General's humble stand-in

Jinganju, the courtyard is as its name suggests, quiet and elegant, only a touch of sandalwood permeates the air.

Sandalwood has a calming and soothing effect, but Taozhuo has a hidden sense of uneasiness.He lightly squeezed his sleeves, but he didn't dare to look around, he could only stare at the spotless bluestone bricks with his head down.

Not long after, the sound of slight footsteps came into my ears.Momo bypassed the Sijiruyi screen carved by Chenxiang wood, and beckoned to Tao Zhuo, "Come in."

Tao Zhuo is also cautious, walking like a night cat, without making any noise.

Passing through the outer chamber, the smell of sandalwood intensifies.

After entering the inner room, I only saw a woman kneeling in front of the Buddha statue, twisting the bodhi seed in her hand.The dress is simple and elegant, but the gold step rock inserted in the hair is particularly dazzling.

"Old lady, someone brought it here." Meme beside him said respectfully.

As if she had never heard of it, the old lady still closed her eyes, twirling the Buddhist beads, and muttering something in her mouth.

After a long time, the chanting finally stopped.

Putting down the Buddhist beads in her hand, the old lady did not get up, but she sighed softly, as if she was talking to herself or listening to Tao Zhuo, "I have been eating fast and reciting Buddha for many years, and I dare not extravagantly seek the glory of my family, but I only hope for the peace of my family. There used to be three sons, but now only Ye'er is still able to fulfill his filial piety. Whenever I think of his two elder brothers who died in battle, I can't sleep at night. Now I don't pray for Ye'er to be promoted to a higher position, but I only hope that he is safe and happy for us The Gu family spreads its branches and leaves."

It's just a mother's deep love, but it makes Taozhuo's nose a little sore, it's a family affection he never dared to hope for nor had.

Seeing that Tao Zhuo didn't say a word and didn't respond, the old lady got a little angry.These words were intended to be heard by Taozhuo, and Mo Ziyu's incident did not dare to let it happen again.

"I'm talking to you, but are you dumb?"

Tao Zhuo was stunned for a moment, thinking about it carefully, she couldn't figure out what the old lady wanted to say to herself.

He could only reluctantly agree, "The old lady is kind-hearted, she must be protected by the Buddha, and her wish will come true."

"I don't know if it's really stupid or pretending to be stupid." The old lady stood up from the futon, turned around to look at Tao Zhuo, shook her head and said, "It's so similar, but it looks stupid compared to that child."

Li Meme on the side smiled and said, "The young master of the Mo family is from a scholarly family, how can he be compared to a beggar from the countryside. The old lady doesn't have to worry about it, maybe we, brother Ye, don't have any other intentions. If there is really that kind of affection , I’ve returned to you earlier, and brought the person into the room.”

This time Tao Zhuo understood, he was comparing himself with Mo Ziyu.I'm afraid it's because the old lady loves her son dearly, and she's afraid that things that won't make it to the stage will happen again.

Tao Zhuo didn't know how to explain it, just like what Li Meme said, he was not in the general's eyes.

The old lady gently pulled back her hair at the sideburns. Although she was over the middle of the year, time always favored beauties, and what was left was only noble and elegant, not broken flowers.

"I hope." The old lady smiled wryly, and then said to Tao Zhuo, "You can stay with me to clean the Buddhist hall, and you don't have to go to Tingfeng Tower to serve you in the future."

Unexpectedly, Tao Zhuo didn't want to agree but didn't dare to refuse. When he was struggling to know how to speak, he made the old lady unhappy.

"Why, don't you want to? It's up to you whether you want to or not."

Yes, as a lowly man, how dare he pretend to be noble.

Tao Zhuo knelt down on both knees, and replied in a wrong way, "Slave, I am willing."

The Buddhist hall is a place of meditation, but it is difficult to calm down.

Gently wiping the incense ash on the altar, Tao Zhuo glanced at the sky outside from time to time.The sun was gradually setting, and the dark dusk slowly passed by.

