Ma Xiu was not only a refugee but also a fugitive slave.
When they heard him narrate the story in a calm tone, Jiang Pengji and Lu Zheng both felt a surge of suppressed anger.
Back then, Ma Xiu did flee to the relatively stable North Abyss to avoid trouble.
But he didn't expect that compared to the bloody chaos, the Beiyuan was more painful to kill people.
When Ma Xiu and his family fled, they brought money with them. He also knew that one should not show one's wealth, so he was careful all the way and did not attract covetous eyes. After arriving at the Beiyuan, trouble came one after another. Ma Xiu was a commoner, and the status of commoners in the Beiyuan was much lower than what was rumored. At that time, there were many commoners in Dongqing who fled to the Beiyuan to avoid trouble like Ma Xiu. The Beiyuan government treated them like animals. Corvee labor was the heaviest, and taxes were the most numerous. People were almost exploited to death.
When Ma Xiu realized the situation in the Beiyuan and wanted to leave, there was a coup in the court of the Beiyuan.
The faction that came to power through the coup was harsher to the commoners and fugitives. If they could not collect taxes, they were directly banished to lowly status and sold. Some scholars from poor families in the Beiyuan were angry and tried to reason with them, but they ended up with their arms and legs being pinched and blood flowing.
Ma Xiu and his family's savings could not withstand such exploitation, so they naturally found a way to leave.
However, it was a wolf's den. It was easy to enter but difficult to leave.
The population of the Beiyuan was the smallest among the five countries. The people who left the country were strictly controlled. Later on, anyone who left would be beaten to death.
Ma Xiu could only restrain himself and look for opportunities.
At this time, a disaster fell from the sky and hit him head-on.
In order to resist the faction that came to power, a group of knowledgeable people gathered and called themselves the "new faction." They planned to use the coup and assassination method to make the old faction step down. As a result, they were discovered by the leader of the old faction before they took action. They took the initiative and wiped out the "new faction."
It was not accurate to say wiped out because there was a fish that escaped the net.
The fish that escaped the net swam to the back door of Ma Xiu's house and fell in the snow. He was rescued by his wife who went out to buy goods.
The old faction came to the door, and Ma Xiu and his family were arrested for "harboring criminals."
Their property was confiscated and they were banished to lowly status.
Ma Xiu became a handyman in the backyard of the Beiyuan aristocrats. His wife and daughter were taken away and sold to brothels. His son was sold cheaply …
The wife blamed herself and committed suicide by ramming herself against a pillar.
Her daughter left behind a child of an unknown benefactor, who died of an illness in a dark alley.
His youngest son, on the other hand, was beheaded by the bloodthirsty Yi Clan private soldiers during the Yi Clan's forced abdication.
Ma Xiu was sold again and again with his young granddaughter. In the end, he became a veteran guard of a small town near the border. Hearing that the enemy was going to attack, Ma Xiu packed his luggage and followed the refugees to Snow City on foot.
Before coming here, Ma Xiu was actually prepared to die.
On the way, he had heard about Qiguan Rang's ruthless killing of the refugees. He knew that his decision was the right one. He also knew that he would die if he tried to force his way in. But … considering that he was once a citizen of Dongqing, he did not wish for his remains to be returned to his homeland. He only hoped that his granddaughter could be pitied. She could be adopted by someone or bought … If that was not possible, she could accompany him to be buried under the walls of Snow City, which was the closest city to Dongqing.
Refugees like them had to walk on their feet.
Ma Xiu was still alright. At the very least, he had a pair of old shoes that he had taken off someone's body. There were also many people who were barefoot.
Before they reached Snow City, they were discovered by the patrolling cavalry scouts and all of them were captured.
They thought they were going to die, but they did not expect the soldiers to let them take their rations. They told them to go back to where they came from and not to think about sneaking into Dongqing.
Ma Xiu heard the refugees around him hugging their heads and crying. He also learned the identity of the enemy's leader from some of the refugees.
In a trance, he felt as if he had encountered a glimmer of hope when he was at the end of his rope.
"Grandpa?"
His granddaughter was very skinny. Her head was big and her body was small. Every time he saw her like that, he was worried that she would break her neck.
Ma Xiu said, "Don't worry. Grandpa has an idea."
Although he said that, he was not confident at all.
Even so, he was still determined to meet Jiang Pengji and told her his name.
No one thought that Ma Xiu, the old man, had anything to do with the Master of the World. Even Ma Xiu himself felt enlightened. When he was young, he really knew such a person. Or, those memories of his youth were just a daydream of this old man?
When he waited anxiously and was summoned to see Jiang Pengji, it was as if time had turned back.
He not only saw the dignified female vassal in front of him, but also the young man in red who was laughing and cursing in Langya County. They were two completely different scenes, but at that moment, they overlapped in front of his eyes. They fit together perfectly, regardless of the person or the scene.
Time flies. Time treats me like snow and knives, but you are still a young man in fresh clothes.
When he told these things, Ma Xiu's turbid eyes did not have a trace of emotion.
It was not the calmness after experiencing snow and wind, but a lifeless silence.
Jiang Pengji sent people to help Ma Xiu settle down and sent a doctor to take his pulse. Ma Xiu smiled and thanked her.
The doctor took his pulse, prescribed medicine, and replied to Jiang Pengji.
"He is like a lamp that has run out of oil … If we use precious medicine to keep him alive, he will only have a few months left …"
Doctors could cure stubborn diseases, but they could not save a person who was at the end of his life.
The only thing Jiang Pengji could do was to let Ma Xiu live a better life in his last days and live a little longer.
Her hand that was correcting official documents paused. The ink dripped and black dots appeared.
"How much longer can he live?"
The doctor said, "Late spring and early summer next year."
Jiang Pengji waved her hand. "You may leave. I understand."
Today's streaming room was very quiet. The naughty salted fish did not say anything flirtatious.
Qiguan Rang asked her, "What is my lord thinking about?"
She slowly whispered, "Late spring and early summer next year, will the world be united …"
In another place, Ma Xiu and Lu Zheng were looking at each other silently. Ma Xiu's granddaughter was holding a fragrant and soft meat patty and chewing it slowly.
"… Everyone has their own fate … It's just fate … Why does Shaoyin look so sad?"
Lu Zheng laughed at himself. "I'm usually cold and hard, but I seem to be especially sad today."
Ma Xiu smiled. "Today is a rare day of celebration for me in the past ten years."
It was naturally a joyous occasion to find someone to entrust his orphan to before he died.
Lu Zheng wanted to say something to comfort him, but he could not say anything when it came to his mouth.
Reminiscing about the past was even more nonsensical.
For Ma Xiu, who had suffered in the first half of his life, the more beautiful his youth was, the more miserable and painful the second half of his life was.
If the two of them really wanted to reminisce about the past, they would only be rubbing salt on Ma Xiu's wounds.
"… If anything happens to you, I will definitely treat this child as my own."
Ma Xiu was not pretentious. He waved at the child. The child hesitantly put down the meat patty and sat down beside Ma Xiu's bed.
"He …" Ma Xiu made a rare joke. "In the future, he will be your fake father."
Lu Zheng's face darkened. He corrected, "It's grandfather!"
He adopted Ma Xiu's granddaughter as his adopted daughter. He was one generation lower than Ma Xiu for no reason!
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