Ladies and gentlemen, let's not talk about the ambition of the sword and sword, nor the romance of those talented and beautiful people, let's talk about a story that takes place in the water town in the south of the Yangtze River, which is both mysterious and a little homely.
Let's say, there is such a small town in the south of the Yangtze River, called Liuxi Town, there is a big family surnamed Li in the town, the master of the Li family, the nickname Li Yuanwai, the family is called a rich man, the house is bottomless, and the things inside are more than the bridge with nine bends and eighteen bends.
Li Yuanwai's family has a few good horses, and he also hired a groom named Zhao Tiezhu.
Zhao Tiezhu is a person with a hard body and a warm heart, and he takes care of the horses more than himself.
Every night on the third watch, when the surroundings were quiet, he got up lightly, took the oil lamp, and went to the stable to feed and add water to the horses, which became his untouchable rule.
That night, the moonlight was hazy and the fog was rising, and Zhao Tiezhu, as usual, walked towards the stable with brisk steps.
As soon as he pushed open the creaking wooden door, a smell of something was wrong in his nose.
He muttered to himself: "What's wrong today, why is there an indescribable strange smell in the air?"
As he was pondering, he caught a glimpse of a dress in the corner of the stable—wasn't that the flower dress of Mrs. Fushang's, and it was worn backwards!
Zhao Tiezhu's heart tightened, his aunt was usually very dignified, why did she appear here in the middle of the night, disheveled?
The strange thing that this dress is worn backwards is even more confusing.
He swallowed, and his heart was full of worries, both worried about his aunt's safety, and afraid that he had bumpered into some secret that he shouldn't know.
"No, I'll have to take a look.
Zhao Tiezhu thought so in his heart, so he lightly put down the trough, for fear of making a little noise, and then bent his waist and tiptoed into the depths of the house.
The moonlight peeked through the clouds and shone on his face, reflecting a serious face.
He walked through the winding corridor, skirted the quiet garden, and finally stopped in front of the west wing where his aunt lived.
A faint candlelight could be heard through the crack in the door, and a low cry could be heard from inside.
Zhao Tiezhu's heart rose to his throat, he held his breath, his ears against the crack in the door, trying to hear the movement inside.
"Oh, what a ...... is this," said the aunt's voice, which was filled with helplessness and despair, followed by the voice of a strange man, low and powerful, as if comforting something.
Zhao Tiezhu was shocked in his heart, in the middle of the night, how could there be a man in his aunt's room?
Although his heart was full of questions, he also understood that this matter was not simple, and he did not dare to act rashly.
Just as he hesitated, a gust of wind blew, and the candlelight in the crack of the door flickered, as if fate was playing tricks there.
Zhao Tiezhu gritted his teeth and decided to find out more.
He crept around the window and peeked through a small hole in the window paper.
Oh, look inside this room, my aunt is sitting by the kang, the tears on her face are like beads with broken threads, and there is a big brother in a night suit standing next to her, with a tall body and a mysterious strength.
The eldest brother was whispering to his aunt, still holding a letter in his hand, which seemed to contain something important.
Zhao Tiezhu thought about what unusual story must be between these two people, and that letter might be the key to solving this mystery.
Just as he was concentrating, he was almost exposed to a sudden cough.
Zhao Tiezhu hurriedly held his breath, leaned against the wall, and said silently in his heart: "Bodhisattva bless, don't show your stuffing."
Fortunately, the two of them in this room didn't seem to hear the movement outside, and they were still muttering there.
Listening and listening, Zhao Tiezhu slowly pieced together an amazing secret - it turned out that his aunt married into the Li family, and she already had someone else in her heart, that is, the nocturnal eldest brother in front of her.
Tonight's incident is a elopement plan that the two of them have planned for a long time.
But this sudden change made Mrs. Aunt have mixed feelings in her heart, and she didn't know how to communicate with Li Yuan, and she was even more afraid that her departure would bring irreparable losses to the Li family.
Zhao Tiezhu listened to it, and his heart was also turned upside down.
