The wealthy man who wears books

Seeing her staring at the well, An Xingsheng smiled and said, "The golden phoenix trees have yellow leaves in autumn, and the bead curtains don't roll in the night to frost. When I was reciting ancient poems, I really liked the mood of these two poems. It's just that autumn is still early now. ,There are no fallen leaves all over the well here, and the taste is a little worse."

Zhong Xiu withdrew her gaze, squinted at An Xingsheng and said, "Uncle An is so busy that he can't see anyone every day. I didn't expect that there are such leisurely and elegant poems, and I still remember them all. But Xiu'er didn't have the grandeur of the old man, just looked at the deep well under the moon, and remembered that people often say that water and plains in this world are all connected, but she didn't know where the well water is connected here, so she was stunned for a while gone."

An Xingsheng glanced at the moon in the sky. Not far away, in the Bochun Garden, the monks were chanting the Sutra of Suohun Sutra for the last time.

"Let's not talk about the well, I have something to ask you right now. I was in the mourning hall just now and saw that the person who greeted and escorted and dealt with affairs was Zhong Xin? If I remember correctly, Wasn't he originally a servant in your elder brother's courtyard, why now he seems to be in charge of the foreign affairs authority of the elder brother, and he seems to be quite capable. And judging by his description, he is very low-key and dignified, no more than your second brother often Showing his sharpness, he is unreasonable. From this point of view, this person is indeed a piece of jade that is about to be buried."

Hearing his words, Zhong Xiu's face, which had always been smiling, suddenly changed, but quickly returned to its original state, and said with a light smile:

"Uncle An really has good eyesight. After only a short while here, he can recognize people like jade with his eyes. So I would like to ask you, is there anything in the mourning hall of the big house that can surprise you?" What about the person!"

Because she noticed An Xingsheng secretly looking at Qin Huai in the mourning hall, she had always had a lump in her heart, and now hearing him praise Zhong Xin, her thoughts aroused again.

An Xingsheng was surrounded by her just now, and now when she asked who surprised him, he knew Zhong Xiu's scheming.He has a quick mind, how could he take the bait again, so he bypassed Qin Huai and said with a smile:

"If you ask like this, I really have someone who can answer you. Originally, when I was acquainted with your elder brother, I also saw the people around him. So today, when I first saw the adopted son behind him, I was frightened." A jump. Because I remember that child named Jusheng, who was originally just your elder brother's servant, was extremely timid and fearful, with a character like a yellow-haired sparrow. There is quite a wink, and when we get together with Zhong Xin, we have a tacit understanding like brothers, which can be regarded as amazing. From this point of view, you can be regarded as a successor in the big family."

After An Xingsheng said this, Zhong Xiu just smiled, and his eyes fell on the well again involuntarily.

*******************************

The night is getting darker.

In the yard of Mrs. Dafang He Yiru, it was different from the past. For some reason, the lights outside were turned off early.

Because the eldest wife has been in poor health and low spirits for the past few days, she prefers to be quiet than before, so in the huge courtyard, there is almost no one to see, and there is no sound.

At the moment at the back corner door, He Yiru's close maid Rui'er bowed her head, without saying a word, she led a man dressed in black silently through the hallway and arrived at the Buddhist hall next to the main house .

Rui'er gently opened the door, and the man in black rushed in, and the door of the Buddhist hall was closed from the inside immediately.

Rui'er looked around and saw that there was no one around, so she yawned, sat on the veranda outside the door, leaning on a pillar, and slowly dozed off.

At this moment, Zhong Li, the third young master of the Zhong family, was drinking away the girls who followed him, and came quietly to his mother's yard alone.

In Zhong Li's temperament, since childhood, there has been a stubbornness that is completely different from other brothers and sisters.

At this time, because of Zhong Ren's drugging himself, coupled with the things he could see and hear with his eyes and ears over the years, he was extremely disappointed in the Zhong family's big dye vat, which was bright on the outside and dirty on the inside. I don't want to stay in this garden.

After speaking frankly about himself and Zhong Feihong in the mourning hall tonight, he has made up his mind to travel far.It's just that there was a sudden change in the mourning hall, his mother fainted, Zhong Jiu vomited blood, and for a while, Zhong Feihong had to let Zhong Feihong leave first.

But Zhong Li is a person, although he is pure and paranoid, he does not care about world affairs, but he is not stupid.

