"Oh, didn't the old lady ask the eldest lady to kneel down in the ancestral hall? I'm afraid these dumplings will burn and I can't eat them. Besides, there are many guests today, so I'm afraid I won't be able to make enough. Why don't I make them fresh when I get out of the ancestral hall tomorrow? .”
Chunmiao imitated the tone of the old lady, and after saying it, she said angrily: "Bah! I blinded her eyes, had her mouth licked by dogs, and just barked all day long without speaking human words. .”
Lu Anran shook his head, not as angry as Chun Miao, "What kind of guests are here?"
Chunmiao was still a little angry when she remembered what happened during the day, and her face turned red. "It's not just the squires and officials from Mengdu, but also some people from other counties who have sent over to give gifts. It's the New Year's Day soon. Let’s take a walk before the Chinese New Year.”
Lu Anran stopped turning the book and raised his head: "The Yin family also sent people?"
"Yes." Chun Miao frowned and said, "I didn't see him in previous years, but he came here this year for some reason. He was a steward, but the lady didn't see him. He looked so arrogant because he was afraid that others wouldn't be able to see his nostrils."
Since the marriage between Lu Xun and the eldest daughter of the Yin family fell through, the relationship between the two families has also become cold. This sudden move seems unusual.
I guess it was what Lu Xun was talking about - Mrs. Lu finally used her brains on her marriage.
Whatever Chunmiao said, Lu Anran's mind was not here and he listened in one ear and out the other.
When it was time to turn off the lights and take a rest, Chun Miao said proudly: "...According to that rotten woman's gossip, the master will go to the ancestral hall to take the young lady out as soon as he comes back. The old lady can't do anything if she knows about it. Who makes the young lady bear in the heart of the old lady? It’s more important than anything else.”
Lowering the curtains blocked out the firelight and the incessant chattering of spring seedlings, as if the sounds were gradually becoming distant.
Lu Anran lay down flat, thinking about Chun Miao's last words, and his thoughts gradually started again.
Lu Xun regarded Lu Anran as the apple of his eye. Even though she was born ugly, he did not dislike her. In order to raise her so that she would not have low self-esteem, he would rather not marry and have children for fear of wronging Lu Anran.
Is this true?
Yes.
but……
Lu Anran opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling of the tent, a sigh escaped from the corner of his mouth.
Her father treated her very well, but that was not the case from the beginning.
Before the age of five, Lu Xun was just a name to Lu Anran, a stranger bearing her father's name.
Generally speaking, one is so deeply attached to a person that after that person has passed away, seeing anyone or anything related to her will break her heart and make her unable to face it, so she would rather avoid it.
The same goes for Lu Xun. He avoids everything related to Lu Anran's mother, including her daughter.
Childhood memories fade irresistibly with the passage of time, but some may be so profound that they forget specific things, but they still remember the mood at that time.
At the age when Lu Anran longed for the affection of her parents, she approached cautiously every time, anxious and full of longing, and then she was hurt again and again, and licked alone in the empty yard.
What impressed me the most was Lu Xun's study door, because it was what Lu Anran faced most often before she was five years old. It would not be opened for her from dawn to dusk.
Things took a turn for the better after Lu Anran's fifth birthday.
One night, Lu Xun stayed out all night and fell ill when he came back.
When Lu Xun was in a daze, a young and cold hand was placed on his forehead, and through the bright candlelight, he saw a pair of dark, innocent eyes full of worry.
Five-year-old Lu Anran was in a state of embarrassment, with a cut in his clothes and silk hanging out of the brocade. His shoes were covered in mud and his trouser legs were stained.
In his father's surprised eyes, he looked embarrassed for touching him privately. He stepped back, stumbled and fell to the ground.
Lu Xun looked at it and suddenly smiled.
Then, he saw Lu Anran timidly taking out a branch of plum blossom - black-branched snow plum, with a cold fragrance.
"The medicinal smell in the room is too bitter, so I will plant a plum blossom for my father so that it will always be sweet with you."
Lu Xun felt a lump in his throat and his eyes were moist.
