Chapter 90: Twenty Years of Catastrophe

It's normal for a little girl to love cats.

Yan Lin couldn't help but laugh as she saw it.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to Jiang Xuening, but almost no one noticed the stiffness of Xie Wei in that moment. When he turned his gaze again, Xie Wei was completely flawless.

Shen Zhiyi looked curiously at Xie Wei and said, "Is Mr. Xie going to Chengqing Hall?"

Xie Wei remained silent.

The butler bowed to Shen Zhiyi and explained with a smile, "Exactly. It's rare for a distinguished guest like Master Xie to visit. Marquis has invited Master Shao to come and talk."

No wonder that.

Both the court and the public know that Xie Wei is easy to get along with, but few have heard of him having a close relationship with anyone. It has always been someone else who wants to flatter him and visit him, but I haven't heard of him visiting anyone on his own.

Knowing that he would soon receive the coronation ceremony, everyone dared not say much to delay his time.

Of course, Xie Wei was originally their husband and didn't have much to say.

After a few pleasantries, the butler led Xie Wei through the corridor, walked around the hanging flower gate behind the governance, and headed towards Chengqing Hall.

Seeing his figure disappear, Jiang Xuening finally breathed a sigh of relief.

My heart relaxed, and the strength in my hands also relaxed.

The restless little flower cat seized the opportunity and immediately kicked its legs, leaping out of her arms with a meow. It quickly jumped onto the railing and disappeared into the stacked rockeries by the water's edge.

It was not until then that she felt a faint tingling sensation emanating from her wrist.

With a lowered gaze, a bloodstain appeared on the wrist at some point.

At first glance, it is clear that the cat was scratched by its flapping claws while being held.

Just now, her mind was too focused and her attention was completely absent, so she only felt any sensation. It wasn't until then that her mind relaxed that she felt the pain.

Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but poke Yan Lin with her arm as she looked in the direction where Xie Wei had disappeared. She joked, "Man Jingcheng, you are the most prestigious son of Yan Lin from now on. You can even invite Mr. Xie to take your handwriting, but I don't know how many people I envy."

Yan Lin only then withdrew his gaze.

He lowered his eyes slightly and said, "It's mostly for the sake of my father's face."

The King of Yanping, however, did not care about so much and stood aside to coax, saying, "Regardless, it's always a good thing. It seems like it will take another hour or so for the coronation ceremony to be held. Today, everyone is a guest, and Yan Lin, you are the master. The master will follow the guests. We finally came, but you must entertain us, right?"

Yan Lin smiled at him and said, "What do you want to do?"

King Yanping, who was not yet young, looked left and right, as if afraid of being discovered, before blinking and saying, "Do you have any wine?"

Everyone laughed together when they heard it.

Although it was suggested by King Yanping, it was rare for everyone to gather together like this, and even Shen Zhiyi agreed.

Yan Lin couldn't help but ask Qingfeng and the servants to take some wine and place it under the cherry tree, and sit down with everyone to play and drink.

*

The butler stopped in front of Chengqing Hall and gently knocked on the door, "Marquis, Master Xie has arrived."

There was a coughing sound coming from inside, as if getting up with some urgency, and some old voices contained emotions that others couldn't fathom: "Come in quickly, please."

So the butler pushed the door.

Xie Wei stood in front of this door for a moment before walking in.

The sky in winter is not as bright as in summer. The windows inside the house were mostly covered and not lit, making it appear somewhat dim.

There is a faint bitter taste of medicine floating in the air.

On the bed with a golden hook hanging from the curtain, Hou Yanmu, who was brave and determined, had added many old habits in a short period of time. His temples were dyed with a little frost white, but his eyes were already sharp like lightning, and he immediately fell on the person who walked in from the outside.

The restraint on one's body was full of a profound and resolute aura, while being calm and somewhat heavy.

High mountains and vast seas, singing and picking roses, like saints and hermits.

Long eyebrows are indifferent, and both eyes are deep and quiet.

Yan Mu carefully stared at his facial features, seeming to want to glimpse some familiar shadows from this unfamiliar outline, but no matter how much he searched for his memories, twenty years had already passed.

Even the clearest face back then was eroded by time.

Moreover, it was only a child of six or seven years old, and it was quite impossible to trace the contours of the past from the face of an already mature young man. Not everyone grows up, they still look like they were when they were young.

It's just that when people feel like it in their hearts, they look like it no matter how they see it.

Yan Mu coughed twice again and waved his hand gently. "Master Xie, please take a seat. Yan is sick and cannot go out these days. Please be patient, sir. I apologize for your willingness to come. It has truly made our mansion shine."

Xie Wei sat silently on the nearby brocade stool.

Yan Mu said, "The dog is stubborn. Thanks to the grace of the Holy Spirit, he was summoned to the palace to study at the Wenyuan Pavilion. I heard that he has received a lot of care from the master. He didn't cause any trouble for the master, did he?"

Xie Weidao said, "The Crown Prince is not stubborn, he is very sensible. When he entered the Wenyuan Pavilion for education, there were few times that he was worried about. The Marquis has a deep family background and strict discipline. The younger generation... has limited talent and knowledge, but it's just a slight constraint."

Younger generation.

According to annual records, Xie Wei is indeed considered a junior. As an official in the court, even the Xiao family would give him three points of respect, and he had never heard of him calling himself a "junior" in front of Duke Dingguo Xiao Yuan.

Yan Mu's heart tightened a bit.

