In the courtyard of Jingde is planted a leafy plane tree, the tree is a hundred years old, the thick trunk needs two people to hug to be able to hug it, the shade of the tree is like a cover, and a large shadow is cast on the bluestone bricks in the courtyard.

Jiangnan officially entered the middle of June, and the weather began to get hot. Gu Yan's desk was set up by the window, and when he opened the window, he could just see the foliage of the plane trees outside, bringing a little coolness to this hot summer.

Gu Yan hadn't put down his books for two hours since he had breakfast.

The scholar who was waiting for the pen fan persuaded: "Eldest son, this is not a day's work, you might as well use some refreshments to nourish your eyes." ”

Gu Yan turned a deaf ear, and the "Complete Works of Changli" in his hand turned another page.

The scholar knew that he couldn't persuade his master, so he could only keep his mouth shut.

Outside the study, Mrs. Gu sighed deeply, and the unbearable look in her eyes flashed. She adjusted her mood, tried her best to make the smile on her face more natural, and pushed the door in: "Huaijin, are you still working hard?" ”

Hearing his mother's voice, Gu Yan was finally willing to put down the book in his hand, he got up from his seat and bowed: "Mother." ”

Mrs. Gu looked at her son's obviously emaciated cheeks, her eyes were sour, and she almost rolled down tears. She hurriedly turned her head away, and said casually: "I let the chicken soup be prepared on the stove, and it has been simmering for three hours, you can drink a bowl." ”

"Thank you, Mother." Gu Yan silently took the chicken soup, drank it all, and put the empty bowl on the desk next to him with both hands.

The mother and son looked at each other without saying a word.

In the end, it was Gu Yan who took the lead in breaking the deadlock: "Mother, son still wants to read books...... I didn't keep my mother. ”

Mrs. Gu was sad for a while, she never thought that one day she would come to this point with her son. The former mother and son filial piety are like flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water, but in the end it is empty. They mother and son...... There's no going back!

Thinking of this, Mrs. Gu couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes anymore, and she choked up: "Huai Jin, do you blame me......"

Gu Yan lowered his eyelashes slightly, his fair-skinned and handsome face was like a white jade carving, his jet-black eyelashes cast two fan-shaped shadows under his eyelids, his eyebrows were like distant mountains, and his eyes were like paint, as if splashing ink on a landscape, black and white, clear and elegant.

However, from Mrs. Gu's point of view, her son's eyebrows are frowned, the corners of his lips are straightened, and even his jaw is tight.

Mrs. Gu's heart ached, the young man in front of her was her proudest son!

O iniquity! What a sin!

The vision in her eyes was blurred, Mrs. Gu hurriedly picked up the handkerchief and wiped her tears, she sighed, and said ashamedly: "Huaijin, I'm sorry for you for my mother." Originally...... I learned that the eldest princess of Ping An did not agree to this marriage, if I insist a little longer, I will go over the eldest princess of Ping An and discuss directly with your cousin......"

Gu Yan originally stayed out of the matter, like a puppet without sorrow or joy. But listening to his mother's words, the more unspeakable he became, he couldn't help but interrupt: "Mother! ”

The fingers under Gu Yan's robe sleeves trembled slightly, and he suddenly raised his eyes, and a pair of clear and bright eyes floated with a cold color, like ashes of silence, and even the last trace of residual heat was cold.

Mother said cautiously. How important is the name of the daughter of the boudoir. Everything ......" Gu Yan paused and closed his eyes hard, so that the water marks in his eyes did not fall.

"It's all gone." When Gu Yan said this, he had already exhausted all his strength, his jade carving-like face was as pale as paper, and the boundless loneliness and pain between his eyebrows were even more poignant.

Although the cone pain in his heart was like cutting his heart and flesh, and the pain was so painful that his bone marrow trembled, Gu Yan's mind was still extremely clear. He moved his lips mechanically, and his calm voice seemed to come from outside the sky, always revealing a sticky (greasy) vague feeling.

