He's been caught for the show.

Also in Xuzhou, not far from the path that Chu Lu and others took, a low-key green-roofed carriage slowly moved along the official road.

The man driving the car was a middle-aged man. His face was a bit fierce, and the way he looked at the road ahead with an expressionless face at the moment made people even more timid.

I'm afraid that if this man changed into clothes and stood in the middle of the road, he would be able to make people shout "Hero, spare your life" and hand over all the money in their hands in a hurry.

It's just that if he could look at the past carefully, there was nothing in this man's eyes.

The man seemed to be looking at the road ahead, but he didn't seem to be looking at anything.

The vast sea of ​​flowers seems to be out of his eyes, and the beautiful scenery along the way can't touch his heart.Those eyes seemed to have lost their guiding beacon, empty and dead, just like its owner.

The almost silent silence was interrupted by an old voice, which came from the frame behind him, "There is Xinzhizhou in Jiaozhou. After I return to Beijing this time, I am afraid that I will return to my hometown for retirement... What about you?" ? Xiaoxuan?"

"grown ups."

When the voice sounded, the man driving the car instantly restrained the confusion in his eyes.

He lowered his eyes, the muscles on his face were stretched, and after adjusting his expression, he somehow became honest and honest, and even looked a bit dull because of his overly strong and tall figure, he said, "Naturally It's following you."

An old hand was placed on the white curtain that had been washed countless times, and the owner of the hand moved out with difficulty.

——At his age, mobility is always not so convenient.

In fact, if he hadn't found that he couldn't hold on any longer, he wouldn't have performed the booklet three times and returned home begging for bones.

Old, he is really old...

He was not young when he took office, and after all these years, he is getting older.

Seeing his movements, Li Hou quickly slowed down the car and pulled the rein to stop.

But he was stopped by the old man's wave of his hand, and he said in that old and slow voice: "It's good to blow some air, take a breath, and take a look at it now... I'm afraid it will be difficult to see in the future."

Li Hou seemed to want to say something, but the old man didn't give him this chance, but continued what he had just said when he was sitting in the car, "My old bone, it's useless...you don't need it anymore. Waste of time on this old bone..."

Li Hou maintained a dull expression, as if he said with sincerity and fear: "My lord, what did you say? You saved Hou's life, Hou..."

The old man let out a long sigh, "I'm afraid it wasn't me who saved you."

Li Hou's voice paused, his gaze was sharp for a moment, but he quickly retracted, his expression was bewildered and shocked, "My lord?! Why do you say that? Back then, if you hadn't been kind, you would have If I eat with one mouthful, I’m afraid I’ll starve to death in the wilderness long ago.”

The strange expression on Li Hou's face changed only for a moment, and it was difficult for ordinary people to catch it. Besides, the person sitting next to him was an old man who was almost seventy years old.

The old man's eyeballs have long been cloudy due to the accumulation of years, and even a few months ago, he could not read clearly even the official documents written by his subordinates who always deliberately enlarged the font, and had to be read to him by others.

Li Hou has been with this old man since he first arrived in Jiaozhou, so he is naturally aware of this.

However, the old man didn't have to judge anything based on the change in his expression.

He shook his head, and said in a sighing tone: "In Jiaozhou, there are not even dusty wild birds, so where do you get white pigeons?... Huo Xiang's residence seems to have raised a lot... ..."

Li Hou accidentally pulled the rein, but fortunately, the speed of the car had slowed down at this time, and there was no problem because of it. The old horse was powerless to make any violent resistance, and it just parked meekly on the side of the road.

The old man had been prepared to grab the edge of the carriage, and did not cause any accident because of the not-so-severe bumps. He still kept his head tilted and looked at Li Hou, but his eyes that should have been cloudy were stared at Li Hou for a moment. There was a force like a falcon in his vision.

Li Hou just remembered that the person in front of him was not the kind and old man from the beginning, but he was a man who dared to throw a wat board in front of the emperor, was taken to the Ministry of punishment for three days and three nights, and was promoted to the hall During the retrial, there was still an iron bone censor who had the strength to curse.

The muscles on Li Hou's face twitched twice, and he returned to his fierce expression when he was expressionless.

But the expression of the old man did not change. Li Hou couldn't tell whether he knew it a long time ago or because his eyes couldn't see clearly, but it was meaningless to think about it now.

He lowered his head and said calmly, "I'm not careful enough."

If the master was still there, he would have been dealt with as a hidden guard who exposed his identity.

