The Chu family had a total of eight carriages. The two elders' carriage was in the front, followed by Mrs. Jiang's carriage, and behind them were the families of Mr. Chu and Mr. Chu II.
In order to avoid searches by officials and soldiers, the Chu family's carriage mixed with that of a wealthy merchant in the city, and the pass to leave the city was also borrowed from that wealthy merchant. The carriages carrying people and goods were mixed together, and there seemed to be more than 20 of them.
Too many people standing around the carriage would arouse suspicion, so the disguised guards stood apart.
After Mrs. Jiang got off the carriage, she walked towards Mr. Chu's carriage.
According to her previous temper, if her elder sister-in-law Liu dared to stab her in the back like this, Madam Jiang would have reported it to the old lady. But now she was living under someone else's roof, if she went to the old lady and made things difficult for her elder sister-in-law, her son would need medical treatment and medicine when they went to Xizhou, and she had no money to rely on, so she would still have to live under the mood of her elder sister-in-law.
The two elders of the Chu family are old, and they always protect her. But when they pass away, their son will be disabled and their daughter will be disgraced. They will have no hope of getting married. She and her two children will have to rely on the Chu family. At that time, the eldest sister-in-law will have the final say in the Chu family. If she offends her eldest sister-in-law now, she will have a hard time in the future.
Madam Jiang concealed her anger, knocked on the car window, and called out, "Brother."
Mr. Chu and his wife were sitting in the carriage. When Mr. Chu opened the curtains, Mrs. Jiang saw at a glance the hand warmer and the thick mattress in their carriage.
The items in the carriage were naturally provided by Liu. Madam Jiang thought of the thin quilt her son had covered himself with, and she was about to quarrel with her eldest sister-in-law in anger, but she held back. She said in a gentle tone, "Yan Gui's medicine is gone, and the carriage is bumpy, and he is sweating from the pain. Brother, he is your nephew, can you send someone to buy him some painkillers? Otherwise, he might die of pain on the road?"
Uncle Chu said impatiently, "What were you doing earlier? Where can I buy medicine for him at this critical moment?"
Uncle Chu's first wife, Liu, avoided his gaze.
Madam Jiang knew that she was living under someone else's roof, but she couldn't easily change her temper after decades of being a firecracker. After being scolded by Master Chu, she got angry and said:
"Do I want to cause trouble at this time? The day before yesterday, I told my sister-in-law that I would buy medicine for Yan Gui! It was my sister-in-law who didn't let the people below buy it. I know you and my second brother are annoyed with me, but we are brothers and sisters after all. Even if our bones are broken, our tendons are still connected! If I have a way, I don't want to annoy you and my second brother, but I can't just watch Yan Gui die in pain..."
When Mr. Chu heard her say this, he couldn't help but look at his wife.
Liu said embarrassedly, "I told my subordinates to do this, but I guess the servant in charge of purchasing was lazy and forgot about it."
This was obviously Liu's excuse.
Madam Jiang looked at Liu's face and wanted to slap her twice. She said angrily, "Forgot? How can you forget something that concerns a person's life?"
Mr. Chu did not give Liu Madam’s face at this time. He said to Madam Jiang unhappily, “I will order someone to buy it right now. You should hurry back to the carriage. There are many people on the street. If you are recognized, you will probably want to drag your whole family to death! Don’t you think it’s not enough to bring disaster to this family?”
Uncle Chu quickly called a guard, handed over his purse, and gave the guard a few instructions, and the guard quickly ran away.
Mrs. Jiang then walked back, but she couldn't help but tears in her eyes.
It was clearly the eldest sister-in-law who was not kind in today's matter, but the eldest brother still kept scolding her, talking about blood relatives. At this moment, Mrs. Jiang really felt like an outsider in the Chu family.
As soon as the curtain was lowered, Mr. Chu said to Liu with a cold face: "Yan Gui is my nephew after all, how can you be his aunt?"
Liu put the hand warmer down heavily and said, "How can I be such a responsible person? You don't know how precious his small bottle of medicine is. You don't know what the situation is at home now? My daughter's marriage is over, and I can't take such a big family business in Beijing with me. I don't know how to save up for my two daughters' dowries in the future! If we don't spend this little money at home quickly, we will all starve to death in Xizhou? I didn't stop his external and internal medicine, did I? It's just a bottle of pain-relieving pills, and you make me sound like I'm sorry to your nephew. A grown man, can't he just bear the pain?"
