Chapter 140 Taking a Bath
"Ahem."
The woman's dull cough fell into Mr. Li's ears.
Mr. Li walked in quickly, took the medicine bowl from the maid, and considerately fed the medicine to the sick woman sitting on the bed.
After drinking the bowl of medicine obediently, Mrs. Hu said softly, "My husband, I heard that we have a guest staying overnight? Is he a Hanlin scholar?"
Mr. Li nodded, and then talked about what happened today, telling Mrs. Hu all the greetings between him and Sun Jiaxing.
When Mrs. Hu heard her sons being praised, her face lit up strangely and she said, "That's great. The master of the Hanlin Academy wouldn't lie. If he says so, then our sons will surely bring honor to our family in the future."
Mr. Li also echoed and said, "The children will definitely get better and better. You should also take care of yourself and get better soon. Then you will be the wife of the official family."
Mrs. Hu smiled with difficulty and said, "My husband, I'm afraid I don't have that blessing."
As Mr. Li looked at his wife's increasingly frail appearance, he couldn't help feeling a sense of sadness in his heart. They were of the same age, but his wife had been bedridden for years. Now they looked like two generations apart.
"Axuan, don't say such discouraging words." Mr. Li comforted her.
Mrs. Hu shook her head and said, "My husband, when I'm gone, you should make Hong'er your wife. She is a dutiful woman and will definitely take good care of you and the children."
Mr. Li felt sad, but he also knew that his wife was indeed at the end of her life.
But he was not willing to talk about her afterlife, so he thought of Niuniu whom he saw today and asked, "Ah Xuan, do you still remember that child back then? Is there anything special about her?"
When Mrs. Hu suddenly heard him mention this, a look of trance appeared on her face.
"Birthmark. There is a red birthmark on her arm, very small, like a small fish." said Mrs. Hu.
Mr. Li looked embarrassed.
"Husband, why do you suddenly ask about that child? Did something happen to him?" asked Mrs. Hu.
"I saw a little girl who looked very similar to the one in Beijing. Forget it, let's not think about it anymore. It can't be her. The child is already seven years old. We watched her sink into the river that year... It definitely wasn't her, definitely not!" said Mr. Li.
Seeing the struggle on her husband's face, Mrs. Hu quickly held his hand and said, "Husband, don't think too much. The child can't be alive. You also said that the child I saw today is already seven years old. The age doesn't match."
Mr. Li nodded vigorously, then looked at his wife and the blue brick and tile houses around him, and said, "Ah Xuan, if we hadn't done this back then, would you still be fine now, and would the children be fine too?"
Mrs. Hu smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, if you look closely, we have done more than just this one wrong thing. If there is to be retribution, it should be on me alone, and not involve you and the children."
After Mr. Li came out of his wife's room, he was still worried. He waved his hand and called the maid who served in the house over and whispered a few words of advice to her.
In the guest house, Niu Niu seemed to have forgotten about Mr. Li. She was full of energy and looked as if nothing had happened.
Gu Mingda went out in the heavy rain, saying that he wanted to discuss something with Boss Qin.
Gu Yan picked up the book and started reading. Not only did he read it himself, he also pulled his younger brothers and sisters together, urging them to study together.
Gu Zhao didn't want to study. He rolled his eyes and held Sun Jiaxing tightly, saying, "Uncle Sun, please tell us more about the story of Jiuqu River. I love to hear it!"
He was afraid that Sun Jiaxing would not tell her, so he pulled Niuniu over and said, "Sister would like to hear it too!"
Anyway, for Gu Zhao, as long as he doesn't study, he can do anything.
Sun Jiaxing glanced at Gu Yan, nodded to the young boy, and then said, "I can continue to tell you the story of Jiuqu River, but after listening to it, you will go practice calligraphy?"
Niu Niu is not so resistant to studying, but she is also happy to listen to stories.
Gu Zhao, on the other hand, said with a bitter face, "Uncle Sun, how can you bargain?"
Sun Jiaxing reached out and flicked the silly boy on the forehead, saying, "If you say so, then I won't tell you my story anymore."
Gu Zhao immediately stopped talking.
Sun Jiaxing said: "The Jiuqu River starts from Linzhou, passes through nine prefectures along the way, and finally reaches the capital... The Guang'an River in your Guang'an County is also one of the tributaries of the Jiuqu River..."
"The river we saw outside when we entered the village today is also one of the tributaries of Jiuqu River."
"There are ten tributaries of Jiuqu River in Guanglin Prefecture, large and small. Although these tributaries are independent of each other, they will eventually converge through Jiuqu River."
Gu Zhao suddenly realized something when he heard him say that, and couldn't help asking, "Uncle Sun, we've been on the road for several days, and we're still in Guanglin Prefecture?"
Sun Jiaxing said, "What do you think? Guanglin Mansion is bigger than you think."
Gu Zhao let out a cry of surprise.
Sun Jiaxing was in high spirits, and he talked about all the unofficial and official histories at once: "Legend has it that during the reign of Emperor Muzong of the previous dynasty, the river estuary burst its banks, and the one-month-old hero Cheng Peng and his mother took a wooden tub and drifted along the Jiuqu River, all the way from Linzhou to the capital..."
Niuniu listened attentively and said, "This is incredible. Such a young child can actually drift along the river for so long. He is so lucky!"
Sun Jiaxing smiled and said, "Great heroes always have some strange experiences when they were young. Of course, whether they are true or false, we, the descendants, have no way of knowing."
Niuniu held her chin with both hands and said, "When I think of the baby sitting in the wooden tub and drifting with the current, I feel so sorry for him. Fortunately, we left that posthouse, otherwise we might be fleeing in the wooden tub now."
Gu Zhao said, "Sister, I heard from the bad uncle before that when you were picked up as a child, there was also a wooden basin. Maybe your family also put you in the wooden basin and floated you down the river."
When Niuniu heard this, she shook her head and said, "But they said they found me on the grass. Could it have been washed onto the shore from the river?"
Gu Zhao couldn't be sure either, so he turned to look at who he thought was the smartest person in the room: Sun Jiaxing.
Sun Jiaxing was not involved in the case, and he didn't know what happened back then. How could he make a clear judgment on such a lawsuit? He said frankly, "Niuniu, I'm sorry, Daddy can't explain it clearly either."
Niuniu was not disappointed at all, but said, "Uncle Sun, the master said that human power is limited. This is normal. After all, none of us knows everything."
After Sun Jiaxing finished telling the story, he urged the two children to practice calligraphy.
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and a maid came in with a bucket of hot water, smiling and saying, "Master Sun, young master, and young lady, our master is afraid that the children will get sick easily after being caught in the rain, so he ordered the old servant to boil some hot water and serve the children a bath."
As the eldest son, Gu Yan was used to being humble and said directly, "Give your sister a bath first."
When the old woman heard this, a hint of joy flashed in her eyes.
Second update
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