He returned to his residence, and after thinking about it, he felt that in the mourning hall today, both Uncle Jiu and his mother were obviously a little abnormal, and the opposition to him and Zhong Feihong was unexpectedly fierce.

Although he couldn't think of why the two of them were like this for a while, he felt that if he couldn't cut the mess quickly, and behave like his mother, with a gentle mouth and a hard hand, it was very possible to conjure up some unexpected tricks, Do everything possible to hinder yourself.

So after thinking about it, he made up his mind that he couldn't give his mother another chance, he must ask for her idea right now, and he had to give himself an explanation for whether he was going to do it or not.

And in the bottom of Zhong Li's heart, he had already made an oath to himself, even if his mother really refused, even if he gave up the Zhong family's golden mountains and silver seas, he would not be able to sink here.

The clouds covered the moon, and Zhong Li quietly entered his mother's yard.At this moment, there was no light in the entire compound, and it was really hard to see.

He was quite familiar with the courtyard, and with the help of the meager starlight, he first went to his mother's room.Unexpectedly, in the dead of night, there was no one in the bedroom.

Zhong Li was startled, then thought of a place to go, walked around from the Chaoshou verandah, and went straight to the Buddhist hall where his mother would be there every day.

When they got to the door of the Buddhist hall, they saw the little girl Rui'er sitting there, leaning against the pillar and sleeping soundly.Zhong Li knew that his mother must be in the Buddhist hall, so he walked lightly to the door, and when he was about to knock on the door, he could faintly hear a man's voice coming from the Buddhist hall, although it was as low as a whisper, In the silent night, it happened to be heard clearly.

Zhong Li's heart moved, he put down his hands, and listened carefully.

Only the mother in the Buddhist hall sighed faintly and said:

"Even if Zhong Li is tied up at home right now, with his eccentric temperament, he doesn't know what he will do in the future. It's not that you don't know him, so you went abroad without saying a word, looking for that girl Feihong. It is possible."

Unexpectedly, Zhong Li thought that what his mother was talking about was actually him, and felt that his breath was raised in his throat instantly, and he even pricked up his ears, for fear of missing the conversation in the Buddhist hall.

Then I heard the man's voice whispering: "Why don't I know this? Over the years, although he is not by my side, I have always cared about him in my heart, so I naturally understand his temperament. I am as worried as you, It's just that they are afraid that they will separate now and send Feihong abroad, and the third child will go away secretly. At that time, no one will know. Is there a thunderbolt?"

At this time, Zhong Li could already recognize the voice of this person, it was Zhong Feihong's grandfather, Zhong Jiu, the patriarch of the Zhong family.It's just that no matter what, I never imagined that in such a secluded place at midnight, my mother would have a private meeting with an outside man.And listening to the words of the two of them, although I was a little puzzled, it seemed that there was only a thin layer of paper between them, and I always felt that something was about to be punctured, and my heart was beating loudly. fast.

He Yiru started to cry faintly: "This is really the fault of the two of you! We have been taking precautions all these years, lest the fact that you are the third relative's father be leaked out, and now we have come to this In the year and month, I thought everything was going smoothly, but how could I have imagined that such a thing would happen. The third child is said to be the uncle of the Hong girl. Even if I let him die, I can't let them get together , do things that are worse than pigs and dogs, do you understand, old nine!"

The moonlight suddenly revealed half of a silver face from the clouds, shining on Zhong Li's face outside the Buddhist hall, faintly, but one could still see that his mouth was half open at the moment, the corners of his lips were trembling constantly, and that The two eyes are like puppets that have been struck by lightning, and they can't even see a trace of expression.

The little girl Rui'er suddenly woke up from her sleep, rubbed her eyes, the courtyard in front of her was still silent, and there was boundless darkness everywhere.

She froze for a moment, she seemed to have felt a little sound waking her up from her dream just now, but at this moment there was no one there, presumably she must have had a remnant dream.

Although the voice in the dream sounded like a man sobbing suppressed in his chest.

***********************************

The mourning hall tonight was busier than usual.

After all, it was the day of Zhong Ren's upcoming funeral, so there were countless red tapes that needed to be finished on this day.

Although Zhong Xin was doing the most tiring work among all the people, even though it was almost late at night, he still couldn't see much tiredness.

