When the family members met, they naturally felt a mixture of joy and sorrow. Gu Hai looked at his mother and sister, who were exhausted from the long journey, and felt happy and guilty at the same time. Cao looked at the tall, thin family that had not been seen for more than half a year, and was so tired due to hard work. The son, who looked haggard, was both relieved and heartbroken.
The Nanzhang County Government Office is a bit dilapidated. Although the courtyard used for family residence is small, it has obviously been carefully tidied up.
The servants and women were busy laying the paving, and the mother and son sat in the front hall, eating and talking around the table.
Although there are not many dishes, the color, flavor and utensils are good.
"Mom, this is made by the best restaurant in the county. It's a specialty here. Do you like it if you try it?" Gu Hai kept getting up and serving dishes, "Mother Eighteen, this is fried quail, your favorite..."
Mrs. Cao took a few bites, looked at her son and daughter sitting across from her, and sighed with full emotion, "Our family sits together, and our simple meals are better than gods."
"Come on, mother, please take a sip of the fairy wine." Gu Shiba Niang smiled, raising the glass to her, and raised her hand to drink first.
"Eighteen Mother, you are not allowed to drink wine, your body is still..." Ms. Cao said immediately.
Gu Hai's expression condensed and he looked at Gu Shiba Niang.
"What's wrong, sister?" His eyes roamed over Gu Shiba Niang's face.
"Oh, it's okay," Gu Shiba Niang smiled and put down her wine glass as she was told, "I was too busy in the previous period, so that guy Peng Yizhen said some things to scare my mother..."
The matter of Gu Shiba Niang's poisoning was concealed from the Cao family.
There is no cure for this poison, but it will not cause harm to the body without contact with refining oil. As long as she avenges her master, it doesn't matter even if her skills are missing. Gu Shiba Niang doesn't care, but it doesn't mean that Cao will not care after hearing this. , if she knew this, she would be worried for the rest of her life.
Sometimes, not knowing is a kind of happiness.
In the past six months, their brother and sister have exchanged letters frequently, but they have the same habit of reporting good news but not bad news. What's more, Gu Hai also knows his sister's temperament, so he doesn't believe her understatement at all.
But he didn't ask again. If his sister didn't tell her, she had a reason not to tell her. She had never been a willful person, and it was precisely because of this that it made him feel even more distressed.
The atmosphere at the wine table suddenly became a little gloomy.
Gu Shiba Niang noticed it and said with a smile: "What's going on? Our family is finally reunited. Is this how the gods are happy?"
Both Cao and Gu Hai laughed.
"The conditions here are not good, and my mother and sister feel wronged..." Gu Hai said with a hint of apology.
"Is it worse than when we were in Xianren County?" Ms. Cao said, looking at her son angrily.
What's more, the future was still uncertain and unknown, and that state of mind was heaven and earth compared to now.
In just two years, their lives have changed so much. The mother and son thought of this at the same time, raising their heads and looking at each other.
"I said that when our family is together, life will get better and better." Gu Shiba Niang said, drinking tea instead of wine.
Cao and Gu Hai also drank wine.
"The most important thing is that we are together as a family." Ms. Cao said softly, her voice trembling slightly. The impact of her daughter's words never disappeared.
"Yes," Gu Shiba Niang sniffed slightly, her eyes slightly red, she repeated again, "Yes, this is the most important thing, I almost forgot..."
Her voice gradually dropped, and the last words were inaudible.
"It's the New Year. Our family is celebrating the New Year together. This is a great event." Gu Hai smiled, patted the table, poured wine for himself, and then poured it for Cao, "Come, for another year, for This second year, let’s drink together.”
The word "Next Year" shocked both Cao and Gu Shiba Niang. They didn't expect that he would say it so easily and freely about something that everyone had been deliberately avoiding.
"No matter what happens tomorrow, we live in the present." Gu Hai looked bright and said with a smile, raising his glass of wine, "Live happily and joyfully, live happily and without regrets, this is worth it, never mind it" Will I be born tomorrow or..."
