Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 63

It was so hot and stuffy that night.The windows were wide open, and the door was wide open, but there was still no wind, and the grass and insects in the yard outside the house screamed very loudly.

There was a small oil lamp on the table by the window, and Hai Rui was wearing a coarse short jacket, reading and writing in front of a stack of files.The cattail fan in his left hand slapped his leg occasionally, obviously because there were too many mosquitoes.

It was already so hot, Mrs. Hai was still sitting in front of a small charcoal stove, looking at the medicine pot that was exhaling heat.Although she was sweating non-stop, her face was flushed with blush, and her eyes were shining brightly from time to time, revealing the charm of a young woman, late in the spring.

The medicine was ready, and there were two empty bowls beside it. Mrs. Hai picked up a wet cloth next to the empty bowls to hold the medicine jar, but she couldn't help but look at Hai Rui who was sitting in front of the window.

Hai Rui was so engrossed in reviewing the file.

Mrs. Hai still wrapped the handle of the medicine jar, lifted the medicine jar and poured the medicinal soup into one empty bowl and then into the other empty bowl.

The medicine was ready, but Mrs. Hai stood there in a daze.After being lost for a while, she obviously made up her mind, first she wrapped the stove and carried it out of the door, then returned and walked towards Hai Rui with a bowl of medicine.

The medicine bowl was gently placed on the table, Mrs. Hai looked at Hai Rui, and Hai Rui's gaze was still on the file.Mrs. Hai's gaze dimmed, but she turned back and picked up another bowl of medicine, went to the table and put it on the table, then sat down quietly at the table opposite Hai Rui.

Hai Rui was still reading the file, and Mrs. Hai also looked out the window.The grass insects in the yard chirped louder.

Mrs. Hai finally looked at her husband again, and said softly, "The medicine is getting cold."

"Oh." Hai Rui responded, put down the pen, picked up the bowl of medicine near him and drank it in one gulp, but never looked at his wife, picked up the pen again, and looked at the file.

Mrs. Hai's eyes were so bleak, she hesitated for a long time before she picked up her bowl of medicine and drank it.Then he walked out with two empty bowls.

Only then did Hai Rui slowly look out the door, looking at the dark outside of the house, his eyes finally stopped there, whether it was guilt or love, he finally showed confusion.

The light on the table suddenly burst into a flicker of light, but Hai Rui still looked out the door.Suddenly, he immediately shifted his gaze to the file.It turned out that Mrs. Hai came in again with a basin of water.

Putting the water on the bench in front of Hai Rui, Mrs. Hai said softly, "It's late at night, you should wash up too, it's time to rest."

"Yes." Hai Rui just responded, keeping his eyes on the file.

Mrs. Hai looked at him and saw that his face was sweating.After hesitating for a moment, as if he had made a big decision, he wrung out the facekerchief from the basin, approached him, and wiped the facekerchief on his forehead.

Hai Rui closed his eyes and sat there motionless.

There was light in Mrs. Hai's eyes, and she gently wiped her husband's face from forehead to face.

After wiping the neck, Mrs. Hai whispered in her husband's ear, "Have a rest, okay?"

Hai Rui finally opened his eyes, stood up slowly, and finally met his wife's gaze.

There was tenderness in the eyes of the two people in front of the faint light.

Hai Rui finally stretched out his hand to hold his wife's hand, but Mrs. Hai showed shyness and nervousness: "The door is not closed yet."

"I'll close it." Hai Rui strode towards the door.

Mrs. Hai sat by the bed and pulled out the copper hairpin from her head.

Hai Rui pulled the door on the left, and then the door on the right, and the two doors closed slowly.Suddenly, Hai Rui's hand stopped there, and his eyes stopped there. He heard his wife's melodious singing behind him.

Mrs. Hai has long hair and shawls, and she is slowly taking off her clothes, while singing softly: "Wow, weeds, worms, scorpions. I haven't seen a gentleman, and I am worried. When I see it, I stop it, and my heart falls. .”

Accompanied by his wife's singing, Hai Rui's deep singing voice also sounded softly: "Zhibi Nanshan, talk about picking its ferns, I haven't seen a gentleman, worrying and dying..."

Hai Rui turned around, and his wife, who was carrying his back, had already taken off her underwear, leaving only a bellyband. Under the weak light, his shaved shoulders and greasy skin made his heart burst with love and compassion. His wife was originally a poet. The daughter of a scholarly family, her usual coarse linen shirts have almost lost her natural beauty.Hai Rui walked towards his wife, pulled her long hair, and hugged her.

