Chapter 966 - 966 966 Draw Them Out
Chapter 966: Chapter 966: Draw Them Out Chapter 966: Chapter 966: Draw Them Out “Hurry up! Come and take a clearer look, and tell me in detail, where did this baggage come from?”
Chou Chou focused his gaze, wasn’t this the married woman who had saved him initially?
He intended to conceal the truth, but seeing his dad looking at him full of hope, he had no choice but to answer, “Dad! Did Chou Chou not almost get hit by a carriage the day before yesterday? In the end, I was saved by a married woman wearing a veil hat. The most admirable part is, after saving me, that woman did not ask for anything in return and left immediately.”
It was a married woman! Moreover, she had saved Chou Chou from under the hooves of a horse. Yesterday, he found these words unbelievable. However, if this person was indeed Sisi, and she had saved Chou Chou, she would probably be too busy hiding from everyone to appear, so how could she show herself voluntarily?
“It wasn’t until her figure had disappeared that I noticed the baggage left on the ground. I’ve opened it and seen that it only contains some paper, nothing special. Dad, did you find something here? Could it be that there is a treasure here?” Chou Chou continued to speak.
It seemed Chou Chou had not noticed anything unusual at all.
“Third Son, have you ever looked at these sheets of paper?”
“I have, Dad! What’s the matter, is there a problem with these papers?” Chou Chou also became somewhat worried.
“It’s not the papers that have a problem, but this handwriting… this handwriting is your mother’s! The person who wrote these words is none other than your mother!” Di Yelei said excitedly, his words pouring out incoherently.
“My mother? Dad, are you saying that all these words are written by mom? If mom has been here, why didn’t she come to see us?”
They say the speech of children is untainted, yet Chou Chou hit the nail on the head. Di Yelei’s face turned ashen, and he slumped into a chair.
The handwriting written by Sisi has appeared here, which meant she was not far from here. She knew full well he was searching for her, yet she had never revealed herself; could it be because of that Xing Pan’er?
Di Yelei thought it more and more likely, becoming frantic with anxiety, even unaware of when Chou Chou had left.
Not long after, Di Hongyuan, Di Cheng, Di Xuan, and others appeared in Di Yelei’s room.
Everyone stepped forward one by one, picking up the stack of writing paper and examining it carefully, with Di Ying even bringing an account book made by Liu Sisi to facilitate the comparison of the handwriting.
After a while, everyone put down the writing paper. Di Hongyuan looked at Di Yelei and seeing his hopeful gaze, let out a long sigh.
“Why don’t you post an announcement tomorrow, apologize to Sisi in person, and clarify the whole story?”
Clearly, Di Hongyuan did not take his side.
“If my apology could bring Sisi back, I wouldn’t mind doing so. However, I understand Sisi’s nature very well, and I’m afraid this matter might not be easily rectified.”
Di Yelei chuckled bitterly.
Sisi seemed gentle and virtuous, yet she was strong-willed and independent at heart. Once she made up her mind about something, it was very difficult to change it.
The fact that she saved Chou Chou and yet was unwilling to meet him and the others, it was likely that she really had misunderstood something.
This statement made everyone’s faces tense with anxiety.
Only Di Hongyuan was shaking the writing paper in his hands, “These look like the short stories written by Third Sister-in-law, she was supposed to sell them to bookstores. Could it be that she has run out of silver?”
Di Hongyuan said this naturally because these sheets of paper were obviously the kind used in bookshops for copying books. This type of paper was slightly different from the ones scholars usually used for writing, as it was a bit more durable.
“Hmm? Big brother, are you suggesting we go to the bookstore and lie in wait?” Di Yelei’s eyes lit up immediately!
“I’m afraid that won’t work! If sister-in-law is determined to avoid us, I fear…”
Di Hongyuan shook his head and ultimately did not speak the words that followed.
Everyone looked grim.
“Actually, we should be happy,” someone said. “At least now we can be certain of one thing. That is, Third Sister-in-law is still alive! That’s the best news!”
“Yes! She’s still alive, truly a blessing from heaven!”
Di Yelei also began to smile, his expression gradually softening a great deal. He wrestled the pages from Di Hongyuan’s hands, flipped through a few sheets of paper casually, and then raised his head, his eyes bright and spirited.
“It’s just unknown whether the weird poison in her body has been cured or not. Now that Old He is here, it would be wonderful if she could return…” Di Yelei was especially disheartened.
Taking a good look at his Third Brother, he sighed inwardly, what a simpleton, he wondered how he ever managed to take the position of Old Master Marquis!
After some thought, he suggested, “Why don’t we ask a storyteller to narrate a segment about it? We could turn your story into a tale for the storytellers, then have them slowly recount it in detail, and gradually spread it around. It’s bound to reach Sisi’s ears eventually.”
This method might be slow, but it was the most effective.
Di Cheng, who had been silent up until then, spoke up!
“This is a good idea! Since Third Aunt has gone into hiding, she clearly doesn’t want to see Third Uncle. By spreading the word, and proceeding in this manner… we might even be able to lure Third Aunt out.”
“I also think big brother’s idea is feasible.”
Di Xuan joined in.
Whether it would lure her out depended entirely on her attitude toward everyone.
They discussed some more strategies, and before they knew it, it was late into the night. The adults were still lively, especially Di Yelei, who seemed as if he had been injected with chicken blood. Only the younger ones were unbearably sleepy and had begun to doze off on everyone’s shoulders without notice.
Especially that little bastard Chou Chou, who had long since nestled into Di Yelei’s arms and was dreaming sweetly.
“It’s getting late,” Di Yelei reassured everyone, “everyone should go back to their rooms and rest! At the very least, we’ve found her trail, no more searching for a needle in the ocean, and that’s wholly good news.”
After sending everyone back to their rooms, Di Yelei returned to his own to start grinding ink.
He figured it would be better to write the story of the past earlier, and of course, he made some changes to various parts of it to prevent any accidents.
By the time dawn broke, he had penned some initial drafts and was knocking on Di Hongyuan’s door.
“This is the rough draft. Sadly, my handwriting is not pleasing to the eye, and there are many parts I’m not knowledgeable about, which is why I thought of you, big brother, to have a look and offer some insight.”
Di Hongyuan too had been contemplating this matter, and he certainly didn’t want to bite off more than he could chew. If there were things he wasn’t good at, naturally he needed to play to his strengths and skirt his weaknesses.
Big brother was well-learned, and even though he had retired and returned home, his profound knowledge was genuine. Writing a few storybooks shouldn’t be beyond him.
“Alright! I’ll take care of it. I’ll make the modifications as quickly as possible and hand it over to you at the earliest opportunity,” Di Hongyuan promptly took it and turned around to close the door behind him, apparently starting to write immediately.
Di Yelei, though he hadn’t slept all night, felt invigorated. He turned around and arranged for many people to go out, securing almost the entire area around the hostel. Should Sisi appear, they would immediately notice.