She changed the subject and continued, "Do you think your sister is simple-minded? She came to you to buy medicine at this time on purpose, wasn't it just to show you? It seems that I am mean to them. She came back from the Jiang family without a penny. I don't believe that the two elders in the family would not secretly give her pocket money."
Mrs. Liu was a good talker and Mr. Chu couldn't win an argument with her.
But when he thought of the two elders of the Chu family who were so loyal to him, he felt quite indignant: "When she got married, her parents wanted to give her half of the Chu family as a dowry. Now, all the dowry has gone to the Jiang family."
Mrs. Liu was also very dissatisfied: "Let's not talk about the past. I think the two elders are still planning to give our aunt another share of the family property."
When it came to dividing the property, the couple's faces became even worse.
At this time, Madam Jiang also walked to Jiang Yangui's carriage. She was about to get on the carriage when someone called her from behind: "Chu Wanping?"
At first, Mrs. Jiang thought she was hallucinating, but when she turned around, she saw that the person standing not far away was not Minister Jiang.
Thinking of the plight of her two children, she was filled with grief and resentment, and wanted to slap him in the face, but she had some sense in her heart, knowing that the family was at a critical moment in leaving the city. Mrs. Jiang did not respond, pretending not to know him, and got on the carriage directly.
Mrs. Jiang's attitude made Minister Jiang frown.
Moreover... the Chu family was under the guard of the imperial guards, how did she appear here
These carriages are all going out of the city.
Minister Jiang's eyelids twitched. He had been immersed in the court for many years and quickly guessed what was going on. The Chu family had angered the emperor, and it was only a matter of time before the emperor dealt with them. The best strategy now was to take advantage of the chaos and leave the capital.
Although he didn't know how the Chu family left the house, his only son was still in their hands. When the emperor dealt with the Chu family, as long as Jiang Yangui was still in the Chu family, his Jiang family would also suffer.
For a moment, he was actually somewhat relieved that he had made an appointment with Master Lin at the teahouse near the city gate today. Otherwise, the Chu family would have escaped in a trick and he would have been kept in the dark.
Minister Jiang stepped forward, but the disguised guards quickly stopped him. The attendant beside Minister Jiang was at loggerheads with the guard.
The secret sentry on top of the restaurant also noticed the movement here and quickly signaled the people below.
Shangshu Jiang was a third-rank official, so the people Feng Shuo sent to pick him up naturally knew him. That was why they did not dare to act rashly in the street.
Minister Jiang was also accompanied by several martial artists. If a fight broke out and attracted the guards at the city gate, all their efforts would be wasted.
The leader who was responding stepped forward to negotiate with Minister Jiang: "Sir Jiang, you and the Chu family are relatives after all, so please forgive them when you can."
Minister Jiang took a look at the man. He looked unfamiliar, but his tiger eyes were majestic. He didn't know if this man was recruited by the Chu family, or if the Chu family had contact with some important person.
He said with his hands behind his back, "Please tell Master Chu that as long as you leave my son here today, I will pretend that I have never seen these carriages."
No one else can interfere in the family affairs of the Jiang family and the Chu family.
The leader who came to meet them quickly gave a look to the guard beside him, and the guard hurriedly ran towards the carriage in which the two elders of the Chu family were riding.
After a while, Old Master Chu got off the carriage with a cane. It was obvious that the changes in the past few days had made his back hunched, and he looked even more haggard in his plain clothes. When he came in front of Minister Jiang, Old Master Chu said, "Greetings."
Minister Jiang bowed and said, "Father-in-law."
Old Master Chu waved his hands and said, "I am not worthy of being called your father-in-law. My Chu family has treated you well. When you were promoted to the Ministry of Revenue, it was Sanlang who arranged everything for you. I don't ask you to consider the relationship between you and Ping'er for more than ten years. Just for the kindness that Sanlang showed me back then, please let my entire Chu family leave the city today."
This is not an accusation, but it is more like an accusation.
Minister Jiang stood straight, and regardless of his long beard, he still seemed to be the handsome top scholar who traveled around Chang'an and saw all the flowers there.
