It was a bit embarrassing to make this decision, but after a little consideration, I made a firm decision.
"Well... okay!" Although the answer was not very straightforward, at least Huang Yi was very satisfied.
Then the girl turned around and saluted the old man, "Huang Yi is here to pay her respects. Thank you Uncle Chu for taking my family in."
The old man kept waving his hands and said it was okay.
I immediately felt relieved and realized that I had indeed been too arbitrary.
Before entering the house, the two siblings exchanged words in Yizhou dialect for a moment, during which Huang Yi looked at the old man surnamed Chu with gratitude, and Huang Tian also smiled at me. Finally, Huang Tian and I bowed to express our gratitude, and Huang Yi gave the old man surnamed Chu a big gift, asking him to keep it a secret for us, which made the old man a little at a loss, so he immediately ignored us. After the siblings and the two siblings had discussed everything, the three of us went in.
Under the dim light, beside the bed were my daughter and son kneeling, and a stranger who had nothing to do with me, now my son-in-law, was sitting a few feet away.
"Dad, I'm Yi'er. I escaped. I had a dagger on me at the time. They didn't search me, but cut my bag and ran away! I took someone else's bamboo raft from Baidi and was washed to the slow water outside Yiling before I could land in Zigui." She was so sincere that even I was a little skeptical. Because her tone had changed, it seemed that the words and feelings were the same, but it was indeed a different flavor, making me feel that the back figure in front of me had been replaced by another person.
"Huh... sss." The old man's eyebrows suddenly flashed with some light, and he turned his head hard, opened his mouth and thought of something, but it was vague and repeated many times. Huang Tian immediately leaned forward and put his ear close to his father.
"Are you really Yier?" From then on, it was Huang Tian who relayed the words one by one.
"It was really me. Look at me. You know how good I am at swimming, but I almost died in the Yangtze River. Do you know? I was saved by my brother-in-law. My sister didn't marry the Prince of Hefie. She married a general. The general is right there!" He pointed at me. "He came to see you too." She had to be as simple as possible, and even her expression and tone were completely like a sister introducing her brother.
I saw a deception, but it was a touching one without any evil or meanness. A girl threw away her lifelong reputation and pretended to be a sister who escaped from Yizhou, and met her brother-in-law.
I have never mentioned this incident to anyone else in my life, because from that day on, since the moment Huang Xin stepped into the gate of the Chu family, this person no longer existed in the world, and Huang Yi, who had died in Yizhou, was reborn.
This old man, who was already drowsy and dying, suddenly became clear-headed after hearing his daughter's words. His eyes became brighter, and he looked at me. I took a few steps forward and let him take a closer look at me. Before this, I had always been a spectator, crying over their family affection. But suddenly, I became a speaker and a member of this family.
"How did the general marry my elder sister?" After hearing his father's monotonous words like moaning, Huang Tian was able to naturally change the address and relay it to me.
"Father-in-law, there is no need to say more. Just listen to what I have to say." I immediately felt that I had completely entered the role: "When Xin'er was still on the road, Prince Hefie died of illness. This widowhood was too unfair to Xin'er. She could not get married and could not return to Sichuan. She could only be trapped on the road with a group of people. At that time, I led the army to suppress the rebels in Yangzhou. Fortunately, I met your daughter and identified her as the love of my heart. In this era, all matters and etiquette have been turned around. In addition, I have a weak relationship with my parents, so I married your daughter. I said to the inside that I married the daughter of a certain civilian family, and to the outside world, I pretended that your daughter had died on the road by a thug. Later, because Dong Zhuo entered Sichuan and blocked all kinds of information, I could not find a way to report to my father-in-law from Hanzhong to Zigui. I was helpless, so I could only see her today. Please punish me, father-in-law." I thought to myself that I was a gifted liar. The previous paragraph was all right, and I even left a way out.
"That's not a problem. What do you think of the girl?"
I glanced at her, and then slowly said: "Xin'er has a kind heart and treats people kindly. She is respectful and filial to her parents, and treats people kindly. This is virtue. Poetry and books..."
"General, you are too kind. My daughter is a little willful and has a bad temper. Can you tolerate it?" The old man raised his voice and interrupted me. He might have thought that what I said was too cliché, but his words could only be understood by Huang Tian.
