Chapter 41 Dodder (Part 5) Her clothes were disheveled, just like her own...
The light yellow hemp paper was crumpled into a ball in my hand, and the ink stains on it became crooked and twisted.
Gu Lianzhou stepped forward and saw that his senior brother's expression was unpleasant. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw a wisp of flame rise from between his senior brother's fingers. The poor piece of hemp paper was instantly burned to ashes, which dripped through his fingers.
"..."
Who was so foolish as to write a letter to provoke their senior brother, forcing him to waste a fire-igniting talisman?
Upon catching sight of the man beside her, Song Qiling suddenly remembered the warning in the letter, and her brows slowly furrowed.
Senior Brother Wujiu had only met Gu Lianzhou once, yet he sensed something. Could it be that her junior brother truly possessed some secret that even she herself did not know?
joke.
This is clearly prejudice.
Is she the only one who is blind in both eyes and heart?
With a soft hum from his nose, Song Qiling flicked his sleeve, shaking off the crumbs of the letter, and turned to leave, leaving the bewildered Gu Lianzhou standing there.
-
The group boarded the carriage, which swayed and bumped along the country lanes.
Today, with its warm spring sunshine and gentle breeze, it's a perfect day for a spring outing and sightseeing.
After walking for about an hour, lush vegetation and wildflowers appeared on both sides of the road.
Yu Qi picked up some grass roots to tease the rabbit in the cage, muttering, "I originally caught you to roast and eat, but now that I've caught you, I can't bring myself to eat you."
As the carriage swayed along with him, Liu Dai leaned against the soft pillows and teased him, "Admit it, Yu Laoqi, if you want to keep pets, just say so."
Watching the soft, white rabbit twitch its ears, resembling a snowball come to life, Yu Qi felt her heart melt.
"Liu Xingchuan, you're so high and mighty, why don't you keep one?" he asked Liu Dai, resting his chin on his elbow.
But the old-fashioned young doctor in front of him shook his head, his expression unusually dejected. “A wanderer like me can barely take care of myself, let alone spare the time to care for a fragile animal. Besides, back in Huanxi Village, I was unable to take Fangfeng out and left it alone in that messy place. I’m sorry to it.”
As they continued, both of them fell silent.
Yu Qi's joy vanished instantly when his sore spot was touched, replaced by two streams of hot tears. "Oh, my sesame ball..."
These days he avoided talking about what was happening in Joyful Village, immersing himself in the joy of leaving the village, never expecting that a rabbit he caught would awaken his sad memories.
Just as he was feeling sad, the carriage door was suddenly opened from the outside. Gu Lianzhou poked his head in, but seeing that the atmosphere inside the carriage was not right, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.
He paused for a moment, then spoke again: "Are you arguing again?"
Why didn't he hear any noise outside just now? Could it be that the two of them are really angry this time?
Liu Dai shook his head. "It's nothing. Brother Gu, would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
These past few days, the four of them have been taking turns being the coachmen. Right now, it should be Song San's turn to be on duty, but Gu Si found the carriage stuffy and sat outside under the pretext of getting some fresh air.
Although he said that, he was probably worried that Song San hadn't rested well, so he made an excuse to accompany him in the car.
He shook his head and said, "No need. I saw smoke rising from the roadside. Perhaps there are farmers there. My senior brother asked me to ask you if you want to stay up ahead."
Upon hearing this, Liu Dai and Yu Qi exchanged a glance, and then nodded in unison: "Yes."
With the sun setting and dusk approaching, having a place to stay was naturally a great blessing. If only we could get a bowl of hot sweet potato porridge from a farmer.
With such anticipation in mind, the group could see crowds of people thronging both sides of the road from afar.
?
Where did all these people come from?
Along the village road, there were two or three simple stalls set up with wooden frames, displaying bottles and jars. Up close, one could see stone carvings and various clay bowls and plates piled on the table. It seemed that they were using household items to do business.
In broad daylight, more than ten people dressed as farmers gathered together, appearing out of nowhere like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
"Stop the car first, I'll go check ahead," Song Qiling said, pulling on the reins to stop the horse. She jumped off the carriage a short distance from the crowd, tied the horse securely, quickly tidied her clothes, and then walked towards the area where the vendors were gathered.
Upon approaching, several baskets filled with various dried fruits such as dates and peanuts were neatly stacked in front of the stall, covered with a thin layer of paper-cutting, with the vermilion "囍" (double happiness) character unfolded, particularly eye-catching.
Song Qiling silently lowered her eyes and scanned them one by one. When she caught a glimpse of someone walking towards her, she looked up.
"Is this a guest from Qingya?" The man was old, his hair and beard were completely white, and his eyes were filled with two murky pools; he was actually half-blind.
Unlike others, this old man was dressed elegantly, wearing a brand-new crimson silk jacket and black boots embroidered with dark patterns. Although he was on a country road, he was spotless.
Then look at his sparse hair, which was all tied up and covered with a jade crown, with a jade hairpin of the same color inserted in the middle. Although it could not be called luxurious, it was still extremely dignified.
Hearing that the man had a very strong local accent, Song Qiling could barely make out the meaning in his words. He then cupped his hands in greeting and replied, "My brother and I are just passing through this place and are not from Qingya."
