Chapter 27 Search

Gu Jiao closed the door: "Tell me, what happened today?"

Gu Xiaoshun honestly recounted his experience as a caregiver.

It turned out that the old lady really didn't remember anything. She woke up in Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang's house and assumed that she was a member of this family. She picked up a handful of melon seeds and asked Gu Xiaoshun, "Which of those two unfilial little things is my real grandson?"

Gu Xiaoshun remembered his sister's instructions and didn't dare tell the old lady that she actually had leprosy.

But he couldn't really say that his sister and brother-in-law were his biological grandsons, so in his haste he blurted out that you are my brother-in-law's great-aunt and that you came all the way from far away to seek refuge with him.

Gu Jiao hadn't expected the old lady to not have dementia, so she didn't have a set of excuses for Gu Xiaoshun.

"Then she said, 'It seems like your sister is the one running the household.' I said, 'Of course! My brother-in-law is a son-in-law!' She asked again, 'Why don't we see any other sons-in-law?' I said, 'You've separated your households.'"

Hearing this, Gu Jiao sighed and rubbed her forehead. How could she be in charge of this household? She and Xiao Liulang had always been busy with their own things, only occasionally sharing a meal together.

That idiot Xiao Shun got tricked into revealing information by the old lady.

No wonder the old lady could criticize the Gu family without stopping; she clearly knew everything about the enemy from Gu Xiaoshun.

"Why did she always ignore me when I asked her questions before?" It made her think that she was slow to react.

Gu Xiaoshun said, "She said you're unfilial and doesn't want to talk to you!"

Gu Jiao: "..."

It's just that she ate a few less candied fruits.

Gu Jiao entered the main room. It was clear that Xiao Liulang had already spoken with the old lady. No one knew what Xiao Liulang had said, but the old lady had lost her previous haughty demeanor and seemed a little listless.

"I'm so sleepy after our argument, I'm going to sleep now. Wake me up when dinner is ready!" The old lady snorted, turned her big bottom over to the group, and went back to her room to sleep.

Gu Jiao looked at Xiao Liulang.

Xiao Liulang paused for a moment and said, "The doctor said that the medicine should be taken according to the prescription for a year, but if the recovery is fast, it will lose its infectivity in a month."

He didn't forcefully persuade Gu Jiao to keep the person; he simply told her that she would soon stop having offspring, hoping that Gu Jiao would agree to continue taking her in.

Gu Jiao had no idea that this little black sesame dumpling could also show pity for strangers.

Perhaps the old lady reminded him of his deceased brother.

"Alright, then let Auntie stay here for now," Gu Jiao said with a sigh.

She hadn't originally intended to kick her out.

However, it wouldn't be bad to do him a favor.

They temporarily accepted her as their aunt; it was the safest approach at the moment.

Their decision proved to be correct, because that very night, a team of soldiers stormed into Qingquan Village and searched house to house for the patient who had escaped from the leprosy mountain.

The only outsider in the village was an old lady. When the soldiers learned that she had only recently arrived in the village, they rushed into Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang's house without saying a word.

When the soldiers arrived, the old lady had already finished eating and gone inside to warm herself by the fire, while the couple were still sitting at the table eating.

Dinner was quite plentiful: a bowl of stir-fried cured pork with cabbage, a plate of scallion and egg pancakes, a pot of wild mushroom soup, a bowl of cold black fungus salad, and a dish of peanuts, a perfect accompaniment to drinks.

The aroma of cured pork and scallion egg pancakes wafted over, instantly making the soldiers hungry.

"Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Xiao Liulang asked.

The officers and soldiers snapped out of their daze and explained their purpose: "We heard that an old lady came to your house. Where is she?"

Xiao Liulang led the person to the old lady's room: "My great-aunt, she just came from Su County a few days ago."

As she spoke, she stepped forward and took the plate that the old lady hadn't had time to hide. "You've been sneaking some candied fruit again. Didn't I tell you that you're too old to eat too many sweets?"

"Hmph." The old lady, caught red-handed, turned her face away resentfully.

The officers and soldiers did not have a portrait of the leprosy patient, but they had been given a description of her features, saying that she had leprosy rashes on her face and the back of her hands, her complexion was sallow, and she was in poor spirits.

The old lady in front of me was different in every way except for her age.

Not only did she not have leprosy spots, but she also had a rosy complexion and was in incredibly good spirits.

Leprosy is incurable. Some prescriptions can delay the onset of symptoms, but it is impossible for them to make the patient recover so well in just ten days.

The officials' suspicions were largely dispelled, and seeing that Xiao Liulang showed no avoidance or disdain towards the old lady, they felt it was even less likely.

But the leader dared not let his guard down. He went to the kitchen and pointed to the medicine pot on the stove, asking, "Whose medicine is this?"

Xiao Liulang said, "Mine, I have a leg injury, this is medicine I got from the clinic in town."

"Let me see the medicine packet," the other person said.

Gu Jiao went to get the medicine packet.

The man opened a package and found Panax notoginseng inside.

Panax notoginseng is a very common herb for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. It is familiar to those who practice martial arts. Safflower is another common medicine for injuries.

With these two medicinal herbs, it can be basically determined that it is not for treating leprosy.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

“Xiao Liulang,” Xiao Liulang said solemnly, “If any of you officials have any doubts about my identity, you can go to Tianxiang Academy and ask the dean to check my household registration.”

The man frowned: "The dean of Tianxiang Academy? Is his surname Li?"

“That’s right,” Xiao Liulang said.

The officials exchanged glances and became more polite to Xiao Liulang.

Generally speaking, you don't need to go to the dean to check household registration. Xiao Liulang specifically brought him up to tell them that he was someone Dean Li was protecting.

Although Xiao Liulang was unwilling to become the dean's apprentice, it did not stop him from using the dean's power to bully others.

Once you develop a thick skin, there's absolutely no pressure.

Dean Li's name was still very useful. After asking a few more routine questions, the officials left.

But the soldiers did not go far. Instead, they sent one of them back quietly to Xue Ningxiang's house next door.

"Is the old lady next door really that boy's great-aunt?"

"yes."

When did you arrive?

“Just a few days ago,” Xue Ningxiang said.

"How come I heard it was ten days ago?" the officer asked, staring intently into Xue Ningxiang's eyes.

Xue Ningxiang said seriously, "Who told you that? I live next door, how come I didn't know?"

The officers glanced at Xue Ningxiang's one-year-old son in her arms, a cold glint flashing in their eyes, but ultimately left.

Xue Ningxiang's back was soaked with cold sweat.

Ding! Jiaojiao's little fangirl is online!

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(End of this chapter)