It's just that after several ups and downs in the officialdom, there is a bit of sophistication in his eyes that others can't see through. Minister Jiang said:
"Master Chu, as the head of the same family, you should know how heavy the burden is. The Chu family's ancestral home is in Huai'an, and their roots are not in the capital. When disaster strikes, the whole family can still flee. My Jiang family has been rooted in the capital for a hundred years. If my son follows you out of the city, when the beheading knife is hanging over our heads, who will be willing to show mercy to our entire Jiang family?"
The Jiang family was originally an old minister of the previous dynasty. Their most prosperous time had passed. When the family was weakening, a coup d'état occurred. The Jiang family was the first batch of old ministers to defect. It is precisely because of this that Shangshu Jiang has been criticized until now.
Old Master Chu knew that if they didn't hand over Jiang Yangui today, they would not be able to leave the city.
The carriages in the jam ahead were moving slowly forward, and they would soon reach the city gate, so there was no time to waste.
He hardened his heart and gave a few instructions to the guard beside him, and the guard ran towards the carriage where Madam Jiang was.
Old Master Chu then said to Minister Jiang, "Since you and my daughter have become a couple with a grudge, this marriage should be called off. Write a letter of divorce to her."
Minister Jiang did not respond immediately. He paused for a moment before uttering one word: "Yes."
Mrs. Jiang has been restless since she got on the car. She has been holding her son's hand and talking incessantly: "Yan Gui, we will definitely be able to get to Xizhou..."
Jiang Yangui noticed his mother's abnormality, but he couldn't guess why. The wound on his leg was still throbbing and aching. He said weakly, "Mom, what's wrong? Is it because my uncle refused to give me money to buy medicine? It's okay, my son doesn't feel any pain."
Mrs. Jiang hugged her son distressedly and said, "My poor son, I shouldn't have done so many evil things in the past. Why did God punish you and your sister for all of it? I regret it so much..."
Madam Jiang was crying when there were two gentle knocks on the car window. The Chu family's guard said, "Aunt, Minister Jiang wants the young master to get out of the car."
Madam Jiang hugged Jiang Yangui tighter and said in a somewhat crazy tone, "No one is allowed to take my son away! My son must stay with me!"
Jiang Yangui finally understood why Madam Jiang was uneasy after returning. Minister Jiang discovered them!
For a moment, he was also shocked.
Mrs. Jiang was very firm in her attitude, and the guards had no choice but to pass the message to Old Master Chu.
Old Master Chu personally walked to the side of the carriage and advised bitterly: "Ping'er, Yan Gui is the only son of the Jiang family. If he stays in the capital, the Jiang family will not treat him harshly."
Madam Jiang held Jiang Yangui tightly and cried, "Dad, Yangui is my life. If Yangui can't leave, then I won't leave either!"
At this moment, Uncle Chu and Uncle Chu II, who were sitting in the carriage at the back, also knew that Minister Jiang had come to ask for his only son.
Mr. and Mrs. Chu were afraid something might happen, so they got out of the car and came over to take a look, and they happened to hear Mrs. Jiang say this.
Seeing that there were fewer and fewer carriages ahead, and that it was their turn to leave the city soon, Mr. Chu was extremely anxious and almost immediately growled:
"Once you marry, you must obey your husband. You are a Jiang family woman! Just go back to your Jiang family! Do you really think the Chu family owes you something? If we delay any longer, none of us can leave the city. Yan Gui will still be the young master of the Jiang family after returning. If we can't leave, will this whole family be waiting to be executed? You have been a selfish person since you were a child, and now you want to drag everyone to die with you! You have children, but my second brother and I don't? Chu Wanping, you don't care about the life and death of others, at least think about your parents!"
Mrs. Jiang was speechless after being scolded by Mr. Chu, but she still refused to get off the carriage and just kept crying.
She knew everything Uncle Chu said, but she couldn't bear to leave her son alone!
The guard who went to buy medicine for Jiang Yangui rushed back. Liu saw it with her sharp eyes. While Mr. Chu was cursing, she avoided Old Master Chu and asked the guard to give her the medicine.
She and Mr. Chu were husband and wife, and the guard completed his mission without thinking too much about it. When Liu asked for medicine, he gave it to her.
In the carriage, Jiang Yangui's eyes were full of tears. He pried Madam Jiang's hands apart with force and said, "Mother, I'm going back to the Jiang family. You can go out of the city with my grandfather and the others."