"Mother, our family will be in Beijing soon. The holy decree has been issued, the cousin of the Xie family is about to be in the middle palace and the world of motherhood, and my cousin can only be happy for her. These words of yours will be pressed in my heart forever. ”

Mrs. Gu clasped her hands in her sleeves, and her white palms were full of blood marks pinched out of her nails at this moment. The son's warning was not so much a chill to Mrs. Gu, but rather a sadness and despair. In this life, his son is destined to be unfulfilled.

In addition to the guilt in Mrs. Gu's heart, she suddenly felt a trace of resentment, resenting her mother-in-law's cruelty. If it weren't for the attitude of her mother-in-law who had been watching Xie Fu, she would have drunk her daughter-in-law's tea by now.

But Mrs. Gu is the helmsman of the Gu family, and she is the most shrewd and wise, Mrs. Gu didn't dare to let her son know that the reason why his marriage with Yan He was not successful, Mrs. Gu accounted for a lot of reasons, so she could only silently carry this black pot. If there was a rift between her son and her grandmother, Mrs. Gu would not dare to imagine the consequences.

"That's it, Mother won't bother you from studying. You pay attention to the body. After Mrs. Gu finished speaking, she silently cleaned up the empty bowls, and when she turned to leave, she glanced at her son in the house, the young man standing in front of the desk was handsome and tall, and the posture of bending down and saluting was as pleasing to the eye, which was the calmness and elegance that had been infiltrated by poetry and books for more than ten years. Mrs. Gu hurriedly lowered her eyes and closed the door with both hands.

After Mrs. Gu left, Gu Yan picked up the book again, but found that he couldn't read a word. Looking at the faint ink on the white paper, he smiled bitterly and quietly walked to the window.

There is a weeping begonia planted in the flower garden, which is now long past its flowering period, and there is no trace of pink in the flourishing green leaves.

Obviously, when the begonias were in full bloom last year, the bright and delicate girl was still standing by the window, wearing a pink Luo skirt, her hair was like a dark cloud, and a crystal hibiscus hairpin was inserted obliquely, and a pair of slightly smiling peach blossom eyes were like stars, which were more dazzling than the jewels in the hair.

But in the blink of an eye, the girl disappeared from his world, and for a short time it was like a begonia flowering period, and now only a thick green was left.

Gu Yan covered his chest, and in a trance, there seemed to be a girl's delicate and sweet voice: "Big cousin, I feel dizzy when I read a book, let's go to the garden to pick flowers......"

……

Mrs. Gu hurriedly left her son's Jingde Courtyard, and her swift steps seemed to be chased by evil spirits behind her. Mrs. Gu regretted that she listened to her mother-in-law's words, and she regretted it more and more day by day! That's her only blood and bones, carefully raised to such a big age, handsome, handsome, since she was a child prodigy, not arrogant or impatient, well-behaved and sensible, why is she, a mother, unwilling to work hard for her son once.

"Madam, old lady please." Yingge looked for Mrs. Gu for a long time, and finally bumped into Mrs. Gu on the verandah.

When Mrs. Gu heard this, she hurriedly pressed the corner of her eye with a handkerchief and asked, "What is my mother looking for me?" ”

"This slave doesn't know either, madam, you'll know when you go." Yingge is the eldest maid that Old Madam Gu values and loves the most, although she noticed that Mrs. Gu's attitude was different from the past, and there was a hint of sharpness in her words, Yingge was not afraid at all, and said without humility or arrogance.

Mrs. Gu hid the sneer in her eyes, tugged at the corners of her lips, and returned to her previous dignified and gentle color, as if the sharpness just now was just the illusion of Yingge.

"Lead the way."

As soon as he entered the old lady's courtyard, he heard the laughter of the ladies in the house. Mrs. Gu paused and turned her head to look at her maid: "Is there anything wrong with me?" "The Gu family has a simple population, Old Madam Gu only has a son and a daughter under her knees, and the female dependents in Old Madam Gu's house can only be guests.