I don't know if the general has returned home?I wonder if the general will take me back?Tao Zhuo was full of worries, and accidentally knocked over the offerings on the altar.

His stomach growled, and he hadn't even had a bite of food since he entered this small Buddhist hall in the morning.

Tao Zhuo blinked his round apricot eyes, looked at the smiling Maitreya Buddha in the altar, and murmured, "Buddha is merciful, you can't bear to starve me, right? You can't eat so much, or I can help you old man?"

After a while, Tao Zhuo showed a sly smile, "If you don't speak, I will take it as your agreement."

His dark eyes rolled around, he was the only one in this Buddhist hall.Picking up a piece of peach cake, he quickly stuffed it into his mouth, chewing like a little hamster with his bulging cheeks, and accidentally choked on it because he ate it in a hurry.

The pastry enters the stomach, and the rest is full of fragrance.Tao Zhuo sticks out the tip of her tongue to lick the scum on her lips, her clear eyes are full of entanglements...

what to do?Still want to eat.

Anyway, there is no difference between missing one piece and two pieces, so to comfort myself, the evil little hand stretched out to the offering again.

Tao Zhuo was dumbfounded when there was only the last piece of cake left on the plate full.While gnawing on the apple in his hand, he thought: It's over, if the old lady comes over tomorrow morning, I will definitely be punished.

Just as Taozhuo thought, but he didn't wait until the next morning.As night fell, Li Meme came to the Small Buddha Hall to check, and was shocked to see the mess on the tribute table and was speechless for a long time.

"I have served the old lady to worship the Buddha for many years. This is the first time I met someone who dared to steal the offerings. You are really..." Li Meme pointed at Tao Zhuo, her fingertips were trembling slightly, and she was so angry that she didn't know what words to use to describe it. The peach is burning.

"Kneel down."

With a sharp shout, Tao Zhuo knelt down like a conditioned reflex.

"What are you kneeling on me for?" Li Memo said helplessly, "Kneeling to the Buddha."

"Oh." Tao Zhuo rubbed his knees and changed direction.

Li Meme shook his head and muttered, "He looks fair and clean, but he is stupid and silly, not even the slightest bit worse than that Mo family's son."

Thinking about it, there is always the weakest place in the human heart, and the slightest touch will cause suffocating pain.Tao Zhuo has a good temper, and often he can make him happy with just one bite.He doesn't care much about others calling him stupid or stupid, the only sensitivity is probably Mo Ziyu.

Tao Zhuo doesn't want to be Mo Ziyu's shadow, let alone be compared with him everywhere.There is only one Mo Ziyu in this world, and only one Tao Zhuo.

Probably because he was angry with himself, Tao Zhuo knelt in the Buddhist hall all night without moving.Just like the weeds in the crevices of the stone, although they are always looked down upon, they still grow tenaciously and tenaciously.Tao Zhuo knows that he doesn't have Mo Ziyu's family background, let alone Mo Ziyu's talent, but he just doesn't want to lose to him, and doesn't want to live in his shadow forever.

The morning sun sheds a layer of golden warm glow through the doors and windows, and the winter sun is always faint, warm but not burning.

As the door of the Buddhist hall was pushed open, Li Memo, who was holding the offerings, looked at the pale Tao Zhuo in amazement.

"You child, have you been kneeling all night?"

"Tao Zhuo knows his mistake, and should be punished." There was a trace of stubbornness in his tone.

A little kindness melted into the wrinkles at the corners of Li Meme's eyes, "Get up quickly, I brought new cakes and put them on, the old lady will not notice. You are not allowed to steal them from now on, it is disrespectful to the Buddha."

"Are you not angry with me?" Tao Zhuo was puzzled instead.

"Children are greedy, just punish them, and I will still be mad at you for the rest of your life?" Li Momo chuckled, "As long as you abide by your duty, don't do those nasty things that seduce our brother Ye, don't say I, the old lady, will treat you well."

These words are so harsh.