Author: Sigui Beihong

When the sky dawned, the scraps of paper on the ground and the kite that had been deformed by repeated trampling began to fly with the wind.

No matter it is Ma Street, West Street, East Street or Tianjie Royal Road, they are all deserted without a trace of anyone. Only the crisp sound of gongs can be heard from afar, accompanied by a loud but slightly hoarse man's voice: "The sky is bright and clear."

It's vague, it will rain in five minutes..."

At this time, a dozen beggars in shabby clothes were kneeling in front of the steps at the gate of Minglou, crying bitterly, as if they were mourning for their heirs. On the steps, a young female envoy in plain clothes was wiping her tears and wiping her hands.

The copper coins in it were sprinkled on the beggars.

But these beggars, who usually fought for a copper coin, could only kowtow and cry, paying no attention to the coins thrown at them.

"Big girl... Big girl, why is she such a loser?" An old beggar cried and raised his head and asked the female servant.

The female servant was also choking and sobbing, and said intermittently: "The eldest girl fell into the water...and then caught the wind and cold."

When the beggars heard this, they became even more sad, crying and shouting at the same time.

"Good people are not rewarded..."

"God has no mercy, so he took away such a good man... wu wu wu..." The noise was very loud for a while.

The female servant became even more sad when she heard this, so she had to cover her head and face with a handkerchief and cry quietly.

She only cried for a while, then her shoulders were gently shaken, and a familiar voice sounded in her ears: "Cuckoo! Cuckoo..."

The female envoy was excited and quickly raised her head. Although her eyes were full of tears, she could still see the person in front of her clearly. She bit her lower lip lightly and called out: "Brother Song!" Then she plunged into Song Mingxuan's arms.

Song Mingxuan's body trembled slightly, and while rubbing Du Juan's shoulder, he said: "The world is really unpredictable. Yesterday, He Lu came to me angrily to accuse me. Who would have thought that with a stick of incense, she would... sigh."

"What's the use of saying such sad things?" A woman's voice sounded behind Song Mingxuan, with a hint of reproach in her tone.

Du Juan glanced sideways and saw a young woman with fair skin and round facial features standing behind Song Mingxuan.

She is said to be young, but there are some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She looks to be around thirty years old. Perhaps it is because she does not apply makeup on her face, and her face looks slightly tired.

Du Juan hurriedly took a step back, came out of Song Mingxuan's arms, then curtsied respectfully to the woman, and said, "Sister-in-law Song, I lost my temper for a moment and took the liberty."

This woman is Song Wusao, the shopkeeper of Fanlou who is as famous as Minglou. She is good at making vinegar fish, and everyone in Tokyo knows about it.

At this time, she smiled and said: "We are not outsiders, so what are we afraid of?" She raised her head slightly and glanced at Song Mingxuan, and continued: "What's more, Jiaxing also has a lot to show. We are here today, firstly, to mourn.

The first is to apologize, just hoping to find a comprehensive way to make the family atone for their sins."

As she spoke, she turned slightly and bowed to Du Juan. Du Juan hurriedly supported her and said, "Sister-in-law Song is a person like a dragon and a phoenix. I can't bear your bow."

Then, Du Juan wiped her hands on the rough skirt and said, "Brother and sister-in-law of the Song family, please go in."

The door slowly opened, and the magnificence of the Minglou suddenly came into view. From the door, you can see exquisite tables and chairs, hollow carved stair railings, exquisite screens and walls full of flower and bird calligraphy and paintings. Between the tables and chairs

There are screens that divide the entire hall into several small rooms.

There are teapots, tea bowls, small pots for making tea and spice bags on the table. These things are neatly placed on each table without any deviation.

However, at this time, white candles were burning on candlesticks everywhere. Although the sky was bright, the gloomy sunlight was unable to penetrate the windows. The usual warm and colorful atmosphere was gone, replaced by this depressed and gloomy atmosphere.

Look.

Du Juan led the Song siblings through the corridor between the screens and said, "The matter is urgent, and the elder man is not here. Everyone in the family is busy arranging for the funeral. Although the Fourth Division and the Sixth Bureau were called,

People, but after all, you have to do it yourself. I haven’t even bothered to clean up the things in the teahouse."

Sister-in-law Song Wu wiped away her tears and said, "Yes, let's just leave it like this. It will make people feel uncomfortable after cleaning it up."

While they were talking, they had already passed through the hall and entered the courtyard. This courtyard was not big, and was a place for clerks and low-level servants to live. There were only a few rows of houses of different heights, and there was a tall and straight tree in the middle.

of willow.

There is a gate at the end of the yard. After passing the gate, you will reach the yard where the Mo family's family members live. Before they arrived, they could already hear the crying.

Compared with the previous courtyard, this courtyard is much larger. A long corridor leads directly to the middle hall. On both sides are the residences of the family's senior female servants, servants and some elderly mothers. Behind the middle hall are

It is a larger courtyard with winding paths, mirror lakes, rockeries, pavilions, well-organized houses, and smooth traffic.

Whether it is mountains, rivers, pavilions or pavilions, they are all built in the style of Suzhou and Hangzhou, which is very elegant.

The Mo family lives here.

Behind it is a racecourse. There are haystacks of targets for sword practice and archery targets. This is specially used for Mo Yunxiao's martial arts training.

On one side of the martial arts arena is a stable, where more than 20 solid-colored horses are resting. The servants take good care of them on weekdays, so that the entire stable does not smell at all.

However, at this time, the martial arts arena was empty, and there were no people living in the courtyard. The female envoys, servants, and mothers, all dressed in plain clothes, gathered in the front and back of the central hall. Some were waiting outside to greet the guests, and some were waiting and looking after them in the house.

