Chapter 259: Peculiar

 Chapter 259: Peculiar

"Master Gu, has Grandma woken up?"

Defu had brought the people saved from the river to the medicine shop. Now, everyone had already left, leaving only Grandma and the strange monk behind.

It wasn't that they didn't want to leave; the truth was that Grandma's body was weak. After the fall into the river and the ensuing struggle, she had nearly lost half her life and still couldn't get out of bed.

When Daohua arrived, Gu Jian was busy making medicine.

Since Defu had brought them, the medicine shop had given them a room.

At that moment, Grandma was lying on the bed while the strange monk was squatting at the door, preparing the medicine.

Gu Jian glanced at Daohua but said nothing, only moving a bit towards the door.

Daohua peeked into the room and saw Grandma struggling to sit up.

Hastily, Daohua walked in and helped her sit up.

Gu Jian gave her a glance but didn't stop her.

Grandma took a few deep breaths before smiling at Daohua. "You're that little girl from Yan Family Village, aren't you?"

Daohua was surprised. "Grandma, you still remember me?"

Grandma nodded with a smile.

She had a vivid memory of this little girl, who had bravely gone out to seek medicine for her grandmother when she was just five. She was very bold, and when they first met, she wasn't scared despite Grandma's half-burned face.

After seeking the medicine, her grandmother had brought her to the temple several times, always bringing food to offer in return. This simple, sincere kindness left a deep impression.

Daohua smiled as well. She had been able to get the medicine back then because of the abbot in the temple and Grandma's help.

Although Grandma's face was badly burned, it was not frightening because her eyes were always so gentle and peaceful.

At that moment, Gu Jian entered with the medicine.

Daohua smiled and said, "Grandma, your memory is much better than the strange monk's. He didn’t even remember me."

Grandma glanced at her younger brother and said with a smile, "He's too busy with his livelihood, thinking of all sorts of things. Naturally, his memory isn’t as good as mine, with nothing to do."

Daohua asked curiously, "Grandma, you two were staying comfortably in the temple. Why did you come to Xingyun Prefecture?"

Grandma sighed. "Abbot Hui De has passed away."

Daohua was startled. "How could that be? I remember when we left, he was still in good health!"

Grandma shook her head. "Illness comes suddenly, and death is unpredictable. It’s not something we can explain."

Daohua remained silent for a moment before continuing, "So, after Abbot Hui De's passing, the new abbot kicked you out?"

Grandma glanced at Gu Jian. "The new abbot didn’t kick us out. It's just that he became friends with the county magistrate, and the magistrate's elderly mother has been bedridden for years. He wanted to send Xiao Jian to treat her, but Xiao Jian refused. So, we felt embarrassed to stay in the temple any longer."

Daohua nodded. The strange monk did seem to dislike official matters.

At that point, Gu Jian finished preparing the medicine and was about to feed it to Grandma.

"I’ll do it!"

Daohua took the medicine bowl from him without hesitation. Gu Jian was no longer young, and he had been squatting for a long time while making the medicine. She noticed his legs were trembling.

Gu Jian glanced at Daohua but didn’t refuse.

Grandma smiled and said to her younger brother, "Sit down and rest for a bit!"

Gu Jian nodded and sat on a nearby stool.

While Daohua fed Grandma the medicine, she joked, "He really listens to you!"

Grandma drank the medicine and sighed, "I actually wish he didn’t listen so much."

Her words were soft, and Daohua didn’t catch them clearly. "What?"

Grandma shook her head and didn’t elaborate, instead asking, "Little girl, I heard the young man who was with you earlier is some kind of prince?"

Daohua laughed. "He’s not a prince. He’s the son of a prince."

Gu Jian immediately looked up. "Which prince?"

Daohua hesitated and looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

Noticing the wariness in Daohua’s eyes, Grandma smiled gently. "He doesn’t like owing people favors. That nobleman helped us, and we can’t repay him. We should at least know who he is."

Hearing this, Daohua relaxed a bit. She realized that the identity of Xiao Yeyang wasn’t a secret in this area, so she answered, "He is the legitimate son of Prince Ping."

"Prince Ping?!"

Daohua felt her hand tighten, and when she looked down, she saw that Grandma had grabbed her hand while Gu Jian, who had been sitting, also stood up.

"Grandma, what’s wrong?"

Daohua’s suspicion deepened.

Grandma released her hand and lowered her head, falling silent for a moment. Then she looked up again, her expression darkening. "It’s nothing."

Daohua stood up, looking at them. "You two don’t have any enmity with Prince Ping, do you?"

Gu Jian replied in a low voice, "You little girl, what are you thinking? We’re just two old, worn-out people. How could we have anything to do with the lofty Prince Ping?"

Daohua raised an eyebrow. "You can’t be sure!"

There are hidden experts in the world. Both Grandma and the strange monk were clearly not ordinary people, so having enmity with a prince wasn’t out of the question.

Seeing the increasing wariness in Daohua’s eyes, Gu Jian was speechless.

He thought he was already quite cautious, but compared to this girl, he was nothing—an amateur.

While he and his sister had just been a bit excited, this girl seemed to think they were about to harm the son of Prince Ping.

Grandma reassured her, "Little girl, don’t worry, we won’t harm anyone."

Seeing the sincerity in Grandma's eyes, Daohua hesitated. "Then do you know Prince Ping?"

"Why do you have so many questions? We ask you one thing, and you have to ask it back, don’t you?" Gu Jian walked over and took the medicine bowl from Daohua's hands.

"Alright, you don’t need to feed her the medicine. You can leave now!"

Daohua, who was being practically ushered out, was speechless. "I was just asking casually. Did you have to react so strongly?"

Gu Jian, holding the medicine in one hand and pushing Daohua towards the door with the other, grumbled, "This is just how I am. If you don’t like it, leave quickly."

Daohua was nearly pushed out of the door when suddenly, Xiao Yeyang's voice came from behind them.

"What are you two doing?"

Both Daohua and Gu Jian froze.

At that moment, there was a sudden 'thud' as Grandma fell from the bed.

"Sister!"

Gu Jian rushed over immediately.

Daohua quickly followed and helped steady the old woman.

Xiao Yeyang, seeing that they were struggling, quickly approached and easily lifted Grandma back onto the bed. He asked with concern, "Granny, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"

Hearing this, Grandma's eyes instantly filled with tears. She choked, "I’m fine, I’m fine!"

Xiao Yeyang nodded and prepared to step back, but realized his hand was being tightly held. Although he didn’t have a severe aversion to germs, he didn’t like strangers pulling at him like this, so he immediately tried to pull his hand away. However, no matter how much he pulled, he couldn’t free himself.

Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang was helpless. He could use force, but he was afraid of hurting the elderly woman. He turned to Daohua for help.

Daohua noticed the signal and hurried over. "Grandma, please lie down. Let the strange monk check if you were injured." She spoke softly, gently prying Grandma’s hand off Xiao Yeyang’s.

(End of Chapter)