It was already late at night, but just as Ji Yuan said, neither Xiao Du nor Xiao Ling could fall asleep in the Xiao Mansion.
Xiao Ling's wife was already asleep, but he was still lying in bed unable to fall asleep. This time it was not only because he was going to marry a concubine, but also because of the news that his own Yin Zhaoxian's condition had improved. Words from the outside world could still be considered rumors, but his father's words after returning from the palace basically confirmed this fact.
To be honest, Xiao Ling still respected Yin Zhaoxian very much. He was also a scholar. Although he was almost 20 years younger than Yin Zhaoxian, they had participated in the same imperial examination together. Anyone with a little insight could see Yin's ambition in the officialdom over the years. He could almost be regarded as a truly loyal and brave person who was dedicated to the country. Even his father, who was so harsh, hated Yin Zhaoxian to death in private, but he had to admire Yin Zhaoxian. However, he did not admire his greatness, but admired Yin Zhaoxian for being able to maintain such a sense of righteousness without being pedantic.
In this era, almost all truly capable scholars had a dream of becoming a good official before they became officials. Even though many of them fell into depravity later, this could not erase this dream. Even those who had already fallen almost all respected Yin Zhaoxian, and this trend has become more and more pronounced in recent years.
This is a benign development. Over the years, the Yin family has not only paid attention to the development of all parties in Dazhen, but also worked hard to trace the roots and vigorously develop education. In Yin Zhaoxian's words, it is "correcting the character of scholars." There is a rectification of the atmosphere below, and there is an "idol" like Yin Zhaoxian standing on the top of the mountain and shining brightly above. Under the influence of the superiors and the subordinates, the atmosphere of the scholar class in Dazhen is getting better and better.
This was seen by the royal family of the Yang clan of Dazhen, the scholar-official class, and some wise people among the people of Dazhen. With the efforts of the Yin family, their disciples, and knowledgeable people from all sides for more than 20 years, the growing strength of Dazhen was almost inevitable. They improved the academic atmosphere, enforced the laws, and enforced the government policies.
But when this seemingly good aspect conflicts with his own family interests, Xiao Ling becomes very painful. The key point is that he does not think that the Xiao family has done anything wrong in essence.
"Why… "
Xiao Ling sighed, but he didn't expect that the sigh woke up his wife beside him, or she was not asleep at all. She opened her eyes and turned to look at her husband but didn't know what to say. In her opinion, women should not interfere in other people's affairs, let alone officialdom, which she didn't understand at all.
"Did it wake you up?"
Duan Muwan shook her head.
"Husband, go to sleep. We can think about it tomorrow."
"Um."
Xiao Ling nodded, tightened the quilt around him and closed his eyes. After a few breaths, Duan Muwan reached out and touched her husband's cheek, showing a slight look of surprise. Her husband actually fell asleep so quickly
On the other side of the Xiao Mansion, Xiao Du had also fallen asleep. He sat on the soft couch in the study and read a book by light to calm his restlessness. However, after yawning several times, he fell asleep unknowingly. When the old servant came to add hot tea, he saw that the master was asleep, so he carefully took off Xiao Du's boots and covered him with a quilt.
The Xiao family's father and son woke up in a daze while sleeping, one from the bed in the bedroom and the other from the couch in the study, but both were fully clothed, as if they had forgotten what time and where they were. There was fog all around them and they seemed a little unclear.
"Uncle Wu~Uncle Wu~"
A voice was faintly heard from afar. Xiao Du and Xiao Ling, the father and son, became slightly more sober. They opened their doors and walked out slowly in the direction of the voice. It was not the Xiao Mansion outside, but a vast fog. The father and son both left the room, but it seemed that they could not see each other. They just subconsciously walked in the direction of the voice.
"Uncle Wu~~Uncle Wu, where are you? It's me, it's me, Uncle Wu..."
This voice gave people a strange feeling, as if one wanted to shout out but was afraid that the voice would be too loud, and it also had a sneaky and furtive feeling.
