Chapter 22 Chapter 22 A serious father and a gentle mother?
In spring, the scenery is bright, the mountains are green and the water is rippling. Fanxi County is backed by Xiaofeng Mountain. It was originally named because people raised bees on this nameless mountain.
Lu Suizhu walked the streets every day, hoping to buy a shop to make a living.
Since she had decided to live here permanently, she would inevitably show her face when she went out to buy things. Outsiders were particularly eye-catching in this county, not to mention that she was a young and beautiful woman.
Facing the undisguised stares of the crowd, Lu Suizhu just smiled from time to time, not daring to reveal her name easily, and rarely talked about her interactions with her aunts.
Even with such caution, they still picked and chose to fabricate the life of a miserable woman who was divorced by her husband for having no children and was forced to leave her hometown.
After a tiring day without finding a shop with a good location, reasonable prices and a honest owner, Lu Suizhu pounded his shoulders tiredly.
Before anyone had even sat down, there was a knock on the door.
An elderly couple was standing at the door. They had hunched backs and obvious wrinkles on their faces, but they looked very kind. They were obviously stunned when they saw Lu Suizhu.
He stood at the door for a long time without saying anything.
"What do you want?"
Lu Suizhu frowned slightly, and remained guarding the door, her vigilance never fading.
Uncle Zhang nudged Aunt Li with his elbow, and Aunt Li seemed to have just reacted. She spread her hands and began to introduce herself with a smile.
"We are neighbors next door. We heard that a new young lady moved in here, so we thought we'd come over to take a look."
The two of them were holding a few apples, pears and a few bunches of grapes in their hands, and their words, actions and expressions were all honest and simple.
Although Lu Suizhu felt that the sudden visit of the old couple was a bit strange, she still thanked them for the sake of the fruit, invited them in, and asked Fang Dian to pour them tea.
"What are your names?"
"The girl is young, so you can call him Uncle Zhang and me Aunt Li. Everyone in the county calls me that." Aunt Li is lively and her eyes are smiling when she speaks, which makes it easy for people to let down their guard.
But during the conversation, his eyes were always fixed on Lu Suizhu, examining her closely.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable being stared at, Lu Suizhuzi leaned back and asked rather unceremoniously, "When I rented the house, I didn't see any houses nearby, let alone neighbors. I wonder where Uncle Zhang and Aunt Li live? And how did you hear that I live here?"
Aunt Li paused for a moment, opening her mouth but saying nothing. Uncle Zhang took over and replied in an old, hoarse voice, "Hey, Fan Xi is only this old. We are all old people here, so we naturally know everything."
It was inevitable that the news would spread quickly in the county. Seeing Lu Suizhu nodded, Aunt Li felt relieved and continued to ask questions. She pulled Lu Suizhu over affectionately with her hands full of wrinkles and thick calluses.
"How old is the girl?"
"It's not yet mature." Lu Suizhu answered vaguely.
"Are you married?"
"I had an engagement in my early years." Lu Suizhu lied.
"Do you have any relatives? Why did you come to Fanxi?"
"I was abandoned by my parents and came here to look for my relatives." This statement was half true and half false, and Lu Suizhu's shoulders shrugged slightly.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhang and Aunt Li looked at each other, stood up and said goodbye. Their steps were hurried as if they were being chased by tigers and wolves, and their backs were not bent so much. They rushed out of the door without saying a word and disappeared in a moment.
"You really love to gossip when you get older." Fang Dian shook her head, and the expression on her face was hard to describe.
Lu Suizhu didn't think much about it. She just thought that it was the old man who was free and liked to matchmake people. When he heard that she had no relatives, he felt that it would be difficult for an orphan girl to be a matchmaker, so he left in a hurry without saying a word.
Not long after, there was another knock on the door, and the unattended little yellow dog on the side of the road stuck its butt up and barked non-stop.
Lu Suizhu picked up a broom and held it in her hand before letting Fang Dian open the door.
Uncle Zhang and Aunt Li went and came back, followed by a middle-aged couple about fourteen years old. The man was wearing a light green official robe embroidered with egrets, which was gray and old.
The wife standing beside him was also plain and simple, one hand clutching a silk handkerchief, the other tugging tightly at her husband's sleeve, seeming a little nervous. For some reason, seeing these two people, Lu Suizhu felt a strange feeling rising in her heart, like a ball of cotton bouncing and swelling in her throat, and for a moment she was speechless.
The only willow tree in the yard has green buds, swaying with the spirit of spring.
He calmly took half a step forward, his wide sleeves fluttering in the breeze. He opened his lips slightly and looked at Lu Suizhu carefully.
Although the look was already inappropriate, Lu Suizhu did not try to dodge it at all, as if she was certain that the person in front of her would not hurt her.
"Daughter...?" The calm voice was uncertain.
As soon as these two words came out, it was as if thousands of bright yellow stars fell to the ground, blurring her vision. There was also an echo like the buzzing of cicadas in her ears. Lu Suizhu was stunned for a moment.
The broom in his hand fell to the ground with a soft sound. "What?"
Seeing that the father and daughter were so calm, Lin Yan could no longer hold back. She pushed her hesitant husband aside and went straight forward to hug Lu Suizhu.
"Wenjia, my daughter, I finally found you. I'm so heartbroken."
I felt a little dizzy from the sudden impact of the weight, and my tears fell uncontrollably, wetting my rosy cheeks. This kind of warm embrace was only available when I was a child.
Although this sudden change made people happy, Lu Sui still couldn't help but feel worried and afraid, and spoke timidly.
"Could it be possible that you... made a mistake?"