But afterwards, there was a hint of desolation, and he sighed, "If Mr. Xie had only limited talent and knowledge, there might not be many well-rounded people in this world. You think Yan Lin's mischievous appearance is good, but he must have never seen a truly obedient child. Before, Yan Lin had a cousin who read and studied literature, all of which were easy to read and recite. He was clever and likable. Apart from playing the piano, he was willing to practice hard. Such a young child knew that hard work was too rare.". My younger sister often takes him back to the mansion from Xiao's side to play. When I saw him, I thought it would be great if my child could be born like this in the future. Unfortunately, the Prince of Pingnan and the Heavenly Cult rebelled against the party, and a heavy army surrounded them. Before Yan Lin was born, the child was gone... "

"..."

Xie Wei lowered his gaze, but his fingers lightly placed on his knee trembled. He slowly clenched into a fist before sitting firmly.

Yan Mu's eyes turned red and he leaned back on the bed, his gaze somewhat empty. In a voice full of vicissitudes, there was a hint of criticism and pain towards the difficult world: "Such a young child, who is over six years old and not yet seven years old. On a very cold day, it froze together under the snow cover.". His mother stumbled wildly out of the palace, pulling away those who were blocking her, and all the way to the snowy palace gate. She used her hands to dig, but if she couldn't dig, she went to grab the swords of the soldiers next to her, grab the iron bars in their hands, and smash them one by one. The ice and snow were too hard and thick, freezing together with the blood flowing out. The iron chisel knocked on it, causing numbness in the hands and bleeding from the skin. Dig out a child who is five or six years old, but the ice and snow have sticky skin and flesh, making it impossible to tell who it is. It was still the family crying that pulled her back... "

Xie Wei sat motionless, like a statue.

But Yan Mu looked at him again, tears in his eyes, and an uncontrollable sadness poured out of his voice: "He's only that old, he hasn't even been to the capital. That winter was so cold, and I don't know if there were any lights or fires in the palace. Will someone cover him with a blanket at night? What a heartless person would be willing to push him out?"? If the heavens have eyes, show mercy, and still call this child to live in this world, I don't know what he should look like? "

Xie Wei finally slowly closed his eyes, and his Adam's apple surged. It took him a long time before he opened his eyes again as if he had forcefully suppressed something.

He wanted to smile at Yan Mu.

However, the corners of his lips were too heavy and heavy to bend, so he could only have a wooden face and whispered, "A lucky person has a heavenly appearance. Since heaven is in favor of him, we should ask him to go through all the trials and tribulations and sharpen his tools."

"Okay, okay..."

Yan Mu burst into laughter, even though he burst into tears, he felt the accumulated depression of the past twenty years gushing out of his chest, transforming into a passionate and uplifting spirit!

"It's about going through all the tribulations, it's about figuring things out!"

His younger sister, in a fit of anger, left and returned home, but she never wanted to believe that the child had been buried in the Three Hundred Righteous Children's Tomb. She endured the humiliation with pain and searched for it in many ways. Unfortunately, the world is vast and there is no news of it. He is just a small child. No matter how intelligent he is, how can he escape the calamity of the besieged city?

I can't find it after all.

Everyone felt that it was just a mother who didn't believe her child had gone, until more than half a year ago, when Wang Yudang of Pingnan was caught by their people, he claimed that when they slaughtered the capital with the Heavenly Sect, the Crown Prince was not among the three hundred righteous children, but was taken away by the leader of the Heavenly Sect.

Yan Mu dare not think, if what these people are saying is true, what kind of life would a child from two high families with noble bloodline fall into the hands of such a cruel and vicious rebel party, and how many people would experience unknown pains

As long as I think about it, I feel like I'm burning inside and can't be stable!

At this moment, he only reached out his hand trembling towards the young man in front of him.

Xie Wei stood up and walked to the edge of his collapse. When he reached out his hand, it was tightly grasped by Yan Mu. The force was so great that it made people feel pain.

Looking up again, what was in front of Yan Mu was his wide, bloodshot eyes!

That is filled with towering hatred and outrageous hatred!

In the end, it turned into deep sorrow.

With a hoarse voice, he looked at him and said, "When you came, there should be a cherry tree in front of Qingyu Hall, which has been planted for twenty-two or three years. It was just planted and didn't bear much fruit. That child sat on the steps under the eaves, reading books and also looking at the tree, hoping that the cherry would ripen day by day. If it grows tall and lush now, in summer, red fruits will hang under the green leaves.". "Next summer solstice, Mr. Xie might as well come and taste it. It's much sweeter than many years ago..."

Xie Wei's throat had already choked up, and after a long time, he lowered himself as if he couldn't hear him anymore and said, "Okay."

After Yan Mu finished speaking, he felt a bit tired.

He never asked, if that child was still alive, still in this world, why didn't he come early to recognize his family.

Xie Wei retreated from inside the house.

The sky on the corridor was too bright, piercing into his eyes and also into his heart. There was a burning pain in his chest, which made him unable to resist lifting his hand and forcefully pressing down on his heart. He stumbled two steps under his feet, supported the pillar with one hand, and his nails sank into the surface of the pillar, leaving marks before he could hold on and not fall.

His eyebrows furrowed and his face turned white.

The butler not far from the door was startled and quickly walked over to help him.

Xie Wei stood firm on his own.

The butler was shocked and worried, "Are you okay?"

Xie Wei slowly let go of his hand, his eyes clearly filled with fierce anger, but at this moment, he deeply pressed into the overlapping mask. When he lifted his eyes again, he remained calm as before, but to the extreme, it was as calm as stagnant water without waves: "Don't worry, it's just a slight cold and palpitations."