by N/A
Actually, without even asking, she was already certain of Du Yun Han's identity, because that face of his looked as if it almost came from the same mold as the sixteen year old Du Xiu Heng's.
And her appearance was seventy percent similar to their deceased mother.
"I'm your father." Du Xiao Li didn't bother entertaining Du Yun Han, and he also just found himself a chair to sit down.
"My father Du Hai is already dead." Du Xiao Li coldly said.
Du Yun Han stared at Du Xiao Li's hostile appearance and let out a sigh, saying: "Sorry. That year, I failed you all........."
"Save it, I don't know that I still have a father." Du Xiao Li interrupted Du Yun Han's words, "Ying Ge, Xia Yuan, I'm tired from working just now, I'm going to go nap for a while. This lord, the door is over there, see yourself out."
As she finished saying this, she stood up and returned to her own room. However, she wasn't going to sleep, but instead returning to her room to practice her inner energy. When she finished her training session and went out, she discovered that Du Yun Han still haven't left and was currently in the main hall having a stare off with Du Xiu Heng who'd just returned from the county seat.
Du Xiu Heng had already participated in the provincial exams and right now was one of the successful candidates, preparing to go participate in the capital's imperial civil service examination next year. He was already no longer studying at the county seat school. Today, he'd just happened to have some business and headed to the county seat, unexpectedly coming back to see someone he didn't want to see the most.
(T/N: The imperial civil service exam is also known as the metropolitan exam.)
Du Xiao Li looked to the two of them mutually staring at each other, yet didn't say anything. She walked in and sat down next to Du Xiu Heng, asking: "Big brother, when did you come back?"
"I've been back for a while now. Ying Ge and Xia Yuan said you were resting, so I didn't call you." Du Xiu Heng didn't looked to Du Xiao Li, but instead casted his hostile gaze towards Du Yun Han, saying: "This sir, how long do you plan on sitting in our house for?"
"Don't pretend with me. Xiao Li may not know me, but you wouldn't know? Keep pretending to not know your old man, and I'll break your legs!" Du Yun Han wasn't as careful with Du Xiu Heng like as with Du Xiao Li. Upon hearing his words, his anger immediately rose.
"You're not anyone to me, what right do you have to hit me?" Du Xiu Heng said with disdain.
"I'm your old man!" Du Yun Han roared.
Du Xiu Heng coldly snorted and said, "I don't have a father that can't protect his wife and children!"
Hearing Du Xiu Heng say this, Du Yun Han's attitude instantly softened, saying: "The matters that year were my fault, but I believed you mother. She is the true love of my life, and have gone through so many storms together with me, how can I not believe her. But that year, by the time I got back, your mother had already took you and ran away. I also searched everywhere for you two, but what I got was instead two corpses, three lives. That pregnant woman's and that small child's body had the exact same markings as you two's. Thus I thought it was you two, that's why I stopped searching. In these years, I've also missed you all very much."
"Hmph." Du Xiu Heng still just coldly snorted.
"It's true! If not, why else would I immediately rush here as soon as I heard your news." Seeing Du Xiu Heng's attitude, Du Yun Han's anger rose again. Looks like this father's temper wasn't very good!
"Even this mean in our house, if we were your kids, afraid would've already been scared to death by you." Du Xiao Li said.
Perhaps because Du Xiao Li resembled Su Su Xin too much, or perhaps because from birth until prior to today, he'd never seen her before, Du Yun Han felt a little partial towards Du Xiao Li. Seeing Du Xiao Li's discontent look, his anger immediately dissipated, and he apologetically smiled, "I was just anxious, I'm actually not mean."
If not for the current scenario being off, Du Xiao Li definitely would have been amused by Du Yun Han's appearance.