Although Xiao Du and Xiao Ling, father and son, did not see each other, they saw a broad river in front of them as they walked through the thin night fog. They lived in the capital city of Gyeonggi Province, and it was absolutely impossible for them to go out and see such a river across their home. Although the two seemed to be sober, their minds did not think of this, but continued to walk towards the river in search of the sound.
"Uncle Wu...Uncle Wu, Xiao has brought you some wine..."
The low voice continued to shout, and Xiao Du and Xiao Ling, father and son, finally saw the man in the mist. It was a man wearing a scholar's long gown and a square scarf on his head, holding something in his hand. Although his features could not be seen clearly due to the distance and the mist, he had a slender figure and some grace even though he walked in a hurry. Subconsciously, they felt that he didn't look too bad and didn't seem to be very old.
"Uncle Wu, Xiao is here..."
The second time, Xiao Du and Xiao Ling heard clearly that the man's surname was Xiao. They didn't know if it was the "Xiao" from their family. The two did not get too close, but watched from a distance through the mist. They saw the scholar put down what he was holding, which turned out to be two small jars of wine. He untied the rope on top, took out a jar, and struggled to pull out the cork holding the red cloth. Then he walked to the river and carefully poured the wine into the river.
"Tons, tons, tons, tons..."
After the bottle cap was opened, the aroma of wine filled the air and the wine flowed into the river, drifting downstream and spreading out. The young man poured out most of the bottle, wiped the sweat off his face and looked at the surface of the river, but there seemed to be no movement.
At this moment, there was a splash of water somewhere in the river.
Amid the "splash..." sound of water, something seemed to be swimming out from the river, quickly approaching the river bank. The young man pouring the wine subconsciously took a few steps back. Then, the surface of the river exploded with a "bang", and a wave of a giant turtle jumped out, with its two front paws supporting itself on the shore, and the back half of its body remaining in the water. The turtle's head stared at the young man on the shore who had fallen to the ground in fear.
"Wu, Uncle Wu! You, you are finally here. It's me, Xiao Jing! You, you should still remember me, right?"
"Hehehe... Of course I remember. Why, you finally remembered to repay me? But this half jar of wine is not enough!"
This huge turtle could actually speak human language, which scared Xiao Du and Xiao Ling who were hiding in the dark. However, the young man calmed down after the initial shock and quickly put the jar of wine in his hand forward.
"Uncle Wu, here are a half jars. Although it's not a famous wine, it definitely tastes good. There is a family outside Chunhui Mansion who is very good at making wine. They have been producing their own lees and modifying the recipe for generations. They brew new wine every Spring Festival. Ordinary people can't buy it even if they want to!"
Water flowed out from the river, slowly flowed to the side of the two wine jars, and then lifted the wine jars back into the river. During this process, the old turtle kept his eyes on the scholar.
"It is good wine, but you promised me that you would help me gather hundreds of lanterns and light them in the river. Now half a year has passed, and I believe you have spent the windfall happily. Where are my hundreds of lanterns?"
The giant turtle was looking down from above, with a demonic aura emanating from it. A feeling of terror arose, frightening the young man so much that his face turned pale. He was in a hurry to come here and had forgotten about the lights in the houses. Lightning thoughts flashed through his mind, and he spoke quickly.
"Master Wu, please don't be angry. Master Wu, please don't be angry. I was out of town some time ago, so this matter is a little inconvenient. It's best to find a kind family in Chunhui Prefecture. As the saying goes, you can't know a person's heart by his face. Although there are many relatively kind families, I'm afraid of finding the wrong one. But I promise that I will start collecting lights immediately. Chunhui Prefecture has tens of thousands of residents, and I'm willing to collect lights from thousands of families!"
"Ah ha ha ha ha ha… "
The old turtle laughed.
"Old turtle, I have been practicing for so long and I am very good at fortune-telling. Do you think I don't know what happened to you? Huh?"
