in the edge

Chapter 604 Fate and Destiny

At nightfall, Mr. Li, or formerly Carpenter Li, was still sitting at the table, sighing.

Carpenter Li's wife looked at her husband who was drunk with a worried look on her face. It was obviously a happy day, the day when their son would be admitted to the imperial examination - although the son had been adopted out, at least their blood was still flowing in his veins.

On the day of her child's big day, she should be happy, but why is her husband like this...

"Is it because..."

Carpenter Li’s wife thought of a possibility and sighed.

"The past is the past, there is no need for you to..."

"What do you know!"

Carpenter Li, who had become Mr. Li, slammed the table. Years of luxury had given him an aura of authority without even getting angry. What's more, now Carpenter Li was really angry, which forced his wife to return to the bedroom and ignore him.

Only Master Li was left staring blankly at the table full of food and wine.

"Why……"

After a long while, Master Li finally murmured.

"I……"

Mr. Li was drunk and burst into tears.

It's not that he didn't hear the rumors outside. In the whole Yangzhou city, he had been regarded as a villain who sold out his friends for fame and fortune. He could only get some leftovers by relying on some orders from the court.

Mr. Li originally wanted to pretend that he didn't hear anything, and also wanted to pretend that nothing had happened. Perhaps as long as he forgot about the matter, he would no longer think about it - and facts have proved that this is somewhat useful. People's memory is short, and as the Li family's business progressed step by step, the number of people in the city who gossiped about it finally decreased.

But as this adopted child was admitted to the university, those memories that should have been forgotten long ago finally came to mind.

"It's not me, it's really not me..."

Recalling the past that should have been forgotten, Mr. Li burst into tears unknowingly.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, he was the one who did all these things, and his current wealth and glory were obtained by selling out his friends for fame and fortune - but only Mr. Li, or the former Carpenter Li, knew that he really did not do all these things.

After all, the two brothers have supported each other all the way, and they can be said to be close to each other. They have no secrets about their thoughts and actions from each other. They have been through hardships and happiness together. There is no grudge between the two families, and it can even be said that they have a friendship that is as close as a wife and a child.

Well, even if he really wanted to get something from this brother, it would only take a word from him, just like if this brother only said a word, he would go through fire and water for him.

Things have come to this point, why should he do such a thing?
But things happened after all, the good brother died after all, but he did survive.

Or in other words, he had to choose to survive.

Of course, he could choose to fight to the death, but who could he fight to the death with? The strong men in the north? The strong men in the north had already been suppressed by the three great scholars. As for the people behind the strong men in the north...how could he know who these people were?

What’s more, after the death of their good brother, the Li family’s sky also collapsed.

In fact, there is one thing that the common people said correctly, that is, the reason why the Li family has been able to get to where it is now is because of the support from the powerful people in the court. Although the Li family seems to be the richest in Yangzhou, Carpenter Li knows that the Li family today is not as strong as it was in the past. The many wonderful ideas that the two brothers had worked on together have been taken away one by one, and even the most important legacy of the good brothers, the crossbow, has long been donated.

And now, the good brother's son, or rather his son, has been admitted to the imperial examination.

Perhaps to outsiders this was an honor, but Carpenter Li knew in his heart that this was a reminder that he should take out something better from his good brother's inheritance to pay for this honor.

Otherwise, since those big shots could help this child pass the imperial examination, they could naturally also bring this child down to earth.

But if he chooses to continue cooperating, he can get more, and even let his descendants become high-ranking officials in the current dynasty.

Yes, cooperation.

Since one is dead, then win over the other one, this is what the big guys think.

but……

"Why wasn't I the one who died?"

Carpenter Li grabbed his hair in pain.

This is also the most confusing and painful thing for Carpenter Li for such a long time. You know, he is the one who can be replaced at any time. The profession of carpenter can be found everywhere, and there are many skilled craftsmen in the palace. On the contrary, the wonderful ideas in his good brother's mind are truly irreplaceable, and those bigwigs should be very clear about this.

However, it was he who survived in the end, not his good brother.

Did the big shots have any idea? Carpenter Li found it hard to understand this. After all, no matter from which angle, he was the one who should have died - but he survived. He survived when he should have died.

Maybe, he was just lucky enough. It can only be said that he was lucky enough.

But Carpenter Li didn't want this good luck at all.

He would rather die than face the current situation. He has enough trust in his good brother. He believes that even if he dies, or even his wife and children die together, his good brother will not let him have no descendants, and will even avenge him.

But now, his good brother is dead, and he can't even take revenge. He doesn't even know who his enemy is.

He could only be forced by the entire environment to reach his current state step by step.

What can he do? What should he do?
Carpenter Li himself was also very confused.

"Brother, if you were still here, you would definitely laugh at me again."

Wiping the tears from his face, Carpenter Li raised his glass to the empty seat in front of him.

"People always say that you and I are brothers. You take care of the interior while I take care of the exterior. You come up with ideas while I work outside. But I have always known that without your brilliant ideas, without you helping me weigh the pros and cons, without you cheering me on, with my weak character, I would have been beaten to death on the street a long time ago... You are more hard-hearted than me, and you are the most capable one. With your character, you should have done great things..."

After drinking the wine, Carpenter Li sighed even more.

Yes, it was he who ruined this genius, and it was his so-called friendship that restrained the other party's performance. Otherwise, with the ability of this good brother, wouldn't he be able to accomplish something wherever he went?
"I……"

Thinking of this, Carpenter Li couldn't help but burst into tears again.

