There was a vast expanse of white between heaven and earth.
Qiao Mingjin walked in this fog, unable to tell where she was coming from or where she was going.
She could only see herself wearing a white loose muslin pajamas, moving forward step by step with her bare feet.
A mist-like light cloud passed by her and enveloped her lightly. It covered her path and made it difficult to tell the way forward.
She walked forward confusedly like a trapped animal.
Suddenly I saw a bright light, a halo of yellow, which made people feel so warm that they couldn't help but approach it.
In the halo, a middle-aged man with half-white hair was holding a photo frame and wiping it with a soft cloth extremely carefully. Such care was like protecting the most cherished treasure.
In addition to the photo frame in his hand, there is another photo frame of the same size on the table, in which a young woman raises her lips and smiles sweetly. In front of the photo frame are placed four-color fruits, two incense candles, and several sticks of sandalwood.
"...Hongxia, are you still angry with me? Why don't you come to see me?"
"You will definitely not forgive me, I know it..."
"...I never thought about asking for your forgiveness...I also wanted to let you go. But who will burn paper and buy clothes for you and Ruru during the holidays? You must not want to see me either..."
After wiping the photo frame in his hand, he held it and looked at it for a while, then carefully put it back in place, and then picked up another photo frame to wipe.
"Ruru, dad didn't lie to you. You are dad's most beloved baby... You have to help dad take care of your mom over there... Dad is useless, he doesn't even dare to die..."
The middle-aged man's tears fell drop by drop on the black and white photo frame, and the young woman inside was still smiling brightly...
Qiao Mingjin stretched out her hand forward. The warm yellow light suddenly disappeared again, turning into dazzling white in the blink of an eye...
In the cemetery of Qingshan County, a young man was kneeling there and burning paper. He was burning each piece of paper very carefully, fearing that even one corner would be left incomplete.
A gust of breeze blew, and the burned gray paper flew everywhere. The man stared blankly, unable to take his eyes away...
"... I wonder if you can receive it. Today is your birthday. I bought you your favorite lily... I burned the boys and girls for you... Let them accompany you. You are most afraid of being alone...
It's dark at night, so if you don't dare to sleep, just light a lamp, don't be afraid of wasting money... I will send money to you at all times of the year..."
"...She is married, but I didn't marry her. I know you don't like it..."
Tears fell on the man's face.
Sobbed quietly.
"I'm not good, I'm not good...I'm a bastard, I'm not a human being..."
The man was almost lying on the ground. He put his hands on the ground and his shoulders began to shake.
My vision was no longer clear, and white mist shrouded me again.
It's so white that you can't see where you came from, and you can't see where you're going.
Qiao Mingjin's face was cold and she wiped it, her hands were full of tears...
Yue Zhongyao had already been lingering in front of his wife's door for a few sticks of incense.
He had long wanted to have a good talk with his wife.
What Jin Niang said about the one-year period always rang in his heart. It shocked his liver and gallbladder to the point of splitting.
The wife's room was quiet. After coaxing her daughter to sleep, he came.
Jin Niang must be sleeping more soundly now.
He also wanted to talk to Jinniang after dinner. But it seemed that Jinniang never gave him a chance.
And he didn't dare.
"Jin Niang, let's live a good life. I never thought about marrying anyone else. I just thought about marrying her first and delaying it for a while before finding her a better one, or raising the three of them and waiting for her brother.
With fame, maybe she will not look down on me anymore..."
"I don't know anything, I only have brute strength, and only Jin Niang, you don't dislike me..."
"I can't even read a few Chinese characters. I'm not like others who can read books one by one. I can't read good poems either..."
"Jin Niang, you like that, don't you...just like the sixth master of the Zhou family. A handsome young man from a well-known family, literate in writing, and handsome in appearance..."
"But I'm reluctant...Jin Niang. My heart feels like a knife cutting..."
Yue Zhongyao muttered softly, knowing that Jin Niang couldn't hear him, but he couldn't help but mutter.
These words always stuck in his throat, but he couldn't help but swallow them back when he saw Jin Niang.
In the darkness, Yue Zhongyao paused after speaking, as if talking to his wife, waiting to hear her reaction.
In the dark night, he laughed at himself and smiled to himself.
"Jin Niang, you must not be able to hear me."
Yue Zhongyao's tall body leaned against the wall and sighed softly.
whimper?……
Why are whimpering sounds heard?
Yue Zhongyao tilted his head and listened carefully again, and the sobs disappeared again.
He smiled to himself.
Why do you think Jin Niang is crying? Is he stupid?
"Jin Niang, don't be afraid, I'm here to guard you for your husband."
Yue Zhongyao looked at the door. Perhaps he had gained experience on the battlefield. In the dark night, he could see with one pair of eyes.
The sobs came again. This time he heard them clearly.
It really came from my wife's room.
This time the sound got louder.
Yue Zhongyao trembled.
"Jin Niang, Jin Niang?" Yue Zhongyao anxiously wanted to push the door open, but as soon as his hand touched the door panel, he retracted.
Jin Niang doesn’t like it, right?
Qiao Mingjin's thin cries reached his ears one after another and hit his heart.
A dull, dull pain.
"Jin Niang, Jin Niang, what's wrong with you?"
Yue Zhongyao gently called his wife at the door.
The sobbing inside still didn't stop.
