The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 917 - 895: Quietly (Happy Birthday to the Daughter of the Book Friend "一筆執劃斷江山")

Chapter 917: Chapter 895: Quietly (Happy Birthday to the Daughter of the Book Friend "一筆執劃斷江山")

Once April had passed, the weather had begun to heat up, and the days had gotten longer. Every day as soon as dawn broke, she’d climb out of bed, wash up, and run to the riverbank to read aloud.

Even Sanya and the others still studying couldn’t help but start waking up early to read at the riverbank in the morning. After completing early lessons for themselves, they’d run back to eat breakfast and then head off to school with their Small book boxes.

Sanya and the others went to school, while Manbao attended lessons at the teacher’s place in Bai Family Village.

Mr. Zhuang had resumed his previous teaching habits, teaching the three students separately. Manbao and Bai Shan could attend the same lessons, Bai Erlang alone had his own, followed by review of their assignments.

Old Madam Liu had clearly spoken with Mr. Zhuang, who had come to know about the feud between their families and the Prince of Yizhou; there was no hiding it anymore.

After all, Bai Shan and Manbao could be summoned to the capital. As their teacher, Mr. Zhuang was inherently tied to them, and Old Madam Liu naturally couldn’t keep him in the dark any longer.

Thus, recently Mr. Zhuang had been very strict with their studies; even Bai Erlang, who had always been treated leniently, was overwhelmed by the homework.

The three of them had been studying from the moment they opened their eyes until they went to bed. Manbao had slightly less schoolwork than Bai Shan because she also needed to study medicine on her own; Mr. Zhuang had purposely left two hours free for her.

Doctor Ji, having not seen her return to Yizhou City for a long time, had someone send her a letter.

Manbao didn’t dare tell him the truth, merely stating that there was a family matter and she might not be able to study medicine in Yizhou City for a long time, but they could correspond through letters.

Manbao felt very sorry toward Doctor Ji since they had agreed to learn and progress together, yet she had run off.

Thus she asked Teacher Mo to organize many proven effective prescriptions, copied them, and sent them to Doctor Ji; now their interaction was through letters.

Manbao also learned about Old Master Guan’s condition from Doctor Ji.

Old Master Guan’s condition was even worse than expected, whether from overthinking or excessive worry; he was now having difficulty even swallowing. Doctor Ji wrote that he had to visit the Guan family daily, and Old Master Guan had only a few days left.

Strangely, he refused to let Guan Erlang return, even issuing a strict order that if Guan Erlang brought the eldest grandson back, he would drive them out; now the Guan family was a complete mess.

Of course, this was because Doctor Ji was a medical doctor that he knew this; in the eyes of everyone in Yizhou City, it seemed that Old Master Guan’s health had improved, thus he sternly sent Guan Erlang and the eldest grandson out to study. But then Old Master Guan caught a cold at night, and his condition worsened rapidly.

Unfortunately, Guan Erlang didn’t take the usual route back to the academy, so the Guan family’s servants couldn’t find Guan Erlang and the eldest grandson for a while.

To outsiders, it appeared a helpless oversight, and no one blamed Guan Erlang; naturally, they wouldn’t find Old Master Guan’s behavior odd.

However, Manbao didn’t know that by the time she received the letter, Old Master Guan was already at his end. He had momentarily regained consciousness, feeling unusually spirited, and Doctor Ji quietly nodded to Guan Dalang, signaling to prepare for the funeral proceedings.

Upon receiving the news, County Magistrate Tang hurried over.

Old Master Guan, who had always been polite to County Magistrate Tang, this time couldn’t control his expression; he let his face fall and asked hoarsely, "Lord Tang, can you not tolerate my Guan family anymore?"

County Magistrate Tang replied, "That’s not it."

"Then please leave, Lord Tang, and don’t come again."

After looking at him seriously for a while, County Magistrate Tang said, "When I first arrived in Yizhou City, Old Master Guan had treated me well. It is only right that I come to see you off now."

Old Master Guan quietly watched him for a while, then closed his eyes and ignored him.

Guan Dalang didn’t understand what kind of riddle they were playing. At this moment, he couldn’t care less, stepped past County Magistrate Tang, and asked in a low voice, "Father, would you like to eat something?"

Old Master Guan thought for a moment and then said, "Go cook a bowl of noodles. I suddenly feel like eating noodles."

Guan Dalang complied, instructed the servants, and then came back to attend to Old Master Guan.

Old Master Guan didn’t avoid County Magistrate Tang and directly instructed Guan Dalang in his presence, "My funeral must be simple. Make sure not to call Erlang back. I’ve already arranged everything. The body will rest in the charitable burial ground beside the City God Temple, then talk to the Prince’s mansion about escorting the spirit back to our hometown."

Old Master Guan paused and then said, "If the Prince disagrees, just keep the vigil at home and don’t rush to bury the coffin. I want to be buried back in my hometown."

However, their family had settled in Yizhou City since his great-grandfather’s time. Compared to Yizhou City, the hometown he had barely visited twice seemed like a strange place. He still didn’t understand why his father insisted on going back to the hometown and also forbade Erlang from coming back to pay his respects.

Old Master Guan spoke a lot. After eating a bowl of noodles, his vigor gradually faded.

Relatives of the Guan family had gathered in the yard, and Guan Dalang’s wife was also helping in the room, delivering some items. County Magistrate Tang sat in a corner drinking tea, not disturbing them.

The steward of the Guan mansion hurried in and reported, "Master, people from the Prince’s mansion have arrived."

County Magistrate Tang looked up, and Guan Dalang quickly stood up and said, "Father, I’ll go and see."

Old Master Guan suddenly opened his eyes, clenched his fist that was placed under the quilt, and pointed at Guan Dalang’s wife. Guan Dalang nodded in understanding, "Don’t worry, father, we will take good care of the people from the Prince’s mansion."

Old Master Guan nodded slightly, watched them leave, then turned to County Magistrate Tang.

County Magistrate Tang felt a stir in his heart, approached him, saw his lips move slightly, and sat down next to him, bringing his ear close, "What do you want to say?"

Old Master Guan closed his cloudy eyes and said faintly, "Dongxi Village..."

"What village?"

Old Master Guan tightly closed his mouth again, then repeated with his eyes closed, his voice still very low, but County Magistrate Tang heard him, "Dongxi Village..."

As Guan Dalang led the people from the Prince’s mansion inside, County Magistrate Tang was still sitting in his place drinking tea. He gently wiped a tea stain off his sleeve corner and smiled at the incoming people.

The visitor was a subordinate officer from the Prince’s mansion, previously under Old Master Guan. He slightly paused upon seeing County Magistrate Tang.

Although he was a subordinate officer from the Prince’s mansion, he held a rank, so County Magistrate Tang stood up to greet him and explained, "I am a chess friend of Old Master Guan, and I heard he was gravely ill, so I came to visit."

The subordinate officer from the Prince’s mansion did not suspect, since Old Master Guan indeed had a knack for making friends. Over the past decade, most of the talents recruited by the Prince were gained through his social connections.

He stepped forward, looked at Old Master Guan with concern, and said softly, "The Prince is very worried about the elder, so he instructed me to come and check on him."

He saw the Guan family was preparing for a funeral, realizing there wasn’t much time left, so he sighed and asked, "If there are any last wishes the elder hasn’t fulfilled, please tell me, and I will report back to the Prince."

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