The face of this "big monkey" was painted red and pink, and it was wearing a red robe from the opera.
It turned out that this was the friend my uncle wanted to visit, the young master of the Yang family. His courtesy name was Wen Jju.
I called him Uncle Wen Jju.
We originally planned to leave, but who knew that Uncle Wen Jju wanted to stay. We could only agree to stay for a few days.
Uncle Wen Jju, who had removed his comical appearance, was about thirty years old. He was very delicate and gentle, but he was very childish.
The fire that we went to the Yang family that day was made by Uncle Yang because he was thinking about firecrackers.
The Yang family's house was different from mine and the Jia family's house. It was a standard Jiangnan house. It was also very magnificent.
However, the courtyard was deep, and the corridor was long. The wind that blew was full of the smell of medicine. When we passed by, the masters and servants all hid in the shadows under the porch to look at us and whisper.
Uncle went to the front, and I went to meet the women of the Yang family.
Uncle Yang was the eldest son of the eldest branch. His parents were still alive, and he once had a son, but the son had died a long time ago. His wife was also sickly. He refused to take in any more concubines.
His clansmen had a large population. There were more than a dozen cousins.
Although Old Madam Yang spoke kindly, the corners of her eyes drooped, and there were layers of wrinkles. There were age spots on her hands, and there was a smell of decay in her mouth.
The few ladies who pulled me to talk, although their hands were red and gold, and they were all smiling, there seemed to be no smile lines at the corners of their eyes. The makeup on their faces weighed a few kilograms.
I didn't see Uncle Yang's wife. It was said that she was not in good health and was recuperating.
The children of the Yang family were like quails. They didn't run around, and they didn't smile much. They were so obedient that they didn't make a sound.
The servants also didn't say a word.
When Old Madam Yang went back to rest.
Only then did the madams and young misses start talking.
For a while, they talked about a topic. They said that the old woman who was on duty last night actually fell in front of a lady. Her clothes were torn, and her face was red. They felt that it was funny and laughed. They also talked about what kind of clothes and silk were fashionable, and how much each branch had. They also talked about what kind of rouge to make. She also talked about how she had seen a pot of famous flowers that had been transported from the north last night.
There were scorpions and scorpions all over the place, and flowers and grass all over the place.
The most far-fetched place they could talk about was a nunnery not far from the Yang family. When would they go there to offer incense?
If I mentioned my experience of traveling thousands of li to Yangzhou and 'showing my face in public', they would cover their mouths with their fans and exclaim. Seeing the calluses on my hands, one of the young ladies even showed sympathy.
If I unconsciously walked a little faster, a little bigger, or even accidentally jumped a little, there would be a round of disdainful whispers.
They all commented on my growing rosy complexion, --and in the course of eating, I had the habit of finishing a bowl. Everyone at the banquet hall was dumbfounded.
They were proud of their pale skin, their strength that made their legs go soft after walking a few steps, and their weakness that made them unable to eat more than half a meal. They believed that this was the upbringing and nobility that a rich young lady should have.
After the meal, one of the ladies suggested that they play cards. I didn't know how to do it, and I didn't like it either. I just watched them play with dominoes.
Thus, there was another round of whispers.
The way they looked at me made me feel as if I had suddenly become a giant that didn't fit in with the tiny world of ants.
Although, I had lived like them for more than ten years.
And I had only lived like them for a few months.
But, I didn't know why, but I just felt uncomfortable.
I suddenly missed the 24 bridges, Slender West Lake, and the days when I practiced drawing people under my uncle's guidance and learned Western languages. I missed the wide water and the singing of the boatmen as they sailed thousands of li.
I even missed the times when I cried because I didn't know how to wash clothes, and when I was angry because I had to carry my own water.
I asked my uncle, "Was I … like them before?"
My uncle smiled, "Like what?"
I didn't answer him. I just said, "I don't like it here."
The entire Yang family's color was gray and cold.
We had lived here for more than ten days, and I had never seen a Yang family member smile.
On the surface, they were well-behaved and courteous.
Downstairs, sometimes when I walked through the corridors and aisles, I could hear chills all over my body: "That girl is pregnant, take her out and sell her", "Crawl in the dust", "Loan, if that family doesn't pay, send her to the yamen and beat her to death", and so on.
The only glory in the Yang family was probably Uncle Wen Jju's family.
In Uncle Wen Jju's and his wife's courtyard, there was a small pond with a willow tree planted beside it.
He would laugh and carry a child in his arms as he spun in circles, revealing a mouth full of white teeth.
He would also stop the Yang family from getting angry at the servants over small matters, beating, scolding, and selling the girl. He would say, "It's just one life, why bother! The girl was also raised by her parents. "
When the brothers in the residence quarreled, he would laugh and go over to stop them.
He didn't put on any airs. Even if he saw a servant's child sad, Uncle Wen Jju would wear a red robe and slyly go over to cheer him up.
Uncle Wen Jju's wife's surname was Lu. She and Uncle Wen Jju were like-minded and very loving.
