"However, the next day, I saw white flags rising everywhere on the West Mountain......

My hand subconsciously grabbed Aunt Hong's hand.

"The mountains of white flags fluttered in the wind, and they stained the mountains white. At that time, I couldn't believe my eyes, I just thought that what I was seeing was snow, but how could the snow be so white? ”

“……”

"Then, I heard the conjuring song."

"The Conjuring Song ......?"

Xichuan folk customs, after the death of a person will have the deceased will have close relatives holding up the deceased's underwear worn before his death, climb on the roof, while chanting the name of the deceased while singing in the wind, telling farewell feelings, soothing the dead, the song is sad to the bone, called the soul, is to hope that the deceased can understand the difficulty of the living, can look back.

"Later, when everyone came, I learned that it was my wife who passed away."

When she said this, her voice was already choked up, and after a long while, she said in a hoarse voice: "I know, according to Miss's temperament and methods, those people on the road will not pay attention to Miss at all." It's just that when the eldest lady died, the woman had no scruples, and if the eldest lady came back, I was afraid that it would be even more difficult, so—" She looked at me and said no more.

So, she sent me a message.

She knew that when I got the news, I would definitely not be obedient again, but if I returned to Xichuan, I would have to face all the difficulties alone, and the difficulty of the situation could be imagined, so she repeatedly told me in the letter not to come back.

In fact, at that time, after leaving Xichuan, I had no intention of going back, but after getting the news, my heart was even stronger.

So, I didn't go back to Xichuan.

I entered the palace, and after all those years with my eyebrows low, I thought that I could go out of the palace smoothly, have a new identity, and have a new life.

But it's all just my delusion.

How can it be as good as it could be......

"Miss," Aunt Hong's hand gently covered the back of my hand, as gentle as every time she helped me to toddle in the past, "Don't be sad. ”

I looked up at her and shook my head slightly.

Although my face was pale and my body was trembling all the time, I didn't cry, not a single tear, and it seemed that she was a little more sad than me.

I'm not sad.

After a moment of silence, I spoke again, and my voice was a little hoarse: "So, what about my father?" ”

Aunt Hong looked at me a little stunned, and was silent for a moment before saying, "Miss, you know everything?" ”

I was silent and nodded slightly.

"When the people of Xishan saw me, they called him 'Childe', but now they have called him 'the head of the family'. Of course I know what's going on. ”

"Yes......" Aunt Hong said softly: "The old master has also passed away." ”

"How-"

"Depression is a disease."

"Depression...... Becoming a ...... disease"

"Yes. In fact, after the eldest lady left, the old master's health has not been very good, and the decoction has continued, but it has not improved. Seven years ago, that winter, it was too cold, and the old master didn't get through it. ”

That winter seven years ago?

That is, the winter I spent in Jixiang Village, when I was the daughter-in-law of the Liu family?

That winter, it was indeed very cold, and what I remember most is when I saw the light cold in the dungeon, the biting cold penetrated every inch of skin, making it difficult to even breathe; And the day he left me, the freezing rain was pouring and the cold was biting, and it almost froze my blood into ice.

It turned out that in that year, my father also ......

"Where is he buried?"

"West Mountain."

"Back Mountain?"

"Yes. The spiritual seat is enshrined in the Jongmyo Temple. ”

"Where's my mother? Also enshrined in the back mountain? ”

“…… No. ”

I raised my head and looked at Aunt Hong: "No?" ”

Aunt Hong didn't cry anymore, but her eyes were full of tears of mourning, and she said softly: "The old master and that woman don't have the spiritual seat to worship the lady......"

Mother's spiritual seat, no offerings?

"We can't find out where Madame is buried."

“……”

I froze.

"Miss......"

Aunt Hong called me, I couldn't control it and cried again, her cry was not only mourning, but also the helplessness experienced over the years and the grievances when I saw me, I watched this woman who grew up with me since she was a child, and gave me all the warmth of a mother, slowly stood up from the water, regardless of the cooling air soaking my wet body into cold, stretched out her slightly trembling arm, and hugged Aunt Hong into her arms.

She was in my arms, crying like a child.

But I couldn't cry

My pale face was pressed against Aunt Hong's slightly impulsive shoulder, and my eyes were so black that there was no light at all.

My mother, not enshrined.

As the eldest lady of the Yan family who was, or may still be, I know very well that the people of the Yan family will be buried in the back mountain after they pass away. But there are only two cases in which the spiritual seat will not be enshrined.

First, it means that this person does not belong to the Yan family at all and has been expelled from the Yan family.

Second, this person died unexpectedly, and his fate was murderous, and he could not enter the temple.

My mother, which one?

Aunt Hong and I waited for a long time in the bathroom, until finally the bath soup was cold, but Aunt Hong still wrapped me in a soft blanket and gently dried the water on my body, as when I was a child, and then a few maids came in and served me and put on my clothes.

