PFC Chapter 273 Dust-covered Memories
Chapter 273 Dust-covered Memories
This was originally the largest courtyard in the marquis's mansion, more than twice the size of the other courtyards. It was very exquisite, with carved beams and painted rafters, and numerous pavilions and towers.
There are two stone lions at the gate, still guarding majestically. There is also a pond in the yard, with a few goldfish in the pond, looking very leisurely.
There is a jujube tree growing beside the pond. When the wind blows, it rustles, making it look a bit lonely.
There is a huge stone screen at the back with an exquisite painting on it, which looks like a landscape painting and a story.
This was the day when the Marquis and his wife first met. They were on the river, and she was playing the piano. He fell in love with her at first sight. Although he was just a young top scholar who had just passed the imperial examination, he fell in love with the Empress Dowager's niece at first sight and almost ruined his own future.
The main house of the courtyard is a two-story building with flying eaves and brackets. It looks like a work of art. The originally colorful murals have shown some signs of peeling.
Even though no one has lived in it for fifteen years, the courtyard still retains its former charm and does not show any signs of dilapidation.
Every blade of grass, every brick and tile reveals a tranquil and elegant atmosphere, as if a fairy is quietly sleeping, waiting for its owner here.
"A Yuan, please don't blame me. I have been looking for our daughter for many years, but the clues always end in the same place. I think she must be doing well now. The one who took her out is my confidant, who is highly skilled in martial arts and very trustworthy. As long as he is alive, our daughter may not be found, but she can live well."
The Marquis sat on the stone bench at the door, as if he was in Yunnan, or as if he was talking.
"Today Siyu told me a story, a story about a little girl. I felt several times that she looked very much like our daughter. But I have seen that girl before, many times. She looks neither like me nor like you. Although I also feel that she looks familiar, after seeing her for a long time, it is probably just because she looks familiar. I also think that she is our daughter, but I am afraid that she is our daughter. If she is our daughter...she has suffered in the palace for nearly seven years."
The Marquis sighed deeply, and kept recalling everything about An Qiao. He always felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, but also felt that he was thinking too much.
I don't know how long he sat there, but the Marquis finally stood up as if he had made up his mind and pushed open the long-closed door.
Although he had always refused to enter the room, he still requested that someone clean it every day, but only if nothing inside was damaged.
He still remembered that he had kept some portraits of his wife, but he felt painful every time he thought of them. He thought he was too reckless back then, and he was sorry for his wife and his children.
When his son grew up a little, he cried and made a fuss and refused to let him watch the show anymore. He always thought that he could not let his son down, so he slowly locked all these things deep in his heart.
After listening to Gu Qingyun's words today, he couldn't help but feel confused. He even suspected that it was because too much time had passed and he had forgotten A Yuan's appearance.
There is also a scent of sandalwood in the room. When my wife was young, she didn't like those vulgar women, so she liked to use some woody scents, which even had a scent of women being as good as men.
She accompanied him to many places, whether they were frontier fortresses or cold and bitter lands, and he never heard her complain once. She even gave birth to two children for him during this process.
The Marquis squatted down and began to look through the portraits. There was a lady watering flowers, a lady dancing, and looking at himself smiling through the portraits...
Sure enough, I felt like crying more and more.
But after looking at it again and again, An Qiao really doesn't seem like either of the two people. Is it a coincidence?
There is always a hint of sadness on my wife's face, as if it can't be melted away.
But there was no sadness between An Qiao's brows. She always looked like she was smiling heartlessly. Even when she was irritated by that kid Gu Qingyun, she would just grit her teeth.
The lady's eyebrows and eyes are softer. Although Anqiao's are also soft, I don't know if it's because of the makeup, Anqiao's eyebrows and eyes always seem brighter.
The nose is quite similar, just as cute and small.
Lips...My wife doesn't like to smile, so she always has the temperament of a lady from a noble family.
But An Qiao, even the Marquis often saw her laughing out loud, and she didn't look like a lady at all.
Thinking of this, the Marquis couldn't help but smile again. If Anqiao was really his child, it would be great. She didn't become delicate and artificial, but was strong and cheerful instead.
But after thinking about it, I felt that maybe it was just a coincidence.
Since he had already flipped through the portraits, the Marquis simply flipped through all of them. There were practice drawings he made when he was young, paintings he made with his classmates, and even a portrait of his wife's brother who died young...
My younger brother who died young...
Although she looks only eight or nine years old, her eyes and brows are somewhat like An Qiao, just as bright and cheerful, but she has not been devastated by reality and instead looks innocent.
The Marquis could not help but get excited. His hand holding the portrait trembled again and again as he looked at the painting carefully.
At that time, he had just gotten engaged to his wife and was able to move around after the engagement. He was also a good painter at that time, but his brother-in-law was naughty and would not keep quiet even when he was there.
The mother-in-law laughed and said that it was because she liked her brother-in-law so much that she pestered him to paint a portrait of her brother-in-law.
My brother-in-law just sat there and made faces all day, happily letting him finish the painting.
My brother-in-law’s eyes and eyebrows do resemble An Qiao’s somewhat, but that child died when he was only eight or nine years old, so I don’t know what he looked like when he grew up.
The following year, the two got married, but the brother-in-law died soon after. It was said that he was naughty and drilled into a dry well and never came out again.
From then on, the brother-in-law's name became a taboo and could not be spoken or mentioned.
Since the child was born in old age, everyone was afraid that the mother-in-law and father-in-law would be too sad. Even A Yuan couldn't help feeling a little sad when she thought of her younger brother. After all, although her younger brother was a little torturous and very noisy, he was just an eight or nine-year-old child. Who would be willing to really ignore him?
It is said that the mother-in-law was so sad that she couldn't even look at the portrait. Many portraits in the house were torn up, but this one was not torn up because it had been kept in the hands of the marquis.
The Marquis looked at the painting and trembled continuously.
It can't be that coincidental...
He put down the scroll, went to the desk again, and looked through all the things he had found over the years.
The location of disappearance, the year of disappearance, and the age of the child are almost exactly the same.
But based on these things alone, the Marquis was not sure and did not dare to be certain.
If it was An Qiao, it would be fine, but if it wasn't her, how could he be worthy of his dead wife and the little girl who couldn't even call him daddy?