Chapter 48 waiting lover

As the date of the autumn provincial examination approached, Dong Xiaowan became more and more anxious. Two months ago, on the boat at the foot of Jinshan Mountain, thanks to Fang Yizhi and others' enthusiastic matchmaking and supervision, Mao Xiang finally changed his mind at the last moment and agreed to Dong Xiaowan's request for marriage.He also made an agreement with Dong Xiaowan in front of everyone that he would come to Suzhou to pick her up in the fall, and then the two of them would go to Nanjing to take the provincial examination; after the examination results, they would come to discuss the marriage.Now May is too early, June is over, and July has passed ten days, but Maoxiang still has no audio or video...

Dong Xiaowan returned to Bantang, Suzhou at the end of May.As soon as she got home, she declared two things: 1. From then on, she would cleanse herself and never receive guests again, and wait wholeheartedly for Maoxiang to pick her up; bless.Originally, after his daughter left, Dong Zi was chased by his creditors day and night, making him desperate and desperate. When he suddenly saw Dong Xiaowan go and come back, he couldn't help being overjoyed.This time he had experience and knew that at this point in the matter, he would not be able to stop it forcefully, and if he failed, he would end up losing his personal wealth.So he went out of his old ways and began to try his best to please his daughter. Not only did he not object to Dong Xiaowan's affirmation, but he volunteered and went to Rugao to ask Maoxiang to report the matter face to face.As a result, according to him, Mao Xiang promised to keep the previous agreement, and after the beginning of autumn, he came to pick Dong Xiaowan to Nanjing, and rewarded Dong Zijiang with ten taels of silver.When Dong Xiaowan got the news, she became more determined, she prayed every day in front of Goddess Guanyin, and became more diligent and pious.However, to this day, Mao Xiang has not come to pick her up, not even a letter, Dong Xiaowan began to feel that something is wrong...

Dong Xiaowan had just had dinner, and as usual leaned against the small window of the boudoir, opened the curtain, and looked towards the Shantang River not far in front of the building. The fiery red sunset had already set behind the willow grove, and the sky was gradually darkening. A few birds returning to their nests hurriedly flew past the water. On the river, except for three or four small boats, no other boats could be seen for the time being.Now it is the turn of summer and autumn, the weather is already hot enough, and there is not even a breath of wind at the moment, the trees in the yard are quietly drooping their branches and leaves, only groups of cicadas, out of sight, all together The deafening chirping added to the annoyance of the people.Dong Xiaowan kept beating the cattail fan, and her body and face were still dripping with sweat.But she endured and did not leave the window.Because three months ago, when Maoxiang visited her in Bantang, it was also in the evening.She felt that maybe he would come at this time this time.What's more, the weather is so hot, if Mao Xiang has already arrived in Suzhou City today, it is very likely that he will wait until the evening when it is cooler before leaving to visit her. "Oh, although he didn't need to go to Suzhou, he could go straight from Huguan to Bantang. But who knows? Maolang is no different than others. He has many friends and things to deal with..." Thinking of Maoxiang maybe When she arrived in Suzhou, she was not in a hurry to come to her first. Dong Xiaowan couldn't help complaining: "Hey, how ignorant he is of others!" But then she blamed herself: "Who are you? He promised to marry you, and he is willing to travel all the way to pick you up, it is a great favor! Don't be dissatisfied, as long as he comes, you must not care about it being later or earlier!" After scolding herself like this, Dong Xiaowan I feel a lot calmer.She stopped thinking about it, opened her eyes wide, and gazed eagerly and intently into the distance, waiting for the ship to appear.

Finally, on the river leading to Suzhou, a few bright lights flickered, emerging from the deep twilight.Then, the silhouette of a ship appeared.Dong Xiaowan suddenly became nervous.She forgot to fan and stared at it intently, praying silently in her heart.I saw that the boat was getting closer and closer, and the outline became clearer and clearer. It was a "Qiliyu", and the person sitting in the cabin was vaguely a scribe in a square scarf and Confucian uniform. "Ah, is that him? Is it him?" Dong Xiaowan thought in panic, her heart pounding, and then, it seemed to stop all of a sudden, because the boat had already approached the boat not far from the gate of the courtyard. that pier.Dong Xiaowan felt that it was about to land, and Mao Lang, whom she missed day and night, was about to walk off the diving board!

However, the boat didn't touch the shore. It dragged a shiny water line under the urging of the briskly shaking oar at the stern, and sailed past in a hurry. "No, it's not." Dong Xiaowan murmured to herself without taking her eyes off the boat.She still had a glimmer of hope: who knows?Maybe it was really him, but because the boatman was distracted for a moment, he didn't notice when he passed by, and he would turn back immediately... However, the "Qilisuo" didn't turn around, it went further and further away, At last it disappeared into the thin darkness of dusk.

