No one could know He Mulan's remorse for what the villagers said. It was a sense of guilt that no one else could understand.
She replaced Mulan's life, making her present and future a mess. She got her memory, but only recalled the specific content when it could be triggered. It was for this reason that she had no idea that Mulan still had a bunch of friends waiting for relief or taking care of her. .
Now that she's here, everyone tells her that the people you're looking for are dead. Died during the time when you were silent. Although He Mulan knew in her heart that this was a bit strange, her strong sense of guilt made her have to start guessing randomly, endlessly looping in her mind "I'm late because I'm late" and other words of self-blame.
It was precisely because of this that when He Mulan saw the woman running out of the hut next to the tomb, she was not relieved, but an angry feeling of being fooled and deceived.
"Sword Comes"
Is this deserted and uninhabited place a place where people live? What the hell happened to need to do this to a hero's family
Qiulin Mo Zhen fought to the death on the battlefield, just to protect such a group of family and friends who ignored his wife and children living by the grave, and even to the relatives and friends who came to visit, without any psychological burden, saying "Everyone in the Qiulin family is dead". people? .
Yes, it was Qiulin Mozhen's wife who came out of the small stone house.
—Wang Shi, whom Mulan once met eight years ago.
***
After finding the main lord, He Mulan hurried down the mountain, and moved those gifts and sacrifices from the bottom of the mountain to the mountain one after another. She seemed to vent her emotions, and she seemed to be self-abusing. She didn't let anyone intervene at all. She just carried on her shoulders those things that might not be heavy to her, but others seemed to be unable to stand by and watch the amount of things. Move up the mountain little by little.
When He Mulan walked up the mountain with her things on her back, she kept thinking, how could a woman as thin as Wang's carry the rice noodles up the mountain like this. How can a thin woman like her endure the whimpering like a ghost crying and the desolate loneliness when the mountain wind whizzes past on such a lonely mountain.
How old is Mr. Wang this year? Probably less than forty, right
How long has it been like this? half a year? a year? Or longer
"General Hua, why did you call me that..." Wang shi watched He Mulan put the Tang Yang Feng Yang and the like on her back into the room, her expression could be described as panic.
"I'm a virtuous family. Where did I use so many things? It's not easy to cook cattle and sheep on the mountain. When I look back, it's all broken!"
"All I brought are wax and wind sheep. You can hang it by the door. It's not hot now, so it won't break." He Mulan patted outside the house unconcernedly, and his body was already stained with all kinds of wax. I want to continue to carry the clothes.
Her sleeve was suddenly pulled by Wang.
"General Hua, don't go any more." She lowered her body, almost dropping her head to her chest, "You have done enough, you don't need this..."
He Mulan didn't know the reason for her sudden lowness, but she could probably understand that a woman who chooses to live in this way must have a sad story, so she turned around and patted her hand, and said softly:
"You should also know that I'm a woman, right? It's all women, so what's the point of embarrassment? This world is not fair to women. I'm just a little nicer to my own kind, so how can it be considered too much?"
"No, it's not like that..."
Wang's choked voice came out. "I didn't take good care of Mo Zhen's son, and I brought shame to the Qiulin family."
"Let's talk when we come back. The coachman still has to wait to go back." He Mulan smiled, turned around and went down the mountain again.
The coachman went back in relief. Adanzhuo had already prepared the offerings at Qiulin Mozhen's grave. He Mulan put all the things in the side room of the hut and scooped a spoonful in the water tank outside. After washing his face and hands with water, he and Adanzhuo went to Qiulin Mozhen's grave to burn incense, toast and burn paper.
While they were doing all this, Mrs. Wang was leaning against the door of the Yangzhai, wiping her tears and watching them, as if she wanted to shed tears for a lifetime.
After He Mulan finished all this, she brought Adanzhuo into the house and began to introduce to both parties: "This is my comrade, the wife of Lang Jiang Qiu Lin Mozhen, her maiden name is Wang, you can call her Aunt Wang. it is good."
"Auntie Wang is fine."
Adanzhuo knelt down and kowtowed.
The Wang family also bowed in return.
