Xie Queshan came out of the government office and saw a girl beside the stone lion outside, frowning and pacing back and forth.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Nan Yi looked up, and then ran to Xie Queshan with a worried look on his face, observing his expression carefully.
"You know everything?"
Xie Queshan nodded.
Seeing his calm expression, Nan Yi felt extremely sad. The calmer he was, the more emotions he had swallowed alone.
But any words of comfort she offered seemed feeble.
"Then let's go home."
"good."
Xie Queshan held her hand as usual and walked along the street.
There was silence all the way.
Nan Yi was searching for a topic, trying to make this journey easier, but he didn't expect Xie Queshan to suddenly speak.
"It turns out it's been twelve years."
Nan Yi was stunned: "What twelve years?"
"That's how long I've known the teacher."
spanned his entire growing up years.
Nan Yi remembered that Xie Xiaoliu had mentioned to her that when Xie Queshan took his mother to escape from Lanzhou to Lidu Mansion, he had received help from Shen Zhizhong and then joined his command.
"How did Master Shen help you then?"
Xie Queshan recalled the past: "After I killed the group of bandits who wanted to seize my mother, we hurriedly fled to the nearby city. The city was arresting bandits. When the officers and soldiers saw that I was covered in blood, they involuntarily killed me. Caught him, he will be interrogated and executed together with the group of real thieves."
Nan Yi became nervous when he heard this: "What should we do?"
"What else can we do? Kowtow and cry out for grievances. But there are too many people who have grievances. Whether it is true or not, the masters of Qingtian are not willing to spend more time to judge. Coincidentally, that day, the teacher led the troops to pass by here. Unintentionally He glanced at me and said - 'This guy doesn't look like an actor, bring him over and I'll ask.'"
"Master Shen's eyes are so good!" Nan Yi exclaimed.
Xie Queshan smiled: "He has very poisonous eyes, and he does things neatly and neatly. In a few words, he clarified my case, immediately reprimanded the county magistrate for his oversight, and also recorded a reward for my meritorious service in suppressing bandits, so that I could collect enough I have to bear the expense of bringing my mother home decently."
"——But at that time, my mother and I had been wandering for more than half a year. I was resentful and didn't want to go home. But my mother was eager to return home, and I couldn't find any suitable reason."
"So you went to seek refuge with Lord Shen?"
"Of course I thought. At that time, the teacher was like a god descending in my heart, exuding the glory of a saint. As soon as I got excited, I ran to him and told him that I wanted to follow him, but the teacher rejected me at that time. He knew I am a junior member of the Xie family. He just said that I should go home first and talk about the future later. If he didn’t reject me, my idea was not that strong. I just wanted to try my luck. But as soon as he rejected me, I I was not convinced, and felt that he was biased against me, thinking that I was a useless bastard from a wealthy family, and he rejected me because he looked down on me, so I followed him all the way to the military camp."
"You've really been stubborn since you were a child - so Mr. Shen is going to obey you now?"
"The teacher said, 'If you can beat me in three moves, I will accept you.' I felt happy - three moves are not easy? I have destroyed an entire bandit den by myself, and this old man is also very eloquent. My martial arts skills are definitely not very good——"
The smug young man performed a showy starting move, and then Shen Zhizhong knocked him to the ground with a backhand.
The young man didn't even see clearly how he made the move, and he fell to the ground like a dog chewing shit.
"Later, I went home obediently. When I was confident that I could pass the teacher's three moves, I went to see him again. Only later did the teacher tell me why he refused to accept me the first time - he said that the military camp was not A place to escape, but a place to serve the country.”
Nan Yi suddenly understood why Xie Queshan accepted his teacher's death calmly.
Their understanding of death is the same, and life is so fragile during this night-long journey by candlelight. They first accept this vulnerability and are prepared to lose themselves and their companions at any time before they can harden themselves.
Xie Queshan rubbed his nose, feeling very sore for some reason. He looked up into the distance. In the humid and overcast sky, even the setting sun was silent.
He muttered to himself: "Such a powerful old man... he hasn't even praised me yet."
Hearing these babble-like words, Nan Yi could hardly hold back tears and sniffed hard, not wanting to add sadness to him at this time.
Just go with it. The way home seemed very long, and the streets were bustling and deserted. In a few words, she passed by his youth and got a glimpse of the beliefs that once supported him. With a word from his teacher and a plan with no definite end and no turning back, he devoted himself to it without any hesitation. Then slowly, he also lived as faith itself.
Maybe this is the inheritance between teachers and students.
After walking for a long time, Nan Yi came back to his senses and found that they were almost at Wangxuewu, but Xie Queshan still didn't let go.
"Almost home."
"Yeah." He seemed to be in a trance and didn't realize what Nan Yi was talking about.
