Mu Zhiming and Wen Heyin avoided their eyes and ears, quietly climbed the wall and left the house, and came to Gu's house in a carriage.
At night, the guests who came to mourning had already dispersed, and the door was deserted. Two white lanterns covered with faint candles made people feel chilling. Mu Zhiming stepped forward and knocked on the door lightly, and it took a long time for someone to open it.
Wen Zhongcheng opened the door, and after seeing that it was Mu Zhiming, he said, "This son, the time for mourning has passed today, you can come back another day."
"I didn't come to mourning." Mu Zhiming said hurriedly, "I came to return the documents."
"Documents?" Although Wen Zhongcheng was puzzled, he still welcomed Mu Zhiming and Wen Heyin into the mansion first, "Young Master, follow me to the main hall."
"Don't bother." Even though Wen Zhongcheng was a servant, Mu Zhiming still saluted each other, "Excuse me, is Madam Zun here?"
"You are looking for Mother Juan." Wen Zhongcheng said, "She and my mother are eating in the kitchen."
Wen Heyin bluntly said, "It's too late for your family to eat. What time does it take to eat?"
Wen Zhongcheng didn't explain anything, but just smiled. Mu Zhi knew that they were busy at this point, so he finally took a rest and had a hot meal: "Take me to the kitchen."
"What? But Young Master, that's where the servants stay." Wen Zhongcheng said.
"Let me go." Mu Zhiming insisted.
Wen Zhongcheng stopped talking, and led Mu Zhiming to the kitchen. The kitchen baskets, the fast food, the firewood, and the firewood had not been cleaned up. Juanniang and Aunt Liang were huddled in front of the earthen stove to eat when they saw Wen Zhongcheng lead them. When the person came, she hung up her face when she was confused. Juanniang suddenly recognized the person, and immediately stood up happily and greeted her, "Young Master Mu!"
Mu Zhiming took out the paperwork that was going along today from his sleeve: "It's really disturbing to visit so late. I have something to talk to the three of you."
After saying that, Mu Zhiming looked around, then pulled out a small bench for burning fire from the vicinity of the vegetable basket, sat down in a group, and handed the document to Juanniang: "There is a comment I wrote on it, look at it, Can you understand?"
Juanniang took the document and spread it out, and saw that what she was going to do was written clearly and clearly step by step, and every stroke showed that she was serious.
"That's good." Mu Zhiming nodded reassuringly, "Actually... In fact, I want to talk to the three about General Gu's funeral arrangements. Of course, I am a foreigner, and I am not related to General Gu. It's like this... "
"Young master, don't say that." Aunt Liang said, "You can see that, our three servants don't understand anything. If anyone is willing to help with cooking at this time, it will be a real help in the snow."
Mu Zhiming was a little relieved, so he told them that they needed to ask someone to help with the white affairs, condolences, meals and tea, and after the coffin was stopped, the spirit was sent. The place took pen and ink and wrote it down, and after instructing, take out the document and hand it to Aunt Liang.
The three of them did not expect that Mu Zhiming would act so thoughtfully at such a young age, and he would do his best to help him so much.
"These days, it's been hard work for you. If there's nothing else, I'll leave first." Mu Zhiming said, and stood up and wanted to leave, but Aunt Liang suddenly rushed forward and knelt on the ground, begging with a trembling voice, "Young Master Mu, in fact, One more thing, I dare to ask you."
"Get up." Mu Zhiming was taken aback and went to help Aunt Liang, "If you have anything, just say it, it's not necessary."
Aunt Liang grabbed Mu Zhiming's wrist and choked, "Can you ask the young master to persuade our young master?"
Mu Zhiming was startled: "Brother Gu, what happened to him?"
Aunt Liang shed tears in distress and sighed: "Young master has been kneeling in the mourning hall for two days and two nights, and no drops of rice have come in. I just went to persuade him to rest and eat, but he still doesn't want to get up."
Mu Zhiming's heart trembled fiercely: "How could he...but...you can't persuade those who are close to him, how can I persuade an outsider who is estranged from me?"
Aunt Liang shook her head: "Mr. Mu, our servants are stupid and can't speak. You are knowledgeable, polite, and eloquent. You must be better at persuasion than we are. I beg you to try it."