His wife's cheeks were flushed, but her eyes were closed.

Hai Rui: "For so many years, I have wronged you."

His wife opened her eyes suddenly, it was so bright: "Don't say such things at this time, okay?"

Hai Rui nodded, hugged his wife and gently put her on the bed.He began to take off his underwear, revealing his still strong physique.

"Blow the lamp." The wife said softly on the bed.

Hai Rui turned around and walked to the table. Just as he was about to blow out the lamp, he suddenly froze.

Mrs. Hai also trembled suddenly and sat up on the bed.

They all heard a faint but distinct humming from across the hall.

It's the humming voice of the mother of the sea: "The sun is going to rest, is it time to rest, is it... the moonlight is going to rest, is it time to rest, is it..."

Hai Rui immediately picked up the underwear from the chair, put it on again, and walked towards the door.

"Ru Xian!" His wife's voice behind him was so sad.Hai Rui stopped at the door again.

Haimu's humming sound was still heard faintly and clearly, vaguely and desolately: "Aunt is going to take a break, can you take a rest, can you..."

Hai Rui finally opened the door and walked outside.

The door of the main hall was wide open. Hai Rui took off his shoes and walked in lightly.

The door of the mother's bedroom was also open, and light came from inside.Haimu's humming sound is right next to my ears: "Mother is going to rest, can you rest, can't you..."

Hai Rui walked to the door of the bedroom: "Mother."

The humming stopped, but Haimu didn't answer.Hai Rui could only stand quietly outside the bedroom door, and called again: "Mother."

Haimu hummed again: "Mother is going to rest, the sun will not shine, and the moon will not shine..."

Hai Rui no longer hesitated, walked in, and immediately stood there in a daze.

Mother Hai sat on the bed with her sleeping granddaughter in her arms, looking out the window with tears in her eyes.

Hai Rui immediately knelt down, kowtowed, raised his head and said, "The child is unfilial, and the mother is sad." After speaking, he stood up and took the daughter from Haimu's arms.

Mother Hai hugged her granddaughter tightly, but still did not look at Hai Rui: "What are you doing?"

Hai Rui: "Mother is old and cannot be left alone. My son should stay here with mother."

Only then did Hai Mu slowly look at her son: "Physician Li said well, maybe I, as a mother and mother-in-law, have gone too far these years..."

Hai Rui: "How can Imperial Physician Li say that? Mother, there is only one word for filial piety in the world that is not right or wrong."

Haimu: "But there are three ways to be unfilial, and the greatest thing is to have no offspring"..."

Hai Rui: "The son is in his prime, and the daughter-in-law is only in her early thirties. But the mother is almost seventy. It is because the son's days of serving his mother are short, and the days after him are long."

Mother Hai showed relief and kindness: "Have you taken the medicine prescribed by Doctor Li?"

Hai Rui paused for a moment before replying, "Mom, I haven't eaten yet."

Haimu: "Why don't you eat?"

Hai Rui: "I don't want to compete for this day or two. Mother, let the son stay with mother tonight." He hugged his daughter from the mother of Hai.Turn around and walk out the door.

Haimu looked at her son's back, lost in thought.

As soon as he stepped into the door with his daughter in his arms, Hai Rui stopped in his tracks. It turned out that Mrs. Hai was already standing in front of the door, and the hairpin on her head had been pinned again, and her coat had been put on and fastened.He looked deeply at Hai Rui who came in.

Hai Rui's eyes avoided her, and looked at the daughter in his arms.

Mrs. Hai stretched out her hands and slowly hugged her daughter from Hai Rui's hand, then turned and walked towards the bed.

Hai Rui stood there in a daze, looking at his wife's back.

Mrs. Hai gently placed her daughter on the pillow without looking back: "You go out. We are going to rest too."

Hai Rui stood there for a while, Mrs. Hai still didn't turn her head, she just picked up the cattail fan and fanned it gently for her daughter in the tent, to drive away the mosquitoes.

Hai Rui closed his eyes for a moment, then turned around and walked out the door.

After walking about three or five steps, Hai Rui suddenly heard the door behind him slam shut!
The ramie mosquito net has been put down, and the jellyfish can be vaguely seen from the outside, lying sideways facing the bed.

Hai Rui gently sat down on the stool beside the bed.

