The conversation in the room seemed to fall into silence. Li Hui turned to look at his mother and found that her face was red and her forehead was covered with sweat. It seemed that she could no longer bear the heat.
Although it was in the shade, the heat wave was still unbearable. The blue brick floor under my feet was so hot that I could feel the heat on the soles of my feet even when I stood on it. It didn't matter that I was younger. My mother, Gu, worked hard every day.
I am very weak and may have suffered from heat stroke.
"Mom, what's wrong with you?" Li Hui asked softly.
Mrs. Gu wiped her sweat and waved her hands, saying in a low voice: "It doesn't matter, don't worry about me. We may be asked to come in soon."
Li Hui couldn't bear it and said in a deep voice: "How about we go home and stop asking for help before we think of anything else."
Mrs. Gu was about to speak when she suddenly heard footsteps coming from the direction of the front hall, accompanied by a burst of chatter and laughter. Mrs. Gu turned her head and glanced, and quickly took Li Hui's hand and walked aside, away from the bluestone path of the flower hall, but
I also stood under the hot sunshine.
Li Hui didn't know why, so Gu said in a low voice: "It's a girl from the Zhang family who is here. Hui'er shouldn't raise your head and look around to avoid being rude."
Li Hui subconsciously looked up. On the green brick road under the shade of the trees, several maids surrounded a girl wearing a lavender wide-sleeved tunic and a white gauze shawl, who was chatting and laughing.
The girl looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. She was bright and beautiful, with a sweet smile and picturesque features. Her long black hair was combed into two big buns on the back of her head, and a golden step rocker was inserted diagonally on her temples.
Pretty, cute and indescribably beautiful.
When Li Hui saw this beautiful girl, he was in a daze for a moment and couldn't turn his eyes away. The girl and the maids approached, and when he turned his eyes, he saw a handsome young man in simple clothes looking at him intently in the sunshine on the roadside, and he suddenly felt a little confused.
He became embarrassed and hurriedly covered his face with the painted fan in his hand.
Several maidservants accompanying him all rolled their eyes at Li Hui, and Mrs. Gu quickly took Li Hui's arm to remind him. Only then did Li Hui turn his eyes, feeling amazed in his heart.
The girl and her entourage came to the door of the flower hall, and the Gu family father and son in the hall also made sounds of surprise.
"Eh? Isn't this Zhang's niece? Why are you here?" Gu Xun said with a smile.
The girl stepped forward and saluted Gu Qian and Gu Xun and said, "Tong Yun has met my uncle and uncle."
Gu Qian smiled and said: "You Xiaoni, why are you here on such a hot day? Is your brother here too?"
The girl said softly: "Brother, how can I come here? I'm busy. I heard that my cousin came back from his post and Qing Ning also came back, so I wanted to come and talk to Qing Ning. I haven't seen her for a long time.
.So I begged my brother to send someone to send me here. My brother asked me to say hello to my great-uncle and uncle."
Gu Xun smiled and said: "Hahaha, that's it. Qing Ning is in the back house. You went to see her, and she was also talking about you."
The girl smiled and said: "Thank you uncle, thank you uncle, Tongyun will go first."
Gu Qian chuckled and said, "Go quickly. Don't quarrel, you two."
"No way. How could Qing Ning and I quarrel?" the girl said coquettishly.
"Hehehe, go ahead, go ahead." Gu Qian said with a smile.
The girl saluted and thanked her, and walked towards the back door of the flower hall. Gu Qian, Gu Xun and his son looked at her with smiles. The girl walked to the back door of the flower hall, stopped and turned around and said, "By the way, there are two people standing at the door of the flower hall.
It's drying under the sun. Are you being punished for making a mistake? It's so hot, wouldn't it be possible to get a heatstroke?"
Gu Qian was stunned and turned around to ask. Han Yong, who had been standing respectfully in the corner of the flower hall, said hurriedly: "Dong Weng, it's the wife of the Li family and her son who asked to see me. Yongzhi told Dong Weng. They are right outside the door.
Waiting."
Only then did Gu Qian remember it and hurriedly said: "Ask them to come in. I almost forgot."
…
Gu Lanzhi led her son to Gu Qian and Gu Xun, and pulled her son to kneel down and salute.
"Lanzhi pays homage to his uncle, pays homage to his cousin Hui'er, and kowtows to his maternal uncle and cousin."
Li Hui saluted and said: "Meet my maternal uncle and my cousin."
Gu Qian sat on the bed, leaning on the long desk and looking at the mother and son in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "Get up."
Mrs. Gu thanked her and Li Hui stood up and stood aside. Gu Qian said calmly: "What's the matter with your mother and son?"
Gu hurriedly said: "Uncle, this is my Hui'er. He is seventeen years old this year. He used to study at home. But he is getting older and cannot study all the time. He wants to find a job to help out.
At home, I thought about asking my uncle if he could find a job for my Hui'er at home, which would be better than idleness."
Gu Qian frowned and looked at Li Hui, and said in a deep voice for a long time: "What can he do?"
