Red Mansion Reader

Chapter 149 Some people come, some go, some grow up quietly.

In Yangzhou in February, it is the season when it is warm and cold.Last winter was a rare warm winter, with only a few snowfalls intermittently.It's not big, and it will be sunny after one or two days.

In the daytime of early spring, the weather is getting warmer, and pedestrians may even sweat if they walk half a mile.But at night, the temperature will return to severe cold.

In this kind of weather, not to mention women and children, even men should pay attention to cold protection.This time of year is also a period of high incidence of illness and death for the elderly in various households.

At the beginning of the month, Chen Caishan had a cold weather.Grandpa's age can't help worrying the younger generation in the family.Fortunately, the farmer's body is strong, and the severe drought last year didn't bother the old man.After taking several prescriptions of medicine that Chen Heng asked from Master Xu, Chen Yushan's health recovered faster than ordinary people.

In a peaceful life, there is only such a little twists and turns.Chen Heng's daily life is still devoted to substantial review.

In June of this year, he will devote himself to the college examination.Only in terms of time, the free time left for students preparing for the exam is already quite tight.Fortunately, Chen Heng worked hard enough in the past, but now he can study step by step.

Although the academy has not started yet, the masters are very diligent in assigning homework.

After finishing his homework in the morning, Chen Heng had lunch at home, put all his homework in the bookcase, and left home with Xinda.They made an appointment with Xue Biao and others today to bring the homework of the recent period to the academy for the masters to review.

The four people who met in the middle of the road joked with each other, and rushed to the gate of the academy together.As soon as they walked through the gate, they clearly felt that the atmosphere was not right.

There were serious-looking refugees all around, and their number was already small.More refugees were sent to various counties one after another as early as January.

Chen Heng is the youngest and the most courageous.After asking a passerby in the corridor, I found out that someone died last night.

The four of them were all shocked when they heard the news. They put a lot of effort into these refugees, and hurried towards the dead man's room.

It was a coincidence that this stranger who had just passed away was living in Chen Heng's dormitory.The four pushed the door open and saw many people gathered in the room.In addition to many young girls, there are also masters such as Jia Yucun and Jin Shenzhi.

Everyone was silent. When the masters saw Chen Heng and others coming in, they just nodded at the students and looked at Marquis Xu Jin in the center.

The four stood still, and Baoqin and Yinglian walked in front of Xue Biao and Chen Heng.Xue Biao looked at his younger sister's worried expression, and couldn't help whispering: "Sister, what's going on?"

"Aunt Shui was fine yesterday, and I didn't see her say she was unwell."

Baoqin was also very confused. Sister Lin's family has a lot of things to do now, and there are very few opportunities to come, and Wei's aunt and nephew are far away in the capital.Since the end of last year, Bao Qin and Xie's assistant have been managing many things in the academy.After several times of hard work, this bright and majestic girl also became tired.

How could it be her?When Chen Heng heard the name, he was secretly surprised, and hurriedly asked Bao Qin about the inside story.

"Is there a problem?" Jiang Yuanbai looked at Xu Jinhou's inspection so carefully, and asked his question in a low voice.

"It shouldn't be possible. Let the master finish the inspection first." After Baoqin explained the situation and knew that Aunt Shui died suddenly, Chen Heng shook his head, thinking more.

The old man is already weak, and he is fleeing in a disaster year.It was not easy for Aunt Shui to escape to Yangzhou alone with her little grandson.In such a season, presumably the body couldn't hold on, which led to such an ending.

He turned his head to look at Yinglian who was holding onto the corner of his clothes. The two hadn't seen each other for a long time. Although there was a bit of innocence on the girl's face, her eyes were red and hurt.

"Aunt Shui is sleeping next to me." Yinglian lowered her head, she was very annoyed that she didn't notice any abnormalities last night.

Seeing that the silly sister was confused, Baoqin explained to Chen Heng for her.It turned out that during this period of time, Yinglian had a very good relationship with Aunt Shui.Although we are victims who met each other by chance, we all empathize with each other's plight.

Before Yinglian's mother arrived in Yangzhou, Aunt Shui often took care of this suffering girl.After all, Jia Yucun's status is inconvenient. Apart from coming to ask a question or two every day, it is not easy to have too much contact with the grown-up Yinglian.