Actually, she could tell, Du Yun Han genuinely did care about them. His gaze towards them was very real, indeed that kind of affectionate and stern look a father would give his child. Furthermore, the incident that year, she hadn't investigated yet. That's why she couldn't conclude it was all this father's fault either. However, whether or not to acknowledge this father, it still depends on Du Xiu Heng. After all, towards this father that suddenly appeared, whether to acknowledge him or not, she didn't have too much of an opinion. If Du Xiu Heng doesn't acknowledge, she'll continue being her village girl, cheerful and carefree. If he acknowledges him, she heard that this father is already the prime minister, and even has an equal wife that the previous emperor bestowed at home. There will certainly be no less of trouble inside and outside the home. But if Du Xiu Heng wants to go back, her accompanying him to the capital to play with them wasn't undoable either.
"You two take your time staring, I'm going to go make dinner." Du Xiao Li said to Du Xiu Heng. However, she definitely won't make Du Yun Han's share.
T/N: This is the regular chapter for Friday, the next sponsored chapter I'll release along with Monday's chapter. Your translator Jen is going to be taking the weekend off from this series to work on other things and catch up on sleep, I'm a bit behind on TWBW, see you guys Monday~
Ch. 058.3 – Saving Someone in Passing (3)
Saving Someone in Passing (3)
T/N: Chapter sponsored by Azurixa and Gilly! Thank you for supporting!
Coming out of the central room, Du Xiao Li went to the kitchen to begin making dinner. Although Ying Ge and Xia Yuan have been here for more than a year now, and the other matters have all been handed over to them to do, their cooking skills still couldn't reach Du Xiao Li's no matter what. Moreover, Du Xiu Heng liked eating Du Xiao Li's cooking, so the cooking has always been handled by her.
"Xia Yuan, what did that person do all afternoon?" Du Xiao Li asked while chopping the vegetables.
"Miss, after you went to rest, he asked where madam's grave was, went to madam's grave, and stayed there for a very long time. Only after young master returned, did he finally followed him back." Xia Yuan replied.
"How was his expression?" Du Xiao Li continued asking.
"His expression was very painful, and he even bitterly cried in front of madam's grave. He said a lot of words, majority were all just recalling the past, and also some things about miss. At the time, he'd went alone and didn't know we were observing in the dark either. It didn't seem like he was acting for someone to see." Xia Yuan said.
Cried? No wonder when she saw Du Yun Han just now, she noticed that his eyes were swollen. Moreover, when he was getting angry at Du Xiu Heng, there was also an unerasable trace of grief in his eyes. Looks like the things that happened that year were indeed worth contemplating over.
Du Xiao Li thought that since Du Xiu Heng refused to acknowledge Du Yun Han, he naturally would just leave, but unexpectedly, when she went out again after she finished cooking, she discovered that he still hasn't left yet. Furthermore, he managed to have someone bring a bed from who knows where and placed it in the storage room, saying for every day they refuse to return with him, he won't leave for a day. During dinner, he even squeezed himself onto the table, insisting on eating together with them. That look didn't have the slightest appearance of a prime minister, fully just a thick-skinned person.
Afterwards, he really did settle down in their home, every day having a stare off with Du Xiu Heng. Learning that Du Xiu Heng had successfully passed the provincial exam and was going to participate in the preliminary rounds of the imperial exam next years, he smiled till his eyes narrowed shut. But every time Du Xiu Heng said he won't acknowledge him, he would rage until his eyes popped open.
However, he was very accommodating with Du Xiao Li. When he saw her going to the tangerine orchard to comb the fruits, he also followed over, wanting to help Du Xiao Li. But he was an official after all, how would he know how to do these thing. Seei
ng Du Xiao Li picking tangerines, he had the tangerines on the branch all picked, angering Du Xiao Li in the process and getting himself kicked out. She even forbid him from coming near her tangerine orchard. Seeing him standing at the edge of the tangerine orchard with a face full of grievance, Du Xiao Li felt both amused and in a good mood.
Not long after, the emperor's letter came, letting Du Yun Han return to the capital without delay. As a result, that old guy wrote a reply saying he was there to experience for himself the life of a commoner, and experiencing the commoner's way of thinking, follow which was another lengthy eulogy, singing praises, which ended up pleasing the emperor, allowing him a few more days of time.
But the emperor wasn't a fool either. He naturally knew why Du Yun Han wasn't returning to the capital. Thus, immediately afterwards, he sent an imperial edict, wanting Du Yun Han to bring his di son and di daughter back to the capital.
