After saying that, Aunt Hong helped me put down the tent, gave me a few instructions, then lifted the curtain and went out. I lay back on the bed obediently, but I couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

When I was in the river, I had actually seen Butu get caught in the arrow, and I also knew that he was shot in the vital position.

But hearing the news of his death still made me feel at a loss.

This person has been following Pei Yuanxiu for so many years. From being abducted by him to Shengjing when he was in Dongzhou, to meeting again in Jinling, and until now, watching him die in Xichuan, I don’t have a deep friendship with him, and I am already familiar with him. I still feel uncomfortable when I see a familiar person dying in front of me like this.

Moreover, I know very well that this person is Pei Yuanxiu's right-hand man.

The war in the Central Plains has not yet burned to Xichuan, and the "civil strife" of the Yan family has not yet officially unveiled, but a person has died. I vaguely feel that there may be something that cannot be avoided.

...

When I woke up, the injuries on my body no longer hurt much, but my shoulders could not move casually. Aunt Hong came to serve me to get up early. She obviously didn't have to do these things anymore, but because I didn't have Su Su around me, she probably didn't feel at ease to hand me over to the wife who was used to being a heavy worker in this village, so she did everything herself.

After finishing the washing, she helped me out of the bedroom.

There was a large room outside. Although there was no gorgeous decoration, it had a very simple and heavy feeling. There was a large table of food, hot porridge, side dishes and snacks on the table. Aunt Hong helped me sit down and said in a nagging manner: "If you can't make any good things in this place, you can only feel wronged by the lady."

I smiled and said, "What a grievance? Such a fresh thing can't be bought even if you spend money on it."

There was a drizzling sound outside, and a cold water lingered around. Aunt Hong looked out the window and said, "It's raining again. As soon as autumn begins, the rain here becomes more and more."

Indeed, it was a autumn rain and a cold. Because I was in a hurry, I didn’t even bring my luggage. It was raining outside and the room was also chilly, so I planned to ask Aunt Hong for one or two clothes to change after dinner.

Just as I finished my meal, Aunt Hong called two young and strong farm girls to come in to clean up, I saw someone walking past the window.

He was tall and thin, wearing a hat and swung over immediately.

Then, the figure appeared at the door.

He took off the hat on his head, shook it out, and then put it on the wall to hang it. Only then did I see clearly that it was an old man, and he was very old, not only with gray hair, wrinkles on his face, and even a little hunched on his back, but he should have been a very tall person when he was young. Even though his back was a little hunched, he still looked very tall, but he was also very thin. His trousers on both legs were tied up, revealing his thin calves and ankles. He was wearing a pair of straw shoes, covered with mud.

He stood under the eaves, kicked his feet, scraped all the mud on the steps, and then turned around and walked in.

Looks like this, it should be the farmer in this village?

I was wondering why I came to me alone, and the two girls walked out with dishes. When they saw him, they all bowed down respectfully and saluted: "Old man."

"Um."

The old man nodded and looked at the dishes they had packed. My appetite was not large, and Aunt Hong was too prepared, so there were a lot left. The old man glanced at it and ordered, "Don't waste the rest, I'll send it to my house. I'll heat it up later."

"Why."

I sat at the table and was still rumored about this sentence for a while. Aunt Hong turned around and saw him, and immediately walked forward with a smile: "Old man."

"Um."

The old man walked in and didn't look at her. He just nodded and his eyes fell directly on me.

He asked, "This is-"

Aunt Hong hurriedly said, "Yes, this is the eldest lady."

The old man walked up to me, bent down and saluted: "Miss."

This time, I understand.

This old man is not an ordinary farmer. He is what Aunt Hong said last night that I came here to find Mr. Ma who was working with his great-grandfather and later guarding the ancestral hall for the Yan family!

I hurriedly stood up with the table and reached out to help him: "Old man, don't be too polite."

Aunt Hong came over and helped me sit back. I looked up at the old man. Looking at his facial features, he was probably a strong and handsome young man when he was young, but he was so old that all the glory of the past disappeared. No matter how you look at it, he felt that he was just an ordinary farmer.

I raised my hand and said, "Please sit down, old man."

He pulled the stool and sat down, then looked up at me, and said with a smile: "The old man lives in the countryside, but I have also heard many stories about the young ladies. But I didn't expect that the people who walked around the country and went up the mountains and down the sea were so literary and weak."

