91 Past
◎Baiyun Temple says it is very effective for praying for marriage◎
Song Jinyi brought some light porridge to visit Cheng Buxi.
When she arrived at the Yunshang Tea House, the maid led her to the inner house and told her that the owner had just finished taking medicine and rested. If she wanted to see the owner, she would have to wait.
The last time Song Jinyi came to the teahouse, she had only been to the kitchen and tea room, and had not yet looked at the houses inside. There was a slightly old wooden door at the entrance of the courtyard, and two simple small houses in the courtyard. A few unknown weeds grew in the gaps between the bricks and tiles on the ground.
There was a stone table in the middle of the courtyard, with a few yellow leaves lying on it. If it weren't for the rich fragrance of tea in the air, she would have thought she had come to an ordinary village home.
Song Jinyi met Cheng Xia in the yard. She had lost a lot of weight, and her light green coat seemed to stick to her bones, making her look thin. The corners of her mouth were slightly downturned, with a hint of bitterness.
Song Jinyi told the maid the purpose of her visit, handed the porridge in her hand to the maid, and then asked about Cheng Buxi's situation.
Cheng Xia sighed deeply, "My uncle used to suffer from a chronic disease, but he has been taking good care of himself over the years. He has followed the doctor's advice on diet and daily life, and he hasn't had a relapse in many years.
"The temperature dropped suddenly a few days ago. It's cold here in the mountains. My uncle was already ill, and he caught a cold when he wasn't paying attention. His chronic illness flared up without any warning."
Although Cheng Xia's face was calm when she said this, Song Jinyi could still hear the worry and uneasiness in her words.
"Have you seen a doctor?"
"We've invited several people and taken several doses of medicine, but there's no improvement. We can't hire anyone from the Imperial Hospital, so we need to go to the capital. But how can my uncle's body withstand a long journey?" Cheng Xia said, his voice gradually becoming hoarse as he thought of something, and a trace of helplessness and confusion flashed in his eyes.
Song Jinyi was a little moved. In her eyes, Cheng Xia had always been very calm, and he was flawless both in business and in life.
Unexpectedly, when an elder in the family fell ill, this once indestructible man became as fragile as an ordinary child.
She looked back at the closed door and comforted Cheng Xia a few more words.
Half an incense stick later, the servant in the house reported that the owner of the manor had woken up.
Song Jinyi and Cheng Xia got up and went into the house. The light in the house was a little dim. The wind was strong on the mountain. The windows in the house were tightly closed. The whole house was filled with a strong smell of medicine that could not be dispelled.
Cheng Xia walked a little faster, ahead of Song Jinyi. When she reached the bed, she blocked most of Song Jinyi's body. She called softly, "Uncle."
Seeing the person lying on the bed respond faintly, she said, "Someone is here to see you."
After Cheng Xia finished speaking, he turned sideways to let Song Jinyi come closer.
Song Jinyi had met Cheng Bushi twice in total and had a good impression of him. But when she saw him today, it was like seeing a completely different person. He was extremely thin, with sunken cheeks and protruding cheekbones, like two rocks growing out of barren land.
He is completely different from what I saw before!
Cheng Buxi twitched his eyelids and stared at Song Jinyi with lifeless eyes for a long time. Just when Song Jinyi thought that the other party did not recognize her and was about to say hello, Cheng Buxi showed a friendly smile, "You are here, Yunzhi."
——There was an eerie silence in the room.
Song Jinyi did not answer, but looked at Cheng Xia with some surprise.
Cheng Xia felt her gaze and whispered, "My uncle is very ill this time. Sometimes he becomes confused and can't recognize the people around him or remember what's going on. Please bear with me."
After Song Jinyi understood the situation, she did not say anything and just stood quietly by.
Cheng Buxi was not angry at Yunzhi's silence. Instead, he asked her, "Yunzhi, is the Lantern Festival coming soon?"
It's only the end of summer now, and there are still several months before the Lantern Festival. It seems that he is indeed sick and confused.
Song Jinyi did not refute, but just said "hmm" softly.
"Last year during the Lantern Festival, we watched a puppet show together on Xiluohua Street. You were so engrossed in it that you refused to leave no matter how much I called you. So I had no choice but to accompany you to the last show and wait until the stalls were closed before leaving.
"In the end, we both got scolded when we got home..." He rambled on for a long time, and finally asked, "Are you going together again this year?"
He waited a long time for no answer, and asked "Yunzhi" curiously, "Yunzhi?"
Cheng Xia gave Song Jinyi a look, and Song Jinyi could only bite the bullet and say, "Okay, let's go watch the puppet show together."
Cheng Buxi smiled when he heard the satisfactory answer. He had been ill for a long time, and this long-lost smile on his face seemed like a dead tree coming back to life.
He was silent for a moment and then said, "The man next door who sells herbs has given birth to several kittens. I heard they want to give them away. I remember you like kittens very much. Do you want me to get one for you to raise?"
Hearing these words, Song Jinyi wondered uncertainly: Did his memory return to his childhood? He and the original owner's mother seemed so familiar, what was their relationship?
Seeing that she remained silent, Cheng Buxi continued, "Don't worry, it's okay if your parents don't agree. You can leave the child at my house and you can come and take care of him anytime."
Song Jinyi said yes stiffly.
Cheng Bushi seemed to have been ill for a long time. There was no one to talk to next to him, so he talked a lot. Cheng Xia was afraid that he was tired, so he fed him tea twice. Seeing that he was still not resting, it was rare for him to be so energetic in these days, so he followed him.
