[75] Passionate but ruthlessly annoyed

When Zhan Zhao left the county office, the sun was already shining brightly outside, and the accumulated water on the ground had already been evaporated dry.He was sent all the way to the intersection by the master secretary, who kept chattering about the history of Qingshan Temple and some rumors and anecdotes.Zhan Zhao listened absent-mindedly, sometimes thinking about the arson case in his mind, and sometimes flashing Pinger's smile in a daze.

"That concubine Ji," Zhan Zhao said suddenly, interrupting the other party's long-winded introduction about the No.13 abbot of Qingshan Temple, "Do you know her origin, sir?"

The master book couldn't help being stunned for a moment, and replied: "I'm really not sure about this. Probably the young master of the Yao family bought it from a brothel. She can't be a good girl, otherwise why would she do such a crazy thing?" things."

"Since she has entered the Yao family, she can live in peace. It's better than falling into the world. In this way, the Yao family has been kind to her, so why did she set fire to the Yao family again?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"This..." The master was at a loss for words, "Who knows, maybe that woman lost her mind and went crazy. Besides, the person is already dead, so what's the use of talking about it."

"Sir, that's right." Zhan Zhao said with a sigh, thinking that the Yao family was completely dead.If it wasn't for the head catcher who had been tracking him down, no one would have cared whether the Yao family was murdered or died in a fire accident.

Thinking of this, a sense of loss suddenly surged in my heart.He waved his hand, bid farewell to the master secretary, and walked down the long street alone.What the chief secretary said just now seemed to coincide with what the white-clothed woman said before she committed suicide, and the beautiful almost sad voice sounded in his ear again, and said with a sigh: "The deceased is gone, what is there to say? "

When a person dies, it is as if the lights have gone out. There is really nothing to say.Whether the woman really killed the Yao family due to some unknown reasons, or she was completely innocent, it has become meaningless with the death of the person involved.

Zhan Zhao suddenly thought of Ping'er, and remembered her crying to himself that this girl might not escape the fate of being sold in the future.And the woman in white was also reduced to prostitution, perhaps it was because of the tragic experience that made her temperament change so much that she crazily killed the Yao family.As Zhan Zhao guessed like this, a wave of powerlessness surged in his heart again.

Would he still be able to prevent these things that might not happen, but might happen?Zhan Zhao thought, but there was a voice in his heart that opposed this negative and decadent thought.He stood there for a while, and suddenly felt a rush of impulse, thinking: "Maybe I can't reverse life and death, I can't do anything to the dead, but the living, the hopeful, I can always help."

There are many unfortunate people in this world, when Zhan Zhao meets them, he will always help them within his ability.So, why can't Ping'er do it?

Zhan Zhao felt his blood rushing up, he remembered what Ping'er said, the troupe was resting in the inn at the foot of the mountain, maybe they haven't left yet.So Zhan Zhao took advantage of this impulse to search for them one by one in the inns at the foot of the mountain.A group of people running around the rivers and lakes is always more eye-catching. Sure enough, in the third inn, the clerk asked that there was a theater troupe resting in the backyard.

Zhan Zhao casually tossed a few copper coins to the clerk, and hurried to the backyard.Sure enough, there were all kinds of boxes and cages piled up in the yard, and the little monkey was sitting on the top, holding a peach and gnawing on it.Zhan Zhao glanced at the little guy, then walked towards a room with the door closed.

Always try, he told himself.

However, just when Zhan Zhao raised his hand to knock on the door, a woman's voice could be heard faintly from inside the door: "Where did this little girl Ping'er go? Why can't she be seen anywhere?"

"I don't know, maybe I went to the mountains." Someone replied.

"Why did Hao Duanduan run back to the mountain?" The woman was dissatisfied, paused, and then said suddenly, "Don't go looking for that young master, I think they are very friendly."

"Probably, that young master is a good man."

"Yes, indeed a good man."

"Perhaps it is also due to Pinger's fate. That young master looks very handsome. Since he and Pinger are so good, it is unknown if he may fall in love with this little girl."

"Scary, does he look at the style? He just looks at the style. Look at his words and deeds, he must be a person who is coming and going in the wind and rain, rolling in the rivers and lakes."

"But after all, he is from the capital. If Ping'er can follow him, it will be a blessing."

"Bah, what do you know! This kind of person looks like a hard worker, how can he give Ping'er a good life? If Ping'er follows him, it will be bad luck for eight lifetimes."

Hearing this, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but retreat a few steps hastily, and suddenly thought of his dead wife.I remembered the phrase "the ends of the earth, I will go with you too" when she raised her head.

In fact, he hadn't thought of her for many years.When they met for the first time in Jianghu when they were teenagers, and they were well matched, Zhan Zhao ended the marriage hastily and hastily.Probably because the people around him said that "a man can start a career only after he has a family", so he also felt that when he was old, it was time to get married.But at that time, Zhan Zhao had just followed Bao Gong, and it was really "coming and going in the wind and rain", and he could not go home for a few days throughout the year.Between husband and wife, in the end they ended up not as good as ordinary strangers.Undoubtedly, he neglected his wife. At that time, he really didn't understand the relationship between men and women.Don't talk about being gentle and considerate, I'm afraid Zhan Zhao can be regarded as hard-hearted.

But his wife never seemed to complain, no matter how long he hadn't been back, he always knew that woman would be waiting for him at home.

However, she has never been able to accompany her to the ends of the earth.The woman who was always waiting for him at home finally took a step ahead and withered like an autumn flower.