After Chen Heng listened silently, he only raised his hand and patted Yinglian's hand, signaling to the other party to stabilize his emotions first.Several people waited for a while, Master Xu who had inspected said to the other masters: "Notify the government office."

As soon as these words were said, the masters all let out a sigh of relief.What they are most afraid of is the strange death of Aunt Shui, and they will not be able to tell the outside world.Only then did Master Xu check it before notifying the government office.

Now that he heard that the other party had just reached his deadline, Jia Yucun relaxed even more.He is now about to be promoted, and he is a low-ranking seventh-rank patrol salt censor.Jia Yucun, who has re-entered the officialdom, really doesn't want to have extra problems at this juncture.

"I'll go tell the government office." Jia Yucun thought that the Lin family had moved into the government office, and immediately said, "Everyone, please wait here for a while. We will check it out and everything will be fine. Once the matter is finalized, we will give it to the old man. Mourning."

He is still the principal of the academy, and his ideas are also relevant and practical, everyone nodded in agreement.

Before Jia Yucun left, she saw Yinglian timidly standing beside Chen Heng.For some reason, she walked to Chen Heng's side and said, "It was Yinglian who discovered the movement this morning. I think she was quite frightened. Go back and help me enlighten her."

Chen Heng didn't think much about it, and just nodded in agreement.But right now there are many people in the room talking, everyone has something to say, Chen Heng can't take care of Yinglian for a while.

When Jia Yucun left and returned, the office worker who followed him immediately took over the scene and began to investigate the cause of Aunt Shui's death.

Wait for the office worker from the government office to check and confirm that it is correct.Jia Yucun accepted the document issued by the other party, and asked him to send him out of the house.

Now they have to worry about Aunt Shui's funeral. It is obviously impossible to arrange a mourning hall in the academy.

Several masters got together to discuss for a long time, and invited the concierge Uncle Wang to come in.He is an old man who is single and has no other relatives at home.

The wives want to borrow his family's treasure land to temporarily set up a mourning hall for Aunt Shui, so that her little grandson can keep her spirit.

At his age, Uncle Wang did not shy away from matters of life and death, and refused to return the money given by his masters.

"They are all poor people in distress, so I will treat her as a good deed and send her on her last journey."

After one thing is over, another thing starts again.After discussing the matter of the mourning hall, what about the cemetery?The masters are still worrying outside the house, but Yinglian, Chunyan and others who helped Aunt Shui sort out the relics found Aunt Shui's suicide note hidden in the bookcase, and they hurriedly took the suicide note to the adults outside the house.

"She can also write?" Jia Yucun, as the person in charge, had to check the handwriting first after taking the suicide note, and after confirming that it was correct, he said, "It's really unexpected."

"What's written on it?" Jin Shenzhi was not a talkative person, so Master Xu took the initiative to ask.

"It's all her own family business." Jia Yucun shook his head and handed the suicide note to Xu Jinhou.

The latter took a look, and it clearly explained the ancestral background of Uncle Shui's family, how many relatives he still has, the location of his ancestral grave, and the birth date of his little grandson, etc. Important information.

At the end of the letter, Aunt Shui wrote in beautiful handwriting: If you die of illness in a foreign country, you will be buried on the spot with a grave.If the grandson is promising, he will move her back to the ancestral grave.If she doesn't live up to expectations, she will simply be buried outside, and she will have no face to go back to her hometown to see her family.

Seeing that the family members' information on it was so detailed, Xu Jinhou knew that it must be written by the other party himself, so he sighed and put the letter away.

As a doctor, he knew that some elderly people could vaguely feel that their time was approaching.

"What about her grandson?"

"What else can I do, send it to a nursing home."

"Will you accept it over there? I heard it's already overcrowded."

Listening to the discussion among several colleagues, Jia Yucun picked up another letter and opened it to take a look. However, he was shocked by the letter's first name. It actually had the maiden name of the eldest daughter of the current prefect written on it.

He quickly read the letter, only to realize that Aunt Shui still has friendship with Daiyu.Before leaving, he only left behind a string of Buddha beads that he carried with him, and wanted to entrust someone to pass it on to the other party.

