Chapter 44: Listening to Whispers under the Vine Arbor
Lin Jue was a little surprised. Everyone said that Lord Yan, the magistrate of Hangzhou, was ruthless and stubborn, and his reputation was well-deserved. He said such things in front of Fang Dunru, wasn't he and his husband good friends?
However, Fang Dunru seemed not to be surprised, and there was no hint of sullenness on his face. Instead, he smiled and said: "Lin Jue, why don't you thank Master Yan for not beating me. At least you gave me some noodles today, otherwise you would have been beaten." .”
Lin Jue bowed to thank him and thought to himself: Where did I give you face? These ten sticks are just debts, and he didn't say that he would be exempted. However, what Lin Jue didn't know was that Yan Zhengshu had indeed given these to Fang Dunru. To save face, otherwise he will really get spanked. They are indeed friends with similar ideals, but Yan Zhengsu is notoriously stubborn when it comes to adhering to principles. This is also the reason why he has few friends. No one wants to Make friends with this stubborn person.
"Lin Jue, why are you here looking for me? You said you have something urgent to report, what is it? Huanqiu came to your house to look for you, did you see her? Why didn't she come?" Fang Dunru then remembered to ask. Lin Jue came to see his purpose.
Lin Jue hurriedly called Fang Dunru aside and reported Fang Huanqiu's illness in a low voice. Fang Dunru immediately changed his face. Of course he knew what would happen to his daughter once she got sick, and her life would be in danger. Although Lin Jue told him that Fang Huanqiu had improved, but he was still worried.
Turning around, Fang Dunru explained the situation to Yan Zhengshen and bid him farewell. After hearing this, Yan Zhengsheng suddenly turned serious and said repeatedly: "Brother Dunru, please help yourself. Do you need me to send someone to help?"
Fang Dunru repeatedly refused, and then he and Lin Jue said goodbye to Yan Zhengsheng and left the government office. They hired a big car and hurried to Lin's Mansion. The two entered the mansion through the side door and arrived at the small courtyard where Lin Jue lived. Fang Huanqiu could already sit up. Come, Lu Wu is feeding her soup. Fang Dunru sees that Fang Huanqiu is out of danger, and then he feels relieved. When asked about the cause of the illness, Lin Jue certainly doesn't know why, Fang Huanqiu knows the reason but can't Open your mouth to talk. Fang Dunru is not a person who pursues you relentlessly. He gave up after asking a few questions.
Taking advantage of the opportunity for the father and daughter to talk, Lin Jue hurriedly filled his stomach. After returning to the house, Fang Dunru said: "Lin Jue, Huanqiu will probably have to recover for several days before he can move around. Now, I can only keep her with you and raise her. I just told Huanqiu and she agreed."
Lin Jue looked at Fang Huanqiu and saw that Fang Huanqiu seemed to be happy.
"That's natural. I told my husband on the way. The doctor repeatedly told me not to move arbitrarily for these two days. Junior sister will stay here and Lu Wu will take care of her. Don't worry."
Fang Dunru nodded and said, "I just want to bother you. I will ask your wife to take care of Huanqiu tomorrow."
Lin Jue said hurriedly: "No, no, don't make my wife tired. There are enough people here. Don't worry, sir."
Fang Dunru nodded slightly. Although it was a little inconvenient for his daughter to be here in Lin Jue's place, that was all she could do now. Besides, he felt at ease here in Lin Jue's place.
After lingering for a while, he talked with Lin Jue and inspected Lin Jue's book collection. Before half time, Fang Dunru got up and went back to the academy. Lin Jue saw him out of the house and hired a car to take him out of the city. Then he turned around and returned.
In the evening, Fang Huanqiu was in good spirits after taking a nap. If Lin Jue had not firmly objected, she would have run around in the ground. But with her insistence, Lin Jue agreed to let her get up and sit in the yard.
Lin Hu was chopping firewood again, and Lu Wu was busy in the kitchen, with her skirts flying and running around. Under the setting sun in the sky, the colorful clouds all over the sky were beautiful. The evening wind blew by, and the flowers and trees made a rustling sound. This
Everything made Fang Huanqiu feel more at peace.
"You are very comfortable here. I think your life is very peaceful." Fang Huanqiu smiled at Lin Jue sitting next to him.
Lin Jue poured her a cup of tea carefully and said with a smile: "Really? What you see is just the surface. But as far as my small courtyard is concerned, it is a comfortable place. But it is not because of the scenery, but because of the people.
.Lvwu and I depend on each other. Xiaohu has been honest and hard-working since he came. The three of us live here and trust each other, so everyone feels at ease. But outside of this yard, if you have seen what happens in this big house
, then you won’t feel comfortable anymore.”
Fang Huanqiu asked curiously: "The Lin family has such a big business, is there anything unhappy about it?"
Lin Jue said with a smile: "I don't want to tell you this, lest you feel troubled. If you think it's good here, then stay a few more days. As long as you don't dislike the shabby place here. In my opinion, it's the scenery of the mountain behind the academy.
It’s even more beautiful. I want to live in a hut in the alley behind the academy.”
"Okay, okay, you can go live there, so I can see you every day... Well... I mean, you can go ask my dad for advice every day."
Fang Huanqiu almost revealed his true feelings, and made a sharp turn at the critical moment.
Lin Jue didn't care and said with a smile: "I can't live in the hills behind the academy. Those are the residences of gentlemen. But I can go there often. When the academy starts classes, I will be there every day. Maybe in the academy
You can find a place to live outside without having to come back to live. But this matter is not easy. This is not my decision. I need to report it to the owner of the house. It is impossible to move out of the mansion privately."
