side by side

On the second day, Uncle Fu went to the funeral as scheduled, and Xiao An led the way, wearing sackcloth and filial piety, holding the memorial tablet.

Mrs. Liang was frightened under the tree yesterday, and now she can't get out of bed. On this journey, Mr. Liang personally saw him off.

It was only five o'clock, and the team set up the coffin.The sky was just dawning, and it was soaked in the misty autumn mist. The head of the team suddenly sounded a suona. The sound pierced through the thick fog and penetrated through the thin clothes.

Paper money with square holes fluttered in the wind one after another, and in the misty fog, you can vaguely see the old ya ga ga circling on it.The pit was raised, the coffin was lowered, the soil was raised, the mound was formed, and a bluestone stele was erected in front of the tomb.People walked away like the lights went out, Xiaoan watched the shovels of soil burying the coffin bit by bit, suddenly felt sad, and couldn't care less about being afraid, so he couldn't help crying bitterly.

Seeing no joy or sorrow, Mr. Liang took out the sweet-scented osmanthus wine he had with him, took a sip, and poured the rest in front of the tomb.He stood still for a long time, then suddenly knelt down on the ground, ignored the crowd's obstruction, and kowtowed three times to the stele.Mr. Liang held on to the stele, but refused to help him and stood up alone. He staggered a little.

"Go back and call all the Liang family members to the ancestral hall for me. I have something to announce." After explaining to Xiao An beside him, he left without looking back.Mr. Liang's back was always straight, and his back was a little bent. He finally had to accept his old age.

"The main reason to invite everyone here today is to announce a few things," Mr. Liang stood in the ancestral hall with a walking stick, his waist straightened. "First of all, I must apologize to the whole family. , Po is also me, I am in the position of patriarch, but I have not done what I say and do what I do."

"Not only broke this death order, but also involved half of the clan. I am ashamed of everyone's trust in me. The position of patriarch is absolutely beyond my ability to continue," Mr. Liang bent slightly , bowed, "Everyone, I'm sorry."

The crowd was in an uproar.

"The new patriarch's etiquette, everything is done according to the clan rules, I have no other requirements, I just ask the new patriarch to put the Liang family first, and never repeat the same mistakes."

Not far away, the figure of Mr. Liang appeared.He buttoned his shirt in the wrong place, and his hem was tucked into his suit trousers. He ran straight here with his leather shoes on, and stumbled over the steps when he came up to him. "Damn it!" He spat and cursed loudly With a cry, he took two steps forward, his round body was like a rolling meat ball.

When he got to the front, Mr. Liang was not in a hurry, he deliberately slowed down, lowered his head and straightened his crumpled shirt.He cleared his throat, coughed violently twice, and spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm. "Uncle, of course we juniors have seen and remembered your accomplishments when you were always in power, but come on," he pursed his lips and rolled his eyes, "this house... ...In any case, it is also distributed to the patriarch, old man, you continue to live, I am afraid it is not suitable."

In the crowd, there was a loud discussion.Some of the juniors were laughing and making noise about the third master, and some older ones were arguing for Mr. Liang.

Mr. Liang's expression was as usual, without even raising his eyelids, "Of course, my wife and I have planned to go to the small house in Xishan to retire to the old age, and now our wish has come true," he raised his head and glanced at the full Third Master Liang with a frightened face said, "It's your nephew, don't forget your true heart and lose your duty."

Mr. Liang held his head up and let out a 'hum' from his nose. He didn't want to listen to the nonsense of this old man who lost his power.Third Master Liang looked down at the surrounding area, and walked away proudly surrounded by all the juniors.He was anxious to have a look at the big house, he was impatient to become its new owner.

Mr. Liang didn't say a word, and watched the clansmen in the ancestral hall leave one by one.Qin's mother hurriedly helped Mr. Liang to sit down, "Master, don't be angry, you can't do it when you get angry."

"Mother Qin, if you want to stay, I'll go talk to Liang San..."

"Master, you are confused, aren't you? Qin's mother naturally follows wherever the master's family is. Who can take care of you and your wife's tastes except me?" Qin's mother patted her chest, she didn't care, "In my opinion, this may be a good thing for you. The west mountain is clean and clean, and there are many wild animals and mountains. You can go to the temple to play chess with the abbot Keats when you have nothing to do. Those days are not as good as Are you having a good time now?"

"If the master doesn't dislike it, can you bring me with you?" Xiao An raised her head from behind Qin's mother, and said timidly, "I have been blessed by the master since I was a child, thank you for your kindness, if possible, Xiao An wants to go with the master. road."

Old Man Liang lowered his head and sighed, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Let's go, each go back to the house to pack up things, and leave immediately when we arrive."

After returning to the house, Mr. Liang couldn't help being surprised.Mrs. Liang was still lying on the bed in a daze, not awake.She was in worse condition than in the morning.Shrinking and shivering, she murmured about the cold, even though she was wrapped in a thick winter quilt, it was still not enough to keep out the cold.She felt cold all over her body, and her bluish white skin and bones showed a strange black purple, bruised under the skin, as if frostbitten.Mr. Liang hurriedly stepped forward to touch her forehead. His hands were cold, and his heart skipped a beat. The corners of Mrs. Liang's lips were split, and she moved into Mr. Liang's arms with a murmur.Only when Mr. Liang held her in his arms did he feel the coldness and ice, extending from head to toes.

Mr. Liang checked her pulse, and Mrs. Liang's pulse was empty at this time, and she was short of breath and yin.He hurriedly grabbed the medicine and boiled the juice for her to drink, but Mrs. Liang's teeth were clenched tightly, and she couldn't drink at all. Mr. Liang forced her to swallow half of the bowl by forcefully prying it open with his chopsticks.However, this half bowl of medicine did not have any effect.Mrs. Liang was still curled up and trembling, she was groaning in pain, her wailing became more and more horrific, her thin fingers were tightly clutching the edge of the bed, and the well-grown ten-finger nails were rooted and snapped away, she curled up smaller and smaller , Sweat rolled down one after another, but it was cold and wet most of the bed.She cried, her voice was hoarse.

Mr. Liang stomped his feet anxiously, but there was nothing he could do.Suddenly, he lowered his head, and suddenly saw the bodyguard invited from Wuyou Temple, a dead horse used as a live horse doctor, Mr. Liang hurriedly took it and put it on for his wife.I don't know if it's an illusion or a fact, but Mrs. Liang got better after wearing it.Although her face was still pale, her hands and feet relaxed a lot. She let go of her strength and became limp. She melted into the winter quilt softly, and her expression relaxed a lot. Finally, some warmth was added to her body.

Mr. Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Without alarming others, a group of four boarded the carriage to Xishan overnight.The night wind was blowing, the mountain road was silent, only the sound of galloping horses could be heard, Xiao An drove the carriage all the way, and they were rushing to Wuyou Temple.

tbc.