"...I just heard last night that Senior Brother Fan is from Xingcheng, and he likes to eat sour soup noodles. Senior Brother Ding is a serious practitioner of health preservation, so I only asked people to give him grain porridge, white water eggs and freshly picked fresh fruits." Zhou Yuqi said softly. The voice came slowly.
——One of the big reasons why he and Cai Zhao can get along well is that he is very particular about food and drink. Not only is it fastidious, but it can even instruct the chef to make it taste almost the same.
Fan Xing's family was extremely happy and thanked him repeatedly, saying that it had been a long time since he tasted the taste of his hometown. Even Ding Zhuo, who had always been cold-faced, was also very happy and expressed his willingness to lend his collection of sword manuals to Zhou Yuqi for the first time.
But Zhou Yuqi didn't want to read the sword manual, he had other desires.
"Zhao Zhao looks peaceful and docile, smiling all day long, but in fact he is very stubborn. When something doesn't go his way, he will do it. However, Zhao Zhao has a good heart and will never take the initiative to cause trouble. I beg the two senior brothers. Take more care of yourself on weekdays..."
Zhou Yuqi's tone was sincere and his posture was humble. Ding Fan and Ding Fan thought of all the things they had done in their daily lives and agreed immediately.
At this time, Qi Lingbo and Dai Fengchi came from the front yard and agreed that today they would go to the Wu'an City Market together. They waited in the lobby for a long time, but no one came for breakfast, so they wandered over to take a look.
When he walked to the backyard, he heard Zhou Yuqi talking about taking care of Cai Zhao after entrusting Ding Zhuo and the two, "... In this case, my Zhaozhao will ask the two senior brothers, Yu Qi thanks again."
Qi Lingbo stepped back and listened for a long time, and the more he listened, the more sad he became.
His fiancé was worried about whether his fiancée would be bullied in the teacher's school and live a comfortable life. His fiancé didn't even want to explain in person the reason why he couldn't come out for breakfast. He only said through the door that he had already eaten. .
How long will this life of humiliation and cold treatment last?
Cai Zhao walked down the wooden steps to the first floor, and happened to see Qi Lingbo walking over with his head lowered.
The two girls might as well have met each other. Qi Lingbo's eyes were full of tears and his heart was full of sorrow, but Cai Zhao's face was red from eating, and he was deliberately dressing up in a happy mood. He was really bright and beautiful, and his beauty was even better than usual.
"Well, my little sister has met Senior Sister. Good morning, Senior Sister. Senior Sister looks quite good today..." Cai Zhao was stunned for a moment when he saw Qi Lingbo's sallow face, skinny face, and lack of energy. "It's good. Let's go shopping in the market for a while." "
She still said a few polite words, but in Qi Lingbo's ears it was more harsh than sarcasm. He immediately stomped away crying, leaving Cai Zhao there in a daze.
After the reorganization was completed, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was refreshing. Except for Li Yuanmin, who was ordered by Wang Yuanjing to go to other places to find distant relatives of the Chang family so that he could have his master's family as a facade during the memorial ceremony, almost all the remaining young disciples of the three sects planned to go there today. Go out to the market.
Cai Zhao has loved bustling and bustling since he was a child, wishing that the streets were filled with shops and there were celebrations every day. Since joining the Qingque Sect, inexplicable bad things have happened one after another, and inexplicable people have lingered around. She has not been so happy for a long time.
Zhou Yuqi was patient and thoughtful, following Cai Zhao step by step, commenting on the color of lipstick in the rouge shop, and helping to choose clothing materials in the satin shop. Cai Zhao nodded, and he paid the bill and carried things smoothly. , and even showed his hand in front of the candy man stall and made a very cute little candy man - a little girl sitting on a small bench holding a bowl and eating wontons. Her facial expressions and expressions were exactly the same as Cai Zhao's, making Cai Zhao smile. Mouth.
The Fan Xing family took a step back, "Well, you should marry Master Zhou when you get married. How comfortable it must be to live every day, don't you think so, Fourth Senior Brother?"
Ding Zhuo, who was forced out to go shopping, actually nodded seriously, "If there is any trouble, Junior Sister Zhaozhao can resist foreign enemies. It is indeed a match made in heaven."
