Su Xu had been serving in Jiangzhou for many years and had now received His Majesty’s directive, transferring him to Capital City to work at the Ministry of Revenue.
He had been an official for many years, yet his career paled in comparison to his son’s rapid promotions and esteemed positions, but he was still very pleased, since his son was indeed very successful.
When it came to all the young officials in the entire Daliang, there was no one more promising than his son.
However, happy as he was, he wanted to resign.
He had already presented a petition to resign to His Majesty, which was rejected; thinking about his upcoming return to the capital, and his audience with His Majesty, he planned to earnestly plead again in hopes that His Majesty would see the pitiful situation of his separation from his wife and allow him to resign.
Talking about this, Su Xu was full of resentment. When the mistress left previously, he had known she would not return soon. He had predicted that the ungrateful woman, who never had him in her heart during her youth, had indeed kept that door to love tightly sealed after he had found about her youthful affairs, and had impulsively brought in room after room of mistresses, ultimately quenching any hope of fostering a loving relationship with her.
They no longer fought or quarreled; he played the role of her husband, and she, his main wife, with a harmonious relationship among his wives and concubines, creating a peaceful family. In a blink of an eye, years had passed and the children were all grown up.
When she had to leave for Nanchu, he suddenly realized, fearing she wouldn’t return. Now, five years had passed; despite his reluctance to let her go, holding her and crying was futile—she had no plans to return. In Nanchu, she cheerfully lived each day with her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, content with her life.
Now that her daughter was pregnant again, she had even more reason not to return.
If he did not go to Nanchu to find her, he feared he might be forgotten altogether.
Su Xu arrived in the capital before Su Xingze, and after settling in, Su Xingze arrived with Liu Yu. Despite exchanging letters once a month, father and son had not seen each other for five years; upon meeting, Su Xu’s eyes brimmed with tears, and he was extremely relieved about the daughter-in-law his son had brought back. Indeed, without the main wife to handle affairs, he nearly doubted his son would ever marry, thankfully the girl had taken a fancy to him.
At night, the father and son talked by lamplight.
Su Xu expressed his grievances to Su Xingze, "I fear your mother has forgotten about us completely. The last letter from her was half a year ago."
Su Xingze looked at his father, truly unable to tell him that his mother wrote to him quite frequently, at least once a month. Over the last six months, he had received four letters from her. In contrast to his father, who received only one, it was indeed a bit harsh.
Su Xu asked, "How many letters has your mother written to you in the last six months?"
Kindly deceiving his father, Su Xingze said, "Two."
Su Xu felt a bit better, "She, to you her own son, only wrote two letters, and to me one; it seems passable."
Su Xingze silently nodded.
Su Xu’s eyes reddened again, "I miss her. I want to resign and go find her. I haven’t even met my little darling yet."
Su Xingze sighed, "Father, please endure for two more years! Currently among the court officials, you aren’t of the age to retire yet. Besides, the court precisely needs people now."
"Why does it urgently needs people now? Over these years, how many capable officials has His Majesty recruited? Our Daliang is brimming with talent." Su Xu was puzzled.
Su Xingze lowered his voice and said, "War is about to start."
Su Xu immediately sat upright and also lowered his voice, "How come so soon?"
"Nanchu is ready, now just waiting for Daliang to be ready too; once everything is in place, it will naturally be scheduled," Su Xingze explained.
Su Xu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Then, if a war breaks out, how long will it last?"
Su Xingze shook his head, "I don’t know."
He looked at Su Xu, "His Majesty moved me to the Ministry of War and transferred you to the Ministry of Revenue for this purpose."
The Ministry of War needs the troops to be ready and the Ministry of Revenue needs the food supplies to be sufficient. Such big responsibilities can only be entrusted to trusted individuals. Yan Huisheng trusts the Su Family’s Father and Son because he knows they are the ones who most hope to see Daliang and Nanchu win if the two countries join forces.
Su Xu sighed deeply, losing all thoughts, "Well, still, state affairs must prevail."
He reluctantly asked, "Can you convince your mother to come back and visit?" After finishing, he changed his words, "No, your persuasion might not work, just get married quickly, then she will come back."
Su Xingze was also helpless, "Father, there is still half a year left, I just returned to the Capital City, there are many matters to attend to, I might not make it in time, besides I just got engaged with Liu Yu and shouldn’t rush to marry her."
Su Xu complained, "Tell me, what were you doing earlier? You should have had your Great Wedding already, you should have settled it last year. You are already of age, and Liu Yu isn’t that young either, do you plan to delay another two years? What if the war lasts three to five years? Will you never get married? How is that acceptable? I think, within this half-year, hurry up and get married, and settle your marriage."
Su Xingze looked at him, thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded, "Alright, tomorrow I will discuss with Yu’er, if she agrees, I will prepare as soon as possible, then send a letter to mother and sister to bring up this matter."
Su Xu became happy immediately, "Yes, that’s how it should be. Once you’re married, also hurry up and have a child. Once your mother has a grandson, she won’t linger in Nanchu but will come home to help you look after your children, "
Su Xingze laughed it off, "That may not necessarily be the case; father, don’t be too optimistic. Nanchu is comfortable to stay in, even The Old Duke and Grand Princess Shengan don’t plan to come back, let alone mother. She likes staying with my sister the most and willingly accompanies her; nobody can do anything about it."
Su Xu sighed, "Ah."
He also wanted to go to Nanchu, but unfortunately, he was not free to leave; he really regretted arguing with her in his younger years.
Su Xingze looked at his father, unsure of what to say; he had once thought, like Su Rong, that his father’s feelings for his mother were just normal, like any other ordinary couple. Thus, he took multiple mistresses and lived a life both similar and different from normal households where the wives and mistresses coexisted peacefully.
Unexpectedly, it turned out that his father did love his mother. It was said that, although he had the mistresses for company in these five years, he often preferred to stay alone in mother’s room to sleep. The mistresses, not being jealous, let her be, managing to get by day by day without causing any trouble.
He would not walk his father’s path; he had given Liu Yu a few years to grow up, and she still liked him. Thus, he had decided on her. In the future, he would have her as his only wife.
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