Chapter 94: The Story of General Huo's Grandmother
Su Zhenzhen narrowed her eyes. Why did Granny Ba keep emphasizing that General Huo's grandmother's story was not true?
People tend to emphasize things more when they care about them. Granny Ba's words seemed to be setting the stage for what she was about to say: everything about that Mrs. Huo was true.
"It's nothing." Su Zhenzhen's brows relaxed. "You just said it casually, and I just listened casually. Nobody should take it to heart. It's just a story."
Grandma Ba glanced at Su Zhenzhen cautiously before moving her dry lips.
"I heard it from someone else. That Madam Huo was ambitious from a young age. Others would have just married a country bumpkin and settled for a life of mediocrity. But she saw that her husband was strong and quick-witted. When the imperial court recruited soldiers, she sent him off. She told him to make a name for himself and not to worry about her taking care of their son alone."
At this point, Granny Ba paused for a moment, "Do you know what the neighbors are saying about this Mrs. Huo?"
Su Zhenzhen thought for a moment, "Is she arrogant? Does she not live an honest life?"
"Wrong!" Granny Ba clapped her hands. "Those gossipy old women say that Madam Huo has a lover in secret, so she's looking for an excuse to kick her husband out so she can bring a stranger into the house. And they all have the audacity to say that if Madam Huo can really raise her son alone, she'll eat shit in front of the neighbors."
Su Zhenzhen glanced around the alley, "Those neighbors you mentioned, they're not from here, are they?"
The people here all have kind and gentle faces, and they don't seem like mean people.
"Of course not here. Madam Huo and her husband are both from the south. Those shameless gossips... But Madam Huo is really resourceful. She's a woman who takes care of the children and manages the fields, keeping the household in perfect order. The woman scolds her to her face, while the man secretly has ulterior motives. He thinks that Madam Huo is so capable, how wonderful it would be if she were his wife. And seeing that her husband hasn't come home for three or five years, he assumes he's died on the battlefield, so he finds a matchmaker to propose marriage."
Granny Ba paused again, "Young lady, do you think Madam Huo didn't respond?"
Su Zhenzhen stopped herself from speaking and thought it over carefully in her mind. "Since Madam Huo and her husband eventually moved to the capital, it seems that the marriage did not go through. But since you asked this question, it is clear that there were some twists and turns in the process."
"That's right." Granny Ba nodded. "Madam Huo's family is not easy to deal with. When Madam Huo's husband was still alive, they could at least get people to do some work. Now that they are a widow and orphan, they not only can't get any benefits, but they also have to worry about the neighbors scolding them for not helping their own daughter and grandson. When they see a matchmaker, they are so happy that they want to set off firecrackers. They insist that her husband is dead and that a cenotaph has been erected. They are forcing Madam Huo to remarry."
Su Zhenzhen was quite engrossed in the story. Regardless of whether it was true or not, the dramatic twists and turns alone were enough to make it into a storybook. She couldn't help but ask, "And then what happened?"
"Later, things just happened to be like this. General Huo—or rather, he wasn't called General Huo back then, he was just the deputy general under the commander-in-chief—returned home in glory after the war ended. The county magistrate even sent people to celebrate with gongs and drums. When he returned to the village, well, he saw his father-in-law's family forcing his wife to remarry. General Huo immediately beat up the toad who wanted to eat swan meat, and Madam Huo also took this opportunity to sever ties with her family. In order to curry favor with General Huo, the county magistrate had all those who forced the marriage beaten. His family, who only thought of themselves, were filled with regret and hatred. Who would have thought that a country bumpkin would be so lucky, actually climbing the social ladder. By the time his family had recovered from their injuries and were ready to curry favor with their new son-in-law, General Huo had already moved to the capital with his wife and children."
Grandma Ba paused for a relatively long time this time, seemingly struggling with which point to start telling the story.
Su Zhenzhen didn't rush her. She watched as her already wrinkled face gained a few more creases, which then smoothed out again in a short while, repeating this cycle repeatedly.
After hesitating for a while, Aunt Ba slowly began to explain, "When they arrived in the capital, Vice Minister Huo's savings from all these years were only enough to buy a small courtyard in this alley. Madam Huo, however, was quite open-minded, saying that this was a place full of scholarly families, and that her son should also study there so he could eventually become a scholar or a top scholar. That's right, Madam Huo wanted her son to study, but education is expensive. Not to mention the cost of writing materials, just the tuition fees paid to the school each year were a considerable expense. Young Master Huo felt sorry for his family and said he wanted to learn swordsmanship from his father, go to the battlefield, earn merit, and ask his mother for an official title. Then, if he had any money left over, he would send his descendants to school so that his family could completely change their social standing."
Su Zhenzhen recalled Huo Zhenyue's appearance; he didn't seem like a scholar at all. "Did anyone in his family get an education?"
"Both Huo and his son attended school for a few years, but they were not good at studying and the expenses were too high. So they simply picked up sticks and made a fortune through military merits, so as to save up a family fortune for their children's education."
Su Zhenzhen suddenly thought of a question, "I heard that Deputy Commander Huo eventually became a general. What happened in the process?"
Granny Ba sighed softly, "When luck comes, you can't stop it. Didn't I mention earlier that there's a commander-in-chief?"
Su Zhenzhen nodded, signaling her to continue.
"That commander-in-chief was no decent man. With so many refugees during the war, he abducted homeless women to be his concubines, ultimately dying on a woman's belly. Just then, the enemy attacked, and the camp was in chaos. It was Deputy General Huo who stepped forward, stabilizing morale and leading the troops to repel the enemy's advance. When the news reached the capital, the emperor was furious and executed the commander-in-chief's entire family. However, seeing Deputy General Huo's composure and resourcefulness in the face of danger, he appointed him a general. Later, when there was war in the northwest, General Huo was transferred there and remained stationed at the front lines."
That concludes the story of General Huo. So, what happened to his wife after General Huo was stationed in the Northwest?
Granny Ba didn't keep Su Zhenzhen waiting long. She swallowed to moisten her throat and continued, "When Huo's son got a little older, Madam Huo had someone send him to the Northwest Camp. She said it wasn't good for a young man to stay around his mother all day; he should go out and see the world with his father. With both father and son in the Northwest, Madam Huo was left alone at home. Strangely enough, every fifteenth night, Madam Huo could hear a cat meowing at home. At first, she thought it was a neighbor's cat, but after the meowing went on for a while, Madam Huo started to wonder, why is someone else's cat always meowing in front of my door?"
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