Chapter 199 The Past of Wei Shuyi and His Three Brothers

In Yingcai Lane, Jiang He was terrified.

Once upon a time, he heard that there was a man named Wei Yuan who became a general and was even more powerful than the emperor in the court.

During those days, Jiang He never left the house, as if he was possessed by a demon, saying that he was really "Jiang He was going downhill and would not live long".

However, after a long time, he was still safe and sound, so he subconsciously thought that this Wei Yuan was not the same Wei Yuan.

However, how could he not be frightened when he saw him now? How could he not be afraid?

Hearing that Wei Yuan's tone was harmless, he relaxed a little, but the things in his childhood were still vivid in his mind.

What if one day, the other party thought of those past events and felt resentful?

"You can let bygones be bygones, and I am so blessed that you are so generous."

"I apologize to you here."

Jiang He wanted to kneel down, but was stopped by Wei Yuan.

"Don't mention the past."

"What are those playmates of yours doing now?"

"I remember you took the small test. How was it? Did you get the title of scholar?"

Wei Yuan started to chat casually.

Jiang Hedao shook his head and said, "I'm ashamed to say that I didn't pass the exam to become a student, but I'm not bad at arithmetic. Now I work as an accountant for others in the city, and my life is barely passable."

"My old playmates, such as Ji Ying and Gong Fu, have all gone to the city. I have no ambitions, so I just stay here."

Wei Yuan nodded slightly, and suddenly thought of a girl in his mind, and asked:

"Is Jing Yan married?"

The girl named Jing Yan has been playing with Wei Ruyi since she was a child. After a few visits, she became very familiar with Wei Yuan.

When Jiang He and his friends bullied Wei Yuan several times, Jing Yan would help Wei Yuan speak.

But since the Wei family left this alley, they have never contacted Jing Yan again.

At that time, the little girl Jing Yan had confessed to Wei Yuan, saying,

"If you can't get married in the future, I will marry you reluctantly, please don't be tactless."

Wei Yuan thought it was just a child's nonsense at the time, so he just nodded and smiled as a response.

Later, when Wei Ruyi mentioned him, he knew that Jing Yan, the girl, kept smiling foolishly for some reason during those days.

Now that he thinks about it, he and the girl named Jing Yan can be considered childhood sweethearts.

Jiang He said: "Jing Yan, she married a wealthy family in the east of the city a few years ago, and gave birth to a son and a daughter last year."

"Her mother is sick, and she often goes home to visit her mother during this period."

"If you stay here for a few days, you may be able to see her."

Wei Yuan shook his head, "I just asked casually."

Jiang He nodded and said, "I understand."

Wei Yuan's memory of the girl Jing Yan has long been vague.

From childhood, although she was not very pretty, she had a clean and beautiful face and the temperament of a Jiangnan woman.

She will be a good wife and mother in the future.

As time passed, my childhood playmates also had their own lives and futures.

Looking back, it makes people recall and sigh.

Wei Yuan and Jiang He chatted for a few more words and then wanted to leave.

The latter hurriedly said: "General Wei Wei, please wait for me for a moment."

He walked into the house quickly.

Wei Yuan couldn't help but feel curious.

After about a cup of tea, Jiang He came running over with a wooden box in his arms, saying:

"If you hadn't mentioned Jing Yan, I would have almost forgotten that Miss Jing Yan gave me a wooden box before she got married, and told me to give it to you if I met you."

"I never opened this box from beginning to end, and now that I see you here, I feel relieved."

Wei Yuan took the box, opened it, and memories of the past immediately flooded into his mind like a spring.

In the box were some small gifts that Wei Yuan had given her.

There were decorations tied to clothes, a small wooden comb, and the first word that Wei Yuan wrote when he taught her to write - 'Jing'.

Wei Yuan smiled, handed the wooden box to Jiang He again, and said, "These things are useless to me, so please help me burn them."

Jiang He nodded, took the wooden box, and said nothing.

