Chapter Fifty-Seven: Grandfather (Pink Ticket 300 Additional Chapter)

  Grandfather was accompanying the newly arrived Magistrate Lu of Zhending County to watch a play, when the servants brought up some refreshments such as fuju cake and Fengcheng crackers. Grandfather had originally intended to eat a piece of fuju cake, but his eyes were fixed on the stage, so he accidentally grabbed a handful of salted peanuts and tossed them into his mouth. By the time he realized he was eating the wrong thing, the peanuts were already stuck in his throat and he couldn't stop coughing. The people beside him hurriedly brought tea to help Grandfather soothe his throat, but who knew that the more he drank, the worse his cough became?

  Dòu Zhāo sat at the head of Dòu Duó's bed, gazing at his grandfather who was unconscious, unable to express whether he felt sorrow or desolation.

  In her previous life, after her grandfather was buried, she returned to the West Wing in August. At that time, she was still young and ignorant, newly entering the East Wing, feeling flustered, frightened, and uneasy, so how could she have known to ask about her grandfather's cause of death?

  No wonder this ancestor would pass away three months after falling into a coma?

  Father quickly returned from Kyoto, accompanied by Dou Ming.

  She was quite different from the time in Dongdow. She seemed much more spirited, and her voice was louder too. As soon as she got off the car, she shouted loudly "Gao Sheng": "I brought back a lot of things for Yixiaojie, Shuxiaojie and them, be careful, send all the things to my room."

  Is she at home?

  Where is her house?

  Is it the warm pavilion on the side of the second lady or the east wing room arranged by Wang Yingshu for her?

  The warm pavilion is in the East Mansion. The east wing house, she hasn't lived there for a single day.

  Gao Sheng was somewhat embarrassed.

  Dong Ming was already dissatisfied and loudly shouted: "You dog slave, be careful or I'll tell father to sell you off."

  Dong Zhao closed his eyes.

  Things have returned to their original direction without any change.

  She scolded Duan Ming as she went out: "Gao Sheng is a servant of Father, even if he is wrong, it's not up to you to punish him. If you dare to say such things again, I'll first take you to the woodshed and lock you in for three days."

  Dong Ming had been asking her somewhat indifferent sister since she was a child, and upon hearing this, her expression slightly changed, but she quickly overcame the fear in her heart and said: "I... I didn't do it on purpose." Her voice trailed off, and in the end, she didn't dare to argue with Dong Zhao.

  Dòu Yào Chéng is a person who likes to enjoy himself, and he bought a three-story house in the alley next to Jing'an Temple in Kyoto early on. Although the house is not big, it is decorated with flowers and brocade, and all the furnishings are exquisite, making it very comfortable to live in.

  Blood ties are a terrible thing, whether it's Duan Tong or Duan Shiying, they all like comfort just like their ancestor Duan Yaocang.

  When Dou Shiying was in Kyoto, he lived there. Although Dou Ming was also in Kyoto, it was inconvenient for him to bring a child alone. Moreover, Wang Xushi saw Dou Ming's stupid appearance and heard his daughter's words, knowing that Dou Shiyu and her husband were not on good terms, and felt that the Eastern Dou family wanted to use this to suppress the Western Dou family. She was heartbroken and when Dou Ming arrived in Kyoto, she treated him like a precious jewel, while her own grandsons were pushed aside. She only cared about her external granddaughter, Dou Shiying occasionally visited Dou Ming a few times, seeing that his face was rosy, surrounded by a large group of maids and servants, not willing to leave Wang Xushi for a moment. However, he felt somewhat estranged from him, and also felt relieved. He lived in the Jing'an Temple alley with Dou Ming living in the Liu Ye Lane alley, and had little contact with Dou Ming.

  Jian Douming was unhappy with Gao Sheng's attitude. Because he had no experience of being with his daughter, he was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say.

