The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

Chapter 149 Some people come, some go, and some grow up quietly.

Yangzhou in February is the time when the weather turns warm and cold. Last winter was a rare warm winter, with only a few snowfalls intermittently. It's not that big, and it will be sunny after one or two days of rain.

In the daytime of early spring, the weather is getting warmer and warmer, and pedestrians may even break out in sweat if they walk half a mile quickly. But wait until night, and the temperature will return to freezing temperatures.

In this kind of weather, not only women and children, but even men should pay attention to protecting themselves from the cold. This time of year is also a high incidence period for elderly people in various households to die from illness.

At the beginning of the month, Chenbei Mountain also suffered from a cold wind. At Grandpa's age, the younger members of the family can't help but worry. Fortunately, the farmer's body is strong, and last year's severe drought did not bother the old man. After taking several medicines that Chen Heng asked for from Master Xu, Chen Gaishan's health improved faster than the average person.

In a peaceful life, there are only a few twists and turns. Chen Heng's daily life is still devoted to fulfilling review.

In June this year, he will take part in the college examination. In terms of time alone, the amount of free time left for students preparing for exams is already quite tight. Fortunately, Chen Heng worked hard enough in the past, and now he can study step by step.

Although the academy has not yet started school, the masters are very diligent in setting up homework.

After finishing his homework in the morning, Chen Heng had lunch at home, put all his homework in his book box, and left home with Xinda. They made an appointment with Xue Biao and others today to bring the homework of the recent period to the academy for the masters to review.

The four people who met on the road joked with each other and rushed to the entrance of the academy together. As soon as they walked through the door, they clearly felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

There were serious-looking refugees all around, and their number was already small. More refugees were sent to various counties one after another as early as January.

Chen Heng is the youngest and the most courageous. I asked a passerby in the corridor and found out that someone died last night.

The four of them were shocked when they heard the news. They had invested a lot of effort into these refugees and hurried towards the deceased's room.

It was a coincidence that this stranger who had just passed away was living in Chen Heng's dormitory. The four of them pushed the door open and saw many people gathered in the room. In addition to many young ladies, there are also masters such as Jia Yucun and Jin Shenzhi.

Everyone was silent. When the masters saw Chen Heng and others coming in, they just nodded at the students and looked at Marquis Xu Jin in the center.

After the four of them stood still, Bao Qin and Ying Lian walked up to Xue Biao and Chen Heng. Xue Biao looked at his sister's worried look and couldn't help but whisper: Sister, what's going on?

Aunt Shui was fine yesterday, and I didn't see her say she wasn't feeling well.

Bao Qin is also very confused. Nowadays, Sister Lin has a lot of things at home, so there are few opportunities to come, and Wei's aunt and nephew are far away in the capital. Since the end of last year, Bao Qin has been working with Xie to assist with many things in the academy. After a lot of hard work, this bright and majestic girl also looked a lot more tired.

How could it be her? When Chen Heng heard the name, he was secretly surprised and hurriedly asked Bao Qin to find out the inside story.

Is there something wrong? Jiang Yuanbai looked at Xu Jinhou's inspection so carefully and lowered his voice to express his doubts.

It shouldn't be possible. Let's wait until Master finishes the examination. After Baoqin finished explaining what happened and knowing that Aunt Shui died suddenly, Chen Heng shook his head. He had more to think about.

The old man is already weak, and he has to flee in times of disaster. It was not easy for Aunt Shui to escape to Yangzhou alone with her grandson. In a season like this, I think it was because my body couldn't hold on any longer that it ended up like this.

He turned to look at Yinglian, who was holding the corner of his clothes. The two of them had not seen each other for a long time. Although there was some innocence left on the girl's face, her eyes were red and she was very sad at the moment.

Aunt Shui sleeps next door to me. Yinglian lowered her head. She was very upset that she didn't notice anything strange last night.

Bao Qin saw that this silly sister was confused, so she explained to Chen Heng for her. It turns out that Yinglian's relationship with Aunt Shui was quite good during this period. Although we are all people in distress who meet each other by chance, we all feel the same way about each other's situation.

