“Aru, don’t be afraid, don’t panic, don’t rush. You must calm down now and rest well. Once your body is healthy, you can do anything.”
“Xiao Ze is coming back soon, and the two children and Xiao Wan at the Hospital are still waiting for us to bring them food. It’s not convenient to talk in detail here right now. Tonight, we’ll go to that small courtyard and sort everything out thoroughly. Don’t be afraid, our Qiao family will definitely be able to live together completely.”
“Aru, tell me what you want to do next, and I’ll listen to you. We still have time; we can still prepare. We definitely won’t end up like in your dream.”
“We must be strong, we must stay steady. Aru, this dream is a chance given to us by Heaven.”
Su Huaiyuan not only had no doubts, but he didn’t even have a trace of hesitation. After quickly calming down, he directly expressed his full support and trust in his wife.
Qiao Jiuru wasn’t surprised by her husband’s unquestioning trust. She and Su Huaiyuan had been together through thick and thin for decades since they first met. He had always protected her and treated her well, always placing her in the most important position in his life.
“Yes, Huaiyuan, in my dream, you all left in my previous life, and I was the only one left to live on in solitude. But as I was dying, I vaguely heard Master Qiao speaking to me. He said I shouldn’t forget the Qiao family’s treasure, the ink bracelet.”
Master Qiao’s words seemed to come from a ethereal void, and since her rebirth, they had been deeply engraved in her soul.
The ink bracelet was a family heirloom passed down through generations of the Qiao family, said to have been inherited for at least a thousand years. However, in her previous life, she was the only one left of the Qiao family.
She wondered if it was for this reason that she vaguely heard Master Qiao’s reminder when she was dying?!
“That bracelet, didn’t you already hide it in that small courtyard?!”
After Su Huaiyuan married his wife, he not only knew about the Qiao family’s heirloom but had also seen the bracelet many times.
This bracelet was very special; it wasn’t the most expensive Imperial Green, nor was it Emerald Green, but it was so green it was almost black. Perhaps because it had been passed down for a thousand years, the bracelet felt ancient and grand to him, with a pure aura. Anyone who knew would recognize it as extraordinary.
“Yes, Huaiyuan, since Master Qiao said that, then this bracelet must be very important to us. Maybe it can save us.”
If the ink bracelet hadn’t been out of reach, she would have taken it out to study it long ago. However, there was no use in rushing. The ink bracelet was originally kept at home. Because of the Zhou family’s demotion before the New Year, she was worried it might be confiscated one day, so she quietly hid it in a small courtyard under her grandmother’s name during the New Year.
“We’ll go see it later. For now, I’ll go cook, and you get some good rest.”
Master Qiao wouldn’t give his granddaughter a dream or message for no reason. Su Huaiyuan also knew that his wife had placed the ink bracelet in an unknown small courtyard under Qiao Lao’s name.
“Okay.”
After speaking out the life-and-death matter weighing on her heart, and with another person to share the burden, Qiao Jiuru couldn’t hold on any longer and lay down directly.
After Su Huaiyuan covered his wife with the quilt, he turned off the radio, felt her forehead, and went out to cook.
He first turned off the TV in the living room, then unlocked the courtyard gate, before turning to the kitchen to cook.
Lunch was also very simple: a pot of rice, a large bowl of steamed egg custard, stir-fried potatoes with pork cracklings, a few pieces of fermented tofu, and a small bowl of pickled cabbage. Su Huaiyuan was worried his wife wouldn’t have a good appetite, so he also planned to cook her a bowl of egg noodles later.
Just as Su Huaiyuan finished cooking, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and his eldest son, Su Ze, returned from work.
“Dad, how is Mom?! I just got home and heard Mom was sick.”
Before Su Ze even entered the door, he anxiously asked his dad and looked everywhere for his mom.
He had stayed at the Hospital for the latter half of the night yesterday, while his parents were there for the first half. This morning, his daughter-in-law was accompanying the patient at the Hospital. He hadn’t returned home in the morning but went directly from the Hospital to work at school, so he didn’t know his mom was unwell.
