Chapter 62: The Virtuous Wife

  The old man had seen storms and asked Tiezhu in detail, then said to Guajia: "Zhiyuan's wife, take Shuxuan back first. I think Zhiyuan should be fine. Baizhu looks honest and has a good idea. With him searching for Zhiyuan along the river, you can rest assured that there may be news of Zhiyuan in two days."

  "The daughter-in-law knows." Gualga knelt down, knowing that the old master was no longer satisfied with the old lady, but he wouldn't humiliate her in front of his daughter-in-law. The old master seemed foolish, but he was actually a shrewd person, and as long as he sat in the duke's mansion, watching the confused old lady, Gualga could also feel at ease.

  She not only had to worry about Zhiyuan's safety, take care of the three children, but also had to seize the opportunity of the Yellow River flood to do some good deeds. Guwalgiya couldn't wait for Zhiyuan to come back and tell him that she was so busy crying that she didn't take care of anything else. Moreover, the Yellow River flood happened to coincide with Zhiyuan's inspection tour, and Yu Chenglong also fell into the water. The officials in the capital were all submitting memorials to impeach either Zhiyuan or Yu Chenglong.

  Gua Lijia wanted to scold them for a moment, where did they go early? After releasing the horse, the scholar mistakenly said that the country was wrong.

  Shu Yao's back tensed up, and she sensed her mother's thoughts. Shu Yao furrowed her brow slightly - even in the Tang Dynasty, the imperial censor dared to speak out against the emperor? No wonder Mother looked down on the current censors. The old master said: "Shu Yao seems fine, but we can't be careless. Zhiyuan's wife, go invite the royal physician to take a look at Shu Yao. And have him examine Li Qinger too, this constant headache isn't normal."

  Gua Erjia agreed, and Shu Yao turned her head to glance at Li Ziqing. The superpower attack was quite fierce, and she still hurt from it. Shu Yao was led away by Gua Erjia, which was also very hurtful. A look of discontent flashed in Li Ziqing's eyes. She was the granddaughter, how could she not be compared to her own daughter? But the old man had forgotten, without the magical ginseng she gave him, he would have met King Yan long ago. After recovering from his illness, did he forget himself? Li Ziqing was discontent with the old man's ingratitude.

  "Grandfather, I'll go rest first and wait for the imperial physician to come and take my pulse."

  Li Ziqing withdrew her hand from Baoqin's grasp, her words ordinary but laced with discontent. The old man had never been looked down upon by anyone before, and yet here was a dependent granddaughter of the Duke's household daring to do so. The old man intended to test Li Ziqing's magnanimity, which is why he deliberately ignored her. He pointed at Li Ziqing, "Someone like her still dares to think about entering the Imperial Prince's residence? She should give up on that idea early on, lest she suffer endless troubles later."

  "Wait until Li Zhiqing and the others are ready, you'd better choose someone to marry her off soon. With me and Zhīyuǎn watching over her, she won't be mistreated. If she enters the imperial prince's mansion, the inner palace is deep and profound, and the glory and wealth will be invisible, but instead, she might drag them down with her."

  The teacup was on the table, the lid fell off, and the tea spilled out. Seeing Old Master getting angry, Second Aunt knelt down and said: "Daughter will go to persuade Zhiying, Ama doesn't often come to Rongshou Hall, Zhiying is good-looking and has a good temperament, knows books and understands reason, it would be a waste if she were married into an ordinary family. Ama, today Zhiying...

  The old man's face grew increasingly somber, and the second lady stopped talking. The old man said: "No matter how good-looking someone is, it's just a temporary novelty. I've never heard of anyone staying beautiful forever. The prince has seen many beauties, and every year there are countless talented women. But none of them can compare to Li Zhiqing. Her status isn't high enough; she's only a gege (a low-ranking concubine) in the prince's household, living under the control of the fu jin (the prince's primary wife). If she can tolerate it and make do with her situation, that's already quite something, given her proud and aloof demeanor. The fu jin won't be able to spare her."

  The old man indulged in the beauty of the flowers, and men's love for beauty was clear to him. He knew that appreciating beautiful women was a common thing, and he would spoil Li Zhiqing for a few days, but not beyond his legitimate wife. The granddaughter's temperament was too unpleasant, making the old man think of Shu Yao of the same age, who could make people willingly dote on her. Her father and brother were also impressive, with a prominent family background, and the emperor cherished old relationships, so Shu Yao would have a good future in the imperial selection.

  The old man saw that the old lady and her daughter were not pleased with their granddaughter's marriage, so he asked them about it. Since they wanted to go their separate ways, even if he tried to stop them, they would still run off together after his death. He would then petition the emperor to choose a son to inherit the dukedom. The old man felt that he had done right by his first wife and also by Zhiyuan's mother. Zhiyuan was capable of supporting the ducal household, so the emperor would certainly choose him as the successor. Zhiyuan and his wife were practical people who would not be implicated in their niece's affairs. The old man could rest assured that he had handed over the dukedom to Zhiyuan.

  "You all go back first." The old man spoke, and the daughter-in-law left after bowing her knees. The old lady said: "I know you're close to Zhiyuan, but even if it's a big fire, you can't come at me like that. I've been with you for a lifetime, do you dare not respect others? I'm not someone who eats vinegar and sour grapes either... Zhiyuan's mother..."

  "What's the point of bringing up these old and stale things? It's about Zhiyuan's mother... I don't want to hear it."

  The old lady's eyes turned red, and as soon as she mentioned her, the old man got angry and had a big temper. The old lady was unwilling to give in, and the old man said: "Just now I heard a few words outside, what did you say?"

  "What's wrong with me? Zhiyuan has fallen into the water, let Erniang prepare, in case Zhiyuan doesn't come back, I'm afraid Erniang will go crazy."