Song Yuzhi on the side looked like a gourd with its mouth cut off and painted with a new layer of green tung paint. He looked confused and serious, with a very strange expression.
A few of them had lunch at the best restaurant in the city. When they came out, they bumped into the parade of Huashen. The crowd was huge and the surroundings were noisy. Everyone was crowded and scattered, and they couldn't even shout to each other. I can not hear you.
When Cai Zhao settled down, he found that Zhou Yuqi was missing.
…
Zhou Yuqi staggered due to the squeeze and kept pushing in one direction. He was worried about hurting ordinary people, so he didn't use his power to resist. When he finally escaped from the crowd, he found himself in a secluded alley.
When he first came to Wu'an City, he didn't know the topography of the city. He only remembered that the inn where everyone stayed was located in the east of the city, so he walked toward the east of the alley. After walking a few steps, he heard a noise in front of him. A group of people were surrounding him and he didn't know what they were arguing about.
He didn't want to cause trouble, but as he passed by, a few arguments floated into his ears.
It turned out that there was a dispute between two girls, one of whom was exquisitely dressed and the other who was poor, weak and short.
The delicate girl pointed at the poor and weak girl and scolded: "...How shameless are you? Master has already decided to let me do today's float embroidery, but you secretly cut off the beard! You are still crying, you are still crying, don't think you are crying. The matter is over at the first glance! I pity your poor family and send food and drinks to your family every three days. You actually repay kindness with hatred and encourage Master to replace the embroidery on the float with your own. Do you have any conscience? "
The people around her commented that this poor and weak girl was really of despicable character and had a bad heart.
The poor girl knelt on the ground and kept pleading: "My dear sister, please forgive me, but I have no choice! I remember when I was a child, my master said that our embroidery talents were almost the same, but now I am not as good as you. It's not that I am lazy. , but my life is not as good as yours!"
"You practice embroidery quietly every day, but I start working before dawn, chopping firewood, fetching water, cooking, doing chores for the lady next door to earn some money, and I use my time to practice needlework on coarse cloth. The master said Those who do embroidery need to take good care of their hands. Sister, your hands are still like those of children, but mine are calloused. Sister, your family is rich and loved by your father and brother. Whether you do embroidery or not, you can be rich throughout your life, but embroidery is my only way out. If I don't If I can't stand out, my parents will sell me to the rich man Wang as his twentieth concubine! Master took pity on me, so he replaced the embroidery on the float with mine. Once I have a reputation, I can make a lot of money from embroidery. !”
After hearing these words, half of the people around him changed their tone, saying that this poor and weak girl had no choice but to do it, and she was really pitiful.
The girl in exquisite clothes said angrily: "Don't do this! If you have any difficulties, you can tell me. Is it still reasonable to engage in some dirty tricks? My embroidery is far better than yours and it didn't fall from the sky. I have practiced hard since I was a child. Today's float embroidery is done by more than a dozen cities in the surrounding area. The next time it will be our turn in Wu'an City will be more than ten years later. Will I still be able to embroider by then? The hard work of my life Isn’t it worth it! Get up, go outside, and tell everyone clearly! One code is one code, and if you only rely on pity, there are many more pitiful people in the world than you. No matter how hard it is, you should be open and aboveboard... …”
Zhou Yuqi couldn't help hearing it, and went up to the crowd: "This girl, you have to be merciful and merciful. Everyone has heard the whole story. Today's float embroidery is just the icing on the cake for you. This is on the ground." This girl is a timely helper. Things have priorities, so just give in to her!"
As soon as these words came out, the two girls and seven or eight onlookers started shouting. Everyone held their own opinions and made a fuss.
This scene all fell into the eyes of one person. He was wearing rough linen clothes and a bamboo hat covering his face. He was standing alone in the corner of the alley. He was no different from the Jianghu people who were watching the market in the city today, except that he was taller and more imposing.
Mu Qingyan quietly watched Zhou Yuqi being caught in the dispute, and felt calm.
——Yes, Zhou Yuqi is indeed a gentle and considerate good husband, but he has a fatal weakness, pity for the weak.
Compared with Cai Zhao and Qi Lingbo, Cai Zhao is kind and gentle, while Qi Lingbo only has the word domineering written on his face. Zhou Yuqi naturally pities Cai Zhao; but compared with the miserable Min Xinrou, Cai Zhao is like a female king of hell. How should Zhou Yuqi choose?
