Chapter 23:
In this life, if everything goes smoothly, there is no need to go through any great changes, such as Luoshen. She was born a proud daughter of heaven who received infinite love from her parents and brother. In the first sixteen years of her life, the biggest trouble in her world, apart from the discord between her parents, might be the flower festival coming tomorrow. What should she wear? Go to the God of Flowers. Is it "slim waist and narrow clothes, long hairpins on the temples" or "wide sleeves dragging skirts, half-painted eyebrows", then the next most likely life for her is to marry Lu Jianzhi, who is right in the family and loves her and cherishes her. The daughter of the Gao family became the wife of the Lu family. From then on, she raised the case with her husband, had children, and gradually became a respected and loving female elder of the next generation of the Lu family.
But this is just a good wish.
The reality is like a donkey that seems to have no temper. Walking, walking, when people are unprepared, they suddenly give people a slap in the face.
This kind of pain, just unexpected, is unforgettable.
Luoshen now finally understands that in this world, her Aye and A-Niang will really be powerless, and the moment when they can no longer protect her.
For the first time, she saw with her own eyes that her noble and proud princess mother had lost her temper to such a degree that she sat on the ground in despair and wept like a helpless common woman.
For the first time, in her memory, her omnipotent, immortal father could only look at her with red eyes. In his eyes, in addition to deep self-blame, there was nothing but helplessness.
For the first time, she wanted so strongly that she could do something to share the powerlessness of her parents.
Even a little bit is fine.
In the past, she was studying and sitting at the same table with her brothers. When she read that "the world is in Fudan, human feelings are mysterious and mysterious", she just smiled and said, "Spring is not as thin as human feelings, and the apricot flowers are blooming and the pear flowers are blooming", which attracted the praise of the brothers.
But now, she has only realized for herself what it means to be "mysterious and weak".
It turns out that those who were originally good to you may not be really good to you because of your "goodness".
…
Emperor Xingping has made a decree, saying that the eighteenth of the next month is a good day for marriage, and since a few days ago, the two parties have begun to perform the ceremony of betrothal.
It is said that according to the arrangement, she had to enter the palace first, thank her emperor uncle, and then be escorted by her cousin Gao Yin.
It is also said that people in Jingkou Town are waiting for the arrival of Gao's daughter, and the wedding will be very lively.
But Luoshen didn't really care much about these.
A few days later, she finally received a reply from Lu Xiurong who had been waiting.
Lu Xiurong asked her to meet at Qingliang Temple.
Qingliang Temple is located in the western suburbs of Taicheng. In spring, the mountains are full of peach blossoms. Every year in March and April, there are many tourists.
Luoshen goes to Tachun with his brothers or female companions every year, and he is no stranger to it.
She was escorted by Gao Huan to Qingliang Temple and finally met her friend.
Lu Xiurong was one year younger than Luoshen. Originally, he had a lively personality and loved to laugh. But this time, she was a completely different person.
When she saw Luoshen, her eyes turned red.
Lu Xiurong told Luoshen that on the day of Chongyang, after returning home, her father was angry, saying that the eldest brother had lost the face of the Lu family, and called the eldest brother into the study, berating him for a long time.
Her mother, Mrs. Zhu, treated Luoshen better than her own daughter, but now she does not allow Lu Xiurong to communicate with Luoshen again.
When she came out this time, she begged her second brother, Lu Huanzhi, to let him help her and secretly hide from Madam Zhu.
"Ami, eldest brother is very depressed these days. He is locked in the room all day. I am really worried about him..."
Lu Xiurong couldn't hold it any longer and started to cry, very sad.
Luoshen completely understood.
Her sadness is no less than her own.
She knew that Lu Xiurong had always been very fond of Gao Huan.
Originally, the two families also intended to let the pair of sons and daughters form a marriage again.
But now, nothing is possible.
When leaving the mountain temple, Lu Xiurong was sitting in the car, looking back at himself and Gao Huan frequently through the window with his red and swollen eyes. In the next few days, he became a An image that has been unable to be eliminated in Luoshen's mind.
But no matter how sad people are, the days are still the same, day by day.
The wedding day is approaching.
Luoshen has followed Xiao Yongjia and returned to his home in the city from Bailuzhou.
The family is still crowded. Even every day, the concierge receives more greetings than ever before.
