When Ning Chen opened his eyes again, he found that he had become a scholar. He shook his head and felt that his mind was very confused. He seemed to have had a dream. He dreamed that he was an old man, lying on the bed sickly, looking at
The starry sky, and then just died.
There are also some strange pictures, including big birds flying in the sky, box-like things running on the ground, and yes, there are also black wheels running very fast...
"I must be dreaming." Ning Chen shook his head.
At this time, a man came over, it was his classmate Meng Huai.
But the relationship between the two was not good, and they had many conflicts. Ning Chen hated Meng Huai, but the two were not only classmates, but also neighbors.
Ning Chen deliberately turned his head away and did not look at the other person.
"Ning Chen." Meng Huai greeted him.
Ning Chen was helpless, holding back the disgust in his heart, forcing out a smile, and said hello to Meng Huai. Unexpectedly, Meng Huai was so extravagant that he walked into his room, poured himself a cup of tea, sat down and talked nonstop.
Absolutely, I talked a lot of nonsense.
This made Ning Chen very unhappy and helpless, but considering that everyone was scholars and classmates, it was hard to get angry.
Meng Huai finally left, and Ning Chen became depressed.
After a while, no matter where he went, he would always run into Meng Huai.
I finally managed to go to Beijing to take the exam, thinking I could finally get away from Meng Huai, but I was two days late due to heavy snowfall, and bumped into Meng Huai again.
Ning Chen hated Meng Huai very much, but he seemed to be unable to get rid of her. The whole trip to Beijing was so noisy that he had no intention of reading.
Before I knew it, I arrived in the capital and finished the exam.
Ning Chen thought that he could relax now, but after the rankings were released, he and Meng Huai were ranked almost the same. The two were selected as concubines together, and later became officials in the court, and they could always meet each other, either in the same place.
Department, or in an adjacent place...
In the end, the two of them were transferred to the capital one after another and became officials in the capital. Ning Chen still hated Meng Huai, but he had to become officials in the same court as Meng Huai.
In the past, it was because of his status as a scholar, but now that he is an official in the capital, it is naturally even harder to express his dislike, so he can only endure it.
Decades of life pass by in a hurry.
Until the moment he closed his eyes, he was still thinking, he hated Meng Huai so much, why did he serve as an official in the same court with him for so many years?
...
"who I am?"
"Oh, I'm Ning Chen. Why did you sleep so hard that you even forgot your own name?"
Ning Chen opened his eyes, and next to him was his wife.
He is a general, and his wife and he are childhood sweethearts. They have been married for two years, and they have always treated each other with respect and love as before.
"Are you awake?" came the wife's voice.
It was still dark outside the window at this time, and only the white color of the fish belly was exposed.
But the wife got up immediately and poured him a glass of water. Ning Chen was drinking water. The wife looked at the sky outside and said, "It's almost dawn, I'll boil some water for my husband to wash up."
"No, let the servants..." Ning Chen just started to speak, when the sound of rapid footsteps suddenly came from outside.
A servant outside said: "General, Vice General Liu is here, saying there is an urgent military situation."
Ning Chen stood up immediately and got dressed. His wife was about to send him out, but suddenly she covered her mouth and retched. He thought her wife had caught a cold, so he quickly grabbed her and said, "There's no need to send me off. Go back quickly, don't catch a cold."
"
The wife responded, but still sent him to the door of the inner courtyard.
Vice General Liu and several sergeants were waiting outside, bringing him bad news. Something happened on the border, and the grassland army was attacking. He needed to rush to the front line immediately.
Ning Chen returned to the inner house, spoke to his wife, then hurriedly got on his horse and led his men to the front line.
Half a month later, he received a letter from home.
The letter home was from his wife, telling him the good news that his wife was pregnant for three months. Ning Chen was very happy, but he could only look at his hometown in the distance.
Now that the war is tense, as the commander-in-chief of the First Army, he simply cannot leave. Even if he misses his wife and his unborn child, he cannot go back.
This war was extremely cruel and lasted for more than half a year.
In a battle, Ning Chen was ambushed and suffered heavy losses. He was also hit by an arrow. He escaped under the cover of his adjutant, but was caught by the prairie cavalry.
Because he was well-known as a general, the Khan of the Grassland did not kill him, but imprisoned him in order to persuade him to surrender.
However, Ning Chen never gave in.
One year, two years, three years passed like this...
Finally, he was no longer imprisoned, but he was not allowed to leave the grassland and became a herdsman. He drove his sheep up the hillside every day and looked toward the Central Plains.
He misses his wife and children.
But he knew that he would never be able to go back in this life, so he could only look at them from afar, hoping that everything would be fine for them.
Ten years have passed, twenty years have passed...
He is still a shepherd.
Many times, he wanted to die, but in the end he did not. He hoped to hear news from the Central Plains one day and know how his family was doing.
Whenever there is a caravan coming from Zhongyuan, he will go and inquire about it.
At first, the grassland people monitored him very closely and could not find any opportunity to deliver letters. After ten or twenty years passed, no one would monitor him anymore.
But he is old.
After years of fighting and being imprisoned, he has become an old man. Even if no one monitors him, it is impossible for him to return to the Central Plains.
He wrote a letter for the caravan to take back, but there was no reply...
On this day, he knew that his life had reached its limit. He climbed up the hillside alone, looked towards the Central Plains, and closed his eyes.
...
Jiangnan.
This is the Lantern Festival, the most lively day of the year. Men and women will come out. Some will guess lantern riddles, some will light lanterns, and some bold ones will write words on handkerchiefs and give them to handsome men...
Among the crowd, a woman held a writing brush in her hand and wrote some words on the lantern. Then she put the lantern into the water and floated along the current.
The lanterns floated on the water, and the candles inside were burning, like stars falling into the water, but the beautiful woman was even brighter and more beautiful than the stars.
"Ning Chen." A voice sounded from behind the man, "Are you okay? What are you looking at?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Ning Chen came back to his senses, addressed his friend, and then went to look for the beautiful woman, but he couldn't find her anymore.
From that day on, he felt lost and often came here, hoping to see the beauty again. However, the Lantern Festival had passed, and ladies would not show their faces easily.
One year has passed in the blink of an eye, and the Lantern Festival is here again.
Ning Chen went out early. He didn't guess lantern riddles or light lanterns. He just walked around the streets looking for the beautiful lady...