The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 161 Liang Zhu (End)

In the next few days, Luo Jun went out to read newspapers during the day and went home to read novels at night as usual. His life was very regular.

It is also dangerous.

Qin Huai clearly felt that the frequency of the enemy's bombing was increasing. When he just entered this memory, the bombing had just ended.

The second bombing occurred three days later.

Day 3 of the 5rd bombing.

The 4th time was on the 6th day.

The third and fourth bombings were both during the day, and two consecutive days of bombing made the people extremely nervous. When Luo Jun walked through the streets to find a place to read a novel, Qin Huai could clearly feel the panic of the poor people. Even the vendors selling firewood and vegetables had decreased a lot.

Every household dared not close their doors too tightly, nor open them wide either. Belongings and valuables were all packed up. As soon as the air raid alarm sounded, they would grab their children and their belongings and run to the public air raid shelters.

The high-frequency bombing completely destroyed the lives of the masses, but did not affect the men and women living in the western-style buildings at all.

A man named Ge even had the leisure to hold a small birthday party for his newly married third wife the day after the fourth bombing.

The banquet was purely Western style, with all the guests dressed in suits and long skirts, dressed appropriately and wearing dazzling jewelry. Champagne and red wine were served at the banquet, and all kinds of desserts and snacks were available. The specially made 16-inch cake was only cut once before being served, because the focus of this banquet was Mr. Ge’s birthday gift to his third wife -

A custom-made necklace inlaid with rubies, emeralds, jades and diamonds.

This necklace is stained with blood.

As for why Qin Huai knew about this, it was because he saw Luo Jun deal with a minor problem that would affect his daily life between the third and fourth bombings. In order to completely solve the problem, he went straight to Huanglong to solve the problem from the root, and collected the hard work fee from his safe.

There were a lot of things in the safe, and the necklace fell out when it was being packed. Luo Jun was disgusted by the blood and gave it to Mr. Ge as an actor's fee.

Yes, Mr. Ge is Luo Jun's newly selected 'business partner'.

Although Minister Cao has kept two mistresses outside under the pretext of working overtime all year round, and not only does he not go home during the day but he also rarely goes home at night, he has plenty of time and is a good co-actor.

But Mrs. Cao has a hot temper and can't control her mouth. She also likes to put herself in other people's shoes and dislikes Luo Jun very much. Luo Jun thinks Minister Cao is not a good opponent actor.

Of course, Minister Cao has not completely left the stage, and occasionally he still has to make guest appearances. For example, he talks business with Mr. Ge during the day and with Minister Cao at night. Occasionally, Liu Tao would not be suspicious if he came back slowly after dark.

In addition, the enemy did not bomb for a whole week after the fourth bombing, so Liu Tao was not as nervous as before.

The days passed normally, so dull that Qin Huai could hardly remember the time. It felt like he spent every day reading novels, reading novels, and reading novels.

Maybe there weren't many newspapers that published serialized novels during the war, so Luo Jun had been reading old newspapers during this period. He read the serialized novels from the beginning, sorted by date, without the worry of missing a chapter.

It's another good day to read novels.

The sun was shining and the temperature was pleasant. Luo Jun went out after drinking tangerine peel tea on the pretext of discussing business with Mr. Ge. As usual, he carried a bag of newspapers and wandered around until he came to a civilian area with a wide view.

Luo Jun had been reading newspapers in this area for a while. This was a good place he had just discovered. A woman from a family planted some wild flowers in the yard, which she would occasionally sell in the rich area. The flowers were in bloom during this period, and the air was filled with a faint floral scent that was very pleasant to the touch.

Luo Jun negotiated a price with the family and gave them a silver dollar to rent a space in front of the door and a chair, where he would sit and read the newspaper every day.

Faced with such a good deal, the woman naturally would not refuse. Her husband was a carpenter, and he made a special bamboo chair for Luo Jun overnight. He cleaned the door every day and waited for Luo Jun's visit.

Luo Jun was very satisfied with this new place. He arrived early every day and found the place with the best light to sit and read the newspaper.

Qin Huai was also looking forward to it. Yesterday, he saw the exciting plot of the hero coming out of the mountains, shocking the four directions, punishing the evildoers. Luo Jun could bear it after reading it once, but Qin Huai was reading it for the first time, so he couldn't bear the pain of chasing for more updates.

