ask willow

Chapter 1 The mountain has trees and the trees have branches

Just after a spring rain last night, the pear blossoms planted in the village are in full bloom. At first glance, the trees are pure white, like snow that has not melted through winter.

There is a stone table and stone bench under the most blooming pear tree, and a man in white sits leisurely alone. The hand is as warm and moist as white jade.

"Uncle Liu, besides those just now, is there anything else?"

"Vendor Master," the man standing beside him called Uncle Liu is in his forties. Although he has some gray hair, he is still in good spirits and looks very young. Since we have always had rifts with Young Master Liu, why not discuss it, dissolve the marriage contract, and find another lover."

"Looking for another lover...?" The man in white slightly turned the celadon wine glass in his hand, showing a smile that was not a smile.

"This subordinate made a slip of the tongue." Liu Zhongrui cupped his hands and lowered his head when he heard the words.

The man in white sighed softly, and said, "I'll think about it carefully, go ahead."

"Yes, my subordinates retire."

Liu Zhongrui saluted, turned and left, passed through the moon cave gate on the courtyard wall, and saw a man standing there, dressed in black clothes, with a thin and tall figure, he had stood there for an unknown how long.He was about to speak, but the man made a silent gesture, turned around and left.

Liu Zhongrui followed him for a while, until he was far away from the courtyard, he stopped and turned around.Although in a village with no outsiders, the man was still wearing a veiled bamboo hat, and his face could not be seen.

"Mr. Liu," Liu Zhongrui thought for a while, and said, "I said that to the owner of the villa just now. I think you have heard it. I have offended you a lot with my words. I hope you will forgive me."

Liu Zhongyi nodded when he heard the words, and said: "What you said is not wrong." His voice was very low and cold, and it sounded a bit chilly in this early spring weather. After a pause, he continued: "You are loyal to him, and I have no position to blame you. I originally... between me and him, it was just an agreement, no name, no part, errands, it should have ended long ago."

Liu Zhongrui listened without saying a word.

Liu Zhongyi continued: "Actually, even if you don't mention it, this matter is also in my plan. Don't worry, I will give him a good reason to 'find another lover' in the world. There will be no gossip, no matter who he wants to be with."

Liu Zhongrui was slightly surprised, and said, "What is Mr. Liu's plan?"

"It will be clear in time."

Liu Zhongrui couldn't see his expression, nor could he hear any emotional changes in that cold voice.He still remembered the appearance of this person five years ago. As a bystander, he didn't know why he had such a deep memory of the boy five years ago.I remember the blank and aggrieved expression on the young boy's face at that time, and I also remember the expression that he gradually lost his thoughts and became calm and dead.

Knowing that she shouldn't ask, she still couldn't help but said: "Young Master Liu, you treat the owner..."

Liu Zhongyi didn't wait for him to finish, and interrupted directly: "I'm not a fool."

After saying that, he turned and left.

In fact, I couldn't remember what I was going to do, but I overheard the conversation when I was passing by, and I listened to it with my breath, only to realize that my hands were cold.

However, since the ending that should have been known early on, it doesn't make any difference whether it ends in this way or in that way.

In name, he and Wen Yan have a marriage contract relationship, but in fact, this is just a sequela caused by a bureau set up back then.

Five years ago, Wen Yan, the young owner of Baicaozhuang, wanted to marry a man, and he wrote the marriage contract in front of the betrothal gifts from all the people in the world.Although masculinity was prevalent in the dynasty, most of them were high-ranking officials who liked to molest male pets, and there were still a small number of those who really entered into marriage contracts with men.When Wen Yan did this back then, it naturally caused a lot of criticism and even ridicule, but Baicaozhuang is famous in the world for its medicine and poison, so naturally not everyone can afford to offend, everyone just watched the fun.

Those who have watched the excitement must still remember that the man Wen Yan married was Liu Zhongqing.

Not Liu Zhongyi.

That person is Liu Zhongyi's brother.

Five years ago, he was 15 years old, his brother was 21, and Wen Yan was [-].At that time, he just knew that his love and dependence on Wen Yan had nothing to do with love, and he heard the news of the marriage contract. One was the person he liked, and the other was the person he was closest to. In their eyes, they are probably just a child who needs protection.

He still remembered that he went to find Wen Yan, the clip was very clear, it was at dusk, and the warm yellow light of the setting sun slanted on the water surface, making the scenery gentle.The willow branches by the lake are soft, and catkins fly all over the sky when the breeze passes.He asked Wen Yan if he really liked his brother.That person smiled very gently, and his soft voice was like a catkin brushing against his ears, making his heart ache.

The person said, yes, I like it, I like it very much.

How intoxicating that kind of tenderness was, it made his eyes sore, he lowered his head, and said with a smile, then I can wait for the wedding wine.

Unexpectedly, when the wedding was approaching, Liu Zhongqing suddenly disappeared, and Wen Yan took the letter left by that person and asked him why.

