My cousin's style of behavior is really unpredictable, she has not been in contact with us since my grandfather was still alive, and the two families have not been in contact for decades, but not long ago she suddenly called and invited us to have a wedding drink. We must always prepare a congratulatory gift for this great event, but my cousin and grandmother did not even mention half a word about the bride and groom, and what is even more strange is that she let our juniors go wherever they can, but she did not invite my grandmother.

At that time, my cousin Xiaowen, who was a month younger than me, had just released the results of the high school entrance examination, and it was no problem to go to the high school of our school, and the family was already preparing to take us out for a walk. It just so happened that my cousin and grandmother lived in the picturesque water town of Wuque Town, and the family had been running a residential hotel for generations, so it was perfect to go to her to relax. This time, my father took Xiaowen and me - because my grandmother was not invited, my mother and aunt naturally couldn't go; Uncle Lang Yang is even more of a curse, he is too busy at work in the hospital, and he is envious of his father, who teaches at the university and has a vacation.

Xiaowen said again and again that this matter is strange, there is a leap month this year, so the wedding date that my cousin and grandmother said happened to be around the Dragon Boat Festival, who would choose to get married at this time! I don't care about his words at all - Wuque Town is a famous honeymoon destination, and tourists from all over the world gather all year round, and some of them even come here to hold weddings with a water town style! I love to see beautiful brides the most!

The town of Wuque really lives up to its name. We entered the town in a canopy boat, two small rivers crossed the whole town, one horizontal and one vertical, and the "crossroads" where they intersected was the prosperous area in the center of the town.

Coming ashore from the exclusive water dock of "Zhefang", we were greeted by a tall and tough white-haired old gentleman. Watching him easily carry the suitcase into the house, Xiaowen and I secretly guessed: I'm afraid that many young men in the city are not as strong as him.

At first, we thought he was the boss, but we didn't expect him to be just a "master", that is, a big chef. It turned out that the boss of the "Zhefang" passed away a long time ago, and it was the proprietress who was in charge, that is, the cousin's grandmother.

Originally, the big boss should not have come out to greet customers, but even though it is the off-season, there are still many guests who come here for their honeymoon, because the children of my cousin and grandmother are all working in the city, and now only her granddaughter "Yuxin" who is on summer vacation is helping the store, and there is a serious shortage of manpower. We're not outsiders, so we don't have to be so polite.

It's no wonder Xiaowen and I thought it was so strange when we came here - there was no lively atmosphere for the upcoming wedding here, so it turned out that everything was simple because the store was too busy.

But when I saw the congratulatory gift from my father, the big boss was really surprised. I really don't know what he was surprised about—the lotus flowers and acacia that my grandmother made to symbolize the harmony of husband and wife, the pomegranate Maki-e makeup box at Sunsagoji Temple, and the Kagawa Nishiki of the Wakazao family's Hyakina, although not so expensive, are all gifts for the newlyweds.

Xiaowen and I also memorized a lot of auspicious words according to the explanation given by the family, but the big boss didn't talk to us for a long time, just said that we should send the gifts directly to the proprietress.

"Don't you think it's strange, Starfrost?" When my father went to the back room to see my cousin, Xiaowen leaned close to my ear and said, "Listen to what this big boss said, there are only my cousin and granddaughter here, who is going to get married?" ”

"Who knows!" I don't care if I say that my cousin is my grandfather's cousin, and my grandfather's relatives are always so weird! Who made his grandfather, who died a long time ago, a weirdo himself? What's worse is that Xiaowen and I have the true inheritance of our grandfather, and we always encounter all kinds of strange things.

As he was talking, Dad came out, and he had a confused expression: "That...... Xiaowen come with me, your cousin and grandmother want to see you, as for Xingshuang...... You can play it yourself. ”

What a word! It's too contemptuous of people! Xiaowen looked at me in embarrassment, as if he wanted to say something. I ignored him and kicked away the luggage in front of me: "What's the big deal!" I don't want her to be rare! ”

Throwing away my father's voice scolding me for being rude, I ran out of the living room angrily and walked aimlessly along the old corridor of the "Zhefang". The smell of food wafted from the stove in the backyard, and it seemed that it was close to dusk. The big boss was preparing dinner for the guests returning from their sightseeing, and I had nothing to do, and I was curious about who was going to get married, so I decided to ask him for clarification. As I fumbled my way to the stove in this strange building, a red sleeve flashed around the corner of the dimly lit corridor.

Was that the bride's wedding dress? What a beautiful garnet color! It is also embroidered with such a beautiful pattern of folding branches, and the person wearing this dress must be the bride! I was overjoyed and ran after the red.

