Tranquility

Bangzi of the fifth watch had just knocked, it was the darkest hour before dawn, and the surroundings were dead silent.

In the darkness, a faint yellow flame suddenly lit up. It turned out that a pair of slender hands had polished the fire pocket, and that hand slowly leaned the fire pocket towards the candle wick, with skilled and graceful movements.The bright candlelight follows the owner of the hand, and slowly moves over the overlapping scroll-patterned window lattices, over the white-glazed and hollowed-out porcelain plum vase, and finally the lamp base is lightly buckled on the dressing table with a diorama set with a half-person height. , although the sound was very soft, but it was very clear in this room where the sound of pins fell, and the people kneeling on the ground trembled undetectably.

A mature woman's voice sounded from above his head: "It's not yet dawn, what's the big deal that you'd rather disturb my sleep than rush to report?" Although the voice was soft, it carried the majesty of a superior.

The kneeling man buried his head even lower, and said respectfully: "Reporting to the master, Wei Yi came to report just now, and one of his pawnshops accepted a golden lotus hairpin. The name of the master is taboo, it seems to be what the master is looking for." After speaking, he took out a small wooden box and held it above his head.

"Quickly, show it to Ben Gong." The majestic voice forced his excitement.

Those slender hands quickly took the wooden box and just turned around when a pair of well-maintained hands grabbed it. Trembling slightly, they lifted the lid. Inside lay the hairpin left by the mother Tangning had met that day. Deyi picked up the hairpin with her hand, but the wooden box slipped from her hand without realizing it. She just held the hairpin and stroked it back and forth,

"It's mine, that's right, it turns out that she really didn't die, 12 years, 12 years, Wan'er, where is my Wan'er? Come on, tell me!" The owner of the voice couldn't hold back anymore, Stand up and walk a few steps to the man, and ask sharply.

The man didn't dare to raise his head at all, he just stared at the Dongzhu on the pair of exquisitely embroidered shoes in front of him, and said quickly: "The person who is the hairpin is a village woman with an ordinary appearance, and Weiyi's people followed her to Weihai City The next place in Cangping County is called Zhangjia Village, and she is a carpenter's house in the village." Then he quickly described the situation of the carpenter's house.

Before I finished, I just said that when the carpenter brought back a beautiful woman and married her as the second house-filler, he was kicked hard.

The majesty in the mature female voice was gone, and she said with a bit of sternness: "No! How is it possible, how can Wan'er marry someone, how can she marry a villager, she, how can she bear it... She is now How? Where? I'll send someone to pick it up right away, no, I'll go myself, add incense, and prepare the horse!"

The owner of those slender hands is Tian Xiang, and quickly grabbed her: "Master, don't worry, this moment is not too late, you have to ask the place clearly." Saying this, he hurriedly urged the kneeling man on the ground.

At this time, the spring is cold, but the man's back is wet with sweat, and big drops of sweat are falling from his forehead. He doesn't care to wipe it off. He knows that what he said next will cause a violent storm, but he has to say it, so he has to bite the bullet Said: "The extremely beautiful woman became pregnant the next year, and gave birth to a son the next year, but, just..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that she died in childbirth."

There was a moment of silence in the room, but everyone felt as if a lifetime had passed.

"Do not--!"

A scream of pain that seemed to come from hell pierced the eardrums of the other two people in the room, shook open the gorgeous window lattice, and broke through the dark clouds...

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At this time, on a small mountain thousands of miles away, a slender boy in a blue cotton gown greeted the first ray of sunlight happily. His glazed eyeballs stared motionlessly at the horizon, watching The yolk-like morning sun jumped out of the horizon, and the warm golden color quickly dispelled the coldness of the night. The peaceful village under the mountain appeared instantly, the small trees around stretched their waists, and the small animals also opened their misty eyes. A look of vitality.

Tangning took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, stared intently at the wooden board in front of her, and picked up the pen. This time, he must paint this feeling.Although the snow had melted a few days ago and it was time for the weather to warm up, the wind on the top of the mountain still blew Tang Ning's skirts, and his hands quickly became red and swollen, but he didn't notice it, and was still immersed in the world of painting.

