Seeing that her mother remained silent, Wei Shuwan asked on her behalf, "What is your wish?"
The old marquis shifted his gaze to Wei Shuwan, and a smile gradually appeared on his face: "You are... Wanwan?"
Wei Shuwan's heart skipped a beat. According to her mother, her maternal grandfather had not had any contact with her since she married her father, yet he knew her name.
She nodded and replied, "Yes, I am."
"They're already so... tall..."
Hearing this, which sounded like a comparison to a certain period of time, Wei Shuwan finally couldn't help but ask, "Grandfather, have you met me before?"
Sun Lurong first glanced at her daughter, seemingly displeased that she had changed her address to "maternal grandfather" so quickly, and then looked at her father with a questioning look.
The old marquis nodded, "I've seen him before..." but refused to elaborate further.
While he was still able to walk and move around, he would actually visit Wu County in Jiangzuo every year. The fact that Wei Zheng's business was so successful in those years was also due to his secret assistance. Even his later achievements in donating grain for disaster relief were due to his report to the emperor, which led to Wei Zheng being appointed as Chengshilang.
But he did all this not so that he could take credit for himself in front of his daughter today.
Therefore, it's best not to mention it.
Perhaps because he suddenly recalled too many past events and his blood rushed to his head, the old Marquis coughed several times. Wei Shuwan turned around and poured him a glass of water, only to find that the handkerchief he had used to wipe his mouth was full of blood.
Wei Shuwan guessed that her maternal grandfather probably really couldn't hold on any longer.
"Grandfather, what is your wish?"
With tears welling in his eyes, the old marquis said slowly, "I have spent my whole life fighting on the battlefield... recovering lost territories and driving out the Tartars... I dare not say that I am illustrious in history, but at least I have been loyal and upright... I have done right by the emperor and the people... but the only one I have failed... is your maternal grandmother..."
"Heh~" Upon hearing this, Sun Lurong gave a bitter smile. Looking at her father, who was barely breathing, her eyes held both resentment and hope: "Then would you be willing to bring my mother into the Sun family ancestral hall?"
What she hated most in her life was that her mother had devoted her entire life to the cause yet didn't even receive a proper title! Since the Lady of the Marquis had passed away many years ago, even if her father was willing to give her a posthumous title, it would be enough to make up for the debt she had owed all these years!
Wei Shuwan knew what her mother was thinking and was also hoping that her maternal grandfather would make a promise at this moment.
However, the old Marquis looked at the two of them in silence for a long time, and then said only, "The ancestral rules cannot be broken... Your maternal grandmother will definitely... definitely not be able to enter the Sun family ancestral hall in this lifetime..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old Marquis's head, which he had been holding up, slumped to one side. For a moment, shock overwhelmed disappointment, and Sun Lurong and Wei Shuwan rushed to his side to check his breathing.
His breathing was weak, but fortunately he was still breathing; the old marquis had simply fainted.
"Go call the housekeeper," Sun Lurong said calmly, wiping away her tears.
Wei Shuwan responded and went out. The old steward was waiting outside the door. When he saw her coming out wiping away tears, he panicked: "The Marquis, he..."
The eldest and second eldest uncles were also waiting there, staring wide-eyed at Wei Shuwan, seemingly annoyed that at this crucial moment, their father had sent his mistress's family to listen to his last words!
Wei Shuwan's voice trembled slightly: "Grandfather has just fainted. Quickly, let the doctor go in and take a look."
Before long, the royal physician arrived. After taking her pulse, he sighed and shook his head, "It should be tonight..."
As soon as he finished speaking, several "filial sons and grandsons" rushed to the bedside and cried out "Dad!" or "Grandpa!"
Yes, at least the old man could hear the crying when he was alive, which might be beneficial for the succession of the title. But who would listen to the crying after someone dies?
Sun Lurong was numb to these kinds of dramas involving powerful and wealthy families. Wei Shuwan had thought she would stay in the Marquis's mansion to spend her last moments with her maternal grandfather, but her mother was more resolute than she had expected.
"Alright, we've seen each other one last time, let's go back." With that, Sun Lurong walked out.
"Please wait, Madam!" The old steward caught up with her in a few steps, holding a black ebony box with a relief of cranes and auspicious clouds, and solemnly presented it to Sun Lurong.
Sun Lurong did not take it, but instead cast her gaze indifferently at the box: "What is this?"
"This is what the Marquis left for you and Third Master."
The Third Master was Sun Xingjian, Wei Shuwan's maternal uncle who had joined the army.
However, Sun Lurong was probably utterly disappointed and had little interest in the few belongings left by the old Marquis. She resolutely turned and left.
"Fifth Aunt—"
"Alright, give it to me, I'll give it to my mother." Wei Shuwan took the wooden box and listened to the old housekeeper recount a few more stories about her maternal grandfather's deeds over the years. Only then did she realize that her maternal grandfather had secretly done so much for her mother.
No wonder my grandfather had mentioned knowing me well in his words.
However, the fact that her maternal grandfather refused to let her maternal grandmother enter the ancestral hall until his death remained a thorn in her and her mother's hearts.
Wei Shuwan could tell that the old steward in front of her was a loyal servant, and was the only person in the entire Marquis's mansion who genuinely cared about her grandfather, so she comforted him for a few words and then took her leave.
Having lingered there for quite some time, Wei Shuwan assumed her mother had already boarded the carriage. Clutching the wooden box in her hands, she hurriedly ran outside. But as she passed the hanging flower gate, she unexpectedly bumped into someone!
The moment Wei Shuwan realized she had collided with someone, she subconsciously thought she would knock that person down. However, the person stood firmly in front of the door as if rooted to the ground. She only felt her head hit a warm and solid chest, and then she was bounced back, staggered two steps backward and fell to the ground.
"Ouch~"
Just as she was screaming in pain, she heard an anxious voice ask, "Young Prince, are you alright?"
Wei Shuwan looked up and saw a servant brushing dust off the person she had just bumped into. When she looked up and their eyes met, they both froze.
Benefactor?
Wei Shuwan didn't call out, because she wasn't sure either. The person in front of her clearly resembled her benefactor in both figure and features, but he was dressed in a magnificent crown and robes, adorned with jade hairpins, and his overall demeanor was completely different.
Just then, a gust of wind blew by, stirring up dust in the courtyard. Wei Shuwan, who was sitting on the ground, was swept up in a whirlpool and instinctively closed her eyes. As she closed her eyes, she suddenly had a flash of insight and remembered that her benefactor seemed to have a small mole on the right side of his neck!
So she quickly opened her eyes to verify, but the person who had been standing tall in front of her just a moment ago seemed to have sprouted wings and disappeared in the blink of an eye...
She scrambled to her feet and quickly turned back. Although she didn't catch up with the man who seemed to be her benefactor, she encountered the old steward and anxiously asked, "Who was that person who just passed by?"
"Just now?" The old steward turned and glanced at the Marquis's courtyard. "Miss, are you referring to the Prince of Qiaochuan?"
"The Little Prince of Qiaochuan?" Wei Shuwan looked shocked.
Li Qingchen, the Prince of Xiaoqiaochuan, used the pretext of serving the emperor to raise troops, and held the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords. He wielded immense power and dominated the world.
Of course, that would have happened a few years later in his previous life. Right now, this person is just an inconspicuous hostage in the capital.
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