In the first year of Shunzhao of the Great Chu, winter in the south of the Yangtze River came very early. When Mingyu arrived in Lu'an, he happened to catch the first winter snow in Lu'an. Snowflakes floated in the air and fell on people's faces and hands, and soon turned into a trace of water.
However, this kind of winter does not make people feel cold. Walking along the way and watching the changing scenery outside the carriage window, Mingyu felt like a bird that had been released from a cage and regained its freedom. It was hard not to be excited.
The stone road had been wet and turned dark by the rain and snow. Mingyu and Lixiang drew aside the curtains and looked outside. They reached out to catch the snowflakes falling from the sky, their expressions unable to hide their suppressed anticipation.
"Look!" Li Xiang pointed to a white stone bridge ahead and shouted excitedly, "Miss, after crossing this bridge, we will enter Lu'an County!"
Mingyu followed Lixiang's finger and saw an arch bridge not far ahead. Several black-sailed boats were quietly moored under the bridge. Several trees by the river had lost their leaves. When the carriage passed the stone bridge, Mingyu could clearly see the reflections of the trees on the clear river. Several ducks swam in a row from not far away, and the calm water surface was rippling with beautiful circles.
In front of the stone bridge is the gate of Lu'an City. Perhaps because it is not a military fortress, the blue brick Lu'an Gate looks short and dilapidated compared to the tall and sturdy Tianshui Gate. On the road in front of the city gate, people coming and going are all wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats, and their faces cannot be seen clearly.
The closer she got to home, the more timid she felt. Compared to Lixiang's joy and excitement, Mingyu felt heavy and uneasy in her heart. Seeing the Lu'an city gate just around the corner, Mingyu became panic-stricken. She had been avoiding this question all the way. Now that she was a married girl, she was like water spilled on the ground. She had escaped back in such a miserable state. Would the Xu family's parents be willing to take in her, a daughter who had fled back to her parents' home
Xiao Qi, who was escorting them back in the carriage, crossed his arms in a dignified manner, shook his head and sighed, "We are finally here. If I don't go back, what will our master do?"
The twelve-year-old Xiao Qi was still in his prime and looked very cute. Ming Yu was amused by him and suppressed her anxiety. She smiled and said, "Why? Master Lu can't live without you?"
Xiao Qi nodded solemnly, "Of course, I have been serving our grandfather since I can remember. Our grandfather is not used to being served by others."
Li Xiang covered her mouth and laughed, "It's not that your grandfather is not used to it, it's you who left your grandfather, you are not used to it!"
Xiao Qi pouted angrily. He was a real man and would not bother with these two girls who were making fun of him along the way.
"Miss Xu, the Lu'an County Government Office is just ahead! Do you want to stop?" Uncle Meng's steady and deep voice came from the front of the carriage, and the galloping carriage slowly slowed down.
Uncle Meng, the coachman, was also Lu Hao's subordinate. He was about 30 years old, tall and strong, and had a strong body. He was the one driving the carriage all the way. It was also because of this strong man that the journey was safe. Mingyu didn't know his name, but when Xiaoqi called him Uncle Meng, she also called him Uncle Meng with Lixiang.
Mingyu was suddenly startled, and the smile instantly faded from her face. She quickly shouted, "Stop."
When the carriage stopped, Lixiang jumped off first, and then helped Mingyu get off. Mingyu's memory of Lu An was already blurred. The sleet seemed to be heavier than when they first entered the city, hitting people's hair and forming fine and dense water droplets. Because of the rain, there were few pedestrians on the street. Occasionally, one or two people wearing straw raincoats passed by, but they were also in a hurry. Mingyu looked up. The county government office in front of him was not big. There was a drum at the door, and two young yamen runners were guarding the door.
Seeing Mingyu looking at them hesitantly, the two yamen runners also stared at Mingyu with a puzzled look. Lixiang didn't notice Mingyu's hesitation. This was her hometown, where she had lived for more than ten years. Lixiang walked up to them with a familiar look and smiled at the two yamen runners, "Brother Li, Brother Zhou, don't you recognize us?"
When Mingyu was in Jiangnan, she was kept in the backyard of the government office and they could not see her. However, Lixiang often went out to buy things for Mingyu, so the two yamen runners were very familiar with her. When they saw Lixiang, their eyes almost popped out, and they pointed at Lixiang in disbelief and shouted, "You, why are you back?"
One of the yamen runners was surprised and ran into the backyard to report the news without looking back.
Soon, under Mingyu's nervous and expectant gaze, her elder brother Xu Mingye, who had not been seen for several months, appeared at the gate of the government office, supporting a beautiful middle-aged woman in her thirties. The woman was wearing a moon-white jacket and a light blue six-piece skirt. Her warm almond-shaped eyes were a little red. She walked very fast, and Xu Mingye could hardly support her. The two of them stumbled over.
The beautiful middle-aged woman panted and leaned on the doorpost. She stared at Mingyu and tears fell from her eyes. She ran up and hugged Mingyu, holding her in her arms, crying loudly, "My dear daughter, it's really my dear daughter who is back! Why are you back? If you don't come back, I will miss you so much that I can't live anymore!"