But when I got to the end of the hallway, I had to stop—it was a dead end! Obviously there is no way out, but the bride in red can't be seen anywhere, where did she go? I looked around suspiciously, only to catch a glimpse of a thin red line drawn straight on my instep - when was I injured? It doesn't hurt at all!

With a gasp, I took a step back, the scarlet thread disappearing from the instep of my foot, only to straighten out on the dark floor, like a wound oozing blood. The wound stretched to the smooth plank wall, and I looked at it before I came to my senses and patted my chest—to my horror, it was the light that came through the crack in the door of a door that opened on the opposite side!

Pushing the door open, the setting sun through the west-facing window was filling the room in a deep red, but I didn't feel the light in front of me, because a figure was obscuring the light in front of me.

Although only the silhouette can be seen, the charming side silhouette and the graceful figure holding a fan and looking out of the window make her look like a beautiful young woman.

So there's someone here! "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I apologized and was about to leave the room, but my thoughts changed - she couldn't be the bride just now! I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes, trying to see her face clearly: "Sister, are you going to be a bride?" ”

"Oh? Are you proposing? The beautiful woman leaning against the window slowly turned around. Because of the heat, she unbuttoned her blouse, fanned her fan with no match, and leaned lazily on the windowsill, "It's good to have this heart, but I'm not interested in children!" ”

Only then did I see that she was not wearing a red wedding dress, but a blue cloth tie-dyed trouser unique to the water town, and the pomegranate pattern corresponding to the name of the store indicated that it was the uniform of the "Zhefang" maid.

At this moment, the guests have not returned, and it is the time for the waitress to take a break in the busyness; If you look closely at the furnishings of this room, the mirror stands and cabinets against the wall are also in the style of the waitress's dressing room. If I'm not mistaken, the beauty in front of me may be my cousin's granddaughter - Yuxin.

I hurriedly apologized: "It's Sister Yuxin...... I'm so sorry...... I ......"

"Oh? Do you know me? So you're from the Kagawa family? Sister Yuxin stood up, she was quite tall, and she had a good figure, and she walked like Nana, but even if she walked in front of me, she didn't stop, she just bent down and squinted at me, I wasn't used to the feeling of other people's breath blowing on my face, and couldn't help but take a step back: "What are you doing!" ”

Sister Yuxin let out a mocking chuckle: "What, if you look closely, it turns out to be a girl!" ”

This sister's behavior is really weird, even boys and girls have to look at it carefully? However, Sister Yuxin completely ignored my puzzled expression: "So you are my distant sister, what about your younger brother?" ”

However, Sister Yuxin can't be regarded as a stranger of unknown origin, right...... I nodded: "Xiaowen is at my cousin's place." ”

In an instant, an indescribable expression flashed on Sister Yuxin's face, I didn't understand the meaning of this expression, but I continued: "Cousin and grandma called us to have a wedding wine, sister, are you the bride?" ”

"Don't mention it!" Sister Yuxin's voice suddenly became louder, and she flicked her long hair violently, "Bride? As soon as the college holidays are over, I have to come back here to take care of this kind of old-fashioned shop, and I don't even have time to find a boyfriend, and I return the bride! ”

Although I was a little frightened by her sudden anger, I still didn't give up, and asked in a low voice, "So...... Who the hell is the bride? ”

My field of vision was suddenly occupied by Sister Yuxin's beautiful face, she approached me, and her slender eyebrows were very imposing: "Little child, why are you asking so much!" After saying that, she straightened up, threw me away and walked to the cupboard, took out a set of maid's clothes and threw it over: "You came just in time!" I'm going to the winery in Touqiao, you change your clothes and go to water the yard immediately, and then cut some flowers and come back to replace those old ones! Don't tell me you don't even know this! "I'm a guest! Holding the homespun clothes in my arms, I opened my mouth for a moment.

Sister Yuxin finished arranging her work and walked out of the house, I quickly turned around to catch up with her, but just as I turned around, a dazzling light surrounded me......

In the bright light, everything in the room turned into a black and white negative-like visual effect, and I saw countless black filaments entangled and hanging on the furniture, all over the room, just now, I didn't see so many white threads in the room......