Perhaps because the Gao clan was too high-profile, the marriage with the concubine did not deter the nobles, and no one dared to publicly criticize the Gao clan.
After all, this marriage was the one that the emperor personally presided over.
But who knows, behind the scenes, what are those people talking about?
After the people, the father was only silent, and the mother rarely said a word all day long. The uncle rushed back from Guangling when he heard the news, and cut off a case with his sword. His violent temper almost overturned the roof, but in the end, Can only swallow that full of anger, nothing can be done.
fifteenth. The next morning was the day she entered the palace.
This evening, Lu Jianzhi, who had not shown up since Chongyang, sent a greeting post asking to see Gao Qiao.
Gao Qiao met him in the study.
It has only been three or two months since Chongyang, but Lu Jianzhi has lost a lot of weight. Fortunately, his spirit seems to be fine.
He told Gao Qiao that tomorrow, he would leave for Jiaozhou to serve as the county governor. Come over tonight, say goodbye to Gao Qiao, and apologize to him.
He said that he was nothing more than himself. On that day, because of his impulsiveness and his incompetence, the Gao family and Ling Luoshen fell into such a situation together.
He is a sinner. A sinner who cannot be forgiven for death.
He really knelt down to Gao Qiao and knocked on the ground with his forehead, he couldn't stand for a long time.
Gao Qiao sat there motionless, looking at the figure of Lu Jianzhi bowing in front of him, and finally, he just asked: "Do you have something to ask me to pass to Ami?"
Lu Jianzhi slowly straightened up, dazed for a moment, and shook his head.
He said in a hoarse voice, "I have no face to say to her, and I have nothing to say. From now on, I can only wish Yu'an from afar and hope that everything goes well for her."
Lu Jianzhi kowtowed to Gao Qiao again, got up from the ground, backed out, and turned away.
Luoshen had already heard the news of his coming from the servants.
She knew that she should never see him again.
However, even if it's just a brother, a brother who has known her for more than ten years and has cared for her for more than ten years, now he is about to leave the capital and go to the far southwest, can't he send him off?
After chasing the door, she saw the lonely back of the leaving, and the cry "Brother Lu" had clearly reached her throat, but she seemed to be choked by something, so she couldn't say it out.
Lu Jianzhi has stepped out of the gate of Gao's house.
He seemed to feel something, hesitated, stopped, and turned his head slowly.
He stood outside, Luoshen stood inside, and between the two, but separated by a threshold, it seemed like a giant dragon in the abyss. From now on, Nongyu will marry another, Xiao Shi Molu.
"Brother, it is far away in the southwest. You go here and be more cherished."
Luoshen stared at his thin face and said softly.
The light of the lantern in front of the gate shone on his face, half-bright and half-dark.
There seemed to be tears in his eyes.
He was silent for a long time, bowed deeply to Luoshen, then turned around and walked away quickly.
Luoshen leaned against the door and watched the figure who rode his horse away, and finally disappeared into the blurred night, feeling sad.
His self-blame, his guilt, his helplessness, and his resentment, all turned into a silent deep bow in front of her.
In this lifetime, none of them can go back to yesterday again.
…
Lu Jianzhi returned to Lu's house, dismounted in front of the door, and one of his entourage was waiting there, hurriedly greeted him, and whispered anxiously.
Lu Jianzhi's expression changed slightly, he immediately got on his horse and left again.
…
Li Mu set off tomorrow to go back to Jingkou to prepare for marriage. Tonight, Xu Mi held a banquet in his luxurious private garden outside the city, accompanied by dozens of people, singing and dancing. Extravagant. After the banquet was over, it was the end of Hai Shi. The guests and the host were very happy, and Xu Mi, accompanied by a beautiful woman, invited the guests to stay in the garden.
Li Mu declined, rode alone, and returned to the inn where he lived temporarily.
Outside the city in late autumn, the moonlight is cold, the wild paths are white, and the eyes are full of bleakness.
He walked to the side of a wild forest, and the wine rushed up. When he saw a flat bluestone lying on the side of the road, like a natural bed, he stopped his horse and walked over, turning over and lying on it.
Everything was silent, and there was only the slight rustling sound of Wubi chowing down on the weeds on the ground.
Li Mu closed his eyes.
After a while, seven or eight nocturnal people appeared silently in the shadow of the forest where the moonlight could not shine, rushing towards the bluestone lying on the side of the road. The man gathered in the middle and flashed his sword.
