Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Breaking News
These words made Du Zhiqi pause.
From the time Shaw sent someone to find out his opinion to today, it has been less than a month. In a few days, it will be Mid-Autumn Festival.
Du Zhiqi's heart beat faster when he heard Du Lingjing speak again.
"If Shao only wants to seek help from the Du family, we are not afraid. What we are afraid of is that he is fighting with the Huiwang faction, or simply involves some secret matters and needs to use the remaining reputation of the Du family to fill the gap."
Du Zhiqi's forehead was covered with cold sweat.
What's left of the Du family is just this reputation.
He had been an official outside the capital for less than half a year, so he could not see many things. However, he could see that the struggle between the Yong family and the Hui family was getting more and more intense. There were too many things that could be seen on the surface to mention the things that could not be seen.
Prince Hui is young and may not understand. The imperial concubine has lived in the deep palace for a long time and it is not convenient for her to take action. But is Lu Shenru, the Marquis of Yongding, a pushover?
Du Zhiqi suddenly felt that he might have oversimplified the matter. His legs felt weak and he slowly sat down with his hands on the back of the chair.
Upon seeing this, Du Lingjing stood up and bowed to her uncle properly.
"My niece is unwilling to marry into the Shao family, and this matter is not appropriate. Please think twice before you act, uncle."
She bowed and stood up. She saw that Du Zhiqi was no longer impatient or angry. Instead, he seemed to have realized something after a while. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Got it."
Du Lingjing did not disturb his thoughts any further and left the study.
Qiu Lin and Ruan Gong walked forward quickly, and seeing the girl nodded slightly, they both took a deep breath and calmed down.
Du Runqing hid on the other side, watched the three people walk away, and brought tea to the door of the study.
She went inside and saw Du Zhiqi sitting on an armchair, with one hand supporting his forehead and two fingers pinching his temples, silent.
She asked uncertainly, "Dad, my eldest sister's marriage to Shaw..."
He was interrupted before he could finish his words.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore."
Du Runqing was stunned and was about to say something when she saw her father signaling her to leave.
She had no choice but to put down the tea tray and leave. She heard her father let out a long sigh, as if he had hopelessly sighed out all the energy and spirit he had accumulated with great difficulty.
It seems that the eldest sister persuaded my father to reject this marriage.
It was clear that my father was full of confidence yesterday, but he is dejected today.
Du Runqing didn't know what his eldest sister said, but when he came out of the study, he saw the coachman from Qingzhou park the carriage in, and the maid who was in charge of his eldest sister was pointing at people to take the luggage in.
Du Runqing then remembered that he had not yet arranged a place for his elder sister to stay.
Last year, her mother was injured and came to Beijing to recuperate. Seeing that the main courtyard was well-equipped, they moved in. Since she was the one who took care of her mother, her mother lived in the main house, and she lived in the east wing.
The east wing was simple and exquisite, and she fell in love with it at first sight when she came. However, the east wing seemed to be where her eldest sister lived for many years when she was in Beijing.
Du Runqing's heart tightened when he thought of this.
Will the eldest sister let her vacate the east wing? After all, it was the uncle's contribution that turned the small house of his grandfather into the spacious mansion it is today.
However, she saw that the servants who were carrying the luggage were all going to the west courtyard.
The eldest sister did not return to the main courtyard, but moved directly to the side courtyard on the west side.
Du Runqing was slightly embarrassed, but he saw his elder sister changing her clothes and walking over from behind the moon gate connecting the two courtyards.
"Second sister, I'm here to see my aunt."
Du Runqing quickly collected his thoughts and led her over.
Last year, when Du Lingjing's aunt went up the mountain to worship Buddha, the carriage had an accident on the mountain. The carriage fell off the cliff. The coachman and the two maids who were accompanying them were all killed. Only the second wife hit the maid and survived.
At this moment, Du Lingjing saw the Second Madam lying quietly in the curtain, completely exhausted, not speaking or moving, with her eyes tightly closed.
