The next day, Anna had to go to Aunt Terrier's house with her brother and the others.
She doesn't like this aunt very much, but the other party doesn't love her very much either.
Like this lady, Anna knew that all her praises were due to the family name in her blood, not the excellence of her niece.
So when Anna kisses her aunt on the cheek, she suspects that she is kissing a mask rather than a human face.
"I'm happy for you, Skiva, the inheritance of the Oblonsky family needs your wife to give you a few more children." Madame Terrier's calm tone was like a gust of cold wind.
When she saw Tao Li's belly, she pulled a reserved and noble smile on her face.
But that smile had nothing to do with warmth, and she nodded, as if because the Oblonsky family was expecting a newcomer, not because her nephew and niece-in-law were about to have their first child, a little furry Happy as a guy.
The two brothers and sisters looked at each other and kept snickering, until Mrs. Terrier took a look at them, then shut up in fear.
"What about you, dear?" Madame Terrier cast her eyes on Anna, then lowered her eyes slightly, looking at Anna's stomach.
This is really embarrassing.
Anna instinctively wanted to twist, but reason made her restrain herself, and answered her aunt's question with a decent smile and a respectful tone.
"There is no news yet, but I will remember."
Madame Terrier nodded, and she said something else, but between the lines, she conveyed a truth to these juniors, don't embarrass the Oblonsky family.
After lunch later, Anna and the others went to rest in their respective rooms.
Although Aunt Terrier was not very close to any of them, it was only a poor family that did not reserve rooms for the juniors.
This big house is really deserted, although it is luxurious, it is lifeless.
Anna somewhat missed those afternoon tea time with the cooks, they always had a lot of witty words.
Not long after she sat down, there was a knock on the door.
Anna opened the door and saw Tao Li, who had a worried expression on her face.
"What's the matter, Dolly?"
Tao Li stepped forward to hold Anna's hand. She opened her mouth, hesitated, and finally said, "I heard from Schiava that Alexei was expelled from school, and they don't plan to pick him up."
Anna knew Alexei, although she had never met him in person.
It was her cousin's illegitimate child, born to a maid before the cousin married his sister-in-law. Besides, there was another reason for her concern.
Aunt Terrier was furious at this, but the boy was a boy, and of Oblonsky's blood, and she drove the boy's mother away. But in her bones, she couldn't accept that a foreign inferior gene polluted Oblonsky's blood, so she didn't pay much attention to this child.
After he was able to go to boarding school, he was sent there and it was not easy to let him back.
"But he's only fourteen years old, and he's still a child!" Anna said in surprise, and then she calmed down.
"What does Skiva say?"
"He would like to go, but I'm afraid..." Tao Li stopped talking, and Anna knew Tao Li's concerns. Their sister-in-law is not easy to get along with.
"Where's my aunt?"
"She seems to have forgotten about it." Tao Li sighed.
"Probably not." Anna said, and then thought for a while, "Let me go."
"But… "
Anna patted Tao Li's arm, "I'll go."
Anna tidied up, said a few words to Skiva, and then went to the cousin's place, the cousin was there, and the twin siblings were arguing about something.
She walked over and first smiled and wanted to kiss the children, but was avoided by the other party and made a face at her.
"Children are ignorant and a little shy, Anna. Don't mind." The sister-in-law said with a smile, and the expression on her white face was really uncomfortable.
"Of course not." Anna decided not to care too much and not to go around the corner, and then put on a smiling face: "I was going to tell you something."
"what's up?"
The other party was a little suspicious. A pointed chin lifted.
Anna said: "I heard that Alexei is coming back. Although I know that my cousin will definitely pick him up, you must have planned this way a long time ago, but I haven't seen that child for a long time, so I want to say , let me pick him up."
The cousin's face was a little ugly.
Anna pretended to ask cautiously: "Are you still determined to pick up the child yourself?"
"Of course I think so, but I'm always willing to help you, my dear." The sister-in-law said with a smile.
Anna smiled: "I knew you would agree."
After leaving the room, Anna quickened her pace. She knew that according to her cousin's personality, she would definitely go to her aunt to talk about it later, but generally speaking, Aunt Terrier would not blame her.
