"Hahaha, my cousin is so awesome."

After talking about all this, Du Jingyi didn't stay any longer, and then she made a special trip to the next courtyard. After knowing the reason why Xia Meng went north, she felt relieved.

"It's a national mourning period recently, so we can't go out to play every day, but we can still catch up on temple fairs and the like."

"A temple fair? I went there twice when I was in Shuzhou. It was quite interesting."

"I have never been to the temple fair in Shuzhou, but I have been to the temple fair in Sui'an City quite often in the past. When the new emperor ascended the throne, he ordered the golden statues of the Buddhas in Pingliang Temple to be rebuilt to bless the country. This is a rare event. If you can wait, you can wait and see the event before leaving."

"when?"

"Maybe half a year later. It won't take that long to build a golden body."

Seeing this, Xia Meng nodded. Du Jingyi was afraid that she would be bored, so he added.

"Sui'an City is under the feet of the emperor, so it's not easy to make trouble. But if you want, you can follow my Du family's caravan to the north or west. Both are good choices. There will be people to protect your safety along the way. As for eating, drinking and having fun, there is a Mr. Leng in the Du family caravan. He is very capable. I can ask him to take care of you."

Hearing this, Xia Meng was somewhat moved.

If she were asked to stay here for years, she would probably not be able to bear it, so she was happy to go out for a walk.

So after thinking about it, he said to Du Jingyi.

"Madam, please arrange it. I am fine with it. But I will wait until the weather turns cooler before heading north. I want to see the winter scenery in the north and see if it is really that beautiful."

"Are you not afraid of the cold?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements. After Mr. Leng finishes this trip, you can go with either of the next two trips. Maybe you can come back before the New Year, and we can have a New Year's Eve dinner together."

Xia Meng smiled and nodded, very satisfied with Du Jingyi's arrangement.

In the evening, when Gu Shaoyu came back, everyone gathered in the flower hall waiting for him alone.

He looked so exhausted that Xing Zhao laughed at him.

"If you don't know, you'd think we were welcoming you back home. You didn't even come back earlier. Really, you've made our stomachs churn and we dare not even pick up our chopsticks. Isn't that right, Taige?"

When Tai Ge'er, who was smart, heard this, he shook his head decisively and then said.

"Brother Tai is waiting for his father, so he is not hungry."

This sentence blocked Xing Zhao's words, and he spoke with two pauses.

"You are indeed your father's eldest son. No one is better than you in the ability to coax people."

Tai Ge'er looked at Xing Zhao with a smile, and then called him sweetly, "Uncle Zhao", and Xing Zhao was suddenly unable to resist.

Gu Shaoyu sat down, looked at the dishes on the table, and then spoke to Xia Meng.

"During the national mourning period, it is not appropriate to eat meat or drink alcohol, so we can only treat Doctor Xia with a vegetarian banquet. I hope you can forgive me."

"General, you are too polite. This table is already very good."

Everyone picked up their chopsticks and ate happily. The children's meals were prepared individually, and the wet nurses were planning to feed them, but in the end they all wanted to eat by themselves. This scene won Xia Meng's approval.

"It's good for the children's development if they can start using chopsticks and spoons earlier. I'll check their bodies later. But it seems that you have taken good care of them now!"

"It's probably because the boys are all trying to compete with each other, so when the younger brothers saw Tai trying to use chopsticks, they also wanted to learn it. It was quite troublesome at first, but it got better over time."

Du Jingyi explained, and Xia Meng nodded as she listened. For children of this age, it would indeed be better to give them more space for self-exploration, so she added two sentences.

"With so many children, it's common for them to influence each other, so just give them more guidance and don't interfere."

She was originally talking about the child, but when Gu Shaoyu and Xing Zhao heard her words, they seemed to have another meaning. So although the two of them were still eating as usual, they were thinking about many things in their hearts.

When they were almost done eating, Du Jingyi originally wanted to clear the dining table so that everyone could have tea and chat together, but then housekeeper He walked in with a grim look on his face and said to Gu Shaoyu and Du Jingyi.

"General, Madam, the eldest lady sent a message from the Duke's Mansion, saying that you should take the young masters with you. The Duke... can't do it."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present fell silent.

For example, Madam Du and Mr. Du knew about the situation a long time ago, so they kept silent. Xing Zhao breathed a sigh of relief secretly. He was not familiar with the Duke, and if he was gone, his cousin Gu Shaoyu would have to observe mourning for three years, which would allow him to put aside many things and make things easier for him to do. Therefore, he felt that this was the right time.

As for Xia Meng, she didn't know what happened and just asked Du Jingyi.

"Can I help you?"

Du Jingyi shook his head, patted the back of her hand and said.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

"My father-in-law's illness is an old one. He was already beyond help two or three years ago. It's unexpected that he has been here until now, so there's no need to trouble you. We'll just go over and take a look."

"We two old folks will go with you. We have many children and we can help take care of them."

Mr. Du spoke, and Du Jingyi agreed.

Gu Shaoyu glanced at his wife and saw that although there was no particularly big reaction on her face, there was still some sadness in her eyes, so he couldn't help but comfort her.

"Life and death are determined by fate, don't think too much about it."

When Xia Meng saw this scene, she was still very surprised. The person who was going to die was Gu Shaoyu's father, so why was he the one who comforted Du Jingyi instead?

I have some thoughts, but I won’t say anything nonsense.

After they left, Xing Zhao and Xia Meng were the only ones left in the hall.

"Let's go back and wait for news. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."

Xing Zhao had participated in Madam Gu's funeral, so he naturally knew how tiring it was to organize a funeral. If the Duke really passed away tonight, then not only today, but also the next two or three months would not be an easy day.

So, instead of waiting here, I might as well go back and catch up on some sleep.

By then I will be more energetic and can help share some of the burden.

The Gu family's carriage was galloping on the bluestone slabs. The children were a little surprised as to why they were suddenly taken out so late at night. However, although they were surprised, they all sat quietly. Only Tai Ge leaned in Du Jingyi's arms and asked curiously.

"Mother, where are we going?"

"To see your grandfather."

"grandfather?"

This word was too unfamiliar to Tai Ge'er, he had never even seen it before. (End of this chapter)