"Mother needs to rest as she is ill. Most of the time, she takes medicine and cannot wake up. She is only awake for two or three hours a day. Please don't blame me, sister."
Du Lingjing would not blame him, but said to Du Runqing, "You have to take care of the household and take care of your aunt, it's really hard work."
Du Runqing lowered his head and shook his head, "It's what I should do."
The two sisters talked for a few more words. However, due to the age difference between them and their lack of acquaintance, Du Lingjing saw that her sister did not want to say much in front of her, so she asked Qiulin to leave a box of medicinal herbs to Gu, and left without disturbing her any more.
... ...
For the next three days, the Du Mansion was so quiet that it seemed as if nothing had happened.
Du Lingjing lived alone in the west courtyard. She remembered that when her father bought the west courtyard, he said, "When your uncle becomes a Beijing official, this courtyard will be his. We should build a larger courtyard so that his family can live comfortably."
But her uncle never became an official in Beijing. Instead, after she came to Beijing this time, she moved into the west courtyard.
Qiulin came in through the curtain and whispered something to her.
"I noticed that the Second Master did not go out. He went into the study early in the morning and did not come out, just like the previous two days."
Today is the tenth day of August, and there are still five days until the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the palace to arrange marriage.
Today is the last day for the Clan Court to accept visiting cards. Once today is over, the visiting cards must be sent to the palace, and it will be too late to go back to the Clan Court.
Qiu Lin wished she could open her eyes and stare at the Second Master until the sun set behind the western hills.
"No one came to look for my uncle today?" Du Lingjing turned a page of the book, and the sunlight shone through the bamboo shadows and fell on the pages of her book.
Qiu Lin said that two classmates came to see Du Zhiqi to have a drink, "but the second master was not in the mood, so they left."
The name card sent to the clan house cannot be sent by someone else. If it is wrong, it will cause trouble. The second master did not go out, so it was impossible to send the name card.
Qiulin also sent another maid, Ai Ye, to watch closely beside the study, but she heard the girl ask another question.
"Didn't anyone from the Shao family come to look for my uncle?"
This question made Qiu Lin straighten his expression.
She said no, "I really didn't see any shadow."
As she spoke, she came closer to Du Lingjing and said, "Miss, don't you find it strange? It's not like Shao Tanhua didn't know you. Why didn't he send someone to find out what you want first when he suddenly wanted to marry you? Instead, he came to the second master."
Yes, that's what's weird.
Du Lingjing closed the book in her hand.
Shao Boju knew her; he had met her several times before in the capital.
When my father was in Beijing, he took good care of the two children of his former colleague Hu Shibo. His sister Hu Tingjun was the same age as him and had a deep friendship with him. Even after she returned to Qingzhou, they kept in touch through letters. His brother Hu Tinglan was a classmate and good friend of Shao Boju. They had known each other for many years and had made progress and retreated together.
She knew Shao Boju because of the Hu brothers and sisters. Isn't it strange that Shao Boju suddenly proposed to her this time and did not follow the path of the Hu brothers and sisters, but instead wanted to settle down directly with her uncle?
What's more, Hu Tingjun did not mention this matter in the letter he wrote to her two months ago.
Yesterday she had written another letter to Tingjun. Hu's family was in Cangzhou, and a fast horse could make a round trip in two days.
... ...
It was past noon and there was no other movement in the mansion.
With every inch the sun went down, it became less likely that Mr. Du would be able to submit his visiting card to the clan office.
In the front yard, Du Zhiqi had someone dig out the old manuscripts and read them in the study room in boredom;
The servants were preparing the table for the Mid-Autumn Festival moon worship, which was temporarily placed behind a tree in the corner of the inner courtyard;
Du Runqing met the people who came back from Gu's house. She sent someone to deliver festival gifts to her grandmother and uncle at noon. When they came back, she asked a few questions and went back to the main room to take care of her mother, the second wife...
The entire Du family was so quiet that even the birds dared not chirp, but buried their heads in their wings and dozed off.
Qiulin felt a lot more relieved as he watched the sun setting further west.