Although busy, it is also orderly.

Although two elderly ladies at the door had not slept all night, they were still in good spirits. They saw the Song siblings in the mist at a glance and rushed to greet them.

"Aren't these Brother Xuan and Sister-in-law Five?" an old woman quickly said with a smile: "Thanks to the two nobles' intentions, the genius has just arrived. My eldest daughter knows that I know, she should be happy."

She choked up again as she spoke.

Song Mingxuan was about to speak, but Song Wu's sister-in-law rushed to speak: "What kind of noble person is this? Alas, Jiaxing is not sensible, and his impulsiveness hurt the harmony between our Mo and Song families. I thought that after the Lantern Festival, I would bring him with me again

Jiaxing came to plead guilty, but I didn’t expect...I didn’t expect..."

Sister-in-law Song became more and more choked up as she spoke, until she finally couldn't speak a word, so she had to cover her mouth with a handkerchief and sob quietly.

The old woman also sighed heavily and said: "What a pity, that eldest girl is also an old woman. I watched her grow up. If something like this suddenly happens, who can be easily offended? Okay, I can't trip you up, old woman."

, you and Brother Xuan should go inside quickly to warm up."

Sister-in-law Song Wu nodded repeatedly while sobbing, and naturally took Song Mingxuan's hand into the middle hall.

When the heavy curtains were opened, a gust of warm air came to the face. The cries and the comforting voices of the female envoys were intertwined with each other, making it more real.

The room was full of plain clothes. In the middle stood an uncovered coffin. Mo Yunze, the only male member of the Mo family, knelt beside the coffin, lowering his head and sobbing.

Mo Yunxiang and Mo Yunxi were sitting on the left, with different expressions. Mo Yunxiang had a sad look on his face, and his eyes were full of panic; while Mo Yunxi just nodded and wiped his tears, not seeing clearly. Standing behind them

The two are their personal maids Luyu and Danzhu.

Sitting on the right are Zhang Yun'er and Li Xian'e. Behind them are also some young female envoys and elderly mothers.

Sister-in-law Song Wu saw the coffin at first sight, and her heart was filled with grief and anger. She ran forward in three steps and threw herself in front of the coffin, crying: "He Lu! My sister He Lu!"

When she cried, everyone was shocked, and everyone who was sitting stood up one after another. Mo Yunze raised his head and choked up: "Sister-in-law of the Song family..."

Sister-in-law Song Wu nodded repeatedly and cried: "Shiyu, you're so lucky to be kneeling down to see your sister off for the last time."

Mo Yunze said "Yeah" and said nothing more.

The two old ladies quickly followed up and helped Song Wu's sister-in-law up, and repeatedly comforted her: "Sister-in-law, please don't suffer yourself, or you will hurt yourself."

Song Mingxuan also came forward, knelt in front of the coffin and kowtowed heavily three times. Zhang Yun'er and Li Xian'e looked at each other, both showing puzzled expressions.

Sister-in-law Song Wu stood up and arranged her hair, then came to Zhang Yun'er and Li Xian'e and bowed, saying: "Hello, two grandma's, Mrs. Song, my humble wife, has come to see He Lu. Our family is about to break off the engagement... I am the sister.

I was really uneasy and kept talking about him. Alas, everything that went wrong in this matter was all my sister's fault. Our parents died early, and my man didn't live long either. I raised this child single-handedly.

In the final analysis, he is still unlucky."

"Oh." Zhang Yun'er squeezed out a sound from her nostrils and said: "So it's Jiaxing and his sister? Alas, when it comes to blessings, our family He Lu is not blessed. Who in Tokyo doesn't know that our Xuan

My brother is nicknamed 'Little Pan An'. And our Helu is nicknamed 'Female Yama'. Haha, the two children are not worthy."

"What the Second Grandma said is a blessing to the family." Sister-in-law Song Wu looked back at Song Mingxuan and continued: "Things like 'Little Pan An' and 'Female Yama' are all slanderous remarks made by children in the market. We, the head of the family, cannot accept that."

It’s true. He Lu is a child with a stronger temper, but there have been many fierce women since ancient times. Although I haven’t read books, I have read some novels. Like the red-flecked girl, Nie Yinniang, compared to our He Lu,

I'm afraid it's still a little short of that. I like this kid very much."

"Oh, where have all the words gone?" Li Xian'e hurriedly stepped forward, held Sister Song Wu's elbow and wiped her tears and said: "We in our family don't talk about those scenes. Now He Lu is gone, the one who broke off the engagement

Let's get over it. Jiaxing is a good boy, handsome in appearance and decent in character. It depends on whether Sister-in-law Song thinks we are concubines. I wonder if my family in Yunxi has such a blessing."

"Ah? This..." Li Xian'e's words were abrupt, which surprised Sister-in-law Song. She didn't know how to answer for a moment, so she could only look sideways at Zhang Yun'er.

Zhang Yun'er's complexion also changed, and she said to Li Xian'e: "Well, my sister, it turns out that you have taken a fancy to Brother Xuan? Regarding concubines, Xiang'er and Yunxi are both concubines. It's good for two families to get married.

The older ones are in front."

Sister-in-law Song Wu heard that there was something hidden in her words and hurriedly smoothed things over: "The two grandmothers think that my family's prosperity is his blessing. But today is not the day. There is nothing wrong with talking about the marriage later."

Li Xian'e nodded repeatedly and said with a smile: "Yes, we took the liberty."

At this time, another boy came quickly and said, "Mrs. Wei is here."

Zhang Yuner temporarily swallowed her anger, and immediately put on a flattering smile to greet Mrs. Wei.
Chapter completed!