Chapter 76 Sui Liang Speaks
When Wu Zu led his men into Shisantun with the reward, Sui Liang was playing shuttlecock with Erya in the alley. The boys in the alley looked down on Sui Liang's identity and disliked him for being a mute, so they ignored him. Only the little girls thought he was handsome and could play shuttlecock, so they would pull him along when they played.
"Brother Liang, your brother-in-law must have done something great again!" Erya shouted. She kicked the shuttlecock away and hurried over to him, asking cheerfully, "Uncle, did Captain Zhao do something great again?"
Wu Zu nodded. He looked at Sui Liang and asked, "Where's your sister?"
"Liang'er's sister went out hunting, she is not at home." Erya answered.
Sui Liang nodded.
Wu Zu thought for a moment, and he thought that he should lie about the death in a low-key manner, leave the reward and say he will come back tomorrow.
When Sui Yu came back in the evening and heard what Erya had conveyed, she felt uneasy. She counted the rewards and found that in addition to ten pounds of meat and a jar of wine, there were also ten ingots of silver, a total of twenty taels.
"Erya, was the person who came to report the news smiling?" Sui Yu asked.
Erya shook her head, "No, I didn't laugh much."
Sui Liang sensed something was wrong from her words. He looked nervous and twirled the corner of his clothes anxiously.
Sui Yu pressed her chest and grabbed a handful of cooked beans for Erya to eat. After Erya left, she sighed worriedly.
Sui Liang grabbed her hand. Sui Yu forced a smile and said, "Your brother-in-law has done something great again. I'll pickle the meat and hang it up to make bacon for him when he comes back. We'll cook bean porridge tonight. Come and help me light the fire."
Both the brother and sister were secretly worried. No one of them was full at dinner, so the leftover bean porridge mixed with vegetable leaves was stewed and fed to the pigs.
After feeding the pigs, Sui Yu boiled water to scald the chicken feathers. The cat official stood quietly by and stared at the chicken's butt, which belonged to it.
Ten pounds of pork and a pheasant were rubbed with salt and hung up. Sui Yu grabbed a handful of grass ash and carefully rubbed her smelly hands. She didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but she suddenly felt that the night was frighteningly quiet.
After finally making it to dawn, Sui Yu took Sui Liang and stood at the entrance of the alley waiting for the person who brought the news yesterday.
Uncle Lao Niu came out holding his daughter and walked over to say, "What are you two doing here? I heard your husband has done something great again."
"The reward has been delivered, but the person hasn't returned yet." Sui Yu stretched his neck to look out the alley and said, "I wasn't home yesterday, and the messenger said he'd come back this morning."
Uncle Niu sensed something was amiss. What was it that had to be said in person? It must be bad news.
A person appeared at the end of the alley. Sui Liang stood up straight suddenly. He turned his head to look at Sui Yu and mouthed: It's him.
Sui Yu perked up and stared at the person approaching with trepidation.
Wu Zu cleared his throat, lowered his brows, and approached with a heavy face, saying, "Zhao Fuchang's wife, right? I'll go back with you and tell you."
Sui Yu's heart skipped a beat. She panicked and looked at the Wu Zu helplessly. She was stunned for a moment before she quickly led her people back.
"What happened to my man?" Sui Yu asked as she entered the room. Fearing she would hear bad news from Wu Zu, she quickly interrupted him, saying, "Brother, would you like some water? We don't have hot water at home, and it's cold. I'll go get you some hot water. Or would you like some wine? I still have some at home, I'll pour it for you."
Seeing her anxious yet calm, Wu Zu hesitated for a moment, then thought of how Zhao Xiping had been completely bewitched by this woman's whispering. He suppressed his hesitation and said tentatively, "Don't worry, I'll just say a few words and leave."
"Brother Zhao is gone. His chest and abdomen were stabbed open with a machete. He developed a high fever before he could even find a clinic, and died before nightfall."
Sui Yu's face turned pale in an instant. For a moment, he seemed to have lost his soul. He stood in front of the stove door like a wooden man, and his eyes became dim and empty.
"Brother Zhao asked me to tell you something, asking you to remarry and not to stay with him anymore." Wu Zu said again.
Sui Yu's head was buzzing and she couldn't hear anything. A line of tears silently slid down her cheek and fell to the ground.
Wu Zu looked at her twice, and the beauty shed tears, which was shocking. He suddenly felt sorry for her.
Uncle Lao Niu came over at some point. He didn't have a child in his arms and was standing alone outside the door. How could a living person just disappear like that?
