people who worship Buddha to go back to the city.He didn't talk to the girl anymore, but every time he saw her carriage passing by, he felt relieved.He heard the girl say to the servant: "A Bodhisattva will protect kind-hearted people."

Then suddenly one day, it seemed as if the whole world was treating him better.When he went to the Lin's drugstore, someone waived his mother's drug money for him, and his calligraphy and painting stall always had a steady clientele who came to buy paintings.

"Of course it has something to do with her...my friend." Prime Minister Lu said.

Zhou Xun nodded.

He roughly understood that Prime Minister Lu's so-called "friend" turned out to be a woman, a kind-hearted young lady with a good family background.Presumably in the past 20 years, this woman has been married as another woman. Due to the defense of men and women, Prime Minister Lu has not seen her for 20 years, which makes sense.

What's more, the two seemed to have very different family backgrounds at the time, so it was very natural that they didn't get together in the end.

It's just Lin's drugstore.

Forest……

"Later, I found out that the shop belonged to her family, and the person who bought the paintings was also a servant of her family. She... I didn't even dare to think about it. Later, I was invited by her brother to her house to look at it for him. A painting. My mother was very happy and told me to take advantage of this opportunity. I took out all the silver coins I had saved, counted for a long time, and finally took out five, made a new dress, and took out I bought three and made a new pair of shoes. I gritted my teeth and carried the remaining silver coins in my purse. I still remember the number—thirteen in total. Actually, when I went to her house On that day, where do I need to bring money? But that day, I always wondered, if her brother invites me to a restaurant or other places, will I have enough money on me? In total, I only have these thirteen A dime can be used. I plan to leave after seeing the painting. If I want to go somewhere later, I will say I have something to leave." Prime Minister Lu smiled wryly, "I don't want to take advantage of others, and I definitely don't want to be looked down upon by others. That's it."

"The closer I got to Lin's mansion, the more nervous I became. But hearing the sound of silver colliding in the bag, the more I felt that I had dignity and support—people who have never been short of money can't understand this feeling. When it comes to money, you know that you don’t need it, so you have a little more courage to go everywhere. And the clothes on me are brand new, bought for several silver dimes. I entered the Lin Mansion, and I have never seen This kind of house. I followed the servants all the way. When I was on the way to Lin Mansion, I was afraid that the soles of my new shoes would be dirty on the way, but when I got here, I was afraid that my soles would be dirty and the Lin Mansion would be cleaned. Clean carved verandah."

"When I got to the study, she wasn't there. I only saw her elder brother, and asked me to show him a painting. I saw it, corrected it, and waved it, and then I had the courage. But after a while, I heard a female family member in the yard The voice seemed to be arguing. Her brother went out, and I went out too."

"It turned out that one of her concubine sisters was bullied by the steward who worshiped the high and trampled on the low. The concubine accidentally scratched one of the pearls in a string of pearl bracelets given to her, and was beaten and scolded by the steward. She passed by and heard Tell me the reason, very angry."

"The string of pearl bracelets is very precious. They are all pearls from the South China Sea, each big and round. But she just cut off the string of that string of bracelets, scattered the pearls in the garden, and let the person in charge pick them up. The person in charge After picking them up all afternoon, she gave them to the servants, and took the concubine sister away. When I went back, I heard the sound of the silver coins in the pouch colliding with each other, and suddenly remembered that this bag of silver can't be bought. Not even one of those pearls."

Zhou Xun didn't speak.

"Later, I met her at the Lantern Festival. She wore a mask and was with her cousin. Her cousin was the legitimate son of a rich family and had a marriage contract with her. She asked her cousin to cast a pot for her to win a jade pendant. But her cousin couldn't hit the shot no matter how much he cast. I stood by and looked at it over and over again. I had already remembered the appearance of the jade pendant to vote for. If I voted, I would definitely hit it, but... Later, the stall owner gave her the jade pendant. It was not a good-looking jade pendant, but she took it away..."