As the saying goes, men don't shed tears easily, but they do until they are sad. Thinking of his brother now, Carpenter Li was heartbroken, and not even the strongest wine could stop his tears. At this moment, Carpenter Li only hoped that he could get drunk to death here, at least after death he would not have to worry about so many troubles anymore. If he really went to the legendary underworld, he might even be able to see his good brother. Then the two of them would drink and chat happily, wouldn't it be great.

But just as Carpenter Li was immersed in pain, his vision suddenly became dazed.

Right in front of him, on the empty seat he had reserved for his good brother, there seemed to be a real figure sitting down.

"What are you doing here again!"

Carpenter Li thought it was his wife trying to persuade him again, and he couldn't help yelling at her.

"Get lost! Stop saying those dirty words! What do you know about our brothers' affairs?..."

"Drink." To Carpenter Li's surprise, the female voice coming from him was not his wife's.

It was a deep male voice that even sounded familiar.

Or perhaps, it was too familiar, how could he not remember this voice, how could he forget this tone!
"You, how did you..."

Carpenter Li tried hard to open his eyes, but he was so drunk that he couldn't see the person clearly.

However, even if he couldn't see clearly, even if he could only hear the voice, he could still know who was coming.

"Brother, what are you doing... am I dreaming?"

"Just think of this as a dream."

The man picked up the glass and took a sip.

"Seeing you sitting here drinking alone, I guess one more person wouldn't matter to you... Anyway, how have you been these past few years?"

"I, I, I..."

Carpenter Li was pushed back to his seat, experiencing this familiar feeling. Finally, he couldn't stop his tears and burst into tears.

While crying, Carpenter Li recounted his experiences over the years, the pain brought by the hardships and obstacles, and the unknown secret bitterness - in the past, when his brothers were still around, he could at least tell his brothers about these, and his good brothers would help him clear the haze in his heart so that he could continue to move forward bravely.

However, after his brother passed away, he had not talked about these things with anyone for a long time.

But now...

"I, I have been..."

Carpenter Li wiped his tears.

"Brother, you know, I have been missing you all these years..."

"That's what you said."

Before he could finish his words, Carpenter Li was slapped on the head.

This also made Carpenter Li miss it even more.

Yes, that's the feeling, although his brother is always carefree at other times, but when it comes to expressing his emotions, he is always unexpectedly twisted - just like now, he is obviously expressing his feelings normally, but his brother can't stand it.

This kind of situation happened more often in the past. Whenever he wanted to express that the two brothers were very close, his good brother would always look unbearable and occasionally say some incomprehensible words like "断袖分桃" (broken sleeves sharing peaches), which made him confused.

But this habit, which is very different from that of ordinary people, is precisely the proof of his identity as a good brother.

"You, you're back, that's good..."

The familiar voice, familiar tone, familiar feeling, familiar habits made Carpenter Li even more excited.

At this moment, he no longer cared about logic, whether the dead could be resurrected, or whether he was possessed by a ghost. Nothing mattered. He only knew that his good brother had returned and was drinking with him.

He only knew that being able to come back was a good thing.

No matter how he came back, it didn't matter at all. He just knew that being able to come back was a great thing.

"Now that you're back, don't leave."

Carpenter Li continued speaking excitedly.

"Although you didn't get married back then, now that you're back, you should have a family. As for your son... Oh, yes, you probably don't know this, but your eldest nephew, my eldest son, has become successful now. After you get married, if you're willing to acknowledge this son, then let him stay with you. If you find it troublesome, then you can just let him be your godfather. Anyway, it's good that you're back. Now that we're rich, we don't have to go through the same old thing..."

"Didn't I tell you? Just think of it as a dream."

It was at this moment that the familiar voice in front of him spoke again.

Just this one sentence was like a bucket of cold water poured over Carpenter Li's head.

"In...a dream?"

Carpenter Li muttered to himself.

It seems... that's the case.

He was already so drunk, so he must be in a dream. If it was a dream, then everything must be fake. Yes, his good brother was already dead, he had died at the hands of that northern strongman, how could he appear in front of him again? How could such a thing be possible?
"In my dream..."

Carpenter Li raised his glass again, tears blurring his eyes.

"Since this is a dream, then let it be a dream. Even if it's a dream, at least I can have a couple more drinks... Come on! Let's not talk about that nonsense! Let's drink!"

"Ah."

The figure in front of him also raised his glass and drank with Carpenter Li.

But this time, Carpenter Li couldn't say anything like he did before.

They had just met and were already parting. Carpenter Li didn't know what to say. He had already said words to keep her, but he also knew that these words were meaningless. The other party would leave anyway. As long as this dream ended, everything would return to the starting point.

"uncertain."

It was at this moment that the figure in front of him shook his head as if he had seen through Carpenter Li's thoughts.

"Everything may not necessarily return to the original point. As long as something happens, it may change... Just like now, after drinking this wine, everything on your side will be fine. Do you believe it?"

"I believe."

Although the sentence just now sounded extremely unreliable, Carpenter Li still nodded.

Just like before, he believed whatever his good brother said.

It was at this time that Carpenter Li became drunk and passed out.

When he woke up, it was already noon. Carpenter Li recalled what happened yesterday and felt that he was probably drunk and confused.

But when Carpenter Li looked at the dishes and chopsticks on the table, he suddenly discovered.

The wine glass that I placed in the empty seat opposite me seemed to have been used by someone.

(End of this chapter)