Chapter 23 Chapter 23 The Cursed Mohele Doll (Part 2) ^^…

The second day of the Qiqiao Festival was a sunny day. Duan Zhiwei was still sleeping soundly. Mohele climbed onto the pillow, patted her face, and urged Duan Zhiwei to get up.

Duan Zhiwei was forced to get up yawning, but she felt that she couldn't go out to visit empty-handed, so she asked Mohele what her mother-in-law liked to eat, and she made a dish and sent it to her.

Mohele said that his mother-in-law liked to eat sweet cakes. Duan Zhiwei thought that he was an elderly man after all, so he thought about making a health-preserving five-spice cake, putting some ginseng, water chestnut, white atractylodes, poria and amomum in it. In addition to its rich aroma, it can also nourish the body.

She was grinding the herbs into the stone mill, and Mohele stood on her shoulder and gave her advice: "Mother-in-law has bad teeth, so you have to grind it very finely."

Duan Zhiwei put up the sieve again, and Mohele said, "You have to sieve it several times. Don't be lazy. Prevent sand and stones from being buried in the water chestnuts."

Duan Zhiwei: “…”

Zhu Niang and Pu Tao ran into the fire room at the right time and took Mo Hele out. Mo Hele was reluctant and said, "I want to keep an eye on Madam Duan making cakes to prevent other demons and monsters from coming to poison her."

Pu Tao said, "We should dress you up nicely. When you dress up beautifully, your mother-in-law will be very happy to see you and won't want to give you away."

"I see." Mohele stopped struggling and followed them obediently.

Duan Zhiwei heaved a sigh of relief, continued to add white sugar into the batter, mixed it while it was boiling, and put it in the pot to steam it.

Soon the five-spice cakes came out of the oven. Duan Zhiwei specially used peach blossom molds to steam them. The sweet cakes were as beautiful as flowers, exuding a rich scent of camphor and root fruits.

Duan Zhiwei deliberately reduced the amount of white sugar and added more sweet honey, thinking that the old man would like it.

She put the five-spice cakes into the lunch box, packed up a little, and was ready to take Mohelo out. The two girls dressed Mohelo in an extremely exaggerated purple robe, with a whole bunch of freshly picked peach-colored roses hanging on his head, his cheeks painted red with rouge, and his ears hung with earrings made of pine nuts. The whole doll looked very funny.

Pu Tao and Zhu Niang also wanted to go. Pu Tao was fine, but the spider legs on Zhu Niang's back...

Duan Zhiwei closed his eyes and made up his mind. He tremblingly tied a large bundle on her back, trying not to touch her back while covering the spider's legs. Then several people drove out in a donkey cart.

My mother-in-law lives in Pingmin Lane, Beili. The yellow soil here is bumpy and uneven, and the thatched houses on both sides are crooked and look like they will collapse at any time. The barking of dogs in the distance makes the scene even more desolate.

This place is dilapidated and narrow, and it is difficult for a donkey cart to pass through. Duan Zhiwei had no choice but to park the donkey cart beside a tree on the main road and take the children on a side path.

Mohele ran in front with the food box of sweet cakes held high in both hands, looking back and urging as he ran: "Hurry, it's right over here."

A few people jogged all the way, turned several corners and finally stopped next to the last hut.

Mohele stared blankly at the room and murmured, "How could this happen?"

Most of the houses here have dilapidated doors and windows, and many even have no doors or windows, with only a piece of rag covering them. Duan Zhiwei finally ran to the destination and was gasping for breath with his head down. When he heard her say this, he lifted the curtain and was stunned.

This house has only one room, which is so clean that only four gray walls are left. It is truly a bare house with no one living in it.

Mohele threw away the roses on his head, knelt on the ground and burst into tears: "I knew I was a cursed child. My mother-in-law really abandoned me and left."

Zhu Niang and Pu Tao, who were following behind, also burst into tears. One of them grabbed Duan Zhiwei's sleeve and cried, "Madam, please think of a solution."

Duan Zhiwei was also very sad. He thought about it awkwardly and recalled that on the way here just now, there was an old woman sitting under a ginkgo tree basking in the sun, so he said, "I'll go ask the neighbors."