"This is my long-standing son named A Danzhuo. He is just eighteen this year, one year younger than your son. He came to visit me years ago, so I took him out to travel and gain insights." He Mulan looked at Wang Shi and asked her expectantly: "Since the villagers and I said that you are all dead is a lie, then Qiulin Baotu should be fine, right? Where did he go? Did he go hunting?"
As soon as he mentioned Qiulin Mozhen's son, Wang's face turned pale, and then the white turned red again. Sitting behind He Mulan, A Danzhuo looked at the complicated expression on the face of a woman in a similar situation to his family, and couldn't help but wonder what happened to the child named "Leopard Tu".
"Really, so it's not because I heard that rumor and don't send anything anymore..." She began to whisper to herself. "...but don't know anything?"
This fact made her feel ashamed and sad, followed by the joy of being lost and found and the disgust of being afraid of the other party knowing the truth.
So Wang Shi hesitated for a long time, but finally said timidly: "The villagers are right, there is no one here in Qiulin..."
"What?" He Mulan suddenly stood up with wide eyes. "What happened? Did something happen?"
"The leopard fell into the valley while hunting. He couldn't even find the corpse. It must have been eaten by some jackals, tigers and leopards..." Wang shi covered his face and cried, "It's my fault, my fault, I didn't take good care of my husband's son, so don't ask."
"Then the villagers? And what about Qiulin Mozhen's younger brother? Didn't he live with you?"
"He went back to his ancestral land a few years ago, and he no longer lives here." Wang explained sobbing.
"He went back to his ancestral land? He promised Qiu Lin Mozhen to take care of your wife and children..." He Mulan was incredulous. "The man promises a lot of money, I'm a daughter, and if I do what I say, he and you are blood relatives..."
"Don't say it, it makes me even more uncomfortable!"
Wang Shi burst into tears. "Why did Mo Zhen leave our mother and son? Even if you take care of me, how can the world be better! He is the uncle, and I am the widowed sister-in-law. It's normal for him to go away because he can't stand other people's gossip. It can't be because he is a close relative. Just force him to take care of us... just blame us for suffering!"
Widow's Widow? Uncle
What the hell is this Wang talking about
What she meant was that Mo Lei, the younger brother of Qiulin Mozhen, was afraid of gossip in the countryside, so he went back to his hometown regardless
how can that be? The Xianbei people have a custom of accepting their sister-in-law when their brother died. Although there is no sexual relationship between some brothers and sisters, they still need to support their brother's family in the name of their wives. This is not a problem in the Xianbei people!
Even if they are really married, it's nothing, let alone just living next door to take care of them!
He Mulan wanted to ask again, but A Danzhuo suddenly pulled the corner of her clothes behind her. He Mulan turned around, only to find that A Danzhuo shook his head gently.
The child seldom took the initiative to express his views. Thinking that the Adanzhuo family was also a widowed mother and led her children to live in the same clan, there might be some hidden secrets that she didn't know or not necessarily, so she had to keep her mouth shut and never ask any more questions.
Seeing that He Mulan didn't ask any more questions, Wang Shi was obviously relieved, but her tears still couldn't be stopped like beads with a broken thread.
He Mulan was troubled. She never knew that a person could cry so much, and the hearts of others who cried were distraught.
"I... I'm going out to get some air."
He Mulan stood up abruptly, left the room after asking a sin, and breathed a sigh of relief at Qiulin Mozhen's tomb.
At this time, she discovered that there was a small bulge next to Qiulin Mozhen's tomb, but there was no tombstone or anything resembling an earthen grave, so she didn't think about it in that way.
So, is that the tomb of Qiu Lin Baotu? Because there is no corpse in the dead, so the burial mound
That woman lives here to guard the graves of her son and husband, and wants the family to live together
"Hey, am I a fool?"
He Mulan was irritated by this not romantic speculation at all, and frowned, wishing to rush in and ask again.
She has eyes to see and ears to hear. If Wang was still living in her own house, she would still believe what she said, but now she has lived in this ghost place, and the villagers are shunned or disgusted. Her attitude, she herself looks ashamed when she talks about the past, does she think she is blind
What is she hiding
He Mulan suddenly developed a grudge against this woman.
After a while, footsteps came out from behind her.
There are only two people wearing boots here, and it is self-evident who is following.
"You came out too." He Mulan didn't turn her head back.
