Guanqingzhai

The human-faced cat, the cat's cunning, possessed by the three disasters, but he does not regard it as a sin, repays grievances and enemies, and regards it as a god.

Winter came very early that year, before the winter solstice, I heard the cries of charcoal sellers on the road.The babbling song in the wine shop has been blown indistinctly by the cold wind, and the fruit from the persimmon tree fell to the ground and was eaten by wild dogs.At night, passersby bow their heads and walk without talking to each other.

A woman with most of her face covered by a hood walked quietly. Although she couldn't see her whole face, one could tell from her eyes that she was a beautiful woman.It's just that instead of wearing a skirt, she wore a pair of green jacket and trousers, but she also told others that she was a prostitute. Occasionally, when she bumped into someone, she would be looked down upon with contempt, but the woman didn't realize it, and seemed to be used to such cold eyes.

She walked very slowly, carrying a lantern, the lantern kept blowing in the night wind, the woman walked in silence, until she turned around the noisy street and came to a secluded blue-tiled house before stopping.There is a willow tree with a crooked neck beside the house. The tree is not tall, but the gate of this house is very special. Others hang red lanterns, but it only hangs two huge gourds. In Huan, write a moment of joy and sorrow in the world.There is a plaque on the house, which says "Guanqingzhai".

The woman raised the brim of her hat, glanced at the couplet, and said softly: "Here it is..." She wrapped the package around her wrist, bowed her head and stepped into the yard.

"Some people say that the ditty I wrote is sung all over Fireworks and Willow Lane, and even those ladies who don't know the spring and cold season will sing a few." A refreshing voice came from the courtyard, and there was a bit of pride in the tone.

"You seem to be very proud of this? Thanks to your reading of poetry and books, you don't go for a fame, but like Liu Yong, lingering in this place of fireworks. You are wasting time and burying your talents." Another voice was very indifferent. , the voice was a little low, but there was a hint of warmth.

"Everyone has his own aspirations, and his aspirations are not in the court and temples, but he can also find his way in this world of mortals. It is my aspiration to see through the ages."

"Hey, good-for-nothing, good-for-nothing, you! Come on, then I'll toast you to this unambitious person."

"Ha, don't forget to fill the two gourds outside with wine before leaving. Otherwise, don't blame me for not opening the door next time."

The woman stood at the door, and saw two men who were not afraid of the wind and cold, despite the cold wind howling and withered leaves flying, they were still sitting firmly on the stone bench in the yard, with a jug of wine on the stone table and nothing else.And the two men were very young, and the man holding the cup glanced at the woman. The woman had been in the wind and dust for many years, and she would not have been moved by that look, but at this time the woman couldn't help but bow her head shyly. , the whole face is also scarlet like a peach blossom.

He smiled and cupped his hands at the woman and said, "So it's Miss Huayan, Xiaosheng is so polite." After speaking, he bowed deeply.

Hua Yan hurriedly bowed her body to return the salute, she said: "Young Master Hu, I have returned the salute."

The other man put down his wine glass, he looked at the woman and made a bow, Hua Yan saw that he was also a romantic man.It's just that compared to the young man surnamed Hu, this one looks a little colder.

Hua Yan also returned the gift, the man glanced at the woman's package and said, "What did the girl bring?"

Hua Yan said: "The slave family prepared some cold clothes for the young master. I don't know if they fit, so I specially brought them for the young master to try on first..."

Hu Yue smiled, picked up the jug and said, "It's windy in the yard, let's go inside and talk."

Chu Jue was stunned for a moment, he put down his glass and stood up.The woman followed the two into the house, this house is very simple, it is the residence of ordinary down-and-out scholars, except for the four treasures of the study and calligraphy and painting, it is simple living utensils, very poor and shabby.Hu Yue lit a candle lamp, then poured a cup of tea for Yu Huayan from the thermos.

Chu Jue sat aside, still holding the delicate wine glass in his hand, he seemed to be a child of a noble family.He looked at the woman's package, raised his eyebrows and said to Hu Yue: "It's rare that such a beautiful woman is willing to sew cold clothes for my virtuous brother, but I'm so envious of you."

Hu Yue smiled slightly: "Brother Chu also wants to get one for the winter?"

Chu Jue glanced at Hua Yan. Hua Yan didn't want to be shy like an ordinary lady. She smiled shyly: "If Mr. Chu doesn't dislike it, I can also sew one for you in the coming year. My hometown used to be a cotton planter. , It’s a pity that when I was young, the harvest was not good, there were droughts and floods, and I couldn’t survive the days, so I was living in the rivers and lakes. Fortunately, I was appreciated by Mr. Hu and took good care of my family. Every new song must let my family first Come and sing, and let a mediocre person like me have the money to live."

