It is the coldest time of the year, when the heavens and the earth are empty and everything is withering. The biting north wind howled back and forth between the desolate heavens and the earth, and the piercing roar was like the howl of a wild beast.

Feng Yin sat quietly in front of the window, looking intently at the banyan tree in the yard that was blown by the north wind, and a few weak branches stretched out from the top of the bare and thin trunk, swaying back and forth in the north wind, as if it was about to break if it was blown more violently, but it kept shaking and persevering, and survived most of the winter.

This banyan tree was a gift from my uncle. "Banyan flower" is homophonic to "Ronghua", which is a good omen of prosperity and wealth. In the middle of summer, the red banyan flowers are in full bloom, like a red tasseled fan woven with feathers, looking at it from afar, dazzling and gorgeous, and rare to be cold and drought resistant, and it can also survive in this northern border area, so many large families like to raise a banyan tree in the yard to take a good omen of glory and wealth.

The first time Feng Yin saw the banyan tree was in the summer when she was eight years old. At that time, she had just arrived in Shawu Town, and she was a demon girl who everyone in the house avoided, a demonic monster with blood-red eyes.

At that time, she still wanted to escape, but in a panic, she ran to the back hill far from the village, and rolled down on the hillside, injured her arm and twisted her ankle, and was picked up by a monk who was chopping wood and returned to the temple.

It is said that it is a temple, but there are no pilgrims, only this one monk and two small novices, who look a little gloomy. The monk was not surprised by the wind eyes, nor was he as frightened as ordinary people, but he stared at her quietly for a long time after treating the ankle injury for Feng Yin, and there seemed to be compassion in his eyes, but he also hid some doubts, as if he was thinking about a difficult puzzle, and finally he only sighed heavily, and turned around and went out without saying a word.

When the uncle came, Feng Yin was sitting on the steps in front of the temple gate, quietly staring at the fiery red banyan tree in full bloom in front of the door. The bright red, bewitching and beautiful, reflected the whole temple vividly.

"It's a beautiful red. ”

At this moment, the uncle quietly came to Feng Yin's side, a silver-gray robe emitting a light golden glow in the reflection of the setting sun, Feng Yin looked up at his face, and for the first time he saw his eyes carefully, black, bright eyes.

He lowered his head and quietly looked into Feng Yin's eyes for a long time, then calmly turned his head to look at a fiery red banyan tree, and slowly spoke, "Just like your eyes." ”

Feng Yin returned to the General's Mansion with his uncle, as if nothing had happened.

The next day, the uncle planted a small banyan tree in the small courtyard of Fengyin, and he said, "The fiery red flower is very suitable for you."

From that day on, Wind Groan did not run away again.

The banyan tree did not grow well in the small courtyard of the wind, and a few crooked branches protruded from its thin torso, and there were not many leaves even in summer.

In four years, even if Feng Yin took care of it, this banyan tree did not grow stronger.

The mother-in-law said, "Maybe this tree is not as strong as other trees, just like some children are born weak, it is a truth, we just need to take good care of it, whether it can grow depends on its own creation, and it has nothing to do with it." ”

Whenever her mother-in-law said this, Feng Yin always silently did not speak, although she knew that her mother-in-law's words were just comforting, but she still listened quietly for four years.

The rumors about the wind in the general's palace have never stopped, and they have been passed around among the subordinates, and the rumors have not faded in the past four years, but have intensified.

"Look at her eyes, blood red and blood red, where is the appearance of a person, I really don't know how many people have been killed in this last life, I think in this life, those unjust souls have turned into resentment, all of them are condensed in her eyes!"

"But isn't it? Look at the banyan tree in her yard, it seems to be sick and has lost its vitality, it hasn't grown up for four years, you say it's strange?

"Yes, yes, have you forgotten what Mr. Ji said! I look at her, she is the reincarnation of the demon, and she exudes demonic energy all over her body, if she wants to live, we have to stay away from her......"

In this way, Feng Yin also listened quietly for four years.

For four years, what Feng Yin hated most was his blood-red eyes, thinking that all his misfortunes were because of them. But later, when all the truth was revealed, Feng Yin finally understood that even if his eyes were not red, he would still be rejected by others because of the blood of the demon clan flowing in his body.

The fire in the stove faded, and the cold outside was blown into the house by the north wind. The mother-in-law felt a chill in her knees, and when she put down her half-sewn belly pocket and looked up, she found that the fire had been extinguished for some time.

Turning her head to look at the wind moaning out of the window, the mother-in-law shook her head helplessly, and slowly got up and came to the hearth.

"Hey, this man is old, his body is no longer good, and he can't bear the cold at all. The mother-in-law shook her head as she chattered, laughing at her age.

Feng Yin came back to his senses when he heard the voice, and then he withdrew his gaze from the window, and moved his slightly stiff hands and feet, feeling that his body was cold, and it was really a little cold.

