Xuanxia

Chapter 458 Uncle
Late at night, in Chang'an Lane, in Nanmuzhi's small house.

"Uncle Nan, the lesson plan for tonight has been finalized."

Tang Jiao raised her head from the books and papers on the table, rubbed her eyes tiredly and said, "My niece will be back first."

Today, Nan Muzhi's dilapidated little house has been kept clean and tidy.

The room, which was once so crowded that there was barely room to move, now had space for two desks, one for Nan Muzhi and one for Tang Jiao.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the faint scent of ink that permeates the room.

At this time, Nan Muzhi was also buried in a pile of book pages, holding a pen in his hand and writing furiously.

Hearing Tang Jiao's words, he just hummed lightly without even raising his head.

Tang Jiao was also used to it. After simply tidying up the things on the table, she stood up and prepared to leave.

Just then, a strong wind blew outside the window and blew open the window of the cottage.

The wind blew away the papers on the table and shook the candlelight of the oil lamp.

"Oh."

Seeing that the book pages she had just sorted out were scattered all over the floor, Tang Jiao quickly bent down and picked them up again.

And Nan Muzhi also stopped writing.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Tang Jiao who was squatting on the ground picking up a book, and his eyes suddenly became a little dazed.

Perhaps it was because the candlelight was flickering too much and the light and shadows in the room were changing, he seemed to see a scene that happened many, many years ago.

At that time, he was still an ordinary student in a small academy in the capital.

That day, he heard that a classmate who he had never gotten along with before didn't have to take the imperial examination anymore... because the classmate's family was a prominent family in the northeast, and the family recommended a virtuous person. So, that talentless and immoral guy who only cared about alcohol and sex could go back to be a local official? !
So, at night, Nan Muzhi wrote many, many words of "quiet" on the table. He wanted to calm himself down and not think about it...

But as he wrote, he became more and more irritated!
Finally, he threw down his pen, and the paper with the word "静" written on it scattered all over the floor!

At this moment, the door of the room opened.

The classmate of many years was a little surprised at first, but after seeing the words on the ground, he understood, smiled, said nothing, just squatted down and began to slowly pick up the paper.

"Muzhi."

While picking up the papers on the ground, the good friend turned his head and smiled at Nan Muzhi, saying, "We should cultivate ourselves, keep our original intentions, and not be tainted by the turbidity of the world, only then will we have a chance to change all this."

"Uncle Nan?" Tang Jiao picked up the papers on the floor and turned to Nan Muzhi with a smile, "It's done. It's already late. Go to bed early. You have classes tomorrow morning."

In an instant, the two figures crossed decades of time and overlapped.

Nan Muzhi stretched out his withered hand and wiped his eyes.

Tang Jiao did not notice the subtle change in his expression. She put the picked up paper back on the table, pressed it with a paperweight, closed the window again, and prepared to leave.

"Jiaojiao."

At this time, Nan Muzhi suddenly called out in a hoarse voice.

Tang Jiao responded and turned around: "What's wrong, Uncle Nan?"

"Come here." Nan Muzhi said softly.

Tang Jiao blinked, seeming to realize something.

But she hid it very well, not showing any excitement or anticipation. She just nodded calmly and came to Nan Muzhi's table.

Just as she took these few steps, Nan Muzhi had already picked up the pen and quickly wrote a few lines on the paper.

After Tang Jiao stood still, he tore off the part with the words and handed the note over.

Tang Jiao took the note and saw an address on it, and it was in Beijing. "What is this?"

She suppressed her excitement and asked.

Nan Muzhi sighed: "You don't know yet, your father has a biological elder brother, right?"

"Dear, dear brother?!" Tang Jiao's pupils trembled: "You mean, I... I have an uncle?"

"Ah."

Nan Muzhi said softly, "Your grandparents died a long time ago in the famine. Brother Tang and his elder brother depended on each other and supported each other. It was his elder brother who worked hard outside to earn the money to support your father's studies."

“But then, they had a falling out.”

"I don't know the specific reasons... But when I met your father, he had already separated from his eldest brother. The two of them had almost no contact with each other. Even when he became an official later, he did not help his eldest brother."

Tang Jiao listened carefully, but her expression became very complicated.

She was too young when she left home, and when she listened to the stories of her parents and even grandparents, she felt a strange sense of alienation and unfamiliarity.

She couldn't even remember what kind of person her father was... She also couldn't understand what had happened to make her father part ways with her eldest brother who had supported his studies?

Nan Muzhi continued, "I have only met your uncle once... that was the day I sent you away from Beijing."

"Perhaps it is because of this that he was not involved when your Tang family was raided and exterminated."

Tang Jiao was shocked.

"He said something, but I don't quite remember it."

Nan Muzhi frowned and said softly, "But I remember that I was very scared at the time. I was worried that my wife and children would be implicated, and I was worried that you would not be able to protect yourself if you left the capital, and..."

He took a deep breath and said slowly, "So your uncle... asked me to hand over everything I had to him and let him keep it. And he will also protect you secretly."

"Secretly, secretly protecting me?" Tang Jiao was even more shocked: "So, the reason I was able to walk all the way to Southern Xinjiang safely was also because, also because..."

Some things cannot be thought about too carefully.

Once you think about it carefully, you will find many problems.

She was a little girl in her teens who traveled from the capital to southern Xinjiang, almost crossing half of Dayanjiang Mountain. She walked such a long distance, but nothing happened...

Several guards arranged by Nan Muzhi were robbed and killed by bandits shortly after leaving Beijing, but she was not in trouble either.

On the way, she also met many bad guys, but in the end she was able to get through them safely...

It turns out that all this is because there is an uncle behind me!

For some reason, Tang Jiao's eyes were suddenly filled with mist.

She asked softly: "Uncle Nan, then, my uncle, he..."

"I have already given you the address he left behind."

Nan Muzhi sighed, "I did find some things about the case back then, and I gave them all to your uncle... But after so many years, I have never been to this address. I just remember it firmly, and I don't know if there is anyone there."

Tang Jiao looked down at the note in her hand and pursed her lips.

There was a short line of words written on it.

"No. 18, Xiaoliu Lane, Baishi Street."

"Go ahead." Nan Muzhi said softly, "You want to investigate Brother Tang's case. This is the only clue I can provide... Later, if you still want to come to Chang'an Lane to write and talk with me, or teach those children, you can come anytime. If you don't want to come... that's fine too."

Tang Jiao folded the note very carefully, bowed deeply to Nan Muzhi, turned around and left the hut.

(End of this chapter)