On the tenth day of the first month, Xia Ruixi took Da'er to Xia's house again. After the greetings, she talked to Master Xia about Peng Shen: "He is a good young man, and after his successful courtship, he expressed his willingness to stay and help Chun'er pull her mother's younger siblings." Very self-motivated and responsible, the most important thing is to be decent and cautious, and there is no concept of sectarian inheritance, and he likes medical skills wholeheartedly, and he is a person worthy of trust. I asked Chun'er to ask him, and he was very willing, but he didn't know what his father wanted. ”

Master Xia pondered for a long time before he said, "I'm too old to stand the toss." It is said that it is to accept apprentices, maybe it is the only opportunity for this, the background is not important, but the character is the most important. One or two things don't show a person's true temperament, you ask him to go to your shop first, and I'll see before I make plans. ”

Master Xia's worries are not unnecessary, if Peng Shen really becomes his personal disciple, he will inevitably go in and out of the house frequently in the future, then character is the most important.

Xia Ruixi is not inevitable, there are many ways to help Peng Shen and Chun'er, and this is not the only way. The main reason why the matchmaker wants to facilitate this matter is to alleviate the loneliness of Master Xia and the distress of having no successor. Since Master Xia thought about it like this, he naturally had to listen to his arrangement, so he responded with a smile and went to Xia Ruibei's room with Da'er in his arms.

When I went, I realized that only Fang'er was sitting alone doing needlework, but Xia Ruibei was not in the room. Xia Ruixi found her in the octagonal pavilion in the garden, she was holding a hand stove, wrapped in a cloak, and sitting alone looking at a red plum tree in full bloom outside the pavilion.

Xia Ruixi asked Liang'er and Jin Xia to stop a little far away from the Octagonal Pavilion, and she hugged Da'er herself: "Auntie! Da'er came to see Auntie, what is Auntie doing? ”

"Auntie is bored sitting here, look at this plum blossom to refresh yourself." Xia Ruibei hurriedly stood up and went to pick up Da'er with a smile: "Good baby, aunt hug." How did you guys get here? ”

Xia Ruixi glanced at her, only to see that she was still dressed in plain clothes, her hair bun was still a simple silver hairpin, her face was a little pale, and her spirit was not very good, which showed that the burden of thought was extremely heavy. smiled and said: "Chun'er came back alive, someone went to her house to ask for relatives, he is a man with a good character, I intend to let him accompany his father to relieve his loneliness." ”

Xia Ruibei smiled: "It's a good thing. The two of them walked back to their room.

Xia Ruixi withdrew from the girls and asked her, "Can you sleep soundly at night?" ”

Xia Ruibei hesitated for a moment, shook her head with a wry smile: "It's not very good." I thought of a lot of things, and I wanted to suppress it by chanting and reading the scriptures, but the more sad I felt in my heart, the more I realized that it was not easy to see through this red dust. ”

Xia Ruixi was relieved and said with a smile: "Didn't you tell me that you don't have Huigen?" In this case, it is better to continue to be a person in the red dust. He handed over the box: "Someone has come all the way to bring it." ”

Xia Ruibei opened it with a smile: "For you?" I'll see what kind of baby it is. When I opened it, my smile froze, and I said after a while: "This hairpin is a bit like the golden hairpin that my father gave to my mother and my mother gave you." Who has such a heart? ”

Xia Ruixi said: "You can also see it? I remembered this as soon as I saw it. Do you like it or not? I think this hairpin is a perfect match for you, so let's plug it in for you? ”

"Not necessarily." Xia Ruibei sighed: "I don't wear gold and jade jewelry for a long time. Just this silver hairpin is enough. ”

Xia Ruixi simply said to her: "This is brought to you by the Aketo people. He knows all about you. When Ah Ke saw Mu Fei, he asked about Xia Ruibei, Mu Fei didn't hide it, he told him everything, but he still sent this golden hairpin, which made Xia Ruixi's impression of him change a lot.

Xia Ruibei said: "I know. ”

"You know?" Xia Ruixi was surprised.

Xia Ruibei smiled bitterly: "You may not know that before he left, he actually came to me first. Soon after Xia Ruixi married into the Ou family, Ah Ke planned to leave the Ou family and leave Xijing City, and before leaving, he slipped into the Xia family to find her. Meaning, he is leaving, he is going to make a contribution, and if she wants, when he comes back to marry her, whether she is a widow or anything, he is willing to marry her.

Xia Ruibei is a man of action, and she looks down on people with a character like Ah Ke. She asked him to elope, he had a thief's heart but no thief's guts, and then he grinded like this, his appearance seemed to be very affectionate, and it was a joke in her eyes. She replied to him at the time: "I don't need your pity, my business has nothing to do with you." Whether you have made a meritorious deed, or whether I am a widow, they have nothing to do with each other. ”

Ah Ke stood outside her house for a long time, and finally said, "I know you all look down on me. You wait, one day, I must be like your father asking to marry your mother, take the best ruby in the Western Regions and inlay it with a golden hairpin, and come to your house to ask for marriage. ”

"I didn't expect him to actually do it, and he did it." Xia Ruibei's fingertips rubbed the longan-sized pigeon's blood ruby on the golden hairpin: "But I am too far away from him, in terms of speaking, he is now in the sky, and I am in the mud." You help me ask my brother-in-law to send this back to him, and say, I thank him for his kindness, but I don't need it anymore. ”

Xia Ruixi certainly hopes that Xia Ruibei can marry a good husband again, but she knows very well that this matter is very difficult. Not to mention Xia Ruibei's embarrassing identity as Zhao Mingtao's concubine, just because she can't have children anymore, it is equivalent to being indirectly sentenced to death for marriage.

