The first year of Yongchang, the leap month of October 21st.

Because it is a leap month, it is already deep winter.

The nights of winter are always long, especially at dawn, which is the most chaotic and darkest time of the day.

In the Yong'an Palace, soft lights were lit. In front of the curtains of the dragon bed, the copper bells hanging were slightly, flashing twice in a thin and inaudible manner.

At the same time, the eunuchs, who were originally standing in the corner with their hands down, were like statues, immediately stepped forward and knelt on the edge of the bed, gently pulling the curtain.

"Old man, are you awake?" Park Bushen came from the outer hall in his clothes and asked in a low voice.

The old man half opened his eyes and looked at the darkness outside the window, "When is the day before?"

"It's still early before dawn, can you sleep again?" Park Bushen said with a smile.

"I won't sleep anymore. In the future, some people are buried in the soil and it's time to sleep. How can I be anxious now?" As he said that, the old man stretched out his feet and sat up from the bed with a thousand-layer cloth shoes. The eunuch beside him quickly put the warm fur on the side.

On his back.

The old man stood up with the handle of the dragon bed again, and his steps were slightly floating towards the window.

But before he could walk a few steps, he seemed to be tired and sat down on a stool casually.

But the next second, the old man's expression suddenly freezes.

Because the seat he sat in was just before he was usually used to correct his clothes and wear. The old man's eyes fell on the mirror and saw his own face in the mirror.

Seeing this, Park Bucheng quickly waved to the other eunuchs.

The eunuchs stepped on the floor and retreated quickly and silently.

Then Park Bushen didn't say anything, but poured a bowl of warm tea soup and stood behind the old man with both hands.

"I didn't look closely, so we... are all like this bird!"

The face in the mirror is extremely old, with pale and thin cheeks and wrinkles. The hair, eyebrows, beard seems to be connected to one piece, with a little brown color mixed in the grayness. There are also a few spots visible to the naked eye on the forehead.

The old man tried hard to open his eyes wide, hoping to see his sharp eyes like a tiger in the mirror.

But what was received was that the wrinkles on the face trembled a few times.

"In this life, we are so fast!" The old man moved his hands, as if he wanted to touch himself in the mirror, but he never raised it up. "We are so old, old!"

Park Bushen laughed in a low voice, "You haven't had a good sleep and seem unenergized. Besides, if it's not bright yet, the room is dark..."

"As old, it's old!" The old man still looked at himself in the mirror and smiled bitterly, "If we close our eyes now, will it be like a dead person? Haha, will it be like this after we die?"

Push, Park Bushen knelt down, "Old man..."

"No wonder the eldest grandson said he wanted to celebrate his birthday for us. How many years will it take for us to do this?" The old man smiled bitterly, "Life is coming and going, and there is no way to do anything. When he was young, he always felt that life was like this. Why did this life be like this when he was young?

Slow, so slow that there is no hope."

"Now I am old, but I feel that life is fast. It's like the steamed bun I ate when I'm so hungry. Before my tongue can taste it, it's gone!"

"It is said that people are afraid of death when they are old, but they are not afraid of death. It is because their mother died too quickly and they have to take people away before they are ready."

"It is said that people take things lightly when they get old. How can they not take things lightly? Time flies so quickly, how can they think about anything else?"

"Ha!" Suddenly, the old man grinned and pointed at himself in the mirror, "Zhu Chongba, you look so ugly!"

Then he smiled and put on a fierce expression, "Damn it, your life is so fast. Do you want to see us cowardly? Want to see the joke of fear of death when we are old? You are eight generations of you

, Your bad-hearted heart will never be good for us in this life."

Park Bushen, who was kneeling, listened to the old man's words and knew who the old man was scolding.

What the old man scolded was time, destiny, and God!

"Don't say that we'll be so good later. We're all fighting for your life. You are so capable. If you want to give birth to a poor family in the next life, we can still fight for it. If you don't believe it, let's bet?"