Before Yinglian's mother arrived in Yangzhou, Aunt Shui often took care of this poor girl. After all, Jia Yucun's status is not convenient. Apart from coming here every day to ask questions, it is also difficult for him to have too much contact with the grown-up Yinglian.

After Chen Heng listened silently, he only raised his hand and patted Yinglian's hand, signaling the other person to stabilize his emotions first. Several people waited for a while, and Master Xu, who had checked, said to the other masters: Inform the government office.

As soon as these words were said, all the masters let out a sigh of relief. What they feared most was that Aunt Shui's death would be mysterious and they would not be able to tell the outside world about it. Only then did Master Xu check it before notifying the government.

Now that he heard that the other party had just reached his deadline, Jia Yucun relaxed even more. He is now about to be promoted, and he is a seventh-grade salt patrol censor with a low position and authority. Jia Yucun, who has re-entered officialdom, really doesn't want to cause trouble at this juncture.

I'll go tell the government office. Jia Yucun thought that the Lin family had moved into the government office, and immediately said, Everyone, please wait here for a while. We will check it out and everything will be fine. When the matter is finalized, we will give it to the old man. Mourning.

He is still the academic principal of the academy, and his idea is also practical and practical, so everyone nodded in agreement.

Before Jia Yucun left, he saw Yinglian standing timidly next to Chen Heng. For some reason, he walked up to Chen Heng and said, It was the child Yinglian who discovered the movement this morning. I think she was quite frightened. Go back and help me teach her.

Chen Heng didn't think much and just nodded in agreement. However, there were so many people in the room talking, and everyone had something to say, so Chen Heng couldn't care about Yinglian for a while.

When Jia Yucun left and returned, the government office worker who came with him immediately took over the scene and began to investigate the cause of Aunt Shui's death.

Wait until the government office's assistant arrives to check and confirm that everything is correct. Jia Yucun accepted the document issued by the other party and asked someone to send him a gift out the door.

Now they have to worry about Aunt Shui's funeral. It is obviously impossible to arrange a mourning hall in the academy.

Several masters gathered together to discuss for a long time, and then invited the concierge Wang Bo to come in. He is a single old man and has no other relatives at home.

The masters wanted to use his family's treasured land to temporarily arrange a mourning hall for Aunt Shui, so that her grandson could keep watch for her.

At this age, Uncle Wang does not shy away from matters of life and death, and he takes back the money given by his masters.

They are all poor people in distress. I will treat her as a good deed and send her on her last journey.

When one thing ends, another thing begins again. After discussing the mourning hall, what about the cemetery? The wives were still distressed outside the house, but Yinglian, Chunyan and others who were sorting out Aunt Shui's belongings discovered Aunt Shui's suicide note hidden in the bookcase, and they quickly took it to the adults outside the house.

She can also write? Jia Yucun, as the person in charge, naturally checked the handwriting first after taking the suicide note. After confirming it again and again, he said, It's really unexpected.

What's written on it? Jin Shenzhi was not a talkative person, so Master Xu took the initiative to ask.

It's all her own family affairs. Jia Yucun shook his head and handed the suicide note into the hands of Xu Jinhou.

The latter took a look and found that it clearly explained the ancestral origins of Uncle Shui's family, how many relatives there are now, the location of his ancestral grave, and the birthday of his grandson and other important information.

At the end of the letter, Aunt Shui wrote in beautiful handwriting: If you die of illness in a foreign country, you can make a grave and bury it on the spot. If the grandson is promising, she will be moved back to the ancestral grave. If she didn't live up to expectations, she would simply be buried outside and would not have the face to return to her hometown to see her family.

Seeing that the information about his relatives was explained in such detail, Xu Jinhou knew that it must have been written by the other party himself, so he had no choice but to sigh and put the letter away.

As a doctor, he knew that some elderly people could vaguely feel that their end was approaching.

What about her grandson?

What else can we do? Send him to the almshouse.

Are you willing to accept them over there? I heard it's already overcrowded.

After listening to the discussion among several colleagues, Jia Yucun picked up another letter and opened it to take a look. However, he was shocked by the letter's first name. It actually had the maiden name of the eldest daughter of the current prefect written on it.

