FID – Chapter 1033

Chapter 1033: Remembering the Ding Family Well

In their lifetime, to see the Empress Dowager with their own eyes, and to witness General Qin Xiao in person was an extraordinary blessing for them.

And it was the Liu family who had brought them this fortune.

Unintentionally, some remembered an old rumor they had heard years ago. The youngest daughter of the Liu family, Liu Yusheng, had a nickname: ‘Blessed Doll.’ She was born with great fortune, and anyone associated with her was said to be touched by her luck.

Now, the Blessed Doll’s fortune had benefitted the entire city of Yunzhou. This was a blessing for the city’s people.

On the streets of Yunzhou, townspeople whispered to one another, their conversations filled with talk of the Empress Dowager, General Qin Xiao, and the Blessed Doll, Liu Yusheng.

As for the Ding family, whose actions had caused the earlier incident, no one paid them any attention. No one even noticed when they left.

But it was easy to imagine that the Ding family’s future would likely be grim.

The Dings had once been one of the four great families of Yunzhou, enjoying an excellent reputation.

The current generation’s madam had been friendly with the Prefect’s wife and had even helped gather supplies for flood victims, raising the family’s prestige further.

Under normal circumstances, thanks to her friendship with the Prefect’s wife, she would have received the Prefect’s care. Coupled with the fact that their family had a high-ranking official in the capital—an imperial vice minister—the Ding family’s future had once seemed bright indeed.

Who would have thought it would all come to ruin at the hands of a mere household woman? The Ding family’s madam was a classic example of a ‘single bad apple spoiling the whole barrel.’

In the end, not only did the madam fail to save face, but the Ding family as a whole was dragged down with her. Even whether their imperial vice minister would remain secure in his position was now uncertain.

She dared to bully the Liu family’s matriarch—that was effectively a slap in the face to Prefect Liu and the King of Nanling. 

Could they possibly let this incident slide? Absolutely not.

In the future, whenever people mentioned the Ding family, they would no longer be envied as a prestigious noble house, but laughed at by people from every social class.

Once the shock of the Empress Dowager appearing in Yunzhou had passed, everyone’s attention turned fully to the Ding family.

Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager, Qin Xiao, and the old maid had already boarded the passenger ship back to the capital, with little Badou and Hongdou in tow.

Before leaving, the Empress Dowager made sure to give one final piece of advice to the ‘reckless grandma’: Learn to assert yourself when necessary.

Her nature was far too easygoing; she always tried to let big problems become small and small problems be ignored. That would only make her an easy target.

Even as the Empress Dowager boarded the ship, she couldn’t fully relax—worried that if no one watched over her, the reckless woman might suffer a loss somewhere without her knowing.

Grandma Liu almost folded her hands in prayer to promise she would behave. She couldn’t understand why the Empress Dowager worried about so many things.

She was just an old woman. On ordinary days, she stayed in Xinghua Village and never even stepped outside. How could anyone dare bully her? Unless someone deliberately set out to cause trouble outside the village.

The villagers of Xinghua weren’t pushovers. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if she called for help, hundreds would respond. And influenced by the people of Xiapo Village, they had grown even more united, picking up those shameless, rogue tricks of the Xiapo villagers that could make a person question their sanity.

She had thought that once the Empress Dowager left, things would settle down. But as soon as she got into the carriage, she caught the cold, piercing gaze of her husband. Grandma Liu shrank her shoulders.

Normally, she ran the household because he indulged and pampered her, but when he got serious, she was afraid. Just like now, he is serious.

“I really didn’t do anything…”

“What counts as doing something? They already slapped you! If Zhiqiu hadn’t acted fast, that hand would have landed on your face! Do you even realize that? You only care that you weren’t hurt!” Grandpa Liu was furious.

He had almost cried out of worry.

How could anyone dare treat his wife like that?

To think they actually dared call his wife ‘useless fool’ and even tried to slap her—Grandpa Liu had firmly marked the Ding family down in his books!

“You see? You’re talking and your eyes are already turning red. I know my limits. How could I really let her slap me? Look at my age. If I actually took one or two slaps, wouldn’t half my life be gone? I treasure my life, you know. I still want to watch our three little beans grow up.”

“Treasure your life? Yet you rolled up your sleeves to fight? You think just because you’re a bit strong, you’re invincible out there? Didn’t you see the twenty guards standing behind her? You wouldn’t even have gotten a swing in before they chopped your hand off! You practically picked your life back up from the ground today! Nothing ever sticks in your mind. You’re doing this just to anger me!”

“Aiyo, my old man is really worked up this time. Fine, fine, it’s my fault. I underestimated how vicious people can be, okay? Next time something like this happens, I’ll state my family background first. If announcing my name doesn’t work, I’ll run. All right?”

“When you go out from now on, you must bring Dahong with you. If you don’t, then you aren’t going anywhere—just stay obediently in Xinghua Village.” Grandpa Liu sniffed and forced his voice to sound stern.

“All right, I’ll do as you say!” Grandma Liu patted her chest in earnest agreement. If she didn’t humor him, she feared her husband would urinate in anger. Then later, once he calmed down, thinking back on it, how humiliating would that be?

Her husband was very particular about his face.

In the carriage, the two elders chattered quietly, one scolding gently, the other agreeing. Gradually, the tension eased.

At the front of the carriage, Liu Zhiqiu stared ahead with a deeply serious expression, cold light still glinting in his eyes.

The image of that wretched woman swinging a slap at his grandmother’s face haunted him. Each time it surfaced, the chill in his eyes deepened.

From now on, wherever his grandparents went, he would follow. Aunt Hong or not, he would remain by their side.

He could not bear to see even the slightest harm come to either of them.

By the time they returned to the Liu family courtyard, night had fallen. The courtyard was quiet, peaceful, and the feeling of being home calmed one’s restless heart.

Dinner had already been prepared in the kitchen, but no one had started eating—they were waiting for their return.

After stabling the horses and washing his hands, Liu Zhiqiu took his seat at the table. He was the last to sit, and once he was ready, the family began their meal.

Grandpa Liu and Grandma Liu showed no unusual expressions on their faces, and during the meal, the events in Yunzhou were not mentioned.

Liu Zhiqiu knew his grandparents didn’t want their family meal spoiled—they were probably planning to talk to his elder brother about the Yunzhou incident after dinner.

He didn’t ruin their plan, but he did eat faster than he ever had in his life, drawing surprised glances from everyone at the table.

“What’s the matter? Did you eat something delicious in Yunzhou and get full?” Liu Zhixia teased.

This guy never denied himself anything when he went out. Whatever he wanted to eat, he ate; whatever he wanted to buy, he bought.

This time would surely be no exception.

And with their grandparents in tow, he certainly wouldn’t let them go hungry.

Liu Zhiqiu shot him a glance, snorted coldly, and walked off.

Everyone: “……”

Liu Zhixia’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t follow. He continued eating as if nothing had happened, only leaving the table slightly early once the rest of the family was nearly done.

He hadn’t been caught by their grandparents.

Stepping out of the main courtyard, he rounded the corner near the vegetable garden and spotted the fool squatting there, gazing at the moon.

“Speak. What happened?”