"Licking a calf is deeply affectionate." Jia Yucun sighed, how could an old fritter like him not speculate that Aunt Shui wanted to use this to make a living for his grandson.

He showed the letter to Xu Jinhou, and then called Chen Heng to tell him to take the letter and Buddhist beads and hand it over to Daiyu later.

This matter is not urgent, Chen Heng nodded and accepted the things, then quickly left, and continued to go to the house to pack Aunt Shui's things.

Clothes, quilts and other things are all unacceptable.The belongings of the old man will also have to be put into the coffin and buried together.

Uncle Wang's house was not far away, so there was no need to choose a good coffin. The wives pooled some money together and bought a ready-made coffin, and then loaded it with people and transported it to Wang's house.

In Yangzhou City, there are idle men who are responsible for funerals, and they are responsible for such trivial matters as arranging the mourning hall.Chen Heng and the others handed Aunt Shui's clothes to her grandson, and it was no longer the younger generation's turn to intervene in other matters.

When the coffin was transported away from the academy, Chen Heng and the others stood at the door and looked at each other.When this happened suddenly, it was difficult for a while to find teachers to continue to hand in homework.

They met Aunt Shui a little face to face, but after all, they were strangers who met by chance, and their emotions were fairly stable at the moment.It was just the two girls, who looked preoccupied, which made Chen Heng a little worried.

He gave Xue Biao a look, and signaled the other party to take Baoqin home first, make some soothing tea for his sister, and let her have a good rest.Xue Biao understood, and after saying goodbye to a few friends, he immediately pulled his sister away.

When Jiang Yuanbai and Qian Dayou also left, Chen Heng asked Yinglian: "What about you, do you want to live in another place tonight?" He was also worried that the other party would be frightened by such a sudden incident, after all But the first person who found out that Aunt Shui had passed away in the morning.

Zhen Yinglian's expression was still a little pale, but when she heard Chen Heng's concern, she hesitated and asked, "Where can I go?"

That's right, this girl is in Yangzhou city, where else can she go?Chen Heng coughed lightly, "Don't worry, I'll ask my teacher."

The teacher's wife Chen Heng mentioned was naturally Pei Huaizhen's wife, Mrs. Xie.Upon hearing this, Mrs. Xie immediately made arrangements for Yinglian, tidied up an empty room in the backyard, and asked Yinglian to sleep here first at night.He took out another old almanac and asked her to put it under her pillow at night to calm herself down.

Seeing that Yinglian was in trouble, it was inconvenient for Chen Heng to stay in the back house, so he got up and said goodbye to Xie and Yinglian, and hurriedly left the academy with Xinda.

"Second brother, shall we go home?"

Seeing Chen Heng suddenly standing in the middle of the road in a daze, Xinda said a little strangely.

Chen Heng touched the Buddhist beads in his bosom, thought again and again, and had no choice but to shake his head and said, "Let's go to the government office first."

He didn't know if it was right to tell Sister Lin about this, but he also knew that if he concealed it, it would only make him more sad if the other party knew about it later.

Chen Heng, who was worried, brought Xinda to the government office. He was not familiar with the guards at the gate, so he didn't dare to go forward to make a relationship.He only walked around to the back door of the government office, raised his hand and knocked on the door knocker.

Sure enough, there were servants guarding the place, and when he opened the door, he saw that it was Chen Heng, who was a little surprised and said, "Master, why did you come here?"

"Something." Chen Heng smiled, and after being led into the house by his servants, he walked to an open and conspicuous place in the backyard of the government office, and asked someone to call for Daiyu.

Sister Lin seems to be in a good mood today. When she brought Xueyan to see her brother, the smile on her face was so eye-catching.

As soon as the two met, Daiyu couldn't finish talking.

For a while, he said that he was going to go to the capital to play with his mother, and for a while, he said that he would come back after playing for a while.

Interject from time to time, brother, don't forget your sister's birthday present.

Chen Heng listened silently, secretly crying in his heart.The other party is in such a good mood, do you really want to say it?

It's just that Lin Daiyu has noticed her brother's abnormality, so the girl can't help but ask curiously: "Brother, what are you worried about today?"

