Since the death of Nalan Wenruo, Nalan Zhenshan, Nalan Zying, and Nalan Zijian passed away one after another. Only Nalan Ziran is left in the third generation of the Nalan family, and only Nalan Ziran is left in the previous generation.

Nalan Zhenbang and Nalan Zhenhai, one has long since stopped caring about family affairs and is now a teacher in the university, while the other is living and dying in despair.

Going back a generation, there is only Nalanjie, an old man in his eighties.

Some of the other branches have gone abroad, while others continue to lie in the shadow of their fathers and live in a state of dissipation. As for what happens to the Nalan family, they don't care at all.

As the saying goes, high-rise buildings are rising and high-rise buildings are falling. In just a few years, a family that has been inherited for hundreds of years has become strong on the outside and weak on the inside, showing signs of decline.

In the past, the Nalan family's old house was bustling with people. During the New Year and festivals, the entire family's direct and branch families gathered together. People from the village, town, county, and city came to pay New Year's greetings.

The family is prosperous and ordinary.

Today, the Nalan family's old house is mottled with red paint, the stone lions are lifeless, and the blue bricks are covered with moss.

Without people, there will be no popularity. Without popularity, there will be nothing.

When Pang Zhiyuan's family was still there, there were about ten people living in the house.

But after the Yangguan Incident, apart from Nalan Zijian and Nalan Ziya, Pang Zhiyuan's family also disappeared. Three generations followed the Nalan family, and in the end not even a single fire was left.

But now, only Nalan Zhenhai and his wife live there.

Nalan Zhenbang stood at the door. The eldest son of the Nalan family had deeper wrinkles and a more hunched back. He was only in his sixties, but he already looked like he was seventy or eighty years old.

He had not planned to come this time, but there were not many relatives still alive in this world. If he did not see them again, he was worried that he would never have the chance to see them again.

If I don’t say some things, I don’t know if I will have the chance to say them again.

Even though he knew, he couldn't listen to anything now.

Nalan Zhenbang did not go in immediately, but stared blankly at the mottled vermilion door in trance.

He was born in this house and spent his childhood and youth here. Standing in front of the door, he seemed to see an older boy leading two younger boys across the high threshold.

The youngest boy was too small and couldn't step over. The oldest boy used his hand to lift the little boy up high and kicked him out of the gate.

Seeing this scene, a slight smile appeared on Nalan Zhenbang's face.

As the illusory scene disappeared, the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

Nalan Zhenbang shook his head and reached out to push the door. The door was not bolted and opened with a creak.

The inside is not as dilapidated as the outside. The flowers, plants and trees in the yard are in order, and the vegetables and fruits are green.

In the corner at the end of the yard, an old man with white hair and a stooped body was laboriously weeding. His breathing could be heard from a distance.

"Uncle, is there anyone else at home?" Nalan Zhenbang took a few steps forward and shouted.

The white-haired old man turned his head when he heard the shout, still holding the hoe handle in his hand.

When Nalan Zhenbang saw the true appearance of the white-haired old man, his heart felt like a cone and his eyes suddenly turned red.

"Third brother, why do you look like this?"

The so-called white-haired old man is not actually old. Today happens to be his 55th birthday.

Nalan Zhenhai didn't answer. He put down his hoe and walked into the pavilion next to him. He slowly washed his hands with Nalan Zhenbang behind his back.

Nalan Zhenbang wiped his red eyes and walked slowly towards the pavilion, feeling particularly heavy with every step he took.

Entering the pavilion, Nalan Zhenbang sat on a stone bench in a room facing the south. Ever since he was a child, as long as there were only three brothers in the pavilion, this position was his exclusive position.

Directly opposite is Nalan Zhenhai, and to his left is Nalan Zhenshan.

After washing his hands, Nalan Zhenhai sat in his exclusive seat, picked up the teapot on the stone table and slowly poured tea.

Nalan Zhenbang didn't say a word until he poured the tea and placed it in front of Nalan Zhenbang.

Nalan Zhenbang looked at Nalan Zhenhai with white hair, and his heart was filled with pain.

Nalan Zhenhai looked natural, picked up his cup of tea and drank by himself.

Nalan Zhenbang picked up the cup, took a sip, and murmured: "It's so bitter." It tastes bitter and feels bitter.

"I put double the tea leaves, you may not be used to it." Nalan Zhenhai spoke the first sentence.

Nalan Zhenbang put down his cup and suddenly didn't know what to say. After a while, he said: "Third brother, don't hurt yourself."

Nalan Zhenhai said while drinking tea: "There is something wrong with my sense of taste. It is not bitter."

Nalan Zhenbang smiled bitterly and said: "I mean your heart".

Nalan Zhenhai raised a finger and pointed at his heart, and said expressionlessly: "Are you talking about this place? It's not bitter either. Because,,,, this place is already dead."

Nalan Zhenbang felt uncomfortable, but could not say any words of comfort.

Sitting opposite each other, they were silent, no movement, no sound, as if the entire time and space had stopped.

