It was the beginning of the new year, and Xiaoyuan Township was suddenly hit by a severe cold. There were people suffering from cold diseases in every village. One of the families named Zhou had a good relationship with Li He, but the old man in the family was bedridden due to illness and had to be raised slowly. When Li He knew about this, he asked Li Diao to go to the Zhou family's fields to do the work for him, so as not to delay the farming season.
The Zhou family has an eldest daughter, who is already twenty-three years old. She was originally engaged to be married to someone else, but due to the bad behavior of that family, Zhou's father decided to cancel the engagement, and for a while he could not find a suitable candidate. As soon as Li Diao came to do the plowing, Zhou's daughter also went there morning and evening to express her gratitude by delivering food and water. The two have been together for many days, and they both see each other as interested. In addition, the two families were on good terms and knew each other well, so Webster came to discuss the matter. And because Zhou's daughter was older, there might be delays at home, so she urged her to celebrate the ceremony early. Although the etiquette system was emphasized in the Eastern Region at that time, Xiaoyuan Township was remote after all, and the three books and six etiquettes were all simple. The two families went back and forth several times and decided to get married in early summer.
Li Diao was well-connected in his hometown, and since he was getting married, unlike his father who married an outsider, he rarely had to advertise to relatives and friends and invite congratulations. After much thought, he spared a few hundred coins and went to the county post office to send a letter to Jing Shi explaining his marriage.
At that time, Jing Shi's whereabouts were uncertain, and there was a big event in the middle of the year. Although Li Diao sent a letter to his old address, it was just a friendship and courtesy, and he was not expected to come to congratulate him. He forgot about it after a few days. As summer approached, I was even more busy preparing to welcome the guests, and I couldn't care less about other things. Six days before the auspicious day, when I was sleeping at night, I suddenly heard a dog barking in the courtyard. When I opened the window and looked into the courtyard, I saw that the sky had just passed by when the weather was ugly. Standing outside was a young man of about 18 years old, wearing a hemp shirt and a hairpin made of wood, and he was about the same height as Li Diao.
It was still dark at that time, and Li Diao couldn't see clearly the visitor's face. He only saw him wandering outside the wall, staying for a long time without taking it. Holding a rake in one hand and a candle in the other, he went outside and asked, "What are you doing outside my yard?"
The visitor raised his head when he heard the sound, took one look at him and said, "It's me." His voice was steady and calm, his tone was straight, and he didn't show any sadness or joy.
As soon as Li Diao heard what he said, he felt that it sounded very familiar to him. Walking to the wall, they looked at each other and finally exclaimed: "Are you Jingshi?"
Jing Shi replied: "Yes." He also took out a letter from his arms, which was exactly what Li Diao had sent before. At that moment, Li Diao was no longer suspicious and hurriedly welcomed Jing Shi into the house. After the two of them made some noise, the rest of the Li family also woke up. They were very surprised when they suddenly learned that Jing Shi had returned home. Asked why, Jing Shi said, "I heard that Li Diao is getting married, so I came here to congratulate him."
When Li Diao heard this, he was very happy. Then he thought about it and said worriedly: "I heard that you are going to the Central Plains for a big event. I'm afraid it will take a long time on the way. If you are in the country of Qian, it will be closer to the Cuixiu Pass. Today Will it be possible to return home in time?"
Jing Shi said: "It doesn't matter, this grand event will not be held in Central China, but in the Eastern Region." Li Diao just felt relieved. The family chatted with each other again, asking about Jing Shi's current situation. They talked in confusion for a long time and didn't stop until dawn.
Li Diao suddenly met an old friend. Although he was up half the night, he didn't feel sleepy at all. But seeing that Jing Shi's eyes were green and black, he guessed it was caused by the long days of traveling, so he said to him: "The house where you used to sleep has now been owned by my third sister Xiaodi, but my second brother is still in the county and has not returned. You But let's rest on his couch first." Then he asked Jing Shi to sleep in his room for half a day, and didn't get up until noon. Li Diao specially waited for him to have lunch and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to see my new house." He was referring to a newly built courtyard near Li's house.
Jing Shi followed suit. As soon as they were discharged from the hospital, Li Diao briefly talked about his relationship with Zhou's daughter, and then looked at Jing Shi. But seeing that Jing Shi's expression was dull and not very transparent, he coughed a few times and finally said bluntly: "A Jing, you are not young now. If you are a girl you like, you can settle down earlier. If not, , you might as well let me organize it for you first."
Jing Shi paused and said, "There's no hurry."
