Chapter 341: 184 Call for mom (Second update)
“Come in,” Zhen Ping smiled awkwardly and stepped aside to lead the way for the Yao Family.
The carriages of the Yao Family parked at the end of the alley, they did not even bring their housekeeper along.
She stepped into the courtyard.
When she did not show up, Zhen Ping was anxious; but when she actually came, Zhen Ping felt even more uneasy.
The reason was simple, the courtyard was too simple and bare.
Yet, there was no change in the expression on the face of the Yao Family.
If he knew that Yao Family had been to courtyards even simpler than this one and that her biological daughter, son-in-law, and son used to live there, he would understand why Yao Family seemed so calm.
Zhen Ping led Yao Family to the main room, nervously and excitedly said, “There’s no hot tea yet, please wait, I’ll go and ask Yuexiu to make a pot.”
“Is her name Yuexiu?” Yao Family looked at him and asked.
Zhen Ping was taken aback, not realizing that he had slipped and revealed the name of his wife. Although he felt it was inappropriate, it was too late to take it back.
He braced himself and said, “Yes, Yuexiu. She’s not from Capital City, she came here from a different place to do business.”
“She’s a very good person,” said Yao Family.
At this remark, Zhen Ping didn’t know how to respond. He paused awkwardly before suddenly remembering what they were here for, “My mother is in the next room. I’ll take you to her. I’m sorry for the plainness of my house… I did not expect that you would really come… I’m very happy that you’re here…”
Zhen Ping was rambling.
Yao Family wanted to tell him not to be nervous, but she felt that she would be the same in his shoes.
Zhen Ping lifted the thick curtain and let Yao Family in first. Yao Family bent her body slightly and walked under the curtain he had lifted.
This was the first time in a decade that the two were so close to each other. Zhen Ping could smell her scent, but he was determined not to let his feelings show. He made an effort to stand tall, not touching her.
After Yao Family entered the room, he also went in.
The room was filled with a strong scent of medicine.
She had a stroke at the beginning of the year, and lying for so long, it was easy for bad smells to accumulate in the room, yet there was none in the room. It showed that the couple cared for the old woman thoroughly.
The old lady was lying on the sickbed, her hair grey, her face pale and her body dried up.
The memory of Yao Family was pulled back to more than a decade ago when the old lady was a strong character who was even stronger than men when doing chores. Who would have thought she would one day be lying on a sickbed gasping for breath.
She was moaning with great pain, whether she made a noise or stayed quiet.
Yao Family didn’t dare to keep looking, she quickly lowered her eyes, her nose became sour.
Zhen Ping came to the bed, knelt down, gently touched her forehead, and said, “Mother, guess who’s here?”
“Hmm…” The old lady groggily looked in the direction Zhen Ping was pointing at. In an instant, a look of joy burst from her clouded old eyes, “Yaoyao …Yaoyao…”
Yao Family took a deep breath, holding back her tears and walked over with a calm expression, slightly smiling, “Old lady, it’s me.”
The old lady stretched out her hand, trying to sit up to get a better look at Yao Family.
Yao Family sat down by the bed, moved closer and said, “Don’t get up. It’s snowing today, it’s very cold.”
“Yaoyao is still the one who cares about me,” the old lady rasped, her speech slurred after her stroke, but it was clear that she was happy.
Yao Family married into the Marquis Residence when she was seventeen, gave birth to Gu Jiao and Gu Yan when she was eighteen. Fifteen years later, she was only thirty-three.
Time had treated her generously, leaving hardly any traces on her face, apart from the lost innocence and naivety in her eyes from her girlhood. But these did not matter to the old lady.
The old lady grabbed Yao Family’s hand, her joy was like a child’s, “Have you and Ping gotten married?”
Yao Family was taken aback, she turned her head and looked at Zhen Ping, puzzled.
Zhen Ping whispered, “My mother has dementia. Many things are jumbled up in her mind, or she won’t remember.”
Yao Family understood that this was common in old people.
Yao Family looked at the old lady’s expectant eyes, nodded and said, “Yes, we are married.”
Zhen Ping felt a pang in his heart, his eyes welling up with tears.
The old lady immediately laughed like a child.
The old lady did not really have any complaints against her daughter-in-law Yuexiu. She had been responsible for her family and served her husband’s parents without complaints for many years. She might seem a bit dull, but there was no fault in her sincerity.
However, the old lady knew Yao Family first. She never expected her son and Yao Family’s marriage to take such a turn. She always saw Yao Family as her daughter-in-law in her heart.
One year, the old lady fell from the ladder and was severely injured. It happened that Zhen Ping was taking his civil service examination and Yao Family would sneak out from her family house to take care of the old lady to prevent Zhen Ping from getting distracted.