"Then they left. The stall owner changed the jade pendant. I squatted there and threw the jade pendant, distracted. Naturally, I didn't hit it once. Then, I heard her voice, she said to help me throw it once, and then, I hit it. "

"It turns out that her aim is so good. She left with her friends, and then, I saw her cousin, with Miss Ye's family..."

Prime Minister Lu said in a low voice.

"What happened to Prime Minister Lu's friend?" Zhou Xun asked suddenly.

He stared at Prime Minister Lu, his lips trembling: "What happened afterwards?"

later……

Afterwards, things were not so good.

The Lin family was framed, the tree fell and the monkeys scattered, the in-laws repented of their marriage, and the land was left in a vast expanse of whiteness.He took care of it in the dark, anxiously waiting for Chun Wei two years later, but she was already too late - a small sedan chair took her into the Zhou Mansion.She turned her fiancée into a concubine in exchange for the protection of her father and brother from the Zhou family.

And it wasn't until the day before she got married that he found out that she knew that he was the one taking care of her in secret.But she won't and can't give it a chance.

As usual, it rained heavily on the day she got married. He was in the rain and saw her lower her head and get into the sedan chair.The sedan chair entered the small gate of Zhou's house, and what was buried together with the setting sun was her past life.

And the day before, she said to him with a smile.

"The road is long and long, little scholar, you still have a long way to go."

—and yours?

"I have no way to go, but my cousin will be good to me. Don't worry."

——This is the end of the whole story.

Zhou Xun thought about the jade pendant that his mother regarded as a treasure, which was the marriage contract between her and his father that his mother once believed.

And Prime Minister Lu's jade pendant...

"When I entered the palace that day, I wore the wrong jade pendant and almost lost it, but I didn't expect it to be... doomed." Prime Minister Lu looked at Zhou Xun and said with difficulty, "I once wanted to ask your mother To repay the favor, but I have neither the ability nor the opportunity, now..."

Now, can you give me this chance?

What a touching story, but Zhou Xun laughed.

That's it, he finally understood.He finally understood Prime Minister Lu's sudden kindness, his protection, the jade pendant, and the past of those rich ladies and penniless teenagers buried in the dust.

What a touching story, but he was not moved in his heart, only empty and sad.

"Actually, the Prime Minister knew the news of my mother's death as early as half a year ago, as early as the time the Prime Minister lost the jade pendant, didn't he? If the Prime Minister wanted to inquire and repay the favor, he would have known about it long ago. My mother's recent situation. But in the past 20 years, the prime minister has never had one."

"I..." Prime Minister Lu paused, and admitted readily, "I didn't notice. I used to be too young, but later, I was too...hesitant and self-righteous."

"After returning to Jiangzhou, I found out that she had been treated like this, and I finally understood and inquired about things related to you. Zhou Xun, you are a...good boy. I have ordered someone to thoroughly investigate the Ye family. As for You..." Prime Minister Lu said, "Even if the Lin family has a kindness for me regardless of the personal relationship, you are the only descendant of the Lin family, so I should repay you."

Zhou Xun looked at Prime Minister Lu's white hair, paused again, and finally saluted: "Forget it, since that's the case, Zhou Xun would like to thank the prime minister for paying homage to his mother. My mother is under the nine springs, and I must be very happy to have old friends come to see her until the tomb." .As for the rest, that’s all.”

"Why..."

"The matter between the prime minister and my mother and the Lin family is a matter of the Lin family. It has nothing to do with me, and there is no reason to inherit it-and I don't want to inherit these past things. How I am in the eyes of others is only related to Zhou Xun It has nothing to do with me and nothing else. I’m just me, that’s all.” Zhou Xun said, “The Prime Minister used to speak ill of me because of prejudice, but now he praises me because of my mother’s kindness. After all, these It has nothing to do with me. The prime minister had a good story, and now that he has achieved success, it can be regarded as a happy ending. Now that the story has ended, Zhou Xun doesn't want to participate."

