Mahogany hairpin

一

The Wang family has an idiot.

This is well known to the people in the capital.Before and after tea and dinner, idlers gathered around the storyteller with tacit ambiguous smiles, listening to him tell the trivial things again and again.

But this idiot is 15 years old, and he still can't understand words.The biological mother died young, and the mistress couldn't tolerate him, so she would blow wind around Master Wang's pillow when she had time.As time went by, Master Wang looked at the eldest son, and the more he looked at him, the more he disliked him, so he drove him to the side courtyard with a big hand.The servants and maidservants of the Wang family are extremely clever and know how to read people's faces, but they also treat the eldest son coldly.

Poor Wang's idiot, the dilapidated mat has nowhere to rest, and the leftovers are so cold that he has nowhere to eat.But he didn't realize it.Often lying in the weeds, hungry to feed on the soil, laughing as usual.

Gradually, his reputation as a "crazy" spread far and wide, and people forgot that his original name was Wang Ruo, and they only called him "Chier Chier".

The storyteller was beaming with joy as he spoke, spitting everywhere.The audience stared wide-eyed, sometimes sighed lowly, sometimes marveled, and at the end said "It's really stupid", and scattered away.

But I don't want one day, the listeners listened as usual, but they didn't come together.

A young man in plain clothes and black hair stood at the door.Seeing everyone looking at him, he leaned slightly, and the robe with his wide sleeves fluttered in the wind: "Please, everyone, where is the palace?"

two

That day was really too ordinary.If I really wanted to tell a difference, it might be that the moon was so full that night.That's how Mu Zhao stepped into the small courtyard with a clear light on his head and broken shadows on his feet.

Weeds are overgrown in the yard, and insects are particularly noisy.A pitch-black figure half-kneeled on the ground.His head was submerged in the grass, his hips were pushed back high, his body was arched forward, and his hands kept pulling.

Mu Zhao stepped forward and grabbed his collar, and lifted it forcefully.He was startled suddenly, his eyes widened, and he waved his hands futilely, like a fish struggling from dehydration.No one took care of him for a long time, his long hair was as messy as dry grass and piled up on his head.His face was almost so dirty that his eyebrows and eyes could not be seen.

Mu Zhao ignored the sticky feeling of his fingertips, put his hands on A Ruo's shoulders, and comforted him softly: "Don't be afraid, I am your mother's old friend, you can call me Mr. Mu."

Chi'er shrank and raised his head, his eyes fixed on Mu Jun's face, his eyes gradually straightened, he clapped his hands and laughed, "Beautiful Mu-jun! Beautiful Mu-jun!"

Mu Jun was stunned for a moment, feeling pity, worry and anger in his heart.Pity him as the benefactor's son, but he has fallen to this point, and worry that he is foolish and easy to be fooled by his appearance.If it were someone else, one would be amazed that he came in and out at will, and then doubted his youthful appearance, but this child completely ignored it.If you get angry, you will be angry that the Wang family has bullied you too much. Tiger poison does not eat children, so how can the royal father treat his own son like this?

Seeing that he was silent, Ah Ruo screamed "itch", stretched out his hand to grope in the rag-like clothes room, squeezed something with two fingers for a while, and sent it straight to his mouth.

Mu Zhao frowned, quickly grabbed his wrist, and led him to the well. "Ah Ruo, can you wipe it off first?" He spoke slowly and softly, lest A Ruo wouldn't understand.A Ruo stared at his face, shouted "OK" a few times, and obediently followed.

Mu Zhao fetched a bucket of water, wet his handkerchief and wiped his darkened face.He wiped it three times in a row, and Ah Ruo's face was considered clean.Ah Ruo blinked and grinned, revealing the small pear dimples around her lips.

Mu Zhao looked at him carefully, and vaguely saw the shadow of his mother, the maiko who was famous in the land of flowers and willows, from his delicate eyebrows.In the past, when he was not free, he would look at her figure all day long to pass the time.

At sunrise, maiko dances in the wind, and their figures are graceful.Her willow waist is lightly folded, her long red sleeves are swirled, her pink face is slightly raised, and her rings are clanging.When Wuling was young, he loved her good looks, and spent a lot of money just for the beauty. That was when she was the most beautiful.During the day, the shadow gradually shortened, and then it was covered by a black shadow.That man is one of the sons of a rich family. He has lived among thousands of flowers and learned many ways to please people.Maiko had doubts at first, but then she fell into his rhetoric, and only met him as a lover.At sunset, the maiko is alone, and the shadow shrinks into a ball in the dim candlelight.The beauty in the mirror is still there, but the beloved has not returned.