  Dong Zhao stepped forward and Dong Ming extinguished the flames, while Dong Shiying couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

  Wang Yingxue saw that Dou Ming had been scolded by Dou Zhao, while Dou Shiying didn't say a word, and knew that Dou Shiying was taking Dou Zhao's side. She feared that Dou Ming would lose Dou Zhao's favor because of this, so she quickly came out to mediate with a smile, saying to Dou Zhao: "Your father and sister are worried about your grandfather's illness, and they rushed back from Kyoto in a hurry, tired and exhausted, so it's inevitable that their temper is a bit big and their words are not very considerate." Then she said loudly, "Move the boxes of the fifth young lady to the east wing of Qixia Temple!" After that, she turned to Dou Shiying and said: "The seventh master has been traveling hard on the road, I have already ordered the kitchen maid to boil hot water, you should go wash up first before visiting your father, lest you bring dust to your father."

  Dong Zhao sneered in her heart, thinking: Your mother doesn't even care about you, and I, a sister with the same father but different mothers, can't even speak up to manage your head and feet? She didn't say much more and returned to her grandfather's bedroom.

  Ding Auntie has been serving her grandfather non-stop since he fell ill, but two days ago she finally couldn't hold on and fell ill too. Now Autumn Fragrance, the senior maid by Ding Auntie's side, is in charge of taking care of Grandfather.

  When she saw Dou Zhaojin coming in, she hastily stood up and bowed her hands on one side.

  Dou Zhao instructed her: "My father is back, and within three incense sticks' time, he will come to see Grandfather. Have the maids prepare some tea, and then invite the doctor who treated Grandfather's illness to come over. Father probably has something to ask him."

  Since Duan Du fell, Duan Zhao returned to the East House and moved into the main house that had been empty for a long time. Normally, she only stayed by her grandfather's bedside to nurse him, and all other household matters were handled by Wang Yingxue. Only when relatives like the second madam came to visit the sick would she come out to chat for a few words. Occasionally, she would also instruct the maids or the housekeeper to do some things, but everything was done with precision, all of which were things that Wang Yingxue had not thought of or overlooked. Gradually, the senior maids and housekeepers in the household became more cautious when dealing with her.

  Qiu Fen respectfully complied and sent a maid and an old woman to handle the matter.

  Before long, Dou Shiying and Dou Mingyu, who had finished washing up, walked in accompanied by Wang Yingshuang.

  Dong Zhao retreated to one side and yielded the position by the bed to his father.

  Dou Shiying grasped Dou Du's hand, and her eyes instantly turned red.

  Qiu Fen came in and reported: "Fourth Miss, the doctor has arrived."

  Dong Zhao said in a soft voice to his father: "If you have anything on your mind, just ask Doctor!"

  Dong Shiying knew it was his daughter's arrangement, and he looked at his daughter with gratitude, feeling relieved in his heart, thinking that entrusting his eldest daughter to the Ji family for upbringing was the most appropriate thing to do.

  The doctor carefully explained Du Dings illness to Du Shiying, the general idea being that if he hadn't woken up by the seventh month, they should prepare for the worst.

  This judgment is still quite accurate.

  Dou Shiying burst into tears.

  The atmosphere in the room suddenly became sad, and everyone was wiping away tears, including Dòu Zhāo, who also shed a few tears.

  Father set up a bed beside grandfather's bed and personally helped grandfather wipe his back, bathe, hold the chamber pot, feed water and medicine.

  Dou Zhao accompanied his father according to his usual schedule, taking a short nap in the afternoon and returning to his room to rest at midnight. At 2 am, he came over to help his father take care of his grandfather. When his grandfather was unconscious and his father sat stupidly, Dou Zhao silently recited the "Analects" that he had recently learned from Liu Bo Mu in his heart.

  Dong Ming was only seven years old after all. He couldn't bear it and would fidget around in the house for a while.

  Her father disliked her noise, so Wang Yingshuang had to hand her over to the second lady to take care of. Wang Yingshuang didn't dare, and couldn't tell her father about the second lady's intention, so she could only bring Du Ming with her, on the one hand managing the household chores, and on the other hand taking care of Du Ming. Du Ming had also brought back many small toys from Kyoto that were not available in Zhending Prefecture, and would often invite Yixiaojie and Shuxiaojie over to play, which made it a bit difficult for her grandfather to take care of her.