I smiled and said, "I want to grow stronger, but I won't get any flesh."

"The young lady is worried. If she lives in our village, she will be kept in a fat and fatty place in less than two months. The girls and boys in our village will be very strong."

"I think not only is the girl strong, but you are also very strong."

"Hehe, I'm old, eighty."

"But you still look so tough."

"I can't say that the right teeth on the right are probably not going to be saved."

I heard his speech a little bit rural, and I felt a little more intimate. I smiled and said, "I heard that the old man followed my great-grandfather back then, so I don't know what he did?"

The old man laughed and said, "I am a horse breeder."

"Harve a horse?"

"Yes," he nodded: "I am an orphan. When I was a teenager, I was picked up by the old man and raised it by my side. Later, he found out that I could raise horses, so he asked me to raise horses. Back then, the old man was dominating Xichuan, and all his horses were left to me to raise."

I couldn't help but gasp.

Although he said something very ordinary, just an ordinary memory of an old man, I understand that if he can follow his great-grandfather and take over all the horses, he will be more powerful than the An family now.

But now, Xichuan only heard that there is An family, but he has never heard of his surname Ma.

As if I noticed what I was thinking, the old man Ma smiled and said, "Miss must be thinking about the horse farm where she can settle down, right?"

"Um……"

"His horses were taken from me."

"Why?"

As soon as I asked this, I regretted it. Sure enough, the old man was silent for a moment. I looked at his eyes that looked a little chaotic and gray because of his old age, as if he had remembered something, but he didn't say anything, but just smiled at me.

Actually, I understand it myself.

Of course it was because he came here to guard the ancestral temple.

However, I still felt a little confused in my heart - although he looked different from ordinary elderly people, he was not a saint. I don’t believe that anyone would leave such a big family business for no reason and be willing to go to such a countryside to guard the ancestral hall.

However, when we first met, we should not talk deeply. I didn’t ask too much, so I just smiled back.

At this time, Aunt Hong came to me and said softly: "Miss, let's talk about serious business."

"Oh, OK."

I nodded quickly and said to the old man Ma: "The old man should know that I came here this time because I have something to ask for help."

"Well, when Hong Gu came here, she told me too."

"That--"

Seeing that I looked at him nervously, Old Man Ma smiled calmly and said, "The old man has been guarding the ancestral hall here for so many years and never cares about the Yan family."

When I heard his words seemed to be rebuttal, I hurriedly said, "But in trouble in the Yan family, the old man can't ignore them."

He frowned slightly and looked at me: "Is it really difficult for the Yan family?"

I took a deep breath and said, "It's said that the Yan family is in trouble, but it's actually because it's light. It's actually because it's because it's in trouble in Xichuan."

His eyes widened slightly.

I said, "Since the old man has followed his great-grandfather, of course I also know that the Yan family has accumulated today's family business and reputation after several generations in Xichuan. The Yan family is like a big tree, deeply planted here, with mixed roots. Even if someone wants to remove the shaking, it is not so easy. Such a big family cannot be shaken easily, but there are only two possibilities, and it will perish."

He looked at me: "Which two?"

"One is that one is caused by one's own people, committing suicide, which will lead to a complete destruction of this family."

“…”

His eyes flashed.

I continued, "Now, Mrs. Yan is colluding with Pei Yuanxiu of Jinling. They want to use troops to the court in the Central Plains together."

“…”

"This is a dead end!"

He glanced at me and asked, "Why do the eldest lady think so?"

I said: "Whenever you want to fight a war, you need money, population, even weapons, food and grass, Xichuan has one of the most important things, Xichuan has no."

"What?"

"Great righteousness."

“…”

"Xichuan has no reason to fight."

Mr. Ma narrowed his eyes slightly: "Miss should know that many people in Xichuan have ever had the belief to restore the previous dynasty and restore the old system."

"Yes, once," I looked at him: "But now, are there people like this?"

“…”

"The Pei family has been established for three generations. The merits and demerits are naturally criticized by future generations. But in the end, the emperor today is still a monarch who works hard to govern and wants to have some achievements in his heart. His new policy is to do things for the people."

Mr. Ma looked at me with a slightly sharp look: "Miss supporting this emperor?"

“…”

I was silent for a moment and said, "I don't support him."

“…”
Chapter completed!