He turned his head and said to Old Master Chu, "Grandfather, I'm going back."
Master Chu turned his back with tears in his eyes and ordered the guard beside him in a trembling voice: "Chu Zhong, carry the young master out."
A big man with a yellow face and wearing a short brown shirt came into the carriage and forcibly carried Jiang Yangui out of the carriage. Mrs. Jiang refused to let go and almost fell out of the carriage holding the corner of Jiang Yangui's clothes.
She cried bitterly: "Go back... my son... I will stay with you!"
Jiang Yangui's face was also covered with tears. He choked and shook his head, "Mother, please go to Xizhou! My sister is still waiting for you there, please go and take good care of her! I have everything I need in the capital, but my sister in Xizhou can only wait for you to come over!"
On one side was her son, and on the other was her daughter. Mrs. Jiang's heart was almost broken. She cried and beat her chest: "Oh God, please let me be the one to pay for my sins. Don't torture my children like this..."
Minister Jiang watched this scene from afar, and there seemed to be some compassion in his eyes, but it was quickly concealed.
After the Chu family's guards carried Jiang Yangui off the carriage, the attendants around Minister Jiang took Jiang Yangui in.
Minister Jiang looked at the young boy with delicate features and suddenly realized that he had never looked at him carefully before, so when he suddenly saw this face, he felt an indescribable sense of strangeness.
He gave the order: "It's snowing hard outside, take the young master into the carriage."
Jiang Yangui cried like a baby when he said goodbye to Madam Jiang, but now his face was tense and hard. After Minister Jiang said this, he almost immediately retorted: "I'm outside."
Minister Jiang glanced at his son.
Jiang Yangui didn't look at him, but just watched the Chu family's carriage going farther and farther away: "I want to watch my mother leave the city."
They were about to pass the city gate, and Mrs. Jiang couldn't even lift the curtain to take another look at him. Jiang Yangui gritted his teeth and didn't let the tears fall.
Minister Jiang said nothing more, which was considered as his tacit consent.
He also looked at the Chu family's carriage moving farther and farther away. There seemed to be something hidden in his eyes, but no one could see it clearly, perhaps not even he himself could see it clearly.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves sounded like thunder in the distance, and everyone along the street looked towards the end of the long street.
A team of imperial guards came galloping on horseback, knocking over countless stalls and pedestrians along the way.
"Your Majesty has issued an order! Arrest the Minister of Revenue Jiang Jing'an!"
The leading imperial guard shouted loudly on horseback, and the sound was carried by the cold wind to the other side of the city gate, sharp and piercing.
Jiang Shangshu's expression changed slightly, and all the followers around him were horrified.
At this moment, the Chu family's carriage was slowly passing through the city gate. After Jiang Yangui was taken away, Mrs. Jiang was very emotional, so Mrs. Chu let her get on their carriage and comforted her daughter all the way.
Madam Jiang suddenly heard that a group of imperial guards were about to arrest Minister Jiang. She was terrified and broke free from Madam Chu's hand, stumbling out: "Jiang Jing'an is in trouble, what should I do with my son Yan Gui! I'm going to bring Yan Gui back!"
Mrs. Jiang lost her balance and almost fell off the carriage. Fortunately, the carriage was not moving fast and she was not seriously injured when she fell.
However, this movement alerted the guards at the city gate, who pointed their spears at her and asked, "Who are you?"
Madam Jiang ignored the guards pointing spears at her, got up and ran back into the city. The Chu family members in the carriage almost had their hearts stopped beating.
The guard was about to stab Madam Jiang's leg with a spear, but the Chu family guard following the car immediately knocked the guard down.
Seeing this, the head of the guard shouted, "Stop these carriages!"
The driver of the carriage carrying the two elders of the Chu family was also a guard in disguise. He shouted, "Master and Madam, sit tight!"
He whipped the horse whip hard and drove the carriage out of the city at full speed. The gate guards on both sides wanted to kill the horses with spears, but were stopped by the other disguised guards.
After the carriage left the city, Mrs. Chu dared to stick her head out of the window and called out with tears in her eyes, "Ping'er!"
Madam Jiang was running towards Minister Jiang and his party without a care in the world. The abnormality under the city gate alarmed the guards on the tower. The armored guard standing on the tower commanded: "Close the city gate!"
