Xuanxia

Chapter 412 Nan ​​Muzhi

Tang Jiao was not in a hurry to disturb Mr. Nan.

Now that she had found the person, she felt at ease.

She gently closed the door of the small private school, retreated to the wall not far away, and waited quietly.

The sound of reading continued for half an hour before gradually dying down. At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the dilapidated roofs of Chang'an Lane, giving them a layer of golden glow.

The children rushed out of the door like wild horses, running and laughing. Mr. Nan came out last, hunched his back, slowly closed the door, and hung a rusty lock.

Tang Jiao walked over slowly and called softly, "Uncle Nan?"

Mr. Nan turned around and looked at her for a few seconds, a little confused: "Who are you?"

"I……"

Tang Jiao suppressed her excitement and whispered, "I am Tang Jiao."

"Tang Jiao?" Mr. Nan's face was still full of doubts: "Should I know you? Whose child are you the mother of? Sister?"

"Uncle Nan..."

Tang Jiao lowered her voice again: "It's me, Tang Jiao. During the ten years of Qianhao, you protected me. You hid me in Chang'an Lane for a month, and then quietly sent me out of the capital..."

Upon hearing these words, Mr. Nan’s eyes widened instantly!
Tang Jiao was delighted when she saw this: "You recognized me!"

"Yes, it's you!"

Mr. Nan's face gradually showed shock, joy, memories, touching... and so on. He suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Tang Jiao's arm: "You, you are still alive!"

"Yes, Uncle Nan, I'm still alive." Tang Jiao smiled happily: "I'm back to see you."

“Okay, okay…Okay!”

Mr. Nan was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. He kept looking Tang Jiao up and down: "You have grown up, grown up! If Brother Tang could see you now, how happy and proud he would be..."

Tang Jiao's eyes were filled with tears, but she still smiled: "Uncle Nan, are you teaching in Chang'an Lane now?"

"Yes, yes..." Mr. Nan smiled happily: "I have wasted decades of my life, and only in recent years have I done the most meaningful things!"

After that, he strode to the other side of the alley: "Come on, come to your uncle's house, tell me how you have been living these years..."

As they walked along, Tang Jiao realized the status of her Uncle Nan in Chang'an Lane.

Anyone who sees him will immediately stop what they are doing and greet him seriously.

Most people who greeted him called him "Mr. Nan", but some older and more educated-looking people would call him "Brother Mu".

Tang Jiao followed behind and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She couldn't remember the name of Uncle Nan...but now she finally knew that his name was Nan Muzhi.

The house where Nan Muzhi lived was at the end of Chang'an Lane. It was as dilapidated as other people's houses, and it did not seem to be the one where Tang Jiao hid as a child.

There is no yard, it looks like a cowshed or a toilet...

The light in the room was a little dim, but it was enough to see the surroundings clearly. As far as the eye could see, the room was filled with tattered bookshelves, with volumes of books stacked on the shelves. Some of the pages were yellowed, obviously having experienced the baptism of a long time; others had clear handwriting and the smell of ink, as if they were recently copied.

The air was filled with the faint scent of ink and ancient wood. When Nan Muzhi stepped into it, he seemed to blend in and become one of these countless books.

"Uncle Nan..." Tang Jiao was a little surprised.

"As you can see... I, your uncle, have resigned." Nan Muzhi smiled and said, "I have been in the officialdom for too long, and I stink all over. Only in this fragrance of books can I find peace for a while."

Tang Jiao also smiled and said, "I'm really happy that your uncle can be so open-minded." In the crowded and messy little house, Nan Muzhi started to cook, and Tang Jiao naturally helped.

There is no so-called kitchen here. The stove is placed next to the bed. Above the iron pot for cooking are clothes hanging on the drying line. If you cut vegetables too much, the juice may splash onto the books beside you.

Nan Muzhi felt a little embarrassed at first, but when he saw that Tang Jiao was calm, he gradually relaxed.

Soon, they prepared a small table of dishes - of course, there was no dining table in the room, they just piled the things on the small broken desk aside to make some space.

As for the food, it was also very simple, with three dishes and one soup. The two were the simplest vegetarian dishes, and the meat dish was dried fish that had been sun-dried for a long time. The soup was called soup, but in fact it was just clear water with some cucumbers floating on it.

"I have been running a private school here for five or six years."

Nan Muzhi ate the dried fish and said with a smile, "Chang'an Lane is too poor, but the children here also want to make a name for themselves and study. If someone teaches them to read and learn literature, they will be very happy."

After that, he looked at Tang Jiao curiously again: "Where have you been all these years? Why are you back in Beijing again?"

"me……"

Tang Jiao said softly: "Back then, I wandered all the way to southern Xinjiang..."

She recounted her experiences over the years one by one. Of course, although she talked about everything from Wandu Mountain to Langhuan Mountain, and from Langhuan Mountain to Yucha Town and Luoyi...she did not go into detail on many details.

After all, she has been helping Fu Qingzhou along the way, and many of the things cannot be explained.

"Now, we are back in Beijing..."

Tang Jiao said softly, "It's to investigate my father's case."

As soon as these words were spoken, Nan Muzhi's smile froze on his face and he stopped stretching out his chopsticks.

Seeing him like this, Tang Jiao was keenly aware of something and added softly, "Don't worry, Uncle Nan, we are not acting rashly. This matter was personally agreed to by Master Xiangjian."

"Ugh……"

Nan Muzhi sighed, put down his chopsticks, and asked, "Jiaojiao, you came to see your uncle to ask about what happened back then, right?"

"...Uncle, you saved my life back then."

Tang Jiao whispered, "You were able to rescue me before Mingjian Pavilion raided my house, which shows that you..."

"Stop talking." Nan Muzhi suddenly interrupted her, his expression becoming a little gloomy: "Jiaojiao, if you come to talk to your uncle about the past, your uncle welcomes you, but if you want to ask about this, don't blame your uncle for sending you away."

Tang Jiao was stunned.

She never expected that Nan Muzhi, who was as gentle as the spring breeze just now, would suddenly say such words.

"Uncle Nan..."

She bit her lip and said, "My father died unjustly, and my Tang family was destroyed because of it. I can't just ignore it! If you have any concerns, you can..."

"Any concerns?"

With a clatter, Nan Muzhi slammed his chopsticks heavily on the table and said in a deep voice: "If I had any concerns, why did I save you in the first place!"

Tang Jiao was startled. After a while, she whispered, "Yes, I'm sorry. I said something careless..."

"do not talk."

Nan Muzhi stood up suddenly, brushed his sleeves, and turned his back to Tang Jiao: "Go now, I won't see you off."

(End of this chapter)