Back to the main topic. After my great-great-grandfather and great-grandmother got married, they stayed in the Cai Residence for about two months. After that, my great-great-grandfather brought Wang Shoudao and my great-grandmother back to Three-Kings Manor.
Because the previous house was too small and inconvenient to live in, his great-great-grandfather took out some gold to build a decent house.
At this time, Wang Shoudao seemed to have aged a lot. He could no longer get up. He lay on the bed all day, muttering about hugging his grand-disciple and urging his great-great-grandfather.
1866, the fifth year of Tongzhi of Qing Dynasty, the year of Bingyin. My great-great-grandfather was thirty-nine years old, and Wang Shoudao was one hundred and seven. My great-great-grandmother, Cai Qingjun, was pregnant. Wang Shoudao was very happy when he heard that. He made an exception and got out of bed to let my great-great-grandfather support him. He walked around the outside of the village. It turned out that he was looking for a grave for himself. After finding the grave, he asked my great-great-grandfather to remember the location. Then, he lay on the bed and waited for his grand-disciple to come into the world.
In the spring of 1867, on the seventh day of the second month of the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, my grandfather was born. It was originally a happy occasion, but Wang Shoudao died the night before, on the sixth day of the second month. He was one hundred and eight years old, but he didn't make it to the moment when he met his grand-disciple. Before he died, he still muttered about holding a grandchild.
Wang Shoudao, also known as Wang San 'er or Wang Ban' xian, had exorcised evil spirits for his entire life. His reputation spread across the Yellow River. In the end, he died with regrets. Thinking about it carefully, it was quite sad. This might be the greatest regret in his life, a regret that could never be undone.
After Wang Shoudao passed away, my great-great-grandfather felt like half the sky had collapsed on his head. He was even sadder than when his own parents passed away.
The birth of the child and the death of his master, one was sad and one was happy. The combination of sadness and joy made him confused. Other than crying, he didn't know what to do. At this time, my great-great-grandmother, Cai Qingjun, advised him to find a few old people in the village who were on good terms with Wang Shoudao and ask them what to do. It was best to discuss Wang Shoudao's funeral first.
There were a few old people in the village who were close friends with Wang Shoudao. Although they were not of the same generation, they had all received Wang Shoudao's favor. Finally, after a discussion, they decided that my great-great-grandfather would not have to worry about the funeral because my great-grandfather had just been born. My great-grandfather and great-grandmother still needed someone to take care of them.
Six days after Wang Shoudao passed away, which was the 13th of February, Wang Shoudao's funeral was held.
That day, many people unexpectedly came. It was almost a sea of people. My great-great-grandfather didn't know most of them at all. Some even came from thousands of miles away. Even Dong Youcai brought his son and asked his son to wear mourning clothes for Wang Shoudao.
However, Wang Shoudao didn't have any immediate family members, so no one knew where his family was. He was actually an outsider in Sanwang Village, and he had come here alone to settle down. Dong Youcai was only a distant cousin of Wang Shoudao's. They had only met by chance, so he didn't know much about Wang Shoudao's family background. He had only known Wang Shoudao's cousin through his sister, but Wang Shoudao's sister had passed away fifty to sixty years ago. Even his sister's children had passed away, so no one knew about Wang Shoudao's family background.
"As a result, my great-great-grandfather is the only filial son. My great-great-grandfather felt lonely and was afraid that his master would be embarrassed before he left, so he called his two younger brothers and one younger sister over. My great-great-grandfather's two younger brothers and younger sister have more than ten children. The eldest has already married and everyone is wearing mourning clothes for Wang Shoudao, just like when their parents died. In this way, the number of filial sons and grandsons was quite spectacular. At least, this made my great-great-grandfather feel at ease, and Wang Shoudao's soul in heaven would also feel very gratified.
When Grandma talked about this, I asked her, what was Wang Shoudao's background? My grandma said that he might be a descendant of King Guigu 'zi Chan from the Spring and Autumn Period. Guigu 'zi King Chan was Sun Bin, Pang Juan, Su Qin, and Zhang Yi's master. As for whether or not Wang Shoudao was a descendant of King Cicada, this was already something that could not be verified.
