Cuiliu saw that the two of them were completely soaked, so she hurriedly boiled ginger soup again, prepared clean clothes, and tossed until almost dawn, Ruojun was lying on the bed, she was already physically and mentally exhausted to the extreme, so tired that even the sensory function was already dormant, she couldn't feel pain or happiness, she just wanted to sleep, and she fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, and she didn't even have a dream. But I didn't sleep for long, and suddenly I felt someone shaking me violently.

"Ruojun, Ruojun! What about pears? ”

Ruojun rubbed his sleepy eyes, glanced at the person who shook him in a daze, and only saw that it was his stepmother Chen Yuqin for a long time, with an anxious and worried face.

"Wakari?" Ruojun's mind has not yet woken up from his sleep.

Chen Yuqin frowned, and said hurriedly: "Ruoli went out to look for you last night, didn't you see her?" I have been preparing things for the old man in the room, but I didn't pay attention, and then I saw the umbrella at the door, thinking that she was back, and I didn't think much about it. But...... Where is she? ”

Ruojun looked at the quilt beside him, and sure enough, Ruoli didn't come back to sleep all night, and suddenly his heart trembled, and his head recalled last night's storm, last night's passionate kiss, last night's miserable white face and curses...... Ruojun sat up from the bed with a "Teng" sound, his mind suddenly cleared up for more than half of the time, his eyes widened, grabbed Chen Yuqin's forearm, and said, "Ruoli didn't come back?" ”

"No! Ruojun, didn't you see her last night? ”

Ruojun turned over and got up, a kind of fear rose in her heart, and she avoided Chen Yuqin's doubtful and worried eyes guiltily, and said in a stumbling voice: "Last night...... She...... Angry with me...... Ran out...... Mother, don't worry, maybe she went to the same school and will come back later. ”

"Angry with you? Why? Chen Yuqin asked.

Ruojun could only sigh secretly, turned around and walked out of the house, the sky was already bright, the wind and rain had stopped, but the ground was full of stagnant water, and the fallen leaves and weeds on the ground were either floating on the stagnant water or sticking to the ground, which seemed to remind everyone of an unusual storm that they had had last night.

Zhou Fu had already gone to the coffin shop to buy the coffin, at this time the coffin shop was helping to collect Mei Xuefei's body, the corpse was covered with a white cloth, as if covering Ruojun's heart, his father's loving face, the way he wrote by hand, and the way he played in the yard, all kinds of memories turned into two lines of tears, snatching out of his eyes, Cuiliu hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Ruojun aside and said: "Young grandmother, don't look at it, let Zhou Fu take care of these things." You go to your room and change into filial piety clothes. I made some food, you and the second young master eat a little first, there will be a lot of things later, you can't do it without physical strength. ”

Saying that, she took out a handkerchief and wiped Cuiliu's tears, Ruojun nodded, she was grateful to Cuiliu, although she was just a girl.

After changing into filial piety clothes and coming out to the hall, the Mei family did not have a living room, a dining room, they only had a main hall, where the dinner and reception were held, and there was an old table that had long been painted off and mottled, and four chairs with black lacquer that were also worn.

Ruikang was sitting there eating breakfast, when he saw Ruojun coming in, she was dressed in filial piety clothes, her face was pale, her eyes were red and swollen, and her expression was sad, he stood up, helped her sit down, and asked softly and concernedly, "Have you slept for a while?" Ruojun looked at him a little embarrassed and shy, the wind and rain had stopped, although the grief in her heart was still very intense, but she had begun to gradually accept the fact of her father's death, and her mind began to gradually become rational, thinking of her and Ruikang's identity, and thinking of last night's kiss, she felt ashamed and blamed, what happened to herself? How can such a thing be done?

"Hmm." She nodded and turned away, avoiding his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" He sensitively felt that she was a little different from last night, and looked at her worriedly.

"Wakari didn't come back all night, I'm worried about her." She frowned and whispered.

"Didn't come back all night?" He frowned.

