I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

Pei Xiang lay on the back of the big white fox, and traveled with him in the starlight and sea of ​​clouds.

The lights in the world gradually fade away, and the spiritual rain and streamer come one after another.Flying into the sky, all you can see is the vastness and mistyness. At a certain moment, the love and hatred in the world become very distant and blurred, and the aging time seems to have stopped. Only the wind and The warmth in your arms is real.

"Ah Bai, how wonderful it is to be free like this, why are you so moved?"

"I don't know, but it's not bad."

"You will definitely be sad in the future."

"Being sad is better than missing out. The years are long, and I always have to experience everything before I can practice in vain."

Pei Xiang couldn't help but bend the corners of her mouth, she slowly closed her eyes, pressed her cheek against Bai Jin's back, kept warm for a while, then turned her head and kissed Bai Jin's neck lightly.

Bai Jin, who was flying smoothly, suddenly paused, and then he wrapped Pei Xiang with his tail, wrapped her and flew to a higher place, as if he wanted to take Pei Xiang to the end of the starry sky and sea of ​​clouds, away from all the hustle and bustle behind him... …

It was not until the eve of dawn that Bai Jin brought Pei Xiang back to the imperial capital.

After relaxing their hearts happily, they still have to continue to deal with past grievances and troubles.

The two stood incognito outside the gate of Jia's mansion, and sure enough, not long after, servants of Jia's mansion ran out in a hurry.Listening to the conversation between him and the gatekeeper, others knew that he was ordered to take the post to invite the familiar imperial physician in the mansion.Because, the ancestor Shi Taijun in the mansion fell ill.

"I was so frightened and frightened last night, and then lay on the ground and fell asleep for half the night. Shi Taijun is old, and his body must not be able to bear it."

While talking, Pei Xiang released the water ghost Li Xiaoshan from the jade bottle.

"Shi Shi is sick now. If you harass her, it will definitely make her condition worse. Are you going?"

Li Xiaoshan hesitated for a while, after thinking about it, he still didn't want to let his soul fly away for an enemy.

"Master Dao, I'm not going to seek revenge on Shi Shi. She is such an old godly woman, and she doesn't have a few years to live. I can't let her kill me for the rest of my life. Go to reincarnation, and ask the Taoist priest to help me."

Pei Xiang had no objection to Li Xiaoshan's choice, and it was within her expectations, so she started talking about another deal with this water ghost.

"You just went to reincarnate, can you rest assured of your family?"

Li Xiaoshan was a little confused: "Aren't they good?"

Pei Xiang shook his head: "Are you really willing to let your son be the servant of the Jia family all the time? Let your children and grandchildren sincerely appreciate the murderer who killed you, kowtow to her, and obey her for the rest of their lives?"

These words immediately stimulated Li Xiaoshan, the water ghost, and made the ghost energy in him that had gradually calmed down surge again.

"Master...I'm not reconciled! And, besides, it's not safe for them to stay in Jia's mansion. The old godmother may want to kill the grass and roots at any time. I, I can't let my son live in danger."

"Well, Li Xiaoshan, I can help you take your family out of Jia's mansion, and then settle them down so that their life is stable. But, you have to do something for me."

Li Xiaoshan nodded immediately: "Master Taoist, as long as you can take my wife and children out of Jia's mansion and give them a job to settle down, I won't ask for more. If you have any orders for the younger ones, just ask them, and the younger ones will definitely do their best." All out."

Pei Xiang nodded lightly, and whispered instructions in Li Xiaoshan's ear.

Two days later, Jia Zheng returned to Jia's mansion after leaving the official office, and immediately visited Shi Taijun's residence.

He walked quickly along the corridor, and before he reached the door of the main house, he smelled a bitter smell of soup.

At this time, Yuanyang, the maidservant next to Shi Taijun, came out with a tray, saw his second master, immediately bowed his knees and stood sideways holding his breath.

Seeing that Jia Zheng was a capable servant girl by his mother's side, he asked a few questions about Shi Taijun's condition.Yuanyang answered truthfully, and Jia Zheng listened patiently, his brows not yet relaxed.

"Still can't eat?"

"From morning until now, our ancestors have only drank half a bowl of ginseng soup, and the rest of the food is useless. At noon, the second master Bao and the eldest daughter of Shijia stayed with the ancestors for a while, and personally fed the soup. , her old man fell asleep again."