He not only sympathized with his aunt's infatuation, but also worried about the future of the Li family.
Late at night, he slipped away quietly, already having a plan in mind.
He knew that although he was only a little groom, he might be able to help in this case, so that the elopement would not be known to everyone.
"Hey, that's a tough thing to do!
Zhao Tiezhu muttered to himself, his brows furrowed, but his eyes flashed with wisdom.
He remembered that when he was young, he traveled from south to north, and heard a lot of strange things in the rivers and lakes, and maybe he could find some inspiration from them.
At this moment, the sky was white, and the first rays of sunlight shone through the mist on the stable.
Zhao Tiezhu slapped his thigh and had an idea.
He stood up, patted the dirt on his body, and decided to go to the old matchmaker in the town to discuss it first.
Aunt Wang is a warm-hearted person, very fine-spirited, and whoever has a stir in the town, she can tell you how ugly she is.
As soon as Zhao Tiezhu saw Aunt Wang, he told him all about the matter, and added at the end: "Auntie, you have to give me a trick to solve this matter decently."
When Aunt Wang heard this, her eyes widened, and her mouth muttered: "Ouch, hey, this thing is really big enough!"
However, after all, she was well-informed, and it didn't take long for her to come up with a plan.
She took Zhao Tiezhu's hand and said mysteriously: "Tiezhu, let's ...... it like this" Aunt Wang's plan is like this: she went to Li Yuanwai first, pretending that someone proposed to his aunt's wife, who was a distant relative, with an innocent family background and good character, but she was a little older, but she was willing to give her aunt a title in the main room.
When Li Yuanwai heard this, he felt uncomfortable in his heart, as if he had eaten a fly.
But in terms of face, we have to hold on, and we have to listen to what people are all about.
When the time comes, Aunt Wang will arrange for the buddies who are walking at night to pretend to be relatives who propose relatives and chat with Li Yuanwai.
As for the aunt's wife, Aunt Wang will find an excuse, saying that the aunt is "not lightly ill" and has to recuperate, and she will not see anyone for the time being.
In this way, it not only bought time for his aunt to escape, but also made Li Yuanwai feel that he had given in and saved the face of the Li family.
When Zhao Tiezhu heard this trick, he was so happy that he slapped his thigh, and praised Aunt Wang as a "living bodhisattva".
The two hit it off and immediately went their separate ways.
In the next few days, the town of Willow Creek was calm on the surface, but in fact the dark tide was turbulent.
Aunt Wang's three-inch incorruptible tongue blew in Li Yuanwai's ears, and the nocturnal buddy also changed his clothes as planned and became a "distant relative".
On the appointed interview day, Li Yuanwai sat in the living room, his face was like the bottom of a pot, and his heart was full of thoughts.
How could he have imagined that there would be such a day when he would have to give away his aunt and wife with his own hands.
But after thinking about it again, Aunt Wang's words are not unreasonable, it is better than letting Aunt Wang's wife be sullen in the house.
The interview went as smoothly as flowing water, and the "distant relatives" behaved sincerely and low-key, so that Li Yuanwai couldn't find fault.
In the end, under the desperate persuasion of Aunt Wang, Foreign Minister Li sighed and nodded, which was regarded as acquiescing in this family business.
On the other side, under the arrangement of Aunt Wang, the aunt had changed into civilian clothes, quietly slipped out of the Li family, and joined the buddy who was walking at night.
The two of them looked at each other and smiled, their eyes full of longing and hope for the future.
They know that although this road is difficult to walk, as long as they hold hands, they can pass any hurdle.
Zhao Tiezhu looked at the backs of his aunt and his buddy from a distance, and his heart was mixed.
He silently prayed for them, hoping that they would be happy and healthy and grow old together.
After the incident, Willow Creek returned to its former tranquility.
When people talk about it, they always say, "It's really impermanent!"
Zhao Tiezhu has become the unsung hero in this legendary story, although his name is not remembered by many people, but his kindness and wisdom are like a spring breeze, warming everyone's hearts.
