But it was said that Zhuang Meiyan was taking stock of the accounts with Yang Xiucai and talking about business matters, and someone ran in in a panic, shouting to find Han Niu'er to settle accounts. Relief of residual jaw boils

The shop was shocked inside and out, and even the embroidery girl behind the screen poked her head out and looked curiously. Sister-in-law Yang, who was napping in front of the counter on the side, raised her head, and in a daze, she saw Zhuang Meiyan as a lady who came to sell cloth, rubbed her eyes and greeted her, and said with a smile: "The lady hasn't been here for a long time, we have a new batch of satin in the store, and the condition is excellent, I specially left it for you, come and take a look." ”

The words popped out of her mouth quickly, extremely fluently, obviously as she was used to.

Zhuang Meiyan couldn't hold back and laughed.

"Sister-in-law Yang, who do you see who I am?"

Yang Xiucai gently pushed her and reproached, "Why are you sleeping?"

Sister-in-law Yang also came to her senses, pursed her lips embarrassedly and smiled: "But isn't it? I'm confused! By the way, who just pulled my throat, I was dreaming, and suddenly heard Xiucai call me and say that I was a guest, I opened my eyes and saw someone standing next to me, so I thought it was a guest." ”

Together, they cast their eyes on the uninvited guest standing at the door, and this guy was making a lot of noise as soon as he entered the door, as if something earth-shattering had happened.

Let's take a closer look, isn't the one standing at the door, isn't it Miss Xi Ruolan, the only daughter of the old shopkeeper! Xi Ruolan's little face was flushed, and it could be seen that she was walking in a hurry, her forehead was faintly oozing sweat, and her high little breasts were lying together, which was very eye-catching.

She burst in angrily, sat down on the stool, used her hand as a fan, and kept fanning the wind. She didn't want to speak, she just sat there angry, her eyes rolling around, and she was about to cry out aggrievedly.

Seeing this, Zhuang Meiyan guessed seven or eight points in her heart, and stepped forward to ask: "Sister Lan, what's wrong with you?" Although it has passed the autumn equinox, but just after noon, the sun is the most poisonous, you are walking so quickly under the big sun, and you are not afraid of heat stroke! Go and serve a bowl of herbal tea, and then boil some mung bean water for Miss Xi to get rid of the heat." ”

These thoughtful words finally calmed Xi Ruolan, her eyes turned red, she grabbed Zhuang Meiyan's hand, the corners of her mouth twitched, and she finally cried.

"Woo, sister, woowoo...... Han Niu'er, woo woo, Han Niu'er, he bullied me. ”

Zhuang Meiyan was stunned for a moment, and quickly took her hand and said, "Okay, okay, don't cry first, come upstairs with me to cool off, and then slowly tell my sister." If that fool bullies you, my sister will definitely call the shots for you. ”

Most of the women in the store are women, listening to the little girl crying and crying, coquettish, and guessed the ** points, they couldn't help but smile at each other, and they got busy. Only Chunju bit her lower lip and stared at the backs of the two of them, thoughtfully, and when she turned around and saw a solid back shadow dangling through the back window, she couldn't help but look slightly gloomy.

Zhuang Meiyan took Xi Ruolan's hand and went directly to the second floor and went directly into her boudoir, the two sat down on the edge of the bed, Zhuang Meiyan poured her a cup of herbal tea, and took a fan to fan her. Xi Ruolan finally stopped her tears, still sobbing and choking, full of grievances.

"Okay, okay, okay! What the hell is going on? A big girl's family, crying in front of so many people, doesn't know how to be ashamed!" Zhuang Meiyan and Xi Ruolan are good friends, and they like this delicate little sister from the bottom of their hearts, and they have always regarded her as their own sister. Xi Ruolan has no mother since she was a child, and she has no brothers and sisters, since Zhuang Meiyan came, she admires this sister's wisdom and ability very much, and is closest to her.

"Sister, I--" She stirred a red handkerchief in her hand, her face twisted, and she couldn't speak for a long time.

Zhuang Meiyan was extremely impatient and did not rush him. After waiting for a long time, Xi Ruolan told the truth of the matter. It turned out that Xi Ruolan liked Han Niu'er for more than a day or two, a few days ago because Zhuang Meiyan was sick, she was not easy to disturb, so she secretly told Chun Ju about her daughter's family, and Chun Ju gave her an idea, asking her to embroider a handkerchief and give it to Han Niu'er, so that Han Niu'er could know her mind.