"I... But he is really indifferent to me... Besides, it's so late... It's really inappropriate for me to show up so suddenly... " Mu Zhiming hesitated, speaking intermittently, Aunt Liang kept holding his wrist, so firm, So urgent: "Mr. Mu, our young master is not indifferent, he is just not good at words. Since he was a child, he never said anything he liked, neither arguing nor robbing him. Everyone says he is mature and sensible, but the more people say that about him, the more The more pitiful it is, others don’t know it, but I have seen him grow up since I was a child, and I know it. How can there be innate tolerance in this world? Who hasn’t been a baby crying in swaddling clothes? If someone knows that he is fragile Knowing that he is sad, why should he pretend to be strong, why should he hide his suffering in his heart?"
When Aunt Liang spoke, Mu Zhiming was shocked.
He remembered his previous life, the storytellers in the market spread by word of mouth, Gu Heyan went to the battlefield at the age of seventeen, a young dragon horse, invincible in battle, an iron-blooded general who shook mountains and rivers, frightened foreigners, and had a strong heart.
The world held him up on the altar, but who would have thought that Gu Heyan was only seventeen years old when his parents died and their heads were hung on a bloody sword.
"I see." Mu Zhiming picked up Aunt Liang, "I'll try it."
"Thank you, Young Master Mu." Aunt Liang pulled up her sleeves to wipe away her tears.
Mu Zhiming said to Wen Heyin, "Ayin, you are waiting for me here."
"Okay." Wen Heyin nodded and rolled up her sleeves, "I'm also idle when I'm idle. Your kitchen is so messy, I'll help you tidy it up."
Aunt Liang would never let Wen Heyin work, and asked Wen Zhongcheng to pull him to sit down, and asked Juanniang to bring him some snacks.
Mu Zhiming left the kitchen and went to the mourning hall alone.
The cold moon is like a hook, the cool night is dyed ink, in front of the mourning hall, the lonely and desolate white soul-calling flags move with the wind, the incense burns the paper and the smoke is misty. He couldn't kneel for a long time, dizzy, backache, knees, stiff shoulders, and he knew it was pointless to kneel here, but he didn't know what to do, and he wanted to be forgotten by heaven and earth like this.
Gu Heyan was waiting, waiting for the moment when he fainted out of physical strength, and then everything would sink into darkness, including his unspeakable grief.
In his previous life, he survived these seven days like this, kneeling and filial piety without eating or drinking, fainting, and waking up again.
In this life, so be it.
At this moment, Gu Heyan heard the light footsteps, he reluctantly raised his head to look, and felt in a daze that he should have been in a coma, and now he is dreaming.
Otherwise, how can I see him
Mu Zhiming knelt down beside Gu Heyan, respectfully bowed his head and bowed his head to the spirit card.
After the salute, Mu Zhiming turned to look at Gu Heyan, the two looked at each other, speechless for a while.
Although Aunt Liang asked Mu Zhiming to persuade Gu Heyan, what can Mu Zhiming say? What should be said should be persuaded, will Aunt Liang and the others not say or persuade
But after persuasion, can Gu Miao come back to life? Can Gu Heyan no longer be lonely
Mu Zhiming was silent, he didn't want to persuade him, he just wanted to accompany Gu Heyan quietly.
The white candle in the mourning hall trembled due to the wind and the weather was freezing cold. Gu Heyan suddenly opened his mouth slowly, his eyes fell on Gu Miao's spiritual card, and his voice was inaudible like Xueluo: "Before he set out on the expedition, I asked him , If you go and never come back, you will have regrets, he told me, no regrets, so on the day of farewell, I watched him leave without saying anything."
Mu Zhiming looked at him, listened quietly, and listened to Gu Heyan repeating: "Nothing was said."
In just five short words, I don't know how much Gu Heyan wanted to say to Gu Miao, but in the end there was only one left: said nothing.
Qing tears broke through the indifference in the depths of his eyes, and poured out from Gu Heyan's eyes. The embankment burst in an instant. After receiving the bad news, he only knew that the young man was quiet and speechless. When someone was with him, he heard him talk to his father. The next moment of death, weep and cry.
In the cold winter and snowy night, in the mourning hall, Mu Zhiming stretched out his hand to embrace the collapsed and helpless Gu Heyan into his arms, let his forehead rest on his shoulder, let his tears fall on his chest, and let his cries hide Into his arms, let his lonely body warm for a moment.
The world is easy, but fortunately the world is not bleak.