"Although Xin'er appears like this on the surface, she actually feels sorry for me having been fighting outside in recent years. Whenever I'm at home, she will accompany me with gentle voice and pleasant words to relieve me of the fatigue from traveling. A husband's life will not be wasted if he has a wife like this." After I said that, I looked at her, but she didn't look at me, but lowered her head.
"Then why didn't the eldest sister come? Is she really angry with father?" From what Huang Xin had said to me before, I knew that she didn't want to mention her parents. I guess it was because the old man was indeed wrong about marrying Prince Heféi.
But the old man is like this, and Huang Xin has completely turned into Huang Yi, so I can't do this. But Huang Yi lowered her head and there is nothing I can say to give any hints, so I can only find a way myself.
"I was just about to report it." At this point, I took a deep breath and said with joy, "Xin'er is pregnant! But the road conditions are very bad over these hundreds of miles. She can't come here even if she knows. Besides, I saved my second sister in the army. I'm afraid Xin'er hasn't received my letter yet."
The old man couldn't hide his excitement, but after taking a few breaths, he started to cough violently. The painful expression on his face and the sound of tearing my heart and lungs made me wonder what to do. The brother and sister hurriedly helped to rub his back. I also hurried to help rub his back, and my hand touched Huang Yi's. She immediately pulled her hand away, and in the end I was the one rubbing my "father-in-law"'s back. In fact, I touched her hand on purpose, and I regretted it afterwards, but I didn't know what happened to me at the time.
Huang Tian asked his father to drink some water, and then told him to rest in Yizhou dialect. Before the old man rested, he said something to me. Huang Tian said: "After the child is born, I will bring the child to see my father with my elder sister and ask if it is okay with you?"
"Okay, of course, I will." I made the promise firmly, without even thinking about what might happen in the future.
In fact, the fact that the old man did not even ask my name shows that this matter is very tricky, because Huang Xin should have been buried alive, after all, she was the concubine of Prince Heféi. The old man probably also knew that he did not want to implicate me, so since he could not suppress his desire to see his grandson, he could only not ask anything else, so that there would be no danger of accidental leaks. However, he probably did not expect that this son-in-law was so famous, and he did not expect that this son-in-law was the one who brought this disaster upon their family.
I decided to sleep here tonight because I saw the kind eyes the old man looked at me when he lay down.
Huang Tian and I both slept beside the old man's couch. When Huang Tian's mouth was close to mine, he said to me, "I'm sorry, General." I smiled and looked at him, waving my hand. Huang Xin, now Huang Yi, went to thank the old man surnamed Chu. The old man said a few words to her and went to another room with a smile.
But it was not the time to sleep at this time. I lay down for a while before I heard the evening drum. There was still a glimmer of light in the sky. But the old man fell asleep quickly, and Huang Tian also fell silent soon. The young man must have been very tired recently. I sighed and felt that Huang Tian was really suffering.
I stood up and walked out of the house quietly. This time I didn't make any noise, or maybe the noise had no effect on the old man and his children.
When I entered the yard, Huang Yi was also there looking up at the moon in the sky. She heard my footsteps, turned around to look at me, lowered her head, and turned back to look at the sky.
"In a few days, it will become a waning moon, and then it will disappear."
"But in a dozen days, it will appear again."
"But that is already a new reincarnation. The previous form and spirit have all become nothing. What is the meaning of this?"
I didn't quite understand what she meant. I had a vague idea of it, but I couldn't grasp it.
"You don't understand, do you?" She took a few steps toward the door. "Would you please accompany me for a walk? There's no one outside, and I'm a little scared to be alone."
In the past, I would have deliberately laughed at him. But now, everything she said seemed reasonable to me.
The horse was still tied outside the door, and I thought it had been stolen after I came in. I didn't know what would happen to it after it was stolen.
"Will you get on the horse? I think the first time we set out on the road you were the one riding and I was the one holding the reins."
"Remember, my idea today is what I learned from you when you sent Taishi Ci away. Let's go together." Finally, I led the horse, hung my long spear, and strolled with her in the quiet Zigui at night.
"Won't your father see through it?"