Xi Ruolan embroidered a mandarin duck red silk handkerchief for Han Niu, and happily handed it to Han Niu'er. Who knows, just after noon today, Han Niu'er actually broke into the wine shop with a black face, threw the red silk handkerchief into the counter, didn't say a word, turned around and left. Xi Ruolan was ashamed and annoyed, if she was an ordinary boudoir woman, she might only be hurt at home and secretly drink tears, but she is also a person who is used to breaking through, where is she willing to eat this nameless loss, and immediately chased Han Niu'er to the silk shop.

Zhuang Meiyan knew that Xi Ruolan was not good at needlework, so she immediately broke her fingers, and couldn't help feeling distressed, nine out of ten fingers were inserted into the eye of the needle, and she couldn't help but shrink her fingers when she touched the girl.

Zhuang Meiyan was angry and funny, and reproached: "You, it turned out to be for this matter." Turning back, my sister will help you scold Brother Niu well, which is too rude. ”

Zhuang Meiyan tried her best to count the number of Han Niu'er in front of her, coaxing Xi Ruolan to gradually lose her anger. Then she took the opportunity to ask: "Good sister, tell your sister the truth, do you really like Brother Niu?"

Xi Ruolan was shy, her face was as red as the silk handkerchief in her hand, and she said, "Hmm." ”

The sound is low and inaudible.

Zhuang Meiyan sighed softly, she suddenly remembered that in the spring, Xiaobai took a bouquet of spring flowers and gave it to him, and afterwards said that Han Niu'er secretly picked it and sent it over. In the world, the most difficult thing to judge is the word "love", laughing is also for it, crying is also for it, life is also for it, death is also for it, but the world is willing to be tortured by it.

"Don't worry, Brother Niu must have gone outside to deliver wine, and when he comes back in the evening, my sister will help you ask him what he wants. Will you leave Sipa with me?" Zhuang Meiyan coaxed.

Xi Ruolan nodded, and suddenly raised her head again and said anxiously.

"Thank you, sister, sister, you must help me ......"

What to do for her? She couldn't take the conversation, she just quietly lowered her head, girlish feelings, everyone's heart was excited. Zhuang Meiyan knew that she was a fan of the authorities, so she vaguely agreed and finally sent her home.

As soon as Xi Ruolan walked on the front foot, Zhuang Meiyan immediately ordered the little maid to call Chunju up.

Chunju entered the room and glanced at the red silk handkerchief on the table, her face was also slightly hot, she saluted Zhuang Meiyan, and stood at the table without saying a word.

Zhuang Meiyan took the silk handkerchief in her hand and looked at it carefully, and said with a smile: "This mandarin duck is actually the most difficult to embroider, and beginners can embroider flowers and leaves, but birds and beasts must have more than a year of embroidery skills if they want to embroider vividly." You see this pair of mandarin ducks are full of energy, if Xi Ruolan said that she didn't find anyone to help, she embroidered it herself, but I don't believe it. ”

Chunju knew that she was at a loss and quietly lowered her head, and said in a low voice: "Back to Miss, it was embroidered by the slave." Miss Xi embroidered a few stitches really didn't look like it, so the slave maid helped her finish the embroidery. ”

Zhuang Meiyan sighed and said, "That's it, after all, many things in the world can't be forced one by one. ”

Chunju knelt down with a "plop", bit her lower lip lightly and said, "This matter is a mistake done by the slave maid, and please punish the young lady." ”

"Oh, what did you do wrong?"

"The slave maid shouldn't come up with ideas, pick up what silk handkerchief Miss Xi embroidered for Brother Niu, and give love things privately, so that Brother Niu misunderstands that Miss Xi is a light and unruly woman, but it hurts Miss Xi's heart. ”

Zhuang Meiyan smiled slightly and said, "You are still obsessed and unrepentant, but this is not what is wrong." ”

She casually raised the silk handkerchief, Chunju was a little confused, and couldn't help but look up at her.

"Men and women are happy, this is the common love of the world, you love me and I want you to come and go, the so-called private love gifts, but the old master's mouth preaching, insignificant! Brother Niu grew up in the mountains and forests, he has never read any books, and naturally he doesn't understand these rules, and he will not be annoyed because Sister Ruolan gave him a love object. ”

Speaking of this, Zhuang Meiyan glanced at Chunju with deep meaning, and the latter couldn't help but lower his head.

