Records of Strange People and Strange Events in the Old Mansion

Chapter 52 Sacrifice

Zhu Badger asked simply, and Zhu Yuanzhang answered even more simply: "There can be no relationship, absolutely no relationship."

"Why do you say there is absolutely no relationship? Is there an absolute relationship in the world? Is the relationship between you and Ma Dajiao absolute?" Chouyu couldn't see Zhu Yuanzhang's self-righteous look.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but look down on Chouyu's look of looking down on him. He thought that she had tried so hard to get close to him, but now she was always against him. While kicking Chouyu, he yelled: "What a maid!" , Dare to call the Queen by her nickname, I Ling Chi you!"

Chouyu hid behind Zhu Badger and retorted: "Lingchi? You, a beggar, know Lingchi. Isn't it enough that Chouyu is Lingchi by you?"

"Shut up, everyone. If you keep making noises, don't come to see me together in the future." Zhu Badger was angry.

Zhu Badger was angry. Zhu Yuanzhang and Chouyu did not dare to make any more noise. They stood in front of Zhu Badger and listened to Zhu Badger's questions.

Zhu Badger couldn't ask anything at once, but she felt that she had a lot to ask. Just as she was hesitating, a bang woke her up. Zhu Yuanzhang and Chou Yuyou suddenly disappeared. When she opened her eyes, the window was bright and she thought she had just fallen asleep. a while. As a result, there was another explosion, followed by the deafening sound of gongs, drums, cymbals. I was in jail all day and night? Has the ancestor worship at the ancestral hall begun?

Worshiping ancestors on New Year's Eve is the most solemn ceremony in the old house. This year's twelfth lunar month is Xiaoyue, which is only twenty-nine but not thirty, so the ancestor worship ceremony will be held in the ancestral hall on the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Anyone who lives in the old house can participate in ancestor worship. Of course, it is voluntary. If you don’t want to participate, you are not forced to participate. If you want to participate, you are warmly welcomed. If you participate, you must follow the rules to worship ancestors.

Zhu Badger originally thought of going to the ancestral hall to participate in ancestor worship, but then he thought, if my parents don't wake me up, they must not want me to go to the ancestral hall to show my face, so I might as well not go. I just want Grandma Taizu and all the ancestors in my heart at all times. Why stick to superficial forms?
Grandma Taizu, why don’t you come to my dreamland? How much I want to meet you in my dream, talk to you about my troubles, and ask you for advice on what to do next?
Zhu Badger closed his eyes and wanted to sleep again, hoping to have a good dream, a good dream with Grandma Taizu, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what, and his stomach kept growling.

She was so hungry that she got up, put on her cotton jacket and trousers, and was about to open the door when she saw a shadow flash past the door. She stood there without moving. After hearing that there was no sound outside, she put her face against the crack in the door and looked out.

There was no one in the hall, and the entire main room was silent. The sound of firecrackers and the sound of gongs, drums, and cymbals in the ancestral hall had stopped for a while, and it was time to start the officiating process.

That shadow just now should be a person, Lan Yuliu? Lu Huan? It must be one of them. His biological father and mother must have gone to the ancestral hall. They are the chief priests, so there is no way they will not go. If it were an outsider, the eight thin dogs and eight pig badgers would have called the police long ago. It is impossible for them to sleep peacefully while I sleep.

Zhu Badger gently opened the door and walked quietly to the hall. Just as he was about to turn around the screen, he heard someone whispering softly. He quickly stopped and saw a person kneeling in front of the portrait of Grandma Taizu in the hall through the gap in the screen.

Through the back view, Zhu Badger was sure it was Lu Huan. From his room just now, he could only see the outer half of the hall. If he couldn't see the innermost part of the hall, he couldn't see Lu Huan. He thought there was no one there. As for the sound, the murmuring sound on Lu Huan's mouth was even softer than a mosquito's. You couldn't hear it at all unless you were close. Now even though Zhu Badger is already in the hall, he still can't hear clearly what Lu Huan is mumbling?
Zhu Badger believed that Lu Huan must have known that she had left the room, but she pretended not to see it. There was no need for her to go over and greet her. Why not see how she performed next?

Zhu Badger went to the kitchen and mixed dog food and badger food for the thin dogs and pig badgers. He took it into his room and then came out to make noodles.

Just as he was about to eat the noodles, Lu Huan walked into the kitchen, sniffed and asked Zhu Badger in a surprised tone: "What did you cook? Why is it so fragrant?"