The guards downstairs had just been knocked down by the Chu family guards and Feng Shuo's men, and another group of guards rushed down from the city wall as if an ant nest had been poked.
The two groups were fighting each other. Uncle Chu and his wife had not yet been able to leave the city. They sat in the carriage, listening to the fighting outside, and were so scared that their hands and feet were cold.
From time to time, swords and knives would hit the walls of the car. Uncle Chu and Mrs. Liu had never experienced anything like this in their lives and they were almost scared to death.
Liu burst into tears and cursed: "Debt collector! Your Chu family has a debt collector! She wants to drag the whole family to be buried with her! Chu Wanping is a jinx! She'd better die here!"
She was so angry that she threw the medicine that the guard bought for Jiang Yangui directly out of the car window.
Although Feng Shuo's men and the Chu family's guards were few in number, they were all highly skilled in martial arts. The situation at the city gate was deadlocked for a while. The Chu family's coachmen were all guards, and they were all brave. They were not frightened by the situation, and took advantage of the melee to whip the carriages wildly and drive them out of the city.
There was chaos at the city gate, and the attendants and secret guards of Minister Jiang inside the city also appeared one after another and fought with the imperial guards.
The leader of the imperial guards shouted: "Jiang Jing'an, do you still want to rebel?"
Minister Jiang's expression was calm, his back was straight, and he still had the bearing of a third-rank official: "I don't know what crime I have committed."
The leader of the imperial guards sneered: "You will know when you come before His Majesty!"
"Master, you and the young master should get in the car and leave the city!" Jiang Shangshu's attendant urged.
Leaving the city during the chaos is indeed a good idea.
But once he leaves, all the branches of the Jiang family who remain in the capital will probably have to bear the emperor's wrath for him.
When he is in this position, he can no longer just think about himself in everything, because there are hundreds of lives of people from all branches of the family behind him.
Minister Jiang remained silent, and just in time he saw Madam Jiang stumbling over here: "My son—"
Mrs. Jiang's face was covered with tears: "Don't be afraid, Yan Gui, mother is here to pick you up..."
Tears welled up in Jiang Yangui's eyes: "Mother!"
Minister Jiang looked at this scene, closed his eyes, and ordered the confidant who was holding Jiang Yangui: "Well, you protect the young master and go with the Chu family."
The confidant's eyes turned red: "Master!"
Minister Jiang said in a deep voice: "Go quickly!"
The confidant made up his mind, picked up Jiang Yangui and turned to the city gate.
Mrs. Jiang was also very happy to see him returning with Jiang Yan to reunite with her. However, after the joy, a feeling of sadness surged in her heart.
She turned around and glanced at Minister Jiang who was standing there. The snow was falling heavily, and a thin layer of snow had fallen on the shoulders of his black brocade robe. He was also looking over here, but his eyes were unclear because of the flying snow.
This person, his appearance has obviously changed, but he still looks the same as when she first met him.
Just this one glance, and it was a farewell forever, but it was her farewell forever.
When the sharp arrow pierced her chest, Mrs. Jiang did not feel any pain, but her heart felt extremely cold.
The Jiang family confidant who was holding Jiang Yangui was also hit by an arrow and staggered to the ground.
Jiang Yangui was shouting something heart-wrenchingly, but at that moment Madam Jiang could no longer hear any sound. She looked at the arrow that pierced her chest and the blood that had stained a large area of her clothes red, and tears rolled down her eyes.
She could not reach Xizhou after all.
A Chu family guard rushed to the city gate. Madam Jiang used up all her strength, pointed at Jiang Yangui who fell to the ground along with the Jiang family's confidant, and said with difficulty: "Take... him... away..."
Mrs. Jiang had been shot by an arrow and there was no hope of recovery. The Chu family guards picked up Jiang Yangui and ran towards the city gate.
Jiang Yangui lay on the guard's shoulder, his eyes bloodshot, crying out with every word: "Mother—"
Mrs. Jiang looked at her son's receding back, and finally staggered and fell in the snow. The splashed snow fell on her body and she didn't seem to feel cold at all. She seemed to have just fallen down while playing in the snow when she was fifteen years old.
"Chu Wanping!"
Someone was calling her, and she could vaguely hear a hint of sadness in the voice.
But she could no longer open her eyes. All the memories of her life, from childhood to girlhood, to marriage, to motherhood, flashed before her eyes like a kaleidoscope.