Before Mingyu could react, she fell into a warm embrace and was held tightly. Listening to the crying in her ears, Mingyu's heart fell back into her stomach. She couldn't help but burst into tears, and Lixiang also shed tears beside her.
Xu Mingye held his mother's hand and whispered, "Mom, my sister just got home. Let's go inside and talk." It was not convenient to do so on the street. It would have a bad influence if people saw the county magistrate's wife crying in the street.
After crying for a while, Mother Xu felt better. She let go of Mingyu in her arms, took out a handkerchief and wiped Mingyu's face. Then she half squatted down, hugged Mingyu, and pressed her face against Mingyu's. Then she reluctantly let go, holding Mingyu's hand and choking with sobs, "Let's go home."
Xu Mingye lowered his head and wiped the water from the corners of his eyes. He walked forward calmly, held Mingyu's other hand, and was about to take Mingyu into the house.
"Wait." Mingyu shouted, her voice still nasal, tears hanging from the corners of her eyes. She turned around and smiled, "They sent us back..." However, the place where the carriage was originally parked was empty, as if it had never existed.
"Eh? Where's the person?" Lixiang couldn't help but scream.
Xu Mingye lowered his head and smiled at Mingyu, "Are you talking about the black carriage? Long before mother came out to hug you and cry, the carriage drove towards the city gate."
It turned out that Xiao Qi and Uncle Meng left after seeing her find her relatives. Mingyu felt disappointed. She owed Uncle Meng and Xiao Qi such a big favor. She had planned to entertain Uncle Meng and Xiao Qi at home to thank them for their care, but she didn't expect them to leave first.
Mother Xu wiped her face and looked towards the direction of the city gate, but in the misty rain, there was no trace of the carriage on the road. Her daughter had married into the Marquis's Mansion, and now she was sent back to Lu'an in a carriage. Mrs. Xu had already made the worst plan in her mind, but no matter what Mingyu was like, she was always her darling baby, and she held Mingyu's hand and squeezed it tighter.
As soon as they entered the backyard of the county government office, a nanny in her fifties came up to them. She looked at Mingyu and wiped her tears while smiling, "The eldest lady is really back. I just thought that the yamen servant Zhou was lying to me, an old woman!"
Mingyu saw that the nanny had a kind and friendly face, but she couldn't remember who she was. Her mother and elder brother held her hands tightly, so she couldn't free her hands to greet them. She had just cried for a while, and her throat was sore. She moved her lips for a long time before she whispered, "Mammy..."
Madam hurriedly said "Hey", responded to Mingyu's cry, and went forward to open the bamboo curtain of the main room. Madam Xu looked at Mingyu lovingly and smiled, "This child has become more and more shy as he grows older. Didn't he always call her Liu Ma** before?"
Mingyu smiled and whispered, "Mother Liu."
Mother Liu opened the bamboo curtain, a smile spread across her face, and her wrinkles seemed to have opened up one by one. "As long as Miss comes back, you can call me old lady however you want!"
There was a charcoal fire in the house. Mingyu felt a warm breeze as she entered the room. Her shoes were wet and covered with mud after walking in the rain for so long, leaving a trail of footprints on the floor.
As soon as they entered the room, Madam Xu hugged Mingyu into her arms, touched her cold little face, and reached out to test the thickness of Mingyu's jacket. She wrapped Mingyu's hand in her own and choked up, "Look, your hands are cold, why don't you wear more clothes?"
It was inconvenient to wear women's clothes along the way. Mingyu and Lixiang were both wearing Xiaoqi's outer coat, and the padded jacket was the one Mingyu wore when she left Tianshui. It was actually not thin, but in Mrs. Xu's eyes, she was afraid that the children were not dressed warmly and would freeze her darlings.
"A few days ago, those businessmen who came back from the northwest said that Tianshui was occupied by the Tartars. People in Tianshui City were fleeing or dying. My heart was burning with worry that something might happen to you..." Madam Xu couldn't help but shed another string of tears and shook her head, saying, "Now that you are standing in front of me, I am afraid it is all a dream."
Mingyu's eyes were red, and she tried hard to suppress the urge to cry. She looked at her little hands wrapped in Madam Xu's hands, feeling warm, and her heart was also warm. In her previous life, she lost her mother when she was a girl and depended on her father for everything. She was stubborn in front of her peers. Now Madam Xu made her feel the mother's love again.
"It's not a dream, I'm back." Mingyu said hoarsely, leaning her head on Madam Xu's arms. In fact, she recognized Madam Xu the first time she saw her.
She had soft almond-shaped eyes, willow-shaped eyebrows, and a fair face. Except that her face looked a little older, Mrs. Xu's eyebrows and eyes were exactly the enlarged version of Mingyu and Xu Mingye. It was just that Mrs. Xu looked more majestic. She must have been a rare beauty when she was young. Even now that she was middle-aged, she was still a beautiful woman.
Xu Mingye placed his hand on his sister's thin shoulder, stared at Mingyu, and asked, "Mingyu, where are the people from the Marquis' Mansion? Why are only you and Lixiang back?"
Hearing the young master's question, Li Xiang burst into tears, "Young master, when we... escaped, the Tartars had already entered the city, and the people from the Marquis' Mansion... left first..." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe and reward on Qidian Mobile Network (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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