Wei Yuan and Chen Daniu left this place.

This time, he would never come back again.

And Wei Yuan was no longer the energetic young man he was back then.

The two lives were different.

From this moment on, Wei Yuan was just the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery, not the ‘son of the Wei family’ in the impression of Jiang He and the others.

Leaving Yingcai Lane, Wei Yuan returned to the carriage.

Just as he was about to leave, a sedan passed by.

A gentle breeze.

The curtains of the two carriages fluttered gently, and they looked at each other in silence.

Wei Yuan nodded to the woman sitting in the sedan.

The woman was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

In just a moment, both parties had left, and there was no time to look back.

It was like meeting an old friend, like meeting a spring breeze, it would be hard to meet again after this farewell, and I will never meet again.

After Wei Yuan left.

There was a maid sitting in the woman's sedan chair. She asked curiously:

"Madam, who were you greeting just now? The man sitting in the carriage seemed to be a senior official, and there were soldiers guarding him on both sides. He was really impressive."

The woman lowered her head and remained silent for a moment, and finally raised her head and smiled:

"He is a piece of wood."

Wood?

The maid chuckled, "Madam, how can you say that about others? If others know, they will definitely cause trouble for us."

The woman smiled again, "If he gets off the carriage, I dare to say that even in front of him."

The maid was confused and said, "Madam, you are acquainted with such a nobleman? Why have I never heard you say that before?"

The woman shook her head, "Everyone has their own way to go, what's there to say?"

In her heart, it didn't matter whether Wei Yuan got off the carriage or not.

Because the wood in her mouth is the young man full of vigor, not the general who can make the whole country tremble with a stomp of his feet.

After not seeing each other for many years, she can still see that he is the young man in the past with just a glance.

But he is no longer that young man.

——

Wei Yuan left Guangling County and went to Weijia Village.

For some reason, he subconsciously thought that this trip to Guangling was more like saying goodbye to the past.

Because Chai Gong had already informed everyone in Weijia Village.

So, at this moment, the people in the whole village stood at the gate of the village to welcome him, and at the same time they were talking about it:

"Will General Wei really come to a place like ours?"

"When his parents were ill, General Wei knocked on every door to borrow money from us, and said that when he became successful, he would repay us a hundredfold. At first, I thought it was a joke, but I didn't expect that he actually did it."

"Speaking of this, I am ashamed. We are also members of the Wei family, but we didn't help their family back then, causing their eldest sister to be sold to an official as a maid."

"If General Wei comes later, don't say these things, otherwise he will be angry and we will be in big trouble."

"I really didn't expect that our Weijia Village could produce such a big man. Before, people from the government came to build a "Zhongyong Village Archway" for us, saying that a great man came out of our village, but I didn't believe it at the time."

"."

Now Weijia Village has been renamed "Zhongyong Village" by the government.

However, the people nearby still like to call him "Loyal and Brave Lord".

As the saying goes, when one person succeeds, his family members will benefit.

The government not only built a memorial archway in Weijia Village, but also spent a huge amount of money to renovate Wei Yuan's old house. In order to make it fit in with the surrounding buildings, the houses in the whole village were renovated again.

Even roads were built.

In less than a year, Weijia Village gradually prospered.

All this is naturally inseparable from Wei Yuan's reputation.

The local government also thought that one day, if Wei Yuan knew these things, he would be promoted.

Standing in front of everyone was the head of Weijia Village. This man was over 60 years old and enjoyed a very high prestige in the village.

He suddenly saw that there were troops coming not far away, and immediately shouted:

"General Wei is here, don't say anything, who dares to talk nonsense, and mention the past again, be careful that I will pull out your tongue!"

When everyone heard what the head of the village said, they naturally didn't believe that he would really do such a thing as pulling out his tongue.

But Wei Yuan's arrival was closely related to the rise and fall of the entire village, so they had no choice but to take it seriously.

