The casual life of the flat space

It took them less than an hour to reach Xifeng Town, where the original owner of the first object lived. Bai Tieying asked Lao Ba to go into the city first to inquire, as she needed to send the horse back to the space.

After waiting for a while at the tea shop at the entrance of the town, Lao Ba came back running and stumbling. This child is very outgoing and has a good temper. It's a pity that he didn't have a good uncle.

"Sister Tieying, I've asked around. Song Xiushi's home is in Xinghua Hutong in the south of town. His home is three houses west of the apricot tree."

"Did you find out whether the thing belonged to him?"

"That's right! All the neighbors know that he was cheated by Changshengku. I didn't say anything, but the neighbors' grandmothers and aunts talked about it themselves."

"Okay, then go and meet him outside the town. Ten feet north of where I'll take you to dismount, there's an old elm tree. I'll wait for you behind the tree."

"Okay, just wait and see!" Lao Ba said and ran away again. Bai Tieying also gave him money for tea and went to wait for them under the old elm tree.

The town is not big, but Bai Tieying didn't go into the town because he promised Lao Ba that he would go to Xiangyun Temple. Anyway, he has a horse now, so he can come back later if he wants!

"Sister Tieying? We are here!"

Bai Tieying came out from behind the tree and saw Lao Ba leading a boy about 18 or 19 years old, less than five feet tall, wearing white mourning clothes, standing on the side of the road. She didn't say anything, but bowed to Song Xiushi and motioned for them to come over.

"My dear, this is unreasonable. Old Eight just said that you were looking for Mr. Song, and he was talking about a family's ancestral inkstone. If you have anything to say, you might as well speak up."

"Hey, have you become stupid from studying? If I could tell you straight away, I could just go to your house and find you. Hurry up and come this way. If someone comes soon, I won't know anything!"

Seeing this, Song Xiushi hesitated for a long time, but finally took Lao Ba's hand and walked behind the old elm tree.

After turning the old elm tree, there was a gentle slope below. A green horse was strolling leisurely below, stroking the weeds on the ground from time to time.

Song Xiushi stopped about ten feet away from Bai Tieying, bowed and saluted before speaking: "My dear lady, I am in mourning. I hope you can forgive me for my impoliteness."

"Young Master Song, please accept my condolences. Let's stop talking nonsense. We have never seen each other since today. Please tell me the characteristics of your inkstone first!"

"Thank you, young lady. My family's inkstone was purchased when my ancestors still had a little wealth. It has a history of more than 200 years. This inkstone is made of Duan stone with cloud patterns on the bottom of the sea, and the four seal characters "Songshi Xiangsheng" are engraved on the back. There is a break on the third line of the cloud pattern from the bottom to the top on the front. My grandfather accidentally broke it when he was young."

"Can I ask you how this thing got lost?"

"Someone..." Song Tongsheng's voice suddenly choked up, and after a while he continued:

"I'm sorry, Song, for being so out of control. I had to wait for you for so long. I was going to take the exam last August. If I was lucky enough to pass, I would go to the capital. But my family had no money, so I returned home to discuss with... my father and temporarily pawned the ancestral inkstone. Who would have thought... Song was careless for a moment and they tricked me into replacing it.

First, the clerk praised how good the inkstone was, and then asked the court official to come out and estimate its price. He said it was hard to tell whether it was real or fake, and he had to ask the chief court official to confirm. But the chief court official was in the capital, and it would take three days for a fast horse to arrive. He wrote a promissory note to someone, and agreed to confirm whether it could be mortgaged on the fourth day.

I thought I could get the pawned silver back on the fourth day, but the court official first asked me to return the IOU, and then took out the inkstone and said it was fake and could not be pawned. I naturally argued with him, and then invited three other court officials from the Changsheng Treasury to come and judge..."

Song Xiushi paused for a moment and continued, "The conclusion is that the piece in my hand is indeed a fake, and it can even be said to be made recently. I took a closer look at it now, and found that there was no break on the third-to-last cloud pattern. The IOU did not mention this, so the other three court officials could not determine whether it was swapped. I could only suffer this loss in silence. After my father learned about this, he fell ill and died three days ago."

Song Xiushi shed tears silently, and Bai Tieying didn't know what else to say. The Changshengku was definitely wrong, but Song Xiushi was too credulous.

"Mr. Song, look, is this inkstone yours?" Bai Tieying took out an inkstone from the grass on the ground.

"What?" Song Xiushi looked up at the inkstone in Bai Tieying's hand and could hardly believe his eyes - the inkstone that his father had been thinking about for more than a year actually appeared after his death!

"Dad! I am such an unfilial son!" Song Xiushi did not take the inkstone, because he knew clearly in his heart that the inkstone must be real since this young lady had gone to such great lengths and in such a mysterious way to find him. However, the old lady had passed away and it was too late to regret!

"Young Master Song! Lao Ba, quickly help him up!" Bai Tieying was frightened by his angry and embarrassed look, but it was not convenient for her to step forward, so she called Lao Ba.

But Lao Ba was only six years old after all, how could he possibly help a man of eighteen or nineteen? Bai Tieying had no choice but to wait until his crying became less severe before persuading him again.

When Song Xiushi stood up, Bai Tieying saw that he was in tears, so he had to take out another handkerchief from the living room and handed it to him to wipe his face, and comforted him:

"Mr. Song, whose life is not full of regrets? If you think that the regret of the late ancestor is the loss of the family heirloom, I would like to say that compared with the family heirloom, whether the Song family can continue the glory of two hundred years ago is the source of the regret of the late ancestor, right?"

"what!?"

Bai Tieying knew that he had heard it, so she didn't repeat it and just handed the inkstone in her hand towards him.

"Song Ji, thank you for your teachings, young lady!" Song Ji first bowed properly to Bai Tieying, then took the inkstone with both hands. He looked at the cloud pattern at first glance, and his eyes were instantly filled with tears.

"So that Mr. Song can know that this inkstone was obtained from the secret room of Xiao Taicong, the former county magistrate of Shang'an County. Although I cannot tell you the details of the matter, I think you need to know who is the person behind the harm. Of course, it is also possible that someone else gave it to him. You have to find out the details yourself.

All right, Bishui, come up! Lao Ba, we are leaving! Mr. Song... please accept my condolences!"

Bai Tieying walked out as he spoke, but he heard a "gulp" behind him. When he turned around, he saw Song Ji kneeling down to thank him. Bai Tieying was so angry that he stomped his feet!

"Mr. Song, you are afraid that I will live too long, right? No wonder people always call scholars nerds. It's people like you who lead them astray!"