Fall in love with your enemy

Continuing from the last time, I thought about it for a long time and finally came to the point of begging for mercy. I waited for my second uncle to work until he fell asleep. When I woke up, I didn’t know how much time had passed. I was covered with a thin blanket, with my head leaning on my second uncle. He was gently fanning me with his left hand, and holding a book in his right hand, reading it intently.

In fact, it was a very heartwarming scene, but I had been in a bad mood for too long, so I jumped up reflexively. The moment I faced him, I regretted it, so I had to stand up straight, bowed, and lifted the hair that was stuck to my forehead by sweat.

Second Uncle must have been disappointed himself, but he didn't show it on his face. He just waved his hand and told me to sit down. He said jokingly, "What are you afraid of? You grew up in my arms like this since you were a kid."

He pushed the tea to me. I was stunned the moment I heard this. Yes, why? I have been taken care of by my second uncle since I returned home at the age of thirteen. All those years when Old Fu owed me fatherly love, it was my second uncle who made up for it. When did it come to this?

I pursed my lips and chuckled: "That was because I was young and ignorant, and I made you worry."

Seeing that I couldn't say anything other than polite words, he lowered his head and kept silent for a while, then smiled and asked me to sit next to him: "I haven't asked yet, why did you come here at this time? You didn't get enough rest last night. You have a lot of children over there, and it takes a lot of effort to take care of them. You also have to work. Rest more when you have nothing to do. If you need anything, just call me. Don't be too tired." As my second uncle spoke, he wiped the place on my lower lip that Gao Xinci bit, and understood but pretended to be confused: "The weather is dry, eat something to reduce internal heat."

"I know. I'm also worried about you. You have to keep an eye on the consecutive birthdays and deaths these days. We basically eat at Guiyanting. The meals in the old house are cooked late, and the taste has to cater to everyone. You don't like it. You are a little thinner every time you come back. If I order the small kitchen to cook, people will talk about me being hedonistic and disrespectful to the ancestors. So I made some myself. You can have some first." I said as I opened the lunch box. It was still warm to the touch. It seems that I can't sleep well now.

Second uncle smiled, stood up and came over to eat with chopsticks. I didn't say anything for a long time. Instead, he took the initiative to glance at me when he was almost done, as if waiting for me to tell the truth. I sighed and lowered my head slightly: "Second uncle, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday... I shouldn't have obeyed Gao Xinci's wishes..."

He sneered and shook his head: "I am so old, do I really have to argue with you two kids about the right and wrong of a few words? It's okay. But, I thought you should ask Fu Yunyan and the others first. We have become more distant in the past two years."

At first I thought these words were hopeful, so I quickly grabbed at this straw and hugged my uncle's arm like before: "Uncle, I still feel that..."

"I know what you want to say. You want to say that the punishment is too severe, but if this is the only topic, you might as well use your precious time to rest." Second Uncle interrupted me. His expression was neither stern nor relaxed. He patted the back of my hand and sighed, "Shishi, think about it carefully. Haven't you learned enough lessons? What did they say about you yesterday? Do you know what will happen to you once you are identified? That's poisoning! They were raised by you, and when something happened, they still dared to put this crime on you. Is it necessary to protect such a person? Shishi, you still have the protection of your elders now. You can be soft-hearted and make trouble, but what about the future? You have seen the disadvantages, haven't you? Today it's Fu Yunyan, and tomorrow you don't know how many people will easily betray you because of your shortcomings. You have to use both kindness and severity to kill the chicken to scare the monkey and let certain people watch. You have to know what to do before you do it in the future. In a family like ours, being soft-hearted is the biggest problem!"

I really wanted to ask him, was he really thinking carefully to teach me the truth, or was he just confused and accidentally went back to the past? Were Fu Yunyan and the others really the culprits of these things? Unfortunately, I couldn't say it out loud.

I just whispered, "But you taught me to be soft-hearted..."

When I think back to my previous life, my family said that my naivety and "stupidity" were the result of my lack of knowledge since childhood. But in fact, my brother Xie only emphasized one word to me before he left, and that was ruthless. It was my second uncle who brought me home and told me, when I hated everything and couldn't stop crying, that there were still many people in this world who loved me, and that I could act up as much as I wanted, love everyone I wanted to love, and forgive everyone I was willing to forgive.

"Shishi, what I taught you is to keep things quiet, or forgive others when you can, but it doesn't mean you have no bottom line." He stared at me for a while and sighed, "Forget it, you are not suitable to be a housekeeper, neither you nor Mingyan are suitable."

I was silent for a while and then lowered my head: "Yes, I understand."