If Qin Huai could have been able to flip through the newspaper in his memory, he would have secretly taken out the newspaper at night and read it by himself in the moonlight.

Finally, he could see the next plot. Qin Huai stood beside Luo Jun, lowered his head and watched with great interest.

Suddenly, the air raid sirens sounded.

Qin Huai was startled as he hadn't heard the air raid alarm for a long time. When he looked up, he found that the people around him were indeed in chaos.

Some people packed their belongings, and even stuffed their bowls and chopsticks into their bags and ran away with them. Some people held a child in their left hand and an old hen in their right hand, and held the hen more tightly than the child.

The same thing happened to the woman's family. The woman was holding the child, and her husband was holding some belongings. When they ran out of the yard, they saw Luo Jun still standing at the door with a newspaper in his hand, leisurely. The woman kindly reminded him.

"Mr. Luo, the air raid alarm has sounded. The nearest air raid shelter is far away in the front mountain. Run quickly, or you won't be able to squeeze in if you're too late."

After saying that, the woman no longer cared about where Luo Jun was going, so she picked up the child and ran away.

Luo Jun did not leave. He took a chair and walked into the yard, sat down and continued reading the newspaper.

Fortunately, the area where Luo Jun lived was not bombed. Two hours later, people came back from the air raid shelter one after another, and cheered to see that their home was intact. The woman's husband even took out two small eggs from his bag to celebrate and asked the woman to cook them for the children, and gave one to Luo Jun so that he could share in the joy.

Luo Jun was not polite and accepted all the gifts. He shared this happy gift, but did not eat it. Instead, he put it in his pocket, probably intending to take it back for Liu Tao.

As a result, at noon, the air raid alarm sounded again.

The air raid sirens sounded twice a day, and no matter how tired people were, they could only pack up and run to the air raid shelter again, cursing.

This time the air raid alarm sounded very late. Less than two minutes after it sounded, Qin Huai heard the sound of bombing coming from afar.

Luo Jun was annoyed by the two bombings a day and could not concentrate on reading his novel. He put away his newspaper and walked slowly around the city.

After wandering around in the bombing for more than an hour, Luo Jun calculated the time and started to walk back. There were two bombings a day, both during the day. Luo Jun knew that if he didn't go back immediately, Liu Tao would definitely be worried, so he had to go back on time.

No matter how hard he tried, it was still a little late when Luo Jun got home, and it was getting dark.

The journey was a bit too chaotic. Luo Jun didn't like noisy crowds, chaos and crowds. He deliberately avoided people while walking. He also subdued three gangsters who were planning to rob him, which wasted some time.

If it were usual, Liu Tao would definitely be waiting at the door at this time.

But today, the area outside Luo Jun's house was very lively.

many people.

Minister Cao looked nervous, the maidservant in the house was in a panic, Minister Cao's concubine covered her nose with a handkerchief and was talking incoherently, and Mr. Ge's third concubine looked terrified, as if they were rehearsing Mr. Ge crying and shouting...

Qin Huai recognized these people, and there were many more he had seen in the air-raid shelter. He looked at the familiar gentlemen and ladies who lived nearby and their servants, who gathered here, watching the excitement with either anxiety or gloating expressions.

What frightened Qin Huai was that he seemed to see a doctor in a white coat.

Someone saw Luo Jun.

"Mr. Luo is back!"

"Mr. Luo is here!"

"Mr. Luo..."

People shouted, as if a switch was triggered. Mr. Ge, who was originally in the process of rehearsal, suddenly burst into tears. He was in panic and crawled, slapping himself as he ran to Luo Jun, almost kneeling down in front of him.

"Mr. Luo, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault. I've harmed Mrs. Luo!" Mr. Ge slapped himself hard with tears streaming down his face. Soon his face became red and swollen.

"What did you say?" Luo Jun asked expressionlessly.

Mr. Ge did not answer, but just continued to slap himself hard, as if he wanted to knock himself unconscious immediately, and kept crying and howling that it was all his fault.

Qin Huai didn't hesitate at all and ran towards the house.

There are many people outside the house, but few people inside.