Upon hearing this, the old man sighed softly, muttering to himself as if complaining, "I told you long ago that missing the appointed time would be unlucky, why hasn't he arrived yet?"
After muttering to himself for a while, the old man pointed behind him without looking up, saying, "Go inside, go inside."
Song Qiling was puzzled, but she looked in the direction he pointed and met several smiling villagers. When they saw her looking over, their smiles widened, and they waved to her and said, "Come here."
Is the local culture always so simple and honest?
Song Qiling scratched his head, feeling flattered, and turned to wink at Gu Lianzhou and the others.
"Senior brother called us over." Gu Lianzhou reached out and untied the reins from the tree, leading the horse toward the center of the road.
Wherever it goes, crowds automatically make way for it.
The peasant woman, dressed in a red brocade jacket with dark floral patterns, warmly greeted Song Qiling, saying, "You've come at just the right time! Tonight is the night of the wedding, the Jiang family is having a grand banquet. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Why don't you stay a little longer? You'll be able to see the bride later!"
“Moon Rainbow?” Song Qiling grasped at this unfamiliar word, and her gaze toward the peasant woman became more suspicious.
The woman in the floral jacket raised her voice and pointed to the pale moon on the horizon, saying, "Look, it's a full moon today. When it rains tonight, a rainbow will appear on the horizon. It'll be beautiful."
Following the direction of her finger, Song Qiling narrowed her eyes. The sun was setting, dyeing the sky a brilliant and vivid purplish-red, while on the other side, the round moon hung quietly in the sky.
She had never seen rain fall on a full moon night.
Thinking this, Song Qiling continued, "Auntie, judging from your accent, you're not from around here."
He and the half-blind old man seemed to be from different villages.
"Oh dear, you recognized me! I'm from Jinxuewo. I'm just here to join in the fun." The peasant woman in the floral jacket chuckled, covering her slightly pointed red lips, and looked at Song Qiling with her round, dark eyes. "You still haven't told me where you're from. Do you have a visiting card?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Song Qiling's face. "My home is far away. I'm just passing through today and don't have a formal invitation..."
Aunt Hua'ao waved her hand dismissively and said, "Why would I need a visiting card to join in the fun? The Jiang family isn't that stingy."
Song Qiling was sweating profusely.
She did say all the words.
Then the man took a step forward, covered his mouth and chuckled softly, "Little sister, let me tell you a secret, I don't have an invitation card either."
younger sister?
Song Qiling's mind went blank for a moment. She instinctively looked up at her surroundings, afraid that someone would hear her. After searching for a while, she finally saw that her junior brother and his group had been pulled away by the villagers to chat under the shade of a tree. She breathed a sigh of relief, her face pale, and looked at the peasant woman standing close by. She whispered, "Auntie, how did you figure that out?"
She clearly used a talisman to conceal her identity; an ordinary person shouldn't be able to tell.
The peasant woman was puzzled: "Why do you need to look? I can tell by smell."
Her nose is incredibly sensitive.
Not only could I smell that virgin scent, but I could also smell...
The woman swallowed hard, her eyes darting around before she looked behind Song Qiling and excitedly raised her voice, "Look! Qingya's bride is here!"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the other end of the road.
Under the vibrant sunset, a golden carriage sped toward them, leaving behind shimmering silver specks on the ground.
As everyone looked closely, they realized that the specks of light were silver powder leaking through the gaps in the red-painted carriage, truly a display of extravagance with golden bridles and jade reins, and a fine horse and fragrant carriage.
Song Qiling stared blankly as the jeweled carriage sped closer, her face momentarily blank.
Is this how weddings are done in the village?
It was a far cry from the grand scene of eight-bearer sedan chairs and the lively music and drumming she remembered.
As the carriage was about to catch up with them, the crowd did not retreat. Instead, they stepped forward and took out the dried fruits such as red dates and longans that they had prepared and threw them into the carriage.
Song Qiling was unable to dodge in time and was instantly engulfed by the crowded people.
In the chaos, plump peanuts were scattered all over his head, sliding down his collar and into his clothes.
Song Qiling, struggling to survive in the cracks: "..."
Such wasteful behavior towards food is unacceptable.
As she struggled to breathe, a hand descended from above, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her backward.
She felt her back bump into someone's arms, and the pounding of her heart came from the source of warmth pressed against her. Song Qiling looked up with difficulty and saw her junior brother, whose clothes were disheveled and who was just as disheveled as her. He was looking up to avoid the pressure from the surroundings, his jaw was tense, and the veins on his neck were faintly visible as he exerted force.
I don't know how much effort it took to squeeze next to her, but I saw a drop of sweat slowly slide down her slightly bulging veins and then disappear into her clothes.
As if sensing her gaze, Gu Lianzhou lowered his eyes to look at his senior brother. Just then, a warm hand quietly rose and gently wiped his neck.
Their skin touched briefly before the hand quickly withdrew.
Gu Lianzhou slowly opened his eyes, his gaze towards his senior brother filled with confusion.
Song Qiling lightly twirled her fingertips, then awkwardly looked away. Amidst the jostling of the crowd, she followed her junior brother onto the ridge of the field.
They felt a soft, fluffy texture under their feet, and when they looked down, they saw a patch of lush green shepherd's purse surrounding them.
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