Grandfather is seriously ill
Time passed quickly, and the news from the capital was delivered to Zhou Hanzhang via a letter.
It was just November and the weather was not too cold.
Ever since Shi Yanqing treated the clerks in the county government office that day, and the people around her saw those clerks wearing official uniforms going to her clinic to get medicine, patients gradually came to the clinic to seek medical treatment.
Because medical treatment here is free, and even if you need to get medicine, the cost is much lower than that of Xinglintang, it has gradually attracted many people who live a frugal life.
That day, after finishing his work at the clinic, Shi Yanqing returned home before dinner.
Her learning progress under Pang Guan was very fast. She had finished learning all the contents in the book not long ago. Now she only needed to practice to fully master it.
Naturally, she no longer has to go to the teacher for classes every day.
After getting off the carriage, Shi Yanqing saw Shi'an guarding the door.
She couldn't help but feel a little confused, so she stepped forward and asked, "Shi'an, did Hanzhang ask you to stay here? But is there anything important you need to talk to me about?"
Shi An bowed and replied, "The master asked Madam to go to the study when she returns, saying that there is something important."
Important things? Shi Yanqing didn't ask any more questions after hearing this. She lifted her skirt and quickened her pace to run towards the study.
On the way, she saw Yuanlu coming out of Zhou Hangui's room with a thin quilt in her arms.
Something flashed through her mind, but before she could think about it, she was already outside the study.
The door of the study was open, and Zhou Hanzhang was standing by the door at this time. He had his eyes lowered and his expression was unclear.
"Han Zhang, I'm here." Shi Yanqing said as he walked towards him.
Zhou Hanzhang did not respond, but his body moved slightly.
"I just came back. Shi'an said you had something important to tell me. What happened?" Shi Yanqing asked as he approached, with a hint of worry on his face.
Her gaze fell from Zhou Hanzhang to the study, and she had a bad feeling in her heart, so she didn't dare to ask any more questions for a while.
"A letter came from the capital saying that grandpa is seriously ill and hasn't recovered yet. I'm afraid he won't be able to survive the winter." Zhou Hanzhang's voice was a little hoarse. After he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hands and hugged Shi Yanqing, his body trembling slightly.
He held her in his arms, bent his body, and buried his head in Shi Yanqing's shoulder, like a homeless child.
Shi Yanqing's heart suddenly felt soft. Without any hesitation, she hugged Zhou Hanzhang back, patting his back gently with her hands, silently comforting him.
After hugging for a while, Shi Yanqing felt wetness on her shoulders. She kept comforting him with her hands, but her heart began to feel uncomfortable.
She suddenly thought of her grandmother who was far away in the capital. Although she had been communicating with her grandmother every month during this period, her grandmother was very old. If something happened, she would not be the first to know and could not be with her grandmother in the first time.
By then, she would probably be in as much pain as Han Zhang.
"I haven't seen my grandfather for more than a year since I left Qingshan." Zhou Hanzhang still held Shi Yanqing in his arms. He raised his head, revealing his red eyes.
"After passing the imperial examination and becoming the third-place winner, I was supposed to return to Qingshan and bring my grandfather to live in the capital. But he said he couldn't get used to it. He was already used to life in Qingshan."
Shi Yanqing didn't say anything and didn't move. She hugged Zhou Hanzhang's waist with a little force to comfort herself.
"I," Zhou Hanzhang choked and opened his mouth, but couldn't speak. He held his breath and took a deep breath before continuing.
"If I had persisted and taken my grandfather to my side to take care of him. Maybe, I could have discovered in time that my grandfather's health was not as good as before."
The man's voice paused. Shi Yanqing pursed his lips slightly and opened his mouth to say something, but heard him say another word.
"Blame me. I should have noticed it earlier."
As soon as he said this, Shi Yanqing felt something was wrong.
She grabbed Zhou Hanzhang's clothes around his waist, thinking that it would take some effort to push him away, but unexpectedly, with just a slight push, the two bodies separated.
"It's not your fault," Shi Yanqing looked into Zhou Hanzhang's eyes and said seriously.
Those eyes that usually had an unusual brightness now seemed somewhat dimmed, with only the red corners of his eyes decorating them, giving him a bit of life.
For some reason, Shi Yanqing felt a little sorry for the person in front of him.
She forced down the sour feeling at the tip of her nose, looked into those eyes, and said seriously and firmly, "Han Zhang, don't be afraid. I will be with you through this."
She had seen many farewells in the past twenty years, and at this moment she felt the same way because she had experienced it and knew the pain of impending farewell.
"Don't be afraid, maybe grandpa's health is not that bad, maybe there is still a way to solve the problem." She comforted him.
Suddenly, she thought of someone.
Her uncle.
Master once said that his uncle's medical skills were even better than his grandfather's. If anyone in this world could save Hanzhang's grandfather, it would undoubtedly be his uncle.
Thinking of this, she told Zhou Hanzhang about it.
Saying it now may not change anything, but it is enough to help Zhou Hanzhang get out of that feeling of self-regret.
"I will write a letter to my uncle now and explain to him what happened." Shi Yanqing saw that Zhou Hanzhang didn't say anything, so he took his hand and walked into the study.
She led him to the desk and stopped.