"You are bullying honest people. When you meet someone like us, you will be timid. You will say whatever you want and say, God will give you great responsibility. Oh, your mother, you will let you do all the good things and bad things.

Now.”

Speaking of this, the old man smiled slightly in front of the mirror, turned to look at Pu Bucheng who was kneeling, and said softly, "Get up, the ground is cold!"

Then he continued to turn his head and look at the mirror, "Are our clothes that are all old?"

Park Bushen endured the hot corners of his eyes and was uncontrollable. "Old man, I have been following your old instructions for the past few years, and it's right!"

The old man nodded, "Just be right, don't be careless. If there is something wrong with our clothes, there is no place to find them. We are always when our girls are alive. We will beat us up with needles and threads.

I can’t bear to wear it when I die, and I have to wear it well if I want to find her.”

"It's been so many years. If we don't wear the clothes she beats, I'm afraid she won't recognize us."

As he said that, he seemed to be excited, "You said, my girl won't recognize us, right?"

"Old man!" Park Bucheng was afraid and anxious, "Today is your happy day, you must..."

"What a big joy! It's just one birthday. Actually, we don't want to celebrate it, because it's a birthday, so we'll spend less every time." The old man smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "You go there, we want to go later!"

~~~~~~

In the bedroom, the only old man was left.

His long shadow was reflected on the gold bricks on the ground.

There was no one around me, so I put down my shoulders, loosened my waist, and put my arms on the table.

He was just like that, looking at himself in the mirror in a daze.

"Birthday?"

With these two words, many vague shadows continued to emerge in the depths of his mind. Those vague shadows used to be extremely real sounds, appearances, and smiles, but now no matter how hard they try, they are all vague, and only vague.

The outline I remember.

"Um!"

The old man roared and smashed his temple twice with his fist, and the picture in his mind suddenly came to life.

It was like a picture suddenly appeared in front of you.

A vivid and unfamiliar picture that is both sad and warm.

~~~~~~

In a house with nothing, a woman sat on the threshold, using the moonlight outside, her needles and threads in her hands were shuttled back and forth on a wrinkled gown.

On the kang in the room, the shirtless boy curled up embarrassedly in the quilt. He completely ignored the loud snoring sounds around him, and his eyes were brightly watched the woman on the threshold.

The woman also saw his eyes, and her face, which was blurred and only had a true and loving smile.

"Zhongba, tomorrow is your birthday, I will beat you to new clothes!" As he said that, he rubbed the needle on his hair and said with a smile, "I have cooked a chicken for you in the pot,

I will eat chicken on my birthday, God bless my eldest son.”

"Mom!" The old man in front of the mirror shouted excitedly, and tears burst out from his eyes.

At the same time, in the scene in my mind, the boy on the kang also shouted sweetly, "Mom!"

Then the boy put his finger into his mouth, bit it hard a few times, and looked up resolutely, "Mom, is the chicken cooked in vain?" As he said that, he lowered his head, "You can keep it for salt to change.

!”

"No!" The woman was still making clothes with a smile, "It is a rule passed down by the older generation when a boy eats chicken on his birthday. You must not forget it. No matter how poor he is, he will prepare it for you." As he said that, he put his hands on his hands

After a meal, he lowered his head, "I blame your parents for being incompetent and I can't give you a meal of meat in a year. I'll give you a chicken on my birthday!"

"I'll grow up in the future and can work and make money. I'll cook ten chickens for you to eat on your birthday!" The boy on the kang said to his mother, saying his heartfelt promise, "If I get rich, I'll make a fortune!"

Now, I’ll find several maids to serve you, just like the rich man Liu’s family.”

"Hey, you don't have to do anything all day, just walk around the village, and sometimes in the back mountain and sometimes in the front yard. My son buys you beautiful clothes, the kind with flowers..."

The sensitive heart of the boy on the kang was able to see his mother's inner sorrow. He deliberately made public his bold statements and ambitions, hoping to win his mother's smile.
Chapter completed!