Chapter 95: Out of gratitude for her kindness, I took her as my concubine.

Su Zhenzhen's mind was in turmoil. The night watchmen had also mentioned the meowing, and Chang Yuan had said that no one kept cats in the alley. It seemed that this matter was indeed strange.

Grandma Ba was already engrossed in the story and continued on her own, "But where did this cat come from in this alley? People in the community believe that cats are somewhat evil, and there's even a saying that stray cats shouldn't enter homes. We're all scholars, so we pay attention to these taboos."

Later, on the night of the fifteenth, when the cat meowed again, Madam Huo opened the door with a wood-chopping knife. Standing outside was a middle-aged man of similar age, wearing a long robe and a hair ornament, holding a stray cat in heat.

Su Zhenzhen instinctively felt that the middle-aged man was talking about Emperor Chang, and then she heard Granny Ba continue speaking.

"Madam Huo thought he was some madman and waved her wood-chopping knife to chase him away. But this man, as if he were not afraid of death, insisted on walking towards the tip of the knife, saying that he had no ill intentions, but had heard that Madam Huo was a rare noblewoman and wanted to ask her to help him have a son. He promised to reward her handsomely if the matter was resolved."

Su Zhenzhen's brow twitched. Hearing this, she was almost certain it was Emperor Chang himself. "Madam Huo probably didn't agree, right?"

"Of course!" Granny Ba's tone rose slightly. "Not only did Madam Huo not agree, but she also thought that this man was handsome but full of nonsense. She thought he might be a seasoned swindler. She immediately said, 'You say I have a noble destiny, but I was born and raised in the countryside. Next time, even if you want to deceive people, you should do some preliminary investigation beforehand.'"

The middle-aged man persisted in insisting on having her give birth to a son. Madam Huo grew angry. No matter how magnanimous or courageous a woman might be, she had never seen blood before, and couldn't bring herself to use the wood-chopping knife. She could only quickly go inside and lock the door, guarding it all night, afraid that the old rogue would force his way in.

"That person didn't force his way in, did he?" Su Zhenzhen asked. It wasn't that she trusted Emperor Chang's character, but if he had forced his way in, he could have simply summoned the person to the palace. Why bother having him outside with his cat on the fifteenth of every month to disturb people?

Su Zhenzhen guessed that part of the reason might be to stabilize morale. Those in high positions care more about their reputation and image. If a general is fighting bravely on the front lines while you're scheming against his wife in the rear, your lifelong honor will be ruined if this gets out. But if Madam Huo agrees, it will be a different story. Emperor Chang might even turn the tables and say that someone is greedy for vanity and wants to take the opportunity to rise to power.

"She didn't actually try to force him, but Madam Huo was very uneasy. The thought of a strange man having ill intentions towards her at her doorstep every fifteenth night made her extremely uncomfortable. The next day at dawn, Madam Huo went to the county government to report it to the authorities, but she didn't dare to tell the neighbors. After all, it's always the woman who suffers when such things are talked about. Unexpectedly, she heard the cat meowing again on the fifteenth night of the following month."

Madam Huo was heartbroken. The next day, she went to report the matter to the authorities, but the officials at the county yamen were dismissive. It was only after Madam Huo bribed the yamen runners that she finally got some information out of them. It turned out that the middle-aged man had powerful connections and had given the county yamen orders not to meddle. Madam Huo was both shocked and frightened. She wanted to send a message to the Northwest, but she was afraid that the man had connections everywhere and would implicate her husband who was fighting for his life on the front lines.

At this point, Granny Ba stopped talking.

Su Zhenzhen waited for a long time but received no further information, so she couldn't help but ask, "What happened next? How did Madam Huo escape? And why did she die?"

"I don't know, maybe she's just overthinking things and has a lot on her mind, and there's no cure for her." Granny Ba said this while looking at the street in front of her.

There were few people on the road. Su Zhenzhen followed her gaze and realized that her gaze was not on anything in reality, but lingered in the void.

This clearly shows that she has something on her mind.

"Grandma, is that the end of the story?"

"I'm done," Granny Ba replied casually.

Su Zhenzhen smiled, drawing the old lady's attention back.

What are you laughing at?

“Of course it’s you, Grandma Xiao. You’ve repeatedly emphasized that you only heard these stories before, so why are you telling me such detailed things? It’s obvious that you saw these things with your own eyes.”

Grandma Ba frowned fiercely, her face looking somewhat frightening. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"Grandma, you've been overlooking one thing all along."

Granny Ba was intrigued by Su Zhenzhen's words and followed up with the question, "What's the problem?"

"Although you tried your best to tell all the stories in the language of the countryside, people's habits are ingrained. Think back to your choice of words and sentences. There was too much embellishment. This is not the language that a country girl would use. You were probably too engrossed in your storytelling. You even used a lot of idioms. Would an ordinary old lady have ever heard of so many idioms?"

Granny Ba's expression froze, like a wrinkled, dry mask. "You..."

His dry lips moved for a long time, but no second word came out.

Su Zhenzhen leaned close to the old lady's ear and whispered, "I heard a young eunuch say that when he visited Madam Huo late at night, he saw a little girl in her house. But in your story, it's as if this little girl disappeared?"

Granny Ba's pupils dilated in shock. She turned around and looked at Su Zhenzhen in disbelief. "You...who exactly are you?"

Su Zhenzhen smiled kindly, "You just need to know that I'm not a bad person, and I can even help you, it just depends on whether you want to be helped."

Grandma Ba remained silent for a long time before finally standing up. "Let's go, this isn't the place to talk."

Su Zhenzhen followed Granny Ba towards the back half of the alley around the corner, and stopped at the end of the alley.

Among a row of fairly elegant courtyards, the small house at the end looked too hastily made, as if it had been hastily pieced together.

Su Zhenzhen followed the old lady into the house. The world behind the door was very small. There was no courtyard, and there wasn't even a corridor. They went straight to the sleeping area.

The bed was tattered and worn, with several faded mattresses on it. There was no other furniture.

Su Zhenzhen politely refrained from looking around and waited quietly for the old lady to reveal the hidden details.

"Actually, you're right. I saw Mrs. Huo meet that scoundrel on the night of the fifteenth with my own eyes, because I was right next to her at the time."

Su Zhenzhen quickly searched her mind for known characters, eliminating them one by one according to the old lady's age, and finally came to the answer, "So you are General Huo's concubine? And you even gave birth to his daughter?"

Granny Ba exhaled a difficult breath. "Yes, not only that, I am also the daughter of the marshal who died of a stroke on horseback. Back then, when Emperor Chang executed nine generations of his family, General Huo, mindful of my father's kindness, risked losing his military merits to plead for me, and Emperor Chang then gave me to him as a concubine."