Chapter 48: Huo Erniang

It was Madam Huo who spoke first, softly calling out, "Brother."

General Huo responded, "Yes, it's embarrassing to say, but we siblings haven't seen each other for decades, and our first meeting is already a matter of life and death."

Mrs. Huo did not continue the conversation on this topic, but instead began to fiddle with her prayer beads faster and faster.

The atmosphere was somewhat silent as Su Zhenzhen looked around.

“You two aren’t familiar with each other, are you? Fine, then I’ll ask, and Mrs. Huo, you can answer.”

Madam Huo slightly raised her eyes. "By what right do you ask me a question?"

Oh dear, Su Zhenzhen felt a little itchy. She should have brought that little monster Jiang Sijin with her. In this situation, she could have easily beaten you into submission with a flick of her hair.

General Huo wasn't stupid. He had clearly stated that there was no need for the siblings to recognize each other, and Su Zhenzhen released him without even asking a question, so there must be something she needed him to do.

“Since you call me elder brother, and an elder brother is like a father, the question this young lady is asking you is the same question I want to ask you.”

Mrs. Huo's face turned noticeably grim, and after struggling for a while, she finally spoke, "Speak, what do you want to ask?"

"Why was Master Zhu killed? How was he killed?"

Madam Huo succinctly stated, "He deserves to die for using poison."

The old woman on the ground, Huo, was only beaten so badly by Su Zhenzhen that she couldn't get up, but she hadn't lost consciousness. At this moment, she endured the pain and raised her upper body.

“Miss, tell me all the grievances you’ve suffered over the years, and let the general uphold justice for you.”

Mrs. Huo slipped the prayer beads back onto her wrist and gently stroked the spider. "The person is dead, what's the use of justice?"

Su Zhenzhen became increasingly convinced of her previous suspicions. "The grievances that Granny Huo spoke of, is it that the Jiang family dynasty has wronged you? That you were made a pawn in a political marriage?"

"Heh." Madam Huo chuckled lightly, "And it's not just the Jiang family dynasty that has wronged me."

Su Zhenzhen waited for a long time without getting any further information, and became somewhat impatient. "Who else has wronged you? Just tell me. And what does their wrongdoing have to do with you killing Master Zhu? You haven't denied it until now, have you?"

"What good would it do to tell me? Would telling me the grievances I suffered make them disappear? As for Master Zhu, I said he deserved to die."

Su Zhenzhen was exasperated. "Are you out of your mind? You have grievances but you don't say anything. We're not mind readers, how can we solve your problems if we don't know them?"

Granny Huo was still struggling to stay upright. Seeing this, Hensheng couldn't bear it and helped her sit on a stool.

"Miss, you told me, isn't this what you've always wanted?"

Mrs. Huo's expression finally softened a little, "Some things are too far in the past to talk about..."

How long ago? So long ago that Mrs. Huo's mother, also known as Zhu Nu, was mentioned before. Zhu Nu would search for new parents after her adoptive parents died.

That year, the parents of Zhu Nu and other young girls died under the barbarian hooves, and the soldiers, as usual, asked if there were any other relatives in the family.

Zhu Nu shook her head, and was then taken into the Northwest Army camp.

Having lived for so many years, Zhu Nu was naturally not a clueless little girl. She originally thought that this army was the same as the ones she had seen before, and that they would take in orphaned girls without parents and use them as playthings for the soldiers.

Unexpectedly, the Huo family army was disciplined and brought these orphaned girls back because they really wanted to give them a way to survive. They provided them with three meals a day and the general even paid out of his own pocket to give them a monthly allowance.

Zhu Nu knew that one should know how to repay kindness. Since the general was fighting on the front lines and she couldn't help him much, she would take care of the old general who was retiring from the front lines.

The old general was witty and humorous, and he also felt sorry for these orphaned girls who had lost their parents in the war. Although he was injured and could no longer lift a knife, he often told them interesting stories from the battlefield.

Zhu Nu loved listening to the old general tell stories.

Over time, the old general noticed that among the group of girls, there was one little girl who would always look at him longingly whenever he told a story.

His gaze was different from the other girls'. The other girls saw him as a kind and gentle old father.

Only the little girl's eyes, filled with admiration, brought the old general back to the days of his youthful vigor.

The situation at the front is unstable, and His Majesty intends to bestow favors upon meritorious officials. The old general may return to the capital to enjoy his retirement.

Before leaving, the old general asked Zhu Nu if she wanted to go back with him.

Zhu Nu agreed.

However, Zhu Nu was not a real person. At that time, she did not know the old saying, "The one who is betrothed is a wife, and the one who elopes is a concubine."

After returning to Beijing, the old general carried the person in a sedan chair carried by eight men.

However, the powerful families in the capital only served those who were favored, and apart from a few military officers, no one came to the wedding banquet.

On their wedding night, the old general told Zhu Nu that his first wife was the only matriarch of the Huo family, and that even if she passed away many years later, she would be the only one to share his bed with him.

As for Zhu Nu, he would give her as much money as possible to ensure she would have no worries about food and clothing.

Zhu Nu was a little sad, but what could she do? Her previous parents had told her that once she got married, she should listen to her husband.

And it doesn't matter, since she won't die anyway, the old general can bury her with whomever he wants.

The older man and younger woman lived a peaceful life for a while.

The unexpected happened on the day Zhu Nu gave birth; weakened, she revealed her true form.

Fearing that the old general would also consider her child a monster, Zhu Nu tearfully revealed her true parentage.

The old general said nothing, and life went on as usual.

But Zhu Nu knew that everything was irreversible; no one could accept that their wife was a half-human, half-demon monster.

Even her newborn daughter was rejected.

This child has no name; outsiders call her Huo Erniang.

Huo Erniang knew about her mother's strangeness from a young age, and also knew why her father was so cold to her.

However, the old general never skimped on food and clothing for the mother and daughter, and he also hired a tutor to teach them.

Huo Erniang knew that she had an older brother named Huo Zhenyue, who was a great hero who protected the country.

Even my mother said that General Huo was an extremely good person.

Huo Erniang was very proud and thought that she must be a good person like her brother and help him protect the country.

Huo Erniang had never thought about getting married until one day her father told her that she needed to marry a good-for-nothing, so as to prevent him from marrying into another family and thus monopolizing the country's finances and embezzling supplies for the Northwest army.

Huo Erniang didn't understand, but she knew that getting married would help her brother to some extent, so she got married.

I thought my brother would come back to attend my wedding banquet on my wedding day, but to my surprise, not only did my brother not come back, but there were also very few guests.

At that time, the Jiang dynasty was in turmoil.

Zhu Er was a lecherous man who had long since depleted his health, and Huo Erniang was too lazy to deal with him anyway.

Not long after the old general passed away, Huo Erniang returned home for the funeral, but still did not see her beloved brother.

When she left, she took her mother, who had turned into a spider, with her.