The funeral hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Even the children who were crying at the funeral were affected by the atmosphere and stopped talking. Everyone's eyes moved back and forth between him and Luan Xin, without even a sound. He was also annoyed that he spoke too quickly, but once the words were spoken, they could not be taken back: "Did I say anything wrong? Isn't Luan Gongyi just a cripple? If it weren't for Lord Wen Yan's appreciation and promotion, who would he be?"
Even though Luan Xin's ancestors were once wealthy, by the time of Luan Xin's generation, the family had become impoverished. Did Luan Xin still want to bring honor to his family? It was difficult for people with ordinary looks to become officials, a typical example being Zhang He, not to mention that Luan Xin had a serious physical disability.
The disability in his foot was a taboo for him to mention.
Although Luan Xin's face was gloomy, he did not conflict with the man. He looked at him silently without any emotion. After a while, Mo Sheng reminded the other party to pay attention to the occasion when he was going crazy: "Do you really want to be presumptuous in the mourning hall of Wen Yangong?"
"I—" Of course I couldn't be presumptuous, but I had no way to vent my anger. Luan Xin happened to be in the crosshairs, so I had to argue a little, "If this is considered presumptuous of me, then isn't your presence in the funeral hall of Wen Yan Gong an eyesore?"
He added: "No, it's not an eyesore, it's bad luck!"
After listening to the conversation between the two, the eldest lady realized that her husband's most trusted confidant was afraid of fighting at the critical moment. Even though she knew that a scholar could not determine the outcome of a war, and even with Luan Xin's participation, Xiaocheng would most likely only be lost later, she still felt uneasy in her heart, and she treated Luan Xin less cordially than before, with a stiffer tone: "You all were Wen Yan's right-hand men when he was alive. Even if there are disagreements, you should stop fighting for the time being and let Wen Yan leave in peace..." She said this to Luan Xin.
Luan Xin was knowledgeable and tactful, so he made an excuse to leave.
Seeing him limping away, the eighth-class coach hurriedly chased after him, wanting to help Luan Xin who was struggling to walk, but he didn't dare to touch anyone with his rough hands, so he could only rub nervously: "Sir, sir, please go slowly, it's cold and the road is slippery."
He was tongue-tied and wanted to say something about the funeral hall, but he couldn't come up with anything after thinking for a long time. He couldn't say anything, and Luan Xin stopped at some point and said something to him: "When you earn enough working hours and become free, do you have any plans?"
The strong man scratched his head in confusion: "I have no plans for now, but I have to make a living, and maybe I will find a lord in the future."
A brave warrior is born for the battlefield.
He has no other skills except fighting.
Luan Xin asked him, "What do you think of the Lord?"
The strong man's mind almost didn't turn around, and after a moment of hesitation, he remembered that the "lord" Luan Xin was talking about was no longer Qiu Cheng but Chen Tang. He shook his head decisively and waved his hand to refuse: "This won't work."
"Why not? Do you have a grudge against the lord?"
The strong man replied: "It's not because of any hatred."
He simply felt that his surrender to Chen Tang was like a young woman remarrying the enemy who killed her husband. Even if this "husband" was not so good, it was natural for a widow to remarry to make a living, but the object was an enemy, and he always felt uncomfortable in his heart.
Luan Xin: “…”
The sturdy man chuckled: "I am not very cultured, please forgive me, sir. But, do you really admire Chen Tang so much?"
Luan Xin didn't answer, so he continued.
"I think he appreciates it." Just now in the mourning hall, he noticed that Chen Tang and Luan Xin were chatting very well. Judging from the former's attitude, he did not discriminate against Luan Xin's physical disability. Such a lord is rare, and the strong man is also happy for Luan Xin.
Luan Xin avoided the question.
Just remind him: "My lord, you don't have many generals under your command."
Timing is sometimes as important as strength.
