Chapter 8: It’s still dark (2)

　　The Tantai family didn't believe that Shen Baiyu was still ill. Doctor Wang's medical skills were superb. How could Shen Baiyu not get better? Mr. Tantai entered the house eagerly. The room was warm, the new charcoal in the charcoal stove was like rubies, and the room was filled with the strong smell of Chinese medicine.

　　Tantai opened the bed curtain, Shen Baiyu had just woken up, her face was burning red.

　　Before Shen Baiyu fully woke up, she accidentally saw Tantai's face, curled up subconsciously, and said tremblingly: "I don't want to get married, don't lock me up..."

　　Tantai couldn't hear clearly: "Third girl, what are you talking about?"

　　Shen Baiyu woke up immediately.

　　She closed her eyes and slowly opened them again. The confusion and pain in her eyes just now dissipated, returning to a cold and cold look. Shen Baiyu coughed twice, and Manchun quickly brought the prepared medicine.

　　Manchun held the medicine bowl and asked Tantai, "Madam, do you want to give me medicine?"

　　Tantai didn't even think about giving medicine to Shen Baiyu, and his almond-shaped eyes were blank.

　　Manchun reminded: "Miss Fifth was ill last year. Madam, you held the medicine bowl and fed Miss Fifth the medicine one by one with a silver spoon. Miss Three is also your daughter."

　　Tantai clan tightened her handkerchief and subconsciously said, "Shu'er is young..."

　　Shen Baiyu had already sat up with Jade's help and leaned on the soft pillow. Tantai thought for a moment and was about to take the medicine bowl, but Shen Baiyu had already taken the medicine bowl before her, quickly drank the bitter concoction, and then took the candy from Jade and held it in his mouth.

　　Tantai's hand froze in mid-air, and she felt as if something was draining from her heart, draining away at an irreversible speed.

　　Shen Baiyu held the small candy in her mouth, raised her eyes to look at Shen Zhenshan, and called out: "Father."

　　Shen Zhenshan came with anger in his chest, and when he saw Shen Baiyu's sick look, his anger was half extinguished.

　　Shen Zhenshan found that he had not seen his third daughter for a long time. Shen Zhenshan was busy with official duties, and Shen Baiyu was busy with housework in the back house. The two busy people lived in the same general's mansion, and they never looked up or down.

　　Tonight, by the dim candlelight, Shen Zhenshan looked at his biological daughter and was surprised by how thin and sickly Shen Baiyu was. She was too thin, her features were gaunt, and she did not look like a girl in her prime.

　　"The bow in your father's study was broken. The steward said it was you. Tell mother, is this possible?" Tantai said.

　　Shen Baiyu's heart felt swollen and painful. It was hard to tell whether it was disappointment or helplessness.

　　Shen Baiyu looked at his father: "Father, if I break your bow, how will you punish me?"

　　Shen Zhenshan was furious: "It's really you!"

　　A smile appeared at the corner of Shen Baiyu's mouth, and he licked the small candy with his tongue, but it was still bitter. She seemed to be talking to herself and looking back on the past: "I guess you will definitely slap me, scold me, and then make me kneel down in the ancestral hall to admit my mistake."

　　She still remembered the ancestral hall in the middle of the night, with dim candlelight and a bone-chilling cold, with her grandmother's cold memorial tablet very close at hand.

　　Shen Zhenshan said sternly: "You know that this bow is my favorite thing——"

　　Shen Baiyu interrupted him: "My little sister broke it."

　　Shen Zhenshan's scolding stopped abruptly.

　　Tantai looked over suddenly and retorted almost subconsciously: "Impossible, Shu'er won't do that."

　　Shen Baiyu: "Why can't it be her, cough cough cough..."

　　Shen Baiyu coughed and was speechless.

　　Jade patted Shen Baiyu's back distressedly, with tears in her eyes: "General, madam, the cold has not healed, and you will faint even if you take a few steps outside. How can you go to the study and break the general's bow? But in the afternoon The fifth young lady came over. The fifth young lady broke the general's bow. She was afraid of being scolded, so she asked the young lady to take the blame. If you don't believe it, just ask the wife and servants in the house, my young lady didn't even leave the courtyard today. "

　　Tantai fell into silence.

　　If you think about it carefully, Jade's words should be true. Mr. Tantai knew the character of his youngest daughter, who loved to cause trouble and was lively and active. She would only avoid trouble and would never admit her mistakes.

　　But Shu'er is young after all, so it's normal to make some mistakes.

　　Shen Zhenshan was still suspicious: "The steward said that someone saw you entering the study."

　　Shen Baiyu covered the corners of his mouth and coughed as he said, "Call the steward here, and then call the little girl. You can decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong."

　　She had a tough attitude, and Shen Zhenshan hesitated.

　　In his impression, the third girl was always well-behaved and sensible, and never let her parents worry about her. Shen Baiyu almost never disobeyed her parents or interrupted her parents.

　　Today's Shen Baiyu feels strange to Shen Zhenshan.

　　Tantai knew that her youngest daughter had done something wrong. If she really wanted to investigate, Shen Shuer's lies full of mistakes would definitely be exposed. She quickly advised her husband: "Let's forget about it, the children are still young."

　　Tantai wanted to deal with it, but there were soft footsteps outside the house, and Shen Shuer and Shen Anxing ran in together. Shen Shuer said softly: "Mom, dad, why don't you come back for dinner! Fourth brother and I are starving to death."

　　Shen Anxing rubbed his cold-red face and complained: "Third sister, it's so cold in your yard. It almost froze me to death."

　　Shen Anxing's tone was full of gloating.

　　Shen Anxing has always disliked his third sister because she was too strict with him and had to interfere with his academic work every day. Shen Anxing was at an active age. He just wanted to run out of the house and hang out with those young men every day, but Shen Baiyu always stopped him.