It was like a big dream, and she could no longer tell which was reality and which was a dream.
She didn't want to tell the difference anymore, so she just fell asleep...
This winter in Shengjing is really cold.
***
Western state.
Jiang Yanyi was making breakfast. The mushroom and chicken porridge in the casserole was already fragrant and thick. She took a bowl to serve the porridge while calling Qiu Kui who was sweeping the snow outside the yard: "Qiu Kui, it's time to eat."
Okra quickly ran into the house.
Jiang Yanyi handed her the bowl of porridge and said, "Pass me another bowl."
Okra took a bowl from the cupboard and handed it over.
When handing it over, she let go too early and Jiang Yanyi failed to catch it. With a "clang", the porcelain bowl with Ruyi pattern glaze fell to the ground and shattered.
Jiang Yanyi frowned, and Qiu Kui was a little at a loss: "I'm sorry, Huahua, I thought you had it firmly in your hand."
"It's okay, everything is fine." Jiang Yanyi squatted down and prepared to pick up the broken pieces of the plate, but his fingertips were pierced by the broken porcelain, leaving a big cut, and bright red blood instantly overflowed. One drop of it fell on the white porcelain fragments, which was shocking.
The older generation said that breaking things early in the morning was unlucky. Although Jiang Yanyi did not believe in these things, he still felt inexplicably uneasy.
It has been several days since Chu Changping returned to Beijing. There has been no news since Feng Shuo went to the Xizhou camp. She was worried that something might have happened in the capital and was also worried about Feng Shuo's injury.
I just hope this isn't a sign of things to come.
After four or five days of worry, Jiang Yanyi had almost finished packing up the newly bought house, and finally received the news that Chu Changping had arrived in Xizhou to pick up the Chu family.
As soon as Chu Changping's confidant came to deliver the message, she dropped the business in the store, took the gifts she had bought in advance, and hurried to the new house.
On the way, she asked the confidant who was driving the carriage how Madam Jiang and Jiang Yangui were doing. The confidant seemed to not know how to answer her for a moment and only said, "Miss cousin, you will know when you go there."
Jiang Yanyi sensed something untoward from his words.
When she arrived at the new house, as soon as she entered the yard, she ran into Chu Changping coming out of the front hall. Compared with before going to the capital, Chu Changping seemed to have lost a lot of weight, his cheeks were a little sunken, and there were obvious white hairs on his temples.
"Uncle." Jiang Yanyi called him.
"Hey." Chu Changping responded, and then said: "Your grandmother and uncle are in there, go in and see them."
Jiang Yanyi felt more and more uneasy and asked, "Uncle, did something happen on the way?"
Chu Changping shook his head, but couldn't help but tear up. He said, "Your mother is gone."
Jiang Yanyi's mind went blank for a moment, and it took him a while to recover.
She has the memories of her original self, but has not had time to establish an emotional bond with Madam Jiang.
As for sadness, she had never met Madam Jiang, so she couldn't say she was very sad. But she still felt depressed, which was the instinctive reaction of this body when hearing about the death of a loved one.
She asked, “Why not?”
Chu Changping raised his eyes to the sky, took a deep breath and said, "When he was leaving the city, he met Jiang Jing'an. He wanted to take Yan Gui away, but somehow he alerted the imperial guards, who wanted to arrest him. Your mother died from the arrows of the imperial guards in order to go back and save Yan Gui."
He stretched out his big palm like a palm leaf fan and patted her shoulder. "If you want to cry, cry here. Don't cry after you go into the house. Your grandmother has been crying all the way and fainted several times. She is old and can't bear the sadness."
Jiang Yanyi nodded. After Chu Changping left, she stood outside the house for a while before going into the house.
Her footsteps were light, and she walked in and stood right at the entrance, so no one in the room noticed her for a moment.
Old Madam Chu was sitting on a Luohan bed with several soft pillows behind her. A beautiful middle-aged woman was serving her medicine, and there were several young girls sitting around her.
Jiang Yanyi recognized the woman as Mr. Chu's first wife, Liu. Of the three girls next to her, the two who looked like Liu were from the first wife, and the younger one was from the second wife.
"Mother, please have another sip. How can you not eat?" Liu consoled her gently.
Madam Chu turned away, tears trickling down her cheeks again: "I can't eat anymore. I'll just go with my poor Ping'er."