As long as the second master doesn't send out the invitation card, the girl's marriage will not be controlled by the palace, and there is no need to mix the marriage in the capital. They can return to Qingzhou in a few days.
She said to Du Lingjing, "The young lady said earlier that she collected eight ancient books in one go and brought them all the way from Qingzhou to the gates of the capital. It was as if someone deliberately lured us here, which was quite strange. But if she hadn't come to the capital, wouldn't we have been kept in the dark?"
Du Lingjing smiled but said nothing. Qiu Lin wanted to say something, but at this moment, a quarrel suddenly broke out in the main courtyard.
Someone screamed and shouted, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps, followed by crying and sharp scolding.
Du Lingjing raised her eyebrows, Qiulin quickly asked what happened, and a little maid came to report.
"The second lady just came out of the room. No one was looking after her. She fell down the stone steps and hit her head, which is bleeding!"
Du Lingjing quickly changed her clothes and went to the main courtyard.
The atmosphere in the main courtyard was as tense as a rainstorm. None of the maids and servants dared to speak. Du Lingjing walked forward quickly and the maid lifted the curtain for her.
Du Runqing sat in front of Gu's bed, holding a white towel in her hand, as if she wanted to wipe the blood off her mother's forehead. Gu's sunken cheeks were covered in blood, and her eyes were rolling around in fear.
She saw Du Runqing whispering "Mom" and wanted to use a white towel to wipe the blood off Gu's face. However, as soon as she got close, Gu suddenly reached out and grabbed her collar, screaming.
"Who are you?! What do you want to do?!"
Qiu Lin, who was following beside Du Lingjing, was startled and immediately pulled the girl's sleeve tightly. Du Lingjing stood there without moving, but saw that her second sister Du Runqing's eyes were red in front of the bed. She didn't care about the second lady's pulling, but raised her hand to hug her.
"Mother, it's me, Qing'er! Don't you recognize me again? Your head was broken, I wiped the blood and bandaged it for you..."
The second wife looked dazed and mumbled something that was inaudible. After a while, she looked at her daughter and asked, "Are you Qing'er?"
After she said this, she collapsed completely. Du Runqing wanted to call her, but she suddenly fell onto the pillow, closed her eyes and passed out.
"mother!"
"lady!"
There was a mess in front of the bed.
Qiu Lin tightly grasped Du Lingjing's sleeve, "Girl, shall we...?"
"Go and ask my uncle to come over."
Her aunt's condition was worse than she had expected.
After Du Lingjing finished speaking in a solemn voice, he heard Du Zhiqi's voice coming from outside the door.
She stepped forward to pay her respects, but Du Zhiqi had no time to pay attention to her and only asked what had happened to the Second Madam.
The maids hesitated and said that for some reason they were not in the room just now. After the second lady woke up, she got out of bed by herself and walked all the way to the door.
She couldn't recognize anyone, and when she saw the servants in the yard, she asked in surprise, "Who are you all?" Then she saw the servants rushing to help her, and shouted "Don't come over." Who would have thought that in panic she fell from the stone steps and hit her forehead on the flowerpot.
Upon hearing this, Du Zhiqi's face turned livid and he scolded loudly. The maids fell to the ground in shock. Du Lingjing saw Du Runqing holding her mother's hand and crying.
Until Du Zhiqi called her, "Qing'er, don't cry. Dad will ask someone to invite a doctor to come to your house."
He turned around and told someone to call a doctor nearby, but Du Runqing called him instead.
"Dad, don't you think Mom's illness is getting worse? Can you please ask an imperial physician to examine Mom carefully?"
With Du Zhiqi's official rank, how could he invite an imperial physician immediately?
But Du Runqing's grandmother, Madam Wan, the old lady of the Gu family, was an imperial physician whom she often consulted.
Du Zhiqi said ok, and immediately ordered someone to go to Gu's house, "Tell the old lady that the lady is injured, and ask the old lady to take the letter to help invite a doctor!"
... ...
In less than three quarters of an hour, the imperial physician arrived, but just as he entered the door, another guest came outside.
