Chapter 10 third quarter

Xiumi got up from the bed and went to the stove with her shoes on.Scooped a ladle of cold water from the water tank, poured it straight down his neck, wiped his mouth, and went to Han Liu's room again.She saw that the beds in the room were neatly folded, and there was a pair of embroidered shoes on the footboard of a wooden board under the bed, but she didn't know where she had gone.Xiumi searched the front and back of the house, inside and outside the courtyard.In the end, I searched around the lake again, but there was still no sign of Han Liu.Looking up at the lake, the waves are churning, the clouds are drooping, and I can't even see a boat when I look around.

Xiumi sat on a rock by the lake, staring at the crooked wooden piles in the lake in a daze.There are no waterfowl on the stake.As it grew dark, the stake became blurred, and she could see only a curved shadow on the water, and finally the shadow was gone.Her arms were cool, the dew was thick, and her hair was wet.After the gale, the world fell into silence again.The sky is as clear as a wash, a piece of clear blue, the stars are faint, and the reeds on the shore are moving slowly.The Huajiashe is also full of lights and shadows, silently. The moon has risen very high.She saw a small boat in the lake, like a person walking at night with a lantern.However, for a long time, that point of light seemed to stand still.Xiumi thought it was a shrimp boat at first.After waiting for a long time, she finally saw the boat rowing towards the shore.The wooden oars creaked and the water rushed over the side of the boat.As the boat approaches the shore, the oarsman releases a narrow gangplank.Han Liu was walking out of the cabin with a bamboo basket in his hand, bowing his waist.She has been worried that she will never see Han Liu again.

It turned out that this afternoon, Han Liu was taken to Huajiashe to read scriptures. Back in the house, Xiumi asked her what sutra to recite at Hua's house, and Han Liu said it was "the sutra of passing through the dead".Xiumi asked her again why she was reciting the Book of the Dead, and whether someone had died.Han Liu let out a "huh" and looked at her in surprise: "Strange, before I left, didn't I go to your room and tell you all these things?" "I also remember you coming to my bed and talking to me, but I was too sleepy to know what you said." Xiumi laughed.

Han Liu said that at noon today, she saw that the string of corn hanging on the porch was already infested with worms. "The corn is cooked, and as soon as I took one in my hand and ate it, people from Huajiashe came. They said that the uncle Wang Guancheng had returned to the west and was going to be buried in the evening today. They knew that I was a monk, so they told me to hurry up." I used to read a few scriptures to him indiscriminately. I was startled at the time, so I asked him, what did the old man say? He died. The man said that there was a strong beam in the village, and the old man had his neck chopped off. Talking, just urging me to go quickly, I think such a big thing, I should tell you. Who knows that you slept like a dead person, and I shook you for a long time before I saw you open your eyes. I will tell you about the murder of the uncle. As soon as you said that, you kept nodding. The man was urging me there again, so I dropped the corn and boarded the boat with the man. "

Han Liu asked her if she had eaten. Xiumi said: "As soon as you leave, where can I go for dinner?" Han Liu smiled and said, "Isn't the corn in the pot?" Saying that, he took the basket, uncovered a blue cloth covering it, and took out a clay bowl from it.Open the lid and there is a grouse inside.Xiumi hadn't eaten all day, and she was really hungry. After catching a grouse, she gnawed on it.Han Liu watched her eat with a smile, and patted her on the back from time to time to keep her from choking. Han Liu said that when she arrived at Hua's House, she was just in time for Xiao Yan.Wang Guancheng's corpse had already rested on the coffin lid. There was no tall furnace vase or tall candlesticks in front of the coffin. There were only two porcelain bowls filled with a little lamp oil. The rushes ignited with mung bean-like flames, which probably counted as everlasting lamps. up.There are common melons and fruits on the table.Look at Wang Guancheng again, the clothes on his body are also patch upon patch, just like the patchwork clothes worn by the monk, and the pair of old white-soled soap cobblers on his feet have also been worn to the bottom.The furnishings in the hall are also simple, very shabby.A few servant girls stood on both sides, and their clothes were all in tatters.

It was the first time Han Liu saw him. It turned out that the dignified manager turned out to be such a bad old man with an unshaven face and a sad face. His face was sallow due to too much blood.Han Liu knelt on the futon in front of the coffin, kowtowed a few times, and then began to chant sutras. Not long after, a woman came out from the inner room, about fifty or sixty years old.The man held a quilt needle and a thread board in his hand.Han Liu recognized her as Wang Guancheng's housekeeper.I don't know if it was because of fear, or for some other reason, but her hands were shaking violently.She handed the needle to Han Liu and pouted at the corpse, Han Liu understood.She asked herself to sew Wang Guancheng's head and neck up with thread.