She walked back a distance and saw the old woman still sitting there with her eyes closed, resting in the sun. Duan Zhiwei put on a friendly smile, took the food box and said, "Grandma, I want to ask you something. Do you know where Grandma Gao from the end of the alley has gone?"

The old woman opened her eyes and saw a young lady smiling at her and handing her a piece of cake. She probably hadn't spoken to anyone for a long time, so she was unprepared and ate the cake. "Mrs. Gao, you're so pitiful. You lost your husband when you were young, and your son and his wife were killed by bandits when they went out of town to do business. You had a granddaughter and took good care of her, but then she got an acute illness and died overnight. So pitiful."

"Then where is she going?" Duan Zhiwei felt the Mohele in the bag pushing her gently, so she asked.

The old woman sighed, "Mrs. Gao came to say goodbye to me recently. She said that she felt that her health was failing and her end was near, so she said goodbye to us and carried a package back to her hometown in Mian County. She is returning to her roots."

Duan Zhiwei took out a Mohelo from his bag and asked, "Do you know this doll?"

The old woman wiped her eyes, took another look at the Mohele in Duan Zhiwei's hands, and said in surprise: "Hey, isn't this the baby of Madam Gao?"

Duan Zhiwei nodded quickly: "Yes, we are here to return the baby. Do you know why Granny Gao abandoned her?"

The old woman said, "Mrs. Gao said that she would be buried soon, and she couldn't let the baby be buried with her. It would be too pitiful. She gave the baby away a few days ago. She said that the person who found the baby was a young lady. She looked very lucky and looked like her granddaughter. She would definitely cherish the baby."

Duan Zhiwei could imagine that in order to find a new home for Mohele, Granny Gao specially dressed her in tattered clothes and put some mud on her face.

Because if it is a bright and lively doll, everyone will want to pick it up, and maybe throw it away when they get tired of playing with it.

But only someone who truly loves the doll would pick her up even though she is covered in mud.

Grandma Gao must have been hiding in some corner. Only after she saw Pu Tao come forward and happily pick up the Mohele did she feel relieved and hobble away towards home alone.

On the way back on the donkey cart, Mohele cried so much that her face was flushed with rouge. She wiped her tears with her sleeves and said to Duan Zhiwei, "I really appreciate your kindness, but now I must go back to my mother-in-law. I hope you can let me off the cart."

Pu Tao said anxiously: "You are so young, and Mian County is outside Chang'an City, how can you get there?"

Mohele said firmly: "I can walk over. I can use the strength of wild cats or the wings of flying birds. When I reach the outside of Chang'an City, I can also float along the Wei River. No matter what, no matter how difficult the road ahead is, I must get over it."

The two children looked at Duan Zhiwei for help again. Duan Zhiwei thought about it, sighed, gritted his teeth, turned around and drove the donkey cart towards Xinchangfang.

The old butler of the Yuan residence seemed to know Duan Zhiwei. He enthusiastically led her to the front hall, served her tea, and then ran to the backyard to report the news.

Soon Yuan Shenji came out quickly from the backyard. Time was running out, so Duan Zhiwei quickly held up the Mohele doll and explained the whole story to him.

Then she looked at him cautiously: "Although Mian County is not far from Chang'an, time is really tight. I know that Captain Yuan is in a difficult situation, but how can ordinary carriages and horses compare to the fast horses of the Jinwu Guards? If anyone in the government office is going to pass by Mian County today, I hope you can take this baby with you."

Yuan Shenji pondered for a moment and said, "Mian County is not far away, but I don't have any official business to go there recently."

"I knew it." Duan Zhiwei lowered his head dejectedly.

Seeing her so disappointed, Yuan Shenji coughed lightly and added: "I have a fast horse from the Western Regions that can travel a thousand miles a day. Why don't I take this trip today and arrive tomorrow?"

Duan Zhiwei had already given up, but when she heard that, she looked up and smiled at him with bright eyes: "Really? Thank you so much."