"It shouldn't be. Yi'er and I are twin sisters. Our parents only distinguished us based on the tone of our words and our daily actions. Huang Xin, on the surface, seems a little tyrannical and domineering, but she is very gentle inside; and Huang Yi, on the surface, seems very gentle, but she is very strong inside. At that time, because they couldn't tell us apart from the outside, they had to let us wear different clothes, and we kept wearing each other's clothes, and often imitated each other's way of speaking to deceive our parents. We thought it was very fun. When we grew up, even we couldn't tell them apart, because anyone can completely change their personality and temperament in a blink of an eye, and even our parents couldn't detect it. We slept together until we were sixteen, and as soon as we opened our eyes, we saw ourselves lying next to each other. You couldn't feel that wonderful feeling. By the age of sixteen, we really had two personalities and two temperaments. Often today I was the older sister, and tomorrow she was the older sister, making it difficult for our parents to tell the difference. However, these two times were indeed big lies. I hope that my mother in heaven will not blame me." After he finished speaking, he burst into tears.
But I was undoubtedly shocked. Because, she clearly said it twice, if I was not mistaken, then this was the second time, the first time could it be... I broke out in a cold sweat, this was indeed a big lie.
"This counts as one time, then there is another time? Is it..." I drew my finger from west to east.
She was stunned! Oh my God, she really was Huang Yi, the real Huang Yi.
"I thought this would save Huang Xin. I used drugs to knock her out, and then I went to her room. I knew there would be nothing I could do once she woke up. To avoid being accused of deceiving the emperor, she had no choice but to start pretending to be Huang Yi. In the end, she lost her life because she was Huang Yi, but I saved my life because I was Huang Xin."
"Stop crying." I whispered to her, but I could only stand half an inch behind her. There was nothing I could do.
"Tian told me everything that happened. When the thief Dong broke into Jiange, my father swore to fight to the death with lord Fa Xuande against Dong. (Fa Zhen, whose courtesy name was Xuande, was the grandfather of Fa Zheng and had the same courtesy name as Liu Bei, author's note). The city was broken that day, and the thief Dong ordered a massacre in the city because many of his men were killed. However, he spared the gentry at all levels and their families, wanting to recruit them for his own use. The people of Yizhou were not those who feared death and would succumb to the thief Dong's power, so no one was willing to respond. The thief Dong was furious, and he took the families of the people of Yizhou under the city gate and threatened the people of Yizhou, threatening to massacre their entire families if they refused." She let out a deep breath. Although she didn't sob, I could still see her tears under the moonlight.
"Many families were killed, but some surrendered. One of them, Pang Xi, surrendered to Dong Zhuo to save his mother's life. When he arrived at my house, my father didn't even look at Dong, but he never expected that Dong looked at Huang Yi with lust. In the end, he didn't touch my father, but asked someone to take Huang Yi to his residence. Later, everyone was released. Everyone knew what happened, so they took my father and Huang Tian to the south. They thought they could call for reinforcements from Chengdu to fight Dong Zhuo and save Huang Yi, but they didn't expect that the governor would take his family with him and ask Chang to take care of him. Jiang went out of Sichuan to report Dong Zhuo to the court. In fact, he was trying to escape, but he was sank in Kuimen, and no one came to save him. Since then, there was no one in charge in Shu, and the situation was hopeless. Some people withdrew to the west of Shu and the south of Sichuan, becoming bandits to resist Dong, while others had to go down the Yangtze River from Baidi. Before Baidi City was about to fall, Dong Zhuo ordered Pang Xi to persuade us to surrender, and he came to persuade us to sail down to Jingzhou as soon as possible. He also told us that five days after my father and his men left Jiange, Huang Yi assassinated Dong Zhuo at night and was caught by Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was furious and tied Yi to a stone and sank him into the river... The last thing Tian saw on the boat was Uncle Pang Xi and the last group of soldiers who were covering everyone's departure being shot to death at the Baidi ferry. On the boat, my father was heartbroken by Yi'er's death. He was already exhausted and caught a cold. When he arrived in Zigui, he had a high fever. He thought he was going to die, but later he got better, but now he is like this. He misses us every day. This time I lied to my father and let Xin and I live well in the world. I'm afraid it will help my father's recovery. "
"You hate me, right?" I stopped and tears welled up in my eyes. I seldom cry.
"Why should I hate you?" She had tears in her eyes and tried to face me calmly: "If you don't give him the title of Duke in Yizhou, he will occupy Jingzhou and Hanzhong will be in his hands. He can enter Yizhou at any time. At that time, I am afraid my family will not even have the way to Jingzhou. Why should I hate you? Although I said this, I still hate you, but I want to talk to you because I trust you. But tell me why, why can a man like Dong Zhuo be granted the title of Duke? After he did these things, no one cared about him."