And Ah Ke, his identity has been recognized by the Ou family, and he has made contributions, he has become a general at a young age, and his future is so bright. If he marries Xia Ruibei as his wife, he is afraid that he will be ridiculed by many people, which tests his psychological endurance, plus Xia Ruibei can't have children, in order to inherit the heir, he will definitely take a concubine, and this marriage is likely to be torture for both parties. If he let Xia Ruibei be his concubine, why would Xia Ruibei beg himself to go to the troubled waters? It's not that there is a lack of food, clothing, and housing, and I can't live anymore, so it's better to live comfortably in my mother's house.

Both approaches seem unpleasant and unrealistic, so Xia Ruixi did not persuade Xia Ruibei: "He is thousands of miles away, and it is not so easy to go back and forth, and the family is still in the filial piety period of his grandmother." Anyway, it's not in a hurry, you take it first, when you think about it, and when you talk about it. ”

Xia Ruibei resolutely put the golden hairpin into the box: "Don't think about it, it's decided like this, I don't agree." Please tell him that he has fulfilled his original promise, and he has fulfilled his promise. ”

She didn't agree to Ah Ke at the beginning, which doesn't mean that she doesn't expect him to return to his hometown one day, and ask for marriage in a beautiful way, proving that she still has someone to care about and want. However, when she decided to marry Zhao Mingtao and crumpled the dried bunch of wildflowers, she had already resolutely forgotten his promise to her.

Maybe Ah Ke was young and impulsive, or maybe he really had her shadow in his heart, but the years are like water, the world is impermanent, he is not the reckless and impulsive teenager at the beginning, and she is no longer the young and ignorant girl she was at the beginning. So now that she saw Ah Ke's golden hairpin, she was not surprised, she was not excited, and she felt that it was time to make a decision.

Xia Ruixi sighed secretly, took back the box, and talked to Xia Ruibei again, inviting Xia Ruibei to accompany her to live in the hot spring village for a while in the spring, and help her take care of the farming in the village. Xia Ruibei happily agreed.

Seeing that the time was about the same, Xia Ruibei went to Mrs. Xia to say goodbye, and said Ah Ke's matter word by word.

After listening to her, Mrs. Xia also disagreed: "Beibei is still more sober this time, he is now a general, what good can I get by marrying him?" If you really want to get married, it is better to find a loyal and down-to-earth commoner with children to continue the strings, and it is more comfortable to live a simple life. ”

blamed Xia Ruixi again: "For such a big matter, he didn't tell me first, and quietly asked her first." I'm really afraid that she will be confused again, and she will marry her, and in the end she will be bored again. ”

Xia Ruixi said: "I told you first so that she wouldn't know?" She wants to marry or marry, and she will never marry if she does not marry. After so many things, what to do, she has her own measure. ”

Mrs. Xia hesitated for a long time and said, "In this way, when you go to the Zhuangzi in the spring, help me see if there is a suitable Zhuangzi to sell nearby." The scale should not be large, and the production should be enough for one person to live a comfortable life. If it is suitable, don't worry too much about the price, but the land must be fertile, the water source must be convenient, and the folk customs should be simple, and then find a better village. ”

This is planned for Xia Ruibei, even if Xia Ruiyu treats her well in the future, her brother and daughter-in-law will not accept her, and she will not be happy. It's better to let her have a little industry, have a way out, be able to support herself, and Zhuangzi, who is next to Xia Ruixi, also have a care, so that life will not be too sad.

As for the rest, she was powerless.

Xia Ruixi responded, but secretly thought that he would discuss with Ou Qing when he went back, and the money would be paid by them. Xia Ruiyu has not yet married, and the two are old again, so she is more generous than the Xia family.

In the evening, Ou Qingjin went home, and Xia Ruixi told him Xia Ruibei's reply: "Do you see if you write a letter to send to Ah Ke, explain Beibei's attitude clearly, and let him make plans early." ”

After the Lantern Festival, Ou Qing repaired the book to explain the matter and asked someone to send it to Ah Ke. Xia Ruixi arranged for Peng Shen to sit in the pharmacy and wait for Master Xia's inspection. Nineteen, he sent someone to pick up Xia Ruibei, and the group went to the hot spring Zhuangzi to catch this year's spring plowing and sowing.

Xia Ruixi took Xia Ruibei with her in everything she did, taught her to manage the farm and take care of farm affairs. Maybe it's because the atmosphere of the hot spring Zhuangzi is more relaxed, the farmers are honest, and no one knows the past of this Xia Sangu's grandmother, Xia Ruibei is in a very good mood, her face is gradually ruddy, she is diligent and thoughtful, down-to-earth and calm, and she is a little more generous and calm than before.

Xia Ruixi saw it in her eyes and was happy in her heart, and quietly took her to the neighborhood to see the land. Finally, I bought a small village farther away from the hot springs. Although it is a little more expensive than other places, it is better than the border with her, and she can help manage it together, so as not to let Xia Ruibei, a single woman, be bullied - Xia Ruibei is fully capable of managing her own Zhuangzi, but the identity of a single woman is destined to make her life difficult, and no one can help her.

In the summer, Daqin was completely calm, and Ou Qingjin followed Liu Lizi to the capital. The new emperor met with him, and mentioned the dead concubine to him, he was overwhelmed with emotion, and intended to keep Ou Qingjin, but Ou Qingjin tried to shirk - he was not in the court, and always wanted to make friends with a few more powerful people like Liu Lizi, wearing a five-grade official robe, and he happened to be at ease in Xijing City.

In the autumn, after careful investigation, Master Xia officially accepted Peng Shen as a disciple. Ou Qing followed Liu Lizi back to Xijing as he wished, and brought a letter from A Ke to Xia Ruibei.

Four volumes: Small Days