A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 222 A Family of Love and Hate
Anminfang,
Du Ruhui's house.

During the lively New Year, the Du residence was decorated with lights and lanterns everywhere, but the upper house in the main courtyard was very deserted.

After Du Ruhui was ordered to bring the grandmother back, he specially arranged for her to live in the upper room of the main courtyard, and he and his wife moved to the east wing to give her independence and tranquility.

Maids and servants were also arranged, so there would naturally be no shortage of food, clothing and other necessities.

But during this festive occasion, Mrs. Guo had the gate of the courtyard tightly closed, and refused to see her children and grandchildren like Du Ruhui, nor did she see relatives and friends.

In fact, no relatives or friends would come to visit Guo at this time.

After all, the Li assassination case has not been closed yet, so we have to avoid suspicion at this time.

North House Main Hall,

There is a fire wall for heating, so the house is very warm.
Guo's hair was full of silver hair that was combed meticulously. After losing her imperial decree and becoming a commoner, she was no longer qualified to wear many jewelries, so she changed into a cloth coat, wore a straw hairpin, and carried a straw cane.

A man sits alone on the couch, closing his eyes to rest, everything seems quiet and peaceful.

The personal maid, Madam Liu San, stumbled in and cried out in a sobbing voice, "Old Madam, something bad has happened."

Guo opened her eyes and said, "How many times have I told you that you are not allowed to call me old lady anymore. Just call me Madam. Also, you are already a grandmother, why are you still so flustered when something happens?

What's the matter? "

"Young Master, Young Master has been arrested and imprisoned in Yongzhou."

"Who?"

Guo suddenly shouted loudly, his eyes wide open, no longer calm and composed.

"It's the eldest son, Shilang's eldest son,"

"Jingai? What happened to him? Isn't he in Luoyang?"

Mrs. Liu was so flustered that she couldn't speak clearly and stammered. It took Guo a while to understand her.

"You said Jing'ai came to Chang'an and was imprisoned in Yongzhou Prison?"

"Yes, and I heard that the beloved young master was frightened when he was captured, vomited blood and fainted. Now his life or death is unknown."

Bang!

Guo suddenly stood up from the table, her hand sweeping across the exquisite tea sets on the table. The gilded silver pot and silver cup with engraved ladies' patterns fell to the ground.

The tea splashed everywhere.

Guo's whole body was trembling, her pupils contracted sharply, the blood color on her face faded in an instant, and her face turned as pale as paper.

"How could that be? Jingai is in Luoyang. When did he come to Chang'an? Why didn't he come to see me?"

"Madam, it's true. Fu An just came to tell you. He's outside right now."

"Fu'an?"

"He is Shi Niang's companion. He is also a son of the Marquis's family. He has served the Marquis's family for decades and is very loyal. Now his whole family is married into the Li family."

"Call him here quickly,"

Guo's voice broke.
Boundless fear came over her,
She held on.

But I just felt dizzy, everything went black, and the whole world was spinning.

She stretched out her hand to grab something, but only grabbed nothing.

He lost his balance and fell down.

"Old lady," Mrs. Liu San was frightened and rushed forward to support her.
Guo's lips trembled as she murmured, "How could this happen?"

There were screams of panic,
Soon a group of maids and servants came around and helped him up.
"Go call Fuan, quickly."

Guo said anxiously.

Du Fuan was brought in.

Guo was supported by two maids on both sides, and she was barely able to sit on the couch, holding a cane in her hands.

"Are you Fuan?"

"To reply to the old lady, my name is Fu An, born in the Marquis's Mansion. I used to follow Si Lang, and later helped Shi Niang manage the outside properties. Now I am married to the Qianshui Marquis' Mansion..."

Qianshuihou Mansion, those few words made Guo's head hurt like needles.

"Let's not talk about that. How did you know that my beloved son was imprisoned in Yongzhou?"

"Marquis Qianshui knew about this and asked me to come and tell the old lady that the beloved young master is in a critical condition and needs to be freed from his clothes and braided at any time. If the old lady wants to save the beloved young master, please act quickly."

When Guo heard that she was about to take off her clothes and braid her hair, her eyes went dark and she fainted.

