Chapter 28 Twenty-eight

On the morning of the ninth day, Yuan Cheng invited Zheng Guoguang to Gao's house. This was indeed an unexpected event for Juexin, and he didn't have much hope in the first place.When he saw Guoguang, he naturally said a few ordinary words of entertainment first, pretending to be nonchalant.As soon as Guoguang saw Xinxin, his square face immediately turned pink, and his short neck seemed to have stiffened, making it difficult for him to speak. "I've been very busy these two days. But my cousin's affairs will be settled this time. The land has already been bought. Please don't worry, big cousin," Guoguang said apologetically, stuttering.

"It doesn't matter. I also know that it will take a lot of time to do this. But my uncle still has a little matter that I need to ask my cousin-in-law to talk over," Juexin said gently. "I want to go to my father-in-law another day. It's too late today. Jiayan wants me to come out to do something important," Guoguang quickly declined, he didn't want to go to Zhou's house. Juemin came into the living room from the outside.He greeted Guoguang, and then said to Juexin: "Brother, the sedan chair is ready, shall we leave now?" "It's just a small matter, and it won't take much effort. It's better for my cousin-in-law to go now, so that my uncle won't have to wait for a long time," Juexin insisted on inviting, and stood up.

"It doesn't matter if my cousin-in-law goes, I'll go with you too," Juemin said with a smile.Seeing Guoguang's embarrassment, he was secretly happy. Guoguang wanted to say no, but he was so anxious that he could not speak clearly.He finally followed Brother Juexin out of the living room. Three sedan chairs took them to Zhou's house.The Zhou family had already heard the news from Yuan Cheng.Mrs. Zhou and Mrs. Chen waited excitedly.Zhou Botao shut himself in his study, flipping through the "Book of Rites" which he often reads impatiently. Juexin and Juemin accompanied Guoguang to see Mrs. Zhou.Mrs. Chen is also in Mrs. Zhou's room.Guoguang had no choice but to put on a hypocritical smile to greet them, and perfunctorily added a few gossips.Zhou Botao still hid and refused to come out.Mrs. Zhou sent Cuifeng to call him.

"Hui'er's coffin has been in Lianhua Nunnery for more than half a year. The place is not very quiet, so I don't worry about it. Last time, the young master promised to bury this coffin on the fourth day of the first lunar month," Mrs. Zhou originally hoped that Zhou Botao would come out and tell Guoguang about the coffin. , but when she saw Zhou Botao came, she just went to gossip with Guoguang. She gave up on her stubborn son, and couldn't bear it, so she asked Guoguang. Before she could finish her sentence, Guoguang interrupted her. . "Jia Yan said that the date of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year is too close, and I'm afraid the preparations are not thorough, so we rescheduled it to the end of the year," Guo Guang said politely.

"That's not bad, so we can rest assured," Zhou Botao said with satisfaction, and he wanted to use this sentence to end the question. "Don't worry?" Mrs. Zhou said with a sudden change of expression, "I just hope that Hui'er's coffin will be buried in the ground as soon as possible, and I don't need to trouble my in-laws to prepare anything. Hui'er does not have such a blessing!" "Mom, don't misunderstand what Uncle and Young Master mean," Zhou Botao explained to her mother smartly: "My father-in-law is kind."

"I didn't misunderstand! I didn't talk to you!" Mrs. Zhou scolded sharply.Zhou Botao never imagined that his mother would scold him in front of Guoguang.He was ashamed and afraid, so he buried his head and dared not make a sound. Guoguang also changed his face. He sat on the stool and swayed uncontrollably, showing a disturbed look.He barely defended himself and said: "Don't get me wrong. I haven't forgotten about Hui's matter for a day. If this matter is not done well, I will never feel relieved." "My aunt is so kind-hearted, this is really a blessing that Hui'er cultivated in her past life!" Chen said with a sneer, "But I heard that she was inside the lotus, and the coffin was covered with dust and cobwebs, so I didn't see her. Take care of her alone. The young master is already so busy now, and I’m afraid I won’t have time to take care of Hui’er’s affairs after the sequel. To be honest with the young master, we are really worried. I only have this one daughter. A little good. I can't let people treat her like this after she died." When she said the last sentence, she couldn't help a burst of emotional attacks, her voice was a little hoarse, and she closed her mouth.

