They didn't get a good night's sleep. As soon as the sky turned white, the old lady coughed loudly and coughed non-stop. Everyone got up early.

After Sister Jean and Sister Shuying finished freshening up, they accompanied Mei to walk around the garden. Along the way, they talked about what it was like to say goodbye. There was no major damage to the garden, except that a flowering cannonball fell on the pine forest, which damaged two pine trees.

Traffic on the streets has not been restored. There were still squads of soldiers at the crossroads, and there were still a few sentry posts in the streets. But a small number of lone pedestrians, with the permission of the sentry, can also pass a few streets.

The chef of the Gao family went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables. But the city gate had been closed for two days, and the countrymen could not pick vegetables into the city, and there was nothing to sell in the vegetable market, so even if the cook used his full collar, everyone still felt that there was no delicious food on the table.

Breakfast was served in the water pavilion, and two round tables were set up in the middle room, one for each of the older and younger generations. Although they hadn't eaten a full meal for two or three days, when they saw the few small dishes on the table, everyone felt that they had no appetite, so they lazily took the bowl and ate a little, and quickly put the bowl down. Only the two brothers, Juemin and Juehui, held the bowl and ate two bowls of rice in succession. Juexin was sitting diagonally across from Mei, and sometimes he secretly glanced at her once or twice, and sometimes Mei also shot his eyes at him, and the eyes of the two met unexpectedly. Mei buried her head or fell away, and her heart fluctuated, and she did not know whether she was relieved or sad. Fortunately, everyone watched Brother Juemin eat attentively and did not pay attention to her actions.

"You're eating really good. There are no dishes, and you are reluctant to put the bowls," Shuhua said to Juemin with a smile when she saw her grandfather walking out.

"You're a young lady, of course you're different from us," Jue Hui replied as she put down her bowl as she had just finished chewing a large bite of rice. "You can't eat chicken, duck, and fish at every meal. Do you know what we ate in the restaurant when we were in school? Greens, cabbage, tofu, bean curd! …… But now it's time for you to suffer, and I want the traffic to be cut off for a few more days, and see what you do. Before he could continue, Juemin secretly touched his elbow and motioned him to stop talking, and he seemed to see the unhappy expressions on the faces of several elders, so he stopped, pushed away his chair and stood up.

"I'm talking to my second brother, which one wants you to talk about?" Shuhua pursed her mouth, glanced at Juehui, turned around and ignored him.

After breakfast, Brother Juexin went out to inquire about the news, and planned to go to his aunt's house to have a look. There are not many pedestrians on the street. There were four or five people standing in front of each mansion, looking around with their necks stretched out, or talking about current events. Every dozen paces away, there were heavily armed soldiers standing on the side of the road, some carrying guns and walking slowly along the wall. Juexin walked by them, and without stopping them, they walked forward.

At the three-way intersection, five or six people stood in front of the fence, looking up and reading the notice posted on the wall. The newcomers also read the notice. This is the proclamation of the Overseers announcing their descent into the wilderness, and the Overseers humbly say that they are "not virtuous enough to convince the people, and not enough to help the people", which is why this war was caused, so that "I have suffered my soldiers and labored my people", and now they are determined to hand over power and carry out the disobedience, so as not to "prolong the war and corrupt the land" again.

"Now that the soldiers are coming to the city, they are saying these beautiful words, why didn't they go into the wilderness earlier?" Jue Hui said with a sneer after reading the notice.

Juexin heard his words next to him, and looked around in surprise, but fortunately there was no one nearby, so he was relieved, and quickly pulled Juehui's sleeve and warned in a low voice: "Be careful when you speak." Don't you want to die? ”

Jue Hui was silent, and he followed his two brothers across the fence. In front of the old temple stood a dozen rifles, crossed in two piles, and a dozen soldiers stood beside them, their faces expressionless. The grocery store next to the temple was ajar, and there was the day's newspaper, and the newcomers borrowed it and read it hurriedly. The attitude of the newspaper began to change, and although it still spoke good things for the Overseer who announced his resignation, at the same time the enemy army was also abolished from the name of the rebel, and instead of being called a rebel or a thief, he was called a certain army commander and a certain division commander. Moreover, the chamber of commerce and the groups that supported the old rites and religions have also sent out telegrams to welcome a certain commander and a certain public to enter the city.

More than a dozen well-known local gentlemen also issued a telegram calling on Commander Zhang to enter the city as soon as possible to "preside over provincial affairs", and the person led by Feng Leshan was Feng Leshan.

"It's him again," Juehui sneered.

"It probably doesn't seem to be okay then," Juexin said with relief. They had already walked two streets and were now on the third block.

The front fence was tightly closed, and two soldiers with guns stood there. They had to turn around and try to copy through a nearby alley. But no sooner had they walked down the alley into a street when they were stopped by another sentry.

"Stop, where are you going?" The skinny-faced soldier asked viciously.

"We went to see a relative who lives on ×× Street," Juexin politely replied.