"Don't stand anywhere!" Sister Yuxin scolded reproachfully, dragged me away, and in an instant, the illusion of the black and white negatives disappeared, and the room returned to its usual appearance. I looked at Sister Yuxin in shock, but she frowned impatiently: "You can't stand in the sunlight reflected in the mirror, especially in the evening!" ”

Don't...... Can Sister Yuxin also see the scene like a black and white negative? I thought that only me and Xiaowen would encounter such a strange thing! I suddenly felt a little kind: "Sister Yuxin, why can't you stand somewhere?" You know why, right? ”

Sister Yuxin looked at me condescendingly for a while, and slowly turned her head: "This is the rule that has been passed down here since ancient times, there are all kinds of rules here, it sounds funny, but ...... If you want to live here, you have to learn to abide by this ......"

I didn't quite understand the meaning of Sister Yuxin's words, but I was distracted by her gorgeous and mysterious expression that suddenly became ......

Just as I was changing into an ill-fitting maid costume and carrying a bucket and a bamboo scoop to water the garden, Xiaowen appeared at the side door where the bamboo curtain was hung. My face immediately became gloomy, and I threw away the bamboo scoop in my hand: "Even if it's the boss lady who is in charge here, it can't be unfair to this part!" Why are you a noble son, and I am a slave girl! ”

If it was usual, Xiaowen with a vicious mouth would definitely refute it, but today he seemed to have done something wrong, not only did he not take my tone, but also came over and took the heavy bucket in my hand: "I'll help you water the flowers......"

"You're so diligent...... Could it be that the proprietress wants to recruit you as a grandson-in-law and let you inherit the store? There was a thorn in my words, Xiaowen's face immediately turned red, he raised the bamboo scoop and was about to attack, but he still withdrew his hand and deliberately avoided the conversation. I felt even more uncomfortable, and muttered that I took the bamboo scissors to cut the gardenias that grew along the river embankment. However, at this moment, my attention was drawn to a small black dot that was struggling - I was still wondering how the black bean could move, and when I looked closely, it turned out to be a small beetle that had only landed in a spider's web.

"Huh? It's a firefly! It doesn't look remarkable at all during the day! Xiao Wen didn't know when he came over, he pointed to the eight-legged general who was rapidly approaching the little beetle, "Just look at how the spider ate it!" ”

As soon as I heard the fire in my heart, I stretched out the bamboo scissors and broke the cobweb, and the free firefly vibrated its cumbersome wings and flew up, but fortunately, the spider didn't know where it fell at the moment when the web broke, otherwise it might have been trampled to death by me.

At this time, Xiaowen pointed to my clothes and reminded in a low voice: "That...... Starfrost, the cobwebs are on your body! "I was afraid that the spiders would crawl on my body, so I hurriedly patted my clothes, but there were unexpectedly many spider webs on my body, and they were sticky, and the sticky ones became tighter! I was in a hurry, it was already hot, and I was going to sweat again.

"Don't move!" The girl's coquettish voice came from under the gardenia, which was the water wharf of the "Zhefang" on the river embankment, and I saw Sister Yuxin drop the single oar of the boat as a means of transportation, and walked ashore gently and skillfully with a heavy wine jar in one hand. She placed the jar beside me, opened the seal of the red paper, and a strange aroma of wine immediately mixed with the fragrance of gardenia flowers and filled the whole courtyard. Sister Yuxin stretched out her right little finger and dipped it in the wine jar, drew a few strokes in the palm of her left hand, and then gently patted my clothes, and the cobwebs that had just left me helpless actually fell!

"Don't break the rules here!" Sister Yuxin patted off the ashes on her hands, "It's best not to do anything that you don't want to do, and it's best not to go anywhere that doesn't let you go!" Seeing that I didn't look pretended, she raised one eyebrow and pointed to the corner of the garden, where there was a small courtyard, crawling with soft sunset flowers, and Sister Yuxin made a threatening grimace, "For example, that place, if you dare to go, you look good!" ”

Xiao Wen, who was standing on the side, made a surprised sound, and Sister Yu Xin noticed his existence at this time, unexpectedly, she changed her smiling face and reached out to rub Xiao Wen's slightly brown hair: "This is my younger brother?" She looks so cute! ”

Xiaowen, who was startled, reflexively covered his messed forehead and looked at this powerful beauty blankly. And Sister Yuxin easily carried the big jar of strangely fragrant wine and swayed back to the house.