The homework at this time every night is to recite a passage from a sage to my mother.Hai Rui said softly: "Mother, tonight my son will recite a section of "The Classic of Filial Piety·Guangyang Famous Chapter No. 14" for my mother." Then he began to recite: "'Zi said: A gentleman is filial, so he can be loyal. Moved to the king. It is a matter of brothers and sisters, so Shun can be moved to the elder...'"

"I won't listen to this part today." Hai Mu interrupted Hai Rui in the tent.

Hai Rui stopped immediately: "Whatever passage the mother wants to hear, the son can read it by heart."

Haimu is inside the mosquito net: "Memorize the following chapter. It is the chapter in "Remonstrance Chapter No. 15" that says that ministers dare to fight with the emperor, and sons dare to fight with their father."

Hai Rui was stunned for a moment, then answered after a while: "Mother, why don't you memorize another chapter?"

"Just this chapter." Haimu interrupted him again, "You don't need to memorize the previous ones, just memorize the part where the son is arguing with his father."

Hai Rui hesitated for a moment, and had no choice but to backtrack softly: "'If a father contends with his son, he will not fall into injustice. Therefore, if it is unrighteous, then the son must not fight against his father...'"

Haimu was still lying there on her side, and said, "Tell me what this passage means."

Hai Rui hesitated, but Haimu urged, "Say."

Hai Rui: "Yes. Confucius said that if a father has a son who dares to speak out, he will not do unrighteous things. Therefore, when a father does something unrighteous, a son should not be silent. Father politely advised..."

"No." Hai Mu interrupted Hai Rui's words again in the mosquito net, "Confucius clearly said 'struggle', so why is contending politely?"

Hai Rui: "What mother said is that the 'struggle' mentioned by the sage here can also be interpreted as blunt protest. But my son thinks it is better to interpret it as polite advice."

Haimu sat up on the bed: "Then the following sentence, 'A minister must not fight for the king' is also polite advice?"

Hai Rui still said softly, "Go back to mother, it's still different here."

Haimu: "What's the difference?"

Hai Rui: "There is a big difference. My father is only the head of the family. He occasionally acts unjustly. Even if he doesn't listen to his advice, it is just the misfortune of the family. The monarch is in charge of the people's livelihood. If there are unrighteous acts, the people will live in dire straits, and even People are devastated. Therefore, the ministers must speak up and fight!"

Haimu: "You mean to say that even though Grandma has done something unrighteous, you and your daughter-in-law are unlucky. Is that what you mean?"

Hai Rui was shocked, and knelt down: "Mum, righteousness and injustice refer to men. Mothers are in need and will not do unrighteous things. The words of the saints do not mean that they are aimed at mothers and children."

Mother Hai was silent, and it took a long time before she said: "It would be great if your father was still alive... It's almost the fifteenth day of July, and it's time to offer sacrifices to our ancestors and your father. Go to sleep."

Hai Rui: "My son remembers. Mother, please rest first."

The mother of the sea under the mosquito net stopped talking, so Hai Rui stood up again, sat on the edge of the bed, and couldn't help looking out the window.Only the grass insects were chirping loudly in the yard.He sighed silently, quietly blew out the oil lamp on the small table beside his mother's bed, walked gently to the small bamboo bed opposite, and lay down.

The moon has risen and is slanting in through the window.Hai Rui's eyes were open, as if he was listening to his mother's movement, and also seemed to be listening to the movement in his own room outside the window.Only at this time, the melancholy that was not usually seen appeared in the eyes of this extremely masculine and vigorous man.A burst of fatigue finally hit him, he closed his eyes, and started snoring slowly.

The chirping of grass insects in the yard and Hai Rui's snoring rang out in the deep night.

The eyes of the jellyfish lying in the mosquito net were still open, and she immediately heard another sound from the loud insects and her son's snoring, which was the buzzing of mosquitoes.She got up lightly, opened the tent door and got out of bed with bare feet. Under the bed, she took out a long mosquito smoke rolled up in straw paper, touched the flint from the small table, rubbed the tinder, and lit it. He smoked the mosquito smoke and gently placed it under his son's bamboo bed.

There was no wind, and the night was so sweltering.The moonlight shone coldly on the son's thin cheeks, and dense beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.Hai Mu sat down on the stool that Hai Rui had been sitting on, picked up the cattail fan, looked at her son quietly, and fanned it gently.Almost all night, the jellyfish sat like this.When there were no more mosquitoes, I put the cattail fan on my lap and took a nap. When the sound of mosquitoes sounded, although I didn't open my eyes, the fan in my hand immediately slapped my son.

