The rain continued until Shen Zheng and then stopped.
A few people were somewhat bored in the inn.
Qiao Mingjin seemed to have nothing to say to Yue Zhongyao.
When Yue Zhongyao and Wan'er were playing on the couch, they looked at her frequently. However, although Qiao Mingjin could hear her daughter's crisp laughter, she rarely glanced at Yue Zhongyao, who was looking at her eagerly.
Yue Zhongyao felt somewhat uncomfortable.
My lovely wife and young daughter are all around me. How many times have I dreamed of such a scene, with my wife and children surrounding me, but now that my wife and daughter are close by, I feel helpless.
Yue Zhongyao and his daughter were sitting on the couch, watching his daughter take out pebbles from her purse to play with, happily inviting him to play with her, and teaching him from time to time. Yue Zhongyao felt soft in his heart.
Hearing his daughter's milky words and seeing that his daughter was no longer afraid of him and more and more willing to get close to him, I felt somewhat comforted.
Ming Yu, Ming Heng, and Ming Qi were somewhat resentful towards Yue Zhongyao. It was only half a year before Yue Zhongyao was drafted to the battlefield, and they had not had much contact with this brother-in-law. Therefore, they did not have much to say to him.
.
Most of the time Yue Zhongyao would ask a question, and only three people would reply with one or two sentences.
After the rain stopped, everyone looked out the window and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
It's just that it's already Shen Zheng. It's been raining and the sky is dark and calm. I'm afraid it will get dark earlier than usual. I'm afraid it will be dark not far from the city gate.
I can only stay in the inn for one night.
Qiao Mingjin was a little helpless. Just looking at the expectant faces of several children, she had no choice but to calm down.
After the rain stopped completely, Mingyu poked at Mingheng and Mingqi, and then took Xiao Wan'er outside for a walk.
Qiao Mingjin was worried and wanted to follow, but Mingyu and the others suddenly ran out of the distance and told her that they would be careful and would be back soon.
Qiao Mingjin felt like she was spinning her wheels these days. Even on days when she wasn't selling firewood, she was always busy at home. She really didn't want to take another step at this moment.
Seeing several children walking out of the room, Yue Zhongyao followed them, then he threw himself on the bed of the inn with confidence, wrapped himself in the quilt, and narrowed his eyes.
Yue Zhongyao told the children to only wander around nearby and not to go far. After giving them careful instructions, he returned to the room. He wanted to take this opportunity to talk to Jinniang alone.
He had long wanted to talk to Jinniang alone. But it seemed that there were always people around Jinniang, and Jinniang always seemed to avoid seeing him alone.
Yue Zhongyao felt a little expectant and a little hesitant in his heart. He lingered at the door of the room for a long time, walking back and forth. Thinking about what he wanted to say to Qiao Mingjin and some explanations, he said the words he had been hiding for a long time in his mouth over and over again.
After he felt comfortable, he opened the door and walked in.
Seeing Qiao Mingjin lying on the bed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
He was now a little afraid of facing Jin Niang face to face, afraid of her lack of response and her indifferent eyes. Now that he saw Jin Niang lying face to face, he felt a lot more relaxed.
Yue Zhongyao walked over gently, hesitated for a while, and then sat silently on the edge of the bed.
He helped his wife pull up the quilt and said, "Jin Niang, are you angry today? I don't know how Liu Meiniang found the noodle shop. I didn't tell her... I didn't eat any of the meals she gave me before.
...I don't have any feeling towards her, I am almost like a stranger to her. I only have you and my daughter in my heart..."
Yue Zhongyao stared at his knees and spoke to himself for a long time, expressing the longing for his wife and daughter in his heart and the hesitation and helplessness he felt these days.
"...On the battlefield, I was hacked several times. Once when I was lying on the ground, I was thrown into a pile of corpses as a dead body. I originally thought that I would just die, and I would be relieved.
It hurts. I just thought about what you would do if I left... I crawled out of the pile of corpses with my last breath, thinking that I could see you again when I go home and live the rest of my life with you...
"
Thinking of the tragedy of the past, Yue Zhongyao felt very sad.
Now he can return to his hometown and his wife safely, and he has a three-year-old daughter. It is really a blessing from God.
After Yue Zhongyao finished talking on the phone, he was waiting for his wife to be more or less moved and respond to him with a sentence or two. However, he waited anxiously for a long time, and his wife did not even say a word or even cast an indifferent look at him.
Yue Zhongyao raised his head and looked towards the bed, but he only heard his wife's shallow breathing.
Yue Zhongyao smiled mockingly.
He helped his wife tuck the quilt and gently put her exposed arms under the quilt. He stared at his wife's face closely.
This face appeared in his dreams countless times, accompanying him from journey to journey. Many times he felt that he couldn't live anymore, and those eyes would wander back and forth in front of him.
"Jin Niang, can we still be a family from now on? We will live well in the future..."
Qiao Mingjin fell asleep unconsciously until the beginning of the next day, when she woke up on time.
Naturally, I felt under the pillow to find the flint and steel that I put under the pillow every night before going to bed.
I just squinted my eyes and touched for a while, but couldn't feel it. I suddenly sat up and fell off the bed?
After sitting up, I saw the bed tent with a different touch in the darkness, and I suddenly came back to my senses.
I stood in bed in a daze for a while and glanced at the person sleeping on the bed.
Mingyu and Mingqi were both asleep and did not wake up due to her movements.
Where is my daughter? Where is Xiao Wan'er?
Qiao Mingjin hurriedly got out of bed, and with the faint light, she saw three people lying side by side on the couch outside.
Mingheng was sleeping inside, and Xiao Wan'er was lying under her father's armpit. Yue Zhongyao turned sideways and held his daughter tightly in his arms.
"Jin Niang?" Yue Zhongyao was very alert.
"Um."
"Why did you wake up so early? Why don't you sleep more? You went to bed without even eating last night."
"I'm used to waking up at this time."
After hearing this, Yue Zhongyao also stood up, put his daughter down, and tucked her into bed.
Then he lowered his voice and said: "You are too tired during this period. You can sleep a little longer before dawn. Tomorrow after dawn, you take a few children to walk around the city, and then go back slowly after breakfast.
.”
Qiao Mingjin saw that her daughter was sleeping well, and now there was no need to get up early to catch pheasants in the mountains. After thinking about it, she nodded, turned around and lay back on the bed.
Yue Zhongyao watched his wife turn around, lift the bed curtain and return to the bed. He stared at his wife's background silently for a while before lying back on the bed.
He stared at the roof with his eyes open, his mind confused in the darkness.
Qiao Mingjin was used to waking up at this hour. Although she was lying on the bed, she could no longer fall asleep. She just stared at the top of the bed tent in a daze.
After a while, Qiao Mingjin heard Yue Zhongyao get up to wash up, and then walked towards her again, then stopped in front of the bed and called softly: "Jin Niang?"
Qiao Mingjin suppressed her breathing and did not respond.
Yue Zhongyao called out again, paused, and then said in a lower voice: "There is something going on in the Yamen this morning. I have to go to the village below, so I won't see you off. You can take some breakfast with the children and then go back."
It rained heavily yesterday, so the road is probably not easy to walk on, so you should drive more slowly."
After speaking, he listened quietly for a while, but still received no response from his wife. He sighed secretly, opened the door gently and walked out.
Qiao Mingjin turned her head and looked in the direction of the door in the darkness. She could feel Yue Zhongyao walking on tiptoe, gently opening the door, and then closing it gently.
