Along the way, Ding Ying told me about the legend of Half the Tower.

It's a story of hard waiting.

It is said that during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zhen, a young lady from a large family, took a fancy to a Xiucai in the village, but her parents thought that Xiucai was poor and that Xiucai's family had no power and power, and opposed them to fall in love with each other.

But the more the opposition to love becomes, the stronger it becomes, and Zhu Zhen secretly promised Xiucai for life. In order to let Xiucai Mingmei marry her, Zhu Zhen donated money to fund Xiucai to enter Beijing to take the exam.

This is where the waiting begins.

A year has passed, another year has passed, and Xiucai seems to have evaporated in the world, and there is no news.

Zhu Zhen went to the small hill every day to look, hoping that her lover's shadow would appear on the path that stretched from outside the mountain. But the shadow of her lover never appeared again.

Ten years have passed, and another ten years have passed, Zhu Zhen's parents have passed away one after another, and there is still no news of that Xiucai.

Zhu Zhen knew that when the lover was outside, he either encountered an accident and passed away; Either they have gained fame and enjoyed the glory and wealth.

Zhu Zhen neither wants the former, nor does he want the latter.

So she entrusted batch after batch of people to go to the capital to investigate, and one day, the news came that it was the latter - that Xiucai worked in the capital, and he was already a husband and a father.

Zhu Zhen was so desperate that he went to the small hill every day to wash his face with tears. Later, she decided to spend her family's money on building a tower on a small hill, the Ruthless Tower, as a warning to those who were ruthless.

The day of the completion of the tower was the end of Zhu Zhen's life, and Zhu Zhen climbed to the top floor, shouted Xiucai's name, and jumped off the tower to his death.

But less than half an hour after Zhu Zhen jumped the tower, the tower suddenly collapsed. In the southwest direction, from the third floor to the top floor, half of it suddenly collapsed.

More than 400 years have passed, and after several wind and rain, the tower is still standing.

Hence the name Half Tower.

"How's that, isn't this legend touching?" Ding Ying asked.

We walked on the trail up the mountain. Because there is little movement, the trail is barren, and the bushes on both sides of the road are more than human-high, and some stretch diagonally above the trail.

I took Ding Ying's hand and walked ahead, using my hand to remove the branches that stretched diagonally over the path. The spider silk wrapped around the branches stuck to our faces.

"I'm touched by that infatuated young lady." I say

"yes. The reason why this story has been handed down is not because of the original intention of building the tower, but because of the consistency of the heroine of the story. ”

"Yes. It's this consistent emotion that touches people. ”

Soon it was at the foot of the ancient tower. What comes to the ancient tower is not its majesty, not its beauty, but its simplicity and vicissitudes.

Let's take a closer look. The tower has a total of seven floors, with a height of 30 meters, and the whole is in the shape of an octagonal. The base of the tower is made of rectangular stones made of rock, while the body of the tower is made of green bricks, overlapping eaves.

Walking to the southwest to look at the tower, it really began to collapse from the third floor to the top floor. Grass grows in the slump. Strangely, there is also a small tree that cannot be named in the collapse of the third and fourth floors.

There is an arch in the east direction, enter the door, see a narrow brick ladder that only allows one person to spiral up, can reach the top of the tower.

"Do you want to go up and have a look?" I asked Ding Ying for her opinion.

"Of course, don't you know that I'm the most adventurous?" Ding Ying blinked.

I took Ding Ying's hand and walked up the brick stairs to the second floor and then to the third floor. When I got to the third floor, I couldn't go up any more. The brick ladder broke and could not go up. Even if the brick ladder is intact, the ascent is quite dangerous. Because, there is no complete rest platform.

Standing on the platform on the third floor and looking at the tower, the more I feel that it is amazing and resolute. The exposed floors and wall tiles were covered with moss, but in this dry season, the moss dried up. The small trees and grass that grew out of the cracks in the bricks were still alive and well.

In the distance, you can see the village and the fields of the village's past. In the fields, there are rows of newly planted seedlings, and there are farmers supporting the fields with sticks. The soybeans in the field grow the most vigorously, you squeeze me and I squeeze you, and I can't tell the row and the column.

The setting sun was hesitating on the top of the distant mountains, but the light was still hot, shining straight in from the collapsed position of the tower, and falling on us, and the heat did not abate.

"Zheng Qihang, what do you think of Zhu Zhen." We stood on the platform on the third floor and looked out, Ding Ying said suddenly.

"What Zhu Zhen?"

"It's the Zhu Zhen who watched all his life and finally jumped off the tower to his death. Do you think she's stupid? ”

I shook my head.

"I won't," Ding Ying took the initiative to grab my hand, "but it's too sad." It is worth watching for a lifetime for a true lover. The sad thing about her is that she sees the wrong person and casts the wrong feelings. ”

The question is, how can one necessarily look at the right person? Man is the best animal at camouflage. Besides, feelings always like to blind people. I said.