Uncle Chu, who was sitting next to her, couldn't help but get angry when he heard her say this: "Mother, please don't mention her! Hasn't she caused enough trouble to the family since she was a child? If you and my third brother hadn't spoiled her all the time, would she still be so ignorant of her behavior as a mother? The children she taught are more troublesome than the other! Our whole family moved to Xizhou in disgrace! Don't forget who gave us this! She was crazy when we left the city, and the whole family almost lost their lives there!"
"You... rebellious son!" Old Madam Chu was so angry that her heart ached.
After Mr. Chu had his outburst, he walked out angrily. He ran into Jiang Yanyi at the entrance. He paused, and without saying a word, he walked past her and went out.
It was also at this time that people in the room discovered Jiang Yanyi standing there.
Liu was helping Madam Chu to get her way. When she saw Jiang Yanyi, she looked a little embarrassed, but soon smiled: "Ayi is here. Don't listen to your uncle's nonsense. He is a jerk on weekdays."
When Mrs. Chu heard that Jiang Yanyi was here, she quickly raised her eyes and looked over here. When she saw Jiang Yanyi, she burst into tears again: "Ayi, come to grandma quickly."
Jiang Yanyi stepped forward, and Madam Chu hugged her and cried bitterly, "Your mother had a miserable life. She was looking forward to seeing you, but in the end she never got to see you..."
Liu also wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and advised, "Mother, please stop crying. You have been crying all the way. If you continue crying, your eyes will be damaged."
Jiang Yanyi didn't know how to comfort Madam Chu, but at this moment, she was affected by Madam Chu's emotions. She really felt sad, and her eyes gradually became moist: "Grandma."
When she started crying, Madam Chu panicked: "Don't cry, Ayi, you still have your grandmother. If anyone dares to bully you two in the future, your grandmother will die with your mother."
When Mrs. Liu, who was standing by, heard what Old Madam Chu said, a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes.
Seeing that Old Madam Chu had stopped crying, she handed the soup in her hand to Jiang Yanyi and said, "Mother refuses to eat. Please try to persuade her to eat something."
Jiang Yanyi nodded: "I save that."
Liu knew that Madam Chu must want to talk to Jiang Yanyi alone, so she said, "Mother, I will leave first. If you need anything, please send someone to call me."
Old Madam Chu seemed to still be angry and ignored her.
Liu's expression froze. After she left, her two daughters and Mr. Chu's only daughter, Chu Jiabao, also followed her out. However, Chu Jiabao seemed to be quite hostile to Jiang Yanyi and glared at her hatefully before leaving.
Jiang Yanyi noticed it, but said nothing.
When only the grandfather and grandson were left in the room, Madam Chu couldn't hold back her tears again: "Jiang Jingan is a piece of shit! If he hadn't stopped her, why couldn't your mother get to Xizhou?"
"I regret it so much. Why was I so blind back then that I let Ping'er choose such a heartless person? She has suffered all her life!"
"Grandma, don't think about it anymore. Mother doesn't want to see you sad." Jiang Yanyi took a deep breath to hide the bitterness in her heart, scooped a spoonful of soup and fed it to Madam Chu: "How can you not eat all the time? Yan Gui and I are still counting on you to live a hundred years."
Madam Chu covered her eyes with a silk handkerchief and wiped away her tears: "Eat, of course you should eat. I have to take good care of you two siblings for her. I feel like my heart is being cut by a knife when I think of Ping..."
Jiang Yanyi used a lot of coaxing and deceiving methods to finally get Old Madam Chu to drink the bowl of soup. The old lady was exhausted from the long journey, but she still pulled Jiang Yanyi aside and talked to him for a long time. Jiang Yanyi coaxed the old lady to sleep before leaving.
She sighed softly as she walked out of the yard.
There is no greater sorrow in the world than the old sending off the young.
When passing by the courtyard originally prepared for Mrs. Jiang, Jiang Yanyi saw that it was empty, and felt even more sad.
Thinking of her younger brother whom she had yet to formally meet, she went to the next yard.
Jiang Yangui's legs were unable to move, so he sat on the bed, staring blankly ahead. His complexion was a sickly pale color, and his delicate features were lifeless.
The guards serving in the room were those who had followed from the Chu family in the capital. They had been serving Jiang Yangui all the way and had gotten to know his temper well. The noises they made when serving tea or pouring water were extremely small.