"Yeah." A Danzhuo's voice was a little dull.
"Let's go a little further."
She raised her foot and walked towards the other end of the slope.
The two walked to the edge of the earth mountain and looked at the large groves of trees under the mountain, and they were silent.
"Do you think what Wang said is credible?" He Mulan finally couldn't help breaking the silence. "Why are you pulling my shirt?"
"To be honest, since the villagers in Xiaoshi Township said that the Qiu Lin family was dead, I knew that this family must have done something bad."
There is something depressing in Adanzhuo's words.
"Aunt Hua, you don't know what life will be like for orphans and widows in the countryside. Even if people say behind your back that your family is not, but outside, especially in front of outsiders, they will still maintain the dignity of the families of the war dead. of."
"My grandfather left early. I lost my grandfather when I was four years old. It was very difficult for my grandmother to carry me. Although you took care of me and protected me by your name, I never stopped gossiping about my family. I Grandma never goes out on her own, and people who want to tell her relatives will also drive out, not because Grandma wants to observe festivals or for fame..."
Adanzhuo squeezed his fist. "It's because we need the protection of the clan. My grandmother must show the value of making the clan worth planning for me."
Xianbei people and Han people are not the same concept at all. Xianbei men, especially military households, have Yongye fields since birth, and if they reach adulthood, they will have more fields allocated. When Xianbei military households get married, the court will be responsible for the matchmaking, there is room for selection, and they will also receive subsidies from the military government.
If any military family has other skills, they will be assigned a lot of extra work and get a lot of private work, which are the source of income.
For example, the younger brother of the Hua family is good at raising horses, and his family has raised many war horses for the army;
Military households cannot find jobs by themselves. When they are not in the army, they can only rely on farming to make a living. If the fields are not productive, the family will have a very difficult life. At this time, if the clan assigns you other jobs, you won't be looking for "private work" yourself, and you can get a lot of good reputation.
The same clan is the best bond in the army. Hua Mulan was born in Huaishuo, the left army has the Huaishuo army, and the middle army also has the Wuchuan army. They have the same clan and the same region as the core, work together to advance and retreat, and work together. The elite troops can also break out a powerful fighting force.
These are the traditions and spirits infused in the blood of the Xianbei people. Just like the Han people will never forget the etiquette and patriarchal law, the Xianbei people regard honor and meritorious achievements as the benchmark for judging everything.
But before that, you have to live first.
"This is Shangdang, and the situation is more complicated than our six northern towns. In Wuchuan, where I live, Han people only account for less than 10%, and Huaishuo where you live is also dominated by Xianbei and Zahu. But here is Shangdang, Half of the Han people are from Xianbei, and there are also people of various ethnic groups such as Qiang, Jie, Zahu, etc. No one knows what will happen here.”
A-Danzhuo scratched his head, "I also think Aunt Wang is hiding something, but if a woman with a child really does something wrong, such an end would be pitiful enough. If she committed murder and arson, The village will not let her go, it can only be said that what she did is something that everyone can't understand, but she can't directly accuse and punish... "
"If that's the case..." Adan Zhuo looked at the sky, "we shouldn't know."
"Don't you know?" He Mulan turned around and glanced. "How can it be that you don't know?"
"We are passers-by, aren't we?" Adanzhuo thought clearly. "Everyone's path is chosen by herself. She chooses the path she wants to take, and she should understand what kind of end she will go to. Even if it is self-inflicted, you have done enough, Aunt Hua."
"You raised us to adulthood, and you often sent personal soldiers to our house to greet us, and you wrote to us and asked a master to learn martial arts... You have done enough. Our father didn't die to save you. Yu Tongpao's morality raised us up, and we have already made us not know how to repay, and then we should all walk the road by ourselves, otherwise, we will really feel sorry for our ancestors."
"I didn't do it for you to repay me..."
He Mulan explained loudly. Mulan never thought about repaying her. She was just that kind of person. She did it because she felt that she should do it.
"Because of this, we have to walk on the path of integrity." Adanzhuo nodded heavily, "We live in this world because of so much 'goodwill', what we should do is to let People feel that their 'goodwill' has value, not living up to it."