Saying that, Zhou Xun stood up and said, "Thank you, Prime Minister Lu, for sacrificing your life to save him today. There will be a rich gift in the future. Today, Zhou Xun has something else to do, so he will go back first."

……

Zhou Xun's attitude is very firm.

On the second day, he really ordered someone to send a generous gift, and returned the gift from Prime Minister Lu along with it.As for those amazing gifts that are not particularly precious, he also accepts them, and returns them with courtesy and humanitarian thanks.

——The posture is neither humble nor overbearing, like an ordinary colleague.

Prime Minister Lu's guilt deepened, and he offered help many times.Zhou Xun only dealt with it as a colleague.

It's just that the only thing that puzzled him was that he didn't see old man Shen in Youhuang Alley.Old man Shen was on a business trip this time, and it took a while.

During this day after day, Kang Wang actually collected enough 100 million taels of silver, part of which was paid for by gold, jewels and BMWs.

Kang Wang looked at the box full of snowflakes and silver, and was going to redeem people the next day, but he was a little annoyed.After thinking about it, he handed over the counting to his servants, and walked into the yard by himself.

As he walked, he found that he had unconsciously arrived at the place where Xiaoxue lived.

He actually remembered Xiaoxue's name, Hongxue, Feihong treading snow mud, very beautiful names.

The former prince of the New Moon Kingdom sat on the bed with his knees hugged as usual, staring into the distance in a daze. His complexion was pale and he looked weak.

"He still refuses to beg for mercy?" King Kang asked the attendant next to him.

The attendant shook his head: "Xue Nu said...he is sick."

"Sick? Still sick? What kind of sickness could he have?" Kang Wang sneered, "When I came to see him yesterday, didn't he act arrogantly when he quarreled with me?"

A few days ago, Xiaoxue suddenly seemed to be crazy, and quarreled with him because of Zhou Cai's matter, and she was full of ridicule in her words.When he came back to his senses, Xiaoxue had already been slapped to the ground by him.

From then on, Xiaoxue stayed in this room, recuperating all day long, saying that she was sick.Kang Wang decided to kill his prestige and didn't bother to care about him.

Kang Wang looked at him from a distance, and suddenly remembered the scene when he swung his whip at him that day.

"If he didn't whip me at that time, but did what Zhou Cai did when he met me...would it be different now?"

He remembered the past, the first time he saw him... when his name was Hongxue, he was obviously very good at smiling.

If he could be as good as Zhou Cai... would they still be like this?

The same scene had a different ending, even speaking, Zhou Cai was a hundred times more expensive than him.

It is useless to think too much about this.He then said to the attendants: "Whenever he crawls out of the room, kowtows every step, and apologizes to the king, the king will let him out."

Kang Wang finally left.After he left, the person on the bed finally moved his eyes.

He smiled coldly.

……

On the second day, Kang Wang came to the trading place with gold, silver and jewelry.Sure enough, it was the emperor and Zhou Shilang who came to receive him.

"Everything is here." Kang Wang was too lazy to bother them, pointing to the box and said, "Does the emperor want to send someone to count?"

The emperor said, "No need, just bring them up."

Kang Wang smiled indifferently.

"By the way," the emperor said suddenly, "I said that there are requirements for property specifications, right? Has King Kang invited someone to divide the gold and silver?"

"coming."

"That's good." The emperor clapped his hands and said, "First, ask Kang Wang to bring up ten catties of gold, which must be finely chopped into scorpions, with no copper, silver, stone or sand mixed in."

"Bring another ten catties of silver up, and it must be finely chopped into sausages, without any oxide or platinum in it."

The author has something to say: The next chapter preview:

Emperor: I want to be the light of righteousness! !

Zhou Xun: I am the servant, and I want to be a partner of justice (playing for no reason)

Shiro:? ?