Chapter 72: Condolences will not give him the chance to touch his hand
After entering the house, Chen Lianxiu asked Zhou Linjin to sit in the outer room and closed the door of the inner room.
The attendants had already brought over the porridge and side dishes, but they were still scalding and unpalatable. Shen Lianxiu sat down and said to Zhou Linjin, "Be quiet, An An has fallen asleep."
Zhou Linjin nodded, then asked, "When will my eyes get better?"
"It didn't look serious before, and it's been a while, so the remaining poison should have been almost cleared." Chen Lianxiu replied.
As she spoke, she walked over and looked carefully into Zhou Linjin's eyes.
Zhou Linjin said: "I want to go find my father."
Chen Lianxiu was startled and immediately knew something was wrong. She hurriedly asked, "What can you do?"
"Today, Hu Qingshan and I went to the palace to meet His Majesty. As expected, he disagreed." Zhou Linjin gave a wry smile. "He said that even if my father left temporarily, as long as he had everything arranged, there would be no problems at the border. He said mourning could be a way to prevent him from returning, but if he's not allowed to return even for his mother's funeral because of some unfounded rumors, I'm afraid..."
Zhou Linjin did not say anything else. His mind kept repeating what the emperor had said to him not long ago. It sounded high-sounding, but in fact it was full of calculations. He was afraid that it would affect his reputation, and that people would laugh at the incompetence and cowardice of the emperor, saying that he was dependent on Zhou Chang. He did not dare to let him leave the border, and would even go against human ethics and filial piety. He was even more afraid that Zhou Chang would rely on him and become inseparable from him, and his arrogance would grow.
As for King Hui, although the emperor wanted to suppress him, he did not quite believe in his ability.
That high-ranking person respected his father, but was suspicious of Zhou Chang. He was suspicious of King Hui, but also looked down on him.
Originally, the border was stable in recent years, and he had been continuously cutting a lot of troops and military supplies, but now he was even unwilling to send reinforcements to the border while his father was away.
It was exactly the same as what Zhou Linjin had imagined, but he couldn't help but keep thinking about it, because this might be his last chance.
Everything is so absurd, yet so reasonable.
Chen Lianxiu choked up when she heard his voice, and then she didn't hear what he said anymore.
She didn't say anything else, but just waited quietly for a while, and then she said softly: "The porridge is no longer hot."
Zhou Linjin seemed to be in a trance. He picked up the spoon and scooped a few mouthfuls into his mouth. At first, he had no taste for the food. When the warm porridge entered his stomach, he seemed to slowly come back to his senses.
He tasted that this bowl was fish paste porridge, which was sweet, fresh and fragrant, and he felt very comfortable after eating it.
Soon, the bowl of porridge was finished.
"We can find a way to deal with the eyes," Shen Lianxiu thought for a moment and decided to continue, "but even if you can see, if you can't carry anything on your shoulders or hands, what can you do there?"
Zhou Linjin clenched his hands, but a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes: "Can you let me do nothing? What if father..."
"It may not be a problem," Chen Lianxiu bit her lip and could only comfort him, "Duke Cheng is a skilled martial artist. He has been on the battlefield for so many years. When he returns, he must be accompanied by elite confidants. As long as we take precautions in advance, it will be difficult for Prince Hui and his men to hurt him."
Once Wu died, Zhou Chang would definitely return. Arriving in the capital would be easy, but the most dangerous part was the journey. If Zhou Linjin were the same as Zhou Chang, then there would be no problem for him to go and help Zhou Chang. However, Zhou Linjin was only a bit frail, far from being able to wield a sword or a gun in combat. What good would fancy moves do him?
If no one dissuades people when they are impulsive, they may really make mistakes.
If Zhou Linjin went, not only would he lose his life in vain, but he might also drag Zhou Chang down.
Chen Lianxiu poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to Zhou Linjin, only to hear him say again: "I'm really useless."
If he had learned martial arts from his father when he was young and followed the same path as his father, would he not be in this dilemma now? Perhaps if he were by his father's side at this moment, he would not be aware of all the twists and turns, and life would be peaceful.
Chen Lianxiu ignored him. She stood up and quietly took out her medicine box from the inner room. She took out the golden needles and said to Zhou Linjin, "Let's treat your eyes first. You've been busy lately and haven't come here. I don't have the chance to give you acupuncture or take medicine."
For some reason, her words made him relax all of a sudden. Zhou Linjin leaned back in his chair tiredly and closed his eyes.
After a cup of tea, Chen Lianxiu stopped acupuncture.
"Since there is no other way right now, just go and have a good sleep first, so that your eyes will heal faster." Chen Lianxiu muttered.
At this time, Zhou Linjin opened his eyes. Although he couldn't see, when he met his eyes, Chen Lianxiu's hand holding the needle trembled, and the warm back of her hand accidentally touched his chin.
She hurriedly tried to withdraw her hand, but Zhou Linjin was faster than her and had already grabbed her hand.
"Let go quickly, the needle will prick you." Shen Lianxiu whispered.
Zhou Linjin slowly stroked the back of her hand, which was still as soft as before, but thinner. Gradually moving upwards, he reached her index finger and thumb holding the needle. He tried his best to feel between the two fingertips, and sure enough, he felt thin calluses, which were caused by her long-term medical practice.
Fortunately, she is here at times like this.
At Shen Lianxiu's urging, Zhou Linjin finally let go of her hand.
Chen Lianxiu lowered his head to pack his medicine box. His face flushed and his ears felt hot. He kept thanking that he was blind again.
But if he wasn't blind, he wouldn't give him the chance to touch his hand.
