Chapter 104 The Scholar Returns

Mr. Hu's suggestion was useless. Chen Shiyi was determined to keep the guard he bought and named him Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu was a bit dull. He would do any work as long as he had food to eat. He took care of all the heavy work in the mansion. His only request was to have enough food.

Chen Shiyi sometimes worried that if someone tempted him with something to eat in the future, he would be abducted by that person.

Seeing that Yuan Shu was quiet and dazed, and didn't do anything out of the ordinary except eating, Old Man Hu stopped complaining.

Anyway, it was Chen Shiyi who raised him.

Once, the old man went out for work and Uncle Jin was sick, so Chen Shiyi asked Yuan Shu to go with him. If anything happened on the way, Yuan Shu's fighting power was still there and he would definitely be able to protect the old man.

But that's how the world is. The more you worry about something, the more your fate will get in the way.

That night, it was another cold day, with sporadic snowflakes floating in the sky.

The old man, who should have returned long ago, is nowhere to be seen at this moment.

Uncle Jin was very anxious.

"Master never comes home late, could something have happened?"

Chen Shiyi was also very worried.

"I'll take Xuwen and Yuanzhong out to find him."

When they put on their heavy robes and prepared to go out to look for someone, the carriage finally came back.

Several people stepped forward quickly, and Yuanzhong helped the trembling old man get off the carriage. Yuan Shu, who was driving the carriage, lowered his head like a quail.

Chen Shiyi asked hurriedly.

"What's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

Mr. Hu looks a little depressed.

"It's just a sprained ankle, what can happen to me?"

Chen Shiyi frowned.

"It's not a big deal to just sprain your ankle, Yuanzhong, go get a doctor."

Mr. Hu waved his hands.

"Don't go. I've seen the doctor. He said I just need to rest for a few days."

When they sent the old man to his room, he started complaining again.

“No, no…”

Chen Shiyi helped him sit on the chair.

"What else do you want?"

"Send Yuan Shu away. If I let him stay with me for one more day, I will die."

"What happened?"

When Mr. Hu mentioned what happened during the day, he became furious.

"Today, I went to discuss something with the teacher at Boshi Hall. When I got off the carriage and entered the courtyard, a few dogs started quarreling."

"And then?"

"And then, the guard you bought, who is so big, eats so much, and is so strong, he, he is actually afraid of dogs..."

The corners of Chen Shiyi's mouth twitched.

“Some people are just afraid of dogs…”

Mr. Hu sighed.

"It's fine that he's afraid of dogs, but when the dogs surrounded us, he, who is so big, jumped directly onto my back and strangled my neck, so that I couldn't touch the ground. I'm an old man, and I almost died on the spot..."

"He was a guard, a guard. Look at what he did. Ah, there are even worse things. I fell to the ground and sprained my ankle, but he didn't care. In order to escape from those dogs, he turned around and ran away, leaving me alone at the door of Boshi Hall."

The room was completely silent.

Everyone was holding back, fearing that once they opened their mouths, they would burst into laughter.

Chen Shiyi quickly retreated from the room.

She found Yuan Shu squatting in the corner with his head down like a quail.

"Yuan Shu..."

Yuan Shu raised his eyes, stared at Chen Shiyi blankly, then lowered his head and spoke softly.

"You can eat well here, don't chase me away."

"Yuan Shu, why are you afraid of dogs?"

"I…"

Yuan Shu seemed very confused but also a little scared when he thought about the past.

"I don't know. Dogs can bite people."

Chen Shiyi looked quietly at Yuan Shu in front of him. He tugged at the corner of his clothes, feeling very uneasy. He raised his eyes to take a look, then lowered his head again. He was afraid that Chen Shiyi really didn't want him anymore, so he spoke in a low voice.

"Next time, I won't be afraid of dogs."

Chen Shiyi patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, stay here first, we won't chase you away."

Chen Shiyi asked Xuwen to go to Mrs. Cai to ask about Yuan Shu's past.

Yuan Shu was born a little stupid, and he ate too much. His family was poor and could not afford to support him, so they had to sell him so that they could at least earn enough to feed themselves.

Some rich people, who like to play with all kinds of tricks, just like to watch people fight with beasts. Yuan Shu can only survive in the brutal games by relying on his own strength.

It is said that he was so hungry that he ate the flesh of the beasts he had killed.

They are all miserable people!

"I'd better take him to Lingyu Villa. There are too many people who keep dogs in Kyoto."

Later, it was Uncle Jin who brought a few guards from his good friends, and Chen Shiyi was able to go to Yanzhou with peace of mind.

The beautiful scenery of spring, with lush trees, the sky as blue as a lake, and the floating white clouds like cotton. Below, the lake is blue and calm, with occasional white geese playing in the water, their red feet paddling the clear waves.

On the side of the road, the sound of galloping horse hooves passed by, raising a cloud of dust, startling the spring painting.

One in blue, one in black, their robes fluttering, their black hair flying, they rushed straight to Fangling.

Pei Luoshu rode his horse to a stop at the entrance of Ping'an Town. Looking at the smoke rising from the town and people coming and going, the familiar feeling of the past came over him.

He came to the courtyard where he used to live. The pear blossoms on the neighbor's house were still as beautiful as before, with white and icy pure...

The pear blossoms are still there, are the people still the same?

He cleaned the yard, put down his bag, cleaned and tidied himself, then went out.

The dark green banyan trees have grown old, and their drooping branches are like tassels, swaying in the wind, creating a unique sight.

Pei Luoshu knelt in front of his mother's grave, looking up at the trees swaying in the wind.

Pei's mother's grave seemed to be cleaned regularly.

There was a hint of warmth in those dark eyes.

"Mother, Luo'er is back. I have lived up to your expectations. I have passed the imperial examination and am safe and healthy. I have achieved all of that..."

The paper money he burned turned into ashes, which were blown up by the wind, scattered in the air, and then fell down again.

"Mom, there is one thing you haven't hoped for. Haven't you always hoped that Eleven would become your daughter-in-law? I don't know how she is now, where she is, and whether she is doing well. Over the years, I have written many letters to her, but she has never replied to any of them. Mom, I am going to find her. Please bless me and Eleven to finally be together."

He rode his horse to find the Fengming Mine Cave and asked people about Chen Shiyi's residence.

"You mean the Wen family? The emperor redressed their grievances and they returned to the capital last year. It's been a year..."

Fu Feng, who was behind him, saw Pei Luoshu's face turn pale and spoke quickly.

"Sir, everything is still unknown, don't jump to conclusions."

Pei Luoshu asked the kind-hearted person again.

"Excuse me, do you know where they lived before?"

The kind man pointed to the road ahead.

"Go straight down this road. There's a path down ahead. You'll see a stream and the house is right next to it."

"Thank you kind person."

The stream is filled with mist, an ancient bridge stretches across it, new buds sprout from the weeping willows, and the wild flowers on the embankment are fragrant...

The courtyard was deep and dilapidated. He pushed open the door and heard a long groaning creaking sound. The huge yard was almost covered with weeds.

The house was in a mess and in great disrepair. Some roofs had half collapsed, and some walls had collapsed. Looking inside, the intact areas that were not illuminated by the sunlight looked like a hideous wound in the darkness.

All the sundries in the place seemed to have been searched away by someone, and there was only a small room with a locked door.

The lock is the simplest one, I don't know why no one has tried to pry it open.

Pei Luoshu knew at a glance that this must be where Eleven lived.

With a little effort, he removed the bolt from the lock.

The lock was not broken, he thought, this lock was waiting for a key, the only one in the world.