The knife seemed to be cut from the back of the neck.The knife seemed a bit dull, because she saw some broken bones sticking to the long gray hair at the back of her head.Han Liu counted and sewed a total of sixty-two stitches, and finally sewed his head shut.When she finished sewing and was going to find a place to wash her hands, the old woman suddenly said: "Master, please close your eyes for him." Han Liu panicked: "Look at his eyes, they are as wide open as a buffalo. There must be someone close to her to close them before they can be closed. Xiao Ni is not related to him, so how dare you make a mistake?"

The old woman sighed and said: "The boss has no children and is alone. Although we have been with him for many years, we can't even speak a word or two. Besides, we don't know the rules. Everything here, no matter how big or small, is up to the master. That's right." Han Liu hesitated for a long time before agreeing. "Is there any jade pendant at home?" she asked. The old lady said: "The boss was extremely frugal during his lifetime. Not to mention jade pendants, he has never seen even a better stone. Even this thin material was borrowed from other people's homes."

"Do you have Huzhu?" Han Liu asked again. The old lady still shook her head. Han Liu turned around and saw a bunch of cherries in the fruit bowl on the spirit altar. They had just been picked, and there were still drops of water on them. He went to pick one, opened his teeth, and stuffed it in his mouth. Only then closed his eyes for him.After wiping it six times in a row, Wang Guancheng still couldn't close his eyes.In the end, Han Liu had no choice but to take out a yellow silk handkerchief from his pocket to cover his face.Han Liu asked the old lady to find a clean suit in the box, and she wanted to change it for him.A girl took a step forward and said: "Except for the master, I have never seen him wearing any other clothes. As for the cotton robes worn in winter, there seems to be one, but it is out of season."

Seeing what she said, Han Liu had no choice but to give up. During the funeral, people from all walks of life gathered outside the courtyard.Those big and small leaders came in to kowtow and salute, all with their own entourage.These attendants all wear swords and press the hilt with their hands, with nervous expressions.Hastily kowtowed, and returned to the courtyard.Han Liu knew that Wang Guancheng's sudden death had obviously made the leaders of all walks of life stepped up their vigilance, and everyone had sullen faces and frowned.After they finished prostrating, Han Liu ordered the funeral.Several craftsmen came over and hurriedly carried the corpse into the coffin, and was about to nail it on, when Han Liu suddenly asked, "Why didn't you see the second master?"