Dong Xiaowan looked back disappointed, "Well, it's still early, and Mao Lang may not be able to arrive. Last time, he also came after Qi Hei." After comforting herself like this, she felt a little tired from standing, and went to Go and get a chair, sit down in front of the window, and continue to wait while fanning. The sky was getting darker and darker, and the cicadas on the tree were screaming more and more vigorously, and the surrounding heat wave tightly enveloped them, making people so stuffy that they couldn't even breathe.But Dong Xiaowan was determined to persevere no matter what, and her eyes never left the Shantang River.After another half an hour like this, just when she felt more and more stuffy and uncomfortable, and she was about to be unable to hold on, suddenly her face was lightly brushed by a goose feather, and she felt a bit of coolness, followed by the second and third strokes. Three strokes... Strange to say, the surrounding heat wave receded quietly and distinctly as if it had encountered some formidable opponent.Gradually, that goose-feather-like refreshing feeling became clearer and stronger.A strand of Dong Xiaowan's temple hair began to waver.Then, she noticed that her clothes were also fluttering...Suddenly, a zigzagging lightning pierced the heavy night, and it turned out that the sky had already been covered with dark clouds at some point.At this time, the cicadas on the tree had already stopped singing, and the humid air was everywhere. It seemed that a heavy rain was coming.

Dong Xiaowan breathed a long sigh of relief, and was about to close his eyes to take a rest, when he suddenly thought: Ah, if it rains heavily, Mao Lang wonders if he can still leave?Once she realized that this rain might not be a good thing but a bad thing for her, Dong Xiaowan suddenly became nervous again, wishing to drive away the coolness in front of her eyes and call back the stuffy heat just now. "Mother, Xiaoguan Chen is here again, have you seen him?" Shou'er, the maid, came in at some point and asked with a businesslike air. Dong Xiaowan was stunned for a moment, then frowned: "Did you see me? Didn't I say it earlier, if he comes again, you can just chase him away for me!"

"But……" "I won't listen, I won't listen! Let him go, go!" Dong Xiaowan yelled, covering her ears in disgust. "Yes!" Shou'er agreed, but still held on.At this time, Dong Zijiang's shouts and curses sounded downstairs: "Okay, so it's you again, you stinky beggar! What are you doing here? Ah, what are you doing here?" He only heard the other party answer something vaguely.Immediately afterwards there was a "pop", and then Chen Xiaoguan's exclamation: "Ah, you hit someone, why did you hit someone?" "I'll beat you, you bastard, how about it? Will you go away? If you don't leave, I'll beat you!" Dong Zijiang said proudly, and it's not hard to imagine his smirk.

Shou'er glanced at Dong Xiaowan, hurriedly walked out in three steps at a time, and then went downstairs with a "dongdongdong". "Hey, what are you still doing here? Go, go!" she urged. There was no movement for a while.Then, I heard Chen Xiaoguan say: "Okay, I'll go, I'll go now—but don't get too complacent, I spent a lot of money back then! Now that I've been squeezed dry, you will turn your face and deny anyone , I just want to pick that tall branch to climb. I don’t even think about it, someone with a false name will want you? Just kidding you! Hmph, just put on such a face!"

He said angrily, and walked out the back door. Dong Xiaowan listened attentively, breathed a sigh of relief, and sat down in front of the window again.This Chen Xiaoguan is really a contemptible bone.He was originally the only son of a wealthy family in Tongqiaowei. He is only twenty-two or three years old this year. He doesn't like reading by nature, but only loves to wander and play.In the early years when his father was alive, there was always someone to take care of him; after his father died, his mother only knew how to dote on her son, so Chen Xiaoguan became more indulgent.Somehow, a few years ago, he fell in love with Dong Xiaowan.In the beginning, I just came to have a cup of tea, ask for a painting, and occasionally stayed overnight.At that time Xiaowan's mother was still there, seeing that he was willing to give up money, she treated her with courtesy.Unexpectedly, because of this, he had delusional thoughts and wanted to marry Dong Xiaowan back home.In fact, how could Xiao Wan like him?Even if he usually sleeps with tea, he is pushed hard by his mother, so there is no way to perfuse him.But Chen Xiaoguan didn't know what to do, he just thought that the money was not spent enough, and since then he has redoubled his squandering.Twenty or thirty today, fifty or one hundred tomorrow.Xiaowan's mother is a housewife, she accepts money as soon as she sees it, and always wins him over with some warm words, which makes Chen Xiaoguan even more determined. In less than two years, she has squandered all her good fortune.Xiao Wanniang saw that he was already poor, and still came to pester him every day, and couldn't drive him away, so she simply took Dong Xiaowan to Huangshan and Baiyue for two years, in order to make him die.At the beginning of this year, after Dong Xiaowan returned to Bantang, he heard that Chen Xiaoguan had even sold his ancestral house, and his relatives and friends refused to take him in, so he had to take his mother to live in a nursing home. In fact, he was almost like a beggar.Unexpectedly, when Chen Xiaoguan heard that Dong Xiaowan had returned to Bantang, he came looking for her again.At first, Dong Xiaowan was soft-hearted for a while, and gave him a little bit of money.Unexpectedly, he misunderstood, thinking that Dong Xiaowan still had feelings for him, and said to everyone crazily that he was like the troubled son of Xingyang in the novels of the Tang Dynasty, and Dong Xiaowan was the passionate prostitute Li Wa. It's good to be in harmony with each other.After that, he kept coming to the door.Dong Xiaowan saw that it was wrong, so she asked her father and Shouer to drive him away several times, and threatened to tie him up to see the officials, so Chen Xiaoguan came less often, but he would still come in through the back door suddenly, stretching his arms. Slap for money.Dong Xiaowan had already ordered that in such a situation, Shou'er should drive him away without hesitation.But this ghost girl didn't know what benefited him, and she still came up to report for him time and time again.

