Guanyun City, Changming Palace.
Autumn has passed and winter is coming again.
Jia Nanxing sat at the door of the hall with a blanket on his knees. There were two charcoal fires burning in the hall. It should have been warm, but he still felt a little cold.
"Why does it feel like this winter is colder than usual?"
"Master Jia, would you mind lighting two more charcoal fires for you?"
Jia Nanxing thought for a moment and said, "Help me up and go to the yard to take another look."
The young eunuch Zhao Hou, who was serving him, quickly helped Jia Nanxing up and said, "Master Jia, it's even colder outside. Why don't you stay here and warm yourself by the fire?"
"I need to move around. I'm old, and when I get old I become useless. If I weren't so weak, Your Majesty would have gone to Dading Prefecture to take a look."
As he said this, Jia Nanxing, supported by Zhao Hou, trembled as he stepped out of the door. He paused for a moment, looking up at the gray sky. "The Far North Road has just been established, and Your Majesty originally had many things to arrange, but because of me, he had to return home... Alas,"
He shook his head and walked forward tremblingly. "Xiao Zhao, you are quite a smart boy. If His Majesty comes over someday, I will recommend you to His Majesty. Then you can go and serve His Majesty."
Zhao Hou was overjoyed and quickly thanked him, "I thank Master Jia for his appreciation, but serving Master Jia is also my duty. As for serving the emperor, I am clumsy and I am afraid that I might offend the emperor and that would be disastrous."
Jia Nanxing smiled calmly and said nothing more. The old man and the young man slowly walked into the garden.
The flowers that Jia Nanxing had planted in the garden had fallen, even the chrysanthemums, their petals scattered all over the ground.
Jia Nanxing stood by the garden and looked carefully, and suddenly felt that there was no difference between people and flowers - when the time comes, they will all die and eventually return to the dust, and the prosperity of their lives will disappear like smoke.
"Xiao Zhao, His Majesty is an easygoing and generous person. Serving His Majesty is very easy. As long as you are attentive, His Majesty will tolerate even minor mistakes."
Zhao Hou looked at Jia Nanxing's hunched back, and felt that Jia Nanxing's mentality seemed to have changed after returning from this trip - he seemed to be making arrangements for his funeral!
Zhao Hou's heart skipped a beat when he thought of this. "Master Jia, serving Master Jia is also His Majesty's order. I will do my best to do this well first."
"Well... let's go sit in that pavilion."
There was no heater in the pavilion, and the wind was very strong, blowing up Jia Nanxing's white hair. His already old face seemed to become even paler.
Zhao Hou was a little worried. "I'll go get two braziers."
Jia Nanxing didn't refuse, and added, "By the way, bring two more sweet potatoes and let's roast them."
"good!"
Two charcoal fires were lit in the pavilion. Jia Nanxing felt much warmer as she sat by the fire. "Put the sweet potato under the charcoal fire. Let's try it when it's cooked."
"This trip has broadened my horizons."
Jia Nanxing started talking. He was warming himself by the fire with a smile on his face as he talked about what he had seen along the way and what he had talked about with His Majesty.
"There are many docks in Yao County, and shipping is very busy."
"The West Hill Villa is quite nice. His Majesty pushed me to see the crops in the fields and listened to his majesty talk about many things that happened in the past. That's where his majesty started his career. If you have the chance in the future, you should go and see it."
"Jinling remains as beautiful as ever. We live in His Majesty's former residence, originally called the Fu Mansion, then the Ding'an Earl Mansion, and now the Shengguo Duke Mansion... It's right by Xuanwu Lake, witnessing His Majesty's meteoric rise from the Western Hills to Jinling."
“…”
"My life has been worth it! The thing I'm most proud of in my life...isn't achieving the Saint rank, nor is it fighting with my brother You Beidou at Luomei Mountain, but being a doorman for His Majesty."
"Your Majesty is a man who values friendship and loyalty. I originally wanted to be your doorman for life... but in the end, I have some regrets."
Jia Nanxing raised his head and looked at the deserted garden. He recalled every detail of the past, and all the big and small things that happened after he met His Majesty in Jinling.
A blush appeared on his face, and he didn't know whether it was because of the firelight or because he was a little excited.
This is the most beautiful era!
Daxia unified the world and its territory was extremely vast.
The government is clean and honest, and there is peace and prosperity in all directions. The elderly have someone to rely on, and the children are well taken care of. The people are working hard for a future full of hope.
Daxia has a powerful army, hardworking people, magnificent and beautiful mountains and rivers, and a wise ruler who has not appeared in a thousand years.
Such a Daxia is so beautiful!
However, I am old after all. I can no longer serve as Your Majesty's doorman. I need someone to support me when I walk. I am too old to see this magnificent landscape.
Zhao Hou dug out the sweet potatoes from the fire. He didn't know how much the outside world had changed. He was fascinated by what he heard and thought how great it would be if he was really lucky enough to serve the emperor and see the wonderful world outside.
He patted the sweet potato on the stone table to remove the ashes, carefully peeled it and handed it to Jia Nanxing.
"Master Jia, eat it while it's hot...Master Jia, you can live to be 120 years old. With the medicine the Empress has prescribed for you, your health will be fine. Next time you travel with His Majesty, please take me with you. I will serve you and we can also take a look at this beautiful land."
Jia Nanxing took the steaming sweet potato and grinned, "One hundred and twenty years old, I want to be one too, but wouldn't that mean I've become a spirit?"
"I live with understanding and know that my time is running out. It's not that the Empress's medicine is ineffective, but that my age has come, and when the age comes, God will take it all away."
He took a bite of the sweet potato, which was soft, sticky and sweet. "Mmm, delicious. You can have the other one."
"I dare not."
"What's there to be afraid of? Am I not your Majesty's servant? If your Majesty tells me to eat, I'll eat. Okay, stop being pretentious. Remember, don't be pretentious when you're around your Majesty in the future. Your Majesty doesn't like that."
"oh!"
Zhao Hou had met His Majesty several times, and he knew that His Majesty was friendly, but His Majesty was still His Majesty after all, and he was not Jia Nanxing. The gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth.
"It's easy to get into His Majesty's heart. If you treat him sincerely, he will naturally treat you sincerely. However, there is a difference between the monarch and his subjects. It is best not to cross many boundaries."
"I'll remember this!"
After the old man and the young boy finished eating the sweet potatoes, Jia Nanxing sat here quietly for a while, watching a gust of wind come and the last remaining petals of the chrysanthemums fell to the ground. His heart tightened for no reason and he almost couldn't catch his breath.
"Let's go back. I'm afraid it's going to snow."
"If I die... tell the emperor to bury me... on Luomei Mountain. No, Luomei Mountain is too far away. Let's bury me on Han Mountain."
"Bury it a little higher so you can see Guanyun City."
"I haven't listened to the morning bells and evening drums of Hanling Temple for many years. I'll listen to them carefully after I die and lie in the ground."
Jia Nanxing returned to the main hall, lay on the warm bed with the help of Zhao Hou, and fell asleep peacefully.
The next day, when the first morning bell of Hanling Temple rang, he left quietly with a smile on his face.
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