The night is dark, and the drizzle sneaks into this quiet Jiangnan night with the breeze.
On the bank of the Qinhuai River, at the entrance of the dilapidated courtyard, the dim yellow lantern glowed brightly. A breeze blew, and the lantern swayed gently.
In this vast night, this somewhat worn lantern is like a lighthouse in the vast sea, occasionally flickering on and off, but never extinguished.
The sound of the carriage rolling over the stone road was particularly clear in this silent night.
The sound of Dada's horse's hooves trampled on the wet stone slabs, leaving waves of echoes in this small street.
Sitting in the carriage, Lu Heng lifted the curtain and looked outside. Seeing the lantern hanging on the door of his house glowing dimly, his heart trembled slightly.
At this time, it rained heavily and the wind picked up.
In this deep alley, the lights of the neighbor's house have long been extinguished. Even the lanterns have been taken back. Only the door of my own house is still bright.
"Guard Zhan, stop the car!" Lu Heng felt a little guilty. He was chatting happily in Prince Ning's Mansion and forgot about everything. However, he forgot that there was a relative waiting for him at home. On this dark and rainy night, she, a weak woman,
Listening to the pouring rain outside and the howling night wind, I don't know how worried I feel.
In the warm car, it seemed as if the temperature had suddenly been lost. He really couldn't sit down anymore.
"Young Master, we'll be here soon!" Guard Zhan didn't know what was going on and replied with a smile.
"Stop right here!" Lu Heng's face became a little gloomy. Although he still had the same light tone, it carried a majestic tone that people had to agree with.
"Uh, okay!" Guard Zhan put away the smile on his face, pulled the reins with both hands, turned the front of the car, and stopped the car on the side of the road.
Before the car stopped, Lu Heng opened the door and jumped out.
At this time, it was raining heavily outside. As soon as he came out, the pouring rain immediately soaked his warm gown.
"Master Lu, hello!" Guard Zhan had already taken the umbrella and was about to jump down to pick up Lu Heng. When he turned around, he saw Lu Heng jumping out of the car. At this time, his clothes were soaked through.
The front of the gown was hanging out, dripping with rainwater.
Lu Heng stretched out his hand to wipe the rain off his face, took the umbrella from Guard Zhan with a smile, and said thank you.
After bidding farewell to the guard Zhan, Lu Heng held an umbrella and carefully stepped on the raised stone slabs under his feet towards the entrance of the courtyard under the dim light in front of him.
At this time, it was late at night, and the people in Jiangning City had already fallen asleep. Even the noisy Qinhuai River in the past was silent at this time. The only sound that could be heard was the rustle of rain falling on the ground. The sound of rain pouring down.
The heavy rain splashed a high layer of mist on the ground.
Even though he was carrying an umbrella, his clothes were still soaked through.
When I was almost at the door, the courtyard door creaked open.
A woman in a red cloak held an umbrella and carried a lantern in her hand. She walked gently out of the wooden door. She first lifted her rain-wet hair from her forehead, and then raised her head.
Looking at the lantern above the door, I found that there was still enough lamp oil inside, so I smiled with satisfaction.
The red cloak was already a little old, and now it was mostly wet by the rain. The small and exquisite embroidered shoes were also wet by the water on the ground. The woman carefully hid under the narrow door and gently picked it off.
He lowered the lantern and raised the wick. Then he stood on tiptoes and hung the lantern up again.
The rain and mist danced in the wind, dampening her black hair. On her smooth and jade-like cheeks, crystal drops of water were faintly visible, like a holy fairy.
The lantern was lit again. The woman stood under the lantern, looked up at the bright lantern, and smiled. Her body was covered with a layer of gleaming light in the dim light. In this night, she was beautiful and quiet.
Lu Heng stood in the rain, holding an umbrella in his hand. He watched this scene quietly. He looked at the woman's wet clothes and her smile as she gently wiped the rain off her face.
Lu Heng felt sour in his heart and sighed. He raised his head and blinked, letting the slightly cold night wind take away the moisture in his eyes.
He knew that in this lifetime, this scene on a rainy night would forever be fixed in his mind and would never go away.
After the woman hung up the lantern again, she smiled sweetly, tightened her cloak, and prepared to turn around and go back.
The moment she turned around, she suddenly saw a dark figure holding an umbrella walking in the dark alley ahead.
The woman was startled, and her pretty face turned a little pale. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Her delicate body leaned against the wooden door, and her dexterous little hands went around behind her to gently open the latch.
But he saw that the black shadow did not rush over quickly, but was advancing slowly. When he walked into the dim light, a face with a faint smile appeared under the umbrella.
"Sister-in-law Qingqing! I'm back!"
Liu Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still very angry. She was really shocked just now. Seeing Lu Heng's faint smile, the woman smiled, but she quickly put away her smile and glared at him angrily.
He glanced at it and said: "Uncle!"
The woman's face was deliberately serious, but she couldn't smile happily. Although it was not a coquettish tone, it made Lu Heng feel extremely warm.
After returning to the house, Liu Qingqing first fetched a set of clean clothes for Lu Heng and asked him to change into them. After Lu Heng said that he had changed, she took away the wet clothes.
