Chapter 73 Nightmares Won’t Make You Do Difficult Things
Chen Lianxiu withdrew his gaze, and for a moment he was a little distracted, even the rhythm of patting An An's little body was disrupted.
She finally couldn't help herself and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Linjin took a few steps forward, remained silent at first, and then said, "My eyes can only see vague shadows now."
"What?" Chen Lianxiu was suddenly delighted. She stood up and walked to his side, waving her hand in front of his eyes a few times. Zhou Linjin immediately held her hand.
"It was the same the last time I regained my sight," Zhou Linjin said. "First I saw a shadow, then I could see."
Zhou Linjin was still the same before entering the mourning hall. Later, he didn't know whether he was almost recovered or was smoked by the smoke in the mourning hall. Zhou Linjin only remembered that he was choked by the smoke, coughed a few times, and then his eyes were healed.
It would be a good thing if I could regain my sight at this critical juncture.
Chen Lianxiu thought about it and asked Zhou Linjin to sit down first. Since she didn't bring any medicine box with her when she came out, she pressed several acupuncture points on Zhou Linjin's eyes and head with her bare hands.
After a few moments, Zhou Linjin felt that his vision gradually became clearer, and her appearance became clearer and clearer.
Zhou Linjin raised his hand and grabbed her wrist, saying, "Alright."
Chen Lianxiu didn't react for a moment, but asked blankly: "Are we going to go over?"
"No, it's my eyes that can see." As Zhou Linjin spoke, he slowly raised his eyes and turned his gaze to Shen Lianxiu's face.
Their eyes met, and in that instant, Zhou Linjin was sure that he clearly saw a flash of joy on her face.
But in a moment, she lowered her eyes, and her hand, which was held by him, struggled twice, as if trying to break free.
Zhou Linjin was afraid of hurting her, so he let her go immediately.
Chen Lianxiu didn't know what she was thinking. She suddenly turned her back and wanted to leave, but it would be even more embarrassing to leave in such an inexplicable way. So she walked two steps away and stopped. She noticed that Zhou Linjin's eyes were lingering on her back. She didn't know what to do for a moment. She could only try her best to think of something to say to ease the atmosphere between them.
Fortunately, Zhou Linjin spoke before she could, "Mother just asked about you and asked you to go over tomorrow as well."
"I... was originally going to go over and burn some incense for the old lady, but..." Chen Lianxiu paused for a moment, and finally mustered up the courage to say, "After all, I'm not from the Zhou family, so this is all I can do."
Zhou Linjin stood up and walked behind her. At this time, the Zhou family was in turmoil, it was late at night and everyone was asleep, and his eyesight had just recovered. With a mixture of emotions, he really wanted to reach out and embrace her, but he also knew that this was inappropriate, so he could only restrain himself.
"I know," he said. "I've already told Mother that I won't let you do anything that's difficult."
Originally, Yang meant that since Chen Lianxiu was here, she should come forward as Zhou Linjin's wife. After all, she had performed the grand ceremony and was the wife except for her name. She should take care of the important matters at home. Yang was also thinking about Zhou Linjin. Instead of the two of them being stuck in this stalemate, it would be better to take this opportunity as a stepping stone and let Chen Lianxiu stay.
But Zhou Linjin rejected Yang's idea. He knew that Chen Lianxiu didn't need any excuses, or if he tied her up here by force, she would have no choice but to not want to stay. She would even blame him more.
It was already very good that she was willing to follow him to the Duke's Mansion tonight.
That is to say, there is An An between them, which allows many things to be eased. Otherwise, even if Chen Lianxiu knew the existence of the dangerous King Hui, she might not follow him back, let alone go back to the Zhou family with him late at night after Wu's death.
He heard Shen Lianxiu visibly sigh in relief, and then she murmured, "That's good."
Zhou Linjin felt as if he had tasted a mouthful of Huanglian, and the bitterness spread throughout his limbs, but he couldn't say it out loud. After all, it was he who said it in person, and it was Shen Wuyu's name that he married. Who could he blame now?