It was no longer a small cry, but it seemed that he had been greatly wronged. The crying in the dark night broke Yue Zhongyao's heart.
I can't control it any more!
Yue Zhongyao was cruel, pushed the door open, and hurried to the bedside.
He hurriedly opened the curtain with both hands and leaned in.
"Jin Niang, Jin Niang! Wake up!"
Qiao Mingjin seemed to be trapped in a haze of light smoke, unable to get in or get out.
Yue Zhongyao was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. He sat on the edge of the bed and lifted Qiao Mingjin into his arms.
His wife cried so hard that her face was full of tears. Yue Zhongyao wiped her away again and again. The tears still gurgled down. They wet his hands and hurt his heart.
Yue Zhongyao was worried and patted Qiao Mingjin's cheek gently: "Jin Niang, Jin Niang, wake up quickly, what's wrong with you?"
Yue Zhongyao had tears in his eyes and hugged his wife's delicate body tightly. He was in so much pain that he couldn't help himself.
I wonder if my wife hides and cries like this every night.
It was all his fault. He was a bastard and made Jinniang sad.
Yue Zhongyao pressed his face against Qiao Mingjin's face and rubbed it gently: "Mother Jin, I am here, and my husband is here..."
Qiao Mingjin woke up leisurely.
He found himself tightly held in Yue Zhongyao's arms.
I wanted to push him with my hands, but Yue Zhongyao's bandage was tight and he was also very weak. His hands seemed to be unable to exert any strength.
Qiao Mingjin turned her body and struggled outward.
"Jin Niang? Jin Niang, you're awake!"
"You're making me uncomfortable." Qiao Mingjin was weak and weak.
"Oh, you are not being good to your husband. What's wrong with you? Did you have a nightmare or was you wronged during the day? Are you feeling unwell? Where are you feeling uncomfortable? Is your little time coming?"
Yue Zhongyao let go of Qiao Mingjin, but still put his arms around Qiao Mingjin's shoulders. At this time, he was about to reach out to Qiao Mingjin's abdomen with his hand.
Qiao Mingjin had never been so close to Yue Zhongyao since she came here. At this moment, one of his hands had already reached her belly, and she felt very embarrassed.
"No. It's not because of that."
"Then what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Do you want me to call a doctor?" Yue Zhongyao reached out to touch Qiao Mingjin's forehead again.
Qiao Mingjin shook his head and moved his hand outward: "None of them."
Yue Zhongyao's hands were dazedly hanging in the air.
"Then what's wrong with you? Is it because of me? Are you...are you blaming me?"
Yue Zhongyao's tone was soft, but also slightly fearful.
Qiao Mingjin felt a little irritated as she listened.
"None of them. I'm going to sleep. You should go to sleep too."
Qiao Mingjin pushed Yue Zhongyao away and lay down on her side on the bed, with her back to Yue Zhongyao.
Yue Zhongyao watched his wife lying down with her back on his back, her black hair sliding down her slender shoulders. She lay on the pillow on the bed.
Yue Zhongyao watched greedily, not wanting to miss a single thing.
"Let me light the lamp for you." Yue Zhongyao stood up and fumbled to light the lamp.
The light as big as an oil lamp shone faintly in the room. It also jumped left and right.
Yue Zhongyao walked to the bed again and gently sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Go to sleep." Qiao Mingjin said without raising her head.
"You can sleep peacefully. I'll be here with you."
Yue Zhongyao was so stubborn that Qiao Mingjin couldn't do anything to him.
He couldn't drive away, and he was very tired. Qiao Mingjin frowned, ignored it, blinked, and only thought about the dream just now...
It was so clear.
The person I never want to see again. I don’t know why I fell into a dream again...
Qiao Mingjin bit her lip and buried her head in the quilt.
Yue Zhongyao felt heartbroken. He wanted to touch his wife's head, but he stretched out his hand but froze there.
I only straightened the quilt for my wife to avoid getting bored.
Qiao Mingjin was so drowsy that she didn't fall asleep until dawn.
Yue Zhongyao stayed up all night, with countless thoughts running through his mind.
The sky was bright, and Yue Zhongyao's eyes were firm and he stood up.
He helped his wife to lie down on her side, then tucked her in with the quilt, then opened the door and walked out.
When Qiao Mingjin woke up, it was almost noon, and neither father nor daughter were in the room.
Yue Zhongyao went to the fields. Wan'er probably went to the workshop to play because she didn't wake up.
There was breakfast cooked by Yue Zhongyao in the kitchen. A large bowl of lean meat and vegetable porridge and two boiled eggs. The porridge was now dry.
Qiao Mingjin had no appetite. She peeled a white egg and ate it, then went back to her room and lay down.
Not long after he lay down, the voices of Yue Zhongyao and Wan'er rang out in the courtyard.
"Dad, you take a shower first, and I'll see if mom is awake."
Qiao Mingjin seemed to be able to see her daughter walking toward her on tiptoes, hunched over, and tiptoeing.
Qiao Mingjin sat up on the bed and smiled.
Wan'er blinked and stared at Qiao Mingjin, blinking her big eyes twice, then blinking again.
"Mom, you're awake! Mom is okay! I'll tell dad!"
The little body ran away in a hurry. A soft and waxy voice rose high: "Dad, dad, my mother is awake!"
Then she heard the sound of kicking and running towards her: "Mom, mom, are you okay?"
Qiao Mingjin curled her lips... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