Jia Zheng sighed, waved his hand at Yuanyang, and let her do things by herself.On the other hand, he turned around and went to the compartment on the east side to discuss Shi Taijun's condition and prescription with the imperial physician invited from home.

When it was time for dinner, Shi Taijun woke up, his face was still sleepy, and his forehead was still a little hot.Her eyes were not as clear as before, and looked a little sluggish and muddy.

Jia Zheng looked at his mother's weak and bedridden state, his eyes were sore, and his heart was really sad and sad, so he quietly retreated out again on the pretext of discussing the prescription.

When he walked into the courtyard, he was blown by the evening wind and shivered uncontrollably.

Looking around, the yard was very quiet, for fear of disturbing Shi Taijun's recuperation, the row of sparrows and swallows in the corridor were all removed, and the little maids in red and green were all huddled in the servant's room and could not come out. Thinking of the bustling and colorful flowers before, Zheng felt even more sad in his heart.

In a trance, he suddenly realized that he had passed most of his life, and there was no one close to him.

Jia Zheng was in a depressed mood, and after dinner he stayed in the study for a while, then rested alone, and did not spend the night with Mrs. Wang or his aunt.

Before going to bed, he was still thinking about Jiamu's illness, and in a daze, he somehow thought of the days before his father Daishan's death.Probably because he was thinking day by day and dreaming at night, when Jia Zheng really fell asleep, he saw an old friend in his dream.

"You are... Li Xiaoshan?"

"Second master, my little one is showing you my respects."

Jia Zheng was very lucid in his dream, he looked at Li Xiaoshan seriously, and asked in a deep voice:

"You have already passed away, why did you appear in my dream today?"

"Second Master, the younger one is going to be reincarnated, so I'm here to say goodbye to you."

Jia Zheng nodded, and his voice slowed down: "Since you can be reincarnated, it is your good fortune. It is fate for us to be a master and a servant. Go ahead and don't worry about your family. I will tell the housekeeper to take care of them." .”

"Thank you, Second Master, for your care. However, the villain's family, children and grandchildren are all arranged, so there is no need for the master to bother. The little one came to the master today because he had a secret matter to report back to the master. Go to reincarnation without worrying about it.”

Hearing that Li Xiaoshan, who had passed away for many years, had a secret report, Jia Zheng's expression became serious: "Say it."

"Second Master, I remember that in the year when the Duke passed away, you were studying at your hometown in Jinling, and the younger one was always serving you. Then, one day suddenly, you asked the younger one to send a elixir back to Zhongjia's mansion in the capital, saying It can make the Duke of the country heal."

This old incident was actually a scar in Jia Zheng's heart, he had not allowed himself to think about it for many years, when he suddenly heard Li Xiaoshan talk about the panacea, his eyes showed obvious unswerving.

However, Li Xiaoshan didn't care too much about Jia Zheng's mood, he said to himself:

"Second Master, the secret matter that the young one wants to report to you is related to the panacea. Before the young one leaves Jinling, you told the young one to deliver the elixir to the Duke's bed in person. In fact, the young one Not quite.

"At that time, as soon as the young one returned to the house, the wife, oh yes, is now called the old lady, and asked the old lady to invite her over. The elixir was handed over to the old lady, and then the young one watched the old lady take it. Holding the elixir, I walked into the room where the Duke was convalescing. At that time, I thought that the old lady must have sent the elixir to the Duke. Unexpectedly, something went wrong."

Li Xiaoshan's words made Jia Zheng suddenly feel cold all over, and his hands and feet were numb.

He suddenly shouted loudly to stop Li Xiaoshan from continuing, and angrily reprimanded him, saying that he is a lonely ghost with evil intentions.

"You slave, trying to disturb the minds of living people by telling stories, is really cunning and hateful!"

Seeing Jia Zheng's agitation and anger, Li Xiaoshan immediately showed a frightened expression.

He bowed again and again, saying that Jia Zheng was an official ordered by the court and a descendant of the Duke of the State. He was a drowned soul, and he would never dare to lie to him.Besides, if what he said before was not true, it would definitely affect his fate after reincarnation, he really didn't dare to talk nonsense in front of the official.

Li Xiaoshan's attitude was very sincere, and what he said seemed to make sense, but Jia Zheng's mood became even worse.

He turned his face away, as if he didn't want to look at Li Xiaoshan directly, but he didn't stop him from continuing.

