"I can only blame myself for not being able to graduate two years in a row. However, I have already made an appointment with a few other scholars to study together in a study in the county town. We will leave at the end of the month. My wife, please be at ease. One day, I, Liu Ming, will definitely become the top scholar. When I return home, I will let you and Feng Er live a good life. "The middle-aged man held the woman in his arms and whispered into her ear.
Hearing that he was going to leave the village and enter the county town, the woman could no longer hold back the waves in her heart. Two streams of hot tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Husband, don't worry and go. I will take care of the matters of the family. Feng Er is no longer a child and has grown up. You should focus on your studies and obtain scholarly honors as soon as possible. However, you must also take care of your body. Don't be too frugal and treat yourself unfairly. Without a good body, what good will it do even if you obtain scholarly honors? "The woman bit her lips and suppressed the reluctance in her heart as she sobbed.
"My wife, don't worry. Your husband will not return until I graduate!" The man gently patted the woman's back and spoke with a determined gaze.
When the woman heard this, her face paled. She wanted to say something but was afraid of discouraging her husband. She could only hide the sorrow in her heart and bitterly smile.
Seven days later, on a winding path outside the village, a man in a white robe, carrying a bag on his back, was reluctantly bidding farewell to a mother and son.
The man tightly held his wife in his arms and gently kissed her forehead. Then he bent down and rubbed his son's head.
The man suppressed the reluctance in his heart and said with a smile, "Feng Er, take care of your mother. Father will be back soon."
The boy nodded and said with a determined gaze, "Father, Feng Er understands. Mother and I will wait for you at home."
The man gently patted the boy's head and laughed. Then he turned around and walked toward the village entrance without turning back.
This was because he was afraid that if he turned back, he would lose the courage to leave.
His wife and son looked at his receding figure reluctantly. They were reluctant to leave for a long time until his figure gradually disappeared into the distance. In the end, he turned into a white dot and disappeared at the end of the small road outside the village.
Half a month later, in a small town hundreds of miles away from Liu Village.
At this moment, it was noon, and the main road from west to east was crowded with people. The shouts of peddlers and servants flowed in an endless stream, and it was a bustling scene of endless streams of horses and carriages.
A middle-aged man in a white robe with delicate features and a faint scholarly aura between his brows was carrying a bag on his back. He dragged his long body as he slowly walked towards an academy at the corner of the main road.
From then on, in the wing room of the academy, there would always be a candle lit throughout the night, illuminating the figure of a man holding a scroll in his hand, shaking his head as he carefully studied it.
Half a year later, people gathered in front of the red list, congratulatory and lamenting voices rose and fell.
"Brother Liu, don't be discouraged. If you don't pass this year, you can try again next year." Near the front of the crowd, a green-robed scholar spoke to a white-robed man beside him.
"It's been three years and I haven't been able to pass. I'm ashamed to face my family." The white-clothed man shook his head sadly and slowly squeezed out of the noisy crowd.
Half a month later, in Liu Village.
"Mother, there's a letter. It's from Father!" The child held a bamboo scroll in his hand and excitedly ran into a rice field that was as tall as a person.
When the plainly dressed woman heard this, she immediately stopped what she was doing and wiped her hands on the hem of her skirt. Then, with a smile, she took the bamboo scroll from the boy's hand and opened it to read.
However, the smile on her face gradually faded and was replaced by a faint sadness.
"Feng 'er, your father may have to stay in the town for another year and will only come back next year." The woman slowly put away the bamboo scroll and forced a smile.
The boy seemed to understand something. He silently lowered his head and did not say anything.
In the blink of an eye, another year had passed.
During this year, the mother and son depended on each other and lived an unusually difficult life.
Without a man in the family, there was no pillar of support and no main source of income. In addition, there was a drought in the fields this year. Not only was the Zhuang family's harvest not good, but they also could not make ends meet. If it wasn't for the woman gritting her teeth and selling the only old cow in the family for some silver, they could barely make ends meet.
However, the same bamboo scroll meant that the man still did not have a red list nomination, and the mother and son still did not wait for the man's return.
This wait lasted for another three years.
On the bed in the old wooden house, the woman finally could not get out of bed because of years of tiredness. There was not a grain of rice left in the house, and everything that could be sold had been sold.
"Mother, there's a letter from Father!" The boy excitedly ran into the house again and threw himself on the woman's bed. He said happily.
At this time, the boy was already twelve years old, and his body was obviously bigger than three years ago. He was already six feet tall and had a strong body. He was no longer the child from before.
"Cough … cough …" Hearing this, the woman smiled and struggled to prop up her body, but she could not stop coughing.
