Shen State, Qu Dian, and Zhai Mansion.
The return of the Zhai brothers from their travels was a happy event, and the mansion had not been lively for a long time, so it was reasonable to celebrate. But no one expected that the Zhai mansion would hang up white curtains and decorate with white flowers, obviously preparing for a funeral.
The servants in the mansion walked even more quietly.
I was afraid that the noise would disturb the owner of the house.
When this matter spread to the market, common people all sighed.
The deceased in the Zhai Mansion was not the owner of the Zhai Mansion, but the wife of the eldest son of the famous Zhai family in Qudian. The story of the eldest son Zhai Huan and the ill-fated girl was once a good story, but now they are separated forever.
“Alas, what a pity!”
When talking about this matter, everyone was filled with regret.
This girl and Zhai Huan were betrothed since childhood. The girl was born in a noble family, and the two families were originally well matched. However, things happened unexpectedly, and something happened to the girl's family, affecting the whole family, the family was in decline, and she also accidentally ruined her appearance.
Everyone thought that Zhai Huan would cancel the engagement.
The difference in status between the two is too great now. Even if Zhai Huan breaks off the engagement, people will not blame him for anything. If he can be magnanimous and help the girl find a reliable marriage, it can be regarded as a good story. However, Zhai Huan always acts beyond ordinary people's expectations.
Not only did he support his future in-laws against all odds, but he also took very good care of his fiancée before she married him.
No one can find fault with it.
If someone talks about her appearance, she might even compete with Zhai Huan, using her strength to shut up those gossipers. She has publicly stated more than once that she is the only one who can be the wife of the Zhai clan. Appearance is not important, family background is not important, he is not greedy for beauty, and does not have much ambition that needs to be achieved by relying on the power of the Yue family. She is very suitable!
How many girls will be envious of this statement
The common people of Qudian all knew that, if nothing unexpected happened, the eldest son of the Zhai family would marry the girl when he returned from his travels. They were expectant and anxious at the same time - it felt like the couple that they had been pursuing for many years was finally going to come to fruition and be happy.
If nothing unexpected happened, then something unexpected happened.
Zhai Huan and his cousin Zhai Le returned by boat.
Unexpectedly, King Ji Shuji of Shen was having a banquet on that luxurious pleasure boat, chatting and laughing with a group of talented scholars and celebrities, looking very happy. The river breeze blew, and Shuji, who was drunk, saw a tall figure like a banished fairy from afar, and caught a glimpse of it.
Who is this boy? Shuji asked under the influence of alcohol.
who
Looks like Zhai Yuewen
It was Zhai Yuewen, for sure. The one next to him was Zhai Xiaofang. Are these two back from their travels
Shuji: Zhai Yuewen, Zhai Xiaofang
A scholar said: The Qudian Zhai family has two outstanding people, one literary and one martial, both of them are extremely talented and enviable.
The tone sounded a bit sour.
Shuji was in a good mood, but she was not interested in the group of young celebrities around her who were dressed up in fancy clothes. Although they called themselves celebrities, it was just a false reputation given by their families. They just had good looks. Shuji liked them at first, but compared with the two people she had just seen, they were just ordinary women with good looks but no inner qualities, which made her lose her appetite instantly.
Shuji smiled and said: "If you have time, you should pay a visit to such a beautiful lady."
A group of young celebrities looked at each other in bewilderment.
Most of them were from Qudian or counties adjacent to Qudian, and were very familiar with Zhai Huan of the Zhai family - hey, this guy was someone else's child, and they were not only deeply impressed but also had serious psychological trauma - but they were also very familiar with Shuji.
Suk-hee is the only daughter of the current Queen Mother.
The king's only sister.
The siblings had a hard time when they were young. Their mother, the Queen Mother, was originally a maid in the palace. She was accidentally pregnant by the old king and had a happy life. The old king had few children, so the siblings should have been valued, but the old king was cowardly by nature, and the real power was in the hands of the queen at that time.
The siblings and their biological mother suffered a lot.
Until the queen and the old king sent each other to heaven, all the children of the old king died.
The ministers searched hard for a while before finally finding the brother and sister. The three of them suddenly turned their fortunes around and lived in high spirits.
They immediately used cruel means to kill those who had bullied them, and more than a hundred maids and eunuchs died tragically.
The queen mother had been poor all her life, but lived a life of luxury after she came to power; the king acted as he pleased and was sensitive and suspicious by nature. If he found someone looking down on him, he would come up with countless ways to torture that person to death.
In comparison, Shuji is much more "normal".
She likes men.