Niu Ge'er was angry because what he wanted was not the silk handkerchief given to him by Ruolan's sister, he was angry because someone knew his thoughts, but he deliberately made mistakes, and he made his own way to mess up the mandarin duck score. ”

Zhuang Meiyan's tone was not heavy, and she spoke calmly, but it made Chunju's face flush and ashamed.

"Slave--" She was speechless, not knowing how to explain.

Seeing Chunju's expression, Zhuang Meiyan knew that he was right, the person Han Niu'er liked was Chunju, and when he was in the "Phoenix Nest", he liked Chunju, but this silent man was not good at expressing it. Finally caught the good season of spring flowers blooming, he spent a lot of effort to pick a bouquet of spring flowers, but he didn't have the courage to deliver it to Chunju by hand, and quietly hung it on the fence wall, but let Xiaobai, a stinky boy, take it to show off to Zhuang Meiyan.

Since then, Zhuang Meiyan has vaguely guessed Han Niu'er's thoughts. Xi Ruolan likes Han Niu'er and can't hide it, this girl is as enthusiastic as fire, more than half of the people in the town can guess it, only Han Niu'er herself is stupid and doesn't understand, perhaps, this man who is honest on the surface and smart in his heart is pretending to be confused.

She glanced at Chunju, whose face was flushed, and asked: "Chunju, I have always treated you as my sister, you are a few months older than me, I should call you Sister Chunju, today our sisters will say a word of truth, do you like Brother Niu or not?"

Chunju's face flushed, but she shook her head very resolutely.

Zhuang Meiyan's heart was a little heavy, she felt that this time the matter seemed to be more tricky than the previous things, she first helped Chunju up from the ground and motioned for her to go out first.

Chunju walked to the door and looked back at her, and said uneasily: "Miss, you don't care about this matter, Chunjuzi will tell Brother Niu to go." ”

Zhuang Meiyan said: "What are you going to tell him?"

"I--" Chunju couldn't help but hang her head and said, "The slave knows Brother Niu'er's heart for the slave and the maid, but the slave and the maid are young lady's people, and they will follow the young lady for the rest of their lives." ”

Zhuang Meiyan sighed and said, "Having said that, you don't have to be bound by vulgar etiquette, which will delay your lifelong events." ”

It is said that a loyal girl like Chunju will join her husband's family as a dowry maid in the future, and she will be her right-hand man, and she will help her get an idea. If her husband is a flowery man, Chunju can also help her envelop her husband's mind and raise her aunt in the future.

Zhuang Meiyan didn't want to arrange Chunju's life like this, but this Nizi followed her with all her heart, and it was not easy to say it too seriously, so as not to make her sad. Besides, a matter of love should be in the heart, stop at courtesy, and should not be forced.

Chunju's face showed a resolute look and said, "Miss, you don't have to worry about this matter, Chunju has her own way to deal with it." ”

Zhuang Meiyan was stunned, and Chunju had already turned around and left.

Chunju pushed the door, but saw someone standing at the door, his face was pale, and there was a hint of anger. She didn't expect this person to appear here, and she couldn't help but be stunned.

Zhuang Meiyan heard what seemed to be an unusual noise outside in the room, so she asked, "Chunju, who's coming?"

Chunju hurriedly turned around and smiled: "Cui'er came over and said that a lady came down and was anxious to ask the slave maid to help her measure her clothes, so the slave maid went down first." ”

As she spoke, she closed the door casually, and quietly motioned with her eyes for the man to go downstairs with her.

After dinner in the evening, it was getting dark. The men in the backyard took advantage of the cold in the yard and told some allusions, and from time to time burst into a burst of laughter.

Zhuang Meiyan and Chunju served their mother to wash their feet and wipe their bodies, and just as they waited for him to lie down, they heard a commotion in the backyard.

Zhuang Meiyan opened the back window and looked out, only to see Han Niu'er shaking her body and pushing open the door of the backyard, staggering in the yard, looking around with red eyes, looking blank. Zhuang Meiyan frowned, Han Niu'er looked like she had drunk a lot of wine outside, and she was already drunk, but she didn't drink the ready-made wine at home, but she ran outside to get drunk, so she must have something on her mind.

Zhuang Meiyan naturally thought of the daytime and slowly closed the window. Unexpectedly, Han Niu'er looked up and saw the face behind the window, her eyes were shining, and she pointed in her hand and laughed.

