After leaving Luofu Mountain and heading south for several hundred li, there is another city.
There were willow trees on both sides of the road, and Liu Yan was sitting next to Shen Jue, just about to say that the scenery was beautiful, when a gust of wind suddenly blew past, the willow branches above his head swayed, shaking down a few fallen leaves.
One leaf knows autumn.
It is already autumn.
Touring the mountains and rivers all the way, the journey was slow, unknowingly it has been two months since I left the mountain, Liu Yan played with the willow leaves in his hand, and asked Shen Jue where he was, Shen Jue said: "The front seems to be Yongcheng."
Yongcheng. He even revisited his old place.
Along the way, I never had a destination. I walked wherever it was fun on the road. When I arrived at the fork, I also went to see where the scenery was beautiful. The road was bumpy, but it brought them here—the place where they met and got acquainted. Perhaps there is a divine will in the dark. Liu Yan turned around, smiled at the dozing man in the car, and said, "Yi Mo, Yongcheng is ahead."
Yi Mo muttered, why did he come here, and lazily told Shen Jue: "Go to the city."
After entering the city gate, there are scattered pedestrians on the avenue, or travelers carrying burdens, or hawkers carrying goods, or cooks carrying firewood into the city... More than two hundred years have passed, the city It seems that nothing has changed. There are yamen servants standing in front of the county yamen, and the shouts of hawkers are floating on the streets. The melon stall is the same melon stall, the tea shed is the same tea shed, and the city tower is still the same as before, but a little old.
For more than two hundred years, nothing has changed, but there is no one in this city who knows him and he knows. The real thing is different.
Liu Yan stood under the tree for a while, followed the memory and stopped in front of an inn, the inn was still the same inn, the plaque had not changed a word, like everything in this city, the handicrafts and skills passed down from grandparents to grandchildren, it was just a memory The old shopkeeper with a red face turned into a young man in the prime of life at the counter.
The three of them ordered a few side dishes, and Liu Yan asked the waiter standing beside him: "Do you still have any apricot wine?" The waiter replied loudly: "Yes."
When the wine was brought up, there was a glass for each of the three of them, even the taste was the same, sour and astringent with pungent taste, but the aftertaste was mellow and sweet.
These things are passed on from Lao Tzu to his sons, and from the sons to the sons. One generation is handed over to the next generation, and the next generation inherits the next generation. The old dies and the new is born.
If there is no major turmoil, these things will be passed on for thousands of years, just like the change of the sun and the moon, which will remain unchanged from ancient times.
They all lived where their ancestors lived, worked hard, laughed and harvested. Small changes can be ignored.
Liu Yan wanted to go to Shen's house to see what it would be like there.
After leaving the inn, Liu Yan walked in front, crossed Bird Clothes Lane, detoured around Amphibious Bend, walked across Qingfeng Bridge - this bridge was built with his donation of money, walked for a while in the shady alleyway, and finally stood at the In front of the courtyard where I used to live.
The buckle on the vermilion gate was still a lion's head buckle, Liu Yan looked back at Yi Mo and Shen Jue, and there was a faint feeling of closeness in his eyes.
"Knock on the door." Yi Mo said.
Liu Yan held the knocker and knocked on the door without any further hesitation.
It was the owner of the house who came out to greet them. He glanced at them through the gap, and for some reason, there was a kind of ecstasy on his face.
"Young master is a traveler?" The middle-aged man's joy lasted only for a moment, but he soon regained his composure. His facial features had a kind of beauty, and his brows and eyes were calm and peaceful, or in other words, he was calm and relaxed.
Even when they are old, their eyes are clear and clear, not the muddy eyes of ordinary people. Seeing the three people's attire, they have confirmed their identities.
Going out and playing, naturally he can't hide his figure, so even Yi Mo tied up his hair and dressed up in an ordinary way, not wanting to be noticed, and it just took away the interest of playing.
"Yes," Liu Yan saluted, and said, "I'm tired from walking, and I want to ask for a bowl of water. What a bother."
But the middle-aged man welcomed them in, entered the main hall, formally prepared the banquet and drinks, and accompanied the banquet in person. Such warm hospitality is somewhat inexplicable.
Seeing their doubts, the master said: "To tell the truth, the family members are waiting to give birth, according to local customs..."
Before he finished speaking, Liu Yan understood, and quickly waved his hand to signal that there is no need to explain in detail, he still understands this custom—according to the customs of Yongcheng, on the first day of the month when the child is due to be born, the first person who comes to the door, no matter how close or distant, or pedestrians and merchants , If it is a man, it will give birth to a boy, if it is a woman, it will give birth to a girl. It may not be accurate, but it is a local custom. So their family came to the door, it happened to be the first day of junior high school, and they were the first customers of this house.