Zhou Botao cast his eyes on Chen Shi's face, and coughed unhappily.But this time he didn't speak. "I don't have such thoughts. I never have such thoughts. How can I let the coffin be placed in the temple forever? Mother-in-law, you old man didn't understand what I mean," Guoguang argued with a red face in bewilderment.He kept wagging his square face, as if she wished to add to his sincerity by gesture. "There are a lot of unowned coffins in the temple! But, young master, please understand, I can't let you treat Hui'er like this!" Chen said, sobbing and reprimanding Guoguang.She pointed to Guoguang and continued: "Young master, you must have a conscience. Let me ask you, what offended you when Hui'er married into your family as a daughter-in-law? You treat her like this! You have done all these cruel things. come out!"

"Madam!" Zhou Botao interrupted impatiently and angrily. "How can mother-in-law say such things? I don't understand what you mean!" Zheng Guoguang stood up angrily and said, he planned to take this opportunity to walk away. "Brother, talk. If you don't say it, I will," Juemin urged Juexin in a low voice beside him. Juexin felt that he could no longer be silent, so he immediately stood up, looked at Guoguang and said seriously: "Bo Xiong, please sit down, I have something to tell you. Let's speak with conscience today, you are too sorry for Cousin Hui. She We will not talk about those things when we were alive. She is dead, should you treat her like this? What do you mean by putting her coffin in the nunnery and not burying it? I promised to bury me on the fourth day of the lunar new year. Now I say it will be changed to the end of the year. Ask you at the end of the year, and you will say next year. Which of your words can be trusted? I invite you to come today, and I want you to give us a definite date, and I want you to give us a date. Evidence," Juexin became more and more annoyed, and his words became more and more urgent, and his face turned red.

"I can't produce any evidence!" Guoguang said cheekily.He also pretended to be angry.In fact, he was very empty. "Mingxuan, you speak too seriously, I don't think there is any need for evidence," Zhou Botao intervened Juexin dissatisfiedly. "Father-in-law's words make sense. After all, father-in-law has high knowledge," Guo Guang praised Zhou Botao's tone.This not only made Juexin and Juemin angry, but also made Mrs. Zhou and Mrs. Chen so angry that their faces turned blue again. The old lady Zhou looked at Zhou Botao angrily and cursed: "I'm not dead yet! You have nothing to do with these matters! Get the hell out of here immediately!" I don’t want you in my room. Let me tell you, from today on, you are not allowed to say anything about Hui’er! If you make any suggestion, no matter how old your son is, I will smash you to death Mouth! I've had enough of being angry with you for so many years. Don't think I'll let you go on messing around like this. If it wasn't for you, Hui'er would die so badly!"

Like a defeated soldier who has been disarmed, Zhou Botao walked out silently with a dark face and dejected expression.He caught a glimpse of Master Mei and his wife standing under the window and eavesdropping on the conversation inside, and he was even more embarrassed, and quickly hid in his room. When Juexin saw Zhou Botao leave in failure, he felt a burst of joy.But he thought of Mrs. Zhou's words painfully and remorsefully.He thought: If you had been so tough a few years ago, how could Cousin Hui die? Guoguang heard Mrs. Zhou's words and saw Zhou Botao walking out. The expression of fear and frustration on his face made him afraid to make a sound.He couldn't think of a way to deal with it for a while, so he had to sit down listlessly.