Hu Yue said with a smile: "Miss Hua Yan's voice is the voice of the heavens, and it is rare to hear a song in the world. Of course, my song must be given to the fairy voice, otherwise it will be wronged to my talent."

Chu Jue frowned, and was about to speak when Hu Yue's expression changed and he said, "Miss Hua Yan must have something else to say?"

Hua Yan frowned slightly, and then relaxed a little, she sighed softly and said, "Young master has good eyesight, my family is indeed worried about one thing."

"But it's about girls?"

"It's not... It's about a benefactor... He, I can't disclose his name. I'm sorry, he told me that something strange happened in his family, and he was annoyed by it."

Hu Yue glanced at Chu Jue, Chu Jue's eyes were fixed, Hu Yue smiled knowingly, and said: "Girl, please tell me, our Mr. Chu has some solutions to the 'strange things'!"

Chu Jue glared at Hu Yue, who pretended to cough in embarrassment, but didn't feel any abruptness at all.Hua Yan hesitated for a moment, but she still spoke out.

Hua Yan has always been sponsoring a scholar to gain fame, and that scholar also regards Hua Yan as a confidante, so she will talk to Hua Yan if she has any concerns. Funeral letter.It said that the only old man in this poor and talented ancestral family had passed away. I hope he can go back to the countryside once to deal with the old man's descendants and land property.

Xiucai lost his parents when he was very young, and was brought up entirely by the aunt of the ancestral family. The old man didn't seem to have any other children and relatives, so he regarded Xiucai as his own grandson and loved him very much.That's why a scholar can pass the college examination, and the grandparent and grandson have such a deep relationship.So when Xiucai heard that her aunt had returned to the west, she hurriedly packed her luggage and rushed back to her hometown for the funeral.

There is actually a sincere relationship between Hua Yan and Xiucai, so after discussing with the madam, let her go with her.Good to have a caretaker.

The scholar's hometown was in Hebei, where a plague was raging and many people died.Along the way, Hua Yan had to take care of the scholar and prevent the two of them from contracting the plague.It was very difficult to get to the hometown of the scholar, but here it was even more serious, and there were dead people everywhere.

"Then there's nothing the old man can do if he doesn't make it through..." Hua Yan thought so, and entered the village with Xiucai.

There were not many people left in the village, and they finally found an acquaintance who could ask questions. This person was called Lai Wu. When Lai Wu saw the scholar came back, he was a little surprised: "Oh, why are you back?"

The scholar sighed: "I can't repay the kindness of my aunt's upbringing. I will definitely come back."

Lai Wu nodded and said yes, touched the key in his bosom and said: "Hey, at the ancestral house, because the old lady has not passed the hundred days, so we will wait for the hundred days to bury, you see The weather is not good, there are plagues everywhere, you have to be careful. I think you can't live here first, the plague is too severe there, if there is a mistake, your ancestors will be wiped out. "

Xiucai frowned slightly, Hua Yan actually felt that instead of living in an old house that has become a deserted house, it would be better to live in a popular place here.

The scholar left Hua Yan here, but he insisted on rushing to the ancestral house to guard the spirit of the old man himself.

Hua Yan couldn't bear his misery alone, so she insisted on accompanying them, but Lai Wu couldn't keep them, so she gave them some smoked medicine to prevent the plague.

Hua Yan felt that Lai Wu's gaze was a bit weird, but it was hard to say, he didn't seem to want the scholar to go to the ancestral house...

Hua Yan didn't think too much, but kept her head down all the way, and rushed to the ancestral house with the scholar, the more she walked in, the more lonely graves, some of the coffins were still new, but they were abandoned in the countryside before they could be buried. The two of Hua Yan could even see corpses everywhere, some were rotten, with pus leaking out of their intestines, some were not rotten, but they were dead, Hua Yan gritted her teeth and dragged the scholar to dare not look up at the road.

Xiucai had never seen so many dead people, and his face was pale.He pretended to be calm and patted Hua Yan's hand and said, "Don't be afraid, Yan'er, I'm here."

Hua Yan nodded, holding on to the scholar's hand and refusing to let go.But I still don't regret coming here with him.

Finally they came to the ancestral house, where the door was dilapidated and there was a dead silence. The scholar sighed, and as soon as he entered the house, he saw a coffin parked in the lobby. This coffin was bought by the old man himself.The scarlet color was particularly eye-catching, Hua Yan didn't know why, but she was terrified when she saw such a coffin.