Li Diao said: "You are not in a hurry now, but when will you be? No matter how much you like to run around, you will have to live without home for the rest of your life. I know that you are not familiar with my daughter's family in this town, and it will inevitably make you feel uncomfortable, but you might as well try it out first. Try. It just so happens that I am getting married this time, and there are people from all over the country and county coming to congratulate me. I will make arrangements with you and see if there is anyone you like."
Hearing this, Jing Shi stepped a little slower and said after a while: "The exam is important."
Li Diao had known him for a long time. Hearing that his tone was the same as when he was a child, he knew it must be an excuse, so he immediately said: "What does this have to do with your exam? Anyway, you have to wait until I get married. Could it be that these few days have delayed you?" ? Since I am your eldest brother, I have to chat with you a few words. The most important thing about marrying a wife is to know the basics, and you can't just perfunctory it. Although you may not stay in the town in the future, some of the girls from those few families may be willing to go out with you. of."
He chattered a few words, but seeing that Jing Shi looked dull and unconcerned, he suddenly remembered something and said, "Yes, in your previous letter, didn't you mention a girl with the same surname? You mentioned her repeatedly in your letter. But is it intentional?"
Jing Shi coughed and said, "No. She was born into a noble family in the country of Qin, and she will definitely be admitted to a prince's family in the future. She and I have some similar aspirations, and we are close friends."
Li Diao was doubtful and said, "Are you trying to trick me? Tell me clearly what is going on between her and you."
While the two were talking, they had already entered the new house. Jing Shi was about to answer when he suddenly pointed to the beam and said, "The color of the spider there is wrong. I'm afraid it's poisonous."
Li Diao wanted to talk to him about all the important things in life, but when he heard this, he saw that there was indeed a spider web on the beam. He hurriedly took the chair, went up and smashed the web, and stood on tiptoe for a long time to look at it. He didn't see any living spiders. He couldn't help but wonder: "Where do you think the poisonous spider is?" He asked several times, but there was no answer behind him. When he looked back, he saw the door was open and there were traces of thorns and stones. Then he realized that he was making a golden cicada escape from its shell. count.
Li Diao knew he had been deceived, he was angry and laughed, and wanted to go out to look for the person, but there was no trace of him anywhere. After walking around the house in the village, there was no one around. In the evening, I saw Li He returning from the mountains with Jingshi. He laughed and cursed: "What a boy! When you first came to my house, you didn't do anything else, so you went to the mountains to catch clams and play with cranes. . If I hadn’t caught you, I think you’d still want to fly on a crane.”
Jing Shi grabbed his shoulders and couldn't break free at all, so he had to say: "It's just a letter."
Li Diao said: "You have no relatives or friends in the East Region, who can you write to? Come, drink with me now!" He took Jing Shi into the house, drank for three times, and then let him go back to the house. This happened for seven days, until Jingshi could not stay in the house and went to the mountains all day long.
In the morning of the seventh day, which was Li Diao's wedding day, all the young men and women in the village came to help, and there was a long line of people, playing and playing, and swam to the door of Zhou's house in the neighboring village. Because Jing Shi was close to the Li family, he and Li Tan each held earthen jars and walked in front of the team. Whenever a child blocks the way, he grabs a handful of wedding candies and throws them away. Since the child has benefited, he will not cause trouble, and the clever one will even sing a few words: "Good in-laws, good attentiveness. The man is handsome, talented and affectionate, better than the son of a prince; the girl is more virtuous and graceful, better than a fairy." Fallen to earth." Li Diao was so ashamed that he felt ashamed.
Walking to the door of Zhou's house in such a chaotic manner, they saw a row of young girls with yellow hairpins standing under the tree in front of the yard, blocking the front of the wedding procession. They outflanked everyone again, cutting off everyone's wings. The young men in the team were talking and laughing, but when they saw the long snake formation coming towards them, they seemed to know that the person coming was evil, so they all stopped and stood around Li Diao, staring covetously at the main entrance of Zhou's courtyard.
Although Jing Shi studied widely, he knew very little about the marriage customs in Xiaoyuan Township. He asked Li Tan quietly about the reason, and Li Tan said in a low voice: "Well, old man Zhou wants to make his daughter look good, so he will set up a bride formation this time. If I can't pass this test now, my family will be in great trouble."
Just as he finished speaking, he saw a young girl with an oval face and willow-leaf eyebrows coming out of the long snake formation. She was dressed in a new floral skirt, with a hosta on her temples and five yellow petals on her forehead. She walked to the front of the team in a smart way, and opened her mouth to sing: "The sunshine is really nice today, and the magpies are chirping on the branches. You guys are here by chance, but do you want to see the magpies?"