Since my husband saw his painting of apples four years ago, he began to teach him Chinese painting. He taught him very strictly and carefully, from the posture of holding the brush to the technique of writing the brush to the thickness of the ink.Tang Ning learned very well. Starting from the simplest shrimp, the paintings are very similar, but they are only like. In the words of the husband, they have aura but lack of painting.Tangning has been troubled by this for a long time, but the husband is not in a hurry, and he didn't ask him to draw it three times like writing. Tangning was a little puzzled, but the husband said:

"Paintings can be encountered but not sought. Since ancient times, everyone's paintings have all come from extreme tempering, or family changes, or their own difficulties, or can't ask for it, and even worse, when they live to the very old, they will have a lifetime. Accumulated, the painting will naturally appear on the paper."

The gentleman just took these words as ordinary teachings and didn't care about them, but Tangning was deeply moved. He thought of a saying in his previous life: Quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes, and he thought of Van Gogh cutting off his ears.He seemed to understand a little bit, any one thing to the extreme will produce incredible effects.He wants to apply this theory to his painting skills. Since oil painting pursues similarity, he pursues the ultimate similarity.He once asked Mr. what is the meaning of painting, and Mr. replied that you can know it when you see it. He continued to ask with black lines, and Mr. said impatiently: "Look at the difference between the rising sun in the east and the setting sun in the west. If it is painted on paper What's the difference?"

Since then, Tang Ning has been painting the sunrise or sunset every morning and evening. He paints at home on rainy days, and goes to the top of the mountain to paint on sunny days. He wants to make it exactly like what he sees through oil painting. You can tell by looking at it, he thinks that is the artistic conception.

easy to say, hard to do.Tang Ning's pursuit of resemblance can't be achieved only by his painting skills. The color of the paint, the transparency of the oil, the oil absorption of the canvas, etc. all restrict his painting methods, so in the past four years, he has been trying different materials. Approach.Hard work pays off, his paintings are becoming more and more vivid, and now his paintings are also well-known in Cangping County.Not only young girls love his jigsaw puzzles, but also elderly people love his Avalokitesvara or birthday pictures, and the prices of his paintings are naturally getting higher and higher.

However, he draws the most pictures of the rising sun. Whether it is the rising sun or the setting sun, he claims to be the picture of the rising sun. He has been waiting for someone to take the painting and say to him, "You made a mistake, this is the picture of the setting sun". Unfortunately, at present No one has ever questioned that.

When the sky was bright, Tangning regretfully put away the unfinished paintings, packed up and prepared to go down the mountain to go to school.After walking a few steps, a small figure suddenly jumped on his back from behind. Tangning laughed, and said, "I knew it was you. You have been hiding in the bushes, and finally you can't hide anymore?" The slender paws on the back were patted down, and Qiuqiu lay down on the ground aggrieved and begged to be stroked. If it was changed to four years ago when she was still worthy of the name, maybe this action was a bit naive, but now she has grown up, and she looks like an ordinary villager. As skinny as a dog, this action seems a little funny.But no matter what she looks like, in Tangning's eyes, she is his Qiuqiu, besides, Qiuqiu is very human and very likable.

It is not accurate to say that Qiuqiu belongs to Tangning, because he gave it to Sister Cheng a few years ago. When Sister Cheng received it, she was very pleasantly surprised and almost fell ill. Because of this, the husband lost his temper , almost drove Tangning out of the school.Tangning herself regretted it. Fortunately, Sister Cheng didn't blame Tangning for it. Instead, she loved her brother even more. Of course, she loved Qiuqiu the most. She stayed with Qiuqiu every day and took good care of her. Recovering from the depression of being abandoned by the master, she threw herself into the arms of the new master Xiangxiang without hesitation.

Tang Ning didn't mind it either, but loved Qiuqiu even more. He found that since getting Qiuqiu, sister Cheng was obviously much happier and her health seemed to have improved a lot.Moreover, Qiuqiu is very attentive to her master. She never yells, and she doesn't say a word at home, because Tangning told her to keep quiet. If she yells, it will scare Sister Cheng; She also goes to swim in the river twice by herself, and always keeps herself clean; she always pays silently, showing up when the owner needs it most.

