In the Fish Camp County on the East Shandong Road in the Wu dynasty, in the tenth year of Jinghan's reign.
It was already late in the winter, and heavy snow was falling down, covering the entire small county with a layer of silver and white. However, not many people in the Fish Camp were interested in such a snowy scene.
Apart from some of the rich families in the big cities, or some heartless children, this kind of heavy snow was the most difficult for ordinary people to endure. Especially after the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River, it was not unusual for people to stay in bed for a month or two in the winter after they had accumulated firewood. Firstly, it was because the weather was too cold, and there was nothing much to do in winter. Secondly, it was because every household might not have winter clothes. Many rural farmers might not even have basic warm clothes. When winter came, they could only wrap themselves in blankets and suffer. Every time they got out of bed, it was a torment.
Some poor families chopped firewood and sold it everywhere at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, but they had no firewood to keep themselves warm in winter. It was not strange in the Wu dynasty that the charcoal seller was worried about the cheap charcoal and wished for the cold weather. In this way, when winter came, it could be considered a peaceful year as long as no one froze to death near the big cities. As for the frail old people, it was not strange that they could not survive the cold weather.
Of course, the Fish Camp was not a big county, but there was a dock on the bank of the Yellow River, where some rich families lived. In such a snowy day, there were still people who would go out. In the county, the business of the best restaurants and teahouses declined because of the cold weather. Although the business of the brothels was affected, it was not much. Many rich and powerful people were willing to enjoy the warmth in these places, as if they were at home. Some merchants who were stranded in the Fish Camp because of the snow had nothing to do, so they could only come to these places to spend time and turn their short-term business into long-term business.
The Spring Fragrance Pavilion, the best brothel in the Fish Camp, was brightly lit every day. The door of the brothel was covered with thick cotton curtains, and the best charcoal was burning inside. The singers had a sweet voice, and the desserts were delicious. The brothel girls who accompanied them were sweet and kind. If one wanted to take a bath, there was hot water all the time. Although it was expensive, the rich families in the county and the merchants who stayed in the Fish Camp were all willing to come here for leisure.
Of course, there would occasionally be some excitement to watch.
Just like at this moment, in the Spring Fragrance Pavilion, a lively scene was happening. A woman in a cotton-padded jacket led a few burly men to drag a drunk young man out of a woman's room in the building. The drunk young man refused to leave, and the two sides almost began to quarrel in the building.
This kind of "catching adulterers" was not uncommon in the brothels. But to be honest, if they really wanted to fight, it meant that the woman had to have some background. Also, from their conversation, others could tell that they were not husband and wife. The people in the hall were all watching the show with great interest, discussing spiritedly.
The drunk young man dragged the handrail downstairs and struggled fiercely. "I'm not your Husband! I'm not your Husband! You're just my sister! Why are you meddling in my business? What right do you have to do with me? Let me go, I want to go back and drink! "
The man was unreasonable and shameless, shouting randomly. The woman in front was wearing a cotton-padded jacket. She was so fat that not much of her figure could be seen, but her face was not bad. At this moment, she was so angry that her eyes were trembling. But she only said to the back, "Drag him out!" Two accompanying burly men dragged the man all the way down the stairs, struggling.
The man grabbed anything that could be grabbed, or simply lay on the ground, struggling and shouting, "I'm not leaving! Why are you doing this! I'm your brother! The eldest brother is the father! I'm the eldest in the family now! You're a loser, sooner or later you won't be a member of the Lou Family. Why are you meddling in my business? I'm going to marry you off! I'm going to marry you off — brothers, this is my sister, I'm going to marry her off! I'm going to marry her off to whoever pays for my drinks today! Don't drag me — "
These words made the people in the building burst into laughter. For a moment, some people continued to make fun of her, but it seemed that this woman's background was not simple. Some people in the building whispered to each other, saying that this woman came from another place to do business. She had some relationship with Tiger Chen, who had connections with both the black and the white in the Fish Camp. She had been staying here for several days. Shandong was a place where both the black and the white mixed together. It was also because of Tiger Chen's background that this woman could capture people in this Spring Fragrance Pavilion.
"Brother, if your sister wants to get married, we can't stop her …"
"But it's indeed not good for a sister to interfere in her brother's affairs, haha …"
Ordinary women would inevitably be embarrassed after being teased like this. Although the woman in front of them seemed to have seen big scenes, she clenched her teeth and her eyes were slightly red. She went all the way downstairs and put a banknote in the hands of the procuress, apologizing. The man's shouting became more and more intense.