Dressed neatly, their hair almost dried, and a little moisturized on the back of their heads, a few maids withdrew.

Aunt Hong walked out with me, and when she went out, she suddenly remembered something and whispered to me: "Miss, those old guys all want to meet Miss." ”

I thought for a moment and said, "I'm not in a hurry now. ”

Aunt Hong's eyes lit up: "The eldest lady is planning to stay for a long time?" ”

"I'll leave that at that."

Without getting back to Li'er, a qiē doesn't mean much to me.

I just hope that Yan Qingchen won't really me off.

Aunt Hong looked at me, didn't say anything, and led me out. Just past a screen, I saw Pei Yuanxiu standing in front of the window over there, looking at the scenery outside.

He also seemed to have finished bathing, and was dressed in a white robe, the loose coat hanging down, and the belt was tied in a slightly idle arc. His hair was also scattered behind his head, like a pure black soft satin, which added a bit of elegant fairy aura to him.

It's not the first time I've seen him in white, but it's the first time I've seen him in Nishikawa's clothes.

Feeling, it's a little weird.

By this time, he had heard our footsteps, and when he turned his head and saw me, he froze, and after a while he came slowly, took my hand, and looked me up and down, his eyes crooked with a smile of appreciation.

I said, "What's wrong?" ”

"You're so beautiful."

I wore a long white dress, like him, with a loose coat that exposed a slender neck and jagged collarbones, and the clothes were not belted, but the soft lines of the clothes lined the human body like flowing water.

Because of the "uncivilized" mentioned by the Central Plains people, Xichuan still retains some ancient systems and old things, and only the people of Xichuan can still wear such simple clothes. He had never seen me wear such clothes, but it made me a little embarrassed to praise me.

Fortunately, after Aunt Hong sent me out, as soon as I saw him, I consciously retreated.

I said softly, "Don't talk nonsense. ”

He only smiled a little, but did not speak, and held me with his hand with the temperature of the bath, and the maid had already come and led us to the table, where a delicate meal was prepared, and after using some, led us to a delicate room.

I found that the tower was quite large, and the interior was well planned, with baths, living rooms, and even bedrooms, but in addition to the bathrooms, many of the rooms were not partitioned by walls, but by elegant screens, and translucent painting screens with ink landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, and people walking in them as if they were swimming in a painting. It's just that with no one to take with you, it's really easy to get lost.

"Miss, this is the room prepared for you by the head of the house, please have a good rest. Early tomorrow morning, there will be a carriage to pick up the eldest lady and return home. ”

With that, the maid withdrew.

It seems that today, I can't see Yan Qingchen.

I was a little weak, as soon as I sighed, I felt that my body was light, and I was picked up by Pei Yuanxiu, and before I could speak, he had already carried me to the bed and fell asleep, and he also lay down and hugged me tightly in his arms.

"Yuan Xiu!"

I let out a low sigh and felt his hands wrap hard around my waist as he buried his head between my neck and took a deep breath.

Suddenly, the neck was cold and hot.

Not only was my taste absorbed by him, but he also seemed to have his breath on my body, through the thin layer of vegetarian, I could immediately feel the temperature of his body, and hurriedly looked back at him, and pressed his hand with one hand: "Yuan Xiu, I-I'm not in the mood to ......"

He looked up at me, was silent for a moment, and then smiled faintly, "I know." ”

“……”

"Don't worry, I'm just sleeping with you."

“……”

"Sleep."

With that, his hot lips kissed me on the back of the neck and said no more.

In my ears is the sound of his breathing, even and long, in such a quiet environment, under the flickering candle flame, it is the most sleepy. But I couldn't sleep, and I looked at this delicate room with wide eyes, listening to the gentle jingling of the brass bells hanging from the towers above me.

In the eyes of the old man, the copper bell hanging under the roof beam is a thing that gathers yin, but many pagodas are hanging like this, I don't know what it means, is it to gather those yin ghosts, and then extinguish them?

It's the same as at the beginning, Hongyanlou's approach.

I listened all the time, and the more I listened, the more I couldn't sleep, so I simply didn't sleep, and gently moved Pei Yuanxiu's hands away from my waist, I sat up and looked back at him, the long journey these days made him very tired, and there was a faint layer of cyan under his eyes, and he slept very deeply. I didn't wake him up, got up and walked out.

When the sister returned to the tower, there were oil lamps lit everywhere.

There are many lights, but they are not prosperous, the lights that are clearly extinguished illuminate the surrounding screens, and the translucent paintings on them, so that I can't tell which side is the painting and which side is real, so I can only walk forward slowly, turn around a tall screen, and see a staircase against the wall in front.

is a staircase that leads to the second level of the tower.

Speaking of which, I haven't gone up to see what else is on top of this tower except for the first floor.

So, I walked slowly up the wooden railing, and found that it was quiet, there was no one on it, but there were still many candles lit, shining on the spacious two-story tower.

However, as soon as I walked up to the second floor, I was stunned.