Chapter 14 fourteen

After Shuhua left, Juexin couldn't read the book.He remembered that he should write a letter to Shanghai, so he lifted the lid of the inkstone, ground the ink, took out a small pen from the pen holder, and took a stack of letter paper from the drawer.He had just written a few words when he suddenly felt that the tip of the pen was heavy and he could not direct it as he wished.He didn't know what was in his mind.His mind was also unable to move.It was difficult for him to put down the pen. It took him a while to write two characters, and then he erased them.He was bored and tired, so he put the pen into the copper pen case, covered the inkstone cover, stood up, went to the inner room, and wanted to lie down on the bed for a while.

He was lying on the bed, and just as he closed his eyes, he heard a voice calling "Eldest Young Master".He stood up quickly.Cuihuan came in, with a gardenia planted on her temple on her right side, she said with a smile, "Eldest young master, our master invites you to go." Juexin replied flatly, "I'll come." Cuihuan heard his tired voice, looked at him in surprise, and asked: "Does the young master still want to sleep for a while? I'll go back to the master and tell the young master that he is sleeping." "No need, I don't want to sleep," Juexin hurriedly stopped.He wiped his eyes and saw that Cuihuan hadn't left, so he said again: "I'll go with you."

Juexin entered Keming's study.Keming was sitting on the sofa reading "Historical Records". When he saw Juexin coming in, he put down the book and said to Juexin, "Mingxuan, I forgot to tell you just now that this year's etiquette for sending teachers to students should be thicker." Juexin replied: "Yes." Keming paused and then said: "Also, you tell the kitchen to prepare an extra table for breakfast tomorrow, and open it in the study, so that the fourth, fifth, and sixth children can accompany the master to eat. And my aunt promised to come for the Dragon Boat Festival, it’s very rare. She hasn’t come for a long time. This is the first time I’ve come this year, so I asked the kitchen to prepare two tables and open them in the main room for a family reunion.”

Juexin replied again: "Yes." Keming smiled with satisfaction.He said a few more words, then suddenly started to cough, but after two or three coughs, he stopped spit out a mouthful of phlegm.After he took out his handkerchief and wiped the scum around his mouth, he said to Juexin, "I have been treated for this cough for so long, but it didn't help. After a while, if it still doesn't improve, I will ask you to call a western medicine doctor." have a look.……" Juexin replied again: "Yes." His heart was not in this room.But when asked where it is at this time, he himself does not know.It seemed to him that it was far away.

"Do you think Western medicine is sure to treat this disease!" Keming suddenly asked earnestly.He looked at Juexin attentively, waiting for Juexin's answer. Juexin didn't know how to answer at first, but then he woke up.He quickly replied with a smile: "Actually, the third father's illness is not serious. I think it will be cured soon. I hope the medical officer will come and see it." Keming paused for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "I want to decide after a while..." Juexin didn't know what Keming was thinking, so it was inconvenient to persuade him, but he just agreed and waited for him to continue.

At this moment there was a sound of footsteps in the room outside.Cuihuan hurried in and reported in panic: "Master, the fifth wife is here." "Ah," Keming spit out the word strangely.Juexin was taken aback. He guessed that something unpleasant would happen. Shen came in, and Chunlan followed behind her.Shen's hair was combed very smooth.His face was painted white, but there was no rouge on it.On top of the short nose, a pair of small round eyes are bulging, and the two drawn wide eyebrows are almost touching.A wide mouth was tightly shut, and there was no smile on his face.

Shen walked into the room, stomped her pair of semi-big feet on the floor, and called out to Keming: "Third Brother," and raised her eyebrows, immediately showing an angry expression. Keming hurriedly stood up and said, "Fifth brother and sister, please sit down." Juexin also nodded in greeting and called out, "Fifth aunt." Shen replied vaguely.Instead of sitting down, she stood in front of the desk, pointed at Chunlan and said to Keming, "Third brother, look!" Both Keming and Juexin looked at Chunlan.Chunlan lowered her head, her hair was disheveled, one of the braids was unraveled in half, and the hair rope was dragged down long.There was a yellow patch on the face, a red patch, and one cheek was swollen.