Mrs. Gu smiled apologetically and said, "I can do anything, run errands and deliver messages, serve the husbands at home. As long as I have food to eat."
Gu Qian shook his head and said: "Niece Lanzhi, let me tell you the truth. When I came from the same mind and mind, you lost your husband, so you took in your mother and son. This is actually wrong. There are some reasons for this, and you know it.
of."
Mrs. Gu hurriedly said: "Lanzhi is full of gratitude. If my uncle hadn't taken him in, my mother and son would have nowhere to go. Lanzhi has always been grateful for this kindness and will never forget it."
Gu Qian said: "I don't want you to be grateful. When you married the Danyang Li family, the master's family did not agree. When your grandfather was still alive, he refused to listen to the master's family's advice, saying that even though he was a member of the Gu family
, but they have long been estranged by blood, sharing the same ancestor but not the same family. This really embarrassed the host family. Later, your grandfather passed away and you lost your husband, so you came back with the flesh and blood of the Li family. Naturally, it is no wonder that the host family refused to take this in.
It's not that we don't care about friendship. Things have cause and effect. If there is no antecedent, how can there be consequences?"
Gu Lanzhi was silent, and Gu Qian was telling a story from almost twenty years ago. When Danyang Li Zhi came to propose marriage to her, the family had actually decided that she would marry the Shen family of Wuxing County.
However, his father Gu Xuan refused and said some unkind words after drinking. He said that he and his master's family were distant relatives eight or nine generations apart. Apart from the same ancestor, they did not have any affection.
It doesn't matter much. I don't want to let my master's family decide on my daughter's marriage.
This naturally made the head of the Gu family unhappy. Although his father passed away later, he could no longer live in Danyang County. When he returned to the Gu family, he was not allowed to take him in, and he really had nothing to say. You know,
Back then, the head of the family was still scolded by the Shen family.
Gu Qian continued in a deep voice: "Niece Lanzhi, I took the initiative when I took you in. Now, you want your son Li Hui to work in the Gu family, which makes me really embarrassed. It's not all because of what happened back then.
Actually, I can’t blame you, mother and son. It’s just that over the years in my Gu family, the brothers in each house have grown up and will have to be accommodated in the future. I also explained that if I can’t arrange the children of my Gu family, how can I
Arrange it for an outsider? Your son's surname is not Gu, his surname is Li."
Gu Lanzhi turned pale and murmured: "Uncle, there is no need to arrange any good errands, just let him have something to eat."
Gu Qian shook his head and said: "That's even more unacceptable. If I do that, others will say that my Gu family bullies your mother and son and uses your son as a slave. Which is not good. Because after all, you are also my Gu family clan, and I don't want others to do that.
Slander me, the Gu family of Wu County, Lanzhi, I really can’t help you with this matter."
Gu Lanzhi sighed softly and kowtowed: "Lanzhi understands, it has indeed made things difficult for my uncle. Lanzhi will not force others to make things difficult. Let's just leave it at that."
Gu Qian nodded and said: "As long as you understand, go ahead. As long as you are diligent, you can survive in this world. In fact, you shouldn't have let him go to school in the first place. You should have found a shop in the city and become an apprentice."
, now I can take over the family business. I don’t know what you think. That’s all, I won’t mention these things anymore.”
Gu Lanzhi said softly, kowtowed and stood up.
Li Hui was on the spot, and Gu Qian said these words in front of him without taking him seriously at all. He didn't even look at him twice. Li Hui understood that in the eyes of people like Gu Qian, he was as humble as
Dusty.
Others have refused, so it stands to reason that he should walk away and show some backbone. But Li Hui is not that kind of person. His stubborn temper has been aroused.
"Hui'er, let's go." Gu Lanzhi stood up and whispered to her son.
Li Hui did not move, and suddenly said: "Uncle, I have a few words to say."
Gu Qian had already stood up and was about to go to the back hall. Hearing this, he was stunned, turned around and frowned: "You want to talk to me?"
Li Huidao: "Exactly."
Gu Xun frowned and said, "Gu Lanzhi, you haven't taken your son back yet. You have lost your decency."
Gu Lanzhi hurriedly took Li Hui's arm and whispered: "Hui'er, don't talk too much, go back with your mother."
Li Hui said softly: "Mom, don't worry, I just want to have a few words with my uncle."
"Is this the place for you to talk? Come here, kick him out." Han Yong, the steward standing nearby, shouted.
A servant appeared outside the hall and wanted to come in and pull Li Hui out. Li Hui said loudly: "The Gu family of Wu County, a noble and wealthy family, can't tolerate others saying a few words? It's too magnanimous.
Bar."
"You kid. You're still talking nonsense. Dong Weng, it's all Yongzhi's fault. I shouldn't have let them in. Yongzhi sent them away." Han Yong said repeatedly.
Gu Qian frowned and said, "No, let him say it. Lest he say that my dignified Gu family in Wu County is immodest, listen to what he has to say."
Han Yong was stunned, and had no choice but to nod in response, turned to Li Hui and shouted: "Boy, you are not allowed to talk nonsense and unruly words. This is not a place for you to talk nonsense."