But now, he doesn't even know where to go to receive the punishment.

The old man shook his head with a smile, and did not tell the young man that he actually only vaguely recalled a few white shadows from his memory, and never saw them clearly.

He is not sure what the white shadow in that fuzzy memory is... Maybe it is rice paper, or it may be the white linen clothes blown away by the wind... It may even be that when he discovered the abnormality later, he fabricated it for himself in his memory. clues.

after all……

For older people, isn't it normal for some past events to be misremembered?

And the most important thing is that his friendship with that young prime minister is far from the level of knowing that the other party's house raises pigeons.

Such a thin friendship...

He is so good and capable.

In Jiaozhou, a barren place far away from the capital, they have supported and accompanied each other for dozens of years. No matter who the other party is, who their subordinate is, or what their original purpose is, the old man has long regarded the other party as a junior.

Looking at Li Hou's expression now, he couldn't help showing a kind and tolerant smile.

He looked up at the road again, that slight smile deepened, and even the gully on his face became more obvious.

He looked at the mountains and fields full of flowers, and at the compacted and flat road, and said with a smile, "It's much better than it was back then... isn't it?"

Li Hou was stunned for a moment, and looked along the road ahead.

Without too much explanation, he immediately understood the old man's unclear words.

The empty thoughts in his eyes were pulled by a certain anchor point.

The fierce face softened, he nodded slowly, and responded with a single voice, "Yes."

It's so much better...

Compared with what he saw when he went to work with the old man, the refugees crowded around the official road and their eyes were full of numbness; despair……

Everything in front of you is like the sharp green shoots emerging from the field in spring, which makes people feel endless longing for the future when they see it.

The old man: "It took him a lot of effort to save me back then, right?...It's hard for him to think of a way..."

"I dare not speculate on the prime minister's thoughts."

……

…………

"...The method of pretending to be a bandit and robbing relief money is really given to you by him?"

"Yes."

"...Haha, when I was young, I also claimed to be crazy, but I didn't do such a deviant act... Okay, haha, good! The younger generation is awesome, the younger generation is awesome!...Haha..."

The cheerful laughter seemed to carry some other deeper meaning. The old man laughed for a long time, so that tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

His laughter gradually weakened, and finally disappeared among the flowers and trees in the forest.

After a while of silence, he maintained his watchful posture, and said slowly, "If you haven't figured out where to go, why not walk around and have a look... Witness for him, now the mountains and rivers of the world..."

Li Hou was silent, his half-closed eyelids covered the fluctuating expression in his eyes, but his hand holding the rein tightened a little bit.

After a long time, he finally gave an answer: "...OK."

……

…………

After all, the old man is old and lacks energy. Whether it is talking or laughing just now, it is too exhausting.

He didn't push himself too hard. When he felt tired, he leaned sideways on the wall of the car and looked at the landscape of mountains and rivers that had been cleaned up from scratch.

Beautiful, indeed extremely beautiful.

It's like seeing the corner of a girl's veil blown by the wind when I was young, which makes people miss and dream.

He was heartbroken by the devastation, and wanted to use his body as a sharp blade to seek a peaceful and prosperous world, but after all, the human body is a mortal body, and he only wanted a bloody and scarred body.

that……

What should I do?what to do

The barbed iron whip was whipped on his body. Compared with the pain on his body, what was more desperate was the confusion in his heart.

He wants to be a good official, but the things he ordered are pushed back and forth; he wants to be a good minister, but the papers he handed in are hard to see the light of day; then at least, at least be a good person, right?But the sufferer begged him to come to him, knelt at his feet and begged him not to investigate any further...

……

…………

In this world, everything seems to be a mistake.

A rotten tree that has rotted to its roots is far from being able to be saved by a single leaf.

He is like that out of place leaf, either withered the branches, or rotted along with it...

So what to do?How to do it?

He spent most of his life begging for questions, and finally someone gave him the answer——

Rooted in the deepest and deepest part of the mud, with flesh and blood as an offering, it takes care of a new tender seedling.

……

…………

The scorching sun was just right, but it was a bit glaring when it fell on the old man who hadn't been outside for such a long time, and he couldn't help but raise his hand to cover it.

After a long time, the old man asked very low and very softly, "You...have his tablet on you, right?"

"...Go to the city later, buy some joss paper money..."

His voice was a little hoarse, "Find a place... I should sacrifice to him."

Everyone in the world owes him a sacrifice.

……

…………

"……it is good."