Ye Panjiu listened calmly, but the rest of the Ye family members all pricked up their ears to listen carefully.
“A month and a half ago, no one in the Du family saw our great scholar Du anymore. Du E’li also stayed home as usual, and no one cared. Until one day, Da Zhuang’s mother saw a guard with a knife come out of the Du family’s house. She went in out of curiosity and saw Du’s mother lying on the bed, looking like she was about to die!”
Granny Du looked at Da Zhuang's mother, her eyes sparkling, "Take care of me..."
Da Zhuang's mother mustered her courage and stepped forward, "Auntie, are you... are you alright?"
Granny Du uttered a single word weakly, "Hungry..."
Da Zhuang's mother looked around, but there was nothing to eat. "Wait here, I'll go home and get you something to eat!"
Because the family was poor, Da Zhuang's mother brought a dry, hard piece of bread from home and put it to Du Pozi's mouth, gesturing for her to take a bite.
Grandma Du opened her mouth weakly. Not only was she too hungry to have any strength left, but even normally, she wouldn't be able to bite through the pancake.
Da Zhuang's mother was stunned for a moment, then went home and brought back hot water. She tore the dried biscuits into pieces, soaked them in the hot water until they were soft, and fed them to Granny Du.
Grandma Du didn't care that it was hot; the burning, acidic hunger in her stomach was making her uncomfortable, so she ate very quickly.
The dry biscuit was quickly finished, still warm.
Grandma Du felt she finally had some strength left. "Big Zhuang's mother, thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have died here and no one would have cared."
Da Zhuang's mother was stunned. "Where are your son and daughter?"
Old Lady Du shook her head. "They've disappeared without a trace, not even leaving me a single copper coin! They're just trying to starve me to death!"
Big Zhuang's mother was shocked, "How could this be!"
Du Pozi felt a surge of grievance. Hadn't she been good enough to her children? What had she done wrong?
Where are they going hungry?
He immediately burst into tears and cried uncontrollably.
Da Zhuang's mother comforted her, "Auntie, don't cry. Maybe Pengzhi and the others have encountered some hardship. Just wait a little longer."
Granny Du gripped her sleeve tightly. This woman was her only savior now, and she couldn't let her go. "Sister, I'm begging you, lend me some money to hire a doctor. My daughter married into the Qian family in Shuzhou as a concubine. She has money now, and I will definitely pay you back in the future."
Da Zhuang's mother frowned. Shuzhou was so far from Dujia Village, and besides, where would she find the time to lend out information?
"Auntie, it's not that I don't want to help you, but you know what kind of situation my family is in. We're so poor we can't even afford to eat, let alone afford to hire a doctor!"
Old Lady Du gritted her teeth, "I have plenty of grain at home. Take a bag of rice to my house to eat, and then sell another bag to get money to hire a doctor. I still have a fever and feel terrible. Have pity on this old woman!"
Thinking of the Du family's pile of white rice, Da Zhuang's mother finally relented, "Seeing how badly you're feeling, I'll help you with this."
She called out to Dazhuang as she carried rice home from the Du family's house.
Fearing what the villagers would say, she embellished the story of the Du family, saying, "Du Pengzhi looks down on his own mother after passing the imperial examination. He doesn't even care about her and she's dying in bed. She's begging me to help her sell rice and hire a doctor!"
"And that Du E'li, what an ingrate! She married into Shuzhou and became a lowly concubine, and she doesn't even care about her own mother!"
This news caused an uproar in Dujia Village, and the reputation of Du Pengzhi, the only scholar, for being unfilial spread rapidly.
Du E'li's good reputation was completely ruined. Ordinary people who had money and had three wives and four concubines all thought that concubines were shameful and disgraceful things.
Da Zhuang's mother sold a bag of rice for 500 coins, then asked the doctor for medicine, taking a full 100 coins for herself.
Granny Li stopped talking here because her braised food had arrived. It smelled incredibly delicious, and she was eager to eat it.
Ye Panjiu watched her eat with a smile, "Grandma Li, how is it? Are these two bowls enough?"
Granny Li nodded repeatedly, "It's delicious, that's enough, that's enough. Your portions are quite generous, this is enough for an old woman like me."
Mrs. Sun was extremely anxious, as if ants were crawling all over her heart. "And then? Where are Du Pengzhi and Du E'li now?"
Du E'li knew that her younger sister had scratched her face, and that playboy from the Qian family would definitely not want her anymore. Where could she go? She could only go back to the Du family.
Ye Panjiu was both amused and exasperated by this boundless gossip.
Granny Li, however, enjoyed her meal and began to talk, "It's quite a coincidence, after Granny Du recovered from her illness, she went from house to house every day, cursing her good son and daughter, saying that the Du family had wronged Pan Jiu!"
Ye Panjiu choked on her words when she heard them; they were really disgusting.
Who would want such a vicious mother-in-law to say such things?
Sun immediately raised her voice and cursed, "You shameless bastard! You're about to die without anyone caring for you, and only now do you realize you've wronged my little sister! You shameless old geezer!"
Liu gave her a push, "You go over there, Cuihua and I are busy here."
She always remembered what Ye Panjiu said: don't let your emotions affect the guests.
Sun sat down next to Granny Li. "In the Du family, it's Granny Du who beats the little sister. In this freezing weather, she wears such thick clothes, yet she changes them every day and makes the little sister wash them every day! Now she deserves it! Karma!"
Ye Panjiu shook her head. "Let's not talk about the past. Granny Li, you tell us."
Granny Li continued, "It was when Granny Du was sitting at the door, telling everyone about Du Pengzhi's affair with his advisor's second wife, Wang, that Du Pengzhi returned. At that time, everyone in the village was gathered around the Du family, listening to Granny Du's story!"
With her hands on her hips, Old Lady Du was so agitated that she spat out saliva. "That unfilial son, Du Pengzhi, even committed adultery with that Liu clerk's second wife, Wang! Do you know that Wang is already in her forties or fifties!"
"Wow--"
The whole village was in an uproar; this gossip was just too explosive.
Hearing the commotion, Granny Du felt a sense of satisfaction. When she was all alone in the Du family waiting to die, she hated Du Pengzhi and Du E'li to the core. Now she felt good.
"I never taught him to sleep with his mother-in-law! And to make matters worse, he got kicked out! He came home drunk and told me straight up, 'I'm not a good-for-nothing!'"
The last five words were spoken with a particular tone, in a roundabout way.
"Hahahaha!" The villagers burst into laughter upon hearing this perfectly imitated line.
Du Pengzhi listened to this scene in a daze, as if his mind had been struck by lightning.
It's over, his political career is completely over!
This reputation is a stain on his life, one that can never be washed away.
He was so angry that he rushed over and covered Granny Du's mouth, "Mother! What nonsense are you talking about!"
Old Lady Du hated her so much that she slapped him across the face.
"Smack!"
The sound was so loud that it hurt the villagers.
Du Pengzhi covered his face in a daze.
As soon as he loosened his grip, Granny Du immediately began cursing, "You beast! You're worse than a pig or a dog! You didn't leave me a single penny, and I'm sick at home waiting to die! After raising you for so many years, is this how you repay me?!"
Du Pengzhi reached out and pulled her, saying nonchalantly, "Dujia Village is so big, you're not going to starve to death, are you? Don't embarrass yourself here, let's go back."
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