The air in the room was still very tense.Everyone was silent, and the silence weighed heavily on everyone's heart.They seemed to be waiting for a blissful outburst. "Brother, it's up to you to figure things out quickly," Juemin urged Juexin in a low voice. Juexin nodded.He felt that he still had the courage, so he also sat down, looking menacingly at Guoguang.Then he said: "Bo Xiong, you can no longer deny it. You should give us a proof today. You must promise to bury Cousin Hui's coffin next month." "There will be good days in the next month, I'll check the almanac," Mrs. Zhou interjected. "I don't have anything around me. Where can I have any evidence?" Guoguang said in confusion.He still can't think of a way to dodge. "Here's a pen and paper, write a proof," Juemin interrupted suddenly, commandingly; he turned his head and told the girl: "Cuifeng, go and get the pen, ink and inkstone." "Writing evidence? I can't write!" Guoguang said in surprise.He looked at Juemin, and Juemin's firm gaze disturbed his heart even more, so he declined in panic. "Uncle said that you are a contemporary genius. You can't write even a piece of paper!" Juemin sneered. "Brother-in-law, don't bully the Zhou family Xiao, uncle is confused, there are still people in our Gao family." "Young Master, let me ask you, what are your intentions in leaving Hui'er's coffin in the Lotus Nunnery and not burying it? Hui'er has never been rude in your house, why do you hate her so much?" Chen was angry. Geology asked. "What's on your mind? Auntie, you don't know? They clearly look down on the Zhou family. Otherwise, it's not that they don't have money. How can there be any reason why a daughter-in-law should not be buried after her death?" Juemin said indignantly. "Bo Xiong, you can't bully people like this, you should have a little conscience," Juexin said with grief and indignation: "If you want to deny it again, we will never let you go unless you write a document. You have to go to the bureaucracy , we are also willing to accompany you." Guoguang's sinful heart could not stand the siege of these words, and he was about to succumb.But still trying to make the last struggle, he still thought of an idea, and said evasively: "This is the meaning of Jiayan, I can't make the decision, I will talk back when I go back to report to Jiayan." "The cousin-in-law can be the master of such small things. The cousin-in-law agreed, and the grandparents naturally had nothing to say. It is because of your repeated denials that your words don't count, so we ask you to write a statement. If you don't write a statement, we won't do it." I can trust you," Juemin retorted with a straight face.His disgusted eyes seemed to pierce Guoguang's heart. Guoguang had no way to escape.His heart was disturbed, and he couldn't protect himself, so he gave in and said, "I will write, I will write." At this time, Cuifeng had already brought the paper, pen, and viewing platform.He had to spread out the paper and pick up the pen.But all he had in his head were random thoughts that came and went quickly and came again.He couldn't catch any of them clearly.However, those hostile eyes around him refused to let him go.He had to force himself to write some words on the paper.He was not able to control words in the first place, and at this moment he didn't even have the leeway to think about words.Although he stopped writing after writing a sentence or two to think about it, the results he wrote were still some sentences that seemed to make no sense.But the meaning was very clear: he promised to bury Hui's coffin within the next month, and he would notify the Zhou family after the date was decided. "Do you want this?" Guoguang handed the note to Juexin.Juexin took it and read it in a low voice, looked at Guoguang contemptuously, and thought to himself: "This is the genius in the eyes of my uncle!" He handed the note to Mrs. Zhou, and said, "Grandma, you think it's really important. ?” Mrs. Zhou passed the note to Mrs. Chen again, and Mrs. Chen passed it to Juemin after reading it.A smug smile appeared on Juemin's face.After reading the note, he said to Juexin: "Brother, let's do it like this. I will leave this note to grandma to keep it." He handed the note back to Mrs. Zhou. "Then I can go?" Guoguang stood up and looked at Juexin timidly and said. Juexin and Juemin exchanged glances, and then said to Guoguang with a smile, "There is nothing else to do now. Does grandma have anything to say?" He looked at Mrs. Zhou. "I have nothing to say. Since Young Master agrees, we are satisfied. But I feel very uneasy after delaying inviting Young Master for so long today," Mrs. Zhou changed her gentle and polite tone. "Cuifeng, go out and greet Young Master Tigu's sedan chair," Juexin also stood up and instructed Cuifeng. Guoguang showed joy on his face as if he had been saved.He didn't want to stay here for one more minute, so he said goodbye and left.Juexin and Juemin sent him to the lobby.They didn't speak a word all the way.Juemin almost laughed out loud when he saw Guoguang shrunk his neck, tilted his head, and blushed in a funny way. Brother Juexin came back to Mrs. Zhou's room, and the old woman thanked Juexin with tears in her eyes, "Young Master, it's really thanks to you. Otherwise, Hui'er's bones would have rotted in the ruined temple." Juexin's eyes turned red, he lowered his head, and said in a trembling voice: "This is the second brother's idea. I'm afraid Boxiong will go back on his word..." "Grandma, don't worry, he will never go back on his word," Juemin said as if reassuring, "Bo Xiong didn't have any enmity with the Zhou family, and Cousin Hui never offended him when he was here. Why would he refuse to bury Cousin Hui?" What about it? I think it’s all caused by my uncle himself. My uncle flattered the Zheng family too much. If I follow my uncle’s wishes today, I won’t get any results.” Juemin said the last two words, feeling a burst of emotion. happy.He didn't hate that person, but he hated all the things that person did. Juexin looked up at Juemin in surprise.But Mrs. Zhou replied unexpectedly: "I think so too. He made a mess of everything. It wasn't enough for him to harm Hui'er, and he ruined her for the rest of her life. Alas, it's only my own fault. If I had known a little bit back then, why would I have done it? out of these things..." A look of remorse suddenly floated over her aging face.