"Old Third, you can ride a horse. Ride the village horse and go to the county government office to report that General Wei is really here."

The head of the village ordered.

Then a strong man ran back to the village to ride a horse.

This was something that the officials of Yangzhou had already known. If they found Wei Yuan coming here, they would definitely send someone to report it.

After a while.

Hundreds of guards took the lead in standing in front of the Zhongyong Village archway, lined up in two rows, majestic and awe-inspiring.

Many people felt a chill on their backs and felt a little timid when they saw the copper masks on their faces.

When Wei Yuan's carriage slowly drove over.

The two rows of guards suddenly bowed their heads.

Such a scene scared the people of Weijia Village.

Without saying anything, they knelt down one after another.

The village head kneeling on the ground shouted loudly: "Weijia Village Head Wei Yang and all the men, women, old and young in the village respectfully welcome the arrival of the Loyal and Brave Earl!"

Then, as rehearsed in advance, everyone shouted in unison: "Greetings to the Loyal and Brave Earl!"

If the person returning home in glory today was a scholar, they would not have to do this at all. They just need to be careful to offer him sacrifices, and there should be no trouble.

But Wei Yuan is different.

First, the people of Weijia Village did not help Wei Yuan's family in their situation back then.

Second, they heard that Wei Yuan was a general who killed people without blinking an eye.

They really dared not not kneel.

They were afraid that if they displeased him in some way, their heads would fall to the ground.

Moreover, a man named Chai Gong had come once before and accused them of accepting gifts from the Japanese envoys, causing General Wei to pay out of his own pocket to settle the matter.

After hearing this, all the villagers were still frightened.

After hearing the voices of the crowd, Wei Yuan slowly got off the carriage, looked at the head of the village, and said:

"Let them all stand up."

According to seniority, Wei Yuan should call the head of the village uncle, but because of his parents' affairs, he couldn't call him uncle anyway.

Today, Wei Yuan was not wearing armor, but just a relatively low-key and simple dress, but the majesty of the head of the village and everyone was still frightened.

Then, the head of the village stood up first and said to everyone:

"Lord Zhongyong said that you can stand up and don't have to kneel."

As soon as the voice fell, everyone said in unison: "Thank you, Lord Zhongyong."

Only then did they stand up.

Wei Yuan looked at the head of the village and said, "I came here only to pay tribute to my parents at their old residence. Don't waste anything. Let everyone go about their business and don't have to accompany me."

The head of the village bowed respectfully and said, "This is all from everyone."

Wei Yuan frowned slightly, "Huh?!"

Hearing this, the head of the village shuddered and quickly asked everyone to disperse, leaving Wei Yuan alone.

Today, Wei Yuan came here, in addition to paying tribute to his ancestors, to move his parents' graves to the back mountain of the Zhonglie Temple.

Since Wei Yuan's grandparents, his lineage will use that back mountain as the location of the Wei family's ancestral graves.

He has already asked the elder of the Hedong Wei clan, 'Wei You', to do this.

From the perspective of the Wei clan, Wei You's seniority is much higher than the head of the village in front of him, and he is also an elder of the Hedong Wei clan, and knows what ceremony to prepare for the grave relocation.

Since the elders of the Wei family were responsible for this, no one else could say anything.

After everyone dispersed, the army temporarily guarded outside the village. Chen Daniu and several trusted guards followed Wei Yuan to the village.

Wei Yuan also saw the changes in the entire village. It was not inappropriate to describe this place as a small alley in the county town.

The head of the village explained: "Since you were conferred the title of Earl, the government has given us some benefits from time to time, and everyone's life has become better."

This was all expected for Wei Yuan.

After walking for about half an incense stick, Wei Yuan and his party arrived at the old house.

Now the old house has been renovated by the government and has been completely renewed, exuding nobility everywhere.

Considering that Wei Yuan might be nostalgic, some of the original layouts in the old house were not changed during the renovation.

It must be said that the local county government was also thoughtful.