"Fifth brother and sister, what's going on?" Keming looked at it and asked in bewilderment, he didn't understand why Mrs. Shen came to bother him.Juexin knew what was going on, but he didn't dare to make a sound, and in fact he didn't want to say it either.He just watched silently. "Could it be that third brother doesn't know?" Shen sneered as she moved her head.Without waiting for Keming to speak, she lowered her face and continued in a decisive voice: "This is a good thing that the fourth brother did!" "Fourth son, isn't he studying in the study?" Keming said even more in astonishment.

"Reading? Hmph, when did he read well?" Shen said with a contemptuous expression. "He turned the whole mansion upside down, only your third brother didn't know about it." She sat down on an armchair and asked Chunlan to stand beside her. Keming pressed the desk tightly with one hand, and said seriously: "Fifth brother and sister, what are you talking about?" The words were intended to hurt Keming, but she refused to let him go. She felt a revenge-like satisfaction when she said a word. Keming was so angry that his face turned blue, he ignored Shen, but turned his eyes to look around.Seeing that there was no maid in the room, he shouted angrily: "Cuihuan!" There was no answer.He called again: "Sister Tang! Sister Wang!"

The maid, Mrs. Wang, was eavesdropping in the outside room.She asked him to shout two or three times before agreeing, and walked in slowly. "Third brother, don't be angry. I'll tell you: the fourth and fifth brothers are molesting Chunlan. The fourth even hits people. Fortunately, the third girl came to pull him away. Otherwise, I don't know what will happen today!" Shen said without mercy.As she spoke, she looked at Keming attentively.She saw the changes in his facial expressions, the twitching of the muscles on his face, and she was secretly satisfied. Keming looked at Mrs. Wang and shouted angrily: "Go and call the fourth and fifth young masters here! You call them and they will come right away!" Mrs. Wang quickly agreed and withdrew.