"Can't get by! Don't go! With these two simple words, the soldier closed his mouth. He looked at the gun in his hand, and his eyes fell on the spear again, and he looked proud, as if he said to the new people: If you don't listen to me, take a step forward, it's such a bayonet.

Juexin had to silently turn around and walk through the alley again, intending to find another way around, but it took a lot of effort and still couldn't do it.

They decided to go home, but along the way, they were still in their hearts, and they were afraid that they would even lose their way back. They hurried down, eager to get home soon. There are very few pedestrians on the streets, and the shops and mansions are quietly closed. The sight added to their horror. As they walked past a sentry, their hearts pounded, fearing that he would stop them, but the sentry let them go. Then they finally got home.

Most of the family is in the garden. They hurriedly walked into the garden, first went to the water pavilion, and saw their grandfather and aunt playing cards there, just two tables.

"You still have the heart to play cards," Jue Hui thought. Later, when he saw Juemin slipping out, he followed suit, leaving Juexin standing upright in front of his grandfather to report what he had heard.

Naturally, this news brought a lot of comfort to the grandfathers. But Mrs. Zhang was still a little uneasy, because she didn't know what was going on in her family. But it was only a brief moment of anxiety, because it wasn't long before she played a good deck of cards and forgot about it again.

Juexin talked to the elders for a few words, and when he saw that everyone was playing cards attentively, he walked out.

Juexin walked out of the water pavilion and stood alone under the magnolia tree for a while, feeling bored. He seemed to yearn for something, and it was right in front of his eyes, but he knew he wasn't going to get it. He felt empty, he felt the flaws of life. He leaned against the trunk of the tree and looked at the new green in front of him. Birds chirped in the trees. Two thrushes wrestled on the branches, and the snow-white magnolia flowers fell straight to his body, but after a moment they stopped again. He saw two birds flying to the right, and his heart was filled with a strong longing. He wished that he too would become a bird and fly with them into the open sky. He leaned down to look at him. A few petals fell from his head, shoulders, and chest, and he picked them up with two fingers, and gently lowered them, letting them float limply to the ground.

A figure turned out from behind the rockery in front of him, and it was a woman. She walked slowly with her head bowed, holding a wicker in her hand. She suddenly raised her head and saw Juexin standing under the tree, standing still, her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to speak, but she didn't say anything, she turned around and walked away silently. The light green lake crepe jacket was covered with a dark blue satin vest, and she was clearly Mei.

He felt cold all over his body. He didn't understand why she was avoiding him, and he wanted to ask her for an explanation. He pursued him, but lightly.

He turned the rockery and saw some flowers and plants, but he couldn't see her shadow. He looked strangely, and caught a glimpse of her dark blue satin vest in a crack in a rockery on the right. He turned the rockery again, and in front of it was a small oval lawn, surrounded by a few peach blossoms. She stood under a peach tree, her head bowed and fiddling with something in the palm of her left hand.

"May!" He couldn't help but scream and walked towards her.

She looked up, and this time she didn't avoid it. She looked at him silently.

He walked up to her and asked in an excited voice, "May, why are you avoiding me?" ”

She buried her head and gently stroked the dying butterfly that was lying on her palm flapping its wings slightly, and did not answer for a long time.

"Won't you forgive me?" His voice turned bitter.

She raised her head and looked at him for a while without flashing an eye before she said lightly, "Big cousin, you didn't owe me anything. ”

Only this short sentence.

"You won't forgive me," he said in an almost mournful voice.

She smiled, and it wasn't a happy laugh, it was a sad laugh. Her eyes became gentle. They couldn't stop caressing his face. Then she pressed her right hand against her chest. She whispered, "Big cousin, don't you know my heart?" How have I ever complained to you! ”

"Then why are you avoiding me? We've been separated for so long, and it's so easy to see each other, and you won't even talk to me. How do you think I'm going to get by? How could I not think that you still hate me? He said bitterly.

Mei buried her head, and she bit her lip, the wrinkles on her forehead deepened. She said slowly, "I didn't hate you, but I'm afraid to see you more so that you don't remember the past." ”

Juexin stared at her blankly, unable to answer for a while. Mei bent down and gently placed the butterfly in her hand on the lawn, and said in a voice of pity, "Poor, I don't know which one made you like this!" Although the meaning of this sentence was a pun, she said it unintentionally. She then added, "Big cousin, I'll go first, I'll go and watch them play cards." She walked towards the water pavilion.

Juexin raised his head and saw Mei's drooping bun and the pale cyan headband tied to the bun through his teary eyes. He saw that she was about to turn the rockery, and couldn't help but shout again: "Mei! ”

She turned around again and stood still, standing next to the rockery, waiting for him to pass.

"Big cousin," she called out with concern, and glanced at him with watery eyes.

"You have to pity even a butterfly, don't I deserve your mercy?" He held back tears and whispered.

She didn't answer, lowered her head, and leaned against the rockery.

"Maybe you're going back tomorrow, and we'll never see each other again, dead or alive, and we're like living in two worlds. You can't bear to say goodbye to me in silence like this? He said with a sob.