But Xiucai burst into tears. He ran to the coffin and knelt down and worshiped. Hua Yan was also very sad. She couldn't help wiping her tears. Traces of animals.In addition, there are some animal fur.

Hua Yan looked around, the house was dilapidated, it didn't look like anyone lived here.Moreover, this is a place where the plague spreads and rages, and no one will settle here.

Xiucai cried for a long time.Only then wiped away his tears, he looked around at the ruins, wiped the dust on the altar and said, "Yan'er, we will be wronged here tonight. I think there are too many dead bodies here, and the plague must be very powerful. We can't get involved." you……"

Hua Yan wiped away her tears and shook her head, "Don't do this, my husband. Since I want to come with you, I won't be afraid of these things. They're just dead bodies, and I won't become zombies. After I tidy up a room, the two of us will go to rest first." Bar."

The scholar was very moved, and he said: "Yan'er treats me as deeply as the sea! If Xiaosheng can be named on the gold list in the future, he will definitely marry Yan'er as his wife! Hey! Now let me see my aunt's body for the last time."

Xiucai raised his sleeves and pushed away the big scarlet coffin, but the moment he opened it, he yelled in horror: "Auntie! Auntie's body is gone!"

Hua Yan was extremely frightened, could there really be zombies?She hurried over to take a look at the coffin, and there was nothing inside except the quilt.The bodies inside were long gone.

Hua Yan looked at Xiucai in fear, but Xiucai was already scared to death.He looked at Hua Yan and said, "Could it be... Could it be that they moved my aunt's body away?"

Hua Yan shook her head, but she knew that the villagers would not do this, and there was no need to do so.

So where did the body go?

At this time, there was a wild jackal's cry outside, and Hua Yan felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured all over her body, and she couldn't help shaking.

The scholar could only comfort him: "First... let's go into the house first! Let's talk about it after tonight!"

Hua Yan gritted her teeth and nodded, the two closed the door and lit candles.The old house has long been dilapidated, and there is no way to close all the windows.

The cold wind just swished into the house like this. The weather was really unbearable. Hua Yan wiped the table and chairs. Seeing this scene, Xiucai could only sigh. He said, "Actually, I don't have much land left. Disasters are already wasteland. Hey, how can a person like me succeed in the exam! What should I do!"

Hua Yan looked back at him, Hua Yan felt that he could not talk about sad things at this time, and he said, "Let me go get you something to eat."

Xiucai rubbed his stomach and said, "It's dark outside, it's cold and unsafe, you'd better not go."

Hua Yan said: "It's okay, I've walked for several days, at least I'll boil you some hot water."

Xiucai was so moved by Hua Yan's true feelings that she could hardly speak. Hua Yan lowered her head and smiled and walked out of the room.She only held an oil lamp in her hand, and the old house was extremely dark at this time.

Hua Yan wanted to touch the kitchen from memory, but she could only see things within one foot along the way, and it was very dim and blurry.While she was groping, she saw a man's face. She was so frightened that she almost dropped the oil lamp in her hand, and when she took a closer look, she found that it was actually just a statue of the Kitchen God.

She stroked her chest, and whispered to herself, "So it's Master Kitchen God, so the kitchen is here."

She slowly opened the kitchen door, put the oil lamp on the table, and lit the candles on the table. There was no more rice in the rice jar.She thought: After all, no one lives here anymore.

But at least she wanted to boil a pot of hot water to wash Xiucai's feet.But just when she squatted down to pick up the things in the stove, she couldn't help screaming.

The scholar ran out when she heard the sound. She pointed to the stove and said, "A lot...a lot of dead mice!"

Xiucai was also nauseated, the stove was densely packed with corpses of rats, some of which had crawled out of maggots.Hua Yan cried on Xiucai's chest, and Xiucai quickly helped her leave the kitchen.And just after they left the kitchen, Xiucai suddenly heard coughing in the east room.

When the scholar heard it, it was the voice of my aunt!

Xiucai picked up the oil lamp, and hurriedly helped Hua Yan who was already scared to death, and ran to the door, and the coughing stopped.

Xiucai didn't dare to open the door, his heart was already in his throat, he didn't know what was going on, so he could only shout in horror: "But aunt?"

The scholar's voice had changed, and Hua Yan shrank into a ball in fright, her face paled.She looked up at Xiucai, and Xiucai's face was also pale with fright, like a paper doll.

Hua Yan held Xiucai's hand, and she felt that Xiucai's hand was trembling badly.

And in the quiet room like a tomb, an old woman's voice really came faintly.

"It's... Ziming..."

When the scholar heard this, he couldn't help crying, and he said, "Auntie, haven't you returned to the west?"