The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"leave?"

"Yes, I checked out and packed my things when I came back from outside this morning."

Du Mingxian frowned. "Now that those two have left, why are you still being so cautious?"

"Sir, you don't understand. These two are skilled in martial arts, and very skilled at it. The other night, I saw that man jump out of the window in a flash and disappear in the blink of an eye. You have to be careful with these kinds of chivalrous people. If you offend them, killing someone is just a matter of lifting a finger."

Du Mingxian was still not giving up, "Have you heard what they said or did?"

"No, they haven't really shown up since they moved in. They only come back to eat, asking us to bring food to their rooms. Otherwise, we don't know what they're doing."

She was somewhat disappointed that she hadn't gotten any useful information, and that the information was even less complete than what Guo Dani had given her. However, it was still particularly difficult to get any information from someone who was so elusive.

After spending the night at the inn, Du Mingxian went to the Xu family's house the next morning after Da Zhou and the others went to the shop.

There was only an old lady and a servant in the house.

The old lady was very happy to see Du Mingxian come over. "Come and sit down. We have some freshly made pastries at home. When you go back, bring some back for your family to try."

"Okay."

Du Mingxian sat in the courtyard and started chatting with Grandma Xu. After they had finished chatting, she asked, "Grandma, it's been so long, and I still don't know about your family situation. Is my cousin all alone now?"

Grandma Xu gave Du Mingxian a deep look, without thinking much of it, "Yes, but she and I are not related by blood, we are not related by blood."

"Huh?" I really didn't realize that. Xu Tingting is very filial to the old lady. I thought the bond between the grandmother and granddaughter was real.

“Two years ago, Yunzhou suffered a severe drought and there were many disaster victims. I saw Tingting carrying a child on her back. The child’s face was pale and deathly, and it was clear that the child was dead. She herself could not walk, but she still insisted on carrying the child. When I went up to find out, I learned that her whole family had died.”

"Only she and her younger brother survived, but the child was too young to be saved. She was carrying the child on her back, intending to find a good place to bury him."

“At that time, I had some money and some food. I was all alone, so the two of us went together. After burying the child, Tingting and I addressed each other as grandfather and granddaughter. She was very filial to me.”

“Tingting was also very feisty. Because of this, many people who tried to take advantage of us on the road did not get away with it. In the end, however, the money on both of us was still stolen. Tingting then took me to beg, and my health deteriorated day by day.”

"We held on for a long time. I thought I was about to die, but when I opened my eyes again, I had already sold myself to a broker with Tingting. I took medicine, and Tingting prolonged my life until I finally met you."

Grandma Xu spoke calmly, but one couldn't discern the hardships she was facing.

"And what about you? What about your family? How could they let you wander alone out there?"

Grandma Xu wasn't quite sure before. She believed that with the two men's skills and actions, Du Mingxian definitely wouldn't know. But now she was certain that Du Mingxian must have known, which was why she asked those questions.

"Nothing can be hidden from you, you little girl."

After saying this, Old Mrs. Xu didn't say anything more and just quietly drank her tea. Du Mingxian didn't ask any questions and just sat quietly waiting.

The quiet atmosphere felt slightly oppressive.

The two seemed to be engaged in an invisible game of strategy, where whoever spoke first would lose.

Even the servants sensed something was wrong and quietly slipped into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Finally, as Du Mingxian drifted off to sleep in the warm sunshine, Grandma Xu spoke, "Let me tell you a story."

Du Mingxian woke up in a daze, but did not show that she had been asleep. Instead, she responded softly, "Mmm." She sat up, took a sip of the cold tea, and looked like she was listening attentively.

"There was once a pair of childhood sweethearts who grew up together, developed feelings for each other, and eventually naturally came together. Their love was passionate. Everyone knew that the man was madly in love with the woman, and the woman was too. Everyone envied their love. The man treated the woman well for ten years without fail."

"Women also feel that they are the happiest people in the world. After they get married, they have a son and a daughter. The son is smart and the daughter is well-behaved. Their life is happy and fulfilling."

"They were married for ten to twenty years. The man had no one else by his side, not even a maidservant. The woman felt that she had lived a very, very happy life until the children grew up and the son and daughter were to be married."

“When their family ran into problems, neither of the two children wanted their mother to take care of it. The woman was heartbroken and didn’t know what she had done wrong. The man stayed by her side to comfort her. In the end, the woman didn’t interfere with her children’s marriages; the man arranged everything himself.”

"And their little family seems to have never been the same again after this incident. After their son got married, he often took his wife out, and the husband often had various things to do and couldn't come back. After their daughter got married, she almost never came back."

"The woman's grandson and granddaughter were born one after another. When the children were small, it was not obvious, but as the children grew older, the woman found that even though the man and son would still accompany her as before, some things had changed, but she could not say exactly when they changed."

"Women should have noticed the problem much earlier, but she was always confident and believed even more in the man's feelings for her."

"until……"

"One day, the woman's eldest granddaughter took her out of the cloud in disguise to play, and saw a scene that shocked her."

“Her husband and son were with another woman. After she got married, her daughter, who never came back, also stayed with that woman. That’s when they were a real family. Three generations of them lived together, and they all doted on that woman.”

Du Mingxian's heart ached terribly. She could see the old man in front of her reopening his wounds, the pain raw and raw. Her voice was hoarse as she said, "I'm sorry, I..."

The old man waved his hand, his smile bitter. "It's alright, I should have told you this."

"I'm not listening anymore."

The old man chuckled to himself, "Don't you want to hear what the story is like next?"

"I can't bear it."

"It's okay. Actually, after I recovered from my illness, I always felt like I was living like a walking corpse. Now, when I talk about these things, I feel like I'm living like a human being."

To use pain to remind oneself that one is alive, one must be in utter despair to become numb to pain.

Du Mingxian didn't know what to say for a moment, but then she heard the old woman continue, "The woman's eldest granddaughter deliberately took her out so that she would see that scene."