Shen Rui's arm was in burning pain, and he had to hold back his body not to tremble.
Mrs. Hao's hand didn't stop, and pinched her a second time, harder and harder.
Shen Rui cursed in his heart, this old pious woman is so bad. How should she react? It seems inconsistent with her temperament to endure it obediently, but if she wants to cause trouble, who knows what kind of dirty water is waiting for her.
Shen Rui gritted his teeth in hatred, but he couldn't remain indifferent, otherwise it would be false. He still closed his eyes, frowned, and groaned: "Mom, it hurts..."
The poisonous hand on his arm finally stopped.
After a while, there was a sound of footsteps and the sound of someone leaving.
Shen Rui still didn't open his eyes, continued to murmur "Mother" twice, and fell asleep again.
The footsteps at the door started again, and after a while, they became completely quiet.
Shen Rui still didn't open his eyes. He didn't open his eyes until nearly two quarters of an hour later when the footsteps in the outer room started again.
The lights were already lit in the room, and Liu Ya came in. Seeing that Shen Rui was awake, she whispered: "My maid is on duty for the second brother. Would you like some tea?"
Shen Rui slept for a while and felt thirsty, so he nodded.
Liu Ya poured a cup of hot water, held another cup, and folded the two cups back and forth to make the hot water cool down faster.
Shen Rui had just finished sleeping, and the pores on his body were dilated. He felt more and more that the room was cold and his body was freezing. When he saw this, he said, "I want something hot, no need to break it."
Liu Ya obediently brought the water cup forward and said hesitantly: "Second brother, you have to eat more slowly, but it's still hot..."
His tone was full of worry, treating Shen Rui like a child.
Shen Rui looked at the water glass eagerly, and when she came forward, he leaned out and reached out to fish it out.
When the hot temperature spread through the porcelain cup to his fingers, he squinted his eyes.
Amitabha, what is the feeling of happiness? A little warmth when it is cool and cool is happiness. When he raised the glass of water and took a sip of the slightly hot water, he couldn't help but tremble.
My body was already cold and my stomach was empty. When I poured a mouthful of hot water on it, it felt like it was about to boil.
Shen Rui handed the empty cup back to Liu Ya's hand, got out of bed and walked towards the door.
Liu Ya was a little confused and wanted to follow. Shen Rui glanced at the unopened bedding on the ground and said, "You pack the bedding, and I'll go... change clothes..."
There was no lamp lit outside, so Liu Ya was a little worried: "Lamp, little maid, hold the lamp for the second brother..."
Shen Rui waved his hand and said, "No, I'll do it myself."
This room is very compact. It is only a few steps from the bedside to the door. It is about ten square meters by visual inspection. Shen Rui grabbed the lampstand by himself and went out to the outhouse. The outhouse is the same size as the inner room, but there is no bed and only a table. , a few square stools. The partition between the inside and outside is just a treasure chest, empty, old and dilapidated.
Shen Rui looked back and saw the shadow of Liu Ya through the gap in the Baibaoge. She did not squat down to pack her bed, but stood there motionless. It seemed that she was listening to the movement outside and waiting. Always at your beck and call.
A half-new but not old red-painted toilet is located under the toilet.
Although I have been using this toilet for the past two days since I woke up, I was always in front of Mother Wang, and I was confused and my mind was not very clear. Now I am a little lolita, and I am completely awake again. Shen Rui couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.
But he was so panicked that he could only twitch the corner of his mouth and place the lampstand on the treasure grid.
The water fell into the empty toilet, and the sound of "gurgling" was particularly loud. My stomach also joined in the fun, making a "gurgling" sound.
Shen Rui didn't have time to think about whether it was indecent for him to let loose in front of a little lolita a few steps away. He rubbed his belly and glanced out the window. The lights in the wing were not turned off yet, and when he looked towards the entrance of the courtyard, it was pitch black. .
An elderly mother, a shriveled little servant girl, and the seemingly unguarded courtyard gate are such a big temptation.
But even if they leave the yard, who can tell them that this Lao An family deliberately starved and froze themselves with evil intentions?
Who would believe it?
Even if he went out when outsiders were around, cried and made a fuss, and told the truth, as long as that cruel Lao An said, "Children are ignorant and don't know how to calm down when they are sick, and they have to make trouble to eat." , the big label of "unfilial and stubborn" has really fallen on him.
Although his body is not big, there is an old saying among the people that "you see your age at the age of three", and it is also a sensitive period such as the death of a mother.
But if he doesn't make any fuss, how many days can this child's body last under such hunger and cold?
The "squeaking" sound stopped, Shen Rui pulled up his pants, held up the candlestick and returned to the back room.
Liu Ya then lowered her head and opened her bedclothes.
Shen Rui touched the two horns on his head, and then looked at the bun on Liu Ya's forehead. At first glance, they looked similar. However, the horns on his head were smaller, while the bun on Liu Ya's head was slightly thicker.
Shen Rui walked in and said, "Liu Ya, do you listen to me?"
Liu Ya blinked her eyes and said naively: "Second brother is the young master. My maid must listen to second brother."
Shen Rui nodded, pointed to the bun on her head and said, "I want to comb my hair like this, this big."
Mother Wang had combed his hair in the past two days, so he knew where the comb was and pointed it out to Liu Ya.
