On the day that Amu brought Linlang and Xiao Yujian to Duke Dingguo's Mansion, the Mansion was decorated with lights and colors to welcome their arrival.
The old housekeeper knew that the eldest son was not dead and had returned with the eldest young lady's wife. He was too shortsighted to recognize them before and felt extremely guilty. At this moment, seeing Amu, Linlang and Xiao Yujian walk in together, he was so excited that tears filled his eyes.
Xiao Zhensheng waved away the others, leaving only the four of them in the hall. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at Amu and Linlang, choking with sobs as he said, "There's no one else here. Can you please call me?"
Ah Mu walked forward, unable to suppress his inner emotions any longer, he knelt down and kowtowed, shouting, "Father, I am an unfilial son."
Xiao Zhensheng burst into tears and helped Amu up. "Son, it's your father who is sorry for you. You have suffered so much."
"It has nothing to do with father. It's all because Jingchao is too weak and Beiqi is too powerful. The people over there don't treat us as human beings." Ah Mu's eyes were red. "Luckily, God has mercy on me. My son has gone through so much hardship and suffering, but he was lucky enough to meet Linlang and the others and survived."
"Those who survive a great disaster will surely have good fortune in the future. Linlang is your lucky star." Xiao Zhensheng couldn't help but hugged his son and cried bitterly. Xiao Yujian cried with him, and Linlang's eyes were wet.
The three of them hugged each other and cried for a long time before they separated. Xiao Zhensheng walked up to Linlang and bowed solemnly, "Linlang, your father should thank you. You saved the three of us. You are our savior."
Linlang quickly stood up and dodged to the side, returning the greeting, "Father, meeting Amu was fate for him and me. I saved him, and he saved me. Now we are destined to be a family. Please don't say that. It's embarrassing."
Xiao Zhensheng insisted, "No, I will always remember your kindness to the three of us, father and son. I am also grateful for the care your father and eldest brother from the Rong family have given to Mu."
"Father, you are too kind."
Xiao Zhensheng asked Linlang to sit down and took out a box of jewelry. "Since you call me father, these things will be passed on to you. The things inside are the gifts that your mother-in-law, Yuzhang's mother, prepared for her eldest daughter-in-law in the future."
He then asked the butler to bring up the prepared items, "This is the heirloom passed down from the Duke Dingguo's Mansion to my daughter-in-law, the Jade Ruyi."
There were so many treasures. Linlang looked at Amu, and Amu nodded, "You are the daughter-in-law of the Duke's Mansion now, so accept them."
"Thank you, mother, and father."
Xiao Zhensheng was very satisfied with his daughter-in-law. "Now that you're back, go to the ancestral hall and burn some incense for your grandparents and your mother. They'll definitely be very happy to know that Yuzhang not only came back alive, but also brought such an outstanding daughter-in-law with him."
Amu helped Linlang stand up, his expression somewhat sad. "We should have kowtowed to our grandparents and mother long ago."
The Duke Dingguo's Mansion has always been monogamous, with no illegitimate sons or daughters. Xiao Zhensheng only has one sister, the Queen, and in Amu's generation, there are only two brothers, him and Xiao Yujian.
Walking in the huge Duke Dingguo Mansion, it felt a bit empty.
Amu looked at his father walking in front of him, his back looking a little vicissitudes of life. He felt sorry for his father, as he was the only one in such a big Duke's Mansion.
After knowing that his wife was no longer alive, Xiao Zhensheng found the place where they buried Liu Meihui, found an auspicious day to open the coffin, and moved his wife to the ancestral tomb of Duke Dingguo's Mansion.
On the way, Xiao Zhensheng had already told Amu, "When you have time, go see your mother."
"yes."
Soon, the four of them arrived at the ancestral hall, where the tablets of the deceased ancestors of the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion were neatly arranged in rows. Next to them was a brand new tablet, which belonged to the wife of the Duke of Dingguo.
Xiao Zhensheng lit a handful of incense and candles and distributed them to the three children. He was the first to step forward and offer incense. "Ancestors, father and mother, today your son has brought you, Yuzhang and your wife, and Ajian, to visit you. Please bless them with safety and well-being."
"Meihui, Yuzhang is back, and he brought his daughter-in-law with him. He's endured a lot of hardships, but he's become stronger and a man of integrity. Are you happy that they've come to see you?"
Ah Mu knelt on the futon and kowtowed to his ancestors, his grandparents, and finally kowtowed three times to his mother's tablet, "Mother, Yu Zhang is back."
But I will never see you again.
"You don't need to be sad anymore. You protected your son very well. Your love for him is his strongest support." Amu lit the incense. "Mother, you can go with peace of mind. Your son will take good care of this family, be filial to father, and protect his brother."
After helping Linlang bow, he introduced her to the Duke's wife, "This is Linlang, your daughter-in-law. She's a very gentle, kind, strong, and brave girl. She's a good wife. If you get to know her, you'll definitely like her."
Linlang called out to her mother, "Don't worry, mother. I will take good care of Amu and Ajian. I will use everything I have learned to make him well."
Ah Mu said in a gentle voice, "Mother, you are going to be a grandmother. Linlang is pregnant with your grandson."
At this moment, a breeze blew in from the window, gently blowing past Linlang and Amu, and disappeared without a trace in front of Xiao Yujian.
Xiao Yujian blurted out, "It's mother who came back to see us. It must be mother."
However, there was no more movement, no response.
Xiao Zhensheng said with trembling lips, "If your mother knew about this, she would come to see you. Now she can rest in peace."
The two brothers knelt down and kowtowed three times towards the outside.
After leaving the ancestral hall, Xiao Zhensheng took them to visit the Duke Dingguo's Mansion. They walked through the flower-filled garden and came to the courtyard where Amu used to live. It was slightly smaller than the main courtyard and was built very elegantly.
Amu looked at the familiar plants and animals in front of him. It had been seven years and nothing had changed. The only thing that had changed was the plants in the yard, which had grown taller.
Xiao Zhensheng said, "Everything in the yard and the house is exactly the same as it was seven years ago. Let's go in and take a look."
Ah Mu led Linlang to the wooden stake in the yard. "This was used for martial arts training back then. I wanted to be both civil and military, and become a great hero like my father in the future."
He pointed to the stone table in the courtyard and said, "Ajian often came to see me at that time. He was very active and weak, and would get sick if he sweated too much. In order to comfort him, I often played chess with him here, or solved Luban locks with him."
"Every time he gets tired from playing, he always wants to stay at my place to rest, so there's a soft bed specially made for him. He says my bed is too hard."
Every place is a beautiful memory.
The yard is full of traces of their family of four. They were so happy back then, even though their father was often not at home.
Xiao Zhensheng and Xiao Yujian looked at everything in front of them and lamented the impermanence of life.
Linlang held Amu's hand tightly. She seemed to see the happy boy in the past, practicing martial arts, reading, playing with his younger brother, etc. in this yard.
I only hope that you will be happy and healthy for the rest of your life.
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