"I don't want to go … Do you hear me! Lou Shuwan! You're crazy — I'm the smartest! Let me go back and drink! I won't go with you! You go your own way, and I'll cross my single-log bridge! You're crazy! Do you think you're very powerful because you killed …? You still don't understand … "
"Say it a little louder!" The man seemed to say something like "killed someone". Only then did the woman suddenly turn around and shout. When the crowd heard this, although they were slightly stunned, they were not surprised. First of all, the man did not say it clearly. Even if he did say it clearly, with the black and white mixed together in Shandong, how could a person who could have a relationship with Tiger Chen be a good person? However, after hearing this sentence, no one opened their mouths to tease him anymore. In this area, merchants came and went, there were Wulin heroes, and there were also Lulin criminals. They gathered and dispersed, and after a few days, they would be forgotten.
After walking out of Spring Fragrance Pavilion, the wind and snow blew against their faces. The woman wiped away the tears on her face and walked in front. The man behind struggled along the way, saying that she was not a member of the Lou family. When they reached the place where two horse carriages were parked, the woman suddenly turned around.
"Yes! I'm not a member of the Lou family! But you are! Now look at what you look like as a member of the Lou family! Lou Shuheng! You're the last man in the Lou family. What do you look like now? "
The people here were the Lou siblings who had been homeless after Hangzhou city fell.
"Me?" His sister scolded him harshly. The swaying Lou Shuheng tried his best to stand firm. He waved away the man who was holding him and supporting him. He laughed crazily, "I'm a smart person! I'm like this because I'm a smart person! I … I have to live well and enjoy myself! You … you're the crazy one! Lou Shuwan, look at what you're doing … "
In the wind and snow, Lou Shuwan looked at him and said word by word, "I'm making the Lou family stand up again! I … I'm preparing for revenge for Dad and Big Brother … "
"Hahahaha, revenge." Lou Shuheng shook his head and laughed. "You want revenge, but I don't want it! You're crazy … You haven't seen it clearly. You can't take revenge at all. Even if you didn't see it clearly in Hangzhou, you should have seen it clearly here! Revenge for what! All of Liangshan is dead! You want to take revenge? What right do you have … Do you think you're very powerful just because you killed your own husband? You … you only killed your own husband, and you don't care about him at all. I saw it clearly. Why didn't you kill me … "
Lou Shuheng's voice became softer. Lou Shuwan stood there and stared at him. Her eyes were bloodshot. She gritted her teeth and said, "If you weren't my brother, I would have killed you long ago …"
"Haha, yes. I'm sorry. He and I both let you down. When we were escaping, I was bewitched. I was about to starve to death. I was bewitched. I shouldn't have exchanged you for food … "
"Shut up!"
"Oh." Lou Shuheng laughed hysterically. "I won't say it if you don't like it. But … I saw it clearly. Lou Shuwan, you can't take revenge. I don't want to take revenge on you either. Because in your heart, you don't … "
"Shut up!"
"In your heart, you don't …"
"Shut up …"
A slap sounded on Lou Shuheng's face. Lou Shuheng staggered two steps to the side and sat on the ground next to the wheel of the carriage. He laughed and took out a wine pot hidden in his sleeve. He opened it and was about to drink. Lou Shuwan rushed over and kicked his heart. Then, she kicked his hand.
"Don't drink, brother …"
She rushed up and punched and kicked Lou Shuheng. Lou Shuwan didn't have much strength since she was wearing thick clothes in the winter. She only managed to kick away his wine flask and messed up his clothes after hitting Lou Shuheng for a while. Lou Shuheng was like a dead pig that didn't fear boiling water. He took a beating and laughed at her while reeking of alcohol. Lou Shuwan stood there and stared at him for a while. Finally, she ordered the person beside her, "Bring him back to the inn."
Lou Shuheng was brought to a carriage. When the carriage was about to leave, Lou Shuwan looked up and said, "Brother, let's talk when we get back."
Lou Shuheng's head drooped by the carriage window. He said in a low voice, "I still want to go to Spring Fragrance Pavilion …"
The carriage left. Lou Shuwan stood for a while and pressed her forehead. When she turned around, she saw the wine pot that had been knocked away in the snow. She walked over and picked it up. Quite a lot of wine had spilled out, but there was still some left. She stood up, raised the wine pot, and gulped down a few mouthfuls. Her face was flushed red. She said to the remaining attendants, "Let's go … We have to settle the Tiger King's matter … After that, everything will be fine …"
The group walked towards the remaining carriage. When the carriage left, they arrived at a small village not far away from Fish Camp County. In the dimly lit woodshed, a pair of eyes looked up at the snowflakes drifting down from the window. The eyes belonged to a man with a large frame. At the moment, he was sloppy and looked unusually thin. He was lying in a messy pile of firewood. Half of his face was riddled with scars, and half of his appearance had already been destroyed. Because of that, no one could see … the brand of a sinner that had once been tattooed on that cheek.