Nan Yi's footsteps suddenly stopped. Xie Queshan still took two steps forward before he realized that Nan Yi had stopped. He glanced at Nan Yi strangely and then followed her gaze.
Xie Jun and Lu Jinxiu had just gotten off the carriage back home. They went to Dajue Temple to burn incense together and returned home in the evening. However, when they arrived at the door of their home, they saw Xie Queshan and Nan Yi holding hands together.
The expressions on both men's faces were as wonderful as knocking over a dye vat.
Nan Yi panicked a little and tried to pull his hand away, but was held firmly by Xie Queshan.
Xie Queshan said hello calmly: "Father, aunt."
Xie Jun was so shocked that he couldn't even speak: "You, you, this..."
"As expected of you -" Lu Jinxiu pointed at the two people tremblingly and screamed out in surprise.
"I originally wanted to find a suitable time to tell my father, but now I don't have to hide it. My relationship with Nan Yi is what my father sees. I will marry her."
Not to mention Xie Jun's whole body trembling after hearing these words, Nan Yi's jaw dropped in shock.
She knew that their relationship was separated by a layer of family ethics, and it would be very troublesome to deal with it. She thought that this matter would have to be discussed in the long term and slowly let the Xie family accept it, but she did not expect that Xie Queshan would confess immediately.
"Absurd! It's so ridiculous!" Xie Jun stepped forward and pulled Xie Queshan through the door. He hurriedly greeted his servants and closed the door, fearing that people passing by outside would see something.
As soon as the door of the mansion was closed, he seemed to relax a little.
"I'll just pretend that you were confused for a moment! It's time to stop it, it's time to stop it, and just pretend this never happened."
With Xie Jun on the same side as her this time, Lu Jinxiu was finally able to let go of the bad temper she had in the past, pointing at Nan Yi and cursing: "This woman is a coward, she must be kicked out!"
"You try touching her?"
Lu Jinxiu shut up and hid behind Xie Jun.
"It's a time when the city is in turmoil. If you do something that disregards human ethics again, Xie Chaoen, don't you want your face?"
Although Xie Jun was scolding Xie Queshan, Nan Yi's face turned red and white, and he was really ashamed.
But Xie Queshan did not retreat at all.
"Father, outsiders don't know, don't you still know what happened to Nan Yi and the elder brother's marriage? What's more, she is no longer Xie's wife. She and I have neither stolen nor robbed, and have never done anything wrong. We are in love. Yue, what’s the problem?”
"This is inappropriate! How do you want the world to judge you?"
Xie Queshan smiled and asked, "Do you think I care?"
Xie Jun was choked up with just one sentence. Yes, he is even worthy of being a traitor. He is the target of thousands of people. He is unmoved by all the winds and even spittle and stars cannot drown him.
He probably never knew his son. They seemed not to grow from the same roots, and they upheld completely different values.
What he held as a standard he discarded like worn-out shoes. At this moment, Xie Jun could no longer say anything powerful, and he had no stick to assert his father's authority. He was already old, and Xie Queshan was in his prime. No matter in which dimension, he could not refute him.
Xie Queshan said no more, took Nan Yi and left. The servants and maids along the way looked at him sideways, but his expression remained calm and calm.
Nan Yi followed his footsteps step by step. Although she had imagined such a scene countless times, where they could declare their love openly and honestly, it was not like this, with sharpness and conflict in exchange. His hand was held too tightly, as if he was declaring war, and Nan Yi suddenly felt a little sad.
The death of the teacher may mean that his identity will not be revealed to the world. Even though everyone in the world misunderstood Xie Queshan, in Wangxuewu, she hoped more than anyone else that his family would understand him and give him warmth.
She didn't want to add fuel to the fire to their relationship at this point.
"Xie Queshan, don't do this."
"Nanyi, this is who I am." He stopped but did not look at her.
"What I want to accomplish will be accomplished by any means necessary. I won't let go of the person I want to catch, even if it means going through mountains of swords and seas of fire."
"——I can't show my dignity anymore." His voice was a little weak.
He finally looked at her, his eyes quiet.
He opened his defensive posture again.
He must move forward invincibly, just like before. That possible bit of perfection was wiped out by him again, but the difference this time was that he pulled her into sinking together and he didn't let go.
Nan Yi saw his face clearly. There was no strong emotion, no suppressed restraint, he just stood quietly under the light, his palms still hot.
She reached out and stroked his hair and the corner of his jaw. Putting aside those momentary feelings of shame, she realized the weight of what he said in front of her father belatedly.
He is loving her openly. Even if this magnanimity is shameful, despicable, and unblessed.
So what, she is his last shield in this world.
Standing under the verandah facing the west wind, she stood on tiptoes and kissed him.
The steaming words passed by my lips with strong love: "Then let's be together."