If he could stabilize Longwu County, Sibao County and Minfeng County in one fell swoop, Chen Tang would not be considered weak among the scattered forces. The strength of the eighth-class Gongcheng was neither low nor high. If he went somewhere else, it would be relatively difficult to make a name for himself. Chen Tang had many vacancies and opportunities. Luan Xin suggested to him in a sincere tone: "You might as well think about it carefully before making a decision."
The strong man nodded involuntarily: "Okay."
The two men parted ways, and Luan Xin walked alone in the long alley.
After a few steps, he leaned against the wall with a pale face, vomited a large mouthful of blood, and then slowly straightened up after spitting out a pool of blood. After spitting out the blood, his face looked better. He dragged his broken leg and limped back home. Not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife, he sat in the corridor with his cloak on. Not long after, he heard footsteps behind him, and he knew it was his wife without turning around.
He asked, "Did it bother you?"
The wife sat down and asked: "My dear, is there something on your mind?"
He was fine before he left, saying he was going to watch over his old master's body and send him off for the last time, but why did he come back so lost and confused? Luan Xin did not answer, and his wife was not anxious either, because she knew very well that the man beside her was a taciturn person.
After a while, Luan Xin seemed to react and said softly, "The scholars under my lord's command are quite interesting."
His wife mistakenly thought that Luan Xin was inferior.
"No matter how powerful they are, my husband is no weaker than them!"
Luan Xin shook his head: "That's not what I meant."
The next sentence frightened his wife so much that she almost jumped up.
Luan Xin lowered his eyelashes, hiding the dark currents in his eyes, and said, "Sooner or later, she will die at the hands of one of the scholars!"
sooner or later!
"My Lord, your colleagues are so dangerous? Why does Lord Chen still use them?" Even though they have slept in the same bed for many years, he was frightened by the sinister look of the person beside him, "Do you want to remind me?"
Luan Xin remained silent this time and did not answer.
His wife pulled him into the house and applied a warm cloth to his lame leg, asking, "When can you report to the office, my dear?"
After five or six breaths, Luan Xin finally answered, "Two more days."
His wife sighed and muttered about him.
"Master Lang used the way of the scholar again today?"
She didn't know what Luan Xin's way of being a scholar was. After all, she was just an ordinary person. Knowing too many secrets would become a breakthrough for Luan Xin's enemies. But she knew what the sequelae of Luan Xin's way of being a scholar was. That was that he was very slow to react. Compared with him, those elderly men and women were quick-witted and agile.
Luan Xin: "It's okay."
His wife looked at him worriedly.
At the same time, Gu Chi went to the government office to find Qi Shan overnight, and they dug up information about Luan Xin together. Qi Shan didn't look good to him for disturbing his sweet dreams at night. The two of them almost squatted together with their heads touching, borrowed an oil lamp, and read the content left by Luan Xin in the interview. Qi Shan teased: "Luan Gongyi? It's rare to have a master who only harms himself and not the master."
Gu Chi said: "Don't you think he is quite mysterious?"
Qi Shan asked back: "Where is the mystery?"
Gu Chi: "It's a bit like Han Zhang."
"Like Han Zhang?"
"The disadvantage of Han Zhang's Scholar's Way is money. The more money he spends, the stronger his power will be. The disadvantage of his Scholar's Way is that it reacts slowly after being used. I think Han Zhang is not clear about this. Slow? How long will it take? Is the time fixed? Is there a possibility that the stronger the ability of the Scholar's Way is, the longer the delay will last? What is the upper limit of the delay?"
Qishan yawned sleepily.
His injuries haven't healed yet.
Before he finished yawning, he heard Gu Chi speculate: "If the delay lasts a lifetime, won't the person die?"
In the lord's words, isn't this just spending your life
The drawbacks involve fate, so the way of the scholar cannot be weak.
Qi Shan sneered: "It won't take a lifetime. With the constitution of a scholar, he would die if he didn't eat or drink for seven days..."
Gu Chi rolled his eyes: "You know?"
Qi Shan: "I almost died like this back then..."