He quickly read the letter and realized that Aunt Shui had a relationship with Daiyu. Before leaving, I only left behind a string of Buddhist beads that I carried with me and wanted to ask someone to give it to the other party.

It's so affectionate to lick a calf. Jia Yucun sighed. How could a veteran like him not speculate that Aunt Shui wanted to make a living for his grandson?

He showed the letter to Marquis Xu Jin, and then called Chen Heng, telling him to take the letter and the beads and pass them to Daiyu later.

This matter was not urgent. Chen Heng nodded, collected the things and left quickly, continuing to pack Aunt Shui's things in the house.

Clothes, quilts and other items cannot be asked for. The old man's belongings will also have to be put into the coffin and buried together.

Uncle Wang's house was not far away, so there was no need to choose a good coffin. The wives pooled some money together and bought a ready-made coffin, and then loaded it with people and transported it to Wang's house.

There are idle men in Yangzhou who are responsible for funerals, and they are responsible for all trivial matters such as decorating the mourning hall. Chen Heng and others handed Aunt Shui's clothes to her grandson. It was no longer the turn of these juniors to interfere in other matters.

When the coffin was transported out of the academy, Chen Heng and others stood at the door and looked at each other. When this happened unexpectedly, it was difficult to find teachers to continue handing in homework.

They had some encounters with Aunt Shui, but after all, they were strangers who met by chance, so their emotions were relatively stable at the moment. It was just two girls who looked worried, which made Chen Heng a little worried.

He gave Xue Biao a look and told him to take Baoqin home first, make some soothing tea for his sister to drink, and let her have a good rest. Xue Biao understood this, and after bidding farewell to several friends, he immediately pulled his sister away.

When Jiang Yuanbai and Qian Dayou also left, Chen Heng asked Yinglian, What about you, do you want to change your stay tonight? He was also worried that the other party would be frightened by such an unexpected incident. After all, she But he was the first person to find out that Aunt Shui was dead in the morning.

Zhen Yinglian's expression was still a little pale. When she heard Chen Heng's concern, she hesitated and said, Where can I go?

Yes, this girl is in Yangzhou City, where else can she go? Chen Heng coughed lightly and said, Don't worry, I'll ask the master's wife.

The mistress that Chen Heng was talking about was naturally Pei Huaizhen's wife, Mrs. Xie. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Xie immediately made arrangements for Yinglian, cleared out an empty house in the backyard, and asked Yinglian to sleep here at night. He took out an old almanac and asked her to put it under her pillow at night to calm herself down.

Seeing that Yinglian was here, Chen Heng couldn't stay in the back house any longer, so he got up to say goodbye to Xie and Yinglian, and hurriedly left the academy with Xinda.

Second brother, shall we go home?

Seeing Chen Heng suddenly standing in the middle of the road in a daze, Xinda said a little strangely.

Chen Heng touched the Buddhist beads in his arms, thought about it again and again, and had no choice but to shake his head and said: Let's go to the government office first.

He didn't know if it was right to tell Sister Lin about this, but he also knew that if he concealed it, it would only make him more sad if the other party knew about it later.

Worried, Chen Heng brought Xinda to the government office. He was not familiar with the gatekeepers and did not dare to approach him and start a relationship rashly. He just walked around to the back door of the government office, raised his hand and knocked on the knocker.

Sure enough, there was a servant guarding this place. When he opened the door, he saw Chen Heng, who was a little surprised and said, Master, why are you here?

Something happened. Chen Heng smiled. After being led into the house by his servants, he walked to an open and conspicuous place in the backyard of the government office and asked someone to call Daiyu.

Sister Lin seemed to be in a good mood today. When she saw her brother with Xue Yan, the smile on her face was so eye-catching.

As soon as the two met, Daiyu had endless things to say.

One moment he said that he was going to the capital to play with his mother, and the other moment he said that he would go there and play for a while and then come back.

Sometimes I would add, brother, don’t forget your sister’s birthday gift.

Chen Heng listened silently, complaining secretly in his heart. The other person is in such a good mood, do you really want to say that?

But Lin Daiyu had already noticed her brother's abnormality, and the girl couldn't help but asked curiously: Brother, what are you worried about today?