"Noodles, haven't you had breakfast either?" Zhu Badger said in a casual tone.

Lu Huan casually sat down next to Zhu Badger, looked at Zhu Badger's noodle bowl, and said, "I ate three rice dumplings and I was exhausted. Hey, why do you eat so smooth? You should have an egg or more." A big piece of meat, right?”

"Didn't you say it's very fragrant? If it contains eggs or meat, the smell will go off your nose?" Zhu Badger glanced at Lu Huan.

Lu Huan leaned closer to Zhu Badger and said, "That's true. My badger can burn so fragrantly on its bare surface. He is really a fairy."

"You always thought I was fake? No wonder you pretended to be a ghost to scare me." Zhu Badger said it still very casually.

Lu Huan laughed at himself and said: "It's the Chinese New Year, everyone is happy."

"Happy? So many people are happy after seeing blood? Are you at home alone? Where is Sister Liu?" Zhu Badger thought about it and just stopped. He didn't want to embarrass Lu Huan too much. After all, she was a guest in her own home alone. , who doesn’t want to reunite with his family during the Chinese New Year?
Lu Huan cried "Wow", like a child who had done something wrong. After crying for a while, Lu Huan wiped his tears and choked up and said to Zhu Badger: "I'm really sorry. I really just wanted to make a joke at the time, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this. Badger, I know I was wrong. I didn’t sleep well last night. I got up very early today and wanted to go to the ancestral hall to apologize to everyone, but my uncle and aunt said no, so I will kneel in front of Grandma Taizu’s portrait to repent, hoping she can forgive me.”

"Okay, okay, the matter has passed. I just said casually, where is Sister Liu?" Zhu Badger didn't expect that Lu Huan's acting skills were so good. He cried whenever he wanted to, and he also explained so naturally why he knelt down to Grandma Taizu. In front of the portrait? In this case, she really knew that Zhu Badger had left the room, but deliberately did not say hello to Zhu Badger.

Lu Huan stopped crying, stood up, looked at the kitchen door, turned around and said, "Sister Liu, she went out last night and hasn't come back yet."

"She went out last night and hasn't come back yet? When did she go out last night? What was she doing out at night?" Zhu Badger couldn't wait to ask Lu Huan, but after he asked the question, he regretted that he was in front of Lu Huan. Acting too impatient, didn't Zhu Yuanzhang tell himself to be "steady"? No matter what kind of emergency, difficult or big thing you face, you must be steady. Only by being steady can you accomplish big things.

Before answering Zhu Badger's question, Lu Huan ran to the kitchen door to take a look, and returned to touch Zhu Badger's ear. Before Zhu Badger could speak, Zhu Badger smiled and said: "It's itchy, it's so itchy. Don't keep kissing me." Well." After saying this, Zhu Badger wanted to stand up. She had already finished her noodles. Unexpectedly, Lu Huan stretched out his arms and hugged her, kissed her face several times, and said while kissing: "I just want to kiss you. , the kiss is not enough."

"Yes, yes, yes, while the fairy hasn't gone up to heaven yet, hurry up and kiss her a few more times. I want to kiss you too." When someone arrived, Lan Yuliu pushed the door into the kitchen, walked to the dining table and hugged Zhu Badger with Lu Huan. .

"You two female hooligans, please let me go. Everything is normal with me and I have no inclinations in that direction. Hey, Sister Liu, why do you have such a strong smell of medicine?" Zhu Badger pushed Lu Huan away and asked Lan Yuliu.

Lan Yuliu kissed Zhu Badger on the face and then patted her clothes and said, "Oh, my sister-in-law is ill. She has been struggling since last night and has only stabilized now."

"Sister-in-law? Which sister-in-law is sick?" Zhu Badger asked Lan Yuliu, while Lu Huan stood aside and looked at her coldly.

Lan Yuliu poured a glass of water from the thermos bottle and drank it before telling Zhu Badger: "Which sister-in-law in my old house do I know well? Zhu Hu's wife, she started to have vomiting and diarrhea last night, and then she screamed and kept screaming. He said he was possessed by a ghost. Zhu Hu had no choice but to come over and call me to help."

"Oh, Mrs. Tiger? What disease do you have?" Zhu Badger didn't expect that Lan Yuliu stayed away all night because the squinty-eyed woman was ill.

It was reasonable that Lan Yuliu went to help take care of the squinty-eyed woman when she was sick. Zhu Badger couldn't ask more questions, but seeing Lu Huan standing aside and looking at her coldly, he believed that there must be something fishy, ​​but he didn't show it on his face. He just asked the squinty-eyed woman. What disease?