Fang Huanqiu said disappointedly: "Why do you, the Lin family, have so many rules? It seems that you are not as comfortable as I thought. You can't even live where you want."
Lin Jue burst out laughing. How did this girl know the hardships of being a child of a rich family, and she was also a concubine? Because Fang Huanqiu suffered from this disease, Fang Dunru and his wife did not strictly control her, so she was freer than ordinary women.
There are so many. How does she know these rules and bad things in the family?
The two were speechless for a moment, sitting in silence in the yard. A gust of wind blew, and Fang Huanqiu's hair was flying, revealing her slender, snow-white neck, as graceful as a swan. Lin Jue looked at her beauty, which was plated with a layer of gold under the sunset.
He turned his face sideways and sighed secretly in his heart.
It is extremely regrettable and sad that such a beautiful woman had such a short life. It is even more frustrating to know her fate but seem unable to save her.
The dinner was very sumptuous, not big fish or meat, but some food suitable for the Qiqiao Festival. The staple food was fried noodles with a few plates of green vegetables, which was pretty ordinary. But the focus was on the fruits after the meal.
There are several small wooden plates on the small square table, including fresh and sweet water chestnuts that have just been released, slices of white new lotus roots, a pile of plump lotus pods on a bamboo plate, and a small plate of fresh pods. These are all
It was specially bought by Lu Wu from the market in the afternoon. There is also a special snack named: Qiaoguoer. Qiaoguoer is not a fruit, but a snack made of flour and honey, with different shapes.
There are also patterns of various molds on it. The name Qiaoguoer was also taken in response to the name of Qiao Qiao Festival.
A few people were sitting on the porch, facing the crescent moon, eating and talking, laughing and chatting happily. Unconsciously, the sky was approaching the second watch, and the crescent moon was also above the head. Lin Jue thought not to let Fang Huanqiu get too upset.
We were overtired, so we suggested that we stop here and go back to our rooms to rest. Even Lin Hu, who was full of energy, was nodding and dozing off.
However, Fang Huanqiu didn't know whether it was the afternoon nap that caused her no sleepiness, or whether she was too excited to play and refused to go to sleep, and begged Lin Jue to accompany him for a walk. In desperation, Lin Jue had to let
Lu Wu packed up the tables and chairs, and accompanied Fang Huanqiu out of the small courtyard and walked slowly on the footpath outside the courtyard gate.
When they reached a lush grape trellis, Fang Huanqiu stopped.
Lin Jue said softly: "Junior sister, are you tired? Go back and rest. You can't walk like this yet. Sir, I will take care of you. If something goes wrong, I can't afford to suffer."
Fang Huanqiu looked around, pointed to the grape trellis next to him, and asked with a low voice: "Tonight, on the Chinese Valentine's Day, when we stand under the grape trellis, can we hear the whispers of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?"
Lin Jue smiled bitterly and said: "I haven't tried it, I don't know."
Fang Huanqiu went to sit on the bluestone under the grape trellis, waved to Lin Jue and said, "Let's listen, maybe we can really hear it."
Lin Jue laughed. Fang Huanqiu was really childish. He really thought that as the legend said, the whispers of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl when they met could be heard under the grape trellis. But Lin Jue couldn't bear to disturb her interest, so he walked over and sat aside. The two did not speak.
, listened with open ears. Summer insects were chirping all around, the wind blew through the treetops, and in the distance there were the sounds of people talking in other courtyards, but no whispers could be heard.
"It's indeed a lie." Fang Huanqiu sighed and said, "Let's go back."
Lin Jue heard her tone of voice with a sense of waning interest, and smiled and comforted: "Actually, it doesn't matter whether you have it or not, as long as you feel that you have it in your heart, that's fine. Some things don't actually need answers, just thinking about their beauty is enough."
Fang Huanqiu said: "Isn't that just self-deception?"
Lin Jue said: "That is not called self-deception, that is called state of mind. It is a kind of self-cultivation. Things in the world need to be viewed with different states of mind. Otherwise, this life will be boring."
Fang Huanqiu nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly turned his head and looked at Lin Jue with his bright eyes in the darkness: "So, if you know that you are going to die soon and will not live more than a few years, how should you face it?"
Lin Jue was stunned, and then realized that Fang Huanqiu was talking about herself. Fang Huanqiu was sometimes a bit extreme in character, but most of the time she was a gentle and generous person. These extremes and pettishness must be because she knew that she was terminally ill.
Therefore, if it were another person who knew that he was terminally ill, he would not know how decadent and extreme he would be. Fang Huanqiu could do what he is now, which is already very tolerant and self-restrained. But after all, it is inevitable that everyone will think of him from time to time.
The bad luck that can't be shaken off from one's body inevitably makes one feel discouraged.
Of course Lin Jue wanted to enlighten her.
"Everyone is destined to die, it's just the length of life. After a hundred years, you and I will all be dry bones. But I won't answer you with such words. What I want to tell you is that in fact, there are many things in this world that are more terrifying than death, and
Death is the least scary thing. For example, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in the sky can only meet each other once every year on the seventh day of July. After today, they can only look across the river for a long time, unable to express their feelings. Is this true?
Isn’t it something more difficult than death?”
Fang Huanqiu frowned and lowered his head, remaining silent.
Lin Jue continued softly: "People say that one year in heaven is a thousand years on earth. Who can bear to wait for a reunion for a thousand years? However, why do people live? It is because there will be another day of reunion every thousand years.
, that is their hope of living. If they choose to die, how can their story be praised throughout the ages? How can there be a saying that "the golden wind and jade dew can defeat countless people in the world as soon as they meet"? Therefore, death is actually as light as the breeze.
, as thin as a floating cloud. The real rare thing is to live, to live for a slim hope, that is the brave man."