Dong Xiaowan shook her head, trying her best to get rid of this disturbing interference.She turned her eyes to Shantang River again, "Hey, could it be that today is nothing to wait for?" She thought uneasily, and at the same time began to calculate in her heart: Today is the tenth day of July, and there is only one day left before the exam period on the tenth day of August. It's already a month, and excluding the time spent on the road, there is only two or three days to spare in Nanjing; there are still many things to be arranged and prepared, and two or three days is the minimum.So, that is to say, unless Maolang temporarily decides not to take the exam—which is impossible—he must come to Suzhou within a day or two at the latest.If he doesn't come within a day or two, don't expect him to come!Thinking of this, Dong Xiaowan's heart suddenly turned cold. "Ah, is it really like Chen Xiaoguan said, he is lying to me?" As soon as this thought appeared, she couldn't help being stunned.Indeed, it had never occurred to her.It's strange to say that during the few months of pursuing Maoxiang, although she thought a lot, she thought that he would be indifferent to her, ridicule her, reject her, even scold her and beat her, but she never thought that he would lie to her.Even now, she still didn't quite believe that he would do it.However, once this idea has arisen, it is not easy to get rid of it. "Hmph, you're just a prostitute, but she's a nobleman. It's not surprising that he deceived you! Isn't such a thing rare in ancient times?" She heard a voice in her heart say so. "Ah, no, no, Mao Lang is not such a person!" Another voice hastily argued. "Why do you say he is not such a person? How much do you know about him?" the first voice questioned. "By my heart! I've been with him day and night for a month. I know he won't do that. I trust him!" Another voice replied confidently. The first voice: "Even though he didn't mean to lie to you, but you pushed him too hard, he has no choice but to lie and coax you to send you away." Another voice: "But, but there were many people present, everyone heard it!" The first voice said: "So what, in their eyes, these things are just a joke. If you want to go back on your word, it's just a sentence! It's not that the matchmaker is getting married. Could it be that you can still go to the yamen?" sue him?" Another voice: "If Mao Lang really treats me like this, he is too cruel..." The first voice: "Hmph, you only know now? No one is reliable, son or brother, so let's get rid of this wishful thinking early!" ... In this way, the more the two voices argued, the deeper Dong Xiaowan's heart sank.She stared wide-eyed, sitting in a daze, even the thunder and lightning kept rumbling past the window, and the torrential rain began to roar and churn outside the house, she was completely unaware... However, at this moment, there was a faint sound of flute playing on the river.The melodious and melodious melody passed through the heavy rain curtain and flew into the window.It was an ancient score.The flute player was obviously a master, and he played it calmly without intentionally raising the key, but neither the roar of thunder nor the noise of rain could cover up his flute sound.On the contrary, when you listen carefully, you will be attracted by the beautiful melody, and you can't help but let your heart follow it, even forgetting the existence of other sounds.At first, Dong Xiaowan listened blankly, but gradually, her eyes lit up. "Ah, Mao Lang, Mao Lang!" She screamed, jumped to her feet, and staggered out.As soon as he ran to the door, he bumped into the same person, it turned out to be the maid Shou'er.Shou'er wanted to hold her, but Dong Xiaowan pushed her away roughly. "Ah, Maolang, Maolang!" She shouted excitedly and repeatedly, and ran downstairs quickly without even picking up her rain gear. Run to the Shantang River.When Shou'er, who was startled by the hostess's actions, drove out with an oil-paper umbrella, Dong Xiaowan was already drenched in water, but seemed unconscious, and was anxiously watching and listening. "Mother, you, what are you doing?" Shou'er asked tremblingly. "The flute player." Dong Xiaowan said vaguely. "Playing the flute? Who is playing the flute?" Shou'er was puzzled. Dong Xiaowan didn't answer.Yes, who is playing the flute?Just now, she thought it was Mao Xiang.However, when she rushed out to look for it, the pier was empty, with no boats or people, and even the sound of the flute suddenly disappeared... Dong Xiaowan stood in a daze, staring blankly at the surface of the river that was becoming darker and darker under the shroud of the twilight rain, her legs softened, and she sat down on the muddy ground.