HCB Chapter 386: Death
Chapter 386: Death
Shen said, "Go see the old master and old lady first, then go see your aunt and second brother."
Shi Yao nodded slightly.
Shi Jianan led Xie Jibai and walked in front. The father-in-law and son-in-law looked at each other in silence, and Xie Jibai didn't want to smooth things over in this solemn atmosphere.
Shi Jianan coughed once, and coughed again. He really couldn't find the right words. He thought to himself, this Xie San doesn't know etiquette. He is indeed the husband of that dead girl Shi Yao. He is just like her and doesn't get close to him.
Shi Yao must have said a lot of bad things about him behind her husband's back.
This girl is so heartbreaking. On the day of her wedding, he cried so hard, but all his tears were in vain.
Shen comforted Shi Yao all the way. Shi Yao asked, "How did my second brother go? I'm at the Xie family and I can't hear any news from outside. I only heard a word from one of his men when His Royal Highness Cheng Wang was searching for my eldest sister's whereabouts. I've been unable to sleep or eat these days, hoping that the news was just a rumor. Who knew it was true..."
Shi Yao lowered her head and cried.
The Duke's Mansion now has a consistent statement to the public, and Shen also said, "That night, he drank and accidentally fell into the well. Hey, it's fate, no one is to blame. Don't cry, you just got married, you can't cry."
Shi Yao tried her best to hold back her tears and sobbed twice: "I won't cry, I won't cry."
When they entered Ganlu Hall, the old Duke and the old lady were not in the main hall. They were both lying on their sickbeds.
Shi Yao's heart skipped a beat.
On such an important day, the old man and the old woman couldn't get up. I guess they are terminally ill.
On her wedding day, the two elders were able to struggle to get up and sit on the high hall to receive kowtows from her and Xie Jibai.
Mu Jin opened the bamboo curtain, Shi Yao quickly walked in, threw herself on the bedside, and called out with tears in her eyes, "Grandma!"
The lady looked haggard, with sunken cheeks and lifeless eyes staring at the door. When she saw Shi Yao coming in, her eyes lit up and she said in a hoarse voice:
"Yaoyao."
Shi Yao's eyes were filled with tears. She held the hand that the old lady had gently raised and choked up, saying, "Grandma, I'm back. Are you feeling better?"
The lady opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Fu Nanjun, who was tending to the patient, said softly, "Today, I knew you were coming back, so I barely ate half a bowl of porridge and a bowl of medicine in three doses. In the past two days, I couldn't swallow the medicine at all. I vomited after every mouthful I took."
Shi Yao felt a chill in her heart.
"Grandma, why are you so depressed? My second brother is gone, but you still have us, me, my oldest brother, my third brother, my fourth brother, my fifth brother, my sixth brother, my seventh brother, my eighth brother, and my oldest sister. We all hope that you will get better. Grandma, do you only love my second brother and not us?"
The lady supported herself on the bed with her other hand, and Nanny Tang hurried forward and helped her sit up.
The lady leaned against the big pillow and waved to the others.
Shen, Fu Nanjun and others withdrew, leaving only Shi Yao behind.
The lady patted the back of her hand and said with difficulty, "Do you remember what your grandmother said the night before your wedding?"
Shi Yao nodded repeatedly: "I remember, I remember everything, every word."
The lady's eyes showed relief. She took a deep breath and said intermittently: "Remember... Grandmother's words, put yourself first in everything. Yaoyao... You are a good child, the Shi family owes you a lot... Grandmother is sorry for you..."
She remembered all the grievances her granddaughter had suffered from the time Shi Yao came to Beijing until today.
Compared with Zhuzhu in everything, Shi Yao is always the one who is abandoned.
When the two girls fell into the water, they called all the doctors to treat Zhuzhu. After Zhuzhu was treated, they assigned a doctor to see Shi Yao.
Zhuzhu's innocence was ruined by the Fourth Prince, and her first thought was, why wasn't Shi Yao the one who was ruined?
Zhuzhu talked nonsense in front of the emperor and ruined Shiyao's marriage. In order to save Zhuzhu's life, she married her to the son of a merchant.
Even when Mingwei hired thugs to harm Shi Yao's innocence, the old man just beat them up and forced Shi Yao to forgive him.
And from the beginning to the end, ever since Shi Yao came to Beijing, every time she was sick, the only person who stayed by her side to take care of her and to cheer her up was Shi Yao.
Even though she was married off to the wrong man, Shi Yao never said a bad word to them or made a scene. She just sulked for a few days before accepting their arrangement.
Tears slowly fell from the old lady's eyes. Although she knew it was an extravagant wish, she still couldn't help but say, "Yaoyao, if there is an afterlife, grandma will never send you back to Jinling. Grandma will protect you and let you grow up no matter what."
This was the only fluent sentence she spoke today.
Shi Yao shook her head, tears rolling down her eyes one by one: "My grandmother has given me more than enough."
Without the old lady's protection, she would have died long ago.
Besides, there will be no afterlife.
Even if the old lady has an afterlife, that "Shi Yao" will no longer be her.
Even if it was her, she might not be able to grow up in the capital.
The lady squeezed her hand hard, took a few breaths, and then said, "Yaoyao, go back to Yusu with Jibai as soon as possible. The capital is not a place to stay for long."
With internal strife at home and oppression from outsiders, the Shi family is about to fall.
If they stay in the capital, Shi Yao and the Xie family will definitely be implicated.
Shi Yao wiped away the tears for the old lady and nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you, old lady."
The lady said again: "Get along more with your sister-in-law...sister-in-law. She is a person who cares about...old times and will protect you."
Shi Yao nodded, tears falling like beads from a broken string: "Yeah, I remember."
"Forget about the things in the capital, live a good life. There will always be someone in the Shi family who can protect you. The Xie family won't dare to bully you."
"Okay, I'll listen to grandma."
The lady spoke a few more words and then fell into a deep sleep.
Shi Yao was so scared that she kept calling for Aunt Tang. Aunt Tang asked the doctor to come in. The doctor said that the patient was in a coma, and Shi Yao felt relieved at that moment.
Immediately afterwards, she and Xie Jibai went to pay a visit to the old Duke.
The old Duke seemed to be in better spirits than the old lady, but he was also bedridden. Whenever he moved, he saw stars and felt weak all over.
The old Duke was not as sentimental as the old lady, and only said: "You are a person who goes with the flow, we misjudged you. I don't expect you to support your family in the future, but I hope that if one day the Shi family encounters trouble, you can help the Shi family to leave incense. I hope that day will never come."
The Fourth Prince searched the mansion, and the Dali Temple and Jingzhao Prefecture came to investigate the case. The old Duke realized that the emperor was the one behind it.
The emperor was attracted to the Shi family, but the family was divided. The old duke felt that he had not much time left and was powerless to change the situation. He was pessimistic about the future of the Shi family.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have said such words of weakness to Shi Yao.
Shi Yao was slightly surprised, her eyes still wet: "My eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law and brothers will be fine, but I promised my grandfather."
The old Duke felt a sharp pain in his heart, his face looked sallow and miserable, he smiled and said: "Ji Bai, I have watched you grow up, you are a good child, from now on I will entrust Yao girl to you. She is an interesting girl, you will definitely like her."