Xie's mother in the inner room had heard the voice. She opened her eyes suddenly, sat up from the bed, put on her clothes, and hurried out, shouting, "Is my son back?"
Xie Changgeng took off his wet straw raincoat and handed it to Ah Mao who was running towards him. Then he stepped over the threshold and walked quickly towards his mother.
Qiuju took the opportunity to see Ah Mao happily holding the raincoat and looking at her proudly. Her face froze and she stared at the snot hanging from Ah Mao's nose with disgust.
"Put it away! The ground is wet! What if the old lady slips while walking?"
Ah Mao was not annoyed. He sniffed his nose and pointed at her collar with a smile: "Your collar..."
Qiu Ju looked down and found that there were a few pieces of melon seed shells on her collar. Her face flushed red and she quickly brushed them off. Looking up, she saw Ah Mao looking gloating. She cursed in a low voice, "Be careful! If you keep acting stupid and doing bad things, I will cut off your rotten nose one day!"
When Ah Mao was five or six years old, she fell ill and was abandoned beside an inn. It was the coldest time of the year, and she was wearing ragged clothes and curled up in the snow like a cat, about to freeze to death. Xie's father saw her and couldn't bear it, so he picked her up and brought her home. Xie's mother complained a lot, but she raised her and made her a maid in the family.
Ah Mao is not very smart, she is stupid, her nose was probably frozen when she was young, and she would have a runny nose when the weather changed. It used to be more runny, but this year when my wife came over, she took her to see a doctor, took medicine for a period of time, and slowly adjusted her condition. Although the root cause was not eliminated, it is much better than in previous years.
She was not afraid of Qiu Ju. She sneered and muttered, "As soon as the master came back, he put rouge on his face. It looked like a monkey's butt. It was so beautiful..."
Qiuju frowned and was about to twist her ears again. Ah Mao blew his nose and flicked it at her.
Qiuju's face changed and she stepped back in a hurry.
Ah Mao snorted, raised his chin, hugged the raincoat tightly, turned around and ran away.
Qiu Ju was so angry that she gnashed her teeth, wishing she could cut this stupid girl into pieces. Then she heard the voices of Xie's mother and Xie Changgeng talking inside, so she suppressed her anger, quietly crouched to the door, and listened.
Xie Changgeng reached out to hold his mother who was running out, with a smile on his face.
"Mother, it's me. I'm back."
Mother Xie was overjoyed. She grabbed the arm of her son whom she hadn't seen for more than half a year, looked him up and down, and kept muttering that he had become darker and thinner. She also saw that his clothes and boots were soaked by the rain, and shouted, "Qiuju! Come in and help me change my clothes!"
Qiuju exclaimed "Oh", hurried in, and said with a smile: "Uncle, please sit down, I'll take off your shoes first!" Then she squatted down and stretched out her hand.
Xie Changgeng did not move, but only asked her to light a brazier in her mother's room.
Qiuju bit her lip, slowly retracted her hand, responded softly, stood up and walked out.
"Mother, it's cold. How are you?"
Xie Changgeng helped his mother sit down beside the bed.
"I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Just be careful outside!" Xie's mother said with a smile.
"Why are you the only one back?"
She looked out the door.
It was quiet outside, with no other sounds.
"Why didn't the state and county officials come with you? Could it be that the war was not going well?"
Xie's mother was used to her son being followed by many local officials every time he came back. Seeing this was unusual, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"Don't worry, mother. The battle is going well. I just don't want to alert outsiders, so I'm going back first."
Xie's mother breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good. That's good. Geng'er, are you hungry? You've become so thin! Take a rest first, and I'll make you something to eat!"
Mother Xie stood up and was about to go out, but was stopped by Xie Changgeng, who said he was not hungry. She turned her head and looked in the direction of the east wing, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Mother, where is the bride? I just passed by the east wing and it seemed that there was no one inside?"
When Xie's mother heard her son asking about Mu's daughter, her joy suddenly disappeared. She snorted, "She's gone! She went back to her parents' home half a month ago! I couldn't stop her!"
Xie Changgeng was stunned.
Xie's mother complained bitterly.