Only the steam coming out of the teapot still proves that this is a real world.

"My father is gone, my second brother is gone, and you and I are the only two brothers left."

Nalan Zhenhai shook his head and said, "Your memory is not very good. You missed one and my son is gone."

"Zhenhai, the dead have passed away, but the living will continue to live."

Nalan Zhenhai pointed to his white hair, "Alive? Death? Is there any difference to me?"

Nalan Zhenbang said slowly: "Zhenhai, you know that I have always loved myself, and my contribution to him far exceeded Ziran."

Nalan Zhenhai picked up the teapot and added tea to Nalan Zhenbang, and said: "But Ziran is still alive, and he has become the head of the Nalan family. Zijian is dead, and there is no trace of his body left."

Nalan Zhenbang looked at Nalan Zhenhai blankly. The latter had no expression on his face, and there was no change in his expression when he spoke. This emotion, which was like dead water and had no fluctuations, made his heart tremble.

"I think Zijian was not killed by Ziran. Although Ziran was narrow-minded, he was not so vicious."

Nalan Zhenhai said lightly: "Did I say that it was Ziran who killed Zijian?"

Nalan Zhenbang smiled bitterly and said, "You didn't say it, but I know you think so in your heart."

"Does it matter what I think?" Nalan Zhenhai said coldly: "He is now the only direct descendant of the Nalan family. Although my situation is not big, I also know that the overall situation is important."

"Zhenhai"?

"Don't worry, even if you don't come today, I won't hold him back. If I wanted to pull him down, I would have done it long ago."

"That's not what I meant".

Nalan Zhenhai said oh and didn't even look at Nalan Zhenbang, as if it didn't matter what Nalan Zhenbang meant and had nothing to do with him.

"Lao San, I came today just to see you again and to see the home where we grew up together."

"Look again"? Nalan Zhenhai finally glanced at Nalan Zhenbang, and then realized that Nalan Zhenbang's face was sallow and sickly.

Nalan Zhenbang stood up slowly and said, "After seeing it, it's time for me to leave."

Nalan Zhenhai did not get up to see him off, but just watched Nalan Zhenbang walk towards the door step by step. When he saw Nalan Zhenbang struggling to cross the threshold and almost falling, he suddenly felt his heart tremble.

At this moment, he remembered that when he was a child, when he couldn't cross the threshold, his elder brother would always hold his hand and lift him over.

The memories of the past flooded into my mind like a tide. In the memory, my eldest brother was gentle and knowledgeable. He was his big umbrella to protect me from the wind and rain, and he was also his teacher of literacy. When my father was busy with family affairs, it was my eldest brother who personally took charge of the family affairs.

He brought it up.

For a moment, he wanted to run over and help his elder brother, but in the end, he still didn't get up.

After Nalan Zhenbang left, Zhu Chunxia walked out of the back room. This daughter of the Zhu family no longer had the elegance of the rich and noble family in the past. Her face was pale, her eyes were sunken, and she was so thin that she could no longer hold up the dark green cheongsam she was wearing.

】

"He's gone"?

Nalan Zhenhai's eyes were still fixed on the door, and his stagnant heart was filled with ripples. As the door slowly closed, his heart sank.

"If you leave, I'm afraid I'll never see you again."

Zhu Chunxia held Nalan Zhenhai's arm and said softly: "Zhenhai, the boss is a good man. Zijian's death had nothing to do with him, so don't blame him."

Nalan Zhenhai murmured: "I don't blame him, and I don't blame anyone. If I want to blame, I can only blame our bad fate."

Zhu Chunxia leaned gently on Nalan Zhenhai's shoulder. Her eyes were red, but no tears flowed out, because she had already shed too many tears when she lost her daughter, and they were completely drained when she lost her son.

.

"Zhenhai, do you think our daughter is still alive in this world?".

Nalan Zhenhai gently hugged Zhu Chunxia's shoulders and said, "If she were still alive, she would be 21 years old this year."

"Zhenhai, I miss her. I have thought about her every day for the past eighteen years."

"With both children, we should be the happiest family."

Nalan Zhenhai patted Zhu Chunxia on the shoulder and said: "There is still a long field without hoeing, you go and cook first."

As soon as Nalan Zhenhai walked out of the pavilion, before Zhu Chunxia entered the back room, the closed door creaked again and was pushed open from the outside.

The two of them looked back almost at the same time, seeing a man with short hair crossing the high threshold.

The man's smile was warm and even a little flattering.

Before entering the yard, he shouted loudly: "Master, Madam"!

Nalan Zhenhai and Zhu Chunxia looked at each other, and both saw something incomprehensible in each other's eyes.

The man's steps were brisk and he soon arrived at the corridor. He cupped his hands into fists and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"Master, madam, good news, great news"!

Nalan Zhenhai frowned slightly and said calmly: "Raise your head."

The short-haired man quickly stood up and looked up, "Master, I'm here to tell you the good news."

Nalan Zhenhai looked at the man carefully and then glanced at Zhu Chunxia, ​​who had a blank look on her face.
Chapter completed!