He finally swallowed the word "death". It was better not to say it during the Chinese New Year.
"Yes." Gu Shiba Niang raised her teacup, "Brother is right."
Ms. Cao looked at her daughter and then her son, her eyes sparkling with tears, and she raised her wine glass.
The three of them touched each other for a while, then raised their heads and drank.
Life in Nanzhang went by slowly like this. This place is smaller than Xianren County. In addition, it has been ravaged by the golden army for many years and is sparsely populated. Since the two sides stopped fighting and once again demarcated the boundaries, more than half a year has passed. Cultivation gradually gained some vitality.
Mrs. Cao was content just to watch over her son. She arranged three meals with her servants at home every day, or chatted with the visiting ladies of the squire's family. She lived a leisurely and contented life. Compared with Mr. Cao who never went out, Gu Shiba Mother prefers to go out for a walk, and does not want the busy Gu Hai to accompany her. Instead, she only takes one maid with her, and Ah Si drives the car, walking as she pleases.
"What are you doing, young lady?" Gu Hai was a little curious, so one day he took advantage of his free time to call Ah Si and asked.
Gu Shiba Niang and Mrs. Cao went to a squire's house for a banquet.
"There's nothing to do." Ah Si scratched his head.
"What are you doing if you don't do anything?" Gu Hai smiled.
Shopping? Gu Shiba Niang has never had this habit, and besides, there is not much to see in this small place. "Where have you been?"
"Go anywhere." Ah Si said, frowning as he thought about it bitterly, "at the foot of the mountain, by the river, outside the city gate..."
Gu Hai frowned, this is not right, it is not right for my sister to be like this...
"Collecting medicine?" he asked.
Ah Si shook his head, "No, just don't do anything..."
"Huh?" Gu Hai asked.
"Just sit down, do nothing, and watch..." Ah Si stammered in his description.
"Look? What are you looking at?" Gu Hai frowned.
"Look at the sky, the mountains, and sometimes the dead grass..." Ah Si said, pointing to the sky and the ground.
The weather was fine, and the afternoon sun shone warmly in the small courtyard. The servants next door were washing the bedding and clothes, and there were bursts of chatter and laughter.
Gu Shiba Niang was lying on the rocking chair, wrapped in a thick cloak, squinting at the blue sky, her body swaying gently with the rocking chair, her face looked a bit lazy.
This was the first time Gu Hai saw such a look on Gu Shiba Niang's face.
She had maintained this posture for nearly an hour, really looking at the sky and clouds. Gu Hai couldn't help but raise his head again and glance at the sky.
"Baba Niang." He walked over slowly, grabbed a bench and sat down opposite Gu Ba Niang.
Gu Shiba Niang raised her eyes and smiled at him, calling her brother.
"Tell me about it." Gu Hai looked at her and whispered.
Tell me, why did you suddenly decide to come here, why did you suddenly change your appearance, and what happened to your body
Gu Shiba Niang had a faint smile on her face, but tears slowly fell from her eyes.
Gu Hai's heart sank, but he didn't ask, just stared at her.
"This is much better," Gu Shiba Niang smiled and raised her hand to wipe away her tears with her sleeves, "Brother, don't be afraid, I don't cry often anymore."
"It's okay to cry. It's not a shame to cry. You should laugh when you should cry." Gu Hai said, reaching out to wipe away the tears on her other side.
Gu Shiba Niang took a deep breath, pondered for a while to avoid the matter of poisoning her body, and instead told the story about Shen Anlin in a slow tone.
When he heard about the unknown undercurrent in Shen Anlin's family, Gu Hai's expression changed.
Those people who are all close relatives actually fight for each other's lives. They are prosperous, wealthy, mother, loving, son, filial, brother, friend, respectful, smiling, and under the scorching heat, they are actually fighting to the death.