Five years have passed, and he no longer remembers the specific words in that letter. He only remembers that his elder brother found out that he liked Wen Yan and left on his own. He hoped that Wen Yan could be with him. In front of Yan.

The tone of the letter was almost threatening, so it was probably reasonable for Wen Yan to come and question him, but he didn't know why his brother did this at all, and he didn't even know when his brother discovered his intentions.

After that, he married Wen Yan in his brother's name, in order to trick his brother back, but on the night of the marriage, his brother did not come, and five years have passed, and there is no news of that person.During this period, he found subtle clues, but he still had no clue. As for the relationship with Wen Yan, he has always been a stranger.Thinking that the person probably didn't want to see him anyway, he found the yard farthest from the main house, so as to avoid the embarrassment of not seeing him when he looked up.Only occasionally when important guests came to the village, he would change his appearance and act with that person.

Thinking about it, if it wasn't for him, Wen Yan would be able to be with the person he likes, if he were anyone, he would probably have resentment, and in the past five years, whenever he was in the village, except for Wen Yan's slightly indifferent attitude, he never No matter what kind of harsh treatment he received, that person was considered very magnanimous.

The sound of flapping wings came to his ears, Liu Zhongyi came back to his senses, raised his arm, and let the bird land on his arm.The bird was blue all over, and the letter was too ostentatious, but very docile, allowing Liu Zhongyi to untie the small roll of paper from his lap.

Unfold the note, and there are only five words on it: "Zhaixinglou in Zishi".

Liu Zhongyi frowned slightly, put the note away, raised his arm, and said, "Go back."

The bird seemed to be spiritual, and flew around him, then went out of the courtyard wall and disappeared.

Liu Zhongyi stood quietly by the wall for a while, then suddenly remembered the purpose of coming out, and walked towards the back kitchen in the village.The back kitchen usually only has servants from the farmer, and the farmer and the like will not go there.It was already past noon, and it was still early for dinner. In the huge back kitchen, only a middle-aged man who was slightly fat was arranging the ingredients.As soon as Liu Zhongyi stepped in, the middle-aged man turned his head, with a smile on his simple and honest face, "Young Master Liu, I expected you to come."

Liu Zhongyi seemed a little surprised to stop at the door, and then took off the veiled bamboo hat on his head: "Uncle Song, it's hard for you to remember."

The middle-aged man smiled. He can be regarded as the manager of the back kitchen. Because of his good cooking skills and friendly personality, everyone called him "Uncle Song".He remembered that the first time he met Liu Zhongyi was early spring, when the owner of the young village had not been married for a long time, and he remembered clearly that it was because their kitchen staff were too busy with the wine at the wedding banquet.It's just that after the wedding banquet, news began to spread in the village that the young owner was at odds with the man he married. The servants naturally gossiped behind their backs, saying that the man had moved to the yard farthest from the main house, and he didn't want anyone to serve him. However, the owner of the Shaozhuang didn't stop him, but he just ordered the three meals a day to be delivered on time, and he should not be neglected. Naturally, the back chef knew this clearly.

At that time, Uncle Song was very puzzled. Everyone in the village knew that the young owner and the old owner had almost fallen out over the matter of getting married. And why?

That day when Liu Zhongyi came to pick out the back kitchen and there was no one there, he was taking care of the kitchen utensils, and when he heard a sound at the door, he turned around and took a look, only to see a boy who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old standing there in black, At first, I was taken aback, thinking that someone had sneaked into the back kitchen with evil intentions.

However, the young man sized him up with clear eyes for a long time, and said, "Can you teach me how to cook a bowl of longevity noodles?"

Uncle Song heaved a sigh of relief, seeing his handsome face, and his expression did not seem to be fake, he thought he was a guest of the village, so he asked: "Is the young master a guest of the village? Do you want to order me down to prepare meals?"

The boy shook his head, but insisted on teaching him how to cook a bowl of longevity noodles.Uncle Song thought that there was nothing wrong with him, if he could come to the village as a guest, they would naturally not be able to offend these little people, so he agreed.

When teaching the boy to cook noodles, he found that his movements were very clumsy, obviously he had never done such a thing.Uncle Song taught almost hand in hand, and he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why do you cook noodles?"

The young man seemed to be taken aback for a moment, his brows furrowed, his eyelids drooped slightly, and his pale and thin face seemed a little bit aggrieved. Do you want longevity noodles?"

Only then did Uncle Song know that it was his birthday, but he felt that the farmer was a bit strange, so he asked him what his name was. The young man just replied that his surname was Liu, and he didn't say anything else.The noodles that day were not cooked well because of the juvenile's jerky technique. He wanted to cook a new bowl for him, but the juvenile held the bowl and declined his kindness, then said goodbye and left.It wasn't until a long time later that he realized that the young man was the rumored "Young Madam".Although this word is not appropriate, Uncle Song couldn't find any other words to describe this person's identity.