"So..." There was an inexplicable sadness in A Danzhuo's voice. "Aunt Hua, don't ask any more. If they do bad things, they will be treated as 'strangers' in the future, and let go of them completely. You have already done everything you should do. A righteous person does not It will turn bad because you are absent for a short year in his life. If they did not do bad things, then they are worthy of your 'goodwill', why should you go to the bottom of it?"
"There seems to be some truth to what you said..." He Mulan was a little dazed by A Danzhuo's words, "You mean that Mrs. Wang has done something wrong, she has already suffered the consequences of doing this, and I have done it. When it's time for me to do it, so don't mind. If she didn't do anything wrong, then I don't need to ask because I don't need to question someone who didn't do anything wrong..."
"Is that what you mean?"
"Probably. But, look at this..."
Adanzhuo pursed his lips.
"It doesn't look like you're ashamed."
***
A Danzhuo may have experienced a lot since childhood, and his perspective is completely different from He Mulan, so what he thinks is completely different from He Mulan.
What Adanzhuo thinks is that as a family that has been gifted with kindness, although he doesn't say that he must stand out, at least it can't be chilling. And from the moment they do something they are ashamed of, the person who does the act of kindness can let go, because it is their own choice.
But He Mulan, or Hua Mulan, as someone who gave gifts, stood from a completely different angle than Adanzhuo.
Anyone who has experience in giving knows that all those who donate with kindness without selfish intentions hope that those who "get" will have a better life. Givers hope that through their "giving", the other party can get rid of a bad situation and make life better, instead of pursuing some kind of reward or false fame.
Reward and fame are just an add-on to that "kindness," an extra surprise.
That's why He Mulan worked hard for Hua Mulan for so many years, but in the end he still didn't get a perfect result. At least a result that didn't make people regret like A Danzhuo produced a kind of regret and sadness.
She didn't know what happened to Qiu Lin's family, nor did she know the reason for Wang's veiled and hesitant. The modern way of doing things and her wolf told her that the best way to deal with this matter is as Adanzhuo said. Anyway, Qiu Linbaotu is "dead", and since Wang's family has not received relief, he can live well Last year, it's better to let go now and live with her.
But she was so shy.
His chest seemed to be blocked by something.
"Why in the end..."
He Mulan scratched his hair irritably. "If you don't understand, you can't sleep at all, right?"
"Hu... drink..." Adanzhuo snored loudly, "sh... hu..."
"This kid should be tired from running around with me." He Mulan shook his head, "It's snoring, like dropping a bomb from a plane."
Or is it happier to live alone? Sleep when you say sleep.
After communicating with Adanzhuo for a while, He Mulan's doubts were not answered, but at least someone spoke, and the sullen anger was vented a little.
She also felt that it was inappropriate to ask a widowed mother "how did your son die, why did you live here alone, and what happened?". He began to express his grievances.
Her attitude was clearly guilty, not angry.
He Mulan and A Danzhuo had their dinner here. Because it was a house for the tomb keeper, there was a stove here, and the firewood was all dead branches, and there were no large pieces of wood.
The Wang family should eat very little hot food on weekdays.
Seeing this situation, He Mulan and Adanzhuo helped Wang to chop a pile of firewood. When they realized that on weekdays, even the water would be drawn from a small stream at the bottom of the mountain, they silently gave her water tank to her. Filled with.
For dinner, it can be said that the food does not taste good. Wang's family doesn't even raise chickens, and there are only some rice noodles and non-perishable preserved meat in the kitchen. The wild vegetables were dug out by A Danzhuo, probably because she was too weak to open the land, and it was not easy to pick up fertilizers. Although there was a large area of open space, she did not even plant an acre of vegetables.
He Mulan didn't know whether to be disappointed or sad. Hua Mulan used to tighten her belt to support a family, and now she has lived her life like this.
She didn't even dare to ask further, for fear that this woman would be so emotionally fluctuated that she would do something stupid.
After all, He Mulan had been crying since she first saw her, and she didn't look like a strong woman at all. She doesn't even have Zhang Li's hope in prison, which is reassuring.
So He Mulan could only toss and turn here by herself, blocking herself to death, struggling repeatedly to ask or not to ask.
Oh shit!
forget about it!
He Mulan turned over again.
Leave tomorrow and go to the next place! .
salad salad.
quack quack.