The old turtle's head revealed a ferocious look at this moment, and evil spirit and murderous aura appeared like the wind. The feeling of terror not only enveloped Xiao Jing, but also Xiao Du and Xiao Ling. It made people feel like they were in an ice cellar, and about to fall off a cliff.
Xiao Jing knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
"Uncle Wu, please spare me, Uncle Wu, please spare me. I, I really intend to collect thousands of lanterns for you. You are a demon fairy in the river. How dare I, a mortal, deceive you!"
"Hehe..."
The old turtle looked at the young man in front of him and said lightly after a long time.
"Tell me, what do you want? I, an old turtle, don't ask for the lights of a thousand houses. I just want the lights of a hundred houses, the candles that the kind families can light at night. Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes, I understand. I will keep it in mind!"
Xiao Jing saluted repeatedly, and finally looked up at the old turtle.
"Uncle Wu, you are very powerful. As a scholar, I have the ambition to serve as an official and benefit the people of the world. If you can help me, when I become a high-ranking official, not only will the lights of a hundred houses be bright, but even the lights of ten thousand houses will be bright!"
The old turtle suddenly lowered his head and stared at Xiao Jing.
"I told you at the beginning that if you want to get the windfall I mentioned, you should live a comfortable and wealthy life. Now you want to be an official? The fate of the dynasty and the official career are very important. How can you determine a person's official career by fortune-telling? You don't have the real talent, so don't talk about this!"
"But other people also take unorthodox paths, and you are always a demon fairy..."
"Um?"
The old turtle let out a low roar of anger.
"Unorthodox ways? Are you referring to me, Old Turtle?"
"No, no, no, that's not it. Master Wu is a demon fairy, how can he be a heretic? I just, just..."
The old turtle sneered.
"Hehe, don't mention this matter again. I pointed out the place where you can make a fortune, pointed out the way to prosperity, and found a beautiful girl who is destined to be with you. You have already gained a lot of blessings in the world."
After saying that, the old turtle lowered his head and stared at Xiao Jing, who was sweating profusely.
"You have broken your promises several times. Instead of seeking ways to repay me, you have become even more greedy. If you become an official, you will be a disaster. Find all the lights for me, and we will be even from now on. Before that, don't come looking for me!"
After the old turtle finished speaking, he slowly turned around, dived into the Chunmu River amid the sound of "splashing" water and disappeared. After a long time, the water waves returned to calm, and only Xiao Jing collapsed on the ground gasping for air. He felt like he was about to be swallowed by a monster.
Xiao Du and Xiao Ling were also very frightened. This had nothing to do with whether they knew martial arts or had experience. It was purely a direct shock to their minds at this moment.
After a long time, the young man on the shore stood up and staggered away. From a distance, the young man's face looked ferocious and helpless.
Xiao Du and Xiao Ling hid in the fog and saw that the fog seemed to be thicker. In a trance, the sky began to quickly change between light and darkness. They had the illusion of having experienced many vicissitudes of life. The father and son just stood by the river, as if they were waiting for something.
It seemed like the dawn of a certain day, the sky was still gray, and there was a sound of horse hooves coming from far away. There were about twenty riders, who looked like some kind of officials. They rode to this deserted riverside and dismounted together.
"Sir, this should be it." "Yeah, almost! Everyone take out your things."
"yes!"
These people were rummaging through their pockets on horseback. Xiao Du and Xiao Ling saw what seemed to be candles, both red and white. Some of the white candles were stained red. Although they were far away, they could tell they were bloodstains upon closer inspection.
"Sir, why do you think we should bring the candles from the homes of these criminals to light lanterns here? They have all been killed. Why do we feel so scared to come all the way here to light river lanterns?"
"Stop talking nonsense and stop trying to figure out what the boss means. Maybe he wants to let go of the resentment! Get to work!"
"Hey hey!" "Yes yes!"
Half a quarter of an hour later, more than three hundred lit lanterns floated across the river, and the flames seemed to glow blood-red...