Chapter 366 Duke An’s Mansion(4)_1
Listening to this, Lady Du couldn’t help but think back to her own tragic appearance when she fled in haste. The scene, even now, still made her heart palpitate with dread, and she shed a few tears alongside Madam Wang.
Madam Wang said: "That tiresome man died less than two months after you left. It was fortunate my son had the idea to run away, otherwise, we would still be stuck in that appalling Royal Palace, and who knows how agitated we would be!"
Lady Du wept for a while, wiped away her tears, and looking at the people beneath her, asked, "Mother, it seems like someone is missing?"
Madam Wang replied, "Are you asking about Auntie Mei?"
Lady Du nodded and said, "I haven’t seen Auntie Mei for a long time. I heard her health is very poor, and I am quite worried about her. I hope Mother can understand and let me go see her."
Madam Wang let out a sigh, stating anxiously, "Ah, it’s a pitiful sight. Auntie Mei has been washing her face with tears since you left, crying her eyes out in the process. Now she has gone blind. She refuses to eat well or take care of herself properly. Now she is extremely weak. The Imperial Physician said she might not last through the year... Sigh! That’s enough. Hua Mei, take the Fourth Aunt and Fourth Son-in-law to see Auntie Mei."
Upon hearing this, Lady Du got up and respectfully bowed to Duke An and Lady Wang, then followed Hua Mei to the West Courtyard, accompanied by Mu Zhongqing.
She recalled that Mother lived in a small house in the West Courtyard that was used to store sundries. The house was located in the northwest corner of the courtyard, quite dilapidated and drafty on all sides. Luckily, as it’s in the South, the winter isn’t too cold. If it were in the North, the Mother would’ve been frozen to death in that drafty little house.
Hua Mei led Lady Du and Mu Zhongqing towards the West Courtyard. Through the flower gate of the second door, they moved westward, passing a long, winding veranda, cutting across the garden, traversing an apricot grove, before finally reaching the area of West Courtyard complex.