"It turns out everything is a joke..." Gu Shiba Niang murmured to herself, "It's ridiculous, sad, and deplorable. It turns out that I, Gu Ba Niang, have been blind and lived in vain... No wonder the old monk asked me to put it down. I open my eyes and take a closer look..."
Shen Anlin could kill his own uncle without hesitation, and he could also persecute his nephew Zhao. These people were so decisive that it was chilling and inhumane. Such people, believe in It is death that ends everything. In the eyes of such people, there is no such thing as innocence, only friends and foes, and they will eradicate them without mercy.
"Just for such a person, I once had the thought of dying together..." Gu Shiba Niang laughed at herself, "For such a person, I was willing to give up my life again. I was willing to give up my mother and brother who were so easy to get. I am full of hatred. , life is worse than death, but I find that everything I hate is nothing, it turns out that I am just torturing myself..."
Gu Hai looked at his sister, his eyes full of love, and suddenly he smiled.
"Eighteen Mother, let it go. Isn't that great?" He said with a smile, "Besides, it's not too late. It's only the second year now. We still have to go through the third, fourth, and fifth years..."
Gu Shiba Niang also smiled and nodded along with the swing of the rocking chair, "Yes, I let it go. From now on, I will live a good life, eat well, have fun..."
"Oh..." Gu Hai said in a long voice with a narrow smile, "So now you go to bed early and get up late, take a glass of wine and enjoy the scenery with the wind, clouds and wild cranes..."
Gu Shiba Niang laughed, knowing that her brother must have noticed her changes.
"Yes," she said with a smile, narrowing her eyes as the rocking chair rocked, "I have decided to enjoy life to the fullest. I spend money on food, drink, and fun, and spend every dollar I earn. So, brother, I will rely on you to support my family in the future."
"Enjoying life does not conflict with making money to support the family. Sister, don't say that..." Gu Hai pretended to be serious and said, "Get up quickly. Four or five letters have come in with a lot of prescriptions. I'll accept all the money." Now, you can’t give up your choice..."
Laughter rang in the yard and reached Ms. Cao's ears next door. She was sitting upright picking fabrics and looked over with a satisfied look on her face.
The days passed by like water, and the snow melted in a blink of an eye, and the earth warmed up. It seemed that people changed out of thick cotton robes and put on jackets overnight.
"Have I gained weight?" Gu Shiba Niang looked left and right in the mirror.
The little maid helped her fix her hair and replied: "Where is the fat? That's what I call fat."
She pinched her chubby cheeks as she spoke.
Gu Shiba Niang's smile spread in the mirror.
"Miss, where are we going to play today?" the little maid asked, with a look of excitement on her face.
"Go ahead." Gu Shiba Niang smiled and stood up.
Another maid came over with a coat, untied Yun's shoulders and put it on for her.
"Ask Ah Si and the others to spear fish in the river together," the maid said eagerly.
"That's boring. I've been there many times..." The maid combing her hair waved her hand and looked up at the spring breeze outside. Her eyes lit up, "Why don't you go fly a kite?"
It's time to fly the kite again, Gu Shiba Niang looked out the window thoughtfully.
"Miss, your letter." A maid came in holding two letters.
Gu Shiba Niang glanced at her hands and recognized one of them as Xin Chaoyang's handwriting. The other one is a bit unfamiliar.
She reached out and picked up the letter addressed to Chaoyang, opened it, and saw a dried petal falling.
What's this? She couldn't help pinching it, and when she read the letter again, in addition to the simple and clear list of medicines to be prepared as always, there was another sentence saying that the gardenia flowers were in bloom, and she sent them to Mrs. Gu to enjoy them together.
A smile appeared on the corner of Gu Shiba Niang's mouth, and she took another letter to read. The scrawled handwriting seemed to have been written in a hurry, or the writer was so excited that he held the pen unsteadily. When he glanced at it, his color changed slightly.
Hong Bindun, the king of Baohe Hall, first came into view with the words "please help".