It's one thing not to want to, but the Oblonskys cannot become another joke in Moscow.
Thinking of this, Anna felt a little heavy in her heart.
It stands to reason that she would sympathize with her as a woman, but in fact, some prejudice against her cousin prevented her from ignoring that child like her aunt's family.
She took a carriage to the Moscow railway station, asking the coachman to hurry along the way, but she was still a little late when she arrived.
At this time, the crowd was much smaller. Anna quickly found Alexei, and his servant was beside him.
Both the master and the servant were very thin, and the servant didn't seem very old, he was clearly two and a half children.
The one in the platinum uniform was Alexei, and Anna seemed to know why Aunt Terrier and the others disliked this child so much.
Instead of the traditional black hair of the Oblonsky family, the boy had solid blond hair, pale gray eyes and too pale skin that made him look very thin.
There was almost no shadow of the Oblonsky family on him. Both Anna and Schevaer were healthy, but this child didn't have much vitality.
The unhealthy look was nothing like what Aunt Terrier had been trying to do to make the Oblonskys prosper.
Anna paused, then stepped forward and called, "Alexie."
The boy turned his head warmly, his half-length blond hair almost covered his eyes, only his thin eyelids were exposed.
"Aunt Anna." Alexie called out in a low voice, the voice of the child in the transformation stage was a bit rough.
Anna kissed the child on the cheek, and the footman greeted her.
"Let's go home." Anna said with a smile, she took Alexei's hand, but the latter was stunned for a moment, and raised his eyes with thin eyelids, slightly drooping eyelashes, clear pupils, light gray pupils Yet it seemed full of melancholy.
These are the eyes.
Anna showed a reassuring smile, and she squeezed the other's hand.
The boy's heart was a little shaken, but in the end he followed Anna back without saying a word.
It was very quiet on the long table at night.
It was originally quiet, but at this moment, there were more emotions similar to resentment.
Alexie did not go to the kitchen to eat like a servant, he still had the treatment that a noble young master should have at home.
But judging from his taciturn character and pale face, what this family gave him was not warmth.
Aunt Terrier and his cousin seemed to be trying their best to ignore the existence of this child. Anna noticed that every time the knife and fork were made, Alexei's lips would involuntarily purse.
After dinner, no one left.
Aunt Terrier sat in her usual place.
High above, representing the absolute authority of the family.
Her stern eyes looked around everyone except Alexei.
Finally, she said: "Next month you need to go to school in Germany."
Tao Li took a breath, and Skiva couldn't help but said, "That's too far away!"
Aunt Terrier looked at Earl Oblonsky sternly: "His birth itself did not bring honor to Oblonsky, and now, he is still humiliating our family in such a famous school, Skiva , are you trying to say that protecting our family's honor should not be done?"
Oblonsky muttered something dejected, and Dolly drew close to her husband, put her right hand on his side, and comforted him.
"If he doesn't leave, we will be laughed at when we go to school!" the twin brother yelled.
"Others will say we are uneducated wild children!" The younger sister also added, but was frightened by Aunt Terrier's cold reprimand.
"Where did you learn the dirty words!"
The younger sister pouted a little dissatisfied, and the cousin hugged the child and forced her to be quiet.
No one objected to this decision, and Alexie left quietly under the leadership of his servants. He spoke only one word the whole time.
"yes."
Before bedtime, Tao Li came to Anna's room again, her eyes full of worry.
"How dreadful, Anna," said Dolly, who had now the melancholy of a mother's pity.
"It's so grim, for a kid."
"Who said it wasn't?" Anna interjected, drying the handwriting.
"Are you writing to you Alexey Alexandrovitch?"
"Well. I'm asking for his advice about Alexei." Anna sealed the envelope with sealing paint. Her tone was calm, as natural as if she was talking about the weather.
Tao Li was a little surprised: "What are your plans?"
Anna said: "I don't know, I think if he wants, let Alexei find a school in Petersburg."
"You want to take care of this?"
Anna thought for a while: "It should, wait for Alexei's reply."