"Where is this kind of thing! Let me find out!" Keming sat down, panting, and patted his knees with his hands. "Okay, please ask third brother to clarify and find a way. Otherwise, how dare I use a girl in the future?" Shen still refused to relax Keming, and continued to stab Keming's heart with words. "Fifth brother and sister, don't talk too much, I know!" Keming waved at Shen's politely.He tried to check his rising anger.Then he called again: "Cuihuan!" With only one call, He coughed.There was no response.Juexin opened his mouth.He asked sympathetically: "Third dad called Cuihuan, What's the matter?Wait for me to shout! " "Mingxuan, don't go," Keming held back his cough and stopped, "You stay here." He had just finished speaking when he heard his wife's voice. "Third Master, why are you so angry?" Mrs. Zhang walked in and asked softly.She turned around and greeted Shen Shi and Juexin.She had just finished grooming and came in with a fresh smile on her face.Cuihuan followed behind her. Before Keming could answer Mrs. Zhang, he caught a glimpse of Cuihuan and ordered first, "Cuihuan, go and call Miss San." Mrs. Zhang walked to the side of the sofa, looked at Keming gently, and asked, "Third Master, what is it?" Keming raised his face to look at his wife, and said angrily, "It's not because of Siwazi, who is so unworthy! He really made me..." He gasped for breath and couldn't continue, then lowered his head and coughed again. Mrs. Zhang hurriedly approached him, stretched out both hands to beat his back, and gently persuaded: "There is no need to be so angry about the matter of the fourth child. When he comes, just teach him a lesson." Juexin saw Keming stop his cough, and spit two mouthfuls of phlegm into the spittoon next to him.He also followed Zhang's tone and persuaded: "Third Aunt is right. Fourth Brother is young, ignorant, and has done wrong things. Just teach him a lesson later. For this trivial matter, Third Dad doesn't have to So angry." "Small things?" Shen sneered beside her with her legs crossed. Mrs. Zhang and Juexin turned their faces to look at Mrs. Chen, and saw Mrs. Chen sitting there proudly.They silently looked away. The sound of "Dongdong" sounded outside, and Juequn's shadow quickly entered the room. There was still a smile on Juequn's flat face, but when he walked into the room and saw what was going on in the room, he stopped numbly.The smile immediately disappeared from his face.He opened his big mouth slightly, revealing a gap where the front teeth would have been. "Fifth brother, where is fourth brother? He didn't come with you?" Juexin asked. "He is behind, he walks slowly," Jue Qun answered courageously.He secretly glanced at Keming. "This bastard has to walk slowly! When he comes, he must be beaten firmly!" Keming suddenly cursed, so frightened that Jue Qun immediately turned his face away. "Fifth, tell me, are you molesting Chunlan with your fourth brother?" Shen asked Juequn with a straight face. "No, it's not me, it's the fourth brother. He is alone without me. The third sister saw it!" Jue Qun argued in a panic. "Without you? You do it first, the fourth young master came!" Chunlan immediately retorted.She looked at Jue Qun angrily. "I didn't! I didn't! You wronged me, and I deserve to die!" Jue Qunzheng denied it with a red face. "Okay, Fifth Young Master, I wronged you, and I will die! No one will die!" Chunlan swears loudly angrily and anxiously. "Chunlan, don't say a few words!" Juexin knew that Juequn was denying it, so he stopped him because he felt that Chunlan's words could not be heard. "Chunlan, say it, just say it! Now you have to make it clear to know who is right!" Shen Shi heard Juexin's words, and deliberately did not save him face, but instead ordered Chunlan to continue. "Miss San saw it with her own eyes, and I will find out after asking Miss San later. I didn't tell a single lie," Chunlan said confidently, relying on her master to support her here. Jueying walked in slowly.He walked to the door of the room and heard Chunlan's voice in the room, knowing that nothing good was waiting for him.He was a little timid, but he couldn't escape, thinking that his father had not treated him badly recently, so maybe he wouldn't scold him so severely, so he went into his father's study bravely. When Keming saw Jueying coming in, he felt angry, but he didn't attack immediately.With a sullen face, he said to Jueying in a deep voice, "Come here." There was no other sound in the room.Everyone held their breath and looked at Keming.Zhang's face began to turn pale. Jueying looked at Keming timidly.He didn't know what his father was going to do to him.But now he couldn't escape, so he could only move slowly. Keming saw Jueying walking in front of him.He watched his son attentively.He