The imperial edict said 'di son and di daughter', thus was acknowledging Su Su Xin and the sibling's position. The purpose naturally was for letting Du Xiu Heng and Du Xiao Li willingly follow Du Yun Han back. Of course, an important reason why he was able to pass such an edict was because that equal wife was still just an equal wife. In the fourteen years' time, she has never managed to climb onto the position of the official wife.
Du Xiao Li once again lamented the restrictions of an era with imperial power. But she still consulted with Du Yun Han, letting him go back on his own first, while she and Du Xiu Heng leave at the end of the sixth month.
Du Yun Han asked her the reason, and she said there was something to take care of. Only Du Xiu Heng and Xia Yuan and them knew the reason. She was waiting for the grapes to mature.
Towards this Du Xiao Li replied, "The winery and restaurant all need to be taken care of. This also needs to take some time." However, she didn't want to let Du Yun Han know about any of these.
Although he really wanted to travel together with his daughter, he also didn't want to against her intentions. The emperor's side was also pressing tightly, and under reluctance, Du Yun Han eventually went on the road alone. However, he had a portion of the people he brought left behind.
Before departing, he went alone to Su Su Xin's grave again and cried in front of her grave for a very long time, while Du Xiao Li and Du Xiu Heng stood below the mountain, silently watching.
Du Xiao Li knew that whenever Du Yun Han had time, he would always spent it there. Aside from the first time and this time, he didn't cry the other times. But every time he returned, his mood was always down. This time, perhaps because he needed to part, he looked particularly heartbroken.
Watching Du Yun Han cry like a small child, Du Xiao Li couldn't help letting out a sigh.
"Sigh."
In the horse carriage, Du Xiao Li also sighed following her recollection, her arms curling around Silver who was beside her. "Silver, after passing Fuyang, we'll arrive in the capital in another day. What do you think the capital is like? After going, will we be able to get it use to it? Will you be not used to it? There, it won't be able to be like Du village, with mountains for you to run around. However, fortunately, I had your wife brought along too, so you won't be lonely either."
"Pfft---" Hearing Du Xiao Li's words, Ying Ge and Xia Yuan both laughed, because they both recalled the wedding Du Xiao Li held for Silver and Gold at the time.
Last year, Silver seduced a female wolf back from the mountains. Following the husband when married, the female wolf also got along very well with Du Xiao Li. Du Xiao Li gave her the name Gold, and even let the two wolves put on crimson clothes and a crimson flower, holding a wedding for them. That spectacle amused one to death.
However, because this horse carriage was too small, after squeezing in the three of them, it couldn't fit two more adult wolves. That's why gold went over to Du Xiu Heng's horse carriage, and Silver remained here. Of course, Silver sometimes would also go to Du Xiu Heng's horse carriage.
Du Xiao Li rolled her eyes at the two laughing at herself and reached out to pick two grapes to feed Silver.
"Shh...."
The carriage driver suddenly pulled the reins and stopped the carriage. Ying Ge quickly asked, "Why did we stop?"
"Miss, there seems to be a situation up front. Young master's horse carriage also stopped." The driver replied.
"Perfect, I just happened to have gotten tired of sitting. Let's go down and see too." Du Xiao Li said, "Ying Ge."
Ying Ge opened the carriage door, and Du Xiao Li directly jumped down from the horse carriage. Silver, seeing Du Xiao Li get down from the carriage, also leapt up and directly jumped down. Following which, Ying Ge and Xia Yuan also came down, leaving the driver to watch the horse carriage.
When Du Xiao Li arrived up front, Du Xiu Heng had also just happened to have gotten down from the horse carriage. The siblings thus walked forward together.
In a place about fifty meters ahead of them, there were five to six horse carriages stopped, and also several horses standing in the middle of the road. A bunch of people were currently crowded together, seemingly something must have happened, because they nearly had the official road all blocked. Du Xiao Li and them had no choice but to stop.
Ch. 058.4 – Saving Someone in Passing (4)
Saving Someone in Passing (4)
"Awooo---" Silver called out towards the people ahead, startling the people up front. They turned around and saw Silver who was next to Du Xiao Li.