Especially young men with good family background and good looks. She is a princess, one of the most noble women in the world, and she should be matched with the most beautiful man in the world. She has even robbed married men in the street. As long as she likes someone, she will get him.
If force doesn't work, then use power. This time, they targeted Zhai Huan and the other two with the same intention.
Shuji asked dissatisfiedly: Is there any difficulty
One person said: Zhai Yuewen has a wife who has not yet married him.
Shuji sneered: She just hasn't married yet.
She can get it after she gets married.
He then asked who the woman was.
This matter was known to everyone in Qu Dian, and several celebrities did not hide it, but they also hinted that Zhai Yuewen should not be offended easily. Shu Ji had a gorgeous appearance, and her eyes were full of mature charm. She also hypocritically sighed about this good story.
Several celebrities thought that Shuji had given up the idea, and while they felt a little relieved, they also felt a little jealous.
They were not valued at home, their abilities were poor, and their only good looks were their faces. For the sake of their future, they had to flatter and fawn on this promiscuous princess. Zhai Huan was just passing by, but he already piqued her interest.
Tsk, that’s so unfair.
For several days, Shuji didn't make any movement.
When the Zhai brothers returned from their travels, everyone in the Zhai family was so happy that it was like Chinese New Year. Even the servants who served them received an extra two months' salary. Zhai Huan and his companions visited the elders of the clan according to etiquette, and they were busy for two or three days before they had time to rest.
"Brother, leave the rest to me, you go go see my sister-in-law." There was no one around, and Zhai Le sat in an awkward position, which made Zhai Huan's eyelids flutter, and he was about to say something to correct him.
but-
Because his cousin was considerate and sensible, he didn't teach him a lesson this time. Zhai Huan brought a bunch of exquisite gifts to visit his future in-laws' home. He talked to his fiancée across the screen for a while. When talking about the wedding date, they were both shy. Everything that should be prepared for the wedding of the two families has been prepared, except for Zhai Huan's return. If it is put on the schedule, it will be at least within the next six months.
Zhai Huan did not expect that this would be the last time they saw each other.
After the wedding date is set, the man and woman cannot see each other again.
Zhai Huan still has to take care of clan affairs.
After being away for a long time, even he needed some time to familiarize himself with what happened during this period, to sort out the situation, and to find time to hunt wild geese himself, so he left for a few days. A few days later, he rode back on horseback, and the harvest was not bad. He captured two large wild geese alive and tied them up tightly. Zhai Huan was in a good mood, with a smile on his lips.
Until Zhai Le came hurriedly on horseback.
"Why are you so flustered?" He looked at Zhai Le's expression, his heart skipped a beat, and he had a vague sense of foreboding.
"Brother and sister-in-law"
"What's wrong with your sister-in-law?" When there were outsiders around, Zhai Huan never let Zhai Le call his fiancée "sister-in-law". Before they were really married, this name would damage the woman's reputation. Now that the wedding date has been set, it's okay to call her that. However, the name that usually made him feel warm now made him feel cold, "You say it!"
The usually cheerful boy now hesitated.
With red eyes, she said: "My condolences"
boom!
Something exploded in his ears.
When Zhai Huan came to his senses, a strong wind whistled in front of him and hit his face. The horse under his crotch reached its maximum speed, and even the warhorse created by Zhai Lewu could not catch up. He didn't care about anything else and rushed over.
The atmosphere is wrong!
Zhai Huan staggered off his horse.
He brushed away the servant who wanted to come forward to help.
Before arriving, he heard sobbing and crying. Zhai Huan pushed through the crowd and saw a pale corpse. The girl was sleeping peacefully, with her hands folded in front of her. There was a blue mark on her neck.
Zhai Huan raised his head slightly.
A thick hemp rope is hung from the beam.
"What's going on?" He thought he had asked this question with all his strength, but no one answered. The crying ones were still crying, and those who were not crying sincerely were secretly observing his reaction by wiping their tears.
After a while, he realized that the cry was only in his heart, and to outsiders it seemed that he was just moving his lips.
Just half a day -
There are many malicious discussions in the market.
It is said that this girl had been secretly communicating with other men for several years after Zhai Huan left, and she was afraid of being discovered, so she hanged herself out of shame; some people also said that she was pregnant with an illegitimate child, and when the two families decided on the wedding date, she had no choice but to commit suicide.
These well-founded remarks were rampant and were only suppressed after Zhai Le and his men gave them a beating.
At this time, the future mother-in-law brought a bowl of food.
"Yuewen"
"Mother."
Hearing this name, the woman's tears, which had finally stopped, began to roll down again.
"My poor daughter, if you two can get married successfully..." The future mother-in-law had been crying for a long time, her eyes were blurry and red and swollen, "but now that this happened, I will just assume that you two are not destined to be together."