"Second master, what the younger one wants to tell you is that the panacea...was not taken by the Duke of the country at the beginning. The reason why the younger one knows this secret is from the little godmother Lai Mama. Really, the little one If you tell a lie, you will be punished, Second Master."

Li Xiaoshan's face was sincere, and after he finished speaking, nothing unusual happened, Jia Zheng believed a little more in his heart.

"You said that the panacea has not been used, so where is the panacea now? Do you want to say that the panacea was hidden by my mother? You know, her old man is too sick to get out of bed now , if there was a life-saving panacea, he would have recovered a long time ago."

Li Xiaoshan quickly lowered his head, hiding the hatred for Shi Taijun in his eyes, and his tone became hesitant:

"Nurse Lai didn't tell the little one, um, where the medicine is hidden. But, second master, I will give you an address, you can go there and look for it, maybe you will gain something. If... If you find it, maybe you will find it." Can...well, second master, the panacea is hard to come by, so saving someone's life is not saving? When the time comes...wouldn't it be a good thing?"

The latter words were vague, but Jia Zheng felt that he understood the meaning.

Li Xiaoshan discovered the location of Tibetan medicine before his death. This time, he specially came to tell him, probably to remind him that since Shi Taijun is seriously ill, the hidden panacea can be taken out and used. It will definitely alleviate Shi Taijun's condition. .

All of a sudden, Jia Zheng's feelings were absolutely complicated and unspeakable.

If Li Xiaoshan's words are true, it means that his mother refused to save his father, and even indirectly caused his death.

Then, he suddenly realized that he was in a very embarrassing situation.If he really went to take out the elixir to treat Shi Taijun, would it be tantamount to acquiescing to his mother's original actions?By default, she hurt her father?

However, if he ignores Li Xiaoshan's words...

After Jia Zheng woke up, he found that it was midnight, the doors and windows were closed, and there was no sign of anyone coming.

He called out and asked the maidservants who were on guard to light the lamps.

"What movement can you hear at night?"

"Going back to the master, I didn't hear any sound. The servant girl and Qiulan have been awake all the time, just guarding outside. There are also a few boys waiting in shifts outside, and the night has been quite peaceful."

Jia Zheng nodded, he still remembered Li Xiaoshan's words, but he was not ready to believe the nonsense in a dream.

Yes, it is ridiculous nonsense!

Jia Zheng frowned, intending to forget what he heard in the dream.

But to be honest, he couldn't figure it out.It is said that he thinks day by day and dreams at night. Regarding the panacea, he never doubted that his mother would hide the life-saving medicine, so how could he hear such absurd words in his dream?

Jia Zheng asked the servant girl to leave the lamp for him, and then sent him out, lying on the bed by himself with his eyes closed.

After this silence, many thoughts could no longer be controlled, and they flooded Jia Zheng's mind one after another.

The past began to emerge scene by scene, including the voice and smile of the father when he was alive, the loving and caring eyes of the mother, the admiration and respect of the children, and the conscientiousness and powerlessness in the officialdom.

But, gradually, a delicate and lively face began to occupy his thoughts, and he seemed to see a pair of tearful eyes again, Qing Lingling looked at him frankly, and asked him silently, why he was so cruel?

Jia Zheng got up from the bed abruptly, clenched his hands into fists, and slowly loosened them...

At dawn, Jia Zheng got up early, washed up briefly, and went to the study.

He wanted to read the two volumes of the Taoist scriptures to forget those lingering guilt and troubles.

However, as soon as Jia Zheng sat down in front of the table, he realized that he had no excuse to avoid the truth.

Because, on the table that was tidied up before leaving last night, there was a piece of cloth the size of a palm, and an address was written crookedly on the cloth—the third house on the east side of Luliu Hutong, Xingqing Street.

Below the address, there is a line of smaller handwriting. Jia Zheng couldn't help but look carefully, and found that it was Li Xiaoshan who was telling him that there is a life-saving elixir here, master and servant, I hope Jia Zheng will not forget what he said in his dream .

Jia Zheng closed his eyes.

The color and material of this cloth is exactly what Li Xiaoshan wore in the dream last night.

He also had some impressions of the clumsy strokes on the cloth.Li Xiaoshan has been with him for many years, he knows a few characters, and he also wrote when necessary, it is such crooked and unfamiliar handwriting.

Now that the matter has come to this point, Jia Zheng can no longer ignore the matter of Tuomeng.

——Even if you don't pursue the concealment at the beginning, you still have to think about Shi Taijun's current illness...