"Three girls! three--girl!" Han Niu'er shouted loudly, and there was some inarticulate excitement between her words, "Three girls, I, I want to tell you a happy event! Come, you all come out! I, Han Niu'er wants to announce a happy event! I am going to marry! Brother, I am going to marry! I want to marry Xi Ruolan, the girl of the Xi family." ”

This news came so suddenly, Zhuang Meiyan was puzzled, and couldn't help but open the window. When the men in the backyard saw that Han Niu'er was drunk, they carried him into the house, and he could still be heard muttering words like "marry" indiscriminately.

Xi Ruolan, the daughter of the old shopkeeper, is getting married!

The next day, the news spread in Qiyang Town and spread all over the streets and alleys.

Xi Ruolan came to Zhuang Meiyan's boudoir early in the morning, and couldn't wait to knock on the door, if Zhuang Meiyan opened the door later, I was afraid that the door would be broken by her.

As soon as she entered the door, the little girl who had no heart in the city took Zhuang Meiyan's hand and hit her directly, and before she could speak, her face turned red first, but she just pursed her mouth and smiled.

Chunju carried the washbasin and a snow-white towel on her arm, and when she came into the house to see this situation, she immediately quipped: "Miss Xi, what's wrong today?

Xi Ruolan stomped her feet, turned her body with a red face, who could not understand her mind with this coquettish look!

Zhuang Meiyan took her hand and said with a smile: "I know that I am shy at this time, who came to the door yesterday and was noisy, I can't wait to smash the door with a stone, and I can't wait to kill someone with a knife for a while, who is that?"

Xi Ruolan was already so shy that she was even more embarrassed when she said this, and said embarrassedly: "How can there be?!Sister, just spare your sister, it's not okay to do something wrong yesterday!"

Zhuang Meiyan smiled and asked her about yesterday's situation.

When it was about to close last night, Han Niu'er broke into the store and clamored for wine. Luzi brought him a jar of wine, and he drank it alone outside. If it were placed on weekdays, Xi Ruolan would definitely go out to fry two side dishes for him to drink, or cook with him for a while, or drink two cups with him, but because of her anger, she came back at noon and hid in her boudoir, refused to come out, and never even ate dinner.

She was upstairs, but Xin'er had been downstairs, and suddenly heard that there was some noise downstairs, and it was Han Niu'er arguing with someone. As soon as she was in a hurry, she was angry and unhappy, and she left it all behind, and ran down the stairs with "kicking and kicking".

It turned out that Han Niu'er was drunk, and Luzi persuaded him to go back quickly, but he still clamored with Luzi for wine. Xi Ruolan looked at Han Niu'er full of alcohol, her cheeks were flushed, and her heart ached, and she also persuaded: "Brother Niu, it's been too late recently, there is no wine in the store, come back tomorrow." ”

Han Niu'er suddenly put Luzi aside and went straight to her, staring at her with a pair of bloodshot eyes, and the smell of wine sprayed on her face, which made her a little scared.

"Do you want me to marry you? I'll marry you today, will you marry or not?"

Although Xi Ruolan was bold and bold, she couldn't help but ask him in public, and immediately blushed, turned around and wanted to flee back upstairs. Han Niu'er grabbed her little hand and said reluctantly: "In a word, do you marry or not?"

Xi Ruolan was annoyed by him, shook off his big hand vigorously, turned upstairs, walked to the corner of the stairs, suddenly stopped, turned to look at Han Niu'er downstairs, and said sharply: "How can anyone ask for a kiss like you, rush into the house like a thief and force someone to marry......? can count, otherwise, people will not agree. ”

The voice behind became more and more detailed, and after Xi Ruolan said these words, she immediately fled for her life and flew upstairs, closing the door of the boudoir tightly, no matter how noisy the guy downstairs was, she sat on the bed by herself, her cheeks were hot, and she was stunned.

Zhuang Meiyan listened to her blushing and learning yesterday's events again, smiling and nodding.

"Brother Niu is messing around!" Zhuang Meiyan became more and more surprised in her heart, Han Niu'er angrily threw the embroidered handkerchief to Xi Ruolan at noon, and at night she changed her hexagram and shouted to marry her, there must be something wrong in the middle, the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, but looking at Xi Ruolan's happy face, she finally held back her words.

"Then he was so foolish yesterday, why didn't Daddy Xi come out to take care of him?" Zhuang Meiyan asked tentatively.

