Chapter 218 Green Mountains and Green Waters Green Mountains and Green Waters

Su Fengzhang wanted to avoid Su Zhaoshi these days. He was at a loss as to what to do when he saw his mother's eyes filled with disappointment, heartache, sadness, suspicion, and indescribable emotion.

Thousands of miles away in Qingzhou, another mother and son had just had an unhappy quarrel.

Because the journey was long and the boat traveled slowly in winter, more than a month had passed since the Crown Prince was deposed, and Aunt Bai and her son had just arrived in Qingzhou and were on a passenger ship bound for Hushan County.

Although Aunt Bai had never traveled far with her son alone, Su Fengzhang had arranged for the Gu family's caravan to go there, and the journey went smoothly, which made her feel much more at ease.

Who knew that nothing happened along the way, but when they arrived at Qingzhou, a familiar place, her good son started to make a fuss.

Aunt Bai was so angry that she was shaking all over and pointing at her son in front of her, unable to speak.

Su Lanzhang, however, realized that she had done something wrong and quickly whispered, "Auntie, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong."

It would have been fine if he hadn't said anything. As soon as he spoke, Aunt Bai burst into tears and cried, "You know you're wrong now. Why didn't you listen to my advice before? Is it because I can't control you now?"

In the Su family, Su Fengzhang is in charge of major matters outside, and Su Zhao is in charge of minor matters at home. However, even Su Zhao will not interfere when it comes to Aunt Bai disciplining her own children.

Su Zhaoshi knew that Aunt Bai loved her son and wanted her to be close to her children, and this had been the case for all these years.

Upon hearing this, Su Lanzhang immediately knelt down and cried out, "Auntie, please stop crying. Your son will never do that again. I, I just felt sorry for her and wanted to help her out of anger."

Aunt Bai looked at him coldly and scolded him, "She's pathetic? She's selling herself to bury her father in such cold weather. Look at the streets and see if anyone cares. Don't you know what kind of place Qingzhou is? There's no need for such despicable means."

The more she spoke, the angrier Aunt Bai became.

She was born in a poor family, and because of this, she knew some of the dirty things in the lower class. She was able to marry Su Dianli as a concubine and give birth to a pair of children. Now her son can study and take the imperial examination and her daughter can marry into a good family. This has always been the pride in Aunt Bai's heart.

She had spent so much effort to climb out of the dirty mud pit, and now her son is rushing to touch it.

"Sanlang, you are not a child anymore. Why don't you use your brain when doing things outside? If you really felt sorry for her, why would the Gu family stop you? You, on the other hand, can't listen to any good or bad words. I think you don't feel sorry for her, but you are blinded by her beauty and can't figure out your own identity."

Su Lanzhang's face changed and she looked at Aunt Bai in disbelief.

Aunt Bai ignored him and continued, "At home, Madam loves you, and Erlang loves you too. They've never said a harsh word to you. That's why you've become so ignorant."

"Even if you don't think about yourself before you do anything, why can't you think about your aunt, Erlang and Huihui who are far away in the capital? Even the lady has never treated you unfairly over the years. Do you think that because of your momentary kindness, you will drag them down?"

"You dare to bring a woman like that home when you know where she comes from?"

"Erlang is now an official appointed by the imperial court. What if this person is a spy sent by someone else? Wouldn't you be harming your brother?"

Su Lanzhang quickly defended herself, "Auntie, you know me well. How could I do anything that would harm my brother?"

Aunt Bai said bitterly, "It is only when I know what's going on in your heart that I feel even more disappointed."

Su Lanzhang looked up at her, only to see Aunt Bai in tears. She reached out and hugged him, saying, "Sanlang, it's been so hard for you to be where you are today. Look at other illegitimate children. How many of them have it as easy as you do?"

"That's why you should be more cautious than others. How did you develop this kind of personality?"

Su Lanzhang defended herself, "Mom, I really didn't mean to bring her back. I originally just wanted to give her some money to bury her father, but she insisted on following me, saying she was repaying me. I couldn't possibly hit her."

Aunt Bai sneered and said, "Why not? Only men like you would fall for that kind of trick."

"If you were being kind, you could have just let the servants get rid of her. You wouldn't have given her the chance to get close to you. Seeing how generous you are and how well-dressed you are, that woman would naturally want to get close to you. If Erlang were here today, I'm afraid he wouldn't even bother to do anything."

Su Lanzhang said, "If my second brother were here, he would definitely not stand by and watch someone die."

Su Lanzhang was clearly not as good as his own mother in terms of knowing Su Fengzhang. Aunt Bai was too lazy to nag him and simply said, "Lanzhang, remember why you came back this time. This time, I helped you get rid of the people. If it happens again, I'll tell Erlang when we get back to the capital and have him come and teach you a lesson personally."

Su Lanzhang was depressed. She thought she had just done a good thing, but she was scolded by Aunt Bai. Su Lanzhang was not ungrateful. She knew in her heart that it was wrong to let that woman on board.