He sighed softly and said, "Let me see An An."
Shen Lianxiu naturally did not stop him.
The two of them went to the bed together and saw An An sleeping on the outside of the bed. Perhaps because she had moved to a new place, her sleeping posture was much better than when she was at home. At least even though Chen Lianxiu had been away for a while, the quilt was still covering her body honestly, and she did not press her hands and feet on Zhu'er next to her. Only one small fat leg came out from under the quilt, white and tender, like a lotus root node.
Chen Lianxiu was about to go forward and tuck her legs into the quilt, but Zhou Linjin was already one step ahead of her. He gently lifted An An's calf with his palm. He didn't dare to pinch it hard. He just leaned over and touched it gently with his mouth, then covered her with the quilt.
An An, who was sleeping, seemed to feel the touch. She twisted her little body and muttered a few times.
Zhou Linjin became nervous, afraid that he had woken her up, and also afraid that Chen Lianxiu would blame him. He turned around and looked at Chen Lianxiu with a helpless look as if begging for mercy.
Seeing this, Chen Lianxiu just smiled, then pointed at An An on the bed, motioning him to go and check again. An An had indeed become quiet at this moment and was not disturbed at all.
Zhou Linjin finally breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Shen Lianxiu, "I'm leaving now. I'll tell my mother that my eyes are healed. You should also take a rest and don't get tired."
Chen Lianxiu nodded, and when she came to her senses, she realized that she had been watching Zhou Linjin's back until he disappeared.
She leaned against the bed for a while, not knowing what she was thinking, and finally fell asleep on the soft couch beside her.
***
The news of Wu's death was sent out that night and delivered to Zhou Chang at the border.
Logically speaking, if you travel day and night, it would take at least fifteen days to go back and forth.
On the fifteenth day, Zhou Chang still hadn't returned.
There were some things Zhou Linjin hadn't told Yang at first, but as the day of Zhou Chang's return drew closer, the atmosphere at home became increasingly tense, like a bow with a taut string. How could Yang not feel it? She asked Zhou Linjin several times a day.
Chen Lianxiu also secretly calculated the time in his mind. On the fifteenth day, he paid attention to the movements outside all day long, but until it was completely dark, the Duke's Mansion was still like a dead water, with only the faint sounds of crying and chanting coming from the mourning hall.
It started to rain after nightfall. It was almost autumn, but it was still as hot as midsummer recently. A thick layer of clouds accumulated in the sky from the afternoon. It was not until dark that a muffled thunder sounded from the horizon, followed by a violent storm, which extinguished the long-lasting heat on the ground.
Chen Lianxiu stayed in the room with An An and Zhu'er. Zhu'er was already grown up and still had homework to do. Chen Lianxiu was afraid that An An would disturb her by playing beside her, so that she could not concentrate on her studies. So she simply gave An An paper and pen, and asked her to draw on the paper like Zhu'er, so as not to disturb Zhu'er.
An An grabbed a pen and drew chicks on paper. She hadn't brought those chicks with her for a long time. It was a mess here and it was not easy to raise the chicks, so she had to leave it at that. Chen Lianxiu didn't have the heart to tell An An that the chicks might have grown up by the time she returned, and she would have to sell new ones then.
Chen Lianxiu was watching An An drawing when suddenly someone knocked on the door twice. Because it was raining heavily outside, she didn't pay attention for a moment. By the time she reacted, someone had already opened the door.
The wind, wet with rain, blew in his face. Chen Lianxiu quickly stood up and saw Zhou Linjin walking quickly inside.
An An and Zhu Er both looked up at him for a moment.
Chen Lianxiu had no choice but to let them into the inner room to play, then frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Linjin said in a deep voice: "I'm going to pick up my father."
"Are we almost there?" Chen Lianxiu asked again.