The play was well done. Mu Qingyan nodded toward the other corner to express satisfaction.
You Guanyue quickly retracted half of her face, showing the satisfaction of being recognized by her boss.
Shangguan Haonan was dumbfounded when he saw it: "I didn't know that our tour master has such talent."
"I don't dare to take it, I don't dare to take it." You Guanyue folded her clothes and said, "The drama is all decided by the leader. I just chose a role and did some persuasion, that's all."
…
Zhou Yuqi finally broke away from the crowd, and the pain in his heart that had been suppressed for the past few days slowly rose again at this moment.
He walked aimlessly and unknowingly came to another alley.
At this time, the sun was turning westward, and the light in the alley was getting darker.
Zhou Yuqi passed by a dilapidated house. The wooden door was ajar, and fierce scoldings came from inside, mixed with gentle begging for mercy. It seemed like a father and daughter were quarreling.
The middle-aged man in shabby clothes was holding a broom and was cursing angrily: "...You shameless girl, are you going to marry or not? If you don't marry, I will beat you to death today!"
The daughter who was kneeling on the ground begged and kowtowed: "Dad, please wait a little longer. Brother Aqiang only has me in his heart, and he will definitely come back to marry me! Please, dad, wait a little longer." wait!"
The father was furious: "What are you waiting for! I've already gone to inquire about it. Aqiang's parents have started to buy betrothal gifts, and you are still waiting here stupidly! The two of them are well-matched. How can we be worthy of each other? You are the only one. What a stupid girl with wishful thinking, she still believes it to be true!”
The daughter couldn't help but cry: "It's true, it's true. I know that Brother Aqiang likes me. That girl is a very good person, but Brother Aqiang doesn't like her. It's true! Brother Aqiang will definitely come back and marry me." of!"
The old mother on the side also came to persuade: "Azhen, please wake up. You and Aqiang have been close since childhood, and everyone in the neighborhood knows it. When Aqiang marries another man, it will be difficult for you to find a marriage..."
The daughter said stubbornly: "Then I would rather not marry for the rest of my life and wait for the rest of my life! I will not marry anyone except Brother Aqiang!"
Zhou Yuqi was stunned. Listening to these words, his heart was up and down, and he was confused and didn't know why.
His eyes gradually became moist and his vision began to blur. The half-open wooden door in front of him seemed to have turned into the luxurious and majestic door fan in his grandmother's courtyard. Although it was only a short distance away, he still did not dare to step in and tell his grandmother his true feelings.
He didn't realize that a faint fragrance filled the air at some point. Under the slanting sunset, light yellow powder was flying in the evening wind, making those who smelled it feel uneasy and wondered if they were in a dream.
Mu Qingyan in the corner watched with cold eyes as Zhou Yuqi stood blankly with tears in his eyes.
The corners of his mouth were slightly raised. As expected, Zhou was thinking about another woman, which was very, very good.
In the other corner, Shangguan Haonan shrugged his nose, "What kind of nonsense is this?"
You Guanyue retracted her neck and whispered: "This is called Tumi Powder. It was originally used by wandering Taoist priests to pretend to be gods and ghosts. It can make the people who inhale it become confused and lose their minds. A few days ago, the leader changed the recipe again, and the effect became even more effective. incredible."
Shangguan Haonan: "The boy named Zhou didn't realize it. Tsk, look at his sad face."
"Yes, if it were Song Yuzhi, he would hold his breath and concentrate once he noticed it, and it would be useless." You Guanyue regretted that he could not use it on Song Yuzhi, and directly solved the two love rivals for the leader.
…
As night fell, Zhou Yuqi was walking with a heavy heart, not knowing where he was going. At this time, he felt a sense of hunger in his stomach. He saw a late-night snack shop on the corner of the street in front of him. He was about to go there to satisfy his hunger, but he realized that someone was arguing in the shop again. .
Except for the boss who was at a loss, there were two men and two women in the shop. All four of them were in their thirties. From what they heard, they seemed to be two couples.