When she came back, she had a bowl of steaming ginger soup in her hand.
"Drink it while it's hot, don't get cold!" Liu Qingqing kept urging Lu Heng. After finishing the ginger soup, she opened the lid of the pot and brought out the sumptuous dinner. She placed bowls and chopsticks on the table.
, while asking softly: "Why did uncle come back so late tonight?"
Lu Heng said with a smile: "I had finished my work long ago. When I went out, I met someone from Prince Ning's Mansion. So I went to Prince Ning's Mansion and sat there for a while! I didn't expect that it would get so late before I knew it!"
Liu Qingqing's hands that were placing the bowls and chopsticks trembled slightly. After she put the bowls and chopsticks in place slowly, she lowered her head, looked at the bowls and chopsticks with uncertain eyes, and said softly: "Uncle, eat."
Is it time for dinner?”
Under the dim light, the woman's pretty face looked a little gloomy. There was a little bit of disappointment in her soft voice.
With the faint light of the oil lamp, Lu Heng saw the woman's somewhat gloomy look, shook his head, smiled, and said lightly: "No, that old man is very stingy. He would eat twice as much as a grain of rice. You see, he is willing to take a treat.
Shall we eat?"
This was just for talking and joking behind closed doors. If Prince Ning knew about it, he would definitely blow his beard and stare in anger. He pointed at Lu Heng and cursed, "You kid has eaten all the food, and you don't recognize it as soon as you wipe your mouth! You also slandered me."
I am stingy, it is simply unreasonable.
When I talk about this at this time, I just don’t want to see this strong-hearted woman lose. Both the Lu family before and myself now owe her a lot.
She was originally a girl from a wealthy family, but because of a failed marriage, she married into the Lu family. In the end, the Lu family fell into decline, but Liu Qingqing still insisted on staying in the Lu family. Because of this, she had a falling out with her mother's family.
.
Among the rumors, the strong Liu Qingqing laughed it off. But Lu Heng knew how sad she was. Otherwise, she would not have fallen ill a few days ago.
It was precisely because of Liu Qingqing's illness that Lu Heng made up his mind and started to fight back.
Seeing Lu Heng's serious look and saying how stingy Prince Ning was, Liu Qingqing suddenly smiled, rolled her eyes at him, lowered her head and pursed her lips and smiled: "I am a prince, how can I be as stingy as you said.
Uncle is so bad!"
As the woman smiled sweetly, the dull and frustrated atmosphere in the room disappeared.
The two of them were eating simple meals while talking about recent interesting things.
Speaking of the most widely circulated and most hyped thing recently, it was Lu Heng who had no choice but to hype those two poems. Liu Qingqing said that when people outside talked about these two poems, her eyes were filled with tears.
smile.
She looked at her uncle who was eating with his head covered, pursed his lips and smiled, with a thin pink color on his pretty face, and said softly: "Now people say that uncle is the reincarnation of Wenquxing!"
"Hi!" Lu Heng raised his head with a grimace on his face and wanted to explain. However, the woman did not give him a chance.
With a smile in her beautiful eyes, Liu Qingqing glanced at Lu Heng, and then cast her gaze on the gently swaying oil lamp.
Her voice seemed like a whisper: "Uncle, you are really talented!"
"Uh, I..."! Lu Heng reluctantly put down his chopsticks and decided to confess and be lenient.
"Uncle, you were pretending on purpose before!" Liu Qingqing stared at Lu Heng with her beautiful eyes, her eyes as pure as autumn water, which made Lu Heng blush.
"this!……"
"Uncle, what are your plans for the future? How about taking the scientific examination?"
"I……!"
"Uncle!..."
"I... alas!"
One night, I heard a woman's soft voice coming from Lu Heng's small courtyard, and Lu Heng's stuck voice. In the middle, there was a woman's gentle laughter and a man's sigh. This sound came out
Outside the window, it blended with the continuous rain and disappeared into the night.
On the night of May 13th, the fourth year of the Qingyuan Period of the Great Zhou Dynasty, in the small courtyard by the Qinhuai River in Jiangning, the dim lights in the houses flickered on and off, creating strange and strange lights in the rain.
In the early morning, although the sky was still overcast, the rain stopped.
When Lu Heng got up, he saw the clean and neat clothes on the bedside. He smiled lightly, then got up and got dressed.
First, he tidied up the yard and channeled the accumulated water out. Then he put on his clothes and walked out of the yard. He walked with his hands behind his back, leisurely and elegantly, towards the Qinhuai River in the thick morning fog.
The Qinhuai River is still shrouded in fog. Since the weather has not cleared up and it has been raining for several days, the fog on the Qinhuai River has not decreased, but has become denser.
The green willow trees, faintly floating in the mist in the air, revealed a young man in luxurious clothes standing under the willow bank. He put his hands in his sleeves and looked around anxiously, as if he was waiting for something.
Just like people.
Suddenly, he saw a figure coming out of the thick fog.
Judging from the leisurely pace of this person, there is no doubt that the young boy is the one he wants to wait for.
His eyes lit up, and he hurriedly arranged his new clothes. He respectfully clasped his fists at the visitor and saluted: "Master Lu, you are finally here! I have been waiting for you for a long time!"