"I..." Chen Heng was about to change his words, but Lin Daiyu had already blocked his mouth, "Brother, don't just think of something to fool me. This will make me even more sad."

"Yeah." Chen Heng nodded, with a nervous expression on his face, "Then I'll tell you something, you'll finish listening later, don't get too excited."

Seeing Chen Heng speak so seriously, Daiyu also corrected her expression, blinked and said: "Brother, tell me."

Seeing that his sister was getting ready, Chen Heng took a deep breath, took out a string of prayer beads and a letter from his arms, and said softly: "Aunt Shui passed away last night, and she specially left something for you. I read the letter. She said Thank you very much for being able to chat with her often and listen to her complaints during this time."

Lin Daiyu couldn't help being stunned when she heard the news, she just took the letter in a daze, and eagerly opened it in the rich sunset glow.

Seeing that his younger sister was concentrating on reading the letter, Chen Heng had no choice but to continue: "Aunt Shui said in the letter that she begged for this string of Buddhist beads from the temple in the capital. She kept it with her when she fled.

Perhaps it was with its blessing that she was able to arrive in Yangzhou safely all the way.

Now I want to give it to you. If you like it, I will keep it by your side as a gadget, and I will pray for your safety. "

Hearing her elder brother finished speaking in one breath, Lin Daiyu nodded blankly, with a sad look gradually appearing on her face.Her mind is already sensitive, even though she just met Aunt Shui by chance, after such a long time of contact, it can be regarded as some kind of friendship.

"Her life has been too bitter." She lowered her head and said.

Chen Heng didn't have much to say.It's just a little annoyed, if I knew today, would I have introduced my younger sister to Aunt Shui?
"You...don't think too much." Chen Heng really didn't know how to comfort people, and after thinking about words for a long time, he only said one sentence dryly.

It's fine if he doesn't say it, but when he said it, sister Lin burst into tears uncontrollably.

"Brother, don't worry, Yu'er is fine." Daiyu tried her best to wipe away her tears, but instead comforted Chen Heng, "I just love Aunt Shui."

Chen Heng couldn't help raising his head and sighing, how could he not know the other party's temperament.In the previous life, there were so many people who liked this book, wasn't it because of her sincere kindness and beauty.

If it's just a little girl who likes to cry and eat vinegar, how can it be possible for men, women and children to be moved and sentimental for her.

"Miss..." Xueyan, who was serving at the side, was very worried when she saw Daiyu crying.But her mouth is not as comforting as Chen Heng's.

"It's okay, Yan'er, I'm fine." Knowing that staying like this is not an option, Daiyu hurriedly said to Chen Heng with red eyes, "Brother, I'm going back first. The day after tomorrow, I will leave for the capital with my mother. Do you remember Come to the pier to see me off, I have something for you."

"Okay!" Chen Heng nodded.

…………

…………

That night, the lights in Lin Daiyu's house were kept on until dawn.

The next day, when Mrs. Jia found out about this, she became very angry.I feel that my daughter is so ignorant, working so hard for a stranger.

After Jia Lian knew about this, she didn't understand.After all, he is a son of a son, and he wanted to comfort his cousin, so he said: "It's just a maid who ran out of someone's house, and she died when she died. If she didn't do something wrong, how could she be kicked out by the master's house. Cousin, you Why bother to feel sad for such inferior people?"

Jia Lian felt that Lin Daiyu felt sad for such an irrelevant person because she was living a good life.

But Daiyu's current temperament still has traces of Jia's in her foundation, and she was annoyed when she heard this: "Second brother, it's fine if I don't know her. But now I know Aunt Shui's temperament, but I can't let you talk about her like that. What does it mean to be kicked out for committing a crime? What is an inferior person?"

Seeing Daiyu inventing the fire, she thought about leaving for the capital tomorrow, and was worried that my aunt would not leave when that time came.Jia Lian hurriedly apologized to the little girl, screaming in her heart that it was unlucky.

In front of Jia Shi, Daiyu couldn't bear to make things difficult for Jia Lian.He just turned around and went back to the house in frustration, and continued to work on the things that Chen Heng would hand over to him tomorrow.

　Ah, Jia's house is finally coming.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)