Now Zhan Zhao can still remember the bewildered mood in his heart when he rushed home from the Yamen to meet her for the last time.However, Zhan Zhao could no longer recall the voice and smile of his dead wife.

Suddenly, a chill came out from the bottom of my heart.Zhan Zhao thought, that woman was right, maybe Ping'er really stepped into the fire pit after following him.In the imagination, the face of the dead wife gradually overlapped with that of Pinger.Zhan Zhao couldn't help but staggered and took another step back, stood blankly at the door for a while, and then left in embarrassment with some kind of fear.

A muffled thunder sounded in the distance, vague and long.

Zhan Zhao thought, even if he redeemed Ping'er, so what?Take her back to the capital, and then let her wait for him for a few years, and then die in depression?This thought made him uncontrollably terrified, as if the imaginary situation had become real.Zhan Zhao couldn't help speeding up his pace, and hurried all the way back to Qingshan Temple.

He wanted to take another look at Ping'er to make sure that those illusory things were not true.Ping'er is not his dead wife who wasted her youth and gradually consumed her vitality while waiting.

As soon as he entered the mountain gate, he happened to meet the head catcher who came to the county government.He seemed to really want to say something to Zhan Zhao, but Zhan Zhao had something on his mind, so he talked to him in a hurry before walking inside.It didn't take long to see Ping'er.

He saw that Ping'er was standing beside a pomegranate tree, still wearing that green skirt, standing on tiptoe to smell the fragrance of pomegranate flowers.Suddenly, she also saw Zhan Zhao, and a look of surprise flooded her face.She seemed to want to run over, but stopped hesitantly.Zhan Zhao's expression terrified her, and Ping'er realized something, and her face turned pale.

Zhan Zhao couldn't help feeling a pain in his heart, he lifted his foot and walked towards Ping'er.

"Brother Zhan." Ping'er lowered her head and called out.

Zhan Zhao nodded, he felt depressed, and he couldn't express it, and indeed he couldn't express it.He wanted to tell Ping'er that following him would only harm her.But Ping'er's sad eyes made him flinch.He couldn't say a word, and probably didn't need to say anything.Looking at Ping'er, Zhan Zhao knew that this girl who used to be like a mountain elf understood everything.

The sky was gloomy, and suddenly, the rain was caught in the wind and rolled into the yard.The fallen leaves all over the ground were submerged in the stagnant water, spinning around in vain, but they couldn't break free.

I don't know how long the two had been facing each other silently, but Zhan Zhao suddenly went crazy. He took out all the bank notes on his body, and then stuffed them all into Ping'er.When he held the sword, his hands trembled without a trace, as if he had cut something with his own hands in pain.

Ping'er was stunned, she held the bank note and murmured, "Brother Zhan, what are you doing?"

"You take these to redeem yourself. Use the rest to settle down, don't live this wandering life anymore." Zhan Zhao said, suppressing the trembling in his voice, "I, I have nothing to give you, That's all."

Ping'er's face turned even paler. She tried her best to push the banknote back to Zhan Zhao, but she was not as strong as Zhan Zhao.She pushed back with both hands, and suddenly remembered that she was still longing for someone to help her yesterday, but when Zhan Zhao really did this, she didn't feel the slightest joy.

Only pain.

"I don't want your money." Ping'er's voice trembled faintly, she said over and over again, "I don't want your money, I don't want your money."

She burst into tears, threw the banknote to Zhan Zhao, turned around and covered her face and left.

Zhan Zhao stared at Ping'er's back in a daze, and felt his heart ache for a moment.Thunder came again, the wind blew up, and it rained cats and dogs.

After standing awkwardly in the rain for some time, Ping'er turned around again, holding an umbrella and watching Zhan Zhao silently.Zhan Zhao was drenched all over, and looked at her through the rain curtain, trying to open his mouth to say something, but suddenly realized that it wasn't Ping'er.

It's Lian Er.

This girl who looks exactly like Ping'er is looking at Zhan Zhao with a cold gaze, and she asks, "What did you say to my sister?"

Zhan Zhao lowered his head and looked at the scattered banknotes on the ground, which were all soaked by now.After a while, he bent down and picked them up one by one.Those papers that were originally light and fluffy now seem to be as heavy as a thousand weights.He took a few steps forward, put the banknote into Lian'er's hand, and said in a hoarse voice, "You two sisters, take good care of yourselves."

Lian'er slowly clenched the banknote in her hand, and after a long time, she said, "She doesn't want your money." Looking up, a pair of eyes so similar to Ping'er looked at Zhan Zhao, "You know in your heart that this is Why."

Zhan Zhao was dumb, the rain was pouring down his face, he couldn't see Lian'er's expression clearly, but the image of Ping'er curled up in the corner of the bed with tears all over his face flashed in his mind.

He finally said: "I failed her."

"Yes, you failed her." Lian Er said, and suddenly smiled coldly, "You will regret it." After finishing speaking, she stuffed the umbrella into Cheng Zhao's hand.Regardless of the rain pouring all over his body, he turned and left, gradually disappearing behind the red wall.

A faint sound of sutra chanting came from the main hall. It was the monks who were offering salvation to the woman who died last night.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhan Zhao walked back to his residence step by step.He put away the umbrella and closed the door, as if to keep everything outside.The water on his body continued to seep into the ground, slowly accumulating into small puddles.So he walked towards the bed, took off his wet clothes and threw them aside, leaving his upper body bare.Suddenly, Zhan Zhao paused, his eyes fell on the bamboo couch.

There is a sachet there - Ping'er dropped it here last night.

A gust of wind blew up outside the window, blowing up the fallen flowers all over the sky.

(End of the article)