Xi Ruolan said shyly: "Yesterday, my father brought wine to visit a few old friends, went out early in the morning, and didn't come back until this morning. He wasn't home all day last day. ”

Zhuang Meiyan suddenly realized that if Old Man Xi was at home, he would definitely not allow Han Niu'er to mess around like this, and Xi Ruolan probably wouldn't have a chance to come to her to complain, just if Han Niu'er came to make trouble at noon, she would be closed by her father and interrogated left and right.

Xi Ruolan also understood this, and she said in a low voice: "I told Luzi that he is not allowed to chew his tongue in front of my father, otherwise I will tell my father about him stealing my family's wine and drinking." ”

Zhuang Meiyan pursed her lips and smiled, and said, "Then today, Han Niu'er really came to the door?"

"Hmm. Xi Ruolan said, "This morning he invited Granny Wu to come to the door with a gift to propose marriage, my father, my father has agreed, and is agreeing with Granny Wu on a good day and auspicious day." ”

Things came full of twists and turns, and finally everyone was happy. Zhuang Meiyan looked at Xi Ruolan, who was full of shyness, and the joy that could not be concealed between the corners of her eyebrows, she could see that she was full of longing for this marriage, and the goddess of happiness was looking at her with a smile above her head.

So, it should be the best!

Three days later, one morning, Zhuang Meiyan stuffed the carriage with gifts, and the family prepared to go back to the "Phoenix Nest". Zhuang Meiyan went with her mother, younger brother Zhuang Rongxi, and Chunju, one to visit the people in the village, and the other to take the opportunity to relax. Originally, he said that Zhuang Rongxi was going to study in the school, so he didn't want to go, but when the younger brother heard that he was going back to the "Phoenix Nest", he didn't give up, and he also missed his little friends there.

The family happily got into the car, the mother sat in the innermost part, with a kind face, but Zhuang Rongxi, who was sitting next to her, was restless and urged to set off again and again. Zhuang Meiyan was not very relieved to check whether the gift was all brought, and the last one to get on the car was the panting Chunju, a large bag of snacks in her left hand, and a lacquered gold carved food box in her right hand, her hands were full, if it weren't for the young man who was driving the car, she wouldn't even be able to get into the carriage.

Zhuang Meiyan complained: "Are you going to go out, or do you want to live on the road, why do you take so much food?"

Before the words fell, Zhuang Rongxi's small hands had already reached into Chunju's dim sum bag, quietly took out two small rolls, stuffed them into his mouth, and his mother unceremoniously pinched a piece of jujube cake and ate it. Chunju snorted with her mouth, Zhuang Meiyan smiled helplessly, turned her head and shouted to the coachman outside the door curtain: "Brother Niu, let's go." ”

The door curtain was slightly opened, and a young man poked his head over and said with a smile: "Third girl, it's me, Da Zhuang!" Brother Niu said that the winery has been too busy for the past two days to leave him, let me send you back. ”

Zhuang Meiyan frowned slightly and said, "This Brother Niu, such a big matter of marrying, won't he go home and discuss it with Aunt Li and Uncle Li?"

"Hehe! Brother Niu said that I should bring a letter to his home, and let Uncle Li and them prepare, the date of marriage has been calculated, and it is said that it will be at the end of this month. "Da Zhuang is also a hearty young man, and he talks a lot.

Zhuang Meiyan still felt that it was inappropriate, and said: "That's not good, this is a major event in a lifetime, and the winery here should let Xiucai be a little more tired and take care of it." Go tell him to go home with him. ”

"He, he went out early in the morning to deliver wine! The winery business is too busy, it's really not good to leave Brother Niu, Xiucai can calculate the account, he can't do it if he asks him to send wine or something, you just let Brother Niu go busy." Although it is a major event, the elders and women in the family are responsible for handling it, and he can't help when he goes back. Da Zhuang laughed and raised his horsewhip, whipped a whip in the air, and shouted: "Drive!"

Zhuang Meiyan listened to his words, her mind calmed down slightly, and Zhuang Rongxi beside her took her hand and asked her to eat snacks noisily. She smiled and took the rolls, opened the window curtain a small crack, the carriage galloped, the shops, the crowd, and the streets were gradually left behind, the mountains and forests in the distance, the yellow leaves slowly fell on the secluded paths in the forest, and then to the Qilian Mountains with undulating peaks and peaks in the distance, the white clouds on the top of the mountain were entangled, and the mist was kind.

It's autumn again!