People in the world often think that the difference between the most yang and the most rigid people is that they are not surprised by changes, not chaotic in times of danger, and would rather bend than bend.They don't know that the biggest difference between the most yang and the most rigid people is that they are open-minded and free from entanglement.For example, if a Sri Lankan is in a predicament, he eats when he should eat, and sleeps when he should sleep.Those who are "waiting for dawn" do not hold a gun and sit and wait for the dawn, but their hearts are like an empty city, and they sleep peacefully with a gun on their head.The same is true of Hai Rui's bedtime of serving his mother for decades.I took good care of my mother before she fell asleep, and fell asleep when my mother fell asleep.He didn't know how many nights, just after he fell asleep, his mother always sat beside him like this, taking care of him, and then went to sleep on the bed when it was about to dawn.The so-called servant mother is actually a "mother servant".

It was almost daylight again.Haimu has also arrived and is about to go to bed from her nap.Suddenly, she heard a knock on the courtyard door!

Haimu opened her eyes immediately, and looked at her son. Because of the soft knock on the door, the son was still asleep, so he stood up lightly, opened the tent door and quickly climbed onto the bed.

But at this moment, there was an urgent knock on the door.Hai Rui opened his eyes suddenly. Hearing the rapid knock on the door, he rolled over and sat up, looked at his mother's bed, and vaguely saw her lying on her side facing inside.

Hai Rui stood up, walked to the bed and called softly, "Mother, mother."

"What's the matter?" Haimu replied on the bed.

There was still a knock on the courtyard door.

Hai Rui: "I disturbed my mother. Maybe there is an urgent business. You keep sleeping, my son will go and have a look."

Haimu: "Go."

After Hai Rui put on his shoes, he walked quickly to the gate of the courtyard: "What's the matter?"

Immediately outside the gate of the courtyard came the panicked voice of the clerk on duty at night: "Report to the county lord, there is an edict."

Hai Rui: "Which level is the edict?"

The scribe's voice trembled a little: "Imperial decree! The imperial decree has arrived!"

Hai Rui was startled when he heard this, and immediately opened the door. The nervous clerk quickly knelt down on one knee, and Hai Rui looked at him closely.

In the Ming Dynasty, the documents handed down from the imperial court to the provinces were often sent by the cabinet rather than imperial edicts.Now that an imperial decree has actually been issued to a small Chun'an County, no wonder the scribe was terrified, and Hai Rui didn't believe it: "Is it an imperial decree? You read it right!"

The scribe: "Return to the county lord, the imperial envoys are waiting in the lobby. It is indeed an imperial decree!"

Hai Rui: "Go and accompany the imperial envoy first, and I'll come as soon as I get dressed!"

The scribe quickly got up and ran out in response.

Hai Rui also hurriedly turned around, ready to go to his bedroom to put on his official uniform, but saw his wife standing behind him holding his official uniform.

Hai Rui immediately understood that his wife obviously hadn't slept all night, so when he heard the knock on the door, he knew that there was an urgent business, and he sent his official uniform in time.

A trace of gratitude flashed in Hai Rui's eyes, and he took the black yarn from the official uniform with both hands and put it on his head. His wife then shook off the official uniform and lifted it up, and Hai Rui stretched out her hand to put it on.The wife put the belt on him again.

His wife bent down and helped him put on his official boots again.Hai Rui supported his wife's bent back with one hand, put on one official boot, and helped her back to put on the other official boot.

The wife straightened her waist and handed him a rice ball wrapped in lotus leaves, but she never looked at him.

Hai Rui took the rice ball and took a deep look at his wife, who was still looking at the ground.Without thinking about it, Hai Rui turned around and strode out of the courtyard.

It was daylight.Only then did Mrs. Hai raise her gaze to look at her husband's receding figure, then slowly turned around and walked towards her room.At this moment, she felt her mother-in-law standing at the door of the living room, and quickly stopped: "Mother-in-law." Then she walked over quickly.

Haimu was standing at the entrance of the living room with a bamboo stick, looking at her daughter-in-law who was coming.Mrs. Hai walked up to Mother Hai and bowed her head and stood still: "It's still early, mother-in-law, let's rest for a while."

Haimu's expression was unusually gentle: "I won't stop. Your husband has a big event coming. Hurry up and prepare some dry food and a change of clothes for him."

(End of this chapter)