Old Master Liu couldn't bear to see him like this, so he helped him sit down. "Brother Guo, don't rush, let's talk slowly. No matter what, you must think more about yourself and your child."
Mr. Guo's hands were trembling, clearly indicating that he had already guessed some of the truth.
Sure enough, Mr. Wen said with a forced smile, "When we were on the verge of fleeing, we were almost caught by the barbarians and had no choice but to enter the mountains and forests, where we met Brother Li and his fellow villagers. Because it was the cold winter and difficult to travel, we stayed together in the mountains for a few months."
“One day, a child in the village suddenly went missing. While everyone was in a panic, a bandit shot an arrow with a message, asking for food and silver. The village had no silver or food, but still wanted to save the child, so they quickly chased after the bandit, killed him, and rescued the child. And this jade pendant was found from the bandit.”
Old Mr. Guo still held onto a sliver of hope. His teeth chattered, but he persisted in asking, "Did the bandits only steal things? Are my son and the others safe?"
Mr. Wen looked at Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou. Li Laosi took a deep breath and shook his head, extinguishing the old man's hopes.
"The four men and four women we saw, a total of twelve people, were all murdered. We buried them ourselves."
Mr. Guo immediately fell off the chair and fainted.
Guo Qing rushed over like a madman, hugged Mr. Guo, and looked at everyone with eyes full of hatred and anger.
"You knew all along, so why did you have to say it! Did you deliberately try to kill my uncle?"
Everyone frowned upon hearing this, but they all assumed that he was so worried that he was being rude.
In a short while, everyone helped to lift Mr. Guo up, and Doctor Zhang also took out the silver needles he carried with him and quickly inserted seven or eight needles into the old man.
Guo Wenhao was still young and was terrified. He hugged the snacks and cried pitifully.
Jiayin quickly went over and hugged him, patting him with her little hands.
Guo Wenhao was somewhat surprised that Jiayin would coax him, and he forgot his earlier fear.
Soon, Mr. Guo woke up. The first thing he did was look for his grandson. When he saw his grandson being held by the chubby girl and not showing any signs of fear, he breathed a long sigh of relief, and tears streamed down his face.
"I knew it. After all this time, they hadn't found us, so the odds were against us. But I kept hoping they'd have a stroke of luck and suddenly appear. I never expected... they still couldn't escape us!"
Losing a child in old age, a parent outliving their child – there is no greater tragedy in the world than this.
Everyone felt a pang of sadness and tried to comfort him, saying, "Headmaster, you must be strong. You still have your grandson to raise."
Jiayin led Guo Wenhao over, and the old man Guo hugged his grandson tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Wenhao, Grandpa only has you left."
Guo Wenhao didn't understand what was going on, but he knew to cry along with his grandfather.
Guo Qing stood beside the old man and the child, his expression also seeming sorrowful, but Jia Yin was short, and when he looked up, he could see the coldness and resentment in his eyes.
She was startled and instinctively took two steps back. Madam Cui thought she was frightened by Mr. Guo, so she immediately hugged her and pulled her behind others.
Jiayin hugged Madam Cui's neck, unable to forget Guo Qing's gaze.
Jiayin whispered in Madam Guo's ear, "Aunt, he's so scary! He's like a bad guy!"
Madam Cui was taken aback. Before she could speak, Guo Qing turned his head and looked at her. The lingering resentment in his eyes made Madam Cui's heart skip a beat.
Perhaps because Jiayin was only a year or two old and Madam Cui didn't seem to be acting strangely, Guo Qing didn't pay much attention and continued to comfort the old Mr. Guo and his grandson.
“Uncle, you still have me. My parents passed away early, so you will be my father from now on. I will definitely take good care of you and raise Wenhao well.”
"Good, good." Old Mr. Guo patted his nephew's shoulder, wiped away his tears, and it was clear that he was quite satisfied with his nephew.
Madam Cui held Jiayin tightly, not daring to let go for even a moment. After thinking for a moment, she asked the servants to serve hot tea again.
After taking a few sips and recovering somewhat, Mr. Guo bowed and thanked Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou.
"Thank you both for burying my son and the others. Could you tell me... how they died, and whether they left any suicide notes or belongings?"
Li Laosi quickly returned the greeting, then said carefully, "My condolences, Headmaster. Your family was kidnapped by bandits and imprisoned in a cellar. The weather was too cold, and they probably couldn't stand it... and froze to death."
Mr. Guo shed tears again. His children and grandchildren were spared physical suffering, but they still died tragically.
Li Laosi quickly said, "They didn't leave a suicide note, but they left several boxes of books on the way, which we picked up. My nephew and Mr. Wen selected a few and have been studying them. The rest are safely sealed in the cave where we are staying, waiting for the opportunity to retrieve them later."
At this point, Jiaren took a book out of his pocket and presented it to Mr. Guo with both hands.
As Mr. Guo flipped through the pages of the book, he saw his eldest son's private seal and inscription. He couldn't help but hug the book and burst into tears again.
Li Laosi then took out two more sheets of paper. “There are no coffins or other such items in the mountains, so we can only use clothing trunks for burial, separating men and women. The physical characteristics and age of the deceased, as well as the markings on the trunks, are written down. Please keep these safe, Headmaster, so that it will be easier to identify the remains when we exhume them in the future.”
Mr. Guo, his hands trembling, accepted the gift and insisted on kneeling down to kowtow, saying, "Thank you so much for the great kindness of the righteous man in burying me. The Guo family will surely repay you handsomely."
"You flatter us, Headmaster. If we had gone a few days earlier, we might have been able to save them. It's a pity..." Li Laosi helped Guo Laoshi up, and sighed as he thought of the women who had committed suicide.
The group continued to comfort and reassure Mr. Guo, and he eventually recovered considerably.
He had suspected it all along, and now that he knew his children and grandchildren hadn't suffered too much in death, had been properly buried, and that his family's collection of books had been preserved, it was all a comfort.
Guo Qing, perhaps fearing that her uncle would be even more heartbroken, urged him to take his leave.
Mr. Guo thanked everyone again before leaving with his grandson.
Perhaps out of gratitude for Jiayin's earlier comfort, Guo Wenhao walked to the door, then turned back and ran back, slipping a small wooden horse into Jiayin's hands.
The little wooden horse was smooth and exquisitely carved, clearly a cherished possession of his.
Jiayin initially wanted to refuse, but seeing the innocence and shyness in Guo Wenhao's eyes, she subconsciously accepted it.
Everyone couldn't help but laugh, and even Mr. Guo seemed to relax a bit.
"It's rare that Wenhao has a little sister he likes. Let the child play with her. They can play together when they live closer to each other in the future."
Madam Cui bowed and thanked Jiayin, then together they saw Mr. Guo out.
After watching the family of three board the carriage, everyone watched them go for a long time before sighing and returning to their seats.
"It's pitiful for the white-haired to send off the black-haired."
"Yes, moving the capital caused families to be ruined and people to die."
"Fortunately, the headmaster's nephew seems to be quite filial."
Grandpa Liu took a sip of tea and comforted everyone, "There's no need to worry too much about Mr. Guo. I heard that he has been contacting old friends recently and plans to reopen Taihua Academy. I suppose with time, the pain will fade and he will get better."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Wen asked, "This is a good thing. If it's nearby, once the academy is built, Jiaren can go to study. Originally, I was supposed to teach him personally every day, but I'm quite busy since I've just entered the court, and I'm afraid it would delay Jiaren's studies. It's perfect that Jiaren can study diligently at the academy, and I can guide him from the side. Wouldn't that be better?"
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