Fortunately, Zhou Linjin was sensible. By the time she had put away the medicine box, he had already stood up. He said goodbye and went back to his room to avoid being chased away by Chen Lianxiu.
Chen Lianxiu took his medicine box and went into the inner room. An An was sleeping soundly. Chen Lianxiu was afraid that she would catch a cold, so he quickly went over and covered her with a corner of the quilt. Then he sat by the bed and watched her for a while before going to bed himself.
***
About three days passed like this. During these three days, Zhou Linjin went out early and came back late almost every day, and even his figure could not be seen, but Chen Lianxiu would still wait until he came back to give him acupuncture.
Sometimes the two of them said nothing, and sometimes they said something.
Zhou Linjin did not hide some things from Chen Lianxiu, so Chen Lianxiu knew that he was still busy with Pei Qian and the list presented by Pei Qian, and was trying his best to bring King Hui to justice as soon as possible.
But it was too late no matter how fast we went.
One day, in the middle of the night, there was a knock on the door of the house. It was a messenger from the Duke Chengguo Mansion who came to report that Wu had passed away.
Zhou Linjin held the sleeping An An in his arms, and Chen Lianxiu followed him to Duke Cheng's Mansion.
Originally, Chen Lianxiu shouldn't have come, but she was worried about letting An An and Zhou Linjin go alone, so she had no choice but to come.
Zhou Yishao was waiting for them with red eyes. When he saw them coming, he hurried forward and shook Chen Lianxiu's hand.
Chen Lianxiu also stopped and did not move forward.
At this time, An An was awakened by all kinds of noisy sounds in the mourning hall. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in an unfamiliar place. White cloth spirit flags were floating everywhere. She was frightened and burst into tears. Chen Lianxiu hurriedly grabbed her kicking legs and coaxed her in a low voice. An An calmed down a little, sobbing softly and buried her head in the arms of Zhou Linjin who was holding her.
Zhou Yishao signaled Zhou Linjin and the others to go in, while he continued to stay at the gate and talk to Shen Lianxiu.
"I know you don't want to go in now. You can go to my place first. Zhu'er has been to the mourning hall and has gone back. I'll have someone bring An An over later." Zhou Yishao said to her.
This was exactly what Shen Lianxiu wanted. She was not a member of the Zhou family, so what identity did she have to appear in Wu's mourning hall at this moment? Besides, she herself did not want to do it.
Chen Lianxiu thanked Zhou Yishao and said, "I'll go in after daybreak, when all the relatives, friends and guests who came to pay their respects have arrived."
Although it is not suitable to go in now, and Chen Lianxiu has a mediocre impression of Mrs. Wu, since he is already here and it is a matter of life and death, it would be bad not to go in. After all, Mrs. Wu is an elder, so condolences are still necessary.
She was worried about An An if she left for a while, so Shen Lianxiu watched quietly by the door, and Zhou Yishao accompanied her.
Although it was late at night, everyone had arrived one after another. Yang and Xiao Wu were already kneeling in front of the coffin, Zhou Rong was busy inside and outside, and his nephews and nieces were also present. The younger generations were still young and most of them had come and gone. Only An An had just arrived with Zhou Linjin.
Chen Lianxiu saw Su Qiong holding her stomach and being helped down by a maid to rest. Then she remembered that she didn't seem to see Zhou Linyu, so she asked Zhou Yishao: "Where is Zhou Linyu?"
Zhou Yishao sighed heavily, "I haven't seen him for several days. I've already called the police, but he still hasn't come. Poor grandmother was still calling his name before she died. You know, from childhood to adulthood, he was the one she doted on the most. He was her eldest grandson, whom she was afraid would melt in her mouth. Who would have thought that now..."
She wiped her tears, glanced at the mourning hall not far away, and said nothing more.
I don’t know whether when Mrs. Wu said the word “save”, she was only thinking of her eldest son Zhou Chang, or also included herself. If she already knew that it was Zhou Linyu, whom she loved the most, who harmed her, how would she feel?
Only the deceased Wu herself knows the answer to this question. Others can only sigh endlessly and it is not appropriate to talk about it in front of the mourning hall.
At this moment, An An had gradually stopped crying, and with Yang there to comfort her, Chen Lianxiu felt relieved. She let Zhou Yishao continue to go to the coffin, and she returned to Zhou Yishao.
Something big happened at home. Zhu'er was woken up in the middle of the night and came back, but she did not go back to sleep. Instead, she sat on the soft couch by the window and played cat's tuck with the maid. Zhou Yishao had told her earlier that Chen Lianxiu should come and asked her to treat her well. When she heard someone coming in, she knew it was Chen Lianxiu, so she hurried out to greet her.
"Aunt!" Zhu'er pulled Shen Lianxiu into the house and wanted to smile at her, but after all, Mrs. Wu was gone, so it was not appropriate to smile, so she pursed her lips.
Chen Lianxiu touched Zhu'er's head and spoke to her as she did when she was a child, saying softly, "It's still early in the morning, Zhu'er, you should go to sleep for a while, otherwise you will be tired tomorrow. When sister An'an comes back, let her sleep with you."
Zhu'er agreed immediately. Chen Lianxiu and the maid helped Zhu'er to get to bed. Zhu'er fell asleep quickly as soon as she lay down.
Chen Lianxiu didn't go anywhere else, but sat in the inner room waiting. Not long after, Zhou Linjin came back holding An An.
An An fell asleep on the way back. Zhou Linjin couldn't see, so when Chen Lianxiu saw this, she quickly picked up An An and put her next to Zhu'er, tucked in the quilt and patted her gently.
After a long while, Chen Lianxiu tilted his head and found that Zhou Linjin was still standing there.
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