"I don't know why he could do that and still not be fired or executed. But I know I must eliminate him." I said firmly.
"when?"
"I don't know the exact time, but we must go in within five years, because I think he will definitely come out within five years. When he comes out, we will be in a passive position, and the people in Sichuan will be robbed and slaughtered again like the people in Liangzhou. But now, to be honest, we don't have the strength to eliminate him."
“What if you can’t deliver on your promise within five years?”
"I will go to Yizhou alone and wait for an opportunity to assassinate Dong Zhuo, or join those people in becoming bandits to hold him back. Otherwise, I will never be able to face the elders of Yizhou again in my life." I didn't understand why this sounded so childish, but Huang Yi nodded anyway.
"It's not easy for someone of your status to say this. I know your temper, and I just hope you stay like this."
Huang Yi tonight was definitely not the same person she was before. Although she was still the same person, I felt like I was talking to another woman. To be honest, I felt a little nervous.
When I passed by the post house, I asked Huang Yi to wait for a while, and then I went to tell my men that I would stay there overnight and asked them to come find me tomorrow morning. I also left the horses to them and asked them to feed them well, and finally took the long spear to warn them not to wink at each other.
I must admit that I might be too easy to get along with, and the atmosphere in the Yellow Turban Army was "bad", which caused these guys to dare to smirk in front of me.
We finally arrived at the bank of the Zigui River. Zigui is surrounded by city walls on three sides and faces the water on one side. There are several watchtowers and a row of wooden fences on the bank. It is obvious that the Yizhou people are very worried about this place. Hundreds of soldiers are patrolling and guarding at night. There are also fires on the watchtowers, which illuminate the canyons around with a dark green light and reflect the green water on the river. On other streets, no one is patrolling at all. Huang Yi originally wanted to go to this place to have a quiet time and chat with me. When he saw this situation, he immediately suggested to change the route and go back. I agreed with him. But I didn't expect that several patrolling Yizhou soldiers stopped us and asked who we were.
Given my identity, no one here should dare to ask this question. But when I think about my appearance, especially my hair, and the long spear that I carry like them, even I find my identity suspicious. And there is a woman next to me, running outside in such dark weather. I would stop her if she told me.
"I am the Marquis of Ping An Feng Yun of the Han Dynasty. If you have any questions, just call your general."
They didn't have any other titles, such as Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun and the son of the Prince of Ping'an. They were all very important officials to them. They probably didn't know about the feud between Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun and them because they were completely isolated from the world. So I calmly gave them my title. And the armor and cloak I was wearing also showed that I was definitely not an ordinary soldier.
They didn't dare to stop us again, but I always felt that someone was following us on the way back. After returning to the Chu family mansion as if nothing had happened, I immediately looked out through the crack in the door, but saw nothing.
Huang Yi was a little surprised by my actions and asked me if someone was following me. I might have, I always felt someone was following us. Huang Yi also came over to watch, thinking that the two of us were doing something that was very indecent. I was the first one to notice this and immediately took two steps back. She didn't react for a while and was still watching.
"No one." She looked for a while and said to me confidently: "Are you sure there is someone here?" She immediately noticed that I was looking embarrassed behind her and immediately understood.
"It's already this time, why are you pretending to be a gentleman..." Her words were immediately interrupted by the old man's voice.
Inside the house, the two of us seemed to be at a loss, because I was sure I couldn't understand what the old man was saying. He straightened his body and just looked at us, and Huang Yi obviously hadn't found a way to decipher what his father said, so he could only stand by and worry.
Huang Tian persuaded his father and the old man to lie down, then turned to us and said, "It's okay, because my father often sleeps during the day, so he often gets up like this at night. In fact, there is nothing wrong, just sleep." When he said this, I could clearly see the traces of tiredness and maturity in his eyes. At this moment, I fell in love with this "brother-in-law". A teenager of this age took care of his sick father alone for half a year. This filial piety and perseverance are admirable, but when I was his age, I could only follow my sister and let my sister do everything for me. I am really useless.
The old man woke up several times that night. Huang Tian would first listen to what the old man wanted, and then explain what happened to me who was also awakened.
I felt like I couldn't help at all, and this feeling was a bit embarrassing for me. I couldn't understand the old man's words. All his requests sounded like one voice, one rhythm, and one tone to me. He was usually awakened by his nightmares at night, and it was nothing serious. Finally, feeling helpless, I decided to go out, so that Huang Tian wouldn't have to repeat it to me again out of politeness, and he was really tired. Huang Tian asked me where I was going, and I took a breath and told him to go to sleep first and not to worry about me. If he needed help, he could come to the yard and call me.