“Your mom took medicine and is resting. Uncle Zhang checked her, it’s just a cold, and she’ll be fine with good rest, no need to worry. Now, quickly eat lunch and go to sleep, you still have classes this afternoon. I’m going to take lunch to Xiaotong and the children now.”
When Su Huaiyuan saw his eldest son, he remembered his wife mentioning in her dream that their eldest son’s family was gone. His heart tightened, and he thought a lot for a moment, but on his lips, he comforted him while making arrangements.
He didn’t wait for everyone to be present to eat as before; instead, he ate while cooking. When his son returned, he had just finished packing all the food and went directly to the Hospital. He also had classes in the afternoon, and his daughter-in-law had taken the day off to accompany the patient at the Hospital.
“Dad, I’ll go deliver it. You stay home and take care of Mom.”
How could that be?! Su Ze had already entered his parents’ room as he said this.
Qiao Jiuru was sleeping restlessly, half-awake, but she generally heard the conversation between father and son.
“Aze, listen to your dad. You barely slept last night, and we’ll need you for the latter half of tonight. I’m much better now. Your dad helped me take the day off today, and an afternoon nap will be enough. Tonight, your dad and I will accompany them for the first half of the night.”
She opened her eyes and looked at her eldest son, who was as elegant as a jade tree and calm and steady, and her eyes couldn’t help but turn red. Seeing her eldest son, Su Ze, again after a lifetime, she had to suppress her excitement and mixed emotions, and her voice was a little out of control.
“Mom, are you really okay?!”
Su Ze felt that his mom’s state wasn’t quite right; she seemed a bit excited to see him, and her eyes and expression had an indescribable feeling.
However, he didn’t think much or suspect anything, because Qiao Jiuru was sick right now.
“It’s nothing, nothing. Hurry up and eat and rest.”
Qiao Jiuru quickly composed herself and, seeing her eldest son’s red eyes, quickly urged him to leave.
“You don’t need to worry about your mom; she still has your dad and me. Do what we tell you to do. We’ll tell you if anything happens.”
“Alright, no more nonsense, I need to go deliver the food.”
Su Huaiyuan gave his wife a look where his eldest son couldn’t see, while echoing her words, and then hurried to the Hospital with four lunchboxes.
Su Ze had been filial and sensible since he was young. Since his parents said so, he listened. However, he would also pay more attention to his mother’s physical condition.
Qiao Jiuru hadn’t gone to buy groceries this morning, so lunch was too simple. On his way to the Hospital, Su Huaiyuan also stopped by the National Restaurant to buy two extra portions of wontons for his daughter-in-law and his twin grandsons.
“Grand…”
“Grandpa, Grandpa.”
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the ward, his two fair-skinned, tender little grandsons, who were huddled on the same bed, spotted him with their sharp eyes and excitedly called out “Grandpa, Grandpa” in their garbled speech.
Zhou Wanwan sat by the bed, watching the two little ones. She hadn’t expected her father-in-law to come and bring lunch for her and the children, so she quickly stood up to take the lunchboxes.
“Aiya, aiya, Grandpa’s little darlings, time to eat! Grandpa bought you delicious little wontons.”
After Su Huaiyuan handed all the lunchboxes to his daughter-in-law, he couldn’t help but smile and step forward to stroke the two little grandsons’ fluffy heads, speaking in a particularly gentle voice.
Not only that, but he also proactively took over the task of feeding them, telling his daughter-inlaw to just eat her own food and not worry about anything else.
The two portions of wontons were quickly eaten by the two little mouths under his feeding. Looking at his two adorable and lively grandsons, Su Huaiyuan’s face was filled with paternal love, and he adored them beyond measure. But then he remembered what his wife had just said, that in her dream in her previous life, these two adorable children were gone before they were three months old. Just thinking about this made his heart burn with agony and pain. If he hadn’t known, it would have been fine, but now that he knew, he would protect his two little grandsons and family even if it cost him his life.