"Madam, madam,"

The servants shouted one after another, and the hall was in chaos.

Someone hurried to ask for help from the adults, and the rest gathered around, pinching their philtrum, rubbing their chests, and calling out anxiously,

After a while, Guo finally woke up.

"Save Jingai,"

Undressing and braiding hair was what the imperial court had to do before executing prisoners. First they would eat a beheading meal, then undress and braid hair to facilitate execution.

At this point, it means you are going to the execution ground.

How could Mrs. Guo not be panicked? This was her eldest grandson.

This grandson is the eldest son of her eldest son Du Yan, her eldest grandson. Although the eldest grandson of the marquis's mansion should be Du Ruhui's brother, Guo would not recognize that side.

Du Jingai was weak since childhood and was born prematurely. He weighed less than three pounds at birth, like a kitten. Everyone said that the child could not grow up, but Guo was reluctant to let him go. She took him by her side and watched him grow up little by little.

Although he was weak and sickly since childhood, the child was smart and filial. Mrs. Guo treated this eldest grandson more dearly than her two biological sons, not to mention the three brothers Du Ruhui who were not of her blood.

If Du Shiniang was deeply loved by Guo and was the apple of her eye, then Du Jingai was simply Guo's sweetheart.

When this sickly grandson was fifteen years old, Guo specially chose a girl from her natal family, the Guo family, as her nephew's legitimate daughter, who was also the daughter of Du Yan's wife's legitimate brother. Guo Jingai married his uncle's daughter, his cousin.

She was worried that her grandson was weak and sickly. If he were the daughter of an ordinary wealthy family, she might not be able to understand her husband, so she chose a family member to strengthen the relationship.

Guo was in a panic.
I am at a loss, my mind is restless,
Don't know what to do at all.

After a while, she regained some of her senses and stood up to go to Yongzhou Prefecture to see her grandson.

But when he reached the gate, he was stopped.

"Grandma, Alang has ordered that the imperial court has decreed that you are not allowed to step out of the Du residence."

"Get out of the way," Guo said angrily. But the gatekeeper didn't budge. Instead, he raised his two wooden sticks and completely blocked the way.

Guo was so angry that she was shaking all over, but this was Du Ruhui's house, and the servants naturally listened to Du Ruhui. What's more, Guo had even had her imperial edict stripped away.

Guo turned around and went to find Du Ruhui.
Du Ruhui had received a letter from Li Yi, and learned that Du Jingai had been captured and imprisoned in Yongzhou Prison. He also learned that the assassination was actually planned and instigated by his cousin.

What's even more terrifying is that this cousin, who is as cruel as his uncle, actually plans to kill him at three o'clock in the morning tonight, and also wants to take Guo away and burn down Du's house.

Du Ru was shaking with misfortune.
This father and son have completely lost their humanity.
"Ah Lang, grandma wants to see you."

Du Ruhui put away the letter,

Guo came in angrily.

"Do you know that your brother Jingai is now imprisoned in Yongzhou Prison?"

"Just found out."

"Then why don't you go and rescue him."

Du Ruhui let out a long sigh, "Does Grandmother know why Du Jingai was imprisoned in Yongzhou Prison?"

"Now is not the time to talk about this. You are cousins with the same grandfather. How can you just stand by and watch someone die?"

Du Ruhui retorted, "Du Yan is my father's biological brother, but he killed my elder brother with his own hands and imprisoned my younger brother."

"Your brother was killed by Wang Shichong, not Silang."

Du Ruhui ignored her.

Guo gritted her teeth and asked, "What do you want in exchange for saving Jingai?"

"Mother, the person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. Du Jingai should be in Luoyang, so why did he come to Chang'an? Why is he in prison again?
Because he assassinated Li Yi,
Since this incident all stemmed from the assassination attempt on Li Yi, if Grandmother wanted to save Du Jingai, she should have gone to Li Yi, not me."

"Go find Li Yi and ask him to let Jingai go," said Guo.

"Hahaha,"

Du Ruhui laughed loudly.
"What does it have to do with me?" Du Ruhui stood up and said, "I have something important to attend to, so I can't accompany my mother. Please go back."

