Chapter 2 two

A few months later, Liu Sheng returned after failing the exam.He walked hesitantly on the yellow avenue.Although he wholeheartedly yearned to reunite with Miss, the shame of failing the ranking could not be avoided.He stops and starts, sometimes fast and sometimes slow.The fashion to go to Beijing is full of spring excitement, but now it’s the bleak autumn colors when I return.Looking far away, the sky is light and cloudless, and it is vast for a while.Seeing the city approaching, Liu Sheng felt more and more mixed.There was a river nearby, so Liu Sheng walked to the water, and saw that the people reflected in the water were not brocade clothes or satins, but ordinary clothes.I thought that it looked like this when I went to Beijing, and it will still look like this when I return.The seasons can still be changed, but he is unable to return in rich clothes, and how can he have the face to meet the lady.

Liu Sheng thought about going on the road again, but he came to the gate of the city before he knew it.A sound of noise swarmed out from the city gate, and the scene of prosperity in the city was immediately clear to the eyes. When Liu Sheng walked to the noisy market, he couldn't help but stop. Although he had been away for several months, the appearance of the market remained the same, and it was not affected by the change of seasons.Being in the middle of it, Liu Sheng once again recalled the meeting with Miss Xiulou a few months ago, which seemed to be a romantic anecdote in fantasy.However, the lady's parting words were absolutely true, and the lady's voice sounded bit by bit:

"Regardless of whether you are on the list or not, please go back early." At this moment, Liu Sheng's heart was full of waves, and he couldn't continue to hesitate, so he hurried forward.The scene of the young lady standing at the window and looking into the distance came to life when Yagyu walked hurriedly. Yagyu's imagination filled with tears in the resentful eyes that had been turned from the long expectation.The situation of the reunion is dejected and silent, or it may be bright.There is no doubt that he will climb the rope again. However, when Liu Sheng walked to the front of the rich and deep house compound, what he was shown was dilapidated wells and ruins.The lady's embroidery building no longer exists, how can the lady stand in front of the window?Facing the desolation, Liu Sheng became dizzy for a while.Everything in front of me was unexpected, it seemed to come in an instant.Recalling the splendor and wealth I saw here for the first time a few months ago, it seems to be just now.Looking at the ruins, there are rotten wood and rocks, overgrown with weeds, and a desolate scene.The mighty stone lions of the past are also missing.

Liu Sheng stood at the former main entrance for a while, then walked along the ruins. After walking not far, he stopped, thinking that this is the side door.The side door is naturally desolate.Liu Sheng continued to walk, and came to the former back garden, where a section of dilapidated wall stood alone, with a half door leaning against it.The back door is still faintly visible.Liu Sheng set foot on the ruins, walked over them in different shades, carefully distinguishing where is the Jiuqu stone bridge, where is the pond covered with lotus flowers, where is the gazebo and vermilion fence, where is the hundred bamboo poles, where is the There are peach and apricot contending for beauty.Everything in the past has disappeared, but the two big maple trees still remain, but the trunks are also full of scars.The maple leaves, which were still yellow at the beginning, have been hit by several frosts in autumn, and now they are red, as if covered with blood, very dazzling.A few fallen leaves fell down one after another. Although the maple tree was in its prime, it was already showing its downfall.

Finally, Liu Sheng came to the former Embroidery Building.See a few piles of rubble, a few rotten wood, some weeds and wild flowers in the middle.Where is the prosperous peach and apricot in the past now?There are only a few white wild flowers growing carelessly between the broken tiles.Liu Sheng raised his head and looked up, seeing an empty space.But the scene of climbing up the rope to enter the Xiulou in the past is faintly revealed in this empty space.It's obviously a relive, but it's also very real, as if you are on the scene.However, Liu Sheng's review did not last until the end, but ended abruptly when he said the sentence "We will never meet again if we leave today".The embroidered building disappeared in an instant, but the emptiness still appeared.Liu Sheng came to his senses, thought over his words carefully, and unexpectedly hit the mark.

At this moment, twilight began to fall, and Liu Sheng still stood for a while, and then turned to leave.When he left, he still walked the way he had come, walking out the back door like a few months ago.Thereafter, walk alongside the ruins and look back one last time at the prosperity of yesteryear. When Liu Sheng came to the market, it was time to light the lamps.The restaurants and tea pavilions on both sides are full of lanterns, shining like the day.The streets are still full of people, and people walking do not carry lanterns.Liu Sheng asked the wine sellers, tea sellers, noodle sellers, and wonton sellers on both sides one by one to inquire about the whereabouts of the young lady, but no one knew.When he was feeling sad, a servant pointed out to Liu Sheng:

"This man must know." Liu Sheng immediately looked over, and saw a person sitting on the floor outside the hotel counter, with disheveled hair, dirty face and ragged clothes.The servant told Liu Sheng that this person was the housekeeper of the deep house.Liu Sheng hurried over, but the butler was listless with his eyes open, when he saw Liu Sheng passing by, he stretched out a hand full of dirt, begging to Liu Sheng.Liu Sheng took out a few papers from the bundle and put them in his palm.The butler immediately woke up after catching it, stood up and slapped the money on the counter, ordered a bowl of water and wine, and drank it all in one gulp.Then he sat down softly and leaned against the counter.Liu Sheng asked him where the young lady was going. He closed his eyes and murmured:

"Old glory and wealth." Just this one sentence over and over again.Liu Sheng asked again, the housekeeper opened his eyes, and stretched out a pair of dirty hands.Liu Sheng gave some more Wen, and he drank some water and wine as usual. And the answer to Yagyu is still: "Old glory and wealth." Liu Sheng sighed, knowing that he couldn't ask anything, he turned and left. He walked dozens of steps in the market, and then turned into a back alley unknowingly.There is a lantern hanging in one of the alleys, and tea is being sold under the lantern.When Liu Sheng saw him, he realized that he was hungry and thirsty, so he walked over, sat down on a bench, ordered a bowl of tea, and drank slowly.Water was boiling in the pot beside him, and a few fresh flowers were inserted on the tea table.Liu Sheng identified three kinds of chrysanthemums, crabapples, and orchids.Liu Sheng couldn't help thinking of the scene when he stepped into the back garden a few months ago, when the peach, apricot, and pear flowers were in full bloom, but the chrysanthemum, orchid, and sea hall were not yet in full bloom.Who would have thought that it would be open here now.