"My son, I want to tell you that this new bride is really hard to describe. I don't know how to describe her! After you left, she was quite honest at first and would come to see me every morning and evening. I didn't treat her badly, but suddenly half a month ago, she looked at me with displeasure and said she wanted to go back to her parents' home! I tried to persuade her, saying that you didn't leave her on purpose and that you would be back soon, so she asked her to wait a little longer. But she refused to listen and left me that day, taking everyone back with her!"
Thinking back to the scene at that time, Xie's mother was still furious.
Xie Changgeng thought for a moment and asked, "Did she say why she suddenly wanted to come back?"
Mother Xie shook her head: "She just said nothing! She left whenever she wanted! That's why I was so angry! Geng'er, do you think there is such a daughter-in-law? She just relies on the power of her family! What can I do? I can only let her go!"
Xie Changgeng frowned slightly and said nothing more.
Xie's mother thought about it and began to persuade her son.
"Forget it! Don't be upset. If she wants to leave, she can leave. Her legs are on her body, we can't tie her down, and we don't care! Mom is telling you, we have another good thing."
A look of joy appeared on her face.
"Since she is like this, I simply told her about Feng'er. She is self-aware and didn't say anything bad. Mother is thinking of waiting for you to come back and bring Feng'er home."
Xie Changgeng did not respond.
Mother Xie continued, "Our family was poor before, and your father was just a postmaster. Fortunately, the master of the Qi family had vision and believed that you would have a bright future, so he took the initiative to marry us. We should remember this affection for the rest of our lives. It's a pity that the marriage didn't take place, and I didn't have the luck to be that daughter-in-law. Later, you committed a crime and passed away. It was also thanks to the care of the Qi family that your mother was able to live a stable life and wait for you to come back. Now we have risen, but the Qi family has unfortunately encountered a disaster."
Mother Xie sighed.
"Feng'er had a hard time. During those years, I had no news about you, and I didn't know whether you were dead or alive. She always treated me like her own mother. Later, you came back and said that you had already been engaged. Mother knew how she felt about you, so she had no choice but to ask her if she was willing to be your mistress. She didn't say a bad word and nodded immediately."
"You must not let down such a good woman, Geng'er!"
The son remained silent. Xie's mother immediately became unhappy.
"Geng'er, you wouldn't look down on Feng'er just because you married a noble lady, right? I'm telling you, as human beings, we can't be ungrateful!"
Xie Changgeng smiled slightly.
"Mother, calm down. That's not what I meant. Since you've already told Madam Mu, when she comes back, we'll bring the person over."
Xie's mother was a little happier now, but she was still a little dissatisfied with what her son said.
"She left as soon as she said she would. She didn't even have me, her mother-in-law, in her eyes, let alone you, Geng'er. Why should we wait for her to come back? Who knows when she will come back? If she doesn't come back, are we just going to let Feng'er wait like this?"
Xie Changgeng hesitated for a moment.
"Son will go there in a couple of days and pick her up."
Xie's mother was angry.
"No! She's only been married for more than half a year, and this is it! What kind of thing is this? She left on her own, and if she wants to come back, she should go back on her own! I don't allow you to pick her up! Otherwise, she'll be so arrogant that she'll have to go back every few days!"
Xie Changgeng said patiently, "My son had been planning to go to Changsha Kingdom this time when he came back. When the old King of Changsha died three years ago, my son was in Liangzhou and was unable to go back to attend the funeral. I have been very busy in the past few years. Now that I am free, I should go to pay my respects. It is my duty. I will also bring him back by the way."
After hearing what her son said, Xie's mother reluctantly said, "Forget it, then go early and come back early, don't let Feng'er wait too long!"
"She has been waiting for you for so many years!"
After a pause, she added.
Xie Changgeng agreed.
Xie's mother finally became happy again and wanted to go and clean up the new room in the east wing for her son herself, but Xie Changgeng stopped her, saying that the servants could clean it up and that he didn't have much stuff.
Xie's mother hurriedly sent someone away in a loud voice.
Qiuju brought in a brazier and placed it on the stove in the corner of the room.
Xie Changgeng went over, lit the charcoal fire himself, covered it with a lid, and told her to take good care of her mother. Then he left the house and went back to the east wing.
He walked along the veranda.