I... Chen Heng was about to change his words, but Lin Daiyu had already blocked his mouth, Brother, don't fool me by thinking of random things. This will make me more sad.

Yeah. Chen Heng nodded, looking a little nervous and said, Then I'm going to tell you something. You can listen to it in a while, so don't get too excited.

Seeing that Chen Heng was speaking so seriously, Daiyu also straightened her expression, blinked and said, Brother, please tell me.

Seeing that his sister was ready, Chen Heng took a deep breath, took out a string of Buddhist beads and a souvenir from his arms, and said softly: Aunt Shui passed away last night, and she left something specially for you. I have read the letter. She said Thank you very much for being able to chat with her often and listen to her complaints during this time.

When Lin Daiyu heard the news, she couldn't help but look stunned. She just took the souvenir blankly and opened it eagerly in the rich sunset glow.

Seeing that his sister was concentrating on reading the letter, Chen Heng had no choice but to continue: Aunt Shui said in the letter that she asked for this string of Buddhist beads from the temple in the capital. She kept it with her when she fled.

Perhaps thanks to its blessing, she was able to reach Yangzhou safely.

Now I want to give it to you. If you like it, just keep it as a little gadget by your side, just to pray for your safety.

After hearing her brother finish speaking in one breath, Lin Daiyu nodded blankly, with a look of sadness gradually appearing on her face. She has a sensitive mind, and although she and Aunt Shui only met by chance, after being in contact for such a long time, they can be considered to have some friendship.

Her life has been too miserable. She lowered her head and said.

Chen Heng couldn't say much. I'm just a little annoyed. If I had known what happened today, would I have introduced my sister to Aunt Shui?

You... don't think too much. Chen Heng really didn't know how to comfort people. After thinking about the words for a long time, he only said one sentence dryly.

He didn't say it was okay, but when he said it, Sister Lin couldn't help but burst into tears.

Brother, don't worry, Yu'er is fine. Daiyu wiped away her tears desperately, but comforted Chen Heng, I just feel sorry for Aunt Shui.

Chen Heng couldn't help but raise his head and sigh, how could he not know the other person's temperament. In my previous life, so many people liked this person in the book, wasn't it because of her sincere kindness and beauty?

If she is just a little girl who likes to cry and be jealous when she has nothing to do, how can she make men, women and children all moved and sad for her.

Miss... Xue Yan, who was waiting on the side, saw Daiyu crying non-stop and felt very worried. But her mouth is not as good as Chen Heng's ability to comfort people.

It's okay, Yan'er, I'm okay. Daiyu knew that staying like this was not an option, and hurriedly said to Chen Heng with red eyes, Brother, I'm going back first. The day after tomorrow, I will set off to the capital with my mother. Remember Come see me off at the dock, I have something for you.”

Okay! Chen Heng nodded.

…………

…………

That night, the lights in Lin Daiyu's house stayed on until dawn.

The next day, when Mrs. Jia found out about this, she became very angry. I feel that my daughter is so ignorant, working so hard for a stranger.

When Jia Lian learned about this, he didn't understand it. He was a young man after all, and he wanted to comfort his cousin, so he said: She is just a maid who ran away from someone else's house. If she dies, she will die. If she didn't do something, how could she be kicked out by the master? Cousin, what are you doing? Why bother feeling sad for such a low-class person?”

Jia Lian felt that Lin Daiyu was living a good life, so she would grieve for such an irrelevant person.

But Daiyu's current temperament still has traces of Jia's family. When she heard this, she was also annoyed and said: Second brother, it's fine if I don't know her. But now I know Aunt Shui's life and temperament. I can’t let you talk about her like that. What does it mean to be kicked out for doing something? What does it mean to be an inferior person?

Seeing that Daiyu was angry, she thought that she would leave for the capital tomorrow, but she was worried that her sister-in-law would not be willing to leave then. Jia Lian hurriedly apologized to the little girl, feeling unlucky in his heart.

In front of Jia's family, Daiyu couldn't help but embarrass Jia Lian too much. He turned around angrily and returned to the house, continuing to work on the things he would give to Chen Heng tomorrow.

Ah, Jia Mansion is finally coming.