Mrs. Cao cried so much that her makeup was all washed off. She grabbed the doctor's sleeve and kept shouting, "She was still breathing just now. She was still talking to me just now. She looked fine. She just had a small cut on her foot, but it didn't bleed much. How could she be dead now? Please check again and send her to the hospital for a checkup!"

The doctor was wearing a mask and could only explain over and over again: "Mrs. Cao, Mrs. Luo's heartbeat and breathing have stopped. Her internal organs have been shattered by the bomb. Even if she is rushed to the hospital immediately, it may be useless."

"Mrs. Cao... accept my condolences."

Qin Huai saw Liu Tao lying on the ground wrapped in white cloth.

Her eyes were closed, her face was wiped clean, and her lips were bloodless. She looked like she was sleeping with her eyes closed, very quiet.

Mrs. Cao collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.

Luo Jun came in, followed by Mr. Ge, whose cheeks were swollen and the corners of his mouth were bleeding, and Minister Cao, who was hesitant to speak. Faced with his wife's inappropriate behavior of sitting on the ground and crying, Minister Cao did not say anything to stop her, but just signaled with his eyes to the maid to help Mrs. Cao up.

"What's going on?" Luo Jun asked calmly.

Qin Huai looked at Luo Jun's expression and found that he had no expression as before, and his tone did not fluctuate much. He was terribly calm. It seemed that what appeared in front of him was not Liu Tao's body, but Liu Tao had a strange disease and fell into a coma.

Mr. Ge slapped even harder and didn't dare to say a word.

"Old Luo, my condolences." Minister Cao sighed, patted Luo Jun on the shoulder, and stood in front of Mr. Ge to help him explain.

"Didn't the Japanese bomb twice today? The one in the morning didn't last long. Old Ge was unlucky and fell and hit his head before entering the air-raid shelter. The servants took the news back home and said that Old Ge was injured in the bombing and went to the hospital."

"Your wife thought you were with Lao Ge, and she ran to the hospital out of fear for your safety. Lao Ge got anxious and made up an excuse that you went to the bookstore to buy a book. Your wife went to the bookstore to look for you, and then the Japanese bombers arrived."

"Your two servants are all gone too. I had their bodies taken away."

At this point, Minister Cao could only sigh: "Everyone has their own destiny. When your wife was carried back, she was still breathing. We thought we were lucky and it was just a minor injury, so we called a doctor to come over. Who would have thought that before the doctor arrived, he died..."

Mr. Ge burst into tears: "Mr. Luo, I am so sorry for you. It is all my fault that Mrs. Luo was killed. If I hadn't told her that you went to the bookstore, Mrs. Luo wouldn't have gone that way. I am so sorry for you!"

After saying that, Mr. Ge took a deep breath and fainted.

Minister Cao quickly signaled with his eyes to his servants to carry the person out. Luo Jun quietly looked at Liu Tao, who was lying on the ground wrapped in a white cloth. He didn't say anything and had no expression. He seemed to be thinking about something.

Minister Cao was very tactful and used his eyes to signal the people in the room to leave again, leaving enough time and space for Luo Jun to calm down and accept the reality. The maid helped Mrs. Cao, who was still crying and staggering, out. Mrs. Cao walked limping, and when she was about to reach the door, Luo Jun spoke.

"Is there any auspicious spot with good feng shui nearby?"

Minister Cao was stunned for a moment, then said randomly, "Yes, of course there is. I know a famous Feng Shui master who can definitely pick a good one."

Luo Jun nodded: "That's fine, let's pick a good and auspicious grave and bury him in the next two days."

Luo Jun's calm tone made everyone in the room feel incredible. Even the maid who was supporting Mrs. Cao looked at Luo Jun in surprise. It was obvious that she couldn't believe that there was such a heartless husband in the world. His wife's body was right in front of him, but he could say such words so lightly.

Luo Jun took the egg out of his pocket and placed it on the display cabinet.

"Can butterflies eat eggs?" Luo Jun asked.

Minister Cao's eyes widened with shock. He suspected that Luo Jun had gone crazy because the situation was too overwhelming for him to accept.

Luo Jun was very calm, but Mrs. Cao exploded.

"Luo, are you still a human being?" Mrs. Cao yelled at Luo Jun angrily, "Even if Liu Tao didn't have any children, she was still your legally married wife! Your wife died, and not only did you not shed a single tear, you didn't even look sad at all. You even cared whether Butterfly ate eggs or not."