Time flies, and a few years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Tiezhu is still feeding the horses in the stable, and his life is dull, but it is also fulfilling.
Occasionally, he would think of that late night, the aunt who wore a skirt backwards, and the well-planned "elopement".
Whenever this happens, he smiles slightly, and his heart is full of awe of life and a deep understanding of human nature.
He knows that in this world, everyone has their own story and choice, and all he can do is to do his best to help those in need and make this world a better and warmer place.
At that time, in the gossip of the people in Liuxi Town after dinner, the story had slowly faded.
But Zhao Tiezhu's life still passed day by day.
When spring came, he put new saddles on the horses, in the summer he was busy driving mosquitoes in the stable, and when the autumn wind blew, he led the horses to the river to drink water, and in the winter when the snow came, he was busy adding hay to the stables to keep the horses warm for the winter.
But fate is a thing that always likes to turn around when people are not paying attention.
On such a winter evening, the sky was already dark, Zhao Tiezhu was about to close the door and go back to the house, when he suddenly saw dust in the distance, a fast horse rushed over like the wind, and a traveler wearing a cloak sat on the horseback.
The horse knew at a glance that it had run a long way, panting, and the rider's face was full of anxiety and exhaustion.
Uncle Zhao!
Uncle Zhao!
Before the rider could reach him, he shouted loudly, and his voice was somewhat familiar.
Zhao Tiezhu squinted his eyes, took a closer look through the dim light, and was shocked-wasn't that rider the nocturnal man who eloped with his aunt's wife back then!
Oops, this is not ......" Before Zhao Tiezhu finished speaking, the man had already jumped off the horse, ran to him in three steps and two steps, grabbed his hand tightly, and his eyes flashed with tears, "Uncle Zhao, it's me, I'm back!"
Zhao Tiezhu was stunned for a moment, came back to his senses, and hurriedly welcomed him into the house and lit a fire to keep warm.
In the house, the firelight flickered, shining on the two vicissitudes of life, as if returning to the fate-changing night.
Why are you back?
What about Mrs. Auntie?
Zhao Tiezhu asked with concern, feeling a little ominous in his heart.
The man sighed and slowly recounted his experiences over the years.
It turned out that after they eloped, although they suffered a lot, they finally found a quiet place and lived a normal and happy life.
But the good times didn't last long, a plague suddenly hit that town, and my aunt unfortunately fell ill and died.
Before dying, she asked the man to come back, expressed her gratitude to Zhao Tiezhu, and told him a secret - she actually knew that she was very sick for a long time, and chose to elope because she didn't want to drag down the Li family, let alone let Li Yuanwai see her weakening day by day.
She asked me to tell you that you are the most grateful person in her life, and without your help, she may not even get that last bit of happiness.
As he spoke, the man took out a letter and a jade pendant from his arms, which were the relics left by his aunt to Zhao Tiezhu.
Zhao Tiezhu took the letter and the jade pendant, and his hands trembled a little.
When he opened the letter, he saw that the handwriting was beautiful, and the words were full of gratitude and reluctance to Zhao Tiezhu.
Tears blurred Zhao Tiezhu's eyes, and he seemed to see the aunt who was wearing a skirt backwards and a helpless and resolute face in the middle of the night.
She's such a kind-hearted person......" Zhao Tiezhu muttered to himself, with mixed feelings in his heart.
He put away the letter and the jade pendant, and patted the man's shoulder, "It's good to come back, it's good to come back."
"There's something that needs a hand, squeak.
The man nodded, his eyes showing determination.
He knew in his heart that although his aunt was gone, the story of the two of them was a treasure in the heart of the iron pillar, which was deeply carved and could not be polished.
Early the next morning, the iron pillar sent the man away.
He stood at the head of the village, watching the figure of the horse gradually blur in the morning mist, and the taste in his heart was indescribable.
Turning back to the stable, the iron pillar was busy again, feeding the horses and sweeping the shed, as if nothing had happened.
But in the dead of night, he would always take out the letter and jade pendant left by his aunt's wife, and slowly reminisce about the tortuous and warm past.