It was foggy that night, and through the fog one could see the light of a fire in the south, and there was also some light in the yard.
In the gray and white, I could vaguely see someone in the yard! Chang Ge was leaning against the wall under the eaves. I picked up the weapon without hesitation and took two steps forward. After hesitating for a moment, I shouted in a low voice: "Who?"
"Don't be nervous, are you still afraid of me?"
"Why are you here?"
"You're still asking me, aren't you here too?"
"I can't help. If I were here, Huang Tian would have to explain things to me and take care of me. It's better for me to come out. Your brother was much more capable when he was my age."
"Tiantian wasn't like this before. He was too lazy and didn't have such a strong sense of responsibility. But things change. I'm afraid that Yi'er's death has completely changed him. I don't recognize him anymore."
In fact, the more I get to know her, the more confused I feel. I have no idea who this person is.
The winter night was still a little chilly, and the wound on my leg that I had forgotten about began to hurt again.
"Sit down. I know your leg is injured... I saw the doctor applying medicine to your leg when we were camping in the car."
We sat down on the corridor in the south of the courtyard, looking at the only visible moon in the sky, and chatting casually. I was very reserved at first, but later I felt much better, and the atmosphere gradually became relaxed. She also talked to me about many things.
"Three thousand officials, but only ten thousand soldiers? It took you half a year to be sure that we were not the Yellow Turban Army? How could your soldiers tolerate these officials and gentry being so mean? This old man surnamed Chu is truly a rare man of virtue? You people in Yizhou have such strange tempers. This General Yan is truly a rare general." This was my sigh after hearing her words.
"General Yan is the top general in Sichuan. The reason why there is no internal strife or popular rebellion here is that General Yan is stationed outside the city and restrains his subordinates from harming the people of both places. He said that the Yizhou disaster was over, and the Yizhou people could not have internal strife. Those corrupt officials also knew that they had to rely on General Yan to preside over the situation, and they could also follow some of General Yan's ideas, which allowed this place to maintain some stability. My father was also settled by General Yan."
"I must meet General Yan tomorrow to discuss some things with him."
"What about those officials and gentry in Zigui?"
"I don't owe them anything. I owe the people of Yizhou. They are not human beings. Animals are more useful than them. There is no point in seeing them."
"Are you really not from a prominent family?"
"Of course, the people of Jingzhou probably know what my family is like. I have never seen my parents. I only have one sister..."
"I grew up in Sichuan, and I was always in contact with officials. From their words and deeds, I know the character of these people. You are a very unique official, and you have achieved such a high position, but why is your character still the same? But you can still have such a childlike heart under the court. I am afraid that this is really unique in the world. Zirui, what's wrong with you..."
"I thought of Taoist Zuo Ci and me. On my eighteenth birthday, he would come and tell me about my life and my marriage."
"Is this true? Can't I just tell you directly?"
"He was entrusted by someone else and can't tell me. He can only wait until I'm eighteen years old."
"Are you engaged?"
"My parents arranged a marriage for me when I was still a baby. So there must be a girl who is about my age now, or maybe older. She is my wife whom I haven't met for eighteen years..." I felt I should tell her honestly because she trusted me so much.
"What am I thinking about?" Huang Yi seemed to be talking to herself, "It won't be me anyway."
"Why are you crying again?"
"Do you remember? I asked you in Yangzhou. I saw your expression and heard your ambiguous words. I thought Zuo Ci wanted you to marry me. It turns out that I was wrong all along. I was so self-righteous."
"Stop crying." I'm really useless. If I had known, I would rather pretend to sleep in the house than come out. I hate to see girls cry. When they cry, I really have no idea what to do. All my wonderful ideas are gone in an instant. I can only say such direct and ineffective words.
"General, can you treat Yier as Huang Xin? Just for a moment." The determined girl wiped away her tears, stood up and looked at me.
I'm not stupid, I understand everything he means, but can I do this? I really can't. She's still an unmarried woman. How much courage and determination does this take? Do I have it? But if a girl can do this, how can I...
I stood up, and before I could hesitate again, I hugged her.
At that moment, I no longer cared about anything. I just hugged her and let her sob softly in my arms.