The day Liu Zhongyi came for the second time was the owner's birthday. Uncle Song was arranging the ingredients for the dinner. At that time, he already knew Liu Zhongyi's identity. When he turned around and saw him, he was about to salute, but was stopped up.Liu Zhongyi asked him if the owner of the Shaozhuang had eaten longevity noodles today.He answered no, the young master didn't care about that custom in the village.So Liu Zhongyi took the opportunity to cook the noodles again, but he always remembered the steps, step by step, exactly.

Uncle Song then asked: "Young Master Liu, do you want to cook longevity noodles for the owner?"

Liu Zhongyi didn't answer, but instead asked: "The person who cooks longevity noodles can live a long and healthy life, so is it okay if he doesn't eat it?"

Uncle Song was taken aback by his question, and it took him a while to comfort him, "As long as you're thinking about it, that's fine."

After cooking the noodles that day, Liu Zhongyi didn't take them away, but stayed for a while and asked Uncle Song if he wanted to eat.Uncle Song was startled, and said, "Isn't it cooked for the young master?"

Liu Zhongyi just looked at the bowl of longevity noodles, lowered his eyes, and said, "He will probably throw it away."

Uncle Song was stunned for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, the man had disappeared. He looked at the bowl of longevity noodles that were not exquisite but made with care, and thought to himself, Mr. Liu is like this, how could he not like the young owner? , Could it be that my master has betrayed others.In the end, he found a maid and sent the bowl of noodles to the owner of the young village, but he didn't explain who made it.But because it wasn't meal time, the young owner didn't eat, so he probably threw it away in the end.

For five years, Liu Zhongyi would come here twice a year, and Uncle Song gradually remembered the dates.After the old owner passed away, the young owner inherited the villa, and he would ask someone to bring the longevity noodles for each owner’s birthday. The wrong time was put aside, cold, mushy, and finally had to be dumped.But Uncle Song also understands that it is absolutely impossible for Liu Zhongyi to come to the back kitchen with a lot of people for lunch or dinner, that person does not want to be discovered by anyone.

"Uncle Song, what are you thinking?"

His thoughts were cut off by the slightly cold voice, Uncle Song came back to his senses, and saw that the person in front of him had started to boil water.In the past five years, the young boy who was originally a bit young has grown into a mature young man. His stature has grown taller, and the contours of his face have become more angular. The habit of cooking longevity noodles has been kept.

Uncle Song shook his head and said, "It's nothing, I'm just thinking about the meal that should be prepared tonight."

Liu Zhongyi's subordinates continued to move, and said, "Thank you for the past five years. Uncle Song, after this time, I won't come again."

"how?"

"I'm going to leave in a while." Liu Zhongyi paused slightly, and seemed to smile, "Congratulations to your owner, you are finally free."

Uncle Song was taken aback, "But you and the owner..."

Liu Zhongyi pursed his lips slightly, "I'm just an outsider. There are no acquaintances in this village. When I was about to leave, I just wanted to get up and tell you that Uncle Song has always treated me very well," he paused. After a pause, he bent his lips and gave a real smile: "I will remember to leave pastries for me. If you hear any news in the future...don't worry."

Uncle Song didn't say anything else, he was arranging the ingredients. It wasn't until Liu Zhongyi cooked the longevity noodles and put them in a bowl that he took out a food box. The food box looked very delicate and had three layers. Uncle Song put the bowl Put the dough in, cover it carefully, and hand it over to him, saying: "The bottom two layers are freshly made plum blossom cakes, I know you like it, so take it as a small birthday gift from me."

Liu Zhongyi took it, "Thank you." He picked up the draped bamboo hat that was put aside, and suddenly remembered something, and said, "By the way, Uncle Song, is the noodles I cook delicious?"

Uncle Song was stunned for a moment, then remembered that Liu Zhongyi didn't know that he had secretly sent those longevity noodles for the owner's birthday, and thought he had eaten them all the time, so he couldn't help but feel very sad for him, but said in his mouth: "Okay Eat, you have lived up to my master."

Liu Zhongyi smiled when he heard this, and didn't care that he recognized his apprentice like this, nodded slightly to say goodbye, and left with the food box.

Uncle Song sighed, turned around, and sure enough, he saw the taels of silver left behind by the man on the stove.It's like this every time. In fact, those things are worth so much money there.Just as he was thinking, he heard a knock on the door behind him. He thought it was the man who had gone and returned, but when he turned around, he saw a man in white standing by the door.Although he is usually only in the back kitchen, how can this person not know him, so he quickly bowed to salute.

"Master."

Wen Yan frowned slightly, looked around the back kitchen for a moment, and said, "What did he come here just now?"

Uncle Song was startled, and said: "Young Master Liu said that he came back late and didn't have lunch, so please help cook the bowl of noodles."

Wen Yan looked at him, as if wanting to see through this person, staring at him for a long time: "Really?"

Uncle Song only felt a slight cold sweat on his back, but his expression remained unchanged: "How dare my subordinates lie to the owner of the villa."

Wen Yan just looked at him and didn't speak. He didn't listen to the man until he felt his body was almost completely stiff, "That's good."

Uncle Song heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, and when he straightened up, Wen Yan had already left without a trace.