Lan Yuliu answered very naturally, saying that the cross-eyed woman probably just had a bad stomach, and was infected with wind and cold, and had vomiting and diarrhea. It was not a serious illness, but Zhu Hu was frightened, thinking that he was possessed by a ghost, and called me to help take care of him. Wife, go to Xishan and invite the flat-mouthed woman.

"Oh, all the diseases must have disappeared when the flat-mouthed woman came, right?" Zhu Badger stood up with a smile and asked Lan Yuliu if he had had breakfast. Lan Yuliu said that she had already eaten at Zhu Hu's house, and responded to Zhu Badger with a smile, "I don't know what kind of magic this flat-mouthed woman is playing?" Is it true or false? The cross-eyed woman no longer had vomiting or diarrhea. After a long sleep, she got up and ate three rice dumplings before going to bed and sleeping again. "Hmph, I'm afraid it's a spell you cast, right?" Lu Huan said and walked out of the kitchen.

Lan Yuliu looked at Lu Huan's back and said, "Huanhuan, I'm sorry that I didn't say hello to you and made you worry. Wasn't I afraid of waking you up? You were sleeping soundly at that time."

"It's okay, she has such a personality, all the joy, anger, sorrow and joy are written on her face." Zhu Badger smiled and spoke easily, thinking in his heart, who told the truth and who told the lie, Lan Yuliu or Lu Huan? ? What was the intention of the two of them behaving like this in front of her? Want to cover up your shady deeds? Want to alienate her or her relationship? is it necessary? Lan Yuliu was invited in by Lu Huan, and Lan Yuliu took the initiative to share a bed with Lu Huan. The two of them wouldn't turn against each other so quickly, would they? Could it be that some serious conflict occurred?
This should be good, you guys can perform to your heart's content, I'll hold my own, and take action when it's time to take action. Hey, this Zhu Yuanzhang is really talented. He is worthy of being the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The word "stability" is much clearer than his "static braking", and it feels just right to do it. Hey, he can't be related to Zhu Yuanzhang, right? If that were the case, that would be even more exciting.

Zhu Badger burst out laughing, Lan Yuliu looked at her intently, and even Lu Huan, who had already walked out of the kitchen door, turned back and stared at her with his big black eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like this? You have to stay up until dawn tonight, why don't you go and have a good sleep first?" Zhu Badger reminded Lan Yuliu and Lu Huan while washing dishes and chopsticks that today is the first year of the lunar calendar. On the last day of the wedding, you two don’t play any tricks on me.

Lan Yuliu and Lu Huan asked Zhu Badger in unison: "Where are you?"

"I have slept all day and night and am very refreshed. I will write and post Spring Festival couplets later, and cook New Year's Eve dinner together when my parents come back." Zhu Badger washed the dishes and walked out of the kitchen.

"Then let me see you writing Spring Festival couplets." "Me too." Lan Yuliu and Lu Huan followed Zhu Badger closely. Zhu Badger walked into the hall and asked with a smile: "You haven't slept all night, okay? Can you bear it?"

"What's the point of staying up all night or two?" "It's just that I'm happy during the New Year." Lan Yuliu and Lu Huan became people in the same trench again. "Okay, I'm happy. Then I will be responsible for writing and you will be responsible for posting the Spring Festival couplets and the word 'Fu' on all the doors and windows of the house, as well as the front and rear doors of the old house." Zhu Badger walked into the study.

The study room in the main house is the same as the room where Zhu Badger lives. Outsiders are not allowed to enter casually. In the years when Zhu Yunshan was not at home, even Ma Yasha seldom went in and out. If he wanted to enter, he had to wait for Zhu Badger's permission before entering. , never stay long after entering, and exit immediately after taking pen and ink and other objects.

Apart from learning Chinese and Chinese characters from Mr. Zhu since childhood, the place where Badger Zhu spent the most time was his own room and study.

The study room in the old house owner's house is next to Zhu Badger's room, but the orientation is better than Zhu Badger's room. It is very bright during the day. At night, when you sit in the study, you can see the stars and the moon through the skylight on the top. The study room is larger than Zhu Badger's room and larger than the hall. The second floor is directly connected, and the large bookcases reach directly to the roof. To read the books on the top floor, you need to climb up the stairs.