A living person was gone just like that? Sui Yu looked around. There were men in every corner of the courtyard, good and bad, angry and laughing. A living person was killed because of her?
Sui Yu's legs went limp and she collapsed to the ground. She burst into tears, cried for a few times and then laughed out loud. She was a dove that had usurped the magpie's nest. She had killed the owner of the house and was living a peaceful life in it.
Sui Liang was so scared that he came over and hugged her, and he started crying. He was so scared. He had not yet accepted the fact that his brother-in-law was dead, and he vaguely felt that he would lose his sister too.
Tong Huaer came, and everyone in the alley came. Those who could come in came in, and those who couldn’t come in blocked the door.
"Where is he buried?" In great grief, Sui Yu suddenly ran out of tears. She looked at Wu Zu and asked, "Where is he buried? I'll go get him."
Wu Zu was speechless. He was stunned for a moment and then stammered, "It has been buried for several days. If you plan to move the grave, it would be best to wait two or three years before exhuming the remains."
Sui Yu's mind raced, and he continued to ask persistently, "Where is he buried? I want to go and be with him."
Wu Zu didn't notice anything was wrong and said, "It's in Zongshan Village, the northernmost village of Jiuquan County, northwest of the local cemetery."
The last bit of hope was shattered, Sui Yu was desperate, Zhao Xiping was really buried underground.
Sui Yu heard the comfort and regret from the people around her but it did not touch her heart. She sat quietly in the yard holding Sui Liang, watching the people in the yard come and go with empty eyes.
By noon, only Uncle Lao Niu, Tong Huaer, and Sister La Mei were still there.
The pigs and sheep in the pen were calling. Sister Lamei went out to pull a bundle of hay and threw it into the pen to feed the camels and sheep. As for the pigs, she didn't have the heart to cook feed for them at the moment. She went into the kitchen and scooped a bowl of millet and beans into the trough.
"Sister-in-law, stop working and take a break." Sui Yu suddenly spoke up. She stopped her and asked, "What do you think of my brother Liang? He's obedient and can work..."
Sui Liang burst into tears and hit Sui Yu. He didn't want to go to someone else's house.
Sui Yu cried too. She touched Sui Liang, her heart aching so much she couldn't breathe. He was a good boy, and after spending so much time with him, no one would dislike him. She couldn't bear to let him go, but she couldn't hold on any longer. Her hopes had been dashed time and time again, and she had even killed someone... There was no way forward, and she didn't want to endure it any longer.
The road ahead is dark, so it’s better to stop at what is in front of you.
"Sister Yu, don't let this get you down." Sister Lamei panicked, "Brother Liang is good, you can raise him yourself. I have children at home, so we don't lack children."
"As long as you are willing to support him, all the pigs, sheep and four camels in the house will be yours," said Sui Yu.
Sister Lamei was silent for a moment. She was a little moved, but when she looked at Sui Yu, she shook her head firmly and said, "I don't want it. You live well."
Sui Yu stopped talking.
Tong Huaer went into the kitchen to cook a pot of porridge. The porridge went from boiling hot to cold, and no one touched it.
It got dark unknowingly. Sister Lamei went back, Uncle Lao Niu also went back, and Tong Huaer stayed in the yard to accompany Sui Yu and his sister.
When it was completely dark, Uncle Lao Niu came over holding the crying Ah Shui. When it was dark, the child only needed his mother.
"You go back, let's go to sleep too." Sui Yu said.
Tong Huaer hesitated to speak.
Sui Yu stood up and walked her out. After they were far away, she asked Uncle Niu: "I don't have a household registration. Uncle Niu, do you know any way to get out of the city?"
Uncle Niu shook his head and said, "Niece-in-law, don't do anything stupid. I've lived for so many years despite being a coward. You're still young. As long as you can breathe, no matter how difficult the days are, they will pass."
"I promised him that if he died, I would go to accompany him." Perhaps because she was determined to die, Sui Yu was calm. She even smiled. She would not live in this damn dynasty.
"You...ah!" Uncle Niu sighed. He didn't understand the thoughts of young people. He couldn't comprehend what it meant to live and die together.
Sui Yu returned home and Sui Liang was standing outside the door waiting for her. Seeing her come back, he hurried in.
Sui Yu covered the stove with fire, and the porridge in the pot was heated up. She filled two bowls and handed one to Sui Liang.
Sui Liang watched her eat, and he also took a few bites.