A strange voice suddenly came from the door. The sound was too small for ordinary people to notice, but He Mulan had long since been trained to be extraordinarily vigilant by the rangers who used to come here to "attack at night". Immediately sat up.
This is the sound of quietly pushing the door after opening the latch.
He Mulan, who was not asleep, sat up all of a sudden, and patted A Danzhuo who was sleeping beside him.
They slept in the side room. Mrs. Wang originally wanted to give them the main house, but He Mulan and Adanzhuo didn't accept it. They immediately removed the mattresses and blankets. Mrs. Wang found another mattress. Just fell asleep.
Adanzhuo snorted, He Mulan patted it but didn't wake up, and when he pushed it again, he just turned over and continued to sleep. He Mulan heard the footsteps have come in, and she didn't care about anything else at the moment, and immediately picked it up The rock beside him moved to the door on his toes.
The people living here are single widows, who would sneak into their graves in the middle of the night
He Mulan bit her lower lip so hard that she could not wait to rush out and beat the man directly.
The man who came in through the door was stunned as soon as he entered.
"Why are so many things piled up? Did you go down the mountain to go shopping?" The man touched his face, "Do you know that I'm coming back?"
He tiptoed to the door of Wang's main room. He Mulan was nervously preparing to draw his sword, but he stopped and went straight to the side room.
'Forget it, she should be sound asleep, or don't wake her up. I'll go back to the house to sleep first, it's really hard to travel at night...'
He yawned while clutching his collarbone.
When He Mulan saw that he was walking to the small room with familiarity, he was immediately displeased.
Being so familiar and being a man really makes people feel bad. If he wanted to enter Wang's room just now, she would have to break his leg with one knife, but now that he was walking towards the small room, He Mulan's brows loosened, and she ducked and hid in the corner.
"I haven't come back for two months..." The man was furious when he heard the snoring coming from the room.
This voice is a man who even an idiot can hear!
"Damn, who are you! Why are you in Lao Tzu's..." He drew the dagger from his arms, and was about to stick it forward.
His familiar voice reminded He Mulan of who he was. He immediately pulled out the rock, walked out of the shadows, and put the sword on his neck.
"This old seventh..." He Mulan snorted coldly, "You are really haunted. Why, do you miss the feeling of being put on my neck with a sword?"
"I'm the one who said that the ghost is still alive, right? We all let you go, but you actually followed me..." The man in the leopard clothes gritted his teeth and said halfway, suddenly stunned.
He was injured and didn't walk fast. These people were obviously walking in front of him, so they came here.
They couldn't have followed him!
"How good a widow are you?"
He Mulan suddenly thought of what the "fourth" joked about him, and he sent some more rocks in his hands, causing him a pain in his neck and groaning.
"You're just crazy, this is Qiulin Mozhen's tomb!"
"Of course I know whose tomb this is, you lunatic..."
He Mulan's voice finally woke Adanzhuo. He rubbed his eyes, got up in a daze, and asked inexplicably:
"Aunt Hua, what's the matter? Who are you talking to in the middle of the night?"
Seeing A'Danzhuo, He Mulan suddenly figured out some questions in her mind. She let go of the rock in her hand in shock and asked with a big change in her face:
"Are you Qiulin Leopard Tu?"
Hearing He Mulan pronounce his name, "Old Seven" narrowed his eyes: "Who are you? Why do you know my name? Are you at my house again?"
"Home? This is also called home?" He Mulan angrily threw the rock in his hand to the ground, and the sound of "Kangcang" when the epee landed shook all the people in the "Yangzhai".
He Mulan's sullen anger finally found an outlet.
"Who are you asking me?"
Her eyes shone terrifyingly in the darkness, and there was an inexplicable grief and disappointment in her tone.
"I'll let you know who I was who was robbed by you on the road..."
An inexplicable panic and enormous pressure made Qiu Linbao gasp for breath.
His heart felt like it was about to burst.
He Mulan grinned and said in a self-deprecating manner:
"I am Huaishuo Hua Mulan."
The author has something to say: the next update is before dinner. Today's vacation can be a good code word, hahahaha finally not working overtime once!
small theater:
Her eyes glowed horribly in the dark...
Adanzhuo: This is the light! It is this light! This bear boy is going to be spanked!