There was a blank piece of letter paper on the table, and an open envelope next to it. Several pieces of letter paper were pressed under the envelope, and the contents could not be seen in their entirety.
Shi Yanqing could only see the words written at the end of the last page: "Be obedient, Zhuye'er. Grandfather doesn't want you to come back. I hope everything is going well for you. Don't worry."
The handwriting is neat and clear, and it seems to be written by a woman.
Shi Yanqing was secretly guessing in his heart and turned his eyes away from the words.
She picked up the brush and dipped some ink in the inkstone.
Then he wrote a message to his uncle on a blank piece of letter paper.
[From my uncle:
Uncle Master, are you doing well these days? I wonder if you've accomplished what I mentioned in your last letter? If you need Yanqing's help, please don't hide it. Just ask.
…
This time I wrote to my uncle to ask for a favor. Yan Qing knew that my uncle did not like to cure illnesses and save lives, but since my master passed away, there are only a few people in the world with superb medical skills.
…
If the uncle is willing to help, Yan Qing will agree to any conditions.
I wish my uncle good health and everything goes well.
Looking forward to your reply. —Shi Yanqing]
After the last stroke was made, Shi Yanqing waited for the ink to dry before folding the letter neatly and putting it into the envelope.
Then drop some wax on the opening of the envelope and seal it.
After doing all this, she turned sideways to look at Zhou Hanzhang who had been silent beside her.
Seeing him staring at her quietly, she felt as if something in her heart had been touched, and she felt unusually soft.
"What's the matter? Are you looking at me without saying anything?"
Shi Yanqing asked softly.
Zhou Hanzhang didn't say anything. He shook his head, and then as if realizing something, he lowered his eyes to hide the emotions in them.
She replied in a voice slightly hoarse from crying, "I really want to say thank you, but just thank you is not enough for you."
"But after thinking about it, apart from the actual action, what I want to say to you most is thank you. Now I'm actually starting to regret it. I regret giving you the divorce papers on our wedding night. Fortunately, you tore it up at that time."
Fortunately, she was willing to marry him and accompany him to Yunshui County to face everything together.
Zhou Hanzhang didn't say the rest of the words. He looked at Shi Yanqing quietly and felt that he was particularly courageous at this moment.
The letter papers on the table were gently fluttered by the wind blowing in from the door, making a rustling sound.
Shi Yanqing blinked, turned around, and lowered his eyes slightly.
She clenched her fingers lightly, then relaxed them as if nothing had happened.
"Well, the letter is ready. I'll have Danye mail it right away."
"Let Shi'an go. He also needs to send a letter to Hangui for me." Zhou Hanzhang reached out and took the sealed letter from Shi Yanqing's hand, and placed it together with an envelope on the table.
When Zhou Hangui was mentioned, Shi Yanqing remembered what she saw when she just came here, and she asked.
"Han Gui also knows about Grandfather's affairs?"
Zhou Hanzhang was still feeling down. He shook his head and said, "Eldest sister didn't write to Hangui, but we can't hide this from him."
Eldest sister? Shi Yanqing remembered that Zhou Hanzhang once said that he had a married sister.
It seems that this letter from the capital was written by his sister Zhou Xunzhen.
"I'm planning to ask Hangui to go back to Qingshan to accompany Grandfather," Zhou Hanzhang continued, his tone heavy and almost tearful. "Grandfather doesn't want me to go back, and I can't go back either. Now I have no choice but to let Hangui go back."
Shi Yanqing sighed in her heart. She placed her palm on the back of Zhou Hanzhang's hand, holding his fingers with hers. The warm power in her palm attached to it and passed it to the other hand.
"Don't let your imagination run wild. When Hangui comes back, I'll give him the life-saving pills that I didn't use last time and let him take them back to Qingshan."
The two stayed in the study for a long time, and only came out when it was completely dark.
Shi Yanqing pulled Zhou Hanzhang's sleeve and walked towards the main hall. On the way, he saw Dan Ye walking towards him, as if he had something to say.
She stopped and turned to look at Zhou Hanzhang: "Dan Ye seems to have something to ask me. Why don't you go eat first?"
"I'll just wait for you." Zhou Hanzhang rejected the suggestion of having dinner alone without hesitation.
Seeing this, Shi Yanqing did not insist.
She released her grip on his sleeve and stood there waiting for Danye to come over.
"Madam, Yan Rong just came and said that she had some things to deal with in the next few days and wanted to take three days off."
"I didn't find out what she was going to do, but she looked a little anxious. Since you and the master are discussing something else and can't come out to see her, I agreed first."
Shi Yanqing nodded and had no objection to Dan Ye's approach.
After all, she really couldn't get away just now, and Dan Ye had been with her since childhood, and she had dealt with this kind of thing many times.
After Shi Yanqing took note of this, he asked Dan Ye to go back to her room to rest, and he and Zhou Hanzhang went to the main hall to have dinner.
At this time, the servants in the mansion had finished their dinner and were washing up one by one.
Liu Niang had kept the food warm on the stove early in the morning, and it was still warm when she took it out, so the temperature was just right when she put it in her mouth.
Shi Yanqing and Zhou Hanzhang sat next to each other and had this late dinner. Although they didn't eat much, their emotions were gradually rising.
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