Liu Ya was very docile and did not question why Shen Rui had to comb her hair in the middle of the night. She took the comb and honestly combed Shen Rui's hair into two buns. She couldn't find the white hair tie for a while, so she untied her own hair tie and tied it on Shen Rui's hair. .
After a while, Shen Rui's hair was tied loosely and looked about the same size as Liu Ya's bun.
Shen Rui looked at the bronze mirror. The originally fair and tender child had quickly lost weight after these days of suffering, and his chin was pointed. With his hair combed in this bun, he looked like a little maid, but his skin color A little too pale.
He stood up, walked to the charcoal basin in the corner of the room, grabbed a handful of charcoal ash, smiled and put a few handfuls on his face, and said, "Does it look like a willow bud?"
Liu Ya failed to dissuade him, so she looked at Shen Rui's dark face and laughed twice.
Shen Rui looked Liu Ya up and down. It was rare that the two of them were about the same height. He pulled Liu Ya's sleeves and said, "I have never worn such clothes. Let me wear them for fun..."
Liu Ya seemed to be struggling, but Shen Rui was determined not to change his words. He bit his lip, said "hmm", lowered his head, took off his coat, and helped Shen Rui put it on.
Shen Rui changed her coat and looked like a little maid, smiling slightly: "Play with me for a while..."
Liu Ya was still confused, but Shen Rui had already taken off the straps on both sides of the bed curtain, looked at Liu Ya and said, "Let's play a game. You pretend to be kidnapped, and I'll pretend to be an official to rescue you."
In Liu Ya's mind, there were only various household chores, and she didn't know what games to play.
But I was used to it, so I saw Shen Rui was interested and let him play around.
After a while, Liu Ya's arms were tied behind her back, her eyes were covered, and her mouth was choked.
Shen Rui brought Liu Ya to the bed, asked her to lie down on the bed, and said: "This is a temple. You are hidden here and lie quietly. The procedures for officials to handle cases are complicated. They can't be dispatched until the middle of the night. You have to wait. A moment."
Although Liu Ya was a little scared and confused, she roughly understood what Shen Rui meant and nodded in agreement.
After a long time, the sound of banging was heard in the distance, indicating that it was the second watch.
The room was getting colder and colder. Shen Rui pulled the quilt up and covered Liu Ya. He put the curtain in place and walked to the window to turn off the lights.
The door of the west wing was pushed open, and a vague figure stood at the door. Seeing that the lights were turned off, he returned to the house, and the lights in the west wing were also turned off.
The room was quite dark, with only a hint of light.
Shen Rui lowered his head and looked at the linen clothes he was wearing. Fortunately, it was only tooth white and not as dazzling as pure white. In addition, it was the beginning of the month, there was only the crescent moon in the sky, and the stars were not clear. Otherwise, wearing this clothes would be too conspicuous when traveling. But if you don't wear it, It's hard to cover up when you meet someone.
We can only wait until it is quiet at night.
Shen Rui slowed down his steps, walked outside, and sat down on a chair outside.
Now, all we can do is wait.
Being hungry and cold, the time was extremely difficult.
Shen Rui touched the filial piety clothes on his body and felt more and more strange. He was the son of the head of the house and his mother had a status as a filial son. Even though he was "recuperating", he should have changed into filial piety clothes long ago, and he was still wearing filial piety. But when he woke up, he only had 80% of the clothes on his body. New green silk underwear and blue satin jacket, but no one changed him into mourning clothes.
If you go out dressed like that, no need for Lao An to say anything, you will be accused of something more. Refusing to mourn for your biological mother is not something that can be covered up by a "naughty child".
Surprised, Shen Rui became more energetic. Is it because the elders were busy preparing for the funeral and neglected the mourning clothes of the owner, or did they do this intentionally? If so, was it the Lao An who treated his flesh and blood harshly, or was the "second mother" a bad person? Heart pushing the flames?
Time passed little by little, and there was no movement in the back room.
The first watch was finally over, and when the sound of banging was heard again, it was already the third watch.
Shen Rui stood up and tiptoed out of the house.
He first went to the west wing window and listened quietly for a while. The snoring of Mrs. Wang could be heard from inside, and it seemed that she was fast asleep.
He didn't know the specific layout of the house, but he had the impression that there were many examples of ancient residences. The ancients also paid attention to Feng Shui, and the positions of the kitchen and toilet were almost always fixed.
Shen Rui's target was not the kitchen, but the main courtyard.
The main courtyard is where the head of the house and his mother live. The ancients believed that "heirs are the most important", and it is a business for the couple to have sex. Hot water in and around the house is inevitable. Even if there is no kitchenette in the main courtyard, there is a hot water room.
There is a hot water room, and it is common to make tea and other things.
Since it is the main courtyard, if nothing unexpected happens, it is mostly on the middle road of the house. Shen Rui walked over when he had the direction.
Why was it so dark here? Shen Rui stood at the door of a courtyard on the middle road, shocked and confused.
If it weren't for the fact that the main house was high enough and the yard was big enough, he would almost suspect that he was in the wrong place.
Even in such a secluded small courtyard, Mother Wang's snoring has made it more popular. Why is the main courtyard so quiet and not popular at all? Even if Mr. Sun dies of illness, what about the maids and servants who are dowry? He can be the head of the family. Mother, isn’t it true that the dowry should be abundant and the dowry manpower should be of both men and women?