"She was worried that you would go out and look for her and get killed in the explosion, but you didn't even bother to give her the face she needed. You even found a lucky grave and buried her in the next two days. You are simply a beast..."

"Hurry up and get your wife out!" Minister Cao roared, using his roar to block the last two words of Mrs. Cao, and then looked at Luo Jun with a smile on his face, "Mr. Luo, I'm so sorry, my wife was so sad that she said something wrong."

"I know." Luo Jun said, "So she doesn't like being a butterfly?"

Minister Cao felt that Luo Jun might really be crazy.

Minister Cao and Mr. Ge helped organize Liu Tao's funeral. Perhaps because he was worried that Luo Jun would blame him, Mr. Ge wanted to do his best to make amends, so he organized the most magnificent funeral in the shortest time.

Not only did he choose the best coffin, he also asked a Feng Shui master to choose an auspicious burial site, in a very remote and uninhabited place, which was said to be a good location.

Luo Jun bought that piece of land and hired someone to build a house there.

For Qin Huai, the memories that followed were like a movie with accelerated time.

Time passes very quickly, basically in the blink of an eye, a day is gone in the blink of an eye.

It may also be because the plot of this part is very long and boring, Luo Jun built a small house next to Liu Tao's grave and lived there. Every day, he moved a chair to read newspapers and books in front of Liu Tao's grave normally.

At the beginning, many people came to this place to look for Luo Jun.

Some came to him to do things for them, some sought connections, some sought wealth, some wanted to do business with him, and of course, more wanted to introduce him to a new wife.

Luo Jun ignored them and just sat in front of the tomb every day reading books and newspapers.

Gradually, no one came to see him anymore.

Time passed faster and faster, the stars moved, the sun rose and set, the trees planted by the tomb grew taller and taller, and the grass needed to be cleaned regularly. Luo Jun had not ordered newspapers for a long time, and just read the ones he had read before over and over again.

He lived a life isolated from the times and knew nothing about the outside world.

Time seemed to stand still for him.

Qin Huai felt like he was waiting for something every day, but what could he be waiting for?

Waiting for the peach tree to transform into a butterfly?

But the story of turning into a butterfly is just a story in Liang Zhu, a play script.

Finally, on a quiet afternoon, the fast-flowing time pressed the pause button and someone came to the door.

It’s Mrs. Cao.

After not seeing each other for a few years, Mrs. Cao looked much more haggard.

She was no longer as glittering and wealthy as she was a few years ago. She had no gold or silver jewelry on her body, and the pearl necklace she wore every day was gone. She was no longer wearing a cheongsam, but an ordinary gray cotton coat. She was also thinner, with slightly sunken cheeks and wrinkles around her eyes, and looked much older.

"Mr. Luo, long time no see." Mrs. Cao's temper has improved a lot and she no longer rolls her eyes at people.

"A long time?" Luo Jun obviously had no idea about the passage of time.

Mrs. Cao smiled and said, "It's been four or five years. I'm leaving here and going back to the countryside. I want to come and see Liu Tao before I leave."

Luo Jun gestured for her to look around.

"They all say you're crazy," Mrs. Cao said. "They say you've become obsessed with watching plays and reading novels, and have become the love-struck man in the play scripts. You've given up your good life of wealth and luxury, and are staying in this hellhole guarding the grave of your deceased first wife."

"A few years ago, I said something unpleasant. You and my husband, Mr. Cao, colluded to trick Liu Tao into going out to discuss business. I thought you were raising a child outside, and I urged Liu Tao to let you take her back to Shanghai to break up with this little witch." Mrs. Cao looked at the tombstone, "Now that I think about it, it would have been better to persuade Liu Tao to let you take her back to Shanghai. Maybe she is still alive this way."

"I'm not crazy." Luo Jun said lightly.

Mrs. Cao smiled and said, "I really like playing mahjong with Liu Tao."

"I am the country girl that my husband Cao married in his hometown. I can't read or write, I don't like Western clothes, I can't wear high heels, I can't get used to coffee, and I am a country bumpkin that everyone looks down on. If my brother hadn't been promoted, Cao would never have brought me to the city in his life."