Du Zhiqi was shocked when he heard this, and hurried forward while straightening his clothes.
The man who came had a head full of white hair and a graceful demeanor, but at this moment his face was pale, his lips were tightly pursed, and he was supported by someone and walked quickly inside.
Du Lingjing was secretly surprised to see the person coming.
"Mother-in-law, why are you here?!" my uncle asked repeatedly.
It was the old lady of the Gu family, Mrs. Gu’s mother, Madam Wan.
However, Madam Wan seemed not to have heard Du Zhiqi's words. She completely ignored him and just walked inside. Only when she saw the imperial physician did she relax her sullen expression and ask anxiously.
"Why is my daughter's hysteria getting worse? What will happen if it continues like this?"
The imperial physician looked at him with a solemn look, "Don't worry, old lady. I will take a closer look first and then we can say anything."
The diagnosis could not be delayed, so Madam Wan thanked him repeatedly and asked him to go first.
The courtyard was quiet for a while, and Du Runqing came out of the room and saluted her grandmother. Old Madam Wan held her in her arms. When she was held, the little girl's tears fell, and she clung to her grandmother's arms.
Du Lingjing also stepped forward to pay her respects. Old Madam Wan looked up at her, her eyes only moving a little under her white hair.
"Oh, the eldest girl has also come to Beijing."
Du Lingjing said yes, bowed politely, and stood aside.
At this time Du Zhiqi stepped forward again and told his mother-in-law the whole story. Only then did Old Madam Wan pay attention to him, and she responded lightly without saying much.
Du Lingjing saw her uncle trembling with fear until the imperial physician finished his examination and walked out of the room.
Everyone hurriedly asked about it, but the doctor said, "Don't panic, Madam just hurt her forehead, it's not serious. As for the hysteria, judging from the pulse, it doesn't seem to be getting worse. What happened today is most likely an accident."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the imperial physician said this. The imperial physician wrote a new prescription for the second wife, and Du Runqing carefully put it in his arms. Du Zhiqi respectfully paid the consultation fee, and Madam Wan was also polite.
As they were talking, it was already getting late, so the imperial physician left.
Madam Wan did not stay any longer, but her expression did not improve much from beginning to end. She would rather talk more with Du Runqing than with Du Zhiqi.
Du Lingjing saw that her uncle was very embarrassed. When Madam Wan was about to leave, she hurried forward and said, "This time it is really the son-in-law's fault. I will take you back."
Madam Wan did not want him to see her off, but Du Zhiqi dared not stay and followed closely behind her.
He saw them off to the front yard, while the younger ones stayed in the inner yard.
Du Runqing immediately asked someone to pick up the medicine and boil the new prescription of the imperial physician. However, after the maid picked up the medicine, she was still worried and turned to Du Lingjing.
"Big sister, can you help look after mother for me? I will go and make the medicine myself."
Her eyes were red and bloodshot. Du Lingjing sighed softly and nodded slowly.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
"Thank you, big sister."
Du Runqing bowed to her and left.
Du Ling sat quietly on the edge of the bed and looked at the Second Madam, thinking that her aunt used to love to be respectable and would never allow herself to be ugly in the slightest, but now she didn't care about that.
If the Gu family and Madam Wan had not been in the capital, the Second Madam might have been in danger of losing her life.
Qiu Lin didn't think about this, he just sighed, "Madam Wan is indeed a respectable person in the palace, she really dares to show the second master a displeasure."
After Qiulin finished speaking, he saw the girl pause suddenly.
Before she could ask a question, the maid Ai Ye ran in quickly.
"Miss, the second master went to see Madam Wan off, and he hasn't come back in a quarter of an hour."
Before he finished speaking, Qiu Lin saw the girl suddenly stand up.
She called out to Ruan Gong, "Go to the clan house quickly!"
She hadn't seen the girl with such a nervous and serious expression for a long time, but Ruan Gong came back and knelt on the ground with a bang.
"Miss, I was a step too late. Madam Wan's carriage took the Second Master to the clan residence. When I arrived, the Second Master had already handed in his name card!"
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