The tyrant family read my heart and doted on me.

Hou Ruoan's eyebrows were lowered, his face was tense, and his fists were clenched tightly, as if he was competing with himself in his mind. As for what he was competing with, no one knew, and he didn't want to explain too much.

After a long time, he unclenched his fist, looked at the incense burner, and said calmly, "This is my private matter."

"It was my fault that I just caused the girl to hallucinate. I apologize."

"sorry."

Hou Ruoan didn't care that the person in front of him was a little girl, a little girl who could be his granddaughter. He bowed his head and apologized sincerely.

Seeing this, Jiujiu wanted to ask more questions. She vaguely felt that the incense burner was not that simple, but she was stopped by Zhou Wenchuan.

Zhou Wenchuan said one step ahead of her: "Uncle Hou, please come and sit down quickly. We can talk about anything later."

Hou Ruoan did not sit down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tactfully reminded Jiujiu and Zhou Wenchuan that they could leave. He still had something to do.

As for the help he just mentioned, it seems that he is unwilling to help because the secret was spied on.

Jiujiu was unwilling to leave. She hadn't said anything about the thousand-year-old Yurong root yet, so how could she leave?

However, when Hou Ruoan saw that she wouldn't leave, he decided to leave by himself.

"..."

Ok!

Jiujiu could only leave with Zhou Wenchuan first.

Jiujiu wanted to wait until Hou Ruoan calmed down a bit before going to him to ask for medicine.

Little did they know that as soon as Jiujiu and Zhou Wenchuan left, Hou Ruoan locked the door inward, added incense in the incense burner, lit it, and lay down on the wicker chair, immersed in the incense.

The fragrance is unusually strong.

The hallucinogenic effect is also unprecedentedly strong.

What Hou Ruoan longed for most in his heart was magnified infinitely before his eyes at this moment.

He saw the Holy Emperor, the court, and his official uniform, official boots, official hat, and wat board...

"Long live your majesty."

Hou Ruoan said, stood up and knelt on the ground to greet the Holy One.

He also talked to himself about reporting government affairs to the emperor in his eyes.

Although he was dismissed from office, he always remembered his original intention when he entered the court as an official at a young age, to plead for the people.

Therefore, the government affairs he describes at this moment are all feasible strategies he proposed based on the current situation of the people.

He narrated a lot, and he did not finish his narration until the incense in the carved incense burner burned out and the fragrance dissipated.

He was just about to say, "Please, Your Majesty," when a ray of breeze blew onto his face, which made him wake up.

When he woke up from the sweet dream, he found himself in this simple, empty thatched hut where he was the only one, unable to do anything.

He looked around, knelt on the ground in frustration, and choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, I was wrong. I really know I was wrong."

"Back then, I shouldn't have stubbornly believed that our new king of the Southern Kingdom could only be the eldest son..."

"In these years, you have governed the Southern Kingdom very well. You are much better than the deposed prince."

"You are the most suitable person to become the King of the Southern Kingdom."

"I understand."

"I really want to go back and continue to be loyal to the Southern Kingdom, continue to ask for orders and do things for the people, but there is no chance."

At this point, Hou Ruoan lay on the ground and burst into tears.

At that time, he supported the crown prince Emperor Chaoyang due to his prejudice against establishing a direct heir, and repeatedly opposed Emperor Jiang, so that he was dismissed from office and exiled here.

He always felt that he was right, and only the eldest son could shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the new king of the Southern Kingdom. But over the years, as he looked at the prosperous Southern Kingdom and heard the rumors that the monarch was focused on government affairs and did not even have a woman in his twenties, he suddenly realized that he was wrong.

The Emperor Chaoyang back then was not like this.

Emperor Chaoyang focused on eating, drinking and having fun, gained imperial power and wealth, and raised a lot of women. He did not do practical work, which was completely different from the new monarch's style.

It was because he was too paranoid that he thought that after Di Chaoyang became emperor, he would be able to shoulder heavy responsibilities and no one else could.

The truth slapped him hard in the face and woke him up.

He wanted to admit his mistake and go back to continue serving as an official and serving the people.

but--

"I know that everything is my fantasy. I will never leave this village in my life."

"No one will help me get out of this village and see you, Your Majesty. If I want to continue to speak and do things for the people, I can only rely on these incense."

Hou Ruoan's turbid tears kept falling to the ground, and soon the ground in front of him became wet.

He cried until he lost all strength and lay on the ground. He lay there for a while, then lit the incense again and repeated the scene where he had just gone to court to meet His Majesty.

This time, he ordered three times as much spice as before. He was really crazy and desperate to do this.

He had strong hallucinations again, but this time, they were accompanied by headaches, dizziness, numbness of limbs, and collapse of consciousness.

He felt like his life was hanging by a thread, his body couldn't hold on, and he was about to die.

But that’s fine too.

He doesn't have to continue living like this, he doesn't want to live a life like this anymore.

He was finally free.

Hou Ruoan thought of this, knelt on the ground, waved at the illusory figures, then closed his eyes and fell to the ground in exhaustion.

He fainted for a long time, but no one knew.

.

Outside the thatched house.

After Jiujiu and Zhou Wenchuan went out, they did not leave. They waited under the locust tree not far outside the fence.

They wanted to wait until Hou Ruoan calmed down before going to see Hou Ruoan.

For this reason, they didn't even eat lunch and waited for most of the day.

Naihe didn't wait until Hou Ruoan's mood returned to normal before opening the closed door.

"Look, there's no smoke in the chimney." Jiujiu said, "Master Hou, doesn't he even cook?"

Zhou Wenchuan said: "I don't know, maybe he ate some cornstarch or something."

"Uncle Hou only pays attention to tea. He doesn't pay attention to anything else."

"Eat three meals a day, as long as it can fill his stomach. Sometimes, he can make do with just a few cucumbers picked from the field. He doesn't care about the clothes he wears. He only wears those two pieces over and over again. .”

"We bought him new ones, but he didn't want them."

"After he was dismissed from office, he had a lot of money, but he didn't use it. In the past two years, he donated all the money to build private schools in various places."

"I don't know what he wants? What does he want to do?"

Zhou Wenchuan sighed deeply as he spoke, feeling a little sorry for Hou Ruowen.

He could have lived a good life, even if he was alone, he could have lived a good life, dignified and honorable, and respected by others, but he was not like that.

He chose a narrow path that many people could not understand or understand.

"How about we go back and have something to eat first? Come over after we finish eating?" Zhou Wenchuan suggested, "Just go to my house to eat, okay?"

"No." Jiujiu refused.

But Zhou Wenchuan didn't give up. Zhou Wenchuan looked at Jiujiu affectionately and said enthusiastically: "Miss Yanyue, my grandpa really wants you to come to my house for dinner."