The village head bowed respectfully and said, "Since the county government renovated this house, people in our village will take turns to clean it from time to time, and never let it get dusty."

Wei Yuan nodded, stood outside the courtyard gate, and murmured, "Father, mother, the child is back."

After that, he opened the courtyard gate and walked in alone.

The village head wanted to follow.

But he saw Chen Daniu and others stopped him outside the courtyard, "No one is allowed to enter without the order of the general!"

After all, he was just an ordinary old man, how could he have seen such a fierce and imposing soldier?

He nodded quickly and stood outside the courtyard, not daring to make any rash moves.

When Wei Yuan came to the courtyard, he first saw the stone mill, and suddenly thought of how much suffering his second sister Wei Ruyi had to endure with her frail body of about ten years old, using this stone mill all day to grind rice into powder?

Although his two sisters said that the young Wei Yuan suffered a lot because of his parents' illness, so did they?

At least, during the most difficult times, Wei Yuan could still eat a full meal, but the two sisters Wei Shuyi could only tighten their belts and save money.

They were afraid that Wei Yuan would be wronged.

Moreover, at that time, Wei Yuan needed the four treasures of the study because of his studies.

The family could hardly afford to eat, so how could they buy these things?

At that time, Wei Ruyi had originally been engaged to a family, and she was going to get married when she was old enough.

When the family learned that Wei's parents were ill, they canceled the engagement.

Helplessly, the second sister Wei Ruyi went to the family she was engaged to to borrow money in order to allow Wei Yuan to study and write.

That is the Zhang family that Wei Ruyi is now married to.

You know, borrowing money before marriage will definitely be looked down upon by the husband's family after marriage, but even so, Wei Ruyi never said anything.

After borrowing the money, Wei Ruyi bought paper and ink immediately.

Wei Yuan vaguely remembered that the sky was a little gloomy that day, and Wei Ruyi arrived home in the evening.

She threw the paper and ink to Wei Yuan very arrogantly, put her hands on her hips, and said:

"Don't say that your second sister doesn't love you in the future!"

Wei Yuan looked at the papers, subconsciously stunned, and then slowly said: "Where did you get the money?"

Wei Ruyi snorted and said: "Why do you care so much? Do you need it? If not, I'll burn it!"

After that, she pretended to rush out of the door with the papers.

Wei Yuan quickly stopped her, "Use it, it's a waste if you don't use it."

Wei Ruyi suddenly said earnestly: "Little brother, don't make me angry in the future, I will cry!"

Then he left the room where Wei Yuan was.

Thinking back.

Now, when Wei Yuan thinks of that incident, he still feels guilty.

When he was a child, Wei Ruyi never wanted him to play with him. He also thought that this second sister didn't like him.

On the day Wei Ruyi got married, Wei Yuan learned from his eldest sister that those papers were actually obtained by Wei Ruyi, who had a very strong personality, from her future husband's family.

In order to let Wei Yuan have a full meal and study hard, Wei Ruyi even deliberately bullied 'Zhang Yi', who was always famous for his honesty, when she got married.

Wei Ruyi once said to Zhang Yi, "I only have one brother, he is still young and can't take care of himself, he has to follow me."

Zhang Yi nodded in agreement.

Wei Ruyi said again, "You must support him in his studies and food, and you are not allowed to treat him harshly!"

If it were any other family, they would have refused this marriage long ago. After all, if Wei Shuyi had not been a maid, Wei Ruyi would not even be able to take out her dowry.

But who made Zhang Yi, an honest man, choose Wei Ruyi? So he nodded again and agreed.

At that time, many people said that Wei Ruyi was a "brother-supporting demon". Of course, there is no such term now, but the meaning is the same.

He also called Zhang Yi a fool and married a bottomless pit.

However, since Wei Ruyi married into the Zhang family, she got up early and went to bed late every day, and did more work than Zhang Yi.