When one person and one dog arrived at the school, it was time for dinner. Sister Cheng was standing at the door in a pale pink dress, smiling at Tangning, revealing dimples, as quiet and beautiful as an orchid. The 13-year-old sister Cheng has shown her girlish figure for the first time. She is slim and graceful, but her pale complexion and pointed chin still reveal her weakness. She has lost a bit of girlish vitality. She adds a bit of graceful temperament.

Tangning stepped forward to look at her expression, worried, "How long have you been waiting? It's still cold, don't wait for me next time, I'm so tired."

Sister Cheng smiled and changed the subject: "I will pay attention next time, come in and eat quickly, Dad should be in a hurry."

After dinner, Tangning saw that no one had arrived at the school, and felt a little strange. Before he could ask, the master said, "I informed them last night that classes will be suspended for one month. You went to paint some Western paintings early yesterday, so you didn't receive a letter." .”

Tangning was embarrassed. He knew that the husband didn't care what he drew, but he was afraid that he would not be able to eat too much, so he hurriedly said, "Are you going to take my sister to the town to see the doctor?"

The gentleman nodded slightly: "I will go today, the doctor has already arrived."

Although Tangning was a little surprised at being so anxious, seeing Sister Cheng's condition, he could only remain silent.In the past few years, he has been with Sister Cheng day and night, and he knows that her illness is much more serious than his mother. He heard from the husband that if she hadn't met that doctor when she was a child, she might not be able to live until now. Even so, Sister Cheng The money spent on medicine is not something ordinary people can afford. No wonder Mr. Cheng always talks about being poor.

The doctor I'm going to see today is the doctor I met when I was young. That doctor has superb medical skills, especially good at treating diseases in the womb. It's just that he doesn't always practice medicine in one place. Now that he comes back, he probably still remembers the promise he made at the beginning. At the beginning, he said that when sister Cheng lived past the threshold of 13 years old, he would come back to check the pulse and prescribe medicine again.

What Sister Cheng faces this time may be a new beginning or the final end.Even though her fate will be decided today, she still tidies up the table and feeds the goldfish calmly, as if she were on a normal day.Tangning knew that she was able to be so calm and calm because she lived each day as if it was her last, doing what she wanted to do, and trying her best not to leave any regrets. That's why she always tried her best to be nice to others, learn her best, and try her best Smile.

Looking at Sister Cheng's back carrying a plate, Tangning felt pain in her heart. Until now, he didn't know how much he didn't want her to leave. He wanted to see her smiling dimples and hear her gentle voice every day. ,he thinks……

Mr. Cheng tapped Tangning, "Even though I won't be here this month, don't waste your homework. You need to read books, write calligraphy, and practice painting. You will have a test in one month. Go ahead and try."

Tang Ning was a little confused. The husband never taught him how to take the exam. Except for the necessary memorization and explanation, the husband taught him calligraphy, painting, poetry, and local customs. He felt that the husband didn't want to teach him to be a nerd, but Educate him in the way of cultivating literati.Therefore, when he was able to take the boy's test at the age of eight but his husband did not recommend him, he was prepared for the impossibility of becoming an official early.

The master didn't intend to wait for his answer, and he wasn't in the mood to teach his disciples today, so he waved Tangning to leave.

Tangning hesitated for a moment before asking, "Sir, can I go to town with you?"

The gentleman said impatiently: "It's useless if you go, it will only add to the chaos." Tangning was about to interject, "I can accompany you, besides, I also want to know about Sister Cheng's condition." But the gentleman interrupted: "As for I can talk to Dr. Lu about what you said last time, and if he agrees, I will send you a letter. It's getting late, we have to go on the road early, you go back. "

In the end, Tang Ning was sent home by her husband, but Tang Ning was a little restless, even a little terrified, as if something big was about to happen. He thought it was because he was worried about Sister Cheng, so he forced himself to suppress it.