side by side

After the rain, dawn, Yonghe Town finally saw sunshine.

In the old house of the Liang family, however, it was still shrouded in that layer of dark clouds that could not be dispelled, and the air was heavy and heavy.Everyone in the house had gloomy faces and dared not say a word.

They gathered in the ancestral hall, standing in line of seniority to fill the whole room.Among them was Mr. Liang who had just returned from offering incense on the West Mountain. With his hands behind his back, he faced the ancestral tablet without saying a word.The huge ancestral hall was full of people, but the whole place was completely silent, and a needle could be heard.

It was Mrs. Liang who broke the embarrassing and dignified atmosphere at the scene.

She was originally hidden in the crowd, inconspicuous. The hemp black cheongsam was cut in the old style, with the waist not tucked in. It was neatly wrapped from the neck to the ankles, covering her jade-like bluish-white skin tightly.The shoulders were so sharp that they couldn't hold up the fabric, the cheongsam collapsed along the shoulders, and the soft material clung to the flesh and fell to the upper of the shoe.The eyebrows on the face have not been trimmed for a long time, not a little bit of color, missing the tail, and drooped because of the sadness of the face; the eyes raised up and down again in a panic, and the two tail lines jumped out, showing some bitterness Her pale lips were pursed, dry and crusted due to too much biting, and the dark red scab formed after bleeding could be faintly seen, the corners of her mouth drooped slightly, connecting with nasolabial folds.

She merged with this old-fashioned and gloomy ancestral hall.

First he choked, biting the square silk handkerchief, trying his best to suppress the crying in his throat, leaking out faintly; followed by an unstoppable gasp, inhaling deeply into his lungs. She paused for a long time, so long that the people present couldn't help worrying whether she would draw back in one breath, and then she burst into tears.There was no transformation process from light to heavy, and it was a complete explosion at the beginning. Mrs. Liang sat slumped on the ground, crying thinly and persistently.The ending sound is faint, long and incessant, as if the air in the lung cavity has been squeezed clean, but always after a big gasp, the next round will erupt.

This cry made the ancestral hall even more gloomy.

Mr. Liang slammed the table down suddenly, and walked out the door with a sullen face without saying a word. Everyone dared not neglect and hurriedly followed.Mr. Liang went to the woodshed first, took the ax away, and then drove straight into the yard.

In the yard, two osmanthus trees stood side by side alone. They were originally the two best grown by Liang's parents.At this time, the right plant was still full of coats, but the left plant was still a little sluggish.The rotten and brittle branches have been carefully pruned, and the whole osmanthus tree has been shrunk by a large circle, curled up in the shadow of the right one, like a new seedling.He is growing new branches, tender green leaves emerge, and the tips of the leaves are a little red.

"How can I keep such a villain!" Mr. Liang raised his axe, and was about to chop off at Zuo Zhu.The crowd couldn't stop them, and they exclaimed again and again.

Standing in front of the tree was the normally cowardly and gentle Mrs. Liang.In the past, the hair oil was applied, and the black hair, which was neatly squeezed, was completely loose at this time, fluffy and messy, entwined around the neck.She is thin and thin, leaning against the tree with her back tightly, her thin arms stretched wide open, she stared at Mr. Liang fiercely, "Go away, you go away!" Her voice was sharp and hoarse, like a bird The mother cat who was protecting her cubs was blown up.At the moment, she is nothing more than a mother.

Mr. Liang glared angrily. He held up an ax to confront Mrs. Liang.After a long and oppressive silence, it was Mr. Liang who surrendered first. He tremblingly let go, and the ax hit the ground, splashing dust all over the place.After crossing the osmanthus tree on the left and avoiding Mrs. Liang who looked defensive, he staggered to the bottom of the osmanthus tree on the right. Mr. Liang stroked the thick branch with trembling hands, and with a sudden force, the veins on his withered wrist burst out. He got up and shook the tree twice.

On the right side of the seemingly lush osmanthus tree, the osmanthus leaves are falling down one after another.The surface of the thin broad wax green leaves is still bright and bright, but the underside, but unknowingly, rotted, and the newly rotten sweet and greasy smell spread out, which was covered by the left osmanthus tree before. It's a little bit unnoticed.

Mrs. Liang's spine was weakened, and all her courage was gone. Her eyes were dull, and she sat on the ground, her lips trembling unconsciously.Mr. Liang's usually straight back suddenly became hunched, showing a very strange old look, he half-closed his eyes, the end of his eyes was a little damp, he took out two long picks from his pocket, "Pa Pa Pa Pa" Da' hit the ground one after the other.

"I just wanted to make a divination for Qing'er," Mr. Liang caressed the left osmanthus tree, "but several times in succession, two divination sticks fell out."

"Mist is lost, the road ahead is unknown, both hexagrams are like this," Mr. Liang lowered his head and sighed, "Ah Qing and Xuan'er are destined to have this fate."

Mrs. Liang was only crying with her head down, but when she heard this, she suddenly choked up, staggered and passed out.Everyone frowned, and everyone was frightened. On the roof of the Liang family's old house, there were endless layers of dark clouds.

After the wife was finally settled down, Mr. Liang slumped on the armchair in the study, his straight shoulders completely slumped, and he slumped on the back of the chair, his brows and eyes showing grayness.The servant Xiaoan stood aside, not daring to say anything, but his heart was inexplicably sad, he grew up in this mansion since he was a child, when had he seen the master's gesture like this.

"Xiao An, where is Ah Fu?" Old Man Liang suddenly opened his mouth. For Uncle Fu grew up with the old man, and he was the only one who could call him that.

"Uncle Fu said that he was not very comfortable at noon, please let me watch over you, Master, he will go back to his room to rest for a while, if there is anything to do, call him," Xiao An timidly said, "Shall I call him?"

"...you go and have a look. If he wakes up, call him over. If not, just let him sleep and don't disturb him," the master sighed. Bowls of sweet-scented osmanthus and lotus seed soup, put one on his desk, and bring the other to me."

"Hey... yes." Xiao An told Ann.

Uncle Fu is Xiao An's distant cousin. He lost his parents since he was a child, so Uncle Fu brought him back to the Liang Mansion, half as a son and half as an apprentice.The Liang Mansion is naturally very good, from the master down to the servants, most of them are kind people, seeing that he is young, most of them take good care of him.Just say to get a sweet-scented osmanthus and lotus seed soup, the back kitchen mother Qin can pinch his little face and stuff him with a bag of juicy and fresh winter dates with a smile.

Holding the sweet-scented osmanthus and lotus seed soup, Xiao An timidly stood at the door of Uncle Fu's room, and tapped lightly three times.For Uncle Fu, he has always been a little afraid, he always has a gloomy face, making people intimidated.No one answered the door, Xiaoan hesitated for a while, then knocked lightly a few times, still no one answered.Xiao An felt a little uneasy, Uncle Fu had always been a light sleeper, and probably would not have slept so deeply, "Uncle, Uncle Fu, I'm coming in?" Xiao An quietly pushed open the door.

"Ah!" A scream resounded through Uncle Fu's room. 'Crack! With a sound, the porcelain bowl fell to the ground and broke.

tbc.