Tao Li felt a little moved. She walked up to Anna and asked softly, "Is there any reason? Anna."
"Actually, there's no big reason," Anna smiled. "Don't you think Alexie's eyes are very similar to Alexei's?"
Tao Li was stunned for a moment, and thought about it seriously, but she didn't think it was very similar.
Anna knew Dolly didn't feel it, but she didn't explain it.
Because, this is also his secret.
At that time, what Karenin told her about the past. Anna thought, if he hadn't had a stubborn soul supporting him, he wouldn't have found the right direction and become a good person with clear goals. Although he doesn't think so.
She had regretted that she could not have met Karenin sooner. So now, seeing Alexei, those pale gray pupils under those slender eyelids, Anna hopes that they will shine brightly in the future.
About three o'clock the next afternoon, both Anna and Aunt Terrier received letters.
In addition to the greetings from the husband to his wife, the letter also contains a reply.
The answer is yes, and said that when waiting for Anna to come back, he will listen to her patiently.
Anna didn't know what Karenin said to Aunt Terrier in the letter, but the other party agreed to hand over Alexei's school affairs to him.
After saying goodbye to Tao Li and the others, Anna took Alexei on the train back to Petersburg.
They still have one night to travel.
Annushka looked after the two.
"Let's play a game," Anna said.
"What do you want to play?" Alexey asked softly, as if the game was not for his own relaxation, but for Anna's sudden interest.
Anna took the pen and paper, smiled and handed the simple backgammon game to Alexie. As she had expected, Alexei was a quick learner.
The game was not difficult, but Anna observed that Alexey was still very serious, as if he was taking a very serious matter.
His hand holding the pen is very delicate, and the joints are not thick, but it has a touch of youthful strength compared to the flexibility of a girl. The skin is thin, as if transparent, with light-colored blood vessels still faintly visible.
"Alexie, are you willing to tell me the truth about that incident?" Anna asked casually, her hands still moving.
Alexie was stunned for a moment, seeing that Anna didn't stop, he followed her to continue.
"There is no truth, Aunt Anna, I did hit someone." He drew the last circle and said softly, "I deliberately hit his abdomen."
"Well, if you're not going to tell the truth, you can go back at the next stop." Anna said with a cold voice.
She redraws a chess board and takes the first step.
After a long time, the boy opposite asked, "Will you really believe me?"
"Maybe I will, maybe I won't, but if you don't say it, there will be no result for me." Anna took the second step, her voice soft.
Alexie's lips moved a few times, and then he described the events of that day in a low voice.
The result is not very surprising, it is nothing more than long-term school violence.
"I don't know why I hit him, those words are not much dirtier than before." Alexie said slowly, and he won another game.
Anna stared at the paper and blinked. Perhaps Alexie didn't notice, but he was already so absorbed in the events of that day that he forgot to follow a certain law of tolerance, so that Anna would not lose so quickly. .
"As an adult, I won't advocate violence with you." Anna put down her pen, folded her hands on her arms, and looked up at the other party, "However, as your aunt, I can't watch you being bullied. Let you bear with it."
"You are very clever, Alexei, and I have every confidence that you know what to do."
"So, tell me, my dear, do you want to go to Germany or stay in Petersburg and go to the military school?"
"That's all we can get for you."
Without thinking too long, Alexei replied, "I never wanted to be a soldier." Indeed, Alexey was often ridiculed for his pale skin and blond hair.
"But if you are willing to give me this chance, I want to try it."
Hearing the other party's answer, Anna laughed.
Sure enough, she was right.
They stopped playing that not-so-smart game, and each took up their books. She knew that Alexei's pale gray eyes would look at her carefully from time to time, but she pretended not to know.
She is willing to fight for opportunities for this child like Karenin, but as for the future, it depends on him.
Amidst the clanging sound of the train, the morning sun rises, and the golden sunlight reflects on the snow, imprinting that the whole world has become as clean as newborn.
When Anna got off the train and was looking around, Karenin's voice came as expected, like a cold wind wrapped in a layer of warmth, and his gentle inquiry was like a spring breeze.