The murderous blade, under the moonlight, radiated an icy white light.
Li Mu opened his eyes, slowly rolled over from the lying stone and sat up, his eyes scanned the surroundings, and finally landed on a man whose face was covered: "Lu Huanzhi?"
Seeing that Lu Huan was recognized, he tore off the mask and gritted his teeth: "Li Mu, you have harmed my eldest brother to this extent, and made my Lu family ashamed from now on. How can I allow you to live in this world! Die!"
He pulled out his sword, took those people, and surrounded Li Mu together.
Accompanied by the sound of a few piercing swords intersecting, the people who rushed at the front, screaming in pain, fell to the ground one after another.
Li Mu fired like a knife.
No one could see clearly how he drew his sword and how he twisted the swords of those few people.
Lu Huanzhi only felt a white light in front of him, and then blinked his eyes, and the icy blade slashed the tip of his nose.
The distance was so close that he could clearly feel the strange feeling of the hairs on the tip of his nose being cut away by the blade.
In an instant, the whole body was horrified.
The blade sank, resting on his neck before it stopped.
And the arm he was holding the sword didn't even have time to complete a slashing action, so it was stiffly held in the air, looking a bit ridiculous.
A chill, through the icy blade, quickly penetrated into his skin.
"Li Mu! You dare to kill me?"
He couldn't move, but the arrogance of the clan's children forced him not to show any fear in front of this despicable and humble man.
He held his neck stiffly, but his voice trembled uncontrollably.
Li Mu smiled: "I naturally dare not kill Young Master Lu."
He put away the sword and took the sword from Lu Huanzhi's hand.
Lu Huanzhi wanted to resist, but hesitated. In the end, he could only watch him forcefully open his sword-holding hand finger by finger.
The sword was in his hand.
Towards the moonlight, Li Mu crossed his sword in front of him and looked at it for a moment.
"Good sword."
There was love in his eyes, he praised, and his fingers gently slid over the blade like a caress.
This sword came from Longquan. It was obtained by Lu Huanzhi with a lot of money in the past. The hilt of the sword was inlaid with gems.
Lu Huanzhi straightened his chest, but unexpectedly, with a sudden clang, Li Mu actually broke the long sword from the middle.
The sword body was broken into several pieces, and the bullet flew into the air and fell to the ground.
Lu Huanzhi was stunned, and it took a long while to regain his senses. His voice trembled more and more: "Li Mu, how dare you humiliate me like this! I'm at odds with you!"
"Young Master Lu, you're still a little young, and you shouldn't be looking for revenge at this time. Let's talk about it in a few years."
Li Mu put the broken handle back in his hands, whistled, and Wu Qian ran over.
He got on his horse and turned away.
Lu Huanzhi held the broken sword's hand and kept shaking.
He stared at the back of the man on the horse in front of him, suddenly grabbed a bow and crossbow from a follower, and moved towards the back, and the bow was about to be fired.
"stop!"
There was a loud shout in the ear.
Lu Huanzhi turned around abruptly and saw his elder brother approaching on horseback.
"Brother-"
Lu Jian dismounted, glanced at the broken blade on the ground and the entourage holding weapons, with a sullen face, snatched the bow and arrow in Lu Huanzhi's hand, broke it in two, threw it on the ground, and strode towards Li Mu, saying : "Adi has offended a lot, thank you for being merciful, I will apologize to you on his behalf."
Li Mu stopped in the middle of the road, did not dismount, but bowed his hands to him, and urged the horse to go.
Lu Jianzhi stared at his back. Under the moonlight, his expression was bleak.
"Li Mu, stay!"
He shouted suddenly.
Li Mu stopped again.
Lu Jianzhi quickly chased after him and stopped in front of his horse.
"Li Mu, my skills are not as good as others, I lost to you, I have nothing to say. From now on, Ami will be like my sister. I just ask you, no matter what you want to marry, please treat Ami kindly in the future. . I am here, grateful."
He bowed deeply to Li Mu and couldn't bear it for a long time.
Li Mu narrowed his eyes.
"Mr. Lu's words are serious. From now on, she is my wife. If I don't treat you well, who will treat her kindly?"
He lifted the reins and gave a low drink. Wu Wei felt his abdomen suddenly clamped, neighed, threw his hoofs, carried his master on his back, and galloped away.