"yes. Take Zhu Defa as an example, in the past four or five years, I have been touched by him several times. Ding Ying said. This is the first time Ding Ying took the initiative to mention Zhu Defa to me. "He really can't thank me enough for how good he was to me. He has always taken care of me like a big brother. He amuses me when I'm upset, he defends my willfulness when I'm domineering, and he helps me settle things when I'm in trouble. When I was a freshman in high school, the year my parents divorced, I caused some trouble in order to vent my grievances. Especially the time when I filled in the volunteer in the third year of high school, I ......" Ding Ying looked into the distance.

"Whatever you fill in, he will fill in." I say.

"That's right," Ding Ying came back to her senses, "this incident has become a good story in our Huangbai No. 7 Middle School." I forgot to tell you that we graduated from Huangbai No. 7 High School. ”

"Story?"

"That's right, good story. This is from the perspective of our students. From the school's point of view, it is a farce, which is full of storms in the city. ”

"Why?"

"Because Zhu Defa is the treasure of the school. From the principal to the head teacher, they all have high expectations for him. He is completely capable of branding the school. ”

"Take the Tsinghua University or Peking University." I say.

"Not to mention that you will definitely be able to go to Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the top ten famous schools are ironclad. In several mock exams, Zhu Defa's results ranked among the best in the entire Huangbai City. Therefore, the score is evaluated, and the volunteer is filled, and the principal and the class teacher are present to guide in person. But he deliberately underestimated it by 60 points. ”

"An ambush to fill in the same volunteer as you."

Needless to say, neither the principal nor the class teacher believed in this result. No one will believe it. No one believed it. The principal and the class teacher urged him again and again to re-evaluate his score, but his estimate was 520 points, and the more he estimated it, the lower the estimate. In this way, the principal and the class teacher watched him fill in the same volunteer as me. The principal and the class teacher were saddened by this for several days. ”

"And in the end?" I asked.

"Actually, when filling in the volunteer, the principal and the head teacher discussed with Zhu Defa for a long time," Ding Ying was not in a hurry to answer my question, "They suggested that he should fill in Peking University as his first choice, but Zhu Defa just didn't agree." The intentions of the principals are of course good, because, as everyone knows, there are errors in the assessment. They didn't want him to regret it. Of course, the main thing is that the school does not want to have regrets because of this. ”

"In order to dissuade Zhu Defa," Ding Ying glanced at me, and then said, "Do you know how well the school is doing its work?" They sent someone to take Zhu Defa's parents to school. Let Zhu Defa's parents dissuade him. Zhu Defa's parents, like my grandparents, can't read a lot of big characters, what can they dissuade? If you can't make a plan, you can make another plan, and they thought of me. Tell me to do Zhu Defa's ideological work. You say, how strong the school's will is. ”

"Did you do it? You're struggling too, aren't you? ”

"I'm struggling, but I'm rational. When Zhu Defa told me that he wanted to apply to the same university as me, I was very opposed. I'm not on the same level as him, I know that. I don't want to influence him for the rest of my life. However, Zhu Defa behaved so firmly, and his feelings for me seemed so strong, that he still insisted after I repeatedly advised me, and I gave up dissuasion. After all, man is still an emotional animal. To be selfish, Zhu Defa is still very happy in my heart because I have made such a big sacrifice, and I am even a little fluttering. As a result, the college entrance examination scores came out, and the whole school was in an uproar. ”

"Zhu Defa's score can definitely go to Peking University." I say.

"It's more than a dozen points higher than the admission score of Peking University, and you can go to Tsinghua University."

"Ah, aren't the principal and the head teacher angry?" Zhu Defa is such an excellent high-achieving student, which is really beyond my expectations.

"That's right. They can't say how angry they are. In fact, the classmates who know our relationship can accept it, and they know that Zhu Defa is all for me and love. Therefore, Zhu Defa's image was several times higher in the minds of his classmates. I don't know how many people sighed and sighed, and it is said that many girls were moved to tears when they heard about it. ”

"What about you?"

"Of course I was also impressed. At that moment, I really felt like the happiest girl in the world. My mother, my father, and even my aunt were touched by him. My father, in particular, completely accepted Zhu Defa. Because, no one would make such a big decision for the sake of a girl. ”

The sun was gradually setting behind the distant mountains. The western sky was dyed red by the sun's rays. The smell of the plants after being steamed is getting stronger and stronger.

Out of nowhere, I heard the sounds of cows.

"There are so many versions of this story. But each version tries to render me as a character. People wonder what kind of girl can make such a noble decision for such a good boy. It is truly unprecedented. Ding Ying said, "Therefore, this matter, before and after, has become people's after-dinner conversation, not half a year." I've also thought about it with him, how to say it? ”

"Tie the knot and spend this life together." I say.

"I just think that a person can love me to this extent, so what's there to be picky, if you were you, you would think the same way."

"I guess that Xiucai was also so kind to Zhu Zhen." I say.

"Yes, a person can let another person wait for him for a lifetime, if it is not for the heart and lungs, if it is not for the extremely shocking act, how can it have such a big impact?"

That show must have brought Zhu Zhen a great sense of happiness and satisfaction. Therefore, in Zhu Zhen's eyes, Xiu is her only one, and she is worth waiting for him for a lifetime. ”

"But God let me meet you." Ding Ying suddenly increased her grip on my hand.

I responded to Ding Ying's strength.

I met Ding Ying's gaze. Ding Ying's eyes were full of affection.