Back to the "Phoenix Nest", Zhuang Meiyan's carriage was surrounded by the people of the village, one by one gifts were taken down from the car, children's candy, the old people's pastries, the eldest girl's rouge gouache, the little daughter-in-law's flower cloth, all of them are loved. They quietly compared, discussed, and overjoyed, even the New Year and the festival were not as lively as today.

The old village chief stood in a corner of the courtyard, holding his dry tobacco stick in his mouth, smiling and smiling. Zhuang Meiyan avoided the crowd and quietly came to his old man's side.

"Uncle Village, this is the white jade cigarette holder that I entrusted the comprador to bring back to you in the capital, do you think you can use it?"

As if playing a trick, she took out a jade cigarette holder from behind her and handed it to the old village chief. The old village chief took it with surprise on his face, and took a closer look and said: "Yo! This is a good object, the jade cigarette holder of the old patriarch of the Zhuang family is not as good as this one, thank you three girls!"

"There are also some fine tobacco leaves here, and the comprador often says that it is a tribute from the southern Dian Kingdom, and I will give you some to try the taste. ”

The old village chief was at a loss, and said in a panic: "The tribute is for the emperor, I, how can I be blessed with an old man who has been cut into the ground?

Zhuang Meiyan smiled and said: "Even if it is a tribute, the emperor and his old man will not need so much! You can rest assured, these tobacco leaves are from normal channels, and those who enter the palace are called tribute, and those who do not enter the palace are goods." ”

The old village chief put his mind at ease, and he couldn't wait to rub some tobacco leaves, put on the tobacco pouch and pot, Meimei took a big puff, and sighed: "Good things! This life is not in vain! At such an age, you can still smoke things that only the emperor can use, and it is not in vain!"

Seeing the old man squinting his eyes and swallowing the clouds and spitting out the mist, enjoying it very much, Zhuang Meiyan couldn't help but snicker.

In her heart, she has regarded the people of this small village as her relatives, and she also feels deep joy when she sees them happy and satisfied.

"Three girls, what kind of good treasures in the mountains do you want from the village chief uncle this time? Say, there are a lot of treasures in our Qiyang Mountain. ”

The village chief said slowly and methodically while intoxicatingly smoking the new tobacco leaves given to him by Zhuang Meiyan.

Zhuang Meiyan smiled and said, "Uncle Village, you are really wise! I can't hide anything from you! Let's be honest, Meiyan really has something to ask you for this trip!"

What Zhuang Meiyan said was to ask the old village chief to find a few experienced hunters to take her into the mountains and forests to look for delicious berries, which were already ripe in early autumn. Zhuang Meiyan saw from the ancient books that the fruit wine made from the juicy and fatty berries of the fruit tasted sweet and mellow, and she wanted to make a new wine when she returned to the village this time.

Of course, the old village chief happily agreed to this little thing, but there was a small condition, that is, the new wine brewed by Zhuang Meiyan must be left for him to taste.

This small request is naturally not a problem.

Zhuang Meiyan's family simply cleaned up the old house and lived again. The "Phoenix Nest" returned to its former calm, the only difference was that the youngest son of the Li family was going to get married at the end of the month, and the women in the village went over to help their family Zhang Luo to prepare the things they needed to prepare, and they were busy adding a lot of joy.

Zhuang Meiyan followed the hunters in the village to the mountains and forests to collect suitable berries during the day, and brought them back to make wine at night, and his life was plain and sufficient.

On this day, it rained lightly all night, and it was still dripping until the morning of the second day, and I was in the hall house, looking at the eaves dripping water, and the distant mountains and trees were shrouded in a rain and mist, and the scenery had a sad beauty. When the rain stops in the afternoon, the sky is overcast, a round of hot sun shines in the sky, and a beautiful rainbow bridge is erected in front of the distant mountains on the horizon.

Zhuang Meiyan helped her mother to the courtyard, looking at the blue and clean sky, the long rainbow passing by obliquely, and the air after the rain faintly smelled of earth, familiar and fragrant. The two walked around the back of the house and came to the open space behind the house. The bamboo forest rustles, the green bamboo swayes, and the fragrance of the bamboo is even stronger under the washing of the rain.

Although it was early autumn, the branches and leaves had not yet withered in large areas, and there was still some exuberant atmosphere, except for the lonely peach tree in the clearing, but only the bare trunk and a few branches remained, and there were no yellow leaves falling under the tree, which means that its branches and leaves have not drawn new shoots since spring. After all, the February peach blossoms growing in the southern conservatory are unable to adapt to the dry and cold climate of the north, and it is already its best to be able to bloom the buds of that tree.