"Why is there a wolf here?"
A group of guards hastily appeared behind the crowd, coming face to face with Du Xiao Li and them, cautiously looking to Silver.
Du Xiao Li turned to Silver, leaned down and patted his head, "Silver, go find your wife."
Silver heard Du Xiao Li's words, lowly growled twice, and then immediately jumped onto Du Xiu Heng's horse carriage. Du Xiao Li signaled the driver to close the door.
Seeing the wolf get locked up in the horse carriage, they finally relaxed.
"Old man, old man!" Suddenly from the crowd came an urgent cry. Du Xiao Li listened and felt it should be an old woman's voice. Following which, she heard, "Where's the doctor? Why hasn't the doctor arrived yet?"
"Old madam, we've already sent someone to Fuyang to invite one as quickly as possible." Someone replied.
"Then send someone to go rush them! Quick!" The old madam urged.
"Yes, old madam."
Two man immediately got on their horses and hastily rushed towards Fuyang's direction.
"Father, hang in there, the doctor will be here soon." Another middle-aged woman's voice came through.
Du Xiao Li guessed that someone must have collapsed from illness up ahead. Hearing that old madam's bitter cries, she suddenly felt somewhat unable to bear, and thus opened her mouth, "That....."
Who knew, just as she opened her mouth, the guards that were facing them, orderly had their swords drawn, pointing at them.
At this time, the surrounding crowd also opened up a path, letting Du Xiao Li see the situation inside.
Just as she'd predicted, in the middle of the crowd, on top a rug, sat an elderly woman, should be that old madam, and on her leg rested a sixty some year old old man. From the looks of it, he's already fainted. In addition, a middle-aged woman knelt at the old man's side. Next to them were a heap of servant girls and bodyguards.
"What happened?" The middle-aged woman looked towards them, her complexion somewhat not good, seemingly somewhat discontent at running into strangers at this time.
"Replying to madam, it's some passerby. Their path has been blocked by our horse carriages." The guard looked to Du Xiao Li and them, and the horse carriage behind them and replied.
Du Xiao Li didn't expect that as soon as she opened her mouth, she would be met with swords. She was somewhat speechless and was just planning on going back when she heard the old madam's voice.
"Step down."
Du Xiao Li originally thought she wanted them to leave, but before she could move, those guards already uniformly
had their swords sheathed and stood to the two sides.
So she wasn't talking to them!
"You all have the horse carriages moved to the side, make way for them" The old madam ordered again.
"Yes, old madam." Five guards returned onto the horse carriage and had the horse carriage moved to the side of the road. Then, they had the remaining horses also lead to the side.
"Alright, little miss, you all quickly pass through." The old madam said and then lowered her head to look at her husband again.
Du Xiao Li originally had already given up the intention to treat them, but seeing that the old madam was a good person, she said, "Old madam, I know medicine, how about letting me examine this old master?"
"You know medicine?" The old madam lifted her head, closely gazing at Du Xiao Li, like she'd just grasped the last straw.
"Mother, she's just a thirteen fourteen year old little girl, how can she know medicine!" The middle-aged woman said, "Letting her examine father, if something were to happen, what will we do?"
"This..." Hearing this, the old madam also somewhat hesitated inside.
"Old madam, right now, you should have this old master's body lay flat, and not have him on your leg. This way isn't good for him." Du Xiao Li said.
The old madam recalled a doctor once mentioning that if the old master were to faint, must have his body laid flat, and don't have him turned or bent. Just now, because she was anxious, she actually forgotten this. Now, hearing Du Xiao Li say this, she quickly had the old man's body laid flat. Afterwards, she said to Du Xiao Li, "Little miss, trouble you to come examine."
"Mother." The middle-aged woman still was worried and looked to the old madam.
"Right now, the doctor still hasn't arrived. The old master's situation is also become more and more severe. Just let this girl try." The old madam said.
"Younger sister." Du Xiu Heng somewhat nervously looked to Du Xiao Li. These people didn't look like ordinary people, and the old man's illness wasn't easy to cure either. If she were to cause something.........