At that time, they had not encountered so many troubles. Their father was the county magistrate of Lu'an and was respected. The most annoying thing was that annoying relatives from their mother's side came to visit. The small Lu'an County was their home, and Xu Mingye could walk from the west to the east of the city with his eyes closed.
However, he never expected that the Xu family relatives, who were far away in the capital and almost non-existent, would force his sister to leave home with a strong and domineering attitude.
Many years have passed. The little girl who would only cry in his arms has grown up into a bright and charming young lady. Her every move is radiant, and her childhood appearance can still be vaguely identified between her eyebrows and eyes. But she is no longer the timid girl who hid behind him and dared not even speak to strangers.
But in Xu Mingye's heart, no matter how much Mingyu has grown up, even if she can now support herself, Mingyu is still his little sister, a girl who needs his protection and love. Such a sister should be away from him and marry in the far northwest. Even if she is wronged and angry, there is no one to comfort her. When Xu Mingye thinks of it, his heart is like a knife, and he can't let go.
"Look at you, you've changed so much..." Xu Mingye sighed, his tone carrying some loneliness and regret. "If it were you in the past, I would never let you marry so far away.
This made Mingyu feel frightened. "What do you mean by the old me?" Mingyu smiled and said, "I have always been like that."
Xu Mingye smiled and shook his head, then asked seriously, "Have you decided to marry Sima Hong?"
Mingyu blushed slightly and nodded.
Xu Mingye reached out and touched Mingyu's head. His smile was full of tenderness and reluctance. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll talk to mom and dad. If you miss home in the future and don't want to live in the northwest, your brother's place will always be your home."
"Yeah." Mingyu's nose felt sour. She would never be able to repay the debt she owed to her family in this lifetime. She thought she could spend her whole life with her family, but she didn't expect that in the end they would still have to separate because of her willfulness.
When Xu Mingye left Mingyu's room, he looked back at Mingyu who was packing up her things, and a complicated smile appeared on his lips. Just because his parents didn't know, it didn't mean he didn't know. He had noticed it since he went to Tianshui to visit Mingyu. Lixiang told him that Mingyu had a serious illness and forgot a lot of things. But he thought, no matter who she forgot, Mingyu would not forget him, the brother she had relied on since childhood. However, when Mingyu saw him for the first time, the look in her eyes, as if she was looking at a stranger, made him tremble with fear.
His sister didn't have so many thoughts. She was timid and cowardly. She would act like a spoiled child with him when she was happy, and would cry to him regardless of any grievances when she was wronged. She would not test him or read his expression. At first, he thought that his sister was alone and helpless in the Anxi Marquis's mansion. Later, he felt that this was really not his sister. His little sister was impatient and couldn't sit still. She had the most headache holding a pen. How could she spend one or two hours every day on practicing calligraphy? The most important thing was. How could such a timid and cowardly little girl dare to escape from the fallen city with only a maid and go all the way back home
He didn't dare tell any of this to his family. The secrets and doubts could only be buried deep in his heart, forever. He had no way to prove or explain it, and he couldn't afford the consequences of telling it. He thought that if he told it, he might lose his sister forever.
But no matter what Ming Yucheng looks like, or whether she is still the timid little girl in his memory, it doesn’t matter. She is still his sister, and as long as she lives a happy and joyful life, Xu Mingye believes that is enough.
After twelve days of sailing, the Xu family got off the boat and hired another small boat. They entered a tributary of the river. The tributary was a small river with a steady flow. Mingyu sat on the black-sailed boat and looked at the reeds on the river bank that had turned golden yellow. She thought to herself that if the river had been like this from the beginning, Sima Hong would not have been so pitiful and seasick.
The boatman was an old hand, with a lean figure, about fifty years old. It was already September, and he was only wearing a single layer of clothing, with his trouser sleeves rolled up high. He stood steadily at the bow with his bare feet, paddling and rowing for half a day before the group arrived at Lu'an County.
Xu Mingye led his family to the Lu'an County Government to hand in their visiting cards and pay a visit to the current Lu'an County Magistrate. The magistrate's wife entertained Mrs. Xu and other female relatives with enthusiasm and flattery.
Coincidentally, the current county magistrate also has a son and a daughter. The two children, about seven or eight years old, are having a great time playing under the camphor tree in the backyard. Mingyu looks at them and the familiar yard, as if time has gone back and the images are replaying.
After visiting the current county magistrate, Xu Mingye declined the invitation to stay overnight and moved directly to the post station in Lu'an with his family. Lu'an was just a small county town with few outsiders coming and going. The post station was also small, but fortunately it was clean. After these days of bumpy rides on the boat, Fu Lemei had lost the excitement she had when she first boarded the boat. She whispered to Mingyu that if she was asked to sleep on the boat again, she would vomit.
