"Auntie..." At this moment, I finally couldn't hold back the grievance in my heart. "Auntie, I'll go to the bathroom."
I quickly put on my shoes and ran out of the courtyard gate. Finding a deserted place, my tears streamed down "swish".
It was freezing outside. As soon as the hot tears flowed out, they were blown into ice chips by the howling cold wind.
What Auntie Liu had just said completely woke me up.
Gu Yuan had said before that if I asked about his affairs, he would break up with me. There must be something he couldn't solve, which was why he made such a demand.
In the bathroom, he didn't want that shadow to see me. When he went to the restaurant with those strangers and saw me, he acted as if we were strangers. He probably didn't want them to see me either.
It seemed that for now, the best protection for me was to have nothing to do with him.
So Gu Yuan was a bad guy, a big bully who only knew how to pick on me.
I was wearing thin clothes and sobbing in the cold wind, completely oblivious to the person standing behind me.
"Why did you run out in such thin clothes?" Gu Yuan came back at some unknown time and stood behind me, asking seriously.
Hearing his voice, I quickly wiped the tears on my face. I originally wanted to rush into his arms, hug him tightly, and then bite his arm hard to let him know how much pain I was in.
Finally, I would tell him that no matter what happened, I would never leave him.
But when I turned my head and saw several men and women standing behind Gu Yuan, I took back that thought.
I could only force a awkward smile and say, "I just came out to take a look. I'll go back now."
Just as I turned to go back, Gu Yuan had already draped his clothes over me.
I smiled at him, but there was not a hint of a smile on his face. He took the lead and walked into the house.
Leaving me there looking at his back, to be honest, I felt a bit awkward.
"Sister-in-law, don't take it to heart. He may seem cold on the surface, but he actually cares about you a great deal. I've never seen him offer to drape his clothes over anyone before."
I turned around and saw a girl who looked about my age. Her face was as rosy as a peach blossom, delicate and charming. When she smiled, there were two dimples on her cheeks, making her very endearing.
"Are you the fifth sister?" I asked.
"Sister-in-law is really smart. My name is Liu Chunhua. You can just call me Xiaohua."
The name Liu Chunhua reminded me of Liu Chunjiao.
"Xiaohua, do you know Liu Chunjiao?" I asked seriously.
When I mentioned Liu Chunjiao, Xiaohua bit her lower lip, as if recalling something. After a few seconds' pause, she said, "Yes, she's my collateral sister. But we haven't been in touch for many years. I heard that her whole family was killed by others, and my sister was no exception."
"What kind of person was she? Was she the kind of person who would fly into a rage?" I responded.
"No, no, no. She was very gentle and never fought with others. It's a pity that good people die young..."
As we were talking, I had followed Xiaohua into the house. At this moment, it seemed that Gu Yuan had already told them about Liu Chunjiao.
Obviously, these people knew nothing about what Liu Chunjiao had done.
This made me even more convinced of Gu Yuan's speculation. This matter must be directly related to Lord Liu San.
"Look at this. Isn't this Lord San's?" Gu Yuan flipped his palm, and a flag embroidered with a black snake appeared in his palm.
This object was triangular, with a white background and red edges. In the middle was embroidered a black snake totem coiled into a circular pattern.
"Isn't this Lord San's snake - patterned flag? What on earth is Lord San up to?" Brother Liu quickly took the snake - patterned flag and looked at it carefully.
"Don't think about it. Today is the reunion dinner. We just have an excuse to invite Lord Liu San over. Then we can just ask him."
Just as Auntie Liu finished speaking, a strange exclamation came from the kitchen.
"Wow, Hehua, what's the special occasion today? You've made so many delicious dishes."
Hehua was Auntie Liu's name before she got married.
Auntie Liu lifted the curtain and took a look, then turned to us and said, "Speak of the devil, and he appears."
"Lord San, come in and see who's back." Auntie Liu shouted into the kitchen again.
As soon as the words fell, Lord Liu San had already entered the house. When he saw Gu Yuan, a glint suddenly flashed in his eyes, and the smile on his face was obvious.
"Gu Yuan, you finally came back. I thought I'd have to wait until I was about to die and be buried before you'd come back."
This old man looked exactly the same as I remembered. It seemed that my memory of that period must be real.
"Well, I'm back. You can rest in peace now." Gu Yuan was not polite at all when speaking to Lord Liu San.
"You young man, you're so disrespectful. Be careful you won't be able to find a wife."
"Don't worry about that, Lord San. Gu Yuan has even brought his wife back."
Saying so, Auntie Liu pushed me forward.
When Lord Liu San saw me, his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose almost fell to the ground.
"You... You... How did you come back to life? Gu Yuan, you..."
Seeing that Lord Liu San was about to speak without restraint again, Gu Yuan directly interrupted him and said, "Do you recognize this?"
He stuffed the snake - patterned flag into Lord Liu San's hand. After Lord Liu San saw the flag, his glasses on the bridge of his nose finally fell off in fright.
He raised his finger and pointed to the corner on the right - hand side. "Look, a plane!"
After our attention was drawn to the corner, he turned around and was about to leave.
But Gu Yuan grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.
"Old fellow, this trick of yours is out of date. If you don't make things clear today, you won't be able to leave..."
"Ouch, I can't say. How can you expect me to say it?"
"You indulged her in doing evil in the human world. Do you know what the consequences will be?"
"How do you know it's evil? Have you asked about the reason?" Lord Liu San slapped Gu Yuan's hand hard, asking him to let go.
"I've brought her here for you. She's been running amok and killing in the human world. I don't think this was your intention. Old fellow, you must get her to give an explanation today."
Gu Yuan let go of Lord Liu San's collar. As he loosened the spirit - locking pouch, Liu Chunjiao's body landed on the ground.
When she saw Lord Liu San, she immediately knelt down respectfully and kowtowed.
"Liu Chunjiao, what did I tell you back then? Why did you still ignore human lives?"
"I'm sorry, Lord Liu San. I broke my promise. I couldn't just watch my husband and child die unjustly. So even if I have to lose my life today, I must make the Ling family pay for it."
"Sister Chunjiao, have you ever thought that if you do this, the whole Liu family may have to pay for your actions?" Xiaohua said anxiously.
"I'm sorry to the Liu family. Today I'll go down with the Ling family. I'll surely leave no clues that will implicate the Liu family."
Unexpectedly, once Liu Chunjiao entered the Liu family, she was as determined as a person who had swallowed an iron weight.
"What's the truth of the matter? Tell us, and we'll help you get justice." Auntie Liu was the only one besides Lord Liu San who stood on Liu Chunjiao's side. She helped her up and spoke.
"Auntie Liu," Liu Chunjiao looked at Auntie Liu gratefully, with tears streaming down her face.
"Actually, it's like this..." Liu Chunjiao told us the whole story in detail.