In early March, it rained continuously in Chang'an City.
Zhou Ze was wearing a raincoat and sat motionless in front of the gate of Zhou's house, surrounded by neighbors.
An old man around him advised: "Zhou Dalang, there is still no movement at home after so many days. I'm afraid your parents are determined, so just give up."
After hearing this, the woman with a big waist and big arms was not happy. She put her hands on her hips and scolded: "This is said lightly. There are always people who want to break up the good things that the husband and concubine intend. They are not afraid of thunder and lightning.
retribution!"
While everyone was arguing, Luo Sanniang peeked out from the crack in the door.
After reading it, Luo Sanniang walked into the central hall from the front yard. While wiping her tears, she cried to the sullen Zhou Dinghai: "Ze'er has been sitting here for so many days, can you bear to watch like this?"
Zhou Dinghai's eyes twitched and he said in a hoarse voice: "As you can see, even though he was beaten and scolded, that traitor just refused to give up. He wanted to throw the face of the Zhou family to the ground and then step on it again.
Only two feet are willing to do it!"
Luo Sanniang looked back at the door, hesitated again and again, and said to Zhou Dinghai: "Why don't we just fulfill Ze'er's wish..."
When the latter heard this, he stood up suddenly and shouted: "Don't even think about it! If you let that traitor marry a concubine, how can our Zhou family gain a foothold in Chang'an City in the future?!"
When Luo Sanniang heard this, she covered her face and cried: "Then just watch Ze'er suffer outside?"
Zhou Dinghai was stunned for a while, supported the desk with his hands, and gritted his teeth and said: "The Zhou family has been engaged in a humble business for a hundred years. Finally, things have turned around, and both of the two sons in the family have made some achievements. If the well-being of future generations is in vain because of this matter,
, then after I, Zhou Dinghai, die, how can I have the nerve to see my ancestors?!"
After hearing this, Luo Sanniang didn't dare to persuade her anymore, she just kept sobbing.
Zhou Jun stood in the corridor, listening to the arguments outside and looking up at the sky.
Xiao Qingchan was at his side.
Zhou Jun suddenly turned around and asked Xiao Qingchan: "Brother, how many days have you been sitting in meditation?"
Xiao Qingchan: "It's the third day."
Zhou Jun said to himself: "Logically speaking, it should be coming soon."
Xiao Qingchan asked curiously: "Who is coming soon?"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was suddenly no noise outside the hospital, but silence.
Xiao Qingchan first glanced at Zhou Jun, who nodded. Then she walked to the front yard to take a look. When she came back, her face was full of surprise.
Outside the gate of Zhou's house, a carriage slowly stopped.
Yu Junniang, who had just recovered from a serious illness, got off the carriage with a pale face. She walked towards the door of Zhou's house and took the group banquet from the maid.
When the onlookers saw her, they suddenly became quiet, and everyone unconsciously moved out of the way.
Under Zhou Ze's disbelieving gaze, Yu Junniang placed the banquet next to the former and sat down tremblingly.
Zhou Ze took the umbrella handed by the maid and protected Yu Junniang from the drizzle. He looked at her profile and wanted to say something.
Yu Junniang turned her head sideways, looked firmly into Zhou Ze's eyes, and gently pulled the corner of his clothes, silently.
Just like that, the two sat side by side, holding an umbrella together, and kept company silently in front of the closed door.
In the next few days, Yu Junniang and Zhou Ze appeared in front of the Zhou family gate by chance every day, just sitting quietly without saying a word.
This incident has spread more and more widely in Chang'an City through word of mouth.
More and more people came here because of the reputation, blocking the street in front of Zhou's house.
Later, because there were so many people watching, even Fang Zheng and Ding Yi had to come forward to maintain order.
Among the people who came to watch, many people had seen "Butterfly Lovers". They responded to the scene and told others about the twists and turns in the book, as well as the story of the hero and heroine who died for their love.
As a result, the protest outside Zhou's house became louder and louder.
On this day, Zhou Jun saw that the heat was almost here, so he went to his parents and said to them: "These days, Jun has been working in court, and he accidentally heard a lot of gossip about the Zhou family from his colleagues."
Zhou Dinghai had dark circles under his eyes and asked, "What did they say?"
Zhou Jun: "They said that the Zhou family only wanted to gain influence and had no regard for human relations, forcing the eldest son in the family to live a life worse than death."