The old lady stepped forward and whispered: "We have asked someone to invite him three times in the morning, but he just didn't show his face. I asked someone to invite him again at noon. His family said that he went fishing in the lake by boat. Don't wait any longer." him." Only then did Han Liu ask the carpenter to build the coffin, hammer in the wooden nails, and tuck in the hemp rope.After everything was arranged, she heard someone outside the courtyard yell "Lift up the coffin". She saw a few servants carrying the coffin, staggering out the door, out of the courtyard, and headed west. After Han Liu finished talking about these things, the two of them sat down for a while.Xiumi also explained in detail what Wang Guancheng entrusted to her in a dream. Han Liu said with a smile: "Whatever comes into your mouth, it becomes supernatural. It is said that in this world, the big deal is death in the end. It's nothing terrible to risk your life. It's just that these things are said by you. , can’t help but make people creepy, as if everything in this world is fake.” "It was originally fake." Xiumi sighed and said leisurely. September 13th, Guangxu twenty-seventh year.heavy rain.The meeting was held at Xue's house in Xiazhuang.In the afternoon, the "Ten Kill Order" was agreed.Roughly as follows: (1) Those who have a permanent production of more than 40 mu shall be killed; ⑵ Kill usurers; (3) Court officials who have bad deeds are killed; ⑷ prostitute killing; (5) The thief kills; (6) Those who have infectious diseases such as leprosy and typhoid fever shall be killed; (7) Those who abuse women, children and the elderly shall be killed; ⑻ foot-binding kill; ⑼ killing of human traffickers; ⑽ Matchmakers, witches, monks, and Taoists are all killed. Among the above items, everyone has no objection except item (8).The person who objected most strongly to Article 8 was Xiaohe Wang. His reason was that there were not a few women in Puji and Xiazhuang who bound their feet.His own mother, wife, and two younger sisters all have bound feet.After re-discussion by everyone, it was changed to: From the day the revolution succeeds, anyone who has feet bound again will be killed. Returning to Puji late, the rain still hasn't stopped.The body is extremely tired.In the middle of the night, Mei Yun came upstairs, very lingering.I had to brace myself to fight it.I don't feel any fun anymore, it tastes like chewing wax.Those who have no interest and force to have sex are really suffering in life.The spirit is apathetic, and it is vented before it has reached its full potential.Yun was suddenly surprised and asked: "Did you get sucked by some vixen in Xiazhuang? Why is it so ineffective?"After taking a short break, in order to prove that he has no other intentions, he used all his strength to deal with her again.But when I saw the wrinkles on her neck, the fat on her back, and her thick arms, she immediately became fatigued, no matter how hard she tried, it was already at the end of her strength. Yun'er sobbed at first, and then called out in a low voice: "You have someone else in your heart, don't think I can't see it!" I was about to argue, but Yun'er suddenly raised her head, looked at me coldly, and looked at me from the teeth. Squeeze out a sentence: "If you dare to touch her with a finger, I will tear off your bones and feed them to the dogs." In a word, I was chilled all over, and my hair stood on end.The "she" that Yun'er refers to must be Xiumi.Strange, since I came to Puji, I have never met her a few times, and I have never even spoken to her a few times. How did Yun'er see through my mind?The connection between mother and daughter so far is really incredible.A woman's eyesight is a hundred times more poisonous than a hungry eagle's, so don't be careless. As soon as I thought of Xiuxiu, my strength came, and suddenly my strength was as strong as a cow. Yun'er kept moaning, sweating profusely, and her eyes were blurred.What if this woman suddenly turns into Xiumi?Sister, sister, sister!In the midst of Mei Yun's panting, I took the opportunity to tease: "Is my sister's body as white and plump as my sister's, like a steamed bun?" Hey ah ah ah ah, non-stop barking.At this moment, a sound was heard outside the door.When Yun'er was frightened by it, her eyes opened.He hurriedly got up and grabbed the clothes, covered his chest, opened the curtains, and looked into the courtyard.It turned out to be Baochen's son Tiger.This kid just came from Qinggang and is very naughty. Zu Yan and Xiao Taohong, a singing girl, follow each other like shadows.I'm worried that something will happen to him sooner or later. Only when reading Zhang Jiyuan's diary, Xiumi felt that she was still alive in this world.When she was in Puji, every plant, every tree, every sand and every stone contained infinite mysteries, and the clouds and mists made her unable to see through it, and she couldn't think of a clue.But now, once she knew the details of the matter, she felt that those things were so boring and boring. The only thing she wanted to know was how did her mother and Zhang Jiyuan meet?Did father know about this before he went mad?In the poem given to Mr. Ding Shuze, why did the father mistakenly write "Golden Toad" as "Golden Cicada". Does this have anything to do with the golden cicada that Zhang Jiyuan gave her before leaving?She rummaged through Zhang Jiyuan's diary, but still couldn't find any clues that could solve the mystery. There was no movement in Hua's house, day after day, it was as dead as dead.Xiu Mi no longer remembers the time.She only inferred the flow of time from the length of the shadow of the stake on the lake.The weather has become extremely hot, and there are no reed mats or mosquito nets on the island. At night, even when walking, there will be piles of mosquitoes bumping into your face.She also has no summer clothes to replace.Han Liu had no choice but to cut off the sleeves of one of his gowns and change it into a summer dress for her to make do with.It's easy to deal with in summer, but what if it comes to winter? Of course, Xiumi knew that she didn't have to think so far.She probably won't see winter.Since Wang Guancheng's death, she felt that it had been hundreds of years, but Han Liu told her that only a short month had passed.Boredom overwhelmed her.At dawn that day, when Xiumi saw a small boat suddenly sailing out of the thick fog and heading towards the island, she even cried out excitedly. The small boat docked, and a few people got off the boat.They each held a sealed wine jar in their hands.They carried the wine jar into the house, returned to the boat without saying a word, and left.At noon, another boat came from the opposite Hua's