Another day, Shi Taijun's condition still did not improve, and he began to talk in his sleep.From time to time, she called the Duke twice, and occasionally chanted words such as "Baoyu", "Zhenger" and "Zhuer", which made Jia Zheng, who went to visit the sick, very sad.

That afternoon, Jia Zheng asked for leave from the Minister of the Ministry, and left the official office ahead of schedule.He dismissed the long entourage around him, and instead of taking the sedan chair in the mansion, he walked towards Xingqing Street alone.

When he found Luliu Hutong, he hesitated for a while at the intersection in front of the Hutong. After a while, he gritted his teeth and walked towards the Hutong.

In front of the black iron gate of the third house on the east side, Jia Zheng stopped. He raised his eyes and looked around carefully at the surrounding environment.

Before coming here alone, Jia Zheng had asked someone to inquire about the owner of this house in advance. What Jia Zheng felt was expected but also very unwilling to accept was that the owner of this house was named Lai, and it was Nanny Lai. A distant relative of Ma's family.

Jia Zheng thought for a while, and finally went up to knock on the door.

The boy who opened the door looked very clever, and he asked Jia Zheng with a smile, where did the old man come from?Are you here to visit the host's house?There is a famous post, so that he can reply to the master.

"Your master's surname is Lai, and has something to do with the Jia family?"

"Exactly, what's your name, sir?"

Jia Zheng said with a serious face, "Go back to your master and tell him that people from the Jia family came to him and wanted to ask about something."

When the doorman heard that he was from Jia's mansion, his smile was immediately respectful and enthusiastic.He clasped his fists and asked Jia Zheng to wait a moment, then closed the door with a bang, and ran inside with a bang.

After a while, the black iron door opened again, and a middle-aged man hurried out, and he recognized Jia Zheng at a glance.

"Here, sir, you are here, please come in, please come in."

Jia Zheng was welcomed in, and instead of drinking tea and sitting down, he asked the other party directly, did Mother Jia or Nanny Lai deposit anything with him?He came here this time to pick up the deposit for his mother Shi Taijun.

"Yes, sir, just wait a moment, I'll go and get it myself."

This man was very winking, he saw that Jia Zheng didn't intend to exchange greetings, so he no longer just invited guests to the living room for tea and conversation, but asked Jia Zheng to stay for a while to admire the flowers, trees and rocks in the garden, He comes and goes.

After a while, the man returned holding a fist-sized jade box, and presented it to Jia Zheng respectfully.

"Master, this is what the mansion keeps in the villain's house. The villain doesn't know what is in it, but my aunt said that this thing is important, and it can only be handed over if she or the old lady comes in person. The villain has been keeping it personally, and absolutely no one else has opened the box."

Jia Zheng first looked at the seal on the box a few times, and found that there was Jia Mu's personal seal on it, and he felt a little more at ease.

But he still frowned: "You just gave it to me like this? Don't you send someone to ask Nanny Lai, or go to the mansion to inform the old lady?"

The Lai family smiled obsequiously: "Look at what the master said, you are the master of the house, and my aunt is just a servant. Although she said something first, but the master came here in person, the little one will definitely obey your orders. Besides, that... The villain also listens I talked about the illness of the old ancestor. Under such circumstances, it is also appropriate for you to take a trip for the old ancestor. If you want to tell the villain, the old ancestor in the house is grateful for the hard work and filial piety of the old master. Enough."

Hearing these words was quite comfortable, so Jia Zheng didn't say anything more. He felt that this was indeed the truth, so he just stroked his beard lightly, and then reached out to take the jade box.

This Lai's family escorted Jia Zheng away. At the gate, Jia Zheng didn't want the other party to send him more, so he left alone.

What he didn't know was that once the black iron gate behind him was closed, there were no Lai family members in the courtyard, only two round-headed little paper figures ran towards Pei Xiang, but Bai Jin picked him up. Get up and put it in the universe in your sleeve.

"It's just two little paper dolls."

"That can't drill into the collar of your collar."

On the small road outside the courtyard, Jia Zheng was holding a small jade box in his hand, wondering if it contained the old panacea?

He was so distracted that he didn't pay much attention to the movements of the people around him when he was walking. Therefore, when Jia Zheng was about to reach the entrance of the alley, he happened to collide with the person who came out of the first house on the east side.

"Oh, who doesn't have eyes? Your grandpa dares to hit me!"