suddenly smiled grimly at Jueying, and still said in a low voice: "You've done a good job! You're so obscene!" "It wasn't me, it was my fifth brother," Jueying argued slyly. "You're lying! It's you! I didn't hit her in the face!" Jue Qun anxiously interjected from the side. "You still have to blame! You have done something good and you still refuse to admit it!" Keming cursed sharply, and slapped Jueying without any hassle.Following the sound, red marks appeared on Jueying's face. "I didn't, I didn't! They wronged me!" Jueying burst into tears immediately.He reached out and slowly rubbed his slapped cheek. Juoren, who was over five years old, just walked to the door and heard his brother crying.He didn't dare to come in, so he hid at the door and peeked. "Fourth, tell you, it's too early for you to learn from your fifth father! How old are you?" Shen sneered gloatingly. No one pays attention to her.Shuhua came in.When Jueying saw Shuhua, her face changed completely.He knew that he couldn't deny it, so he buried his head. "Miss San, tell me, did you pull them away when you saw the fourth and fifth children messing around with Chunlan?" Mrs. Shen said to Shuhua first. Juexin didn't have time to speak, so he just looked at Shuhua's face, his eyes were pleading: don't speak directly. Shuhua didn't seem to understand this meaning.She also doesn't go to Juexin.She heard Zhang's voice again: "Third Miss, tell me, tell me." She briefly described what happened to Zhang.She spoke quickly, as if afraid that others would interrupt her.Every word she said was a burst of joy to Shen, and a blow to Keming and Zhang.Juexin secretly hoped that she would shut up, but she continued cruelly. Keming heard Shuhua's words and knew the truth of the matter.He had no room for doubt any more.He had never imagined these things before.Although he was not satisfied with this child, since his daughter Shuying ran away, he had a partiality for this sixteen-year-old son (his eldest son!), and sometimes he even pinned his hopes on Jueying.But what does this child bring him now?His own son had done the nasty things he hated the most!And it brought him an embarrassing insult from Shen Shi.His hopes were dashed.In the darkness before him he saw a pair of small eyes sneering with vengeance.The eyes came closer and closer, stinging his face (his face convulsed) and his heart.He couldn't take it anymore, he felt the phlegm rising up.Shuhua's last few words gradually became blurred, he only listened to the next few words, but didn't grasp their meaning.In fact, he doesn't need to know their meaning, he already understands everything.Now he began to see the truth of the facts, he despaired, he was indignant.But he never saw his own error.He thought it was bad luck: he had been an upright man himself half his life, and it had come to this. After Shuhua finished speaking, Keming didn't scold Jueying, but just gasped at him, his eyes rolled up, his face turned blue.Jueying got scared.He didn't know what his father would do, but he knew it must be terrible.At this time his cleverness and cunning were completely lost.He stood there at a loss, trembling slightly.Juequn stood aside, losing his usual liveliness and playfulness. In this room, except for Shen Shi (who always "appreciated" Keming's pain and anger secretly and happily) and Chunlan, everyone else silently waited for Keming to speak with a heavy heart.Shuhua's mood is more complicated. Although she feels the satisfaction of revenge in Keming's pain (she especially resents Keming because of her cousin Shuying), but the pitiful state of this prematurely aging uncle arouses her pity . "Third Master, what's the matter with you?" Seeing Keming gasping for breath, glaring at Jueying without speaking, Mrs. Zhang became a little scared and asked anxiously. "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him!" Keming gritted his teeth and said to himself.He raised his head and looked around, saw Cuihuan, and ordered sternly: "Cuihuan, go and get the board." Cuihuan agreed, but did not move.She looked at Mrs. Zhang, unable to decide whether she should fetch the bamboo board. Seeing that Cuihuan did not leave, Keming reprimanded loudly: "You still don't go! You want to be beaten too, don't you? Bring it to me quickly!" Cuihuan didn't dare to hesitate any longer, she agreed and walked away. "It really pissed me off!" Keming said to himself.He took a few breaths and stared angrily at Jueying in front of him.Seeing Jueying's timid and trembling appearance, he became even more angry, and he reprimanded sharply: "You bastard! I thought you were studying hard in the study room, and I thought you had made progress in your studies. How could you know? You play truant to do such nasty things! You are disobedient, you don’t