From a low earthen house at the entrance of the village, intermittent whimpering could be heard.
On the dilapidated wooden door, half a piece of "福" paper with black characters on a red background was pasted upside down. White paper lanterns were hung on both sides, blown by the wind, and the candlelight flickered.
It was already entering Hai, but the courtyard was crowded with people.
"Looking at the weather, I'm afraid it will rain tomorrow." The old village chief held his long-handled pipe and looked up at the sky with a sad look on his face.
The man standing next to him put his hands into his sleeves and curled his lips and said, "God is sorry for him."
"You are talking nonsense!" the village chief glared angrily, knocked his pipe on the sole of his shoe, and all the unburned tobacco leaves and ashes fell to the ground. He stuffed the pipe into the man's arms and came up with trembling steps: "Sir, are you afraid that the weather will be bad, otherwise the funeral will be delayed a day?"
The county magistrate, dressed in official uniform, glanced at Yuan Zhe in the mourning hall, and then scolded softly: "You are confused! What do you think you are doing in a hurry this afternoon? The superiors said that the funeral should be carried out early so that this statue could be sent away. Buddha!"
The village chief sighed, put his hands behind his back and walked back, took back the pipe and stuffed it with tobacco leaves again.
Gu Qi stood in front of the mourning hall, looking up at the night sky. The clear moon in the past was now hidden in thick dark clouds, completely covering up the light.
Zhou Suping and the four or five-year-old baby, dressed in linen and wearing mourning, were guarding the coffin, holding yellow paper in their hands and burning it in the charcoal basin. Yan Churong squatted aside, with a white cloth tied around his waist, carefully picking up the yellow paper in the basin with a branch, and his eyes turned red as he watched the paper burn to ashes.
Yuan Zhe stood on one side, straightening his body, with a solemn expression and sunken eyes, staring directly at Zhou Suping and her son. The hand behind his back rubbed the round jade vigorously. The green and white round jade was now covered with blood. The green Suan Ni beast on the side was already red. Under the firelight, it looked particularly scary.
The wind blew harder, carrying dust and fine sand and hitting people's faces.
"This weather is so fucking evil!" A man stood in the courtyard, bent down and spit out the sand from his mouth, cursing.
The man next to the village chief pinched the sand on his tongue and said, "Village Chief, why don't we let everyone disperse first and come back early tomorrow."
The old village chief picked up his pipe and hit him on the head. He squinted his eyes and sighed, "That's it. Let's do this for today. Tomorrow you can call some women to help set up the fire and cook." Please help me more! How can I care about orphans and widowers?"
"Okay, don't worry!" The man chuckled and waved to everyone behind him: "Go back, come back, come early tomorrow! Er Zhu! Xiao Wu'er! And that San Gouzi! Ming Let your wives come over and help me!"
The few people who were called responded one after another, and within a moment, they all dispersed.
Gu Qi looked at the empty courtyard and felt desolate. The wind carried a sob, spreading farther and farther...
Until midnight, the wind stopped. The county magistrate and the old village chief stood outside the mourning hall and wiped their faces. The old village chief started smoking again, and the county magistrate raised his hand in disgust and secretly yawned.
Zhou Suping cried all her tears, holding her drowsy child in her arms, her expression sluggish.
When he came out of the inn, Yan Churong called two girls from Hongxiulou for help. The two girls carried several bowls of plain noodles and walked to the county magistrate and the old village chief. The old village chief smoked a cigarette and waved his hand, and the county magistrate raised his hand to swallow. He swallowed, then frowned and waved his hand. The girl entered the mourning hall again with a plain face. Yuan Zhe frowned and shook his head lightly.
"Drink this." Yan Churong walked up to Gu Qi with the soup in hand.
Gu Qi glanced at the dark soup, with endless melancholy in her eyes: "I don't want to drink it."