What a coincidence.
It's just that this big family in the deep house doesn't even have a single guest at sunset? It is also strange. Liu Yan saw that the master had an extraordinary bearing, and he would not be too formal, so he asked.
Sure enough, the host said: "It's strange to say that in the past, guests greeted the door for everything, but today, at this hour, no one has come." He said to himself: "It seems that the unborn child of my family has the same The three guests are really destined."
Liu Yan also felt predestined relationship, and with such an event, the four of them sat at the banquet, all let go, drinking and gossiping. While talking, Liu Yan remembered to ask: "What's your name, sir?"
"Ah," the master just remembered that he forgot to introduce himself, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and quickly said, "My surname is Shen."
"...Shen?" Liu Yan instinctively looked at Yi Mo beside him, and then at Shen Jue, with a strange expression on his face, "Could it be that family who was ordered to be executed..."
"Exactly," Master Shen said with a smile, "Although the guest is young, he knows a lot."
Looking at his face, Liu Yan wondered if she had some psychological support, but vaguely saw the shadow of Shen Hai-Shen Hai from that face. Unexpectedly meeting the descendants of the Shen family, Liu Yan couldn't react for a while, and sat there in a daze. At this time Yi Mo said: "My son is also surnamed Shen."
Shen Jue was pushed out out of nowhere. Although he was puzzled, he saw the tricks and quickly saluted, "I'm here, Shen Jue."
Master Shen was stunned for a moment: "Shen Jue?" The name was really familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember it for a while. Couldn't help looking at Yi Mo again, seeing that he was so imposing, he really couldn't see that he was the father of such an older child, and felt that it was private, so it was difficult to ask, so he smiled and said: "It is really destined. I don't know where the three of you are going." Where, if you are not in a hurry, why not stay here for two days, and I will do my best as a landlord."
Liu Yan originally wanted to take a look at the house, since the owner wanted to keep it, he agreed to do so. Stay for two days, walk around the city, wander around, and then move on.
After sitting at the table and chatting for a while, Master Shen called his servants and took the three of them to the guest room.
The three of them walked slowly behind a young servant, while looking around, it was a completely strange house, with pavilions, pavilions, water pavilions, lotus ponds, Taolin Xiaoxuan beauty gallery, layer upon layer, unfolding one by one.
Perhaps it was not easy for the Shen family to earn back their own name, and it took a lot of painstaking efforts to buy back this old house and rebuild the garden. Shen's house became Shen's house again.
But the master of this house has changed for many generations.
Along the way, he suddenly smelled a faint fragrance, floating in the air from far and near, but he didn't know what kind of fragrance it was, so Liu Yan stopped and asked the servant what kind of fragrance it was.
The servant sniffed, and said: "It didn't exist before, and the villain didn't know." Liu Yan was even more curious, and insisted on finding out. The servant was also a little curious, because he knew they were distinguished guests, and he didn't take them lightly, so he ran away I went to find someone to ask, three times and two times, and I went to the housekeeper. The butler hurried over, waved away the servants, and simply took the three of them to find the source of the dark fragrance.
Walking along the lotus pond for a while, there is a small path, and behind the path is a nunnery.
Liu Yan stayed in front of the nunnery, although the nunnery had been renovated and was no longer what it used to be, he recognized it at a glance, it was the place where his mother practiced when he was Shen Qingxuan more than two hundred years ago.
Under the steps of the nunnery, some orchids are lushly planted. In this season, these orchids have sprouted buds. Although they have not yet bloomed, they are already fragrant.
The housekeeper was also surprised, and hurriedly said: "This is an orchid brought from the south the year before last. It has been planted for more than a year and has not bloomed. It is just that I chose the wrong flower type, but it bloomed today." He added: "Three You really have a relationship with my family." He hurriedly took them to rest, and hurriedly reported to the master.
The master and the servant thought for a long time, and finally Master Shen said, "Today, there are no guests at the door, and because of their arrival, the orchids are blooming. These three people have extraordinary demeanor. Even if there is something, it should be a good omen. Maybe it is a metaphor. How could you and I have guessed it?" He said with a free and easy smile, pushed the housekeeper, closed the door and picked up the book again.
After reading two lines, a thought suddenly flashed in his mind, Shen Jue, isn't that the general beside Chen Wendi
When my grandfather was alive, he told him that this general was from the Shen family. Or rather, inhuman.