Because Wei Ruyi knew that she owed the Zhang family, she naturally had to find a way to make up for it.

Now, Wei Yuan bought a house for Zhang Yi and sent Zhang Yi's children to the Imperial College.

Who in the surrounding area would say that Zhang Yi was a fool? Wei Yuan was the first one who could not agree.

Zhang Yi's kindness to Wei Yuan was enough to guarantee that his descendants would not decline within three generations.

At this moment, Wei Yuan thought of the honest Zhang Yi and shook his head helplessly:

"In that situation, only my brother and sister in the world felt that I was not a burden and that marrying my sister was a treasure."

He vaguely remembered that after Zhang Yi married Wei Ruyi, he was always laughing and wanted to let everyone know what a "virtuous" wife he married.

According to his childhood memory, Wei Yuan came to the room where his parents lived and suddenly saw an old wooden stick. He looked at the stick and couldn't help but smile,

"When renovating this house, you were not thrown away."

This wooden stick has a great origin.

It is said that there was a heavy rain one night. At that time, Wei Yuan's father had died of illness and his mother suddenly had a high fever.

The family had no money, and it took a whole coin of silver to buy antipyretic drugs and medical drugs.

Wei Yuan hid it from his family, braved the rain, went door to door, knocked on the doors of villagers, and even knelt down to beg them to give him some money to treat his mother.

Some people only gave him a big cake, and some people simply did not open the door.

When he came to a house, he knocked on the door and saw a boy who was much taller than him pushed him into a puddle and beat him up.

"You poor beggar, I have disliked you for a long time. My family owes you money or something? You said you would give it to me?"

Wei Yuan was concerned about his mother and did not dare to fight back. He just kept begging:

"Please, please!"

"When I become rich, I will repay you a hundredfold, please!"

Everyone can say "when I become rich", so the man's response was extremely cold.

"If you were not also surnamed Wei, I would have driven you out of the village long ago. Why would I let you stay here? Get out quickly, or I will break your legs!"

Wei Yuan had no choice but to return home. Fortunately, after Wei Shuyi's careful care, his mother's fever subsided temporarily and she survived that night.

At that time, Wei Shuyi saw that he was in a state of despair and looked like a drowned chicken. She guessed what he had done and just told him to have a good rest. She was here with her mother.

The next day, Wei Shuyi, who had not slept all night, got a wooden stick from somewhere and stood in the middle of the village, shouting loudly:

"I know who bullied my brother last night. Our family is now in a bad state, but we don't owe you anything."

"If any of you dare to say anything bad about my brother again or touch him, I, Wei Shuyi, will fight you to death. If you don't believe me, just try it!"

"Don't think that you dare to bully people just because our family is in trouble. As long as I, Wei Shuyi, am still alive, if any of you dare to bully my brother again, I will make you pay!"

"."

Wei Shuyi has been familiar with the books of sages since she was a child and cherishes her wings. People in the surrounding area think that she is a gentle, virtuous, and well-educated woman.

It was this woman who, since that day, was labeled as an uneducated and shrewish woman.

But since that day, no one in the village dared to cause trouble to Wei Yuan.

Later, the family was really at the end of their rope.

Unfortunately, Wei Yuan contracted a serious disease, was in a coma for a day and a night, and had a high fever that could not be reduced.

Wei Ruyi was so anxious that she had no idea what to do.

Wei Shuyi seemed to have made a decision at that time and said to Wei Ruyi:

"Take good care of your mother and younger brother. I'm going to meet a friend and see if I can borrow some money."

As a woman, how could she know any friends?

In addition, the Wei family at that time was penniless. Who dared to make friends with them?

But Wei Ruyi was confused at that time and did not think about it carefully, so she followed Wei Shuyi.

Wei Shuyi came to the city and sold herself to a market as a maid.

She was bought by Wang Ruofu later.

At that time, Wei Shuyi took a sum of money and bought a fish and a lot of food.