Zhou Linjin's eyes were like a deep pool of water, and they darkened even more after hearing this. He said, "The people I sent to pick them up haven't seen Father and the others yet. We can't wait any longer."
"Today is only the fifteenth," Shen Lianxiu subconsciously looked out the window at the pouring rain, "Maybe it won't be that fast. It's possible that something has delayed the trip."
"Remember that today is the fifteenth day. Logically, he should have been home." Chen Lianxiu was silent for a moment. He knew in his heart that there was no need to persuade Zhou Linjin anymore, nor could he say that it would be useless for him to go. Anyone else would probably do the same at this time.
She said, "Bring more people with you."
"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you. Besides you, my elder sister and mother don't know that I'm leaving. If they ask about it after a while, you can just tell them quietly, but you have to keep it a secret from the rest of the family." Zhou Linjin lowered his voice and said to Shen Lianxiu, "I'm leaving right now. If I bring too many people with me, it'll make a lot of noise and they might notice me. So I'm only taking a few close friends with me. You don't have to worry."
Chen Lianxiu nodded and couldn't help but say: "It's raining heavily and windy outside, be careful."
Zhou Linjin's heart moved. He looked at the orange candlelight shining on her face, which was delicate and tender. He resisted the urge to touch it with his hand and just said, "Let's go."
The door opened and closed, and the wind blowing through the hall blew in his face, but was immediately blocked. The room returned to silence. Zhou Linjin came in a short time and left decisively, as if he had never appeared.
Chen Lianxiu raised her hand and pressed her heart, which was beating violently. She couldn't tell what she felt at the moment. It seemed like she was panicked and scared, or maybe there was something else mixed in, but she didn't want to identify it.
She stood there for a while, and then she felt as if her heart was falling. She was uncomfortable sitting down, and she was uncomfortable standing up, but she didn't know what to do. She could only pace back and forth, feeling lost.
After a long while, Chen Lianxiu remembered that Zhu'er and An'an were still in the inner room. This made her feel a little relieved. At least she was not stuck like this. There were still some things she could do, which could distract her mind and she didn't have to think about those trivial things anymore.
She quickly opened the door and let Zhu'er and An'an out. Seeing that it was already late, she did not let them continue writing or painting. She just called the maid to help them wash up, then carried them to the bed, holding one in each hand and telling them stories.
Later, Zhu'er and An'an fell asleep one after another. Chen Lianxiu also felt sleepy, so she stayed with them and fell asleep.
Although she fell asleep that night, she did not feel well. Not only did she have dreams all night, but she also dreamed that Zhou Linjin came back in the middle of the night covered in blood. She hurriedly ran up to ask, but she could not reach Zhou Linjin. After finally reaching him, she suddenly woke up and found herself still sleeping in bed. At this time, there was movement outside, so she went out to see, but saw two coffins being carried in from outside. No one told her whose the two coffins belonged to, so she had to follow them in a daze. Then the two coffins were placed together with Wu's coffin, and the cries and chanting sounds were intertwined again. Someone took a tablet and put it on. She went forward and saw that one of the tablets had "Zhou Linjin" written on it. Her legs went weak and she fell down, and the scene returned to when she was sleeping in bed.
This cycle repeated itself in new ways. Chen Lianxiu wanted to wake up but couldn't. In the end, she didn't know whether she was dreaming or awake until she heard An An calling her.
"Mom, get up!"
Chen Lianxiu suddenly woke up from the nightmare, opened his eyes, and saw the sky breaking.
Zhu'er and An'an had just woken up and hadn't gotten out of bed yet. Chen Lianxiu was about to call someone in to serve them when she suddenly heard the maid rushing in and hurriedly said, "Madam, go and have a look! There's news from Si Ningyuan that something happened!"
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The author has something to say: The amount of manuscripts in stock is running out, so I will update once tomorrow, and then I will see whether to continue with two updates later. Ten red envelopes will be randomly distributed in the comment area today and tomorrow [dog head holding a rose]
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