The mother-in-law quickly lit the hay and put it into the stove, and when the flame was bigger, she added some pieces of wood, and the fire in the furnace grew up in a short time, and the warm breath slowly dispersed.

Feng Yin watched the fire in the furnace gradually grow, walked over and picked up a few pieces of charcoal and put them in the furnace, covered the lid, but his eyes inadvertently touched the belly pocket in the basket not far away, the golden unicorn jumped on the bright red satin, the look was vibrant, vivid, and it made people happy.

Raising his feet and walking over slowly, Feng Yin reached out and gently stroked the golden unicorn, and the words came out unconsciously.

"Will the mother give birth to a boy or a girl?"

The mother-in-law looked up and saw the belly pocket in Feng Yin's hand, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously showed a smile, her eyebrows were full of loving warmth, and even the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes stretched out with this smile.

Slowly got up and walked over, the mother-in-law took the belly pocket from Feng Yin's hand and sat down, picked up the embroidery needle and brushed the broken hair on her forehead, and said, "It's a little young master." Mr. Ji has seen it himself, and you will have a younger brother at the end of next month. ”

"Brother", Feng Yin's mind couldn't help but appear the figure of a white chubby little doll wearing a red belly pocket, lying there softly and kicking her little feet, a pair of white and tender little hands grabbing the neck ring around her neck indiscriminately, suddenly raised her head and grinned at herself, and a drop of saliva somehow flowed out of the corner of her mouth and fell into her neck.

She suddenly had some anticipation and couldn't wait to meet this lovely child.

With this child, Miss's heart can be more stable. ”

Feng Yin's eyes flickered suddenly, his head slowly lowered, and his voice trembled a little, "Mother, are you happy?"

The needle and thread in the mother-in-law's hand paused, raised her head and looked at Feng Yin's expression seriously, and then said softly, "Naturally, I am happy, how can I be unhappy as a mother, don't you say?"

Feng Yin didn't answer, just looked at her mother-in-law's eyes, her throat moved slightly, as if something was about to blurt out, but the words were swallowed back after tossing and turning a few times, and there was still no mouth after all.

The mother-in-law did not continue the topic anymore, lovingly took her hand and helped her sit down, took the blanket from the side and covered her lap, and carefully advised, "The cold has become more and more severe these days, you must take care of your body carefully, don't freeze anything, you know?"

Feng Yin lowered her eyes, tugged at the blanket on her legs, and nodded slightly.

The mother-in-law didn't say anything more, lowered her head and continued to plump up the golden unicorn. It's just that I don't know if it's because it's getting dark outside, the mother-in-law's movements on her hands are quite slow, and her hands are also a little tired and trembling slightly, and she squints her eyes several times to see the location of the needle.

The mother-in-law is old after all, and the wrinkles on her face are clearer in the light of the fire.

Mother-in-law has been serving people all her life, first Feng Yin's mother, and then Feng Yin. After her mother married the general, everyone respectfully addressed her as "Madame", except for her mother-in-law, who still addressed her as "Miss". Feng Yin knows that in her mother-in-law's heart, this is a title that cannot be changed in this life, and her mother will always be the child she was at the beginning in her heart, the master who has been carefully guarded and raised since she was a child, and the most important person in her life.

So after her mother married the general, her mother-in-law took the initiative to ask to leave her mother to take care of herself alone in order to let her mother start her life again without worries. Feng Yin knew that everything her mother-in-law did was for her mother, and she might not have much love for herself, but in this huge general's mansion, except for Uncle and Wen Shuo, her mother-in-law was the closest person to her.

Feng Yin suddenly felt a little unbearable, stretched out his hand, gently covered the Qilin, and said softly: "Rest for a while, it's not in a hurry today." ”

The mother-in-law took away the belly pocket with her and said with a smile: "Yes, it's still early at the end of next month." ”

Feng Yin carefully stroked the lines of the unicorn and muttered, "At the end of next month, spring will come." ”

"yes, it's a good day. ”

Feng Yin turned to look at the gloomy sky outside the window, hiding his dim gaze in the shadows, and also forced down the question that had swirled in his heart countless times.

"Mother, do you hate me?"

Feng Yin wanted to ask this sentence more than once, but each time he stuck it in his throat and didn't spit it out. What will be the answer, and what are you looking forward to?

Since his mother married into the general's mansion, he has never appeared in front of him alone, even if he meets, there is never a trace of the love that a mother should have in his cold eyes, and Feng Yin even feels that even the general's gaze is warmer, so what will the answer be, probably hate.

This is the reason why Feng Yin never dared to ask.

The wind gradually subsided, the terrible whistling outside the window was gone, and the originally gray sky was a little brighter. The banyan tree stands quietly in the middle of the empty courtyard, and its thin branches reflect the desolation of winter.

I don't know when, flakes of snowflakes gently fell from the sky, covering a place of silver, the wind groaned out of the door, stood quietly beside the banyan tree, stretched out his hand to take a few snowflakes, and muttered: "It's snowing." ”