Faced with Cheng Buxi's endless old stories, Song Jinyi agreed to them one by one.
Cheng Bushi, who got the promise, was like a child who got candy, with a sweet smile on his face. But then he thought of something and his smile froze.
He suddenly asked, "Yunzhi, do you still remember the peach forest in Nanshan? We often went there for outings when we were young. There was a temple next to it.
"It's the temple where you like peach blossom cakes. Do you know why I often take you there?" He smiled gently when he said this.
"I heard that Baiyun Temple is very effective in praying for marriage, so when you went to eat peach blossom cakes, I actually went to the main temple and secretly worshipped the gods, praying that he would let me and you grow old together.
"But later..." He paused there, his voice sinking, becoming lower and lower, softer and softer, with an unspeakable bitterness, "I realized that the gods were not effective, and I never went to the Baiyun Temple again."
He raised his hand tremblingly, but his health was too weak and he was unable to move it up even halfway.
Song Jinyi reached out and held those cold and old hands.
Seeing this, Cheng Buxi smiled slowly and said, "Yunzhi, I'm very happy that you came to see me. I will be well before the Lantern Festival, so you must wait for me to go see the puppet show together, okay?"
Song Jinyi thought that if the original owner's mother was here, she would definitely comfort him, so she nodded on behalf of Yunzhi.
The fatigue brought by the body made Cheng Buxi feel sleepy, but he persisted and stared at "Yunzhi" reluctantly for a while until his eyelids closed heavily and he fell asleep.
******
A few days later, Liuxiangju, which had been closed for a long time, opened its doors, and a letter was delivered to Song Jinyi.
The letter only said that he was invited to attend to something, so Song Jinyi went.
As soon as Cheng Xia saw her, he told her the news of Cheng Buxi's death.
Song Jinyi felt a pang in her heart and couldn't help feeling sad about this.
Cheng Xia said, "Thanks to you, you gave him a false dream, and he passed away peacefully."
Song Jinyi was still immersed in this sad news the moment before she heard her say, "Our family's tea shop business has been passed down from generation to generation. In the past, my father was in charge of the shop, managing all matters, while my uncle was away in charge of buying and selling, each doing his own job.
"It's a pity that my father was unlucky and in poor health, and he died young. My uncle had no choice but to return home and take over the affairs of the village. Now, my uncle has passed away, and he has no children. As for his assets..."
Cheng Xia met her eyes and said slowly, "He made a will to give you his share of the estate."
Song Jinyi opened her eyes wide in shock. The impact of this news on her was no less than a pie falling from the sky.
It was so sudden that she was a little at a loss for a moment. She tried to see something from Cheng Xia's expression.
Tea was a luxury in ancient times. It was a profitable business, not to mention that Yunshang Tea House's business spanned the entire Great Xia. To say she wasn't tempted would be a lie, but she also knew no one would be willing to give up their plate of food.
According to Cheng Xia, if she wasn't there, the entire teahouse should have belonged to her alone, but she came in for no reason.
So why did Cheng Xia invite her here?
Force her to give up? Judging from her attitude, it doesn't seem like that? Song Jinyi didn't figure it out for a moment and didn't speak rashly. She didn't want to have another opponent besides Zui Liuxia.
After a while, Cheng Xia said, "Since the day Yunshang Tea House was founded, generations have been named Cheng."
Song Jinyi nodded. "So, should I call you Master Cheng now?"
A hint of surprise flashed across Cheng Xia's eyes, "You don't want to take over the teahouse?!" she blurted out, and her voice couldn't help but pause.
"You already said that the owner of Yunshang Tea House can only be surnamed Cheng. How can I, a person with an outsider surname, take over the tea house? Besides, the tea house is too big and there are too many people. I can't manage it all.
"Master Cheng thought highly of me and gave me his property, but I can't live up to his expectations. If you can give me a discount when you take over the tea house in the future, I will be very satisfied."
Cheng Xia moved his lips, wanting to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
She didn't expect that Song Jinyi would actually give up the position of manor owner.
Is she short-sighted? Or is there something else going on?
Cheng Xia smiled, and seeing her like this, he promised her one-third of the profits from Yunshang Tea House and the right to use the tea, and according to the agreement made by Cheng Bushi at that time, he would supply Cha Yuan at a 30% discount.
After drinking tea, Song Jinyi asked Cheng Xia a question, "Do you know what the relationship is between your uncle and my mother?"
When he saw the unconscious Cheng Buxi that day and heard those words, he thought they had a close relationship - he was even willing to hand over his property to an outsider like her.
But she wanted to know more.
Cheng Xia said calmly, "They were childhood sweethearts and were about to get married, but it was discovered that your mother had an engagement with the Song family before she was born.
“Your mother kept her promise and eventually left my uncle and married your father.
"It would be fine if she was happy, but everyone in Yunzhou City knows that the master of the Song family favors his concubine over his wife. My uncle regrets it deeply and thinks he should have just used force to snatch the bride away.
"For so many years, because of his obsession, he never remarried." His words could not hide his sympathy for his uncle.
Song Jinyi was silent. She didn't expect Song Zhangye to make things so bad. He clearly had someone he liked, but he forced her to marry him because of an engagement and didn't treat her well. It was really a sin.
She paused and said to Cheng Xia, "I have something else I want to ask you for help. Please lend me two people."
"I know that the capable Madam Xu in your shop has left, but if you want to find a helper, you can just post a notice. Why bother to borrow someone from me?" Cheng Xia tilted his head and looked at her.
"To be honest, I'm borrowing someone from you not for the store, but because I want to follow someone."
"who?"
"My fiancé."
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