This kind of secret is naturally also passed on to the eldest son, who is the nineteenth generation grandson of the Shen family.
Although he felt suspicious, he did not hesitate. Master Shen opened the door and hurried towards the Shen family ancestral hall.
In the rebuilt ancestral hall, the ancestral tablets are also placed one by one, and the retrimmed and transcribed genealogy is also stored in the box.
Master Shen opened the wooden box, took out the family tree, read it carefully, stayed in the ancestral hall for an hour, and hurried to another courtyard after he came out, knocking on the door of Liu Yan's room.
The three members of Liu Yan's family were discussing about the Shen family. Sure enough, the current Master Shen is Shen Hai's grandson. Once Emperor Chen Wen died, Shen Hai died the next year. As a servant in the palace, after the death of Emperor Chen Wen, the crown prince ascended the throne. In just ten years, he fulfilled his father's lifelong unfulfilled wish, and made the Shen family's centuries-old grievances clear.
It's just that there has been one more thing in the family motto since then, that children and grandchildren are not allowed to enter official careers again.
As soon as he said this, the door was knocked.
Yi Mo seemed a little helpless, rubbed his forehead and said: "The Shen family is difficult." As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the door opened by itself.
Liu Yan heard two meanings from his words, looked at Master Shen outside the door, thought about it, and then sat still.
Master Shen walked in, looked at Shen Jue carefully, and said after a long time, "But that General Shen who suddenly handed over the tiger talisman and disappeared from the world?"
Shen Jue had figured out the meaning from the two fathers, paused, and said, "Exactly."
Master Shen knelt down.
If he was kneeling on the other two, he would just let it go, but it was Shen Jue who was kneeling, with a pair of elders on top of his head, how could he get up, he quickly looked at Yi Mo and said, "Father."
Imori ignored it.
Shen Jue said again: "Father."
Liu Yan waved his hand: "It has nothing to do with me, you can do whatever you want."
It was these two calls that made Master Shen who was kneeling on the ground suddenly enlightened. He looked up at Yi Mo and asked, "This...is his surname Yi?"
Yi Mo gave a "hmm" and said, "Get up."
Master Shen stood up, the four people in the room understood each other, so there was no need to say anything.
Liu Yan stood up and said, "We should go."
Master Shen looked at him, "Master's surname is Liu?"
Liu Yandao: "The surname can also be Shen."
Master Shen was about to kneel again, but Liu Yan supported him with one hand, and said calmly: "My life is hard-won. Although there are past events, I have already given up on it. Considering your age, if you kneel, I am afraid that you will die." Break my life."
In a few simple words, Master Shen is not kneeling, nor is he not kneeling. If the ancestors are in front of him but he doesn't kneel, isn't he unworthy of his descendants
Liu Yan laughed "heh", "You should know that I'm not a person who is bound by etiquette, why should I get entangled in such a trivial matter?"
Master Shen naturally remembered the family story that the thirteenth generation grandson of the Shen family had a blind date with a demon, as if they were married and raised a son.
Master Shen responded, stood aside, and asked, "Where are you going?"
"I don't know." Liu Yan said. He was telling the truth, but those who listened thought he was deliberately concealing it, but there was nothing he could do about it. Even if he wanted to serve, it couldn't compare to the joy of being as high as the sky and the sea is wide. In his heart, these three people are all half-immortals, and they dare not restrain them , only said: "It's agreed to stay for two days before leaving, why don't you want to stay?"
"I'm used to being at ease." Yi Mo said, raised his eyebrows and looked at his sincerity and fear, and said, "Farewell."
Shen Jue went over to open the door, and the three of them came out in a file. As soon as they took a step, they heard Master Shen say behind him: "Young Master Yi, please stop, I have something..."
"What's the matter?" Yi Mo asked.
"When Shen's family was in disaster, part of the genealogy was damaged during the escape. When it was revised..."
"Um?"
"My father put your name next to the ancestor Shen Qingxuan.... I don't know what to do?"
Seeing the subtle expressions on the faces of the three people in the courtyard, Master Shen became really panicked, and hurriedly said, "Because of the stone tablet in the mountain, the word 'survivor' has not faded away from the rain, so my father made the decision..."
Yi Mo interrupted him: "Sure."
"what?"
Yi Mojing stood there, and repeated it earnestly: "It's very good!"
As he spoke, he looked at Liu Yan, and Liu Yan also looked at him straightly, his eyes met, and each of them was smiling.
It is true that thousands of rivers and mountains have seen it, and finally closed your eyes and sighed—so you are here!