She nodded and sighed, "Hopefully she just lost her temper and went to live with her classmates." ”

"Ruojun ......" He squatted down, stared at her face, and asked cautiously, "Do you regret it later?" ”

She didn't look at him, she didn't dare to look at him, because his face was too seductive, she turned her head, put her hand on her forehead, closed her eyes, shook her head, and said, "Ruikang, please, don't ask me this question today, okay?" Her eyelashes fluttered, and in a moment she was wet with tears.

He frowned, nodded, seemed to understand something, and he was reluctant to force her, so he stood up, returned to his seat and continued to eat his breakfast, and said no more. His silence saddened her, but she couldn't bear the sudden blow, and she could only face her father's funeral first, and then how to repair her sisterhood with Wakari.

The two finished breakfast relatively silently, Zhou Fu had already found someone to start arranging the mourning hall, Ruikang also went around to help, and Zhou Fu discussed asking someone to write elegiac couplets, order wreaths, portraits, write tablets, and invite monks to chant scriptures or something, it is strange to say, arranging a funeral seems to reduce grief, a moment to find a plate, a moment to find a cup, a moment to find a candle, a moment to place offerings, busy and busy, Ruojun also felt a lot calmer.

She occasionally silently watched his back inside and out, his waist was tied with white linen, and she was very grateful and emotional, this was what Ryan should do, but he did it so dedicatedly and thoughtfully. Ryan, ahem...... The father didn't see his son-in-law until he died, and Ruojun sighed, maybe that's why his father would entrust himself to Ruikang before he died. From welcoming relatives to returning to the door of the three dynasties to visiting the sick to sending him to the end, it was Ruikang, and when his father was dying, he would naturally mistake Ruikang for his son-in-law in a trance.

The neighbors on the left and right sides also came to the Mei family to help when they got the funeral news, and everyone once again regarded this handsome and handsome second young master as Ruojun's husband, and kept praising them with their thumbs in private, and some of the older ones simply pulled Ruojun aside and said: "Ruojun, your father is gone, you have to mourn, but you are blessed to marry such a good husband, and your father will be comforted by the spirit of heaven." ”

Ruojun smiled bitterly and didn't explain anything, did he want to shout all over the world, this man is his brother-in-law, and his husband is disabled, because he is not willing to come to the end of his father-in-law? She doesn't have that energy, she doesn't have that mind, so let them misunderstand if they misunderstand.

In the evening, the mourning hall was arranged, Ruojun fried two vegetarian dishes in the kitchen, brought them to the hall, and told Cuiliu to invite Ruikang and Zhou Fu to come over for dinner, and looked back to see his stepmother Chen Yuqin holding the door, looking into the distance, his heart sank, he was in a trance all day, busy with the funeral and entangled in the matter of Ruikang, and forgot that Ruoli had not come back all day.

She hurried to the door and said, "Mother, you go to eat first, I'll go find Ruoli." ”

Chen Yuqin frowned and turned her head to look at her, the worry on her face was deeper than in the morning, the anxiety made her look several years older, her hands were rubbed anxiously on her chest, her mouth smacked, and asked, "Ruojun, what happened last night?" Why is Ruoli angry with you, why did you run away? Why haven't you come back yet? She grew so big, she never stayed up all night, and I always felt that something was going to happen. ”

Ruojun lowered her eyes, her eyes wandered in her sockets, she was not good at lying since she was a child, and her eloquence was also very ordinary, and she stammered: "I'll go to Zhang Xiaoli's house first, and you go back to the house first." As he spoke, he took off the apron on his body and stuffed it into Chen Yuqin's hand, and walked briskly to the home of Zhang Xiaoli, a classmate who was close to Ruoli on weekdays.

//

It was getting dark, and the clouds were starting to gather again, and it seemed that there was still a heavy rain to fall tonight, and Ruikang stood in the courtyard looking at the sky.

"Second Young Master, it looks like it's going to rain again, so you better go back to the house." Zhou Fu said.

Ruikang sighed at the sky, frowned lightly, shook his head and said, "Why didn't Ruojun tell me and go out to find Ruoli alone?" It's getting dark. ”

"Don't worry, Grandma Da Young will definitely be able to find Miss Wakari, you were drenched in a heavy rain last night, and you didn't sleep well, so let's go in and rest." Zhou Fu said with concern.