Although Madam Lu's health wasn't good, she was always amiable. It was the kind of amiability that came from the bottom of her heart.
She would pick up the little girl who fell, and then like her own child, she would kiss the little girl's cheeks and give the little girl a sweet plum.
They would also talk about "contracts" and "reforms" with Uncle. Sometimes, they would talk about the rivers and mountains of various places all night long.
They were a pair of lovebirds who were still cute even in their middle age.
However, from the first day I lived in the Yang family, I knew that the Yang family didn't like me or Uncle.
It was because they hated anyone who could talk to Uncle Wen Jju and his family.
I heard the Yang family secretly say, "Wen Jju has been crazy for decades, why isn't he dead yet?"
Not only did they say that about Uncle Wen Jju, they also viciously judged Madam Lu, "A crazy hen that can't lay eggs."
Especially since Madam Lu's health wasn't good, she often needed expensive herbs to recuperate. Uncle Wen Jju's health was weak, and he didn't do public affairs.
Even when the Yang family sent them medicine and tea, they often used inferior products to fool them.
Uncle Wen Jju and his family didn't care, but after drinking inferior medicine, they often coughed.
Did Uncle Wen Jju and his family know?
They probably knew.
Once, I heard him and Uncle drinking. They were so drunk that they suddenly lost their usual happiness and cried, "Willow tree, willow tree, how can the spring breeze move it!"
There was a banging sound in the house.
Uncle Wen Jju's pained and drunk voice sounded, "I want to go … go!"
Madam Lu also sighed sadly, "The Yang family is like this, so are many other rich families. Their roots are going to rot."
But this kind of complaint couldn't be said too much.
Everyone in the Yang family was like a messenger. After a while, I saw Old Madam Yang appear in front of Uncle Wen Jju with a walking stick, crying to the heavens, "Where are you going?! Where are you going?! It's fine if you don't behave properly, but you want to abandon this family? Do you want to force me to death? "
She scolded both Uncle Wen Jju and Madam Lu, "You can't lay eggs, you don't know how to manage the family, you can't even look after my grandson, and you don't know how to persuade your husband. You only know how to meddle in other people's business. What do I need you for? Do you want to be a statue or a guest?! "
Then she said that she wanted Uncle Wen Jju to divorce Madam Lu.
In the end, Uncle Wen Jju could only kowtow desperately. He used silence to refuse to respond.
Every time this happened, Madam Lu would stand outside the door with tears in her eyes and stare blankly at the willow tree by the pond.
After the commotion, there would be a period of stalemate. Then, Master Yang and Old Madam Yang would order to cut off Wen Jju and his wife's monthly allowance and medicine.
In the end, Uncle Wen Jju and his family would give in and stop talking about it for the time being.
The next day, Uncle Wen Jju silently went to listen to the male retainers of the Yang family talk about the eight-legged method.
Madam Lu sat quietly in the corner and listened to the young ladies and madams talk.
What happened to Uncle Wen Jju and Madam Lu, and what happened to them, Uncle didn't tell me in the end when we left.
He only advised them to "leave".
But they couldn't "leave". Once, Uncle Wen Jju said to Uncle after getting drunk, "The two of us can't see a way out of this world, and we can't survive outside. That's it. You're different. You leave, you leave for us. "
Uncle could only sigh.
I can only watch Uncle Wen Jju and Madam Lu suffer in vain.
— — —
When they finally left the Yang family, Uncle Wen Jju and his wife were still watching them leave.
After walking for a while, Daiyu heard Lin Ruoshan murmur, "Actually, it's fine like this. Wen Jju and his wife are a pair of naive birds. I shouldn't … Sigh, forget it. "
Daiyu didn't know what happened between Lin Ruoshan and the couple, but she also had her own thoughts.
Daiyu whispered, "I think Uncle Wen Jju and his wife aren't naive birds … I think they're like, like …"
Like who and who?
She didn't say anything again.
After a while, she said without thinking, "He's still inside, I came out … I, I don't understand."
Lin Ruoshan didn't probe further and patted her head, "If you can't figure it out, write it down first. Take your time and see. "
Daiyu whispered, "Mm."
That night, Daiyu concentrated for a long time under the light of the inn and wrote down a piece of writing. She borrowed a bit of Western language and called it "Willow Tree".
"Willow Tree, the wind blows through the branches, blowing their hearts.
But their roots still grow in the soil. Empty heart, or uprooted?
Only death awaits.
”
As she wrote, she realized that the person under her pen was not only Uncle Wen Jju, but also so much like Baoyu, and so much like her past self. Even like her future self who hadn't walked out.
"Fortunately," she murmured, "I walked out."
Although, she still didn't understand what was holding Baoyu and Uncle Wen Jju back.
But at this moment, Daiyu looked at the cocoon on her hand and actually liked it a little.
"Willow Tree" was written for a few days, but there was no ending. Daiyu thought that she would just end it the next time she saw Uncle Wen Jju and his wife.
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