Seeing her like this, Yan Churong knew that it was because her mind was too heavy. He glanced left and right and said in a very low voice: "Xiao Qi, life, old age, illness and death are not ours to decide."
"But it was me who killed him after all." Gu Qi lowered her head, tears rolling down her eyes and falling down.
"I don't know what happened when you went out." Yan Churong took a deep breath and comforted softly: "But with your temperament, you will not hurt innocent people. Now that there is a misunderstanding, you should cheer up and think about it How can we make up for it? What problem can we solve by hiding here and crying?"
"You're right." Gu Qi raised her head, raised her hand to wipe her tears, picked up the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. Then he walked straight into the mourning hall, knelt on the straw futon and kowtowed four times toward the coffin. Then he stood up, picked up a bowl of plain noodles, and knelt down in front of Zhou Suping: "Sister Suping, I'm sorry. I can't bear the blame for this, and I feel ashamed. I dare not pray for your forgiveness. I only hope that you can take care of yourself and take care of yourself and your children." That’s it.”
Yan Churong stood there, smiled happily, and took back the candied fruit in his hand.
Zhou Suping came back to her senses a little, met Gu Qi's guilty gaze, and sighed slightly: "Sir, you don't have to be like this. Although we don't know a few Chinese characters, we are also sensible. In the end, it was me who dragged him down..."
Before she finished speaking, tears began to flow down the ravine. Gu Qi felt heartbroken and felt even more guilty.
Seeing this scene, Yuan Zhe on the side moved his steps, wanting to step forward and say something.
"Don't hurt your body by crying," Yan Churong stepped forward quickly and gave Yuan Zhe a gentle push, signaling Yuan Zhe not to step forward. Then he picked up the plain noodles in Gu Qi's hand and handed them to Zhou Suping: "At least eat something. If you collapse, who will take care of the child."
After Zhou Suping took the bowl, Yan Churong hurriedly reached over and picked up the child. The child lay on Yan Churong's shoulder and fell asleep with his little face pouted. Yan Churong waved his hand, and the two girls followed him out of the mourning hall. The county official was accustomed to watching people's words and invited the old village chief to follow Yan Churong, and several people entered the small house next to him.
Zhou Suping steeled herself and managed to swallow a few mouthfuls. Then he held the bowl in both hands and lowered his head: "Sir, if you have something to do, you might as well just tell me."
Gu Qi looked up at Yuan Zhe and saw Yuan Zhe tightening his lips and nodding slightly.
She knelt up straight: "Sister Suping, I am looking for you because of the kidnapping and trafficking of women in Tuzhou. I wanted to take you back to Tuzhou to reunite with your family, but I never thought... there would be a misunderstanding."
Zhou Suping trembled and said with a wry smile: "As expected."
All the yellow paper in the charcoal basin next to it has been burned, and the gray charcoal is covered with a layer of black paper ash. Gu Qi pursed her lips and raised her eyes to look at the black coffin: "I only know that you called him Brother Hao, but I still don't know what his last name is."
"Sun," Zhou Suping paused and slowly spit out: "Sun Hao."
"Think about it, he treats you very well."
"Yes. Meeting him is the luckiest thing in my life." Zhou Suping bent her sore eyes, showing deep affection.
Gu Qi's eyes fell on Zhou Suping: "My name is Pei Qihuan, and I am a Hanlin scholar sent to Tuzhou to control the water. Feng Rui, the governor of Tuzhou, was imprisoned for abducting women. After interrogation, he learned that all the abducted women were sent to Qingzhou. Your name was reported by your family, but it was completely different from the date on the trafficking list, so I paid attention to it."
Zhou Suping smiled bitterly and shook her head, raising her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"When I went to Laizhou to visit the market, I heard Sun Hao call you Suping, and I knew you were the person I was looking for. But I was afraid of disturbing others, so I didn't look for you immediately. After I came back from Qingzhou..."