Ruikang looked down at Zhou Fu, nodded, and the two came to the side room, but Ruikang walked under the eaves, and stopped moving forward, looking back at Zhou Fu beside him, he suddenly seemed to remember something, his eyes flashed, and said: "Zhou Fu, I once heard Zhao's mother say that you and Yanxi and her sister Quexi are about you." ”

Zhou Fu couldn't help but feel uncomfortable for a while when he heard his master suddenly mention his emotional past, his face showed embarrassment, he let out a dry laugh of "heh" from his throat, shook his head, sighed, and whispered: "It's been a long time." Don't mention it. ”

"I've always wondered why you haven't married yet, if you're talented, shrewd and capable, honest and reliable?" Ruikang asked.

Zhou Fu glanced at his young master, and also looked at the increasingly thick dark clouds in the sky, smiled and said, "If I say that everything is fate, will the second young master believe it?" ”

Ruikang shook his head noncommittally, and Zhou Fu said again: "Everyone has their own persistence and their own beliefs, isn't it? ”

"Didn't the ancients say that only one scoop of water for 3,000 weak water is taken to drink?"

Ruikang looked seriously at the man in his early thirties, his eyes showing a hint of nostalgia and sadness, although he had a smile on his face.

"Mother Zhao said that the two sisters Yanxi and Quexi fell in love with you back then, and Mrs. pointed out Yanxi to you, and you insisted on marrying Quexi, and then Mrs. finally gave you Quexi, but why did she die on the wedding night?"

Zhou Fu nodded, the deliberate smile on his face gradually disappeared, the pain in his eyes was infinitely magnified, the terrible night ten years ago resurfaced in front of his eyes, the corners of his mouth involuntarily bent down, the muscles on his face gradually became stiff, his eyes were red, so many years, he still couldn't recount the nightmare that happened on his wedding night.

Ruikang saw that his expression was really painful, reached out and patted him on the shoulder, and said, "I'm sorry, Zhou Fu, I didn't want to reveal your scars, or to spy on anything, I just felt depressed in my heart and wanted to talk to you, don't say it if you don't want to say it." I'm just curious why you haven't married in years. ”

A helpless wry smile rose at the corner of Zhou Fu's mouth, and he asked, "Second Young Master, why are you so rejecting the Cheng family's marriage?" Why do you stand under this roof and look up to the sky and sigh? He looked at him with a meaningful look in his eyes.

Ruikang was quite surprised, narrowed his eyes, and carefully examined the loyal servant in front of him, he didn't expect Zhou Fu to be such an infatuated person, nor did he expect Zhou Fu to be so sharp and transparent. The corners of Ruikang's mouth lifted, shrugged, and snorted, no longer asking, the two men had completely understood each other's thoughts.

After a while, raindrops the size of beans fell from the sky, dropping on the ground, forming a lot of water droplet prints, and it began to rain again.

Zhou Fu shook his head, struggled for a long time, and still said, "Second Young Master, you can't fall into it." ”

Ruikang smiled bitterly, he knew that he had already fallen into it.

The bedroom door opposite suddenly "creaked--" opened, Chen Yuqin stood at the door, looked at the sky with an anxious face, picked up the umbrella in the corner, stretched it out, and walked out of the door.

Ruikang wanted to step forward and call her to stop, but at this time the rain was heavy, and he didn't have an umbrella at hand, so he had to hurry around the eaves, but Chen Yuqin walked very fast, and Ruikang had to shout: "Aunt Mei, where are you going?" ”

Chen Yuqin heard his shout, stopped, turned around and smiled at him, waved his hand, motioned for him to go back to the house, and said loudly: "I'll go find Ruoli!" I know where she is! After saying that, he ignored Ruikang, turned around and walked out of the door quickly.

Ruikang looked at the sky that had been pitch black, his heart was very unsteady, and quickly asked Zhou Fu and Cuiliu to find umbrellas and kerosene lamps, Zhou Fu and Cuiliu were not familiar with the things of the Mei family, the two hurriedly searched for a while, and finally found the umbrella and lamp, and looked for matches in the kitchen for a long time, and when they were ready, Ruikang hurriedly went out with Zhou Fu to pull Chen Yuqin back, but after a delay, where was Chen Yuqin's figure outside.