The pigs didn't eat enough at noon, and were so hungry that they were digging in the sand in the pen. Although Sui Yu felt tired, he still got up to get the pig food bucket and fed the remaining half pot of porridge to the pigs.
The sheep and camels were also hungry and thirsty, so Sui Yu skillfully pulled grass and fetched water. She stood outside the pen, listening to the pigs grunting as they tried to get food, and watching the sheep and camels grazing in the moonlight.
If it weren't for the sudden thunder, she might have chatted with the pig tonight, praised the goat for its beautiful voice, and then praised the camel for its big appetite...
"Meow--"
The cat official came back. He climbed over the wall with the mouse in his mouth, then jumped down lightly. The mouse fell to the ground with a "bang".
"Meow--"
The cat official opened his mouth and let out a cry, then walked towards Sui Yu with his legs spread wide and his tail erect.
Sui Yu squatted down, and the cat official put the mouse at her feet, raised his head and rubbed it on her hand.
Two tears fell on the cat. The cat officer meowed softly, and it stood up, put its front paws on the person's knees, and rubbed Sui Yu's chin gently with its head.
"Cat official..." Sui Yu choked out a sob. She lowered her head and buried it in her arms, crying, "Zhao Xiping is dead."
The cat official meowed, jumped up and landed on the person, its furry body brushing against the person's face. It squeezed into Sui Yu's arms, and put its head in from his elbow, squeezing his face out of shape, and stretched out its tongue to lick his wet face.
"It stinks." Sui Yu felt a little better. She sat cross-legged on the ground and combed the cat owner's fur. She felt reluctant to leave this home and everything in this home.
Sui Liang came over after washing the dishes and also sat down cross-legged.
The cold dew fell, and the messy hair was covered with misty dew, faintly white under the moonlight.
Sui Liang couldn't bear it anymore and he yawned frequently.
"Come into the house and sleep. I'll go to sleep too," said Sui Yu.
The two men entered the house, and the cat official carried the dead mouse into the kitchen and stood guard. There was meat hanging on the wall, and it had to keep an eye on it.
Sui Liang and Sui Yu walked into the main room, and the brother and sister would sleep together tonight.
After Sui Liang fell asleep, Sui Yu got out of bed and walked out. She sat on the stone outside the door and looked at the sky. Thinking of the scene where Zhao Xiping had sat here, she lowered her eyes and burst into tears again.
A day passed, and she still couldn't accept that he was dead. He valued his life so much, and she had warned him, so how could he die?
The cat official squeezed out from the crack of the kitchen door, walked over and rubbed against Sui Yu's feet. Seeing that she ignored it, it squatted on the ground, dragging its long tail and shaking it from time to time.
The cock crowed, and the person in the bed suddenly woke up. Sui Liang sat up and felt around to find that there was no one in the bed. He remembered that he had lied to his aunt who had been hanged while he was sleeping, and he cried anxiously: "Wuwuwu... Sister, sister..."
Sui Yu thought she was hallucinating. When she heard the second sound, she stood up and pushed the door. The cat official came in quickly, tilting its head and staring at the little master crying on the bed.
"Sister..." Sui Liang ran out of bed barefoot, "I thought you were dead."
"Brother Liang, you can speak now." Sui Yu was delighted.
Sui Liang didn't care whether to speak or not. He was so scared that he hugged Sui Yu's waist and cried loudly.
Qin Dashun, who lived next door, thought something had happened to Sui Yu. He rushed to knock on the door anxiously, "Sui Yu? Sui Yu? Sui Liang? Who's crying?"
Several houses nearby woke up and everyone opened their doors and came out at the same time.
"Brother Liang can speak now. He was scared by a nightmare." Sui Yu walked over and said.
Hearing her voice, Qin Dashun breathed a sigh of relief. He muttered, "It's Brother Zhao who is blessing you two in the underworld. Sui Yu, we heard from La Mei that you should not be depressed. Think more about your brother, he is still young. You two can live in Brother Zhao's yard from now on. No one will come to drive you away. We will go and speak to the village chief on his behalf."
Sui Yu did not respond.
"Sui Liang, if you have any problems, just shout. I'll come right here." Qin Dashun then said to Sui Liang, "Watch over your sister and don't let her do anything stupid."
The night became quiet again.
At dawn, Sui Yu took Sui Liang out. She wanted to find Sui Hui to see if she could ask for a guarantee from her so that she could leave the city with a certificate.
Just as he reached the entrance of the alley, Sui Yu saw Wu Zu coming.
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