"After Wang Shoudao passed away, the only thing that made my great-great-grandfather brood over was that he didn't let Master see his grand-disciple before he closed his eyes. This was Wang Shoudao's regret, and also my great-great-grandfather's regret. My great-great-grandfather blamed himself for not being able to get married sooner, but he was already gone, so it was too late to say anything. Just like the saying goes, a son wants to support his parents, but his parents can't stay.
In order to comfort my great-great-grandfather and to commemorate Wang Shoudao, my great-great-grandmother named my great-grandfather Liu Niandao.
The days passed just like that. Although the family was missing an old man, they had a child, so it did not seem deserted.
My great-great-grandfather still works the night watch every day, resting in the morning and helping to take care of the children in the afternoon. Occasionally, someone will come and ask him to help out.
Three years later, which was 1870, the ninth year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, the year of Gengwu. My great-great-grandfather was forty-three years old, my great-grandmother was twenty-five years old, and my great-grandfather was three years old.
This year was very strange. Thousands of cases of missing children occurred all over the country. Most of the missing children were between the ages of three and ten. The government's investigation did not yield any results, causing the whole country to be in a state of panic.
The case of missing children was particularly prominent in Tianjin. At that time, foreign churches had set up a "nursery" in Tianjin, similar to the current children's welfare home, which specialized in taking in orphans.
At the beginning of June of the same year, the weather was hot and the plague was prevalent. Thirty to forty orphans in the church's " nursery " died of illness.
Therefore, the people of Tianjin suspected that the disappearance of children was related to foreign churches. They suspected that foreign nuns used the "nursery" as a cover, but actually kidnapped and killed children for medicinal purposes. As a result, the people were indignant, the gentry gathered, the academy was suspended, and the anti-foreign sentiment was high.
In late June, thousands of people in Tianjin surrounded the church, quarreled with the church staff, and then clashed. The angry people killed and injured dozens of people, including the staff of the French Embassy, and burned several Christian and Roman churches, including the French Embassy. It was known as the "Tianjin Religious Case."
At this time, there were more than a dozen cases of missing children on both sides of the Yellow River. Three children went missing in Sanwang Village alone, but there was no evidence. It was very strange.
My great-great-grandmother was afraid that something would happen to my great-great-grandfather. After discussing with my great-great-grandfather, she brought my great-great-grandfather back to her maiden home. At that time, the Cai Residence was still rich and powerful. Not only did they have many servants, but they also hired a few Martial Protectors. A large group of people patrolled day and night. It was a hundred times safer than the Three Kings Village.
A few days after my great-great-grandmother left with my great-great-grandfather, there was news of a missing child in the village again. Moreover, the father of this little boy and my great-great-grandfather had a good relationship. The two of them often chatted and drank together. What was his name again? I don't remember it clearly because my grandfather made too many friends. Sometimes, I would confuse my great-great-grandfather's friends with my great-grandfather's friends. Anyway, there is such a person in Three-Kings Village. His surname might be Wang. He is very close to my great-great-grandfather. He seems to be one or two years younger than my great-great-grandfather. Let's give him the name Wang Liang. Let's call that little boy Wang Xiaoliang.
Wang Xiaoliang was nine years old and was Wang Liang's only son. He had three older sisters above him and was doted on by Wang Liang and his wife like a baby. The process of Wang Xiaoliang's disappearance was very strange. According to Wang Liang and his wife, the child had disappeared when they woke up in the morning. The doors of the house and the courtyard were open, but they had clearly closed all the doors and windows before they went to bed at night. Unless they opened the door from the inside, if they opened it from the outside, they could only force it open. Breaking the door would not only damage the door, but it would also alarm the couple. Moreover, because of the recent serious disappearance of the child, the couple deliberately let the child sleep in the same room as them. If someone had really entered the house and kidnapped the child, they would have noticed it.
There was only one possibility, which was that the child opened the door and walked out, but the door was blocked by a thick wooden board. Wang Xiaoliang couldn't open it at all with his age. Moreover, the child was naturally timid. He had to be accompanied by someone when he woke up in the middle of the night to pee. It was impossible for him to run out in the middle of the night.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]