Guo's expression changed, and she angrily scolded Du Ruhui, "Are you still a human being? Jingai is your brother, and he's already been imprisoned. What else do you want?"

Du Ruhui sneered and left. He wanted to kill Du Yan's son himself, so why would he save him?

In Guangdefang, east of West Market,
Li Yi, escorted by ten imperial guards and twenty prince's guards, arrived at the Yongzhou Palace in the town by carriage.

At the door, he met his senior brother Sun Fujia, who was promoted to Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

"Senior brother,"

"Are you here for Du Jingai too?"

"Well, I was so shocked and unbelievable when I heard the news that I came here specially to take a look."

"Let's go."

Led by Sun Fujia, Li Yi came all the way to the heavily guarded Yongzhou Prison.

The prison was filled with a nauseating smell, a smell of foul, smelly, damp, moldy, and even rotten.
On the rough walls, a few oil lamps flickered, maintaining the dim light in the cell.

In a solitary cell,

Li Yi met his elder brother-in-law,
Du Jingai had been changed into a prison uniform. He stood in the dark, damp and cold cell, looking out of place in the cell.

His face was pale and his body was a little thin.

Their eyes met.

Although they had never met, Du Jingai already had a portrait of Li Yi in his hand.

"I didn't expect to meet you here."

"Yeah, I didn't expect that either." Li Yi looked at him. "I really can't understand. I married your sister, who has the same father and mother as you, and we are very loving after marriage. Why do you and you have to kill me? Is it really necessary?"

Du Jingai looked at Li Yi, his eyes still filled with condescending scrutiny, even a bit of contempt.

"You are not worthy to marry Shi Niang,
You deceived Shi Niang, and you also blasphemed the Du family of Fengxiang Houfu. The Du family cannot be blasphemed, and you must die."

"Really? But you are the one who is going to die now." Li Yi despised this kind of condescending attitude the most. Just because they felt that Li Yi was not worthy of Du Shiniang and the two of them were not together as they wished, so they wanted to kill Li Yi and force Shiniang to remarry?
What a disgusting concept.

Du Jingai turned his head away, with resentment in his eyes.

"Are you coming to Chang'an to kill me on Du Yan's orders?" Li Yi asked.

Du Jingai turned around and asked, "You can mention the master's name directly?"

"Don't you guys deny that I'm the son-in-law of the Du family? Then what kind of master am I to Du Yan?"

Du Jingai snorted coldly and ignored him.

Li Yi spat on the ground in disdain, and Du Jingai frowned when he saw it.

"Shi Niang used to tell me about you, my brother, and how smart and wise you were, but now it seems you're just a complete fool."

Du Jingai glared at him.

"Don't you admit it? Don't you see the stupid things you did? Who would do this? You chose the day of the New Year's celebration, and in Pingkangfang?
Don’t you know how many noble officials will go to Pingkangfang to attend the grand celebration that day, and how many people will be on the street?
Or do you deliberately want to increase the difficulty and make it more spectacular?
But you succeeded.”

Du Jingai coughed a few times and said, "Don't be too proud too soon."

"Oh, do you think those two back-up plans of yours will still work? Do you think that if you're all caught, this plan won't be exposed?

Tomorrow morning,

All your minions lurking in Chang'an will come here to join you, and none of them will be able to escape."

"You?" Du Jingai was shocked.

He started coughing violently and couldn't stop. He didn't have a handkerchief, so he had to cover his mouth with his hands, and his hands were covered with blood.

Li Yi quickly stepped back upon seeing this.
Damn, I hope he is not a consumptive patient. If he is tuberculosis, it is contagious.

But we can't have close contact. It's better to be safe than sorry.

"Brother, call a doctor to check him out. He keeps coughing up blood. I wonder if he has a serious illness. It would be troublesome if it's contagious."

"Okay." Sun Fujia was also a little surprised that this young man was coughing up blood.

Li Yili stood far away, covering his mouth and nose with his sleeves, "Du Jingai, I have something to say to you, you will suffer the consequences if you commit evil!"

(End of this chapter)