He respected Su Fengzhang in his heart, so he didn't want to disappoint him. After hearing this, he hurriedly said, "Mom, I understand. I will never be so kind again."

Aunt Bai frowned and said patiently, "Since the person has been sent away, let's forget about this matter. But Sanlang, now that Erlang is gone, everything has to be decided by you. That's why you have to be more cautious."

“Think more and look more carefully before you do something, don’t just do it based on your preference.”

Su Lanzhang was also impulsive at the time, but he was not a stupid man, and now he knew what Aunt Bai was most worried about.

He was now filled with shame and regret, and thinking of his brother's instructions before leaving, he quickly said, "Auntie, I understand. I will think carefully before doing anything in the future."

Seeing that he finally realized his mistake, Aunt Bai reached out and touched his cheek. She sighed and said, "Erlang is alone in the court. It looks very tiring. You should stand up earlier so that you can help him."

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Su Lanzhang's depression disappeared, replaced by determination: "Auntie, I understand. I will go back to study now. I won't get off the boat for a stroll until I return to Hushan County."

Aunt Bai finally felt relieved, but she couldn't help sighing in her heart, thinking that although they were both sons of the Su family, Sanlang was far inferior to Erlang, both in knowledge and vision. Back then, when Erlang took Su Arong to Beijing to take the imperial examination, people felt at ease, but when it came to Sanlang, people were worried when he returned home, for fear that he would be cheated.

Su Lanzhang said that he wanted to study wholeheartedly, and indeed he rarely even came out of the cabin. Aunt Bai felt a little relieved.

Instead, the people from the Gu family caravan came over to apologize, their words showing that they were afraid of being blamed. They also said, "It was all because of us who failed to persuade the Third Young Master. He was young and kind-hearted, so he was taken advantage of."

Aunt Bai knew they had come to apologize specifically for Su Fengzhang's sake, so she quickly said, "It's a good thing for a child to learn from his mistakes when he's on his first trip. If it weren't for your help, Sixth Master, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to expose that woman, and then we'd have gotten into big trouble."

The man called Sixth Master smiled and said, "Mrs. Bai, you're too polite. We'll soon be in Hushan County. I wonder if you'd like to stay in town for a while or go straight back to Yuexi Village."

Aunt Bai naturally chose to return to Yuexi Village. If Su Fengzhang came back with her, she would go to visit her teacher and friends, but she had no acquaintances in the county town, and Su Lanzhang did not become her disciple back then.

The capital city is extremely prosperous and full of nobles, but when they set foot on the land of Hushan County, Su Lanzhang and Aunt Bai couldn't help but sigh.

Su Lanzhang even said, "Hushan County is still the best. Right now, everything is green. Right now, the capital is all gray and gloomy. It's hard to even find a green vegetable."

Aunt Bai couldn't help laughing and said, "Are you just thinking about a few vegetables?"

Su Lanzhang smiled and said, "Second brother and Huihui are also thinking about home."

Aunt Bai added, "Erlang will definitely come back to worship his ancestors in the future. But if Huihui gets married, I don't know if she will be able to come back to Hushan County in the future."

Within a few words, the Gu family had already moved all their gifts onto the carriage. Aunt Bai only brought a maid, and Su Lanzhang was accompanied by a servant boy, who was only given this boy after he came to Beijing.

The master and his servants quickly boarded the carriage. The Gu family was very thoughtful and sent them all the way to Yuexi Village. They were very considerate and cared for them more than their own master.

As soon as the carriages arrived at the village, someone spotted them. Aunt Bai subconsciously hid in the carriage, but Su Lanzhang stuck her head out and smiled as soon as she saw the man, "Second Uncle!"

That person was none other than Second Uncle Su. When he realized it was his nephew who had returned, he was delighted and shouted, "I saw the carriage and I guessed it was you. Now come over and take a look and it turns out to be you."

"Why did you arrive today without telling me in advance so I could take your brothers with me to pick you up?"

Su Lanzhang jumped down from the carriage. The Su family's children all had a good relationship with Second Uncle Su. They missed him terribly after not seeing him for a few years. "Second Uncle, someone from the Gu family sent us here. It's convenient."

Second Uncle Su also noticed the Gu family and said with a smile: "Master Gu and Erlang are still so close. The Gu family has also taken good care of our family in the past few years."

Su Lanzhang wanted to say something, but swallowed it back and just said, "Second Uncle, my brother asked me to bring back a lot of things, all prepared for you."

Uncle Su was also happy when he heard this. It wasn't that he valued such a small amount of things, but he was happy that his nephew, who had been away from home for many years, still remembered to be filial to him. He also said, "Erlang is too polite. He just gave me a holiday gift during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Wait a minute, I'll go over and call a few people to help with the luggage."

Before Su Lanzhang could stop him, Second Uncle Su trotted back home, shouting, "Cao Zhang, Sanlang and the others are back, hurry up and call a few people to help!"