Seeing her bitter and resentful expression, Mingyu couldn't help but smile and pinch her face. Who was the one who was so excited when hearing that they had to take a boat
That afternoon, Mrs. Xu took Mingyu and Fu Lemei to the street to buy incense, candles and paper money for visiting the grave. She came back and folded yellow paper into ingots. It was dinner time before they finished folding two pieces of paper. They filled two bags with the money to prepare for visiting the grave the next day.
Madam Xu still had some relatives in Lu'an, and they came to visit after hearing the news. Mingyu was not familiar with those people, and had almost no contact with them in the two years she lived in Lu'an. She took Fu Lemei to hide in the next room for peace and quiet, leaving Xu Mingye and Madam Xu to deal with those people. But unexpectedly, Xu Mingye also pushed the door open and came in.
"Why are you hiding here too?" Mingyu asked with a smile.
Xu Mingye waved his hands with a bitter face. Those people wanted to eat him up. They asked him about his aunts and uncles, what rank he held, and what his wife's family background was like. Some wanted to go to the capital to pursue their careers, and asked Xu Mingye to help find a way. Some wanted to work as clerks in the government, and begged Xu Mingye to help them put in a word. Some were even more anxious, and brought their own daughters over on the spot, asking Xu Mingye if he had a concubine. If Xu Mingye didn't mind, they would take their "cousin" to the capital... ...
Xu Mingye's face turned green after hearing this. Not to mention that he was just a newlywed, even if he had been married for seven or eight years, he would not take a concubine. Neither the Xu family nor the Fu family had this tradition.
"You are too young to know." Xu Mingye smiled bitterly. "When my grandfather passed away, he left only my mother as a daughter. Those relatives bullied my grandmother and my widowed mother. Before my grandfather's body was cold, they coveted his property and forced my mother to marry someone else. In anger, my mother wore mourning clothes and went to the county government to beat the drum to appeal for justice, asking the county magistrate to seek justice..."
Before Xu Mingye finished speaking, Fu Lemei jumped up with shining eyes, grabbed Xu Mingye's sleeve and shouted repeatedly: "That county magistrate is my father-in-law, right?"
Xu Mingye scratched Fu Lemei's nose affectionately and said with a smile, "Yes, after a while, mother married father. Of course, she fell out with these relatives and had no contact with them for many years. Now that they see that we are doing better, they shamelessly come to our house again."
Mingyu pursed her lips and smiled. She had never thought that the usually serious father Xu Changqian had a romantic love story of a hero saving a beauty when he was young. She could almost imagine that at that time, the young and cold Xu Changqian saw the pretty and strong-willed girl after attending class and fell in love with her. He was a reserved and not good at talking, so Mingyu really didn't know how the two of them got together.
Before she asked, Fu Lemei asked for her, "A man like my father-in-law... Who said that first? How did it come about?" Xu Mingye was both angry and amused, and whispered, "How could you ask such a question? How would I know? I wasn't even there at that time!"
Mingyu and Fu Lemei laughed out loud.
At this time, Mrs. Xu sent away the group of relatives who had evil intentions. She pushed the door open and saw Mingyu and Fu Lemei leaning against each other and laughing. She saw her unexpectedly, stopped laughing quickly, and lowered her head guiltily.
"What are you laughing at?" Mrs. Xu asked with narrowed eyes. Even a ghost could see that something was wrong.
The two of them looked up at Xu Mingye at the same time. Mrs. Xu immediately looked at Xu Mingye and asked, "What's going on?"
"Nothing..." Xu Mingye cursed Mingyu and Fu Lemei for being spineless and betraying him, and said vaguely: "Lemei doesn't know those relatives. I told her."
Mrs. Xu looked incredulous. How could she laugh like this just by introducing a relative? "Mingyu, tell me, what's going on?"
Mingyu glanced at Xu Mingye with a gloating look, and said seriously, "It's nothing. As we were talking, my brother started talking about how you and dad met each other back then."
These naughty kids! They gossip about their own parents! Thinking back to when they were young, Mrs. Xu couldn't help but blush. She grabbed Xu Mingye's ear and scolded, "Nonsense, how did you know? Were you there back then?"
Xu Mingye glared at Mingyu angrily. He knew that this girl was the kind of person who wanted to create chaos in the world.
When the next day was slightly light, the family got up and went to the cemetery. Over the past few years, the cemetery had been seldom maintained, and the weeds had grown very tall. It took a lot of effort for several people to clean it up. When burning paper, Mrs. Xu couldn't help crying again, complaining that she hadn't come back to visit her parents for so many years, and the grave was almost washed away by the rain. Seeing Mrs. Xu's sadness, Mingyu's nose was sore, and she shed a few tears with her.
After returning to the inn, Mrs. Xu gradually calmed down. She took Mingyu's hand and asked earnestly, "Look at me. It's so hard for me to come back and burn paper for your grandparents! Mingyu, can you... not marry so far away?" To be continued