"...You bitch, you have been married to me for more than ten years, and you are still thinking about your adulterer! You are a shameless bitch, you steal people to support others, and you want me to be a bastard. I will beat you to death!" The middle-aged man with a red nose burped from wine, kicked the ground with his feet, and cursed, "Since you care about your cousin in your heart, why did you marry me in the first place and let me do this for more than ten years?" Bastard!"
The man dressed as a scribe was about to rush past in excitement, but his wife grabbed his arm. He could only say loudly: "My cousin and I are innocent and have never been slanderous. But you, who drink and scold you all day long, make your cousin live a difficult life. I couldn’t stand it anymore so I came to help!”
The drunkard squinted his eyes and smiled: "Help? How to help? Did you help him on the bed? We met in the middle of the night and he was still innocent. Bah!" He took out a stack of paper from his arms and threw it away, "See for yourself , these are all written by this bitch in private!"
The scribe took it and took a look and found that all the papers were densely packed with his name, written thousands or hundreds of times. He immediately covered his face and cried.
The scribe's wife's expression changed, and she stepped forward and said, "Cousin, what do you mean? You're so good, why did you write my husband's name when you got married?"
The drunkard laughed drunkenly: "Cousin, don't just scold her, your man is not clean either. I still have many letters he wrote to this bitch at home. I have accumulated two boxes of them over the past ten years! It's so affectionate to ask for help. ! This adulterer and adulterer have not known each other since before marriage, and they still have contact after marriage. Only you and I were kept in the dark and became living bastards! Hahaha..."
The drunkard's wife suddenly said loudly: "Yes, I have always liked my cousin. I married you because of my parents' orders. I can't help you, and I accept the punishment, but you are not allowed to humiliate my cousin!"
"Cousin!" The scribe was moved and rushed over to kneel on the ground with her.
The scribe's wife cried and beat her husband: "Since you like her, why did you marry me in the first place? It's not that I can't get married. If you are willing to refute, my parents will break off the engagement without saying a word! Are you not doing harm? Did you kill the four of us?"
The drunkard's wife also cried and said, "Cousin, cousin, if I had known this, why did you do it in the first place?"
The two hugged each other and cried. The drunkard on the side shouted to open the ancestral hall and soak the pig cage, while the scribe's wife left without looking back.
Looking at this scene, Zhou Yuqi felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet into his heart, and his whole body was freezing to the bone.
In fact, if he hadn't been preoccupied at this time, with his usual attentiveness, he would have noticed something wrong with this shop - how could this street be deserted on a noisy and bustling market night? How come there are only four people in it?
Zhou Yuqi didn't dare to listen anymore, and stumbled away from the late-night snack shop, running around in the dark streets, everything was dark, as if his marriage had no way out.
He didn't know how long he had been running, but he saw a bright spot ahead of him, like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving rope, and ran towards it with all his strength.
This is a lonely bookstore with only one owner.
There is a pot of warm Jiangnan spring tea and a stack of fragrant mung bean cakes on the table.
The bookstore owner is about fifty years old, wearing a long-sleeved toga, with three strands of scribe's beard under his chin. He is tall and straight, but his face is very ordinary, except for his pair of dark eyes that seem to be too bright and clear.
He was not very enthusiastic, but he still invited Zhou Yuqi to sit down and have a rest, and gave him some tea and snacks, and then went to sort out the books. However, such a casual attitude made Zhou Yuqi relax, and his whole body felt as relaxed as if he had lost all strength.
The two of them were talking to each other -
"The boss's tea is very good."
"A gift from a friend in Jiangnan."
"Is there only one boss in the shop?"
"Without a wife or children, it's better to be quiet."
Zhou Yuqi was in a daze while holding a tea bowl.
The bookstore owner glanced back and said, "Young master, is there something on your mind?"
Zhou Yuqi said numbly: "Yes."
"It must be a bad marriage."
Zhou Yuqi almost dropped the tea bowl, "How do you know?"
The bookstore owner smiled: "The young master is dressed richly and behaves well. It is obviously not a matter of money and silk. The young master's forehead is round and the corners are restrained and smooth. This is the appearance of a family with all six relatives reunited. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with the family. The boy. People, apart from things between men and women, do you have any other worries?"
Zhou Yuqi was entranced when he heard this: "...Boss is divine."
Bookstore owner: "I can't say it's a divine judgment. I've experienced a lot of things and met a lot of people, so I'll naturally understand."