Beside the stove not far away, a farmer's wife, who wasn't considered well-dressed, was coaxing a two-year-old child in her arms while adding firewood to the stove to increase the temperature.
She was rambling, "… I picked you up back then because I saw that you were tall and big. Even if you weren't some powerful person from the outlaws, you could still help out with some things once you recovered. "Who would've thought that after spending so much effort to treat you, you've become an idiot instead. Sigh … you useless thing. If you continue to be like this, I'll chase you away next spring … Why do you always look at the window? I know. You're cold, right? I'll help you block the window later …"
She was a widow in this village. She had some beauty. When her husband's family was still alive, their family was considered well-off. However, after her husband's family passed away, everything took a turn for the worse.
A few months ago, she had saved a man who had been washed ashore. He looked like he had been injured by a knife or a gun. She had made up her mind. Instead of letting the things left behind by her husband's family be taken away by the other relatives, she might as well find a strong person and spend a lot of effort to treat him. Who knew that after he was cured, he would remain silent all day. He did not say a word and did not retaliate even when he was beaten and scolded. This made her feel that this deal was really not worth it. However, the weather was gradually getting colder, and she could not just chase a fool out like this. She could only settle him in this woodshed. To a certain extent, she was also letting him run his own course.
However, this kind of thing actually brought her a lot of trouble. The things of her husband's family ultimately belonged to her husband's family. In the past, when some relatives wanted to occupy it, they had to be secretive about it. Now that she had taken in a man, the number of people who came to gossip increased. They also became bold and confident, causing her to quarrel with the other party every time.
During the quarrel, the man would quietly listen in the woodshed. After the widow returned from the quarrel, she would always complain to him for a while. "If it wasn't for the cold weather, I would have chased you out long ago …"
At the beginning of the next spring, a silent farmer with half of his face injured appeared in the village. As he was tall and had many scars on his body, although the villagers gradually knew that he was easy to bully, no one really went too far. Many people thought that he might have some background — perhaps he was the king of some mountain. This kind of thing did not matter here, and no one had the thought of reporting it to the authorities.
When he went to the fields to farm, the widow with the child would send some things over and sometimes watch from the side of the field. There were many rumors in the village. She was not afraid of being ugly. She had a shrewd personality and would occasionally quarrel with others. When the things left behind by her husband's family were gradually divided up, the two of them slept on the same bed. That was in the autumn of the second year …
The trajectory of fate was like countless chaotic strings. Sometimes, there would be intersections. After separating, there was no knowing when or even if it was possible for them to meet again. At the beginning of the twelfth month of the tenth year of Jinghan, Su Wenyu and Wang Shanyue left Shandong and returned to Bianliang. After a few months of managing the campsite, Su Wenyu had experienced an indescribable baptism. At this moment, his entire temperament had changed. As for Wang Shanyue, he had some conflicts with the Zhu Clan recently, to the extent that Zhu Biao had beaten him up.
The reason was that he had become the third party in the marriage between Hu Sanniang and Zhu Biao …
After beating him up, Zhu Biao asked him to pass a message to Ning Yi, "After the new year, I will go to the capital."
At this time, in the capital, as it was nearing the end of the year, it was bustling … The trajectory of fate was like countless chaotic strings. Sometimes, there would be intersections. After separating, there was no knowing when or if it was possible for them to meet again. At the beginning of the twelfth month of the tenth year of Jinghan, Su Wenyu and Wang Shanyue left Shandong and returned to Bianliang. After a few months of managing the campsite, Su Wenyu had experienced an indescribable baptism. At this moment, his entire temperament had changed. As for Wang Shanyue, he had some conflicts with the Zhu Clan recently, to the extent that Zhu Biao had beaten him up.
The reason was that he had become the third party in the marriage between Hu Sanniang and Zhu Biao …
After beating him up, Zhu Biao asked him to pass a message to Ning Yi, "After the new year, I will go to the capital."
At this time, in the capital, it was nearing the end of the year, it was bustling.
…
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