"My husband Cao wanted to climb the social ladder, so he asked me to please Liu Tao and fawn on you. I was not happy at first, because I hate fawning on people. These young and beautiful ladies, relying on their worldly experience, all look down on us country wives. They even dislike our rustic way of drawing cards when playing mahjong."

"But she... forget it, let's not talk about it. I came here this time to give you something." As she spoke, Mrs. Cao carefully took out a cloth bag from her pocket, opened it, and there was another small cloth bag inside. She opened it again, and there was an earring.

A small silver earring.

"I'm going back to the countryside. I found it in my jewelry box when I was sorting things out yesterday. It was the one Liu Tao had lost. She said it was a dowry given to her by Sister Hong. It's not valuable but very meaningful. I don't dare to wear it normally for fear of embarrassing you. I only dare to wear it when you come to my house to play mahjong."

"She is always so cautious, afraid that she will lose face for you if she does something wrong. Remember that there was a period of time when my maid often sent pigeon stewed with Tianma to your house? It was always stewed by Liu Tao. She didn't learn it very well. Every time, the pigeon was stewed so well that you could only drink the soup. She didn't dare let you see the pigeon meat, so she said it was stewed by my cook."

"How is Minister Cao doing lately?" Luo Jun asked.

"Dead." Mrs. Cao said casually, "My brother is dead too, and all the concubines in the family ran away. I have only a daughter but no son, and I don't get much money. I can't make a living here, so I plan to take my daughter back to the countryside."

"I'm afraid I'll never come back this time, so I came to see Liu Tao for the last time."

Luo Jun looked at the clothes on Mrs. Cao, stretched out his hand to signal Mrs. Cao to hand him the silver earrings. Mrs. Cao handed the whole cloth bag to him, and Luo Jun took it and stood up to go into the house.

In less than two minutes, Luo Jun took out a small box and handed it to Mrs. Cao. There were 6 small yellow croakers in it.

"Write a letter when you get back, so as to avoid losing contact. Liu Tao hasn't made many new friends in recent years, and I can't let her lose another one after she turns into a butterfly."

Mrs. Cao took the wooden box in a daze and blurted out, "What do you mean by turning into a butterfly? Are you really crazy?"

"Don't lovers turn into butterflies after death?" Luo Jun asked, "Just like in the Liang Zhu drama, although the human form dies, they can continue to live in the form of butterflies and turn into yellow butterflies."

Mrs. Cao was stunned for a long time, as if to confirm whether Luo Jun was joking with her. Seeing that Luo Jun was really serious, she stammered, "But...but that's a story in a play."

"What do you mean?" Luo Jun asked back.

"Those are all stories from plays. They are fake."

"Aren't the Peach Garden Oath of Brotherhood, the Execution of Sons at the Camp Gate, and the Female Prince Consort all true?"

"That's different." Mrs. Cao was confused and didn't know how to explain for a moment, "Some parts of the story in the opera are true, and some parts are false. I don't know whether the story of Liang Zhu is true, but the butterfly transformation is just a story in the opera."

“It is impossible for a human to turn into a butterfly.”

Luo Jun was stunned.

"When a person dies, he is dead. It is impossible for him to turn into a butterfly."

"You have been here for so many years... Could it be that..."

Luo Jun seemed to wake up suddenly. He seemed to have been dreaming for many years, and suddenly one day someone patted him and said to him, hey, don’t sleep, it’s time to wake up.

"What did you say?" Luo Jun asked in a hoarse voice.

"I said... the butterfly transformation is just a story in a play, it's not real." Mrs. Cao pursed her lips, as if she had made some kind of decision, "Mr. Luo, I don't know why you misunderstood like this."

"But... Liu Tao has been dead for five years. She will not turn into a butterfly."

"It's time for you to wake up."

Qin Huai looked at Luo Jun. This was the first time that Luo Jun showed a surprised expression.

There was a sense of bewilderment and confusion in the shock, just like a child who thought he had learned the rules of the world, but was suddenly told that the rules he had learned were wrong and that he did not understand the world at all.

It was not until the fifth year after Liu Tao's death that Luo Jun learned that his wife had died.

It has long been buried in the dust and turned into bones.

Really dead.

Qin Huai knew that Luo Jun had failed to survive the tribulation.

Qin Huai left the memory.

(End of this chapter)