Maybe because they had to greet guests, their cousins and grandmothers and Sister Yuxin didn't show up at dinner, but even Xiaowen didn't know where to go. I held the rice bowl and secretly looked at the other people at the table, and the big boss who ate with us dropped a sentence, "Your little master and the boss lady are together". Dad was confused and asked the proprietress why she couldn't eat with us since she didn't need to receive guests. The big boss obviously felt that Dad's question was very unreasonable, and said as a matter of course: "Boss, she can't see me!" ”

Can't the proprietress meet with the boss? The rules of this shop are too strange - the host, in such an awkward season, invited people to drink wine, and the guests came for a long time without moving; is a relative, but he hasn't seen a word for so long, and he hasn't even said a word; In terms of elders, how can they bring other people's grandsons so affectionately, but leave their sons and granddaughters aside!

But to be honest, the cooking skills of the master are really good, even if I am not happy, I still eat a few more bowls. I couldn't sleep at night because I was gluttonous enough to eat, so I had to go out for a walk - it was getting late, and the lights were out in the rooms. In the undark moonlight, I vaguely saw two figures walking side by side towards my backyard through the bamboo arch with sunset flowers.

It could be a guest here—I could tell that one of them was dressed as a guest of the "Zhefang". Most of the people who come here are couples or couples, and it would be rude to disturb them. I hurriedly avoided the direction of the side door, but at this moment, the light from the main room illuminated the face of the person wearing the customer service.

Immediately hiding in the shadows, I carefully identified who the person next to Xiaowen was. The man was obviously a girl, with a very neat line from the shoulders to the back of the neck, either with her head coiled or with short haircuts; Because she is slightly shorter than Xiaowen, it can be seen that she is not Sister Yuxin. By the light of the night boat that happened to be rocking from the river, I could see that the man was wearing a bright grenade-colored jacket, with wide cuffs rolled with intricate wide brims, a long skirt of the same color gently rippling in the night breeze, and a vivid pattern of folded branches on the hem of the skirt—wasn't this the bridal dress I saw in the corridor in the evening?

The bride who was unidentified and had never shown up was actually with Xiaowen! Who is she from her cousin's family? Are you an old friend or a new acquaintance? Either way, it's not an ordinary thing! Does my cousin and grandmother know? Dad, does he know? At this time, Xiaowen had already taken the bride around a laurel tree and disappeared from my sight. I couldn't hold back my curiosity and uneasiness, so I hurriedly tiptoed to follow.

However, turning around the bushes, Xiaowen and the bride's backs were gone! The backyard near the water was very dark, and I could only make out the road in front of me by a little light from the guest room of the main house, and I didn't have the energy to find Xiaowen where they were. The rustle of the trees and the insects of the night wind mixed together, and it became more and more silent in the dead of night, and I regretted that I should not have recklessly followed, but the last light in the main house was mercilessly extinguished!

I know that I can't find someone in this state, but I'm really unwilling to go back empty-handed like this. After hesitating and wandering, I picked up a few wicker sticks, and a little reddish light suddenly flickered in my eyes.

It was a warm pink, obviously a soft light shining through the gauze tent, much like the atmosphere of a wedding room. In that direction is the courtyard in the back garden, Sister Yuxin once forbade me to go there, is it ...... Is it because this is the wedding room of the mysterious bride?

It can't be that Xiaowen is there too, right? How could he go to the new house? Even if it's a bed warmer, he's too old! As soon as I thought of this, I didn't care too much, so I immediately quickened my pace and ran towards the courtyard.

Hidden in the delicate and pure flower shadows of the sunset, it is indeed the door with the words "double happiness" pasted on it! The door panel on the front side was hidden, and a hazy figure stood by the door! It doesn't look too tall, and it's even a little thin, who else can it be if it's not Xiaowen! I grabbed his sleeve: "Okay, you Xiaowen, look what you're doing!" ”

"Oops!" The man screamed, almost pulled out of the house by me, I secretly screamed when I heard the voice, unlike Xiaowen's young voice, this is obviously the tone of a strange adult man, not to mention that I can see the sleeve in my hand clearly through the light - not the blue and white style of Xiaowen's body, but a bright black satin robe, lined with a strong red gown underneath, which is clearly the dress of the groom's official!

I hurriedly let go, and just said "I'm sorry" in a stack, but immediately remembered that today was a day of great joy for people, and I said this is really a bit unpleasant. In a panic, I didn't know where to let go but was caught by the groom, startled I reflexively broke the other party's fingers, but I didn't expect it to backfire, and even the other hand was caught!

"Little girl, we are very destined to meet here and now!" The bridegroom did not go out of the room, but looked at me from behind the door, and he looked a little pale and very bookish, as if he was a little sick and crooked, but he was more powerful than mine. Although his words and deeds were rude, because he was rude first, I couldn't get angry rashly, so I had to answer unceremoniously: "Who told you what kind of little girl I am?" I'm Starfrost! ”