"My lord, there is no need to say anything." Zhou Suping raised her hand to cut off Gu Qi's words and breathed a sigh of relief: "Get up. You don't have to kneel. I will tell you my own affairs in detail."
Gu Qifu knelt down and stared at Zhou Suping.
"I don't want to mention this matter again," Zhou Suping rubbed the bowl in her hand and said slowly: "Fifteen years ago, the governor's office posted a notice to recruit girls of suitable age to work as textile workers in other states and counties in order to solve the problem of Tuzhou's livelihood. The jobs of cleaning, cleaning, and serving official ladies. The first day the notice was posted, I went to the governor's office and wanted to sign up."
After saying that, her body trembled and her voice trembled slightly: "Who would have thought that when the servant led him to the house, he would meet a well-dressed beast!"
Gu Qi's eyes suddenly widened and he asked tentatively: "He..."
"He raped me!" After saying that, Zhou Suping started crying and her body could not stop shaking: "In front of that dog official Feng Rui, he dragged me to the room in the backyard and humiliated me in every possible way... Later I You know, they were looking for work, they were clearly trying to sell us somewhere else! I was imprisoned until I was knocked unconscious and brought into the car in April. That man was simply a beast! I became the escort for several people in the car..."
Zhou Suping clenched her fists tightly, her nails were deeply embedded in her flesh, her eyes were red: "Plaything."
Gu Qi's face was stiff, her eyes full of shock!
"Later, I fainted. They thought I was dead, so they threw me in the wild grass." Zhou Suping raised her head and collected her tears: "It was Brother Hao who saved me. We had a child and lived happily ever after. My own little life. Every night when nightmares come, he will comfort me. I thought that this life would pass peacefully. How could I have met you!"
suddenly! Zhou Suping rushed forward and grabbed Gu Qi's clothes!
Yuan Zhe was startled and stepped forward to pull it away!
Gu Qi fell to the ground, and her ears were filled with Zhou Suping's voice: "Why don't I hate you! If you hadn't beaten him, how could you have caused him to get the disease! If you hadn't come to find me, you would have made him think that you were How can those who come to arrest me be stimulated!"
"That kick was given by me." Yuan Zhe's eyes narrowed and his eyes were slightly red: "You can kill me as much as you want, it has nothing to do with Pei Qihuan."
"Hahaha..." Zhou Suping laughed crazily and raised her hand to pat the coffin: "Brother Hao! It's me who has dragged you down in the end!"
"Yes...I'm sorry." Gu Qi stood up slowly, her voice choked with sobs.
Zhou Suping pressed her face against the coffin, gradually regaining her composure, her face turned ashen: "You beat him that day, and you obviously gave him a silver coin. I wanted to take him to see a doctor, but he thought the doctor's consultation fee was high, so he said he would drink two bowls when he went home. After moistening it with sugar water, everything will be fine. I actually took it seriously and boiled sugar water for more than half a month... The day before yesterday, he was coughing up blood, so he asked me to find some herbs to treat coughs. I mixed a few bowls of sugar water with it and said, If you drink it, you’ll be fine.”
"I'm sorry." Gu Qi lay on her knees, sobbing.
"How can I blame you? Blame me." Zhou Suping looked at the charcoal brazier with dull eyes and murmured: "Please, please get out."
Seeing that Zhou Suping was so sad, Yuan Zhe felt guilty. He looked at Gu Qisheng crying and was afraid that Gu Qisheng would get sick. She said "I'm sorry" in a deep voice, pulled Gu Qi up hard and walked out of the mourning hall.
Zhou Suping's soliloquy came from behind: "Brother Hao, how could you leave me and leave like this..."
About a foot away from the mourning hall, Gu Qi suddenly thought of Xu Yueqin.
"No!" She exclaimed, pushed Yuan Zhe away and ran towards the mourning hall!
Zhou Suping rested her head against the coffin, blood dripping from her forehead, and a corner of the black coffin was dyed scarlet, which was particularly dazzling...