Zhai Huan held the already cold hand, his eyes colder than ever before: "Who killed her?"
Hanging himself before the wedding
Who believes it
The woman wanted to say something but stopped herself.
She just pushed the bowl of food towards him and said softly, "Yuewen, don't ask any more questions. I'm not telling you for your own good. Don't let my poor daughter die in obscurity, okay?"
Zhai Huan seemed to be meeting her for the first time.
"Who killed her?" From beginning to end, he never looked at the bowl covered with black cloth, but his five senses were sharp and he could smell the blood. Looking at the hastily bandaged things on his fiancée's arm, he guessed a little, "Huan must know."
The woman lowered her head and said nothing.
But there was inevitably a few flashes of resentment on her face, which was accurately captured by Zhai Huan: "Although Ah Jing has not married yet, we were betrothed since birth. We have a deep relationship over the years. We are not husband and wife, but we are better than husband and wife. She should be Zhai's wife. The funeral ceremony should be held in the Zhai Mansion. Mother, I will take her home first, and you can come later."
"you-"
She didn't have time to say anything.
Zhai Huan had already bent down and held the person in his arms.
The woman tried to ask the servants to stop them, but Zhai Le, who was guarding outside the door, glared and transformed into a martial armor, shocking everyone so much that they dared not step forward and reach out. They could only watch Zhai Huan carry the person away.
"Ale, take your things and go."
"Something? What?"
Zhai Le didn't understand for a moment, until the woman who came up to him stuffed a bowl of bloody food into his mouth. He quietly opened the bowl and found a small piece of bloody meat in it. He was stunned for a moment, looking at his cousin in confusion, then at the woman.
"This is?"
The woman sobbed and said, "Ah Jing left it."
Zhai Le had no idea what he was thinking about, his hair was standing on end, and he hurried to catch up with his cousin with the bowl in his hand.
Now, Qudian became lively.
The Zhai family announced the death of a clan member due to illness.
The common people were surprised: "Isn't this not a marriage yet?"
Another person sighed, "It's like a corpse."
The common people were shocked: "Zhai also allowed it?"
Another person gossiped, "Zhai Yuewen said that if it is not allowed, he will resign from the position of the eldest son and hand over the Zhai family to any young man in the clan. He will definitely assist them with all his strength in the future."
"I can't believe it. Zhai Yuewen is such a gentle and refined man, how could he be like this?" It's totally unimaginable.
The gossipy common people sneered.
"Courtesy? Didn't you see how he held down the heads of hundreds of pirates and drowned them alive? When you were ten years old, you were still playing in the mud with your bare butt. He has chopped off so many heads that you could play chess."
The audience gasped.
This is also a ruthless person.
The body was kept for seven days, and Zhai Huan locked himself up for seven days.
Zhai Le was standing outside the door, anxious.
He wanted to say something to comfort his cousin but didn't know where to start. This happened too suddenly and he was stunned when he heard the news, not to mention that his cousin was reserved but once he fell in love, he couldn't control himself.
What’s even more infuriating is the sixth day.
The Shuji, whom the brother had never met, suddenly sent someone to express her admiration for the brother in front of the sister-in-law's coffin. Zhai Le, who was presiding over the funeral, almost lost his temper and beat the person to a cripple.
What the hell!
My brother lost his wife a while ago, and this notorious Shuji came to steal my sister-in-law's man. Doesn't he know that my brother has to observe mourning? What's more, the envoy of Shuji also hinted that Shuji admired them and that if the two brothers could serve the princess together, they would definitely be valued in the future. My brother must not know this, otherwise he will be furious.
On the seventh day, the door opened.
Zhai Le jumped up when he heard the noise.
"Ah, brother."
For a moment, he didn't dare to recognize Zhai Huan.
Zhai Huan seemed to be the same as before, but also seemed to be different. A long-dried black blood stain hung from the corner of his pale lips. He turned his head when he heard the voice and asked calmly, "What day is it?"
Zhai Le subconsciously became nervous: "It's the seventh day."
"The seventh day," Zhai Huan murmured weakly, "It is said that if the deceased has unresolved karma in his lifetime, he will return to the world on the seventh day." Zhai Le got goosebumps when he heard this.
"Sister-in-law definitely doesn't want to see you like this, brother." Brother had never believed in those weird things before.
Zhai Huan asked, "Has any messenger come to the door?"
"Yes"
"Wang Ji's messenger?"
Although it was a question, it was spoken in a firm tone.
"Well, how did you know that, brother?"
He obviously hasn't gone out these days.
Or did someone tip off