house.There were some melons, fruits and vegetables on board, as well as two large mandarin fishes in wooden barrels, a pair of pigs in the water, a cage of fresh shrimps, and two live chickens.A man wearing a white apron came down from the boat with two meat cleavers in his hands.This person did not go back to Hua's house with the boat, but went straight to the kitchen and told Han Liu to clean up the stove, he was coming to prepare the banquet for the evening. Seeing this, Han Liu hurriedly pulled Xiumi aside, and whispered to her, "Tonight, you're going to be unlucky." "Who's coming to the island?" "Third Master Qingfu." Han Liudao, "This man has read a few books in his early years. Although he is only half a bottle of vinegar, he can pull out that posture, and he is a hundred times more elegant than Tang Bohu and Ji Xiaolan. This man is extremely sophisticated. Even the water for making tea in the evening has to be brought from Huajiashe. Composing poems and singing operas can be quite a hassle.” When Xiumi heard this, she panicked and stood there, not knowing what to do. "But this person is not difficult to deal with, and he is a good drinker. At night, persuade him to drink a few more drinks. If he drinks a glass of wine, you will suffer less." Han Liu comforted her for a while , heard the cook calling her under the stove, and hurried over.But after walking a few steps, she turned around again and whispered in her ear, "Just treat that body as someone else's and let him manipulate it. I have a way, but unfortunately you don't." "What method?" "Recite the scriptures." Han Liu said, "Once I recite the scriptures, I don't know anything." When Qingfu came, it was already time to light up the lights.There was no one else except the two servant girls.This Qingfu is completely dressed as a Taoist priest, wearing a green cloth scarf on his head, cloth gown, straw sandals on his feet, double yellow silk tassels around his waist, and a large black-faced fan in gold, shaking his head, stumbled into the door without saying a word , still staring at Xiumi with his small mung bean eyes.While watching, nodding.A trace of drooling from the mouth was hanging on the cheeks, and the eyes were narrowed into a smile, and he couldn't help sighing: "Sister is indeed peach and apricot with rain, osmanthus with sorrow; autumn water is god, lotus is like face; white jade produces fragrance, begonia interprets words, wonderful..." After finishing speaking, he went straight to Xiumi and bowed to salute.Seeing that Xiumi was angry and didn't answer, she didn't care.Grinning, she went over, grabbed her little hand, rubbed it in it for a long time, and murmured for no reason: "My younger sister Yu De is soft and gentle, with a beautiful and cold nature. When I saw you today, my soul flew away. I am not talented, so I am taking the liberty tonight. I am willing to serve my younger sister to visit the Yunmengze Dongting Lake to relieve my longing for many days. I don't know what my younger sister will do." ?” Han Liu saw that he was talking crazy, so he hurried over and pulled him away, and ordered the cook to serve wine to start the banquet. Na Qingfu really had a good temper, and after listening to Han Liu's persuasion, he dropped Xiumi and came to the table and took a seat by himself.Shaking off the paper fan, he fanned it loudly. Xiumi refused to take a seat at first, but after Han Liupin gave him winks, she dragged on, hid a pair of scissors in her bosom, and sat opposite him.Seeing the old man staring at her, Xiumi felt ashamed and anxious, wishing to jump over and stab him to death immediately.She raised her head and glanced at him, seeing his ugly face and lewd eyes, and hearing him screaming "sister and sister", she couldn't help but shed tears from her eyes. The dishes on the table had already been arranged neatly, and the cook had already sifted the wine, and was about to pour it for Qingfu, but Qingfu used a folding fan and sipped it: Wait a minute!The cook was so frightened that he poured the wine all over him. "Wait a minute," Qingfu turned around and said to the two maids standing behind him, "Hongxian, Bijing, which one of you will sing a part of the opera first, it will help you have fun." A maid hurriedly whispered in his ear He asked at the same time, "Which song and passage do you want to hear?" Qingfu thought for a while, and then ordered: "You just sing 'I sigh for this life, it's like turning a canopy...'" The girl cleared her throat, opened her little cherry mouth, and sang softly: Just at the end of the song, Na Qingfu squinted his eyes and tapped his fan on the table, and said impatiently, "Wrong, wrong, and wrong again. There is no need to worry about the end of spring. The difference between one word and the meaning is completely meaningless." The girl panicked and froze for a while, then changed her tune and sang: After the girl sang, no one answered for a long time, and that Qingfu seemed to have touched his heart, and stood there scratching his ears and cheeks.The cook brought the wine and was about to pour it for him. Unexpectedly, Qing Fu suddenly flapped his fan again and said, "Wait a minute." The cook trembled again. Qingfu took the bowl in front of him in his hand, looked at it carefully in front of the lamp, and then handed it to Han Liudao: "Elder sister wash it under the stove for me, and then scald it in boiling water and bring it." Han Liu was taken aback for a moment, not knowing what he meant, but she still took the blue porcelain bowl without saying a word, and washed it under the stove. When Qingfu took the bowl, he still looked left and right, then suddenly remembered, and said with a smile: "No, I have to wash it myself again." After speaking, he left his seat to wash the dishes. Han Liu smiled and said, "Could it be that the third master is worried that someone will poison your bowl?" "Exactly." Qing Fu said.His face suddenly became gloomy: "It's not that I can't trust Eldest Sister, but now the Huajiashe is full of turmoil, and everyone is in danger, so I have to guard against it." Xiumi suddenly thought of magpies.She also has to wash the bowl several times every time she eats, lest someone put arsenic in her bowl.Unexpectedly, the bandit leader had the same problem as the magpie.In one thought, it was as if he had returned to Puji again.Looking at the night outside the house is as dark as ink, and the lights inside the house are like beans, the light and shadow are erratic, and I don’t feel my thoughts are disturbed, like a dream: Could it be that these people are turned into foxes, and I didn’t leave Puji originally, but just broke into a place by chance. In the cemetery, bewitched by the demon of the fox ghost?