As soon as Prince Rong entered the house, he was summoned by Prince Rong. Once inside, he found that everyone in the family was there, including the former Princess Consort.
After bowing to his grandmother, father, and mother, Crown Prince Rong asked, "Why did Father summon me here?"
The prince didn't speak, but the old princess took over, her tone slightly worried, "How is Wan'er?"
Prince Rong recounted what had happened. The old princess did not think that her granddaughter had tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead. Instead, her eyes instantly filled with disgust, and the wrinkles on her face gathered together.
"It's that scoundrel again, still stirring up trouble after all these years!"
There were unmarried women in the room, and the princess immediately interrupted her, "Mother, the past is the past. She is now the lady of the Su family."
"What's wrong with Madam? Back then, she was just a maid in my Rong Prince's Mansion." The old princess didn't care. How could a mere Madam compare to the glory of her Rong Prince's Mansion?
Seeing that she couldn't persuade them, the princess had no choice but to have her maidservant lead the young ladies away.
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting worse, the prince spoke up, "Alright, it's good that she's alright. Even if you're not at the Imperial Academy, keep an eye on her. She's still your cousin."
The old princess agreed with this, after all, the third branch only had this one son. However, the princess's face was terribly gloomy, fearing that her niece would ruin the reputation of the Rong Prince's Mansion and her son's future.
After giving a perfunctory reply, Prince Rong said to the Princess Consort, "Mother and Zhou Cheng have come to pay their respects to you."
Upon hearing that her nephew had arrived, the princess happily rose, bowed, and left, saying, "You silly child, Cheng'er came and didn't even tell me first."
After everyone left, the old lady naturally couldn't stay any longer. After everyone had left, the young master Rong and the prince came to the study.
Prince Rong knelt on the ground and said, "Father, I no longer wish to be an assistant instructor at the Imperial Academy. I wish to gain experience in the military."
The prince sighed. This was something his son had been bringing up since he was fifteen. His reason for not wanting his son to join the army was simple.
As a member of the royal family, serving the emperor is like walking on thin ice; the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow. Now, he only wants to be a carefree prince, protecting the Rong Prince's Mansion and handing it over to his son.
Prince Rong continued, “I know Father’s concerns. The Emperor is not that kind of person. I also do not have the ability. I am loyal to the Li Kingdom and the royal family. I want to do my part for the country, not be a sparring partner among the children of nobles at the Imperial Academy.”
Rong Shizi's words stung the prince's heart; he was well aware of his son's frustration.
When the emperor's power base was unstable, how could he allow the emperor to have the opportunity to doubt his own family?
"I'll think about this matter some more. You should go back now."
Before he could make up his mind, an urgent message arrived from the front lines: the barbarians had already lost a city in a surprise attack.
During the morning court session, the emperor looked solemn. The general had been wounded while capturing bandits and could no longer go to the battlefield. There was a lack of capable generals in the court. This was the first time since his ascension to the throne that a foreign enemy had invaded, and he could only succeed and could not afford to fail.
Su Cheng, who was still observing mourning, put on armor and entered the palace. He knelt in the center of the main hall and asked for orders: "Your subject is willing to go and repel the enemy army."
After much deliberation, the Emperor ultimately appointed Qi Mu as commander-in-chief and Su Cheng as General of the Cavalry, leading 100,000 elite troops to provide support.
Su Cheng didn't even have time to spend with his family before he immediately mustered his troops and set off.
The barbarians came prepared this time. By the time the army arrived, they had already lost two cities. When the news reached the capital, even General Qi, who had been recuperating from his injuries, could not sit still.
He argued loudly with his family, insisting on going to the front lines.
Even the emperor couldn't bear to see him, already over sixty and still wounded, go to the battlefield.
Despite continuously supplying food and provisions to the front lines, they still received news of defeat.
In the Rong Prince's Mansion late at night,
Prince Rong had been waiting at the back door for a long time, and the people walking in from a distance did not surprise him at all.
"Father!"
Prince Rong looked at his eldest son, dressed in black, holding a long sword, full of vigor. At this moment, he was no longer a gentleman, but more like a wolf on the battlefield, ready to pounce.
The prince stopped stopping him and instead stepped forward to straighten his son's clothes, a relieved smile on his face. "Go, go and take back all the lost cities."
The next day, after the princess found out, she had a big fight with the prince in private. Seeing that the matter was settled, she ordered the entire household to observe a vegetarian diet and chant Buddhist prayers for their son's safe return.
More and more urgent dispatches arrived from the front, and news of the fall of cities kept coming in, making the people of the capital restless.
"Why are we losing cities? Will they attack the capital?"
"I heard that the barbarians have joined forces with other tribes, and now the Li Kingdom is in grave danger."
"Should we run?"
"Where can we run to? If the capital really falls, we're doomed."
Because of the war, people were frantically looting food everywhere, and even the imperial court's dispatch of troops to suppress it was to no avail.
After shopping, Su Jia and Changsheng returned to the main courtyard and told the family about the chaos in the city.
"Madam, I'm afraid this can't go on."
The Su family owns their own grain shop, so they don't have to worry too much about grain. What they are worried about is that some people might act irrationally and rob people everywhere.
Liu Huan looked at the younger children, who were still running around happily in the yard, completely unaware of what was happening outside. She wondered what would happen to them if they were really defeated.
"Everyone, eat sparingly. Trust Third Brother, they will definitely win."
Because of the escalating war, the Imperial Academy was also given a holiday, just when everyone thought that the Imperial Academy would be disbanded.
The students of the Imperial Academy spontaneously organized a student army and even recruited soldiers in the city.
The slogan is, "The nation exists as long as the family exists; the nation perishes, the family perishes!"
Because of their passionate speeches, tens of thousands of people in Beijing joined in a single day.
Among them were the sons of many ministers and a group of pampered young masters, all of them young, spirited, and full of enthusiasm, who resolutely stepped onto the battlefield despite their families' objections.
“Little brother, if I don’t come back, you will be the eldest son in the family, and the family will depend on you.”
This is a phrase that these young people would say before leaving, entrusting their entire family to their younger brother.
On the other side, the Su family was sobbing uncontrollably, because one member of the eldest branch and one member of the second branch were inside.
Before leaving, Su Yi called his son back and repeatedly reminded him, "Son, remember to go find Uncle San with your older brother. We'll be waiting for you to come back."
Anzhi smiled at her family, "Grandmother, don't worry, my eldest brother, my third uncle, and I will definitely come back together."
When Anzhi looked at his mother again, he noticed that she had a few more gray hairs at her temples. He stepped forward and hugged his mother, whispering in her ear, "Mother, your son will come back to see you alive."
Liu Huan didn't know what was wrong with her; she wanted to selfishly lock her son at home and not let him go anywhere.
But she couldn't; her son wasn't a deserter.
Despite the excruciating pain, Liu Huan smiled and said, "Mother will chant sutras and pray for my son's safety every day."
She remembered that she didn't believe in Buddhism, but after coming into this world she began to believe, and she believed that God would surely bless her son to return safely.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com