The double happiness pasted on the doors and windows at the wedding in early spring was still there. But the red had faded, and it was soaked by the rain and fog blown by the slanting wind, and it was wrinkled and stuck together. A gust of wind blew by, and it suddenly fell off the door and fell to the ground with a "click".
Xie Changgeng took a glance and stepped into the threshold of the new house.
The attendants had brought his luggage in. Ah Mao and another maid were busy making the bed and cleaning the table. When they saw him coming back, they called him "Master".
Xie Changgeng nodded and stood aside.
After the two maids had cleaned up the room, they wanted to unpack his luggage and put his clothes away, but he stopped them and told them to do it themselves.
The two men bowed to him and stepped back.
Xie Changgeng took out his clothes and opened the closet door. A faint fragrance immediately filled his nose and penetrated into his lungs.
He looked up.
The wardrobe was filled with women's clothing, all pink and red, with a soft mist. In the corner, a beautiful sachet embroidered with orchids hung quietly.
Xie Changgeng's gaze paused, and the scene of his wedding night at the beginning of the year suddenly emerged in his mind.
At that time he had just entered the room and had just taken off the bride's veil. Before he had time to see the appearance of the daughter of the Mu family clearly, there was a knock on the door, and it was announced that an urgent imperial decree had arrived.
He hurried out, took off his wedding clothes, said goodbye to his mother, and left home overnight.
It was early spring when I left, and it is late autumn when I come back today.
At this moment, when I recall the bride's appearance, I can't remember it.
I only remember the red candle flickering, her head bowed deeply, her hair green like clouds. In a trance, I seemed to catch a glimpse of a silent head, gentle as water.
Xie Changgeng stood there for a moment, closed the closet door, and casually put his clothes aside. He heard the sound of Ah Mao humming a song while sweeping the floor in the corridor. He hesitated, walked to the door, and called her.
Ah Mao dropped his broom, ran to the door, poked his head in, and said with a smile, "Master, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Xie Changgeng asked her, "After you got married, have you been attentive to my mother?"
Ah Mao really liked the new bride from Changsha who never complained about her dirtiness. When he heard this, he hurried in and nodded vigorously, "How thoughtful! She comes to the old lady's room early every morning to comb her hair and put on her shoes!"
"Then why did she suddenly go back? Do you know?"
Ah Mao spread his hands: "Madam didn't tell me..."
Xie Changgeng hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Okay, it's okay. Go back to your work."
Ah Mao said "oh", turned around, walked out, took a few steps, sniffed his nose, and suddenly an idea came to him.
"Master, I know! But I dare not say it, I'm afraid you will scold me..."
She looked at Xie Changgeng and stammered.
Xie Changgeng said: "It's okay, just tell me what you know."
Ah Mao always made mistakes since she was little, which made the old lady angry, so she would scold her for being stupid. But the old lady had a very good temper and never scolded her.
When I was young, I was a very good writer. When I was only ten years old, I passed the examination and got the first place in the township examination. But the neighbors said behind my back that I looked like a gentleman, but in fact I was a murderer.
They were all very afraid of him, but Ah Mao was not. Encouraged, he became bolder, came up to him, and whispered, "Master, when you were not at home, I always heard the old lady talking about the good things about Second Lady Qi in front of Madam. Just a few days ago, Qiu Ju told us that if Master had not left home before, Second Lady Qi would have been Master's wife. I got angry and quarreled with her, and she pulled my ear, so I ran to tell Madam."
"Is the lady angry? That's why she left?"
After Ah Mao finished speaking, he didn't say anything, but frowned slightly, as if he was unhappy. He felt uneasy again. He looked at his face and said cautiously: "Master... did I do something wrong again... I won't dare to say anything more from now on... Don't be angry..."
Xie Changgeng came back to his senses, smiled slightly, and said softly: "Nothing. I understand. You can go."
Seeing that he was not surprised, Ah Mao heaved a sigh of relief and said boldly, "Master, when can you go and bring the Madam back earlier? She is a very kind person and she even helped me with my medical treatment! My nose is much better now! Qiuju always scolds me for having a rotten nose, which makes me so angry!"
Xie Changgeng nodded.
Ah Mao bowed to him and left happily.
Xie Changgeng looked around the new house, walked to the south window, put his hands behind his back, looked out the window at the low hanging clouds and the falling autumn rain, and gradually became absent-minded.