Zhou Dinghai opened his eyes wide and said angrily: "That's nonsense, it was obviously the rebellious son who was unfilial first!"
Zhou Jun pretended to hesitate: "They also said..."
Luo Sanniang patted Zhou Dinghai on the back and asked, "What else did they say?"
Zhou Jun sighed and said, "The families who originally planned to marry their daughter to my brother saw this situation and no longer dared to come to propose marriage."
Zhou Dinghai was stunned: "Why?"
Zhou Jun: "No matter which family, if they betroth their daughter to an elder brother, they will probably cause public dissatisfaction and have a reputation of breaking up lovers, and they will have their backs stabbed every day."
When Zhou Dinghai heard this, his head banged.
Zhou Jun said in a low voice: "Father, the matter has come to this. I'm afraid my brother has no other choice but to marry Yu Junniang."
Luo Sanniang pulled Zhou Dinghai from the side and tried to persuade her: "Yes, what can I do if I agree to this marriage?"
Zhou Dinghai was at a loss and said to himself: "How could this happen?"
Zhou Jun: "Father, please go to the gate and take a look. There are thousands of people gathered outside. I am afraid most of them call the Zhou family snobbish and disregard human ethics."
"If you agree to this marriage now, you can still create a good story; if something goes wrong between those two people, I am afraid that the Zhou family will be scolded for the rest of their lives and they will never be able to hold their head up... The current situation
, in the final analysis, it is nothing more than the eight characters - the people's will is hard to disobey, and people's words are to be feared."
After Zhou Dinghai heard this, he felt a war between heaven and man in his heart for a long time, and finally stood up.
He walked to the door with heavy steps, took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door.
"The door is open! The door is open!"
The appearance of Zhou Dinghai was like a grain of fire falling into tung oil, igniting the enthusiasm of the crowd in an instant.
At this time, Zhou Ze, Yu Junniang, and the onlookers all focused their attention on Zhou Dinghai.
Zhou Dinghai opened his mouth, exhausted all his strength, and finally said those words: "Your marriage is agreed to by Zhou Jia."
In an instant, the entire street burst into earth-shattering cheers.
At the same time, in the north of Pingkangfang, Song Ruo'e lived.
Books, calligraphy and paintings, as well as clothes, musical instruments, accessories and other items in the hall and side rooms have all been packed and divided into dozens of large and small boxes.
Xie Qin was leading several maids, checking the boxes and writing a list.
Taking advantage of the break, Xie Qin straightened up and looked around, but found no trace of Song Ruo'e.
After walking out of the hall and into the courtyard, Xie Qin saw Song Ruo'e wearing a jacket, leaning against the gatehouse, looking at the passers-by outside the door.
"It's cold in spring. You're just sitting in the wind, and you're not afraid of getting sick?" Xie Qin walked to Song Ruo'e, glanced at the latter's face, and said, "The blood is gone on my face. Go back and warm yourself up."
Song Ruo'e turned a deaf ear and still stared at the door.
Xie Qin added: "You haven't even eaten in the past few days. What if you get abdominal pain like before?"
Ignoring Xie Qin's question, Song Ruo'e slowly turned her head and said in a weak voice: "Still not here."
Xie Qin was startled, and unconsciously looked elsewhere and said, "The Zhong family has just become a Jinshi, and everything is complicated. Maybe he will come back tomorrow."
Song Ruo'e smiled miserably: "It's tomorrow again..."
Just when Xie Qin was thinking about how to persuade her, someone sent a letter addressed to Song Ruo'e.
Song Ruo'e couldn't wait to open the envelope and saw Zhong Jialang's familiar handwriting. Before she could be happy, she was shocked by the contents. She suddenly lost the ability to move and stood on the spot like a log.
Seeing that something was wrong, Jie Qin took the letter and read it quickly.
Zhong Zhang only wrote a few words in his letter.
Among them, the most dazzling passage is - "The floating clouds are gone, and the flowing water has been running for ten years. The spring breeze knows the suffering, but there is no fate."
Jie Qin put down the letter and was about to talk to Song Ruo'e when she saw the latter trembling all over, coughing several times, and a large mouthful of blood suddenly coughed up on his chest. Then his eyes slowly closed and he fell next to the door.
next chapter
This chapter has been completed!