I said this on the surface, but in my heart I was thinking: You never taught me, you never even said that so many people love me, you even taught your son to love me, but you hate me.

My second uncle probably felt that he had gone too far, and now he was only being polite to me: "Okay, let's not talk about them. I heard from your brother that he went to see you yesterday, and you didn't look well, as if you were sick, so he asked me not to look for you for the time being and let you have a good rest. That's why I didn't let anyone notify you to bring the coffin in. Did I scare you? If you really feel bad, don't go to the wedding banquet in two days. The children can't live without you anyway."

I nodded: "Okay."

The second uncle admitted it, not knowing what to say, so he turned his attention back to the food, scooped a few scoops into the soup and asked, "Oh, I forgot to ask, why do these dishes taste weird today? They seem a little heavier?"

"Oh, didn't I hear you coughing twice yesterday? I thought you might be out of tune with the sea breeze and have caught a cold, so I added some ginger powder to drive away the cold." I said in a low voice, looking at him sideways. Suddenly, an idea came to my mind. He could taste something wrong, so why wasn't he afraid that I would poison him? He ate it all without even thinking about it.

He poisoned me, framed me, believed in me and protected me at the same time.

really interesting.

Second uncle smiled and said, "Okay, I feel warm inside that you can think about these things. By the way, Qi Cheng brought back some wild ginseng when he went to the mountains before. You can take it back later. Your health is not very good, and it is not easy to take care of so many children. You have to take care of yourself. If you have nothing to do, just slice it and hold it in your mouth. It will be good for you."

I nodded, and my second uncle left again after he finished speaking. I stood up and bowed, and only sat down again when he disappeared. The servant who was waiting in the distance came in, cleaned up the mess, and left quietly. Qi Cheng came over last and handed me those wild ginsengs "for my own good". They were indeed good stuff, but I didn't know if they could outweigh the gloating look on Qi Cheng's face in front of me.

"Uncle Qi came out so soon? It seems you are really innocent. I misunderstood you." I chuckled.

Qi Cheng suppressed his smile and bowed obediently as usual. I don't know if he was being polite or if he really felt inferior in his heart. He had been the boss for a long time and was not a stranger to me. Ying Qi had stopped bowing to me for a few days, but he was very happy about it, even though I almost killed him.

Oh - maybe it's because of guilty conscience.

Qi Cheng gritted his teeth and pulled the corner of his mouth: "Peripheral inspection and handling are what young ladies should do. If you have something to say, just say it. In fact, I am not completely wrong. If I can be better on weekdays, I am sure that Mrs. Lu will not misunderstand. I was just helping housekeeper Li clean the mud on his clothes. He accidentally fell into the river."

I brushed the dust off my trouser legs and said, "Oh, that's how it is."

Qi Cheng paused, and his fake smile became even bigger: "Don't say that, it's polluting my ears. Miss, Zhou Linsong's body has been brought back. Those makeup artists did a really good job of retouching it. It's quite decent. Do you want to see it?"

"I won't look at it anymore. You can enjoy it by yourself." I called my family members outside the door to come in and pack up the ginseng and take it away.

"Oh, then I'll send it to Miss Yunyan."

My heart sank after hearing this: "Why do we have to show this to Yunyan?"

Qi Cheng finally smiled as brightly as he did at the beginning: "We are husband and wife after all, so it's only natural that we should see someone off when they leave."

I was unable to speak again. The moment I stood up, I was in a daze and nearly fell. I immediately regretted sneaking out yesterday. Gao Xinci almost tortured me to death the whole night. He was holding it back, and I was in "disaster". Zhizhi helped me stand up. Now I finally understood that my second uncle was not worried at all about what happened between Gao Xinci and me. It didn't matter if he saw it, because he could still see me coming back. If I came to beg him, he would know that I would not just leave. I would not marry Gao Xinci. I didn't dare.

I don't know where Ying Qi came from. He wanted to help me, but Zhizhi and I dodged him. He put his hands in the air, feeling very embarrassed. He knew whose fault it was, but he stared at Qi Cheng. This was the second room's private matter, so I didn't care. At most, I would sprinkle some catalyst. Ying Qi asked me if I wanted to go back to the room and he would take me there. I wanted to look up to him just now, but now he was standing in front of me, he was even inferior to Qi Cheng.

People should make their own choices, but I despise his choices and will never be able to accept them.

I sneered: "Go to the ancestral hall and burn some incense for my grandma."

Ying Qi became even more embarrassed, even sad. He finally put his hands down and pushed and kicked Qi Cheng away, at least he didn't get in my way.