Seeing her smile, Yuan Shenji smiled too, and then ordered his servant to fetch an exquisite box from the storehouse. He lowered his head and opened it, revealing a whole old mountain ginseng. "I was once ambushed by the Turks outside Liangzhou City and was seriously injured. This ginseng was given to me by the palace at that time. It is said that it can extend a person's life for two months. I will take this ginseng with me and give it to Granny Gao."

Duan Zhiwei felt very embarrassed. This ginseng must be worth a thousand gold coins. However, two months was very important to both Mohele and Granny Gao, so he couldn't refuse.

Soon, a heroic black horse was led out from the stable by the old servant, and Yuan Shenji climbed onto the horse nimbly.

Duan Zhiwei pulled out a leaf-veined hairpin from his head and said to Mohele, "Although the body of this hairpin is made of brass, the leaves are made of gold. If you are short of silver when you get there, you can take this to a pawnshop."

Mohele was very frightened, and shook his head, saying, "I have already received great favor from you, my lady, how can I take such precious jewelry from you again?"

Duan Zhiwei put the hairpin into Mohele's hand without further ado and said, "There is a long way to go. If you have time in the future, come with your mother-in-law to Duan's Restaurant to take care of my business. That will be your way of repaying me."

Mohele climbed onto the horse, rested his hand on Yuan Shenji's shoulder, wiped his tears, waved at them and said, "I will write to everyone!"

Yuan Shenji pulled the reins, the black horse raised its front hooves and neighed for a long time, then ran away like a gust of wind, raising a cloud of dust.

The three of them stood there and watched them walk away. Pu Tao and Zhu Niang raised their heads and asked Duan Zhiwei: "Madam, will Mohele meet Granny Gao again?"

"Of course." Duan Zhiwei lowered his head and touched their heads and said with a smile: "As long as it is someone you want to see, even if there are mountains, rivers, lakes and seas between us, we will meet again one day."

After returning to the restaurant, Zhen Hui sat under a tree outside the door reading a book. When he saw them come back, he quickly wiped his neck and winked at the restaurant.

All three were confused.

A strong sense of resentment floated out from the restaurant. Aunt Duan's eyes glowed red as she held up a piece of purple satin with dents in it. "Can anyone explain to me what happened to this piece of satin embroidered with precious patterns that I spent half a year considering buying?"

Pu Tao stuck out her tongue and said, "We cut off a piece and used it to make new clothes for the Mohele doll."

"Oh?" The resentment behind Aunt Duan seemed to be even heavier. She took out another exquisite perfume bottle, and a large piece of the red rouge inside was scooped out: "Then someone can explain to me, what happened to this rouge mixed with Mirabilis jalapa powder and Dashi rose water, which I considered buying for a year?"

This time it was Zhu Niang who scratched her head in embarrassment: "Well, we wanted to make Mohele look prettier, so we put some on her face."

"The first rose that bloomed in my yard this summer..."

Duan Zhiwei waved his hand: "Don't ask, it's all, it's all..."

Aunt Duan suddenly narrowed her eyes and came up to hold Duan Zhiwei's head.

"Hey Auntie, what are you doing?"

"Where is your leaf-veined hairpin? It took your aunt two years to find a goldsmith to make it for you!"

Aunt Duan looked like a desperate bride who was possessed by a demon and was about to go berserk. She roared at the three people who bowed their heads: "Facing the wall, all of you, go and face the wall!"

The three of them had no choice but to run away.

The weather is clear today, and the sky is as blue as a whole sapphire. The sunlight pours down unhindered on the earth and houses, as if coated with a layer of dazzling halo. In the distance, the mountains of Zhongnan Mountain rise one after another, lush and green, full of vitality, and the breeze blows past. It is really a good day.

The Jinhua cat, who was basking in the sun with its tail dangling on the eaves, thought so.

Soon it was picked up by Duan Zhiwei.

Jinhua Cat: “Meow?”

Duan Zhiwei pointed at it and said, "How dare you, meow? A spirited Mohele doll is running around in the house in the middle of the night, and you even put sneezing powder in the lotus leaf porridge. As a noble son of the Jinhua family, you don't know anything!"

She paused, lifted the cat, looked into its round eyes and continued, "Come with me to face the wall, and forget about the dried fish tonight."

Jinhua Cat: “???”