On the other hand, Qin Huai and Ju Sheng, who had endured the long night of vigil for so many days, really felt like they were at the end of their strength, and they just tried their best to support themselves.

After all, Qin Huai is a few years older than Jusheng, but he is more energetic than him. Seeing Jusheng's eyes open and close, even standing there, he seems to be able to fall asleep.He leaned over to his side and told him in a low voice to go back and rest quickly, lest there would be countless etiquette procedures tomorrow, requiring the two of them to support the whole process.

Ju Sheng blinked at Qin Huai with sleepy eyes, and shook his head vigorously, as if to refresh himself.

"Grandma and Seventh Master are still here, so I'll stay here for a while longer, some chores that I don't have, if you tell me, they will be done faster than those women."

Qin Huai listened to his very sensible words, and looked at his thin but rather durable body, couldn't help feeling a brother's love for his younger brother, because he touched his head with his hand, and said:

"I saw you too. At this moment, Lao Qi has basically arranged everything properly. There is no use for you. You are just doing your time here. You should go back quickly and recover your energy. If Qiye or I will use you tomorrow, wouldn't it be cheaper."

When Ju Sheng saw what he said, he nodded honestly, blinked his eyes suddenly, and said with a smile: "When the old man was here, I didn't dare to look at grandma more, but I knew in my heart that grandma was handsome. Grandma is actually much more handsome than then, and looks more like a man."

Qin Huai couldn't help but smile when he heard that he spoke with sincerity.

He knew in his heart that the original Qin Huai was too enchanting after all, and he would inevitably have a feminine impression in everyone's minds. These days, in order not to let everyone think that he has changed too much, before Zhong Rensheng, he sometimes had to deliberately be soft and charming. Dress up to look like she was born in Fengyue Fireworks.But now that Zhong Ren passed away, and the person who was too wary was gone, he was slowly recovering to his original state, so what Ju Sheng said was pretty good.

He urged him a few more words, but Ju Sheng couldn't bear it any longer, so he informed Zhong Xin and went out first.

Looking at his thin back, Qin Huai secretly sighed in his heart, in such a filthy and filthy mansion like Zhong's, there are really too few honest and kind people like Ju Sheng.

He looked at Zhong Xin who was standing in front of the coffin again. Even now, that man still maintains a hunched figure. He is in front of others and behind him, and he has no arrogance at all. It can be said that he hides deeply to the bone.

Qin Huai sighed secretly, feeling the depth of Zhong Xin's palace in his heart.It's just that he also has a feeling that no matter how ruthless this man is, his kindness to Ju Sheng is really sincere.I only hope that after I leave Zhong's house, this child will die well under his wings.

*************************************

The night is as thick as ink that cannot be grinded.

In the remote house where Zhong Xin's mother had been imprisoned, Que'er stared out the window blankly.

The clothes on her body were in tatters, and her hands and feet were covered with scars from being beaten. Some places were scarred, and some were still oozing bright red bloodstains.

Almost every few days, Zhong Yi would quietly bring his confidant servant over here, and use family law on her severely, all for the purpose of finding out from her where Zhong Ren hid the secret recipe at that time.

Que'er never said a word, neither said she knew nor said she didn't know, just like a really crazy woman, she kept talking to herself, completely ignoring Zhong Yi's coercion and temptation.

It was only when Zhong Yi was waiting for others to leave that she struggled to climb to the window and muttered to Zhong Yi's back outside along the broken window.

"Why didn't the person who came here be you? Why is the same brother? The person who came to see me was not you...Even if you are like him, you also came to beat and scold me. I also want...to see you..."

But at this moment, outside the window she was staring blankly, suddenly there was a figure of a man.

The figure of Zhong Li whom she was looking forward to so much.

Zhong Li gently pushed open the door, and the raw smell in the room instantly swallowed his breath, but he didn't seem to feel it at all.

He walked slowly in front of Que'er, squatted down, and looked at her feet that were chained to the railing of the bed. There were countless blood-soaked wounds on those feet, as if they had touched somewhere in Zhong Li's heart. He suddenly closed his eyes heavily.

It took Que'er a long time to realize that there was a man in front of him.

She stared at him blankly, and slowly, those dry eyes that looked like dead fish became more lively and radiant.