Jia Zheng was knocked down to the ground, and the things in his arms rolled to the ground. He was worried that the panacea would be contaminated, when he heard these arrogant words.He suddenly raised his head, just about to scold him, but he never thought that he was an acquaintance.

"Inner, inner phase?"

Hearing Jia Zheng's words revealing his identity, the man's face became even more gloomy. He got up from the ground and also recognized Jia Zheng's identity.

"Hey, isn't this the political elder? Why did he come to this Luliu alley alone?"

Hearing this, Jia Zheng's mood sank. He never expected that he would run into Dai Quan, the famous person in the palace, the head of the Daming Palace.

This old inner minister is usually very majestic, and when he goes out of the palace to do business, he must beat the gong and sit in a sedan chair.Now, he showed up in this green willow alley without a single person, there must be something secret that should not be revealed to outsiders, but he just let himself bump into it.

Jia Zheng felt bitter, and his expression became more cautious and serious. He had never been a quick-witted genius, and he didn't know how to deal with Dai Quan's question at this time.

Seeing Jia Zheng's hesitation, Dai Quan was even more vigilant.Today, he met Yongxing Jiedu Envoy and Xiangyang Marquis secretly in this private house in Luliu Hutong. He was actually working for the Supreme Emperor, but unexpectedly, he was bumped into by Jia's family.

——Looking at Jia Zheng's sneaky look, there is obviously something wrong.Could it be that something was really found?

Thinking of the vacillating positions of the Jia family, Dai Quan snorted coldly in his heart.

The old inner minister was about to test the reason why Jia Zheng appeared here, and found that he was busy bending down to pick up a small jade box, which was relatively close to Dai Quan, so he subconsciously took the jade box into his hand first. .

"Elder Zheng is so nervous about this box. Could it be some rare treasure? It also opened my eyes."

The lid of the jade box had been thrown open, but now that Dai Quan took it into his hands, the lid tilted, revealing a bright and round pill inside.

This pill is not only good-looking, but also smells very good. Dai Quan just smelled it, and he felt refreshed and full of energy and blood.

"Huh? What is this? Isn't it really a treasure?"

Seeing that the elixir was taken away by Dai Quan, Jia Zheng hesitated for a while, and could only choose and explain:

"This is a elixir that my family got in the early years, and it has been stored outside. Recently, Jia Ci was seriously ill. I remembered this elixir, and planned to take it back to the mansion to try. Unexpectedly, I bumped into Mr. Neixiang. "

Dai Quan was holding the elixir, and the distance was very close. While Jia Zheng explained, he smelled the fragrance of the medicine several times.The fragrance of the medicine entered into the lungs through the nose, Dai Quan only felt that his eyes and ears were clear, his limbs were strong, and even the perennial soreness on his shoulders seemed to have eased a lot.

--nice one!

Dai Quan is the confidant of the Supreme Emperor, the eunuch in charge of the Daming Palace, he has seen many so-called panaceas over the years, but he has never seen such a miraculous medicine in his hand.

He immediately realized that this pill from the Jia family was definitely a treasure.

"Master Jia wants to give this medicine to Shi Taijun?"

"Exactly, my mother is seriously ill. I can't bear to see her suffer."

"How is Shi Taijun's condition, how did the imperial physicians make a diagnosis, and what is the critical situation?"

"Not really. The main reason is that she was frightened and caught a cold. In addition, Jiaci is already old, and the medicine will take a long time to take effect."

"Since it's not critically ill, I'm relieved."

Jia Zheng's face darkened, thinking that Dai Quan's words were too harsh.

Dai Quan didn't care about the face of a fifth-rank member Wailang, but said coldly:

"Master Jia, since there is such a good medicine at home, why don't you offer it as soon as possible? I know that the Jia family is a loyal family, and Mr. Jia is even more familiar with the books of sages and sages, and has written the word loyalty in his bones. How come now, Such a treasure is hidden in the house, but you are ignoring the condition of the old man, the Supreme Emperor?

"A few days ago, all the imperial physicians in the palace were invited to the Daming Palace, and His Majesty also stopped for a day to personally attend to the illness and feed the medicine. Everyone was worried about the health of the old sage's dragon body. Would Mr. Jia not know about it? At that time, Taijun Shi But I'm not sick yet, why didn't Master Jia offer medicine?"

Jia Zheng's complexion changed drastically when he asked this question, and he felt that his whole body was dripping with cold sweat.