When Jiang Yanyi entered the room, the guard called her "Miss Cousin" and then bowed and left.
Jiang Yanyi sat down on the embroidered cushion in front of the bed, looking at the young man lying on the bed with a dead heart, feeling unhappy: "Yan Gui."
Jiang Yangui's eyes moved at this point. He looked over, his eyes were dark but lifeless: "Sister."
Jiang Yanyi held his hand: "I'm here."
"We don't have a mother anymore."
As he said this, a streak of tears slid down from the corner of his eye, quickly and sharply.
Jiang Yanyi leaned over and hugged the young boy: "Don't cry, mom is always here, she is in heaven."
Jiang Yangui's dark but lifeless eyes kept dripping with tears: "I am the one who deserves to die. I am a useless person and can't do anything... It's obviously me who deserves to die..."
The approaching imperial guards, the overwhelming rain of arrows, the cold body shot by arrows and lying on the ground, the deafening roar of killing, the gradually closing city gate... Everything that happened that day turned into a nightmare that tormented him for countless nights.
Jiang Yangui closed his eyes in pain, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.
If only he wasn't a cripple, then his mother wouldn't have died at the hands of the imperial guards while going back to save him!
He murmured, "It's me who deserves to die... It's me who deserves to die..."
Seeing his crazy and distracted look, Jiang Yanyi felt distressed and sad, and slapped him ruthlessly.
Jiang Yangui's face was hit and tilted to one side.
Jiang Yanyi said, "Live well! Live like a human being! What's the point of you dying? Can you bring your mother back? Or can you let the person who killed your mother pay with his life?"
"Sister, I hate it so much! I hate it so much!" Jiang Yangui finally broke down and burst into tears. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh but he didn't feel any pain.
He really hates it!
Jiang Yanyi watched him cry heartbreakingly, and tears welled up in her own eyes. She raised her hand to wipe them away, looked up at the sky and said, "If you hate, you have to live better. The more you make yourself miserable, the happier those who want to destroy you will be. If you live, you will have a chance to take revenge. If you die, there will be nothing."
She didn't know that it was her words today that would allow the young man in front of her to use all tricks in the future to sit in a position second only to the emperor.
***
After leaving the Chu family's new house, Jiang Yanyi did not rush back to the store.
The snow was falling like goose feathers, and she was walking aimlessly in the white world.
When she passed by the eaves of a house with the door closed, she suddenly didn't want to go on anymore, so she sat down on the steps in front of the shop, hugged her knees with her hands, rested her chin on her arms, and stared at the falling snow in a daze.
"Do you want to get sick from the cold?"
Jiang Yanyi didn't know how long she had been sitting there. When someone pulled her up and wrapped her in a warm embrace, she smelled the familiar scent of soapberries. Her nose suddenly felt sore and she started to cry for some reason.
Feng Shuo felt her shoulders trembling. He stroked her back gently and said after a moment of silence, "I'm sorry."
As soon as he received the news, he knew something was wrong and rushed over from the Xizhou camp.
It was his people's fault that they failed to bring all the members of the Chu family to Xizhou safely.
Faced with his apology, Jiang Yanyi shook her head, but her tears did not stop.
She couldn't tell how many of these tears were the body's instinctive emotions and how many were her sadness.
She was sobbing and Feng Shuo frowned even more tightly.
"Don't cry." He was not good at comforting people. The wind and snow were freezing cold, but these words that didn't sound like comfort had exhausted all his life's tenderness.
He has lived for more than twenty years, and only today did he realize that seeing someone cry really does hurt your heart.
The author has something to say: I have an outline and my own rhythm. This article focuses on food, but since I set such a world view from the beginning, I am destined not to only write about food.
The ending of the heroine's mother was set early on, and her end was the starting point of the heroine's younger brother's growth.
To the readers who gave up here, I am very grateful for your company during this period, but I still have to be responsible for the readers who continue to read. I am afraid that my mentality will collapse and the rest of my writing will be wasted, so I will not read the comments section.
If you feel uncomfortable and regret following the article, you can send a private message to my reader account on Weibo, and I will refund you double the subscription money~
Finally, I still hope that everyone can spend every day happily. If this book doesn’t suit your taste, you can find one that suits your taste~
There are still many good books by jj~