A beautiful smile appeared on her dirty face, the corners of her mouth trembled, and she said to Zhong Li:

"Is it really you? Did you really see me coming, Third Young Master?"

Zhong Li slowly opened his eyes, there was already a trace of moisture in those pupils.

"Que'er, it's me, I'm here to see you."

From the corners of Que'er's excited eyes, two strings of crystal clear teardrops rolled out quickly.

"It's you, it's really you. I thought that you would never see me again in this life. Unexpectedly, you came after all...Third young master, I know you hate me, but I also hate myself , but no matter what, I have never regretted it. Even if I stabbed you, in fact, my heart hurts more than yours, because I really just want to let you and me die, I can keep the other party in my heart, I'm sorry, third young master..."

At this time, Que'er seemed to have regained her sanity, and what she said were all things that had lingered in her heart countless times.

Zhong Li suddenly smiled sadly.

His eyes fell on the iron chain on Que'er's feet, after a long time, he gently picked up the iron chain, like a greedy child, and lightly tied a buckle on his own foot.

"Que'er, maybe it's only now that I suddenly understand your thoughts. It turns out that loving someone is impossible. Everyone in this world is equally hopeless and sad. You just said that before death, I will remember the appearance of the person in front of you, so now, I will tell you a story, a story of myself, after listening to it, I think I will accompany you to fulfill this wish, do you agree?"

Que'er seemed to be ignorant, but also seemed to understand him, and nodded silently.

Zhong Li looked at her face, slowly took out a bottle of kerosene and a box of matches from his body, and put them all on the broken wooden table aside.

"Que'er, it's so hot here, but it's so cold here, but it doesn't matter. After a while, it will be very warm here. But I still want to ask you now, you still want to be with me now. Die together? If you don't want to, I will never force you."

An extremely happy smile appeared on Que'er's lips, and she nodded vigorously, "I am willing, I have always been willing."

*******************************************

It was nearly midnight in the backyard of Zhong's house, suddenly there was a burst of sharp shouts.

"There's water, there's water, there's water in the garden!"

Whether it was a dreamer or an insomniac, they were all startled by the shrill cry for the first time, and the lights of the entire Zhong's house were quickly turned on.

Qin Huai jumped out of bed in some horror, and stood in front of the bedroom window. From his position, he could see a place in the far corner of the garden, which was already full of flames.

He thought quickly in his heart, and couldn't help shivering.Because he knew where that place was, it was the place where he had delivered food to Zhong Xin's biological mother.

But now, isn't Que'er the one locked there?

Suddenly, a calm figure appeared outside the window.

"Sister-in-law, don't be afraid, the place where the water flows is far away from here, so it's okay."

That was Zhong Xin's voice.

Inexplicably, Qin Huai felt his heart warm up.

He knew that from the east courtyard to his main room, from the sound coming from outside, to the time when others were here, it took only a minute or two.

No matter what the reason for this little uncle, he still has a sister-in-law in his heart.

There were louder and louder noises and yells outside, and there were figures of servants carrying wooden barrels upside down, carrying water to the wells in the garden, and rushing to the place where the fire broke out.

Zhong Xin suddenly spoke again.

"Sister-in-law, why not wait for the news in the room, I need to go over there to have a look, I must not let this fire grow."

Qin Huai knew that he now had more responsibilities than before. Although the place where the water leaked was not Po Chunyuan, it was still a part of the Zhong family. If it spread, it would be a big deal.

At this moment, he had an indescribable feeling in his heart, as if his heart was being suppressed by something, he was depressed and scared, and always felt like something big was about to happen.

"Uncle, wait a moment, I will go with you!"

Qin Huai quickly put on his clothes, and walked quickly out of the room.

Zhong Xin glanced at him, but lowered his head, and said in a deep voice: "Sister-in-law is about to leave, and she is very concerned about the affairs of this house."

Qin Huai never thought that he, who was always reticent, would say such a thing at this time. It was obviously ironic to himself when he told him that he was going to leave a few days ago, so he couldn't help but stay there immediately, not knowing what to say.

Zhong Xin glanced at him again, "But Lao Qi knows that sister-in-law's heart is really hot..."

He still hadn't finished speaking, when a woman's shrill cry suddenly came from the gate of Bo Chun Yuan.

"Come on, come on! In the well over there, there's someone soaking in the water, who looks like Master Jusheng..."