She originally thought that after her son was born, she would be as valuable as a mother.But she didn't want Mrs. Wang, who hadn't given birth yet, to order someone to snatch the child away, and she didn't see her face.The maiko became more and more depressed, and finally in the middle of the night, she stabbed her heart with a hairpin and died.What's ridiculous is that it was the mahogany hairpin that Prince Wang personally made for her when they were in love in the past.

Fifteen years later, Mu Zhao returned to the capital with his younger brother. He thought that Wang Ruo could be taken care of, but he didn't want Mrs. Wang to have another son, and hated the eldest son in every possible way.He was in a daze, and his sleeve was pulled.Ah Ruo yawned big, and muttered, "Sleepy."

"Go to bed after washing." Mu Zhao came back to his senses and said apologetically.

The summer night was cool, and Ah Ruo's thin body trembled in the wind.Mu Zhao quickened his movements, twisting and twisting the handkerchief in the barrel.I don't know how much dirt was removed, but after scrubbing, Ah Ruo became visibly thinner again, his ribs stood out under his shriveled belly, and his legs seemed to snap off.An indescribable sadness welled up in Mu Zhao's heart, he turned his eyes away, picked up Ah Ruo's dirty robe, shook it, and put it on again for him.

Strange to say, the outer robe looked brand new, but Ah Ruo didn't notice it.He stood obediently for a long time, which was really rare. Seeing this, he wrapped his outer robe and dragged Mu Zhao into the room.

As soon as you enter the room, you will be greeted by a choking smell of dust, as if countless dust is drilling towards people.Mu Zhao frowned and looked around, all he saw was a round table and a broken board.An old quilt with some patches was placed on the board.A few tufts of gray cotton emerged from the corners of the quilt.

"Sit! Sit!" Ah Ruo was still grinning.He patted the edge of the bed, his face full of innocence.

Mu Zhao was silent, and soon flicked his sleeves.

"Huh?" Ah Ruo's expression changed.He pressed the bed, rolled over, picked up the quilt again, sniffed it like a puppy, and said foolishly, "It smells so good."

Mu Zhao rubbed his messy hair and finally laughed: "Sleep, I'll see you again tomorrow."

Ah Ruo blinked, reacted slowly for a while, reached out and grabbed Mu Zhao's lapel, moaning and chirping as if reluctant to give up.

"Forget it, I'll leave after you sleep." Mu Zhao patted his hand comfortingly.

Ah Ruo just lay down.He couldn't figure out where this fairy-like person came from in his muddy mind, he just felt happy to see him.Ah Ruo opened his eyes wide, wanting to look at Mu Jun again, but a faint peach blossom fragrance wafted from the tip of his nose, and his eyelids became heavier.The shadow in front of his eyes gradually blurred, he closed his eyes, and then fell asleep...

When I woke up the next day, the sun flooded the bed through the bright window.A Ruo turned around in a daze, raised his hand and touched something beside the pillow.

He picked it up and saw that a peach blossom was in full bloom.

three

Since then, Mu Zhao has come every night, always bringing something with him.Or a box of snacks, or a clay figurine, food and playthings, everything.And their workmanship is quite exquisite, not like everything in the world.

The courtyard is still barren, but the house is completely new.There is a vase on the window sill, and a flourishing peach blossom is inserted every day.Beside the bottle are piles of playthings that Mu Zhao found from nowhere.The round table is still a round table, and the wooden bed is still a wooden bed, but the dust over the years has been swept away, adding a bit of freshness.

Mu Zhao often teaches A Ruo how to read in his spare time.At first Ah Ruo patiently scribbled a few words, but after a long time he twisted and turned, feeling very uncomfortable.Mu Zhao smiled helplessly, and didn't force it.

The servant girl was negligent and lazy, and only came to the door at noon to change the lunch box, but she didn't know anything about these changes.

In this way, three years passed quietly.Ah Ruo still has a childish temperament, only his articulate words are clearer, and he has gained weight in vain.Mu Zhaozhi knew that he was only slightly duller than ordinary people, not as stupid as other people said, and he loved him even more.

Mu Zhao thought that his life was much longer than that of A Ruo, so he would be able to protect him forever.

But what he didn't expect was that things would come so suddenly.