The next few days passed quickly. My birthday and Lao Fu's death anniversary were all simply endured. The sound of suona in the house never stopped. Sometimes it was full of joy and the next moment it was full of tears and shouts. Those who didn't know would have thought something had happened on the mountain. It all finally stopped at the wedding at the Peony Pavilion. I thought they would make this day very lively with a grand ceremony, but in reality, there were just thousands of people crowded in the square of the southwest courtyard, pretending to cheer and applaud, watching the newlyweds being dragged and thrown into the Peony Pavilion. Once the door was closed, everyone dispersed.

There were only the elders of the family, my second uncle and a few close guests in the Peony Pavilion. When I went there, the wedding ceremony had already begun. I wanted to take a look, but when my hands touched the door, I backed off. I knew I couldn't persuade them anymore, as this was their fate. But just as I was about to leave, I was stopped by a shrill cry. It was Fu Yunyan's voice. At this moment, my brother and brother Qingyun came out, and their already sad faces became even more embarrassed.

I reached back and grabbed Li Xi's hand. There was a long pause and no one could ask a question until Pei Zhen couldn't bear it anymore and went out. He broke the awkward situation, came down the stairs and patted my shoulder: "Why are you standing here? Go back quickly. It's very cold in the Southwest Courtyard. There's nothing to see. Let's go." After Pei Zhen finished speaking, the brothers' eyes also shifted over, and they followed his words with concern, but they still didn't speak.

I reached out and gently held Pei Zhen's hand, my voice a little weak: "Why is Yun Yan screaming so hard? Brother...Uncle Pei, what's going on in there?"

"Zhou Linsong's body is in the backyard, so don't go in, be good." Pei Zhen lowered his voice and squeezed my palm.

I looked back at my brother. Everyone was silent. They all knew that it was too much and they were helpless. The guests invited by my second uncle were no trivial matters. No one could make a fuss, not even the students who had made a name for themselves in those years, because Yun Jin's reputation was saved. It was the last little thing they cherished. If there was another accident, Yun Jin's tablet would be thrown into the fire and burned to ashes. Of course, they were most worried about themselves.

Among the dozen or so people who poisoned the food, except Sui Jiyun who was taken away by me because his merit was denied, all of them were locked up in Shenghua Court. It could be said that they were imprisoned. For three days, the higher-ups did not arrange any steward to deliver food to them. In comparison, Zhou Linsong and Dong Jiayin had the easiest situation. So everyone was afraid and no one dared to do it.

Oh, no, there is one more.

I ran into Fu Xu after walking a few steps. I had even forgotten that I had called her in advance. She was also raised by Yun Jin since she was a child, so she should come over to say goodbye. If I hadn't taken her away early, she might be one more person imprisoned today.

Fu Xu burst into tears and rushed over to grab my hand: "How could this happen? Brother Yun Jin is not that kind of person. Yun Yan wouldn't do that! She wouldn't do that! She wouldn't... I'm sorry..."

I wiped her tears, hoping to get her to feel better before talking, but all her childhood friends died overnight, and her sadness would never end. I could only sigh and pat her shoulder: "Go in and see Yunyan, and prepare a generous gift. When the gate of the compound is closed tonight, she will have to rely on these to survive for the rest of her life."

Fu Xu sobbed and took out a handful of broken gold nuggets and small jewels from his pocket: "I took them all. At least... at least the higher-ups still give her food and drink. As long as I know who the person in charge of delivering meals is, and Yun Yan sends one every once in a while, I can live well..."

I nodded.

Fu Xu rushed over to me again and looked at me hopefully: "Is there really no other way? Call the police! Will calling the police work?"

Li Xi pushed her hand away, feeling angry and helpless, and raised her head towards the door: "Don't be silly, you want to call the police, Wen Ke is inside, go talk to her! She can eat meat and drink wine, just like attending an ordinary and interesting wedding banquet..."

"How could she be so cruel..." Fu Xu cried out of breath and completely lost hope.

Li Xi gritted his teeth in hatred, looking at the Peony Pavilion with disgust: "Where are the good people in this room? They are all cruel, they are the same kind of people. I just asked around, and there are disgusting people in there. Some beasts gave melon seeds and peanuts and said that putting them on the bed would bring many children and blessings..."

I quickly interrupted Li Xi and let Fu Xu in before she collapsed, so that she wouldn't faint here. When she woke up, she might have died several times. At least at the end of life, there is room for recollection. It's not good to live a life of regret and remorse.

But what about me?

I turned around and looked at the plaque of the Peony Pavilion not far away, and I thought, should I regret it for them? Should I be upset for not saving them?

I have no answer.