Lin Yan let go of Lu Suizhu, took out an embroidered handkerchief and wiped her tears. She had many things she wanted to say but they were all stuck in her throat. She just kept wiping away the tears.
Seeing this, Aunt Li, with great discernment, stepped forward, took Lu Suizhu's hand, and looked at her lovingly. "You can't be wrong. I've watched you and the young master grow up. Your uncle Zhang and I suspected it from the first moment we saw you. You look just like you did when you were a child. You haven't changed much."
Uncle Zhang nodded in agreement, bending over with a smile, his voice hoarse but kind: "Young lady, if you see the young master, you will know. You two look like your father, very handsome."
"…father?"
Lu Suizhu raised the last word of her voice, her bright eyes trembling slightly as her gaze fixed on Shen Zhuo.
He had only said one sentence since entering the yard and then remained silent. He stood there in a daze, not knowing how to comfort his wife who was crying so hard that she couldn't speak, nor how to ask about his daughter's well-being.
Hearing the faint word "Dad", he suddenly turned around without any warning and strode out of the yard.
Watching his hurriedly departing figure, Aunt Li revealed a somewhat disdainful expression and uttered a sigh of relief: "Master is always calm and sophisticated. He's so happy he's gone mad. I don't know how many years he's been waiting for you to come back. Look, he's only forty-one this year, but his hair is already grey."
The broom fell to the ground and made a friction sound when it was blown by the wind. After a while, Shenzhuo came back, his face as usual, and he said something in a calm and serious voice.
"It's good to be back, it's good to be back."
There was only a small wet spot on his cuff, which was a little darker in color and was now carefully hidden behind him.
After all the tears had dried, everyone had calmed down and sat down around the low table. Lin Yan and Shen Zhuo sat on either side of Lu Suizhu, while Uncle Zhang and Aunt Li sat opposite. Fang Dian didn't want to disturb this heartwarming moment and was preparing tea and snacks in the kitchen.
The gurgling sound of boiling water filled the deep courtyard, spreading warmth.
Having not seen each other for many years, Lu Suizhu was a little reserved, pinching the corner of her clothes. Her parents were also cautious, relying on Aunt Li and Uncle Zhang to speak most of the words.
"I was still young when the flood swept me away, and I was hit by rocks. Even now, I only remember that my hometown seemed to be in the south and that I had parents. I can't remember anything else."
Thinking about these things, Lu Suizhu couldn't help feeling sad. She had been exiled and humiliated since she was young, but she had no one to blame in the face of natural disasters.
Shen Zhizhe finally mustered up the courage to pull his daughter's hand to comfort her, but she had already been embraced by his wife. He could only stroke his beard angrily with his outstretched hand, pretending nothing had happened.
"It's okay, it's okay. Mom and Dad will slowly tell you about these things later." Shen Yanrushui's eyes were full of pity and guilt. She reached out and tucked Lu Suizhu's hair behind her ear: "If your brother knew you were back, he would definitely be overjoyed."
"The sudden flood that year caught no one off guard. Your father and I were so busy rescuing the people that we neglected you and your sister. Your brother was watching over you when he was swept away by the flood. He's felt guilty every day for all these years."
"But in fact, we are the ones who feel the most sorry for you. It's all mom and dad's fault." Lin Yan's voice was choked with sobs as she tried hard to hold back her tears.
After years of wandering and suffering, Lu Suizhu has finally let go of her worries. "It doesn't matter. I'm lucky to be able to go home in this life."
"Master, please write a letter to tell the young master. If he knows that the young lady has returned home safely, he will be able to prepare for the exam with peace of mind and get his name on the list of successful candidates." Uncle Zhang kindly reminded.
Lu Suizhu remembered that the name of the county magistrate's son was on the red list posted when they left the dock. Unsure, she asked, "My brother's name is Shen Wenjian? He passed the imperial examination and went to Beijing."
"Yes, you and your sister were each named after a character from the Chinese poem 'Jiang Jia'. When your father was conceived of you, he knew it would be a girl. He hoped that you would be as free and easy as a newborn reed."
The recovery was so joyful that no one present asked how Lu Suizhu knew her brother's name.
"It's getting late, why don't we go home first."
He was calm, with his hands behind his back and his waist bent, and when he said this there was a hint of seduction in it that he himself was not aware of.
Lu Suizhu picked at her nails under the table, her knees clenched tightly and she felt a little embarrassed: "I... don't want to go back today."
Chen Zhuo and Lin Yan felt a sense of loss, and did not dare to ask more questions. They just waited silently for her to speak.
"I still need to pack my things. Can you come pick me up tomorrow?"
After the people left, the yard returned to its deserted silence. Lu Suizhu stretched out her arm and pinched it. The pain was obvious, but it still felt a little unreal, as if she was floating in an illusory world, the reality and the unreal were like a dream.
"Miss, you have been looking forward to reuniting with your parents for a long time. Now you are homesick?" Fang Dian sat down, and her words revealed what she was thinking.
Lu Suizhu did not refute. Her thick and long eyelashes fluttered lightly as she looked at the rising full moon, not knowing where this nameless emotion came from.
"By the way, Fang Dian, don't tell anyone about my affairs with the Pei Mansion and the Eastern Palace."
"I understand, girl."
The bright moon made the water in the yard look like cold silver frost.
Although the wound on the chest was not fatal, it still caused considerable pain. Everything in the Pei Mansion was real, yet it seemed to be slowly fading away.
The moon on the 15th of every month is always round, and Fanxi's moon seems even clearer and brighter. But she also missed Shangjing a little. She left in a hurry and did not say goodbye to Yuanyuan and Qin Wuniang. She also didn't know where her master was traveling and whether they could meet again in this life.
And him... would such a cold and aloof person be sad about her death?
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