The mother tilted her head slightly over her shoulders and hummed the song softly.

"Ge Sheng Mengchu, vines in the wild. Yu Mei died here, who was alone. ”

She used to listen to this song but felt that the tone was slow, but now standing next to this tree of death and listening to it, her heart finally gave birth to a desolate taste.

Oh that man on the high!

That man who is far away in the capital!

Climbing on the clouds together and enjoying the beautiful scenery together, will it be my wishful thinking?

Zhuang Meiyan knew that he was still standing at the foot of Qilian Mountain, and there was still an unreachable distance from the top of the mountain where the clouds were entwined.

There was a rush of footsteps behind her, and she turned her head to see a panicked Chunju trotting over.

"Miss, Miss, it's not good! Brother Niu has an accident!"

Her heart was shaken.

In autumn, it gets dark much earlier than before, and just after dinner, the lights are already on in every house. The climate is obviously cool, and there are no crowds of people on the street in the middle of summer, and there is no strong smell of wormwood burning for mosquito repellent, only the smell of ripe rice and soybean wafting from the fields.

After dark, the streets seem very quiet, but the front of the "Li Ji Silk Shop" in Qiyang Town is brightly lit, and a hurried carriage rushes into the street from outside the town, relying on the coachman's skillful skills to stop at the gate. Zhuang Meiyan, who was wearing a purple cloak, stepped into the store with the support of Chunju and Sister-in-law Yang, and the door closed quickly behind them, and Yang Xiucai had already put the door panel back on.

The doors and windows were closed tightly, Zhuang Meiyan sighed, sat in the carriage for an afternoon, walked fast on the road, the muddy mountain road was bumpy, her body was extremely tired, but she still cheered up and looked at a few familiar faces in the room, the faces of Sister-in-law Yang and others were clearly anxious, and several descendants of the winery were angry, and then saw Yang Xiucai's cautious attitude, it must have happened a big thing.

"Third girl, you can count it back!" Sister-in-law Yang saw Zhuang Meiyan, a stone in her heart fell to the ground, and said with a little relief. "Brother Niu, he--"

Zhuang Meiyan waved her hand, signaling her not to rush to continue, but asked the people in the house: "Have you all eaten?" Chunju, you go to the kitchen and take a look, what food is arranged for everyone. If there is anything big, I will wait until after dinner. ”

Chunju immediately led the two little maids to the kitchen to get busy, and seeing her so calm and relaxed, everyone's nervousness was also relieved. Zhuang Meiyan walked upstairs, and at the same time threw a look at Sister-in-law Yang and asked her to go upstairs with her.

"What's going on? Sister-in-law Yang, say it now. Zhuang Meiyan returned upstairs, poured herself a cup of hot tea, and asked idly while drinking tea.

Sister-in-law Yang was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, standing on the side anxiously, it was easy to wait for Zhuang Meiyan to clean up, and when she saw her question, she quickly replied: "Third girl, Brother Niu has caused a big disaster this time!"

"He! Hey, this ugly thing he has done is really impossible for people to open their mouths!" a look of shame flashed in Sister-in-law Yang's eyes, as if it was extremely difficult to speak. She weighed it again and again, but still gritted her teeth, and said it carefully with Zhuang Meiyan from the beginning.

Han Niu'er since the last time she asked Xi Ruolan, the only daughter of Xi Lao's shopkeeper, has changed her temperament greatly, and she was originally a very gentle young man, but she suddenly liked to drink, and she got drunk outside every night, and after drinking, Han Niu'er became short-tempered and quarreled with people at every turn.

Although everyone thought that his temper had become eccentric, after all, he was kind, and after getting drunk, he had an argument with the guys at the winery, and everyone let him have a split or two, but he was fine.

But it was just last night, early this morning, to be exact. The sky outside was bright, and Sister-in-law Yang and Yang Xiucai were sleeping in a daze, when they suddenly heard a commotion of gongs and drums outside, and the two of them couldn't help but wonder. Yang Xiucai and Sister-in-law Yang live in an ordinary house in the middle of the town, a small courtyard house, more than 20 meters away from the street.

At first, the couple didn't mind, but they were disturbed by their dreams, and they couldn't help but whisper a few words, because they felt that it was still early, Sister-in-law Yang hugged the child and continued to coax him to sleep, Yang Xiucai put on his clothes and sat up and leaned against the window to listen quietly.