　　Over time, Shen Anxing became resentful.

　　Now that Shen Baiyu is sick, Shen Anxing is secretly happy that no one cares about him anymore. He only hopes that Shen Baiyu will be sick forever and ignore him for the rest of his life.

　　The brother and sister ran into the house and found the atmosphere in the house strange.

　　Shen Shuer's pretty face was confused and she didn't know why.

　　Shen Zhenshan looked serious: "Shu'er, was it you who broke the bow in the study?"

　　Shen Shuer opened her mouth to lie: "Of course it wasn't me, it was Third Sister who accidentally broke it - Third Sister, don't you think so?"

　　Shen Baiyu: "No."

　　Shen Shuer was stunned, she didn't expect Shen Baiyu to deny it at all.

　　Shen Baiyu pressed the tip of her tongue against the small piece of candy and looked at Shen Zhenshan: "Father, this bow was broken by my little sister. Will you punish my little sister the way you punished me?"

　　The room was quiet.

　　Shen Zhenshan did think that if the third girl broke his precious bow, he would definitely punish her by kneeling in the ancestral hall to apologize to her ancestors. But now that the culprit has become Wu Yatou, Shen Zhenshan begins to hesitate.

　　He can punish the third girl, but he will never punish the fifth girl severely... Why?

　　Because, because... right, because Wu Yatou is young and ignorant!

　　Shen Zhenshan found a suitable reason.

　　Shen Shuer shed tears in grievance, with crystal teardrops stuck in her eyes, as if she had countless grievances: "I didn't do it, it was the third sister who broke my father's bow! She even burned my notebook of words in the afternoon. He vomited dirty things on me and even let the dog bite me at the door!"

　　Tantai's heart felt like a needle pricking her heart, and she quickly wiped Shen Shu'er's tears.

　　But Shen Shuer's tears were like broken beads that couldn't be wiped away no matter how hard they were wiped. He was crying and fussing, shouting "I can't live anymore" and so on.

　　Mr. Tantai glared angrily at Shen Baiyu who was leaning on the bedside: "Third girl, if you don't apologize to your little sister, you've made her cry."

　　Shen Baiyu held the half-melted sugar in his mouth and remained silent.

　　Seeing that Shen Baiyu didn't move, Tantai clan glared at her husband angrily: "With a broken bow, is it possible to punish your own daughter to kneel in the ancestral hall? The ancestral hall is so cold, she can't freeze to death even if she kneels all night. If you want to punish her, just let it go I'll just kneel down in the ancestral hall! My seat became vacant when I froze to death, and the sweet wife the old lady prepared for you just happened to fill my seat."

　　Shen Anxing saw the excitement and said with a smile: "Mother, you are overthinking. Daddy only likes mother, so he will not marry anyone else."

　　When Shen Zhenshan saw Tantai clan crying, he was immediately thrown into chaos.

　　Shen Zhenshan is a martial artist with a straightforward temperament, and he loves the Tantai family wholeheartedly. Before she died, the old lady repeatedly told Shen Zhenshan to find a good concubine who could take care of the house. Shen Zhenshan was afraid that Tantai would be sad, so he didn't even obey his mother's will.

　　After thinking about it carefully, Shen Zhenshan reflected that he was making a fuss out of a molehill and felt extremely regretful.

　　How can an old and damaged bow be as important as the beloved wife who accompanies him throughout his life?

　　He coaxed Taishi and comforted his little daughter, and finally the farce ended. People came to Baimei Courtyard in crowds and left in crowds. The cold wind at night made the trees in the yard rustle, making Baimei Courtyard cold and lonely.

　　Jade was busy wiping away the shoe prints on the floor.

　　Manchun went to the small kitchen to make medicine.

　　Shen Baiyu was completely sleepless, and the candy in his mouth completely melted.

　　Shen Baiyu propped up the small wooden stick by the window and looked down at the courtyard. Baimei Courtyard was located in a remote location, and it was also located in a wind outlet. There were always strong winds all year round. The wind at night in early spring blew on my face, causing pain like a knife.

　　The square walls, the darkness that could not be broken by the ground, Shen Baiyu stretched out her fingers to touch the black sky. The General's Mansion was a suffocating cage, so cold and cruel that she could hardly breathe.

　　Five fingers are still long and short. How can parents' love be impartial?

　　Her father is a warrior, her mother is partial without realizing it, her brother is arrogant, her eldest sister is obsessed with power, her younger sister is selfish and pretentious, and her younger brother is cool and playful. None of the relatives she once treated with so much love was worthy of her efforts in the end. .

　　If this continues, she will embark on the same path of death as in her previous life.

　　Jade threw away the handkerchief that wiped the floor and hurriedly came over to close the window: "Miss, you are still sick, so don't blow the wind at the window."

　　Shen Baiyu turned around, with tears in his eyes: "Jade, I want to leave."

　　Jade was stunned for a moment, thinking that Shen Baiyu wanted to go out early to buy buns for King Chen, but she didn't agree: "It's still dark, so we can't go out now."

　　Tears disappeared from Shen Baiyu's eyes: "Yes, it's still dark."

　　It's so dark, where can a daughter-in-law and a prisoner in the back house go?

　　Who can pull her out of the darkness?

　　The cool breeze blew, and the rhubarb in the backyard suddenly barked and barked. Manchun, who was boiling medicine in the small kitchen, exclaimed. Shen Baiyu suddenly became alert. This girl Manchun has always been calm and never yelled. Could it be that she is in trouble?

　　In an instant, Manchun trotted into the house and whispered to Shen Baiyu: "Miss, there is a man in the dog hole in the backyard, covered in blood."