  The second lady who came to visit the patient saw it and proposed to Father: "Look, do you want to bring back Aunt Cui to serve her illness? In any case, she is also the legitimate concubine of your younger brother, and she is your birth mother."

  Father is naturally willing.

  Dòu Zhāo was unwilling.

  Why did grandfather abandon grandmother in the countryside when he was healthy, and now that he's bedridden, bring her back to serve him?

  "Why don't we wait a few more days... Aunt Ding is in charge of things at Grandfather's house, it's Grandfather's wish... If it really doesn't work out, sending someone to fetch Aunt Cui won't be too late."

  These were all trivial matters for Madame de Beaugency.

  "Alright!" She nodded and asked about her grandfather's condition.

  "After Father's affair, Fu Dui asked Zhao with a suspicious tone: 'Don't you want to bring Aunt Cui back?'"

  He thought Du Zhao was the person closest to himself and his biological mother in this family. Unexpectedly, it was also Du Zhao who reacted.

  When her grandfather is about to die, the Duan family disagrees that she will also bring her grandmother back, but it's not at this time!

  Dong Zhao thought to himself, but said: "We should discuss it with Auntie Ding first, why bother bringing Auntie Cui over to suffer from other people's gossip."

  Father had no second words.

  Dong Zhao called out to Zhao Liangbi: "Has Cui Shisan come looking for you these past few days?"

  Cui Shi San was fourteen years old at that time and had passed the county examination. While studying in the county school, he and Zhao Liang Bi were good friends in their past life, and they also got along well in private this life. Because his grandmother did not want to get involved with the Duan family, people from the Cui family never interacted with those from the Duan family. The two of them were both in the county, and Duan Zhao guessed that Cui Shi San would definitely come to find Zhao Liang Bi secretly, although she had never discovered it once.

  Zhao Liangbi suddenly jumped up like a cat with its fur standing on end: "You, how did you know?" His eyes were somewhat frightened and uneasy.

  Dòu Zhāo's intention was exactly this effect. Naturally, he wouldn't explain anything to him and solemnly said: "You immediately call Cuī Shísān to see me."

  She knew that Cui Shi San was a capable, ambitious and determined person. His greatest wish in life was to change the fortunes of the Cui family and make them a renowned family of scholars and poets for generations to come.

  Rebirth has its advantages, saving a lot of effort in observation and testing, and you can directly use whoever you want.

  Zhao Liangbi was so frightened that his face turned white and he ran away in a hurry.

  In the afternoon, he led Cui Thirteen into the East Cave from a side door.

  Dong Zhao asked Cui Thirteen: "Do you want Aunt Cui to enter the Dong family's gate with dignity?"

  Chui Thirteen's eyes lit up as he looked at Dou Zhao, but his gaze still held a hint of vigilance.

  "Live in Cui's villa for the time being, I'll let Zhao Liangbi bring you messages. When I send Cui Niangniang over, you escort her back. But if there's no word from me, whoever comes to pick up Cui Niangniang, you must detain her for me. Can you do that?"

  Chui Thirteen sniffed out the scent of conspiracy and hesitated, saying: "You, what do you want to do? Our Chui family doesn't want to be used as a gun by others!"

  Dou Zhao avenged his grandmother's grievances and was unwilling to see his grandmother being beckoned by the Dou family members, coming when called and going when waved.

  "What's there to worry about?" She looked at Cui Thirteen with disdain, "Aunt Cui is my father's birth mother, doesn't she have the qualifications to enter the Dou family's gate? As for whether Aunt Cui wants to stay in the Dou family or return to Tianzhuang after she arrives, I think even if the second madam comes out to stop her, it would be useless?"

  Those eyes wounded Choi Thirteen, but he still thought for a long time before slowly nodding his head.

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  Sisters, add more... Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, different places have different customs. I don't know if you are visiting your uncle's family or your husband's parents' family?

  ※RQ