  "Zhiyuan's daughter-in-law?" The old man's eyes showed appreciation, "She understands better than anyone else. Among the four daughters-in-law, only she can hold up. If Zhiyuan has an accident, Shuxuan and Shuyi will both be taught by her to become pillars of the country."

  The old man took a deep breath, "In front of my daughter-in-law, I'm willing to lose face for you. The eldest daughter-in-law cried more bitterly than Zhiyuan's wife, how could you say such a thing? If outsiders hear about it, what will they think? Can you bear the blame of not being strict in managing the household? In the future, our grandchildren will have trouble getting married."

  "I...I was just saying it casually..." The old lady was sweating, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to warn the girls not to talk about it."

  "Is that it?"

  "Could it be that they have sold off the old servants? They are all old people in the manor, I reckon they don't dare to speak much, if the duke's manor is in trouble, they will not end up well either."

  The old man stroked his beard and said, "Which of the officials' households is short on gossip? Don't those who spread these words have a face among the masters' wives and concubines?"

  The old man and the old lady had a reasonable argument, but the most direct way was to scare her. The old lady valued her reputation above all else and attached great importance to dignity. Whether Zhiyuan lived or died was still uncertain, and the Emperor should have known about the Yellow River bursting its banks by now. As the Duke's residence was involved, although the Emperor would not blame the loyal and brave Duke's residence, if the people in the residence were jumping up and down, it was hard to guarantee that they would not fall into a trap.

  "With the gate of the Duke's mansion closed, they can't get out and rumors won't spread." The old lady saw that the old man's brow relaxed, and her words pleased him. She pursed her lips, "I'm not a fool either."

  The old man gave timely encouragement, "This move is not bad, after you practice and become proficient, ten of you won't be enough for Zhiyuan's wife to deal with, the gap is too big."

  The old man was deeply moved. He chose a daughter-in-law for Zhiyuan, except that she was a bit older than the vinegar girl, everything else was satisfactory. Zhiyuan feared that he had followed his mother's deep feelings and good intentions, and in terms of beauty, he was not like himself but rather better, at least he would not be misled by beauty. Zhiyuan was a talented person, and it would be a pity if he were delayed by beauty. With Guarl Jia watching over Zhiyuan, making fewer mistakes and doing more practical things, the Duke's mansion could prosper in the long run.

  The old lady didn't want to listen, but the old man rarely came to Rongshou Hall, so she humored him and listened happily. The old man then spoke with the old lady for a while, had dinner at Rongshou Hall, and scolded Zhi Cheng and Zhi Hao to be careful and guard their integrity before leaving Rongshou Hall.

  After Guajia returned to her room, she called the imperial physician to take Shu Yao's pulse. Shu Yao knew that she was fine and just overused her powers, but Guajia was worried about Ama, so she suggested keeping a low profile for now and firmly opposed calling the imperial physician. Guajia shook her head: "Yao'er, you're fine, Master can also rest assured."

  Gual Jia appeared to be very calm, as if Zhiyuan had not fallen into the water at all. If Shu Yao didn't have any special abilities, she would have been deceived by Gual Jia. No, even without special abilities, Shu Yao could see that Gual Jia and Zhiyuan's feelings for each other were deep. Gual Jia was willing to be a good wife and assistant to Zhiyuan, giving up her life as a noble lady of the Tang Dynasty, with its luxurious clothes and horses. Of course, there were also reasons related to her three siblings. On the surface, Gual Jia was calm, but in her heart, she was anxious and uneasy.

  The imperial physician came to give Shu Yao a pulse diagnosis and prescribed several doses of Chinese medicine to nourish her spirit. She went to see Li Zhiqing, and Shu Yao sat next to Guwalgiya, holding onto E Niang's hand. Suddenly, she felt dizzy, and with a "ding dong" sound, her special ability leveled up. Not only did it restore the points that had been deducted earlier, but it also unlocked an attack module. Shu Yao calculated that each use of her special ability would require energy accumulation, which would take at least two to three years of diligent practice. Moreover, she couldn't guarantee the consequences of using her special ability to attack others - it might even cause more harm to herself. The seemingly useful special ability was actually a double-edged sword.

  Shu Yao was about to scold the sky again, but then she thought of her Ama still in the water. If it rained a little less, Ama might be safer. Shu Yao secretly prayed, as long as God could protect Ama from harm, she wouldn't... scold him again, even if he gave her something useless, she wouldn't scold him. Look how good I am being, God, please protect Ama!

  As an upgraded reward, Shuyao did not add points to affinity as before, but instead added them to comfort. Shuyao wrapped around Gualjiasi, with all her abilities open: "Ama must be fine."

  Guar Jia forced a smile, stroked Shu Yao's forehead, "Yao'er, Mother believes in you." Guar Jia hugged her daughter tightly, slowly closing her eyes, unwilling to let anyone see her weakness. Zhiyuan, come back alive for me.

  Shu Yao gently wrapped her arms around Gual Jia's waist, repeating over and over: "Mother, Ama is fine, Ama must be fine."

  This evening, Shu Yao slept with Gual Jia. In her lifetime, Shu Yao had never spoken so many words, and she was always brief. Her voice was hoarse, and Gual Jia turned to look at the daughter in her arms, feeling warmth in her heart.

  Guar Jia had an idea, the prepared food and medicine would come in handy, Zhiyuan only needed to return safely to Beijing, and promotion and imperial favor were a certainty. At this time, Guar Jia would not be weak and cry, but seize the opportunity to win more, waiting for her husband's glorious return to Beijing.

  Pink powder added more, tired and a little drunk, 6,000 words are not easy, asking for pink.