The tranquility of the early morning makes the sounds on the street extraordinarily distant and distinct. I heard someone outside using a gong to open the way, and at the same time shouting loudly.

"Adulterer and adulteress!

Yang Xiu knew that the adulterer had been caught in the town and was parading the streets. The people of Qiyang Town are fierce, and the people are most disgusted with adultery, not only the husband can catch the adulterer, but even the husband's relatives can help catch the adulterer, once they are caught, they parade on the street on the spot, and finally put them into the ancestral hall, in front of the ancestors and ancestors, in front of the clan's chaste archway, the man was beaten to death by everyone, and the woman was immersed in the pig cage and sunk into the pond.

Although it is also human life, such a depraving thing seems to be punished by everyone, and even the government acquiesces in this practice, which has become a trend for a while.

Yang Xiucai was also like ordinary people, got up to see the excitement on the street, walked to the intersection, and just saw a group of people shouting and walking this way, led by a big man holding a gong, shouting while knocking, and a group of people behind him forcibly escorted a man and a woman to march.

Both of them are disheveled, embarrassed, the woman's upper body is pulled between the red belly pocket on the chest, the man's upper body **, the lower body is only covered by a pair of sinus pants, at a glance, you know that it is the kind that was pulled out of the bed. The thumb-thick hemp rope of the two men was tied firmly, and their mouths were gagged with rags, and they were dragged and pushed, and scrambled unwillingly and involuntarily.

The man was tall, bruised and purple, had many blood scabs on his face, and his hair was messy, and he had obviously suffered a lot. Walking on the road, the people behind him did not stop abusing him, either kicking him twice or hitting him twice, the man kept panting, but he was suffering from being bound and his lips blocked, he could neither resist nor curse, and could only look at the surrounding crowd with angry eyes.

Yang Xiucai glanced at the two of them, couldn't help but be surprised, raised his sleeves and rubbed his eyes desperately.

That's right, that man is Han Niu'er, although he was embarrassed by being beaten, Yang Xiucai still recognized his appearance, and then took a closer look at the woman next to him, and he was even more confused, that woman was also a person she knew, but she was the daughter-in-law of the Hong family, the embroidery girl of the silk village.

How these two people got together and were caught and raped in bed really made Yang Xiucai become a second monk - confused. When Han Niu'er saw him, she struggled desperately like crazy, making a "woo" sound, the green tendons on her neck were exposed, and her face was flushed. His captors could barely hold him down, so they beat him violently.

Yang Xiucai stood on the side of the road in a daze, and was about to go up to dissuade him, but was pushed down by the side of the road without saying anything. Yang Xiucai reacted very quickly, he knew that he would definitely not be able to rescue Han Niu'er and the Hong family's daughter-in-law with his own strength at this time, so he hurriedly took a shortcut from the small alley and ran back to the silk shop, waking up all the winery guys who were still asleep.

Everyone heard Yang Xiucai say that Han Niu'er was beaten and paraded on the street, and they didn't care about asking the reason, these men with strong blood immediately picked up big sticks and rushed to the street, wanting to snatch people back.

The two sides clashed on the streets, each refusing to give in. In the end, the elders of the town were alarmed, and the patriarch of the Zhuang clan came forward to mediate and escorted Han Niu'er back to the ancestral hall of the Zhuang family to guard it, while the daughter-in-law of the Hong family was taken home by the Hong family to take care of it. Yang Xiucai asked a young man with quick legs and feet to ride a fast horse and go straight to the "Phoenix Nest", tell Zhuang Meiyan the news, and invite her back.

Listening to Sister-in-law Yang explain the truth of the matter clearly, Zhuang Meiyan couldn't help frowning, she thought for a moment and asked, "Sister-in-law Yang, do you think Brother Niu would do such an outrageous thing?"

Sister-in-law Yang hesitated slightly, and said: "Third girl, let me say something that I don't like, you are still a girl, you don't understand the thoughts of men, and sometimes you can't help it." Besides, Brother Niu has been drinking every night these days, as the saying goes, wine is a color medium, and young people are uncertain for a while if they are drunk...... It's hard to say. ”

Zhuang Meiyan's heart sank, she looked thoughtfully at the dark window outside, and said in a low voice: "Sister-in-law Yang, if you even look at this matter like this, wouldn't the people in the town have the same idea as you, won't Han Niu'er die?!"