"There's nothing wrong with Madame." Although Mrs. Gu had cried just now, she was scrupling about her identity at that time, and she was stubbornly suppressing her emotions, and at this moment, she couldn't even find a trace of crying in the corners of her eyes that were most easily exposed.

Mrs. Gu suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, making the smile on her face more gentle, and then she opened the curtain and entered.

After Mrs. Gu entered the house, the laughter in the room suddenly stopped.

Old Madam Gu, who was sitting at the top, greeted: "Wen Niang, there is a guest at home." This is the wife of the Choi Taishou family. ”

When Mrs. Gu heard the voice, she saw a beautiful woman in her thirties sitting on the right hand side of the old lady, dressed in pearls and emeralds, with elegant eyebrows, although there was a bookish aura around her body, the momentum on her body was not as good as that of underestimating.

Mrs. Gu hurriedly saluted: "Meet Mrs. Cui." ”

Mrs. Cui got up, helped Mrs. Gu with a smile, and said in a kind tone, "Mrs. Gu is polite." I have long heard of your good name, Madame, and I have been friends with you for a long time. ”

Mrs. Gu's eyes flashed. Her husband is only a five-grade scholar, even if he is very famous among scholars, but he is only a minor official. This Mrs. Cui, whose husband is in charge of the government, is a feudal official, but she is so polite to herself that she has to think deeply.

Seeing that Mrs. Cui was so polite, the smile in Mrs. Gu's eyes deepened. She said softly: "Mrs. Cui is overrated. My daughter-in-law is just filial piety, courtesy, and a member of the Dunmu clan, who pities the old and cherishes the poor, and has a slight reputation. ”

Although Mrs. Gu was humble, she was very satisfied with Mrs. Gu's daughter-in-law.

Mrs. Cui smiled slightly, her words were not compliments. This Mrs. Gu is indeed a famous virtuous woman in Jiangnan. But Mrs. Cui is a little disdainful of such a reputation.

Her only daughter was pampered by her and her husband, and if she married in and swallowed her anger for the sake of the so-called virtuous name, even she, a mother, would not be willing.

"It's all taught by my mother." Mrs. Gu did not miss the flash of ridicule in Mrs. Cui's eyes, and her heart was shocked, but her face was silent, and she lowered her head to make a respectful gesture.

A daughter-in-law has become a mother-in-law for many years! Mrs. Gu's mother-in-law's mind is by no means comparable to herself, Mrs. Gu does not want to confront her mother-in-law, so that her husband and son who are caught in it are embarrassed, and she is willing to endure one or two.

As for Mrs. Cui, she is just an outsider, and she looks very concerned about the Gu family's family affairs.

"Wen Niang, come and sit next to me." Old Madam Gu beckoned to her daughter-in-law, and she smiled lovingly: "Mrs. Cui's beloved daughter will be in the house next month, and our mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will also go to join in the fun." ”

Mrs. Gu's heart chuckled, and her eyes subconsciously glanced at Mrs. Cui, who was reserved, and instantly gave birth to a trace of enlightenment.

However, in front of the guests, Mrs. Gu couldn't refute her mother-in-law, so she could only smile and say, "Mrs. Cui, I don't know what day Ling Yan and Lu will be, and my mother and I will definitely come to congratulate you at that time." ”

……

After sending Mrs. Cui away in a daze, Mrs. Gu just entered the house and knelt in front of Mrs. Gu with a "plop".

Her always gentle eyebrows suddenly gave birth to a resolute and resolute fierceness, and Mrs. Gu said in a deep voice: "Mother, I don't agree with this marriage with the Cui family. ”

His son's heart is already bitter enough, and his mother-in-law is obviously forcing Huaijin to do this. As a mother, how can she look at her son without even a little room for respite!