Wei Yuan only remembered that after he recovered from his illness, Wei Shuyi said to them that night, "My younger brother has recovered from his illness, and my mother's health has also improved. This is a good thing, so we have to celebrate." She killed the fish happily and made many delicious dishes by herself. At that time, Wei Yuan felt that Wei Shuyi had not been so happy for a long time, so he thought about burying the question of where to get the money in his heart for the time being and asking it again in the future. That night, the three of them were very happy. At the end, Wei Shuyi said to Wei Yuan: "My younger brother, you must compete with the eldest sister. The eldest sister's life is like this. You must study hard and make a name for yourself!" "Let outsiders see that our Wei brothers and sisters are no worse than others!" Wei Yuan subconsciously nodded and agreed. The next day, Wei Shuyi was picked up by the servants in the city. Wei Yuan woke up relatively late. When he woke up, he only saw a pair of kneepads embroidered by Wei Shuyi overnight.

Wei Yuan interrogated his second sister Wei Ruyi and learned that Wei Shuyi, who had always been tough and conceited like "Mrs. Li", had gone to the human market.

One day later, Wei Yuan felt that one of the kneepads was a bit heavy, and then he noticed that there was a pocket embroidered inside the kneepad.

In the pocket, there was one tael of silver and a letter.

The letter said:

"Little brother, don't blame my elder sister. She brought shame to the Wei family. After my elder sister left, I became the pillar of the family. I must take good care of my mother and your second sister."

"Although your second sister usually pretends to hate you, I know that she loves you the most."

"You always say that when you are bullied, only your elder sister will stand up for you, but you never know that every time I stand up for you, your second sister will take advantage of the night to throw bricks and stones into other people's homes and smash their doors and windows."

"Your second sister has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. You must love and protect her, and take good care of yourself. Wear more clothes when it's cold. Don't drink water directly from the well. Heat it up before drinking. Go to bed and get up early. Don't be lazy. "

"I wish my little brother a smooth and healthy life and success - don't worry, Wei Shuyi."

"."

At that time, Wei Yuan cried after reading the letter.

After that, he traveled through time and space, and after many years of experience, he had already merged his past and present lives into one.

Now, he is the Wei Yuan who was bullied since childhood, and the Wei Yuan who was well taken care of by his two sisters.

Not someone else.

Today, people say that Wei Yuan loves his two sisters very much.

But they never know how much his two sisters have paid for him.

Wei Yuan will never be able to repay that kindness in his lifetime.

At this time.

Wei Yuan saw the tablet of his parents enshrined in the room.

This tablet was carved by Wei Yuan himself.

Later, when he followed his second sister to Zhang's house, Zhang Yi's parents refused to let Wei Yuan take the tablet, so Wei Yuan had to place it at home.

If it had not been renovated by the government, the tablet would have been wiped and maintained by someone, and I am afraid it would have been covered in dust by now.

He stared at the tablet in a daze. After an unknown amount of time, he fell to his knees with a thud. He kowtowed to his parents' tablets and murmured:

"Dad, Mom, the youngest is back."

"Please rest assured, Dad and Mom, everything is fine with my child and my two sisters."

"I miss you, I miss you."

"."

As he spoke, this great general who frightened the enemy country burst into tears.

The cry spread outside the courtyard and was heard by Chen Daniu and others.

The head of the village was stunned and said, "General Wei, are you okay?"

Chen Daniu frowned suddenly and said,

"Chai Gong, Jiang Ji, you guys, guard thirty steps away and don't let anyone get close!"

Then, Chen Daniu stood outside the gate, holding a saber in his hand, and slowly closed his eyes, as if he had not heard Wei Yuan's cry, and was unmoved.

The head of the village wanted to say something, but was blasted thirty steps away by Chai Gong and others.

Chen Daniu didn’t want anyone else to hear his brother’s crying.

No one could do that.

As for him guarding outside the courtyard gate, he just wanted to accompany Wei Yuan in his own way, that's all.