"Mother, are you okay?" The boy hurriedly rushed forward, helped her up, and asked with concern.
"Cough … Feng Er, I've taught you many words over the years. This time, I'll … cough … test you. Open it and read it to me." The woman coughed lightly a few more times before lying back down on the bed. Her voice was a bit weak.
"Lian Xi, your husband is useless. I have not been able to graduate for six years, and I really do not have the face to return to the village to see the villagers. However, I miss you and Feng Er very much. How are the two of you? I hope to hear from you. Mother, Father did not … "The boy read to the end, and his originally excited voice gradually became softer.
"Feng Er … cough … quickly, quickly get a pen and paper, and reply to your father." Hearing this, the woman said with an anxious face.
Half a month later, in the side room of the academy in the small town, a white-robed man with a haggard face held a letter in his hand. However, he could not see his beloved wife personally writing it, but his son's childish handwriting.
"Husband, Feng Er and I are fine. Husband, do not worry and study. We will wait at home for you to graduate and return. Not only does Feng Er know how to read, but his body is also growing stronger day by day. He hopes that one day he can gallop on the battlefield and serve the country. "
Like this, another three years passed by.
On this day, in front of a desolate grave, a well-built youth held a letter in his hand. His eyes flashed with anger and bitterness.
"Mother, why don't you let me tell father that you are already so sick? Why do you want me to write to him every time to tell him that we are fine? Why? Father has been away from home for eight or nine years, but he has never come back to see us. Now that you have left, he still doesn't know.
He failed again this year, and I really don't know that he still has to wait for that day. Is the high school exam that important to him? Is it so important that he doesn't come home to see his wife and children for so many years? How long is he going to be so stubborn! "
As soon as the voice fell, two lines of hot tears gushed out. The youth heavily punched the huge stone next to the tombstone.
"Bang!" A thin crack appeared on the huge stone, and the back of the youth's hand was stained with blood.
At the same time, in the academy of the county town, Liu Ming, who was wearing a white robe and had a face full of stubble, was still reading books day and night.
In the past nine years, he had long forgotten the time. It seemed that as long as he read books, he would not feel tired. Every day, he would read books in a cycle.
Finally, in the tenth year.
"Brother Liu, you have finally graduated high school, and you are the Third Flower."
"Hit it, hit it, finally hit it!" Liu Ming's hands trembled as he held a piece of official document. On it were the words "Third Flower", and below it was his name and the square red imperial seal.
He gently stroked the white hair on his temples and tidied up his appearance. Two lines of turbid tears could not help but flow out, and then he laughed to the sky.
On this day, the Liu Village seemed to be particularly lively.
On the only road leading to the village, a group of people was walking slowly.
The person in the lead was riding on the back of a horse. He was wearing a red robe and a tall hat. Needless to say, he was the Third Flower, Liu Ming.
The group of people behind him were all wearing red robes and beating gongs and drums, looking very lively.
"Liu Ming Tanhua, the Liu Village is in front," the driver said to Liu Ming as he pointed to the signboard at the entrance of the village.
Liu Ming squinted his eyes and looked at the signboard, then he jumped off the horse.
"I want to walk back by myself. I didn't expect that I would be gone for ten years. I wonder how Lian Xi and Feng Er are doing, "Liu Ming said softly. He suppressed the excitement in his heart and walked to the entrance of the village.
After taking another look at the old signboard at the entrance of the village, Liu Ming quickened his pace and walked to the house where his house was.
Compared to ten years ago, the village seemed to be much more deserted. The originally bustling village entrance only had a few elderly people sitting in front of their house, playing with the harvested grain.
"You are the third son of the Liu Family, you are back!"
A white-haired old woman in her sixties looked at Liu Ming a few times and seemed to recognize Liu Ming's identity. She said with some excitement, but then she looked away as if she thought of something.
"Fifth Aunt, your eyesight is still so good. I am back, I am the Third Flower. What's wrong, Fifth Aunt? Is Lian Xi okay? Where is Feng Er? "Liu Ming looked at the old woman's expression and asked anxiously.
The old woman did not say anything. She just shook her head slightly and sighed softly.
Seeing this, Liu Ming's heart skipped a beat. He then ran back to his house without looking back.
Just like ten years ago, after crossing a small mountain in the village, in a depression, there was a small wooden house built with thick logs.
Liu Ming forcefully pushed open the unlatched door, only to discover that the room was completely empty.
The dilapidated house was covered with dust as if no one had lived in it for a long time.
On the table and on the ground, there were a few wooden basins that had long dried up. It was obvious that the wooden house was used to collect rainwater when it was raining.
"Feng Er, Father is back," Liu Ming saw this and called out loudly.
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