study well, you don’t study, what are you going to do? You are going to rebel! I am angry when I see you like this. I will beat you to death today! I will beat you Fuck you, you bastard!" The more he cursed, the more angry he became, and then he felt his head was about to explode.He caught a glimpse of the door curtain moving, and Cuihuan came in with a bamboo board.He scolded this "unworthy thing", stood up immediately, said: "Give it to me!" and stretched out his hand to catch the bamboo board. Jueying immediately thumped, and automatically knelt in front of Keming, crying and begging: "Father, don't hit me, I won't dare next time." "It's a worthless thing! It started to cry without being hit!" Keming scolded contemptuously.He took the bamboo board, without picking a place, just hit Jueying casually.Jueying's eyes were quick, and he turned his head quickly, the bamboo board hit him on the shoulder.He cried like a slaughtered pig.Keming heard him cry, not only did not stop, but he beat down the bamboo board even harder. Jueren was too scared to look at the door, and ran out in one breath.Nanny Yuan chased him in the dam behind Guitang. Mrs. Zhang felt a little depressed, and she was worried about Keming's health, and she was even more upset that Mrs. Shen came to cause trouble for them.Seeing Keming hitting Jueying with bamboo boards one after another, she felt a little distressed, but she didn't dare to dissuade her.Seeing Mrs. Chen sitting there seemingly complacently, she felt even more unhappy, so she said to Mrs. Chen, "Fifth brother and sister, please go back. The third brother is already beating the fourth son. After the beating, the fourth son will never dare again Do that kind of thing. Don't worry. You should be tired after sitting for a long time. " Shen thought about it for a while, and a hypocritical smile appeared on her face.She said: "That's fine, sister-in-law three, I'm sorry to have quarreled with you all morning. But the fourth child is too outrageous, beat him a few more times, or he will be better. I think I should teach him a good lesson in the future." Him. If you don't discipline him early, it will be too late for something to happen later. Just like what happened to the second girl last year." Keming stopped the board, and looked at Shen angrily.What she said about Shuying hurt him.He was about to curse out loud, but when the words came to his lips, he held back them again.He felt that many needles had pierced his heart, and he had to bite his teeth to hold back the pain.He just grunted in pain and fell on the back of the sofa. "Fifth brother and sister, thank you for your kindness. But our mansion is so big, and their children run around all day, there are places that we can't take care of, and I still need you to discipline them for us," Mrs. Zhang said modestly. "Ah! Sister-in-law three, it's so easy for you to say it! How can I control his temper? It's my luck that he doesn't come into my room," Chen said with a mocking smile.After she finished speaking, she immediately put away her smile, stood up, and told Chunlan, "Chunlan, follow me." Mrs. Zhang saw that Mrs. Shen turned to go out, so she asked behind her like revenge: "Fifth brother and sister, don't you go to your fourth sister-in-law today? When Shen heard these words, she stopped and turned around, and took a look at Zhang.Seeing Zhang's smiling and angry expression, she knew there was a thorn in her words.She looked for Xunjuequn with her eyes.The child slipped away when Jueying uttered his first cry. No one noticed him at that time, and now there is no trace of him in the room.At first, Shen didn't intend to go to Sisao Wang, so she hesitated for a while, then pretended not to care and replied: "I'm going to Sisao, what do you want?" "I haven't," Mrs. Zhang replied discreetly.She hastily added: "Please tell Fourth Sister-in-law, Fourth Brother has already been beaten." "Okay," Shen replied briefly.She stopped talking to Mrs. Zhang and took Chunlan outside. Jueying knelt on the ground and sobbed.Keming was sitting on the sofa, staring at Jueying with disgust, holding the bamboo board with his left hand, and placing it loosely on the armrest of the sofa.Mrs. Zhang stood beside the sofa, leaning against the armrest on the other side of the sofa.Juexin stood in front of the bookshelf.Cuihuan stood in the corner near the door.Shuhua originally stood leaning against a corner of the desk, but after Mrs. Shen left, she felt that it was not interesting, so she also walked out. "It's so white, it really looks like a treacherous minister," Mrs. Zhang cursed in a low voice after seeing Mrs. Shen's back disappear after a while. No one answered.The only sound in the room was Jueying's crying.An embarrassing suffocation began to subside. "Cuihuan, go