Zhu Badger couldn't count how many books there were in the study. He just felt that there were too many books in there, so many that they could fill all the bookcases and pile up all the desks. These books are all thread-bound ancient books, and Mr. Zhu said they are priceless. Corrected by Zhu Badger, priceless.

Before Zhu Badger went to the provincial capital to work, in addition to sleeping and eating, she liked to get into the study without reading. Just looking at the books in the room would make her heart as calm as still water and as warm as spring. Especially when you climb to the top through the ladders on both sides of each bookcase and look up at the sky, you can be as fulfilling as you want, without Zhu Yuanzhang reminding you to be "steady" at all.

Unfortunately, since he went to work in the provincial capital, Zhu Badger's mood has become impetuous and he is rarely in the mood to enter the study. He has never thought of entering the study for a while.

Walking into the study, the familiar smell of sandalwood and camphor made Zhu Badger feel detached for a moment, forgetting that Lan Yuliu and Lu Huan were waiting for her outside the door.

Zhu Badger climbed up the ladder on the left side of the ninth bookcase. When he reached the top, he reached out and took out a book. This book was a Song edition and was titled "Collection of Poems by Han Shanzi".

"There are only white clouds in Hanshan, so silent and dust-free. There is a house on the grass-seat mountain, with a solitary lamp shining brightly on the moon." Zhu Badger held "Han Shanzi's Poetry Collection" in her hands and looked at the white clouds outside the sky window. The white clouds carried her up to nine days.

"See the Nine Immortals..."

I'm wondering, where did so many beautiful girls come from in the sky?

Beautiful girls surrounded the red badgers and flew in the heaven. The golden-scaled red-bearded dragons coiled on the Tianmen pillars nodded and waved their tails to the red badgers, showing great attentiveness; the red-crested phoenixes with colorful feathers flying in the sky rushed to guide the red badgers. From time to time he would raise his neck to announce the good news.

Flying over the fairy bridges that were misty among the white clouds, and arriving at the Nantian Gate, Zhu Badger saw the magnificent Lingxiao Palace in front of him. The auspicious clouds filled the courtyard, the bright clouds reflected the sky, and the mist covered the mouth.

Hey, how do I know this is Nantianmen? Is this the Lingxiao Palace? Could it be that my previous life was really the "Nine Immortals"?
"Nine Immortals, what are you doing standing there? Come to my father quickly." The voice of Hong Zhong and Da Lu lingered in Zhu Badger's ears. Zhu Badger raised his head and looked at the Emperor Zai Zai of Tang Dynasty in front of him, and asked: "Are you really here? Father in heaven?”

"My child, how can your father be true or false? Today, when you are bidding farewell to the mortal world, it is rare that you take the initiative to come up to visit my father. I am very happy for my father." "I took the initiative to come up to visit you? Do I have it?" "Girl, come up as soon as you come up. Well, I know you can't bear the suffering of the mortal world." Zhu Badger was talking to the Jade Emperor, and the Queen Mother Feng Yi appeared in front of Zhu Badger.

"I just didn't take the initiative. What's wrong with this world?" Zhu Badger just didn't like the Queen Mother's behavior.

"You are so stubborn, do you want me to ask you to go to heaven instead?" The Queen Mother sat next to the Jade Emperor and looked at the red badger up and down.

Zhu Badger deliberately did not look at the Queen Mother, turned around and said to himself: "If I had known today, why would I have taken back the water I spilled?"

"Hahaha, Nine Immortals, it's hard to collect water. That's in the mortal world. In heaven, as your mother, you can put the water of Yaochi in the palm of your hand, and you can make the Milky Way flow backwards with rain and snow. She took the initiative to welcome you back today. You should kowtow to express gratitude. ." The Jade Emperor's loud laughter echoed throughout the heavens.

Zhu Badger playfully replied: "I never said I was coming back, so there is no need to kowtow to thank you. Hey, my heavenly father and heavenly mother, I have to go back and write Spring Festival couplets. Goodbye, bye, Sa You Na, whee……"

"This, this, this..."

"you you you……"

Leaving the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother staring at each other in the Lingxiao Palace, Zhu Badger somersaulted down the heaven and returned to the study room of the old master's house.

Opening his eyes, Zhu Badger heard Ma Yasha shouting from outside the study: "If you don't write the Spring Festival couplets, the sun will set."

"Come here!" Zhu Badger happily took out her pen and ink and came out of the study. She has not been so happy for a long time, because she can go to heaven and earth at any time. She has recovered her previous life, but she will not easily return.

(End of this chapter)