Xiao Shi hadn't expected his luck to be so good, running into Blind Liu. After breakfast with Huo Ye and the second-in-command of the Ding family, he rode back to the county town, still thinking about what excuse he could find to visit Dingjia Village after returning to the capital to look for his second uncle.
As a result, when he arrived at the village entrance, he saw Blind Liu carrying a cloth bag with his hands tucked into his sleeves. He thought that Blind Liu was waiting for him at the village entrance on purpose, so he pulled the reins with a "whoosh" and pretended to have forgotten something important. He let Huo Ye and the others go ahead and he would catch up with them later.
After the two of them rode away, he held the reins and walked towards Blind Liu who was standing on the side of the road. He called out "Uncle Master" and his eyes turned red.
Feng Qingzi was dead, and he was also the enemy who killed his father. He only recognized Liu Xiazi as his uncle, so he called him uncle directly.
"Uncle Master, where are you going? Your nephew will take you there."
After Liu Xiazi called out "Uncle Master", he knew that it was futile to say anything. Hua Xinzi was the smartest among the three brothers, so how could his son be stupid?
He only mentioned Baisha Town. After getting on the horse, the two of them said nothing all the way until they arrived at Yunji Bookstore. Zhao Chuqi, the waiter who had replaced Ding Pingshun, came up to them. Seeing that Xiao Shi had also gotten off the horse, he stepped forward swiftly and took the reins from Xiao Shi's hand.
"Grandpa, I've heated up breakfast for you." Chuqi said, and then asked Xiao Shi with a smile, "I wonder if this young man has had breakfast yet? If not, I'll tie up the horse and go make it for you."
"Thank you, I ate it."
Blind Liu said to Chuqi: "I have something to say to this young master. I didn't tell you not to go upstairs to greet him."
"Okay."
Chuqi was diligent and articulate, but not a chatterbox. Blind Liu was quite pleased with him. He nodded and led Xiao Shi upstairs.
When they arrived at the upstairs wing room, Xiao Shi greeted Blind Liu solemnly as soon as he entered the room. As soon as he called him "Uncle Master", tears started streaming down his face.
"Oh, why did you come here to make me sad?" Blind Liu helped him up with both hands. Looking at the young face in front of him who looked very similar to his junior brother Hua Xinzi, his eyes couldn't help but become moist.
"Is your hand okay?" he asked in a deep voice.
"Uncle, I'm fine now. It's my fault that you worried me." As he said this, he was about to kneel down and salute, but Blind Liu grabbed him.
"You child, you don't know whether you are lucky or unlucky, alas!"
Blind Liu sighed again.
Xiao Shi was fortunate to have met Jian Ning, but he also felt unfortunate to think that he was no longer a perfect person. It was a pity for his junior fellow disciple to have such a good seed.
The past can be recalled but not retrieved, it has become an established fact. Blind Liu could only sigh inwardly as he looked at him.
"What are your plans for the future? If you don't want to go back there, you can stay here with me."
"I thank you, Master. But please forgive me. I have no other hobbies in my life but my passion for painting. I have a master in the palace. Although I am disabled, my ambition is undiminished! If I can leave behind a few masterpieces for future generations to appreciate and praise, my life will not be in vain, and I will be worthy of my father's spirit in heaven!"
"Okay, okay, where there's a will, there's a way."
Blind Liu nodded repeatedly. How many people throughout history could truly achieve this, neither feeling sad for themselves nor happy for things? He had never expected that Xiao Shi, at such a young age, could have such ambition and vision. He felt very comforted.
"Uncle Master, I have a request for you. Your Highness the Crown Prince..." Before Xiao Shi could finish his words, Blind Liu raised his hand and signaled him to stop.
"If he is destined to be an emperor, who can change his fate? If not, even if the entire court, civil and military officials, supports him, God will take him away."
"There's no need to mention this matter again."
Having said this, Xiao Shi said no more. He took a step forward, knelt on one knee, and said with a bow, "Take care, Master. You are my only relative in this world. I will come to see you again after the New Year. I'll take my leave now!"
"Be careful on the road. Even though your master uncle is gone, his three disciples are not idle either. You must be on your guard at all times."
"Nephew, don't worry. His second disciple, Yang Wuqi, was deposed by Eunuch Wei yesterday. Captain Ma escorted him to the county government office early this morning. I'm afraid he's almost here."
"That one is not very useful. It's just to guard against the other two."
Xiao Shi nodded, got up and went downstairs. As soon as he arrived at the street, he found that the scene was gradually becoming lively. Most of the people coming and going had happy expressions on their faces. Many people gathered in front of the shops on both sides of the street. Most of them were in high spirits. They didn't know what they were discussing with each other, and they all seemed to be talking with relish.
"Old man, what happened?" He reined in his horse and shouted to stop beating an old man passing by.
"Oh, young master, I guess you're from out of town, right?" The old man smiled when he heard his non-local accent. "Great news! The prefect and the county magistrate will be arriving in our town soon. I heard they'll be heading to Ding Village with the mayor. They say the villagers have invented something great. It's a great event, and we're all going to Ding Village to see what's going on."
"By the way, I heard they've invited a troupe of actors. If you have nothing to do, you might as well go and see the fun."
So that was the matter. Xiao Shi had vaguely heard someone from the Ding family mention it, but he didn't take it to heart. "Thank you, old man. I have to hurry back to the county. I'll go see it again when I have the chance."
There were more and more people on the street, so Xiao Shi could only ride slowly. Not long after he went, he heard the sound of gongs clearing the way ahead. The people instantly cheered and swarmed towards him.
The street ahead was blocked, so Xiao Shi had to dismount and walk with his horse. Soon, the sound of many horse hooves was heard in front of him, and pedestrians avoided him one after another. He also followed the crowd to the sides of the street.
After a dozen tall horses passed by, two groups of yamen runners holding signs came over with two carriages in front and behind, followed by another dozen tall horses. After they all passed, the people also rushed over, and the road was finally clear.
Xiao Shi jumped on his horse and thought to himself that Dingjia Village must be in an uproar right now.
Indeed, when the village head and clan leader learned that the prefect and county magistrate were coming to Dingjia Village, they stared at each other as if in a dream, unable to believe what they were hearing. The village head was the first to react. After all, he had been to the town frequently and had interacted with the town official on a daily basis, so he could be considered an official.
"Oh my God, I never thought that I could still see the prefect and the county magistrate in this life. Am I dreaming?" The headman's lips kept trembling, and his face was full of disbelief.
The patriarch was stunned and couldn't say a word for a long time.
Huo Jincheng saw this, his lips curled slightly. "Just a prefect, is it necessary to be so excited?" At this moment, he really wanted to tell the village head and the clan leader that you two have met the current imperial tutor. He thought that if the village head and the others knew his father's identity, they would be frightened and faint, but that was not the case.
The emperor and court officials were too far away from the common people. If they wanted to know the identity of the Grand Tutor, they would at most say "Oh" and be shocked, which was far less than the impact brought to them by the county magistrate and prefectural governor they were familiar with.
"Well, does the clan school need to close for another day today?" The clan leader reacted and quickly looked at Huo Jincheng and asked.
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