She still didn't answer, just breathed heavily.

"May, I'm sorry for you. …… I can't help it. …… I took the kiss...... Forgot about you. …… I didn't think of your pain," his voice was still as low as before, but it became intermittent because of the urgency of his words. He pulled the handkerchief out of his bosom, but he didn't wipe his eyes, letting the tears run down his cheeks. "I later learned that you have suffered enough in the past few years, and I brought it to you. Thinking of this layer, how can I let go of this heart? You see, I've had enough of suffering too. You won't even say a word of forgiveness? ”

She looked up, her eyes sparkling. She finally couldn't help crying in a low voice, and said two sentences intermittently: "Big cousin, I'm in turmoil at the moment. …… Where do you tell me to start? So he put one hand on his heart and coughed several times in succession.

He saw her so sad, and a feeling of remorse, sympathy, and love suddenly came to his heart. He forgot to approach her and rubbed her face with his handkerchief.

She silently allowed him to do so at first, but after a while she suddenly pushed him away and struggled miserably, saying, "Don't come near me like this, and you should avoid suspicion!" She made a gesture to walk away.

"What suspicion do you want to avoid at this time? I'm already a person with children. …… But I shouldn't grieve you like that. People say, 'Sorrow hurts,' and you should take care of your body." He took her by the hand and did not let her go, and said, "You see you crying like this, how can you go out?" At this time, he was only sad for her fate, he was completely for the sake of her alone, and he forgot his sorrow.

She gradually stopped her grief, took the handkerchief from his hand, wiped away the tears herself, and then returned it to him, and said sadly: "I haven't missed you for a day in the past few years." You don't know how comforted I was when I saw your back at Qinmei's house on Chinese New Year's Eve. I came back to the provincial capital and wanted to see you, but I was afraid to meet you. I avoided you that day in the new birth, and then regretted it. I can't be the master. I have my mother, and you have a big cousin. The eldest cousin is so good, even I like her. I don't want to remind you of the past. It doesn't matter to me, my life is over. But I don't want to make you miserable, nor do I want to make her miserable. At home, my mother didn't know what was on my mind, and she could only use her heart to think about everything. She will not understand my sorrow. It's better for me to live like this, than to die early. She let out a long sigh.

Juexin silently pressed his chest, because his heart hurt too much. The two men looked at each other, and after a while he smiled sadly, and he pointed to the lawn and said, "Don't you remember when we rolled on the grass?" The worm bit my finger, or you sucked the scar on me. We've also caught butterflies in the grass and picked henna seeds. Isn't the place the same now? …… Another time when we encountered a lunar eclipse, we carried our benches and walked in the patio, saying that we were suffering for the moon. …… Do you remember these things? Once upon a time, when you were studying with me at our house, we had many good dreams about a clear oil lamp! The joy was intoxicating! Where would you have thought of such an ending today? He had a dreamy look, as if he was trying to reminisce about the scene.

"I live almost by memories now," May still whispered, "and memories can sometimes make you forget everything." I really want to go back to my unrestrained and carefree childhood, but unfortunately I can't turn back the years. Big cousin, you must take care of your health......"

Before she finished speaking, she heard someone approaching, and then Shuhua's voice said, "Cousin Mei, we have been looking for you for a long time, and you are hiding here!" ”

Mei hurriedly took a step back, moved away from Juexin, and turned her head to look.

It was Qin, Shuying and Shuhua, two sisters, who came. The three of them walked in front of Mei, Shuhua saw Mei's face, and smiled deliberately in surprise: "Cousin Mei, is the eldest brother bullying you?" Why are your eyes swollen from crying? Shuhua looked at Juexin's face again, Juexin tried her best to dodge, but she had already seen it, and she said again: "Why are you crying too?" You've been separated for a few years, and now you should rejoice when you meet! Why are you hiding here and crying against each other? Mei blushed and lowered her head. Juexin also turned his head away to look away, and said vaguely: "My eyes hurt today." ”

When Shuying heard this, she also interjected and sneered: "It's strange, it doesn't hurt early, it doesn't hurt later, but when Cousin Mei comes, your eyes hurt." ”

Qin pulled Shuying's sleeve next to her and motioned for her to stop talking, because Ruijue came with the child. But Shuying continued to say it in one breath, and she couldn't stop it, and by the time she realized it, it was too late.

When Ruijue heard Shuying's words and saw this situation again, she couldn't help but be a little suspicious. She didn't say anything, so she sent Haichen to Juexin with a smile and asked him to take her, walked to Mei's side by herself, and said, "Cousin Mei, don't be sad. Let's go elsewhere, and I advise you to be relieved. She very intimately helped Mei to turn the rockery and walked out.

Shuying and Shuhua were going to follow them, but they were stopped by Qin, who said movingly: "Let the two of them go, they probably have something to talk about." I think my eldest cousin is very good with Sister Mei, and she likes Sister Mei very much. Although these words were said to Sister Shuying, they were for Juexin.