and see, is the fifth wife going to the fourth wife's room?" Mrs. Zhang suddenly remembered this matter, and quickly instructed Cuihuan. Cuihuan agreed and was about to go out.But Keming stopped him dissatisfied: "Third Wife, don't bother with her affairs! Whatever tricks she messes up, let her do it. In short, the fourth child is too unlearned, so don't give me a sigh of relief." He said Here, the anger rose again, and he moved away from the back of the sofa, glared at Jueying angrily and cursed: "It's all because you, a bastard, didn't learn well and did such a dishonorable thing! I invited a good gentleman here, You don’t study for a day. You used to raise pigeons, feed goldfish, and catch crickets, but now it’s getting more and more troublesome. Do you want to follow the example of your fifth father?” He raised the bamboo boards to Jueying’s head one after another. Hit it with your body. Jueying cried out loudly.Mrs. Zhang begged, "Third Master." Keming heard Jueying's cry and Mrs. Zhang's cry, which actually increased his anger.He hit the board harder and harder.He felt hot all over.He forgot everything, he forgot who was kneeling before him.He only knows one thing: to fight.He felt that he should hit hard.He was afraid that others would stop him, so he said frantically, "I'm going to beat him to death! I'm going to beat him to death!" Seeing Keming beating like this, Juexin begged to stop, "Third dad! Third dad!" Keming continued beating (most of the bamboo board fell on Jueying's clothed body), Jueying's voice was hoarse, and she just cried.Mrs. Zhang cried out anxiously: "Young master, don't you come to persuade the third father!" She said while dragging Keming's hand. Juexin also walked over to help Mrs. Zhang dissuade Keming.He kept saying: "Third Dad, that's enough. You can rest for a while," while putting himself between the father and son, helping Mrs. Zhang hold Keming's arm. Keming struggled for a while before giving in.He was acting with a burst of qi just now, but now he was interrupted, and his qi was gradually vented.He didn't hold on any longer, let go, and let the bamboo board fall to the ground.He collapsed on the back of the sofa exhausted, gasping for breath. Juexin stand a little wider.Mrs. Zhang looked down at Keming, and asked with concern: "Third Master, are you feeling a little uncomfortable?" Keming silently shook his head twice. "Go and sleep for a while, okay? I'm afraid you're too tired," Zhang asked softly. Keming shook his head again, and whispered "I'm not tired". Mrs. Zhang didn't ask any more questions, she told Cuihuan, "Cuihuan, go and pour a cup of strong tea for the master." Jueying was still crying, but now he was sitting on the ground.Tears and snot mixed together, making the face with several board marks look like a clown face.A new long gown that was changed in the morning had been stained with mud at the garden gate, and now it was covered with dust, and there were still a few pools of tears on the chest.He buried his head and cried while stroking the painful place with his hands after being beaten. Cuihuan brought tea.Keming took the cup and took two or three sips of hot tea, feeling better.He looked at Jueying who was sitting on the ground, and frowned unconsciously. Seeing Keming's expression, Mrs. Zhang didn't know what he thought of.She was afraid that he would get angry again, so she forced a smile and said to him softly: "Third Master, let him go out. He has also learned a lesson." Keming was silent.Mrs. Zhang didn't dare to say any more.Keming was still holding a teacup in his hand.He drank the tea in the cup and put the cup on the desk.He looked at Jueying again, and said two words in a low voice: "Alright." This was in reply to Mrs. Zhang.But then he turned his head to Juexin and said: "Mingxuan, you take your fourth brother to the study. You tell Mr. Long, I greet him, and ask him to discipline your fourth brother to study and not to leave the study door. If your fourth brother is disobedient, please Feel free to play, sir. I’ll cut another wide board and send it to you in two days.” He spoke slowly, and then paused.Juexin thought he had finished, but he went on: "Don't let the fourth child out today. In the future, ask him to have dinner with your husband in the study." "Yes, yes," Juexin replied modestly.He wished that Keming had such an order.He now had a chance to get out of this stuffy room.He hurried over to pull Jueying's arm. Jueying heard Keming's words clearly.He is not afraid of Mr. Long, so he welcomes his father's order, and he can use it to tide over the current difficulties.Without waiting for Juexin to pull him hard, he got up from the ground, without looking at Keming or saying a word to anyone, he buried his head and followed Juexin out.