Chapter 392
Su Yanqiu had no idea where her mother's money came from.
He didn't ask, but then he remembered that his mother had gone to the county alone a few days ago, so he decided to inquire about it.
Upon inquiring, Su Yanqiu learned that her mother had pawned a bracelet.
Su Yanqiu's heart was heavy with sorrow.
That bracelet undoubtedly belongs to my sister-in-law, which shows that she is no ordinary person.
Su Yanqiu no longer dared to complain about her sister-in-law not helping her mother with chores, and at the same time felt a little guilty.
Since ancient times, it has been considered shameful for a man to spend a woman's dowry. He never imagined that he would have to pawn his sister-in-law's jewelry to go to school.
Su Yanqiu felt somewhat embarrassed and vowed to redeem her sister-in-law's belongings.
In addition, he had a bad feeling.
He thought his older brother might have gotten into trouble, otherwise why would the family be short of money? And why would his mother use his sister-in-law's dowry?
Su Yanqiu immediately went to inquire about the news from the Northwest battlefield. Sure enough, the Great Yong had suffered a defeat, losing 50,000 soldiers, and the court was now recruiting soldiers to go to the battlefield.
Su Yanqiu felt a sharp pain in his heart; he dared not think too deeply about whether his brother had already died in battle.
However, just because he dared not think about it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
A few days later, people from the same village came to the academy to inform Su Yanqiu that something had happened to his mother.
Su Yanqiu immediately asked for leave and rushed home. When he arrived at his door, the oxcart hadn't even stopped yet, so he jumped off.
The courtyard was crowded with people. He stumbled and pushed his way through the crowd into the house, where he saw his mother lying on the bed, with a woman dressed in white and wearing a veil sitting beside her.
He didn't bother to see who the woman was, he rushed to the bedside and burst into tears the next second.
"Mother!" Su Yanqiu cried out, but his mother had already passed away.
Rong Rong sat silently beside him, letting Su Yanqiu cry.
She felt guilty for coming out too late and discovering that Su's mother was already dead when she found out what had happened; otherwise, she could have saved her mother.
"Baby, don't be sad. It's not our fault. It happened so suddenly. Now, Su Yanqiu is the only one left in the Su family. Su's mother must be worried about her youngest son. We can help him out!"
666 comforted Rongrong in the space, and Rongrong thought about it and agreed, finally letting go of her worries.
Seeing that Su Yanqiu's voice had become hoarse from crying, Rong Rong gently said, "If you hurt your health from crying, your mother will also be sad."
Su's mother probably never imagined that after her death, Rong Rong would call her "mother".
Rong Rong called out "Mother" willingly, expressing her gratitude for the sincere care she had received over the past three years.
The crying gradually subsided, and Su Yanqiu looked up, only then noticing the woman beside the bed.
The other person had jet-black hair, dressed simply, yet possessed a radiant, moon-like beauty and an ethereal, otherworldly air.
Although he couldn't see her face, he knew she must be a unique beauty.
Those exposed eyes shone like stars, exquisitely beautiful.
Even Su Yanqiu, who was extremely skilled at writing poetry, couldn't find the words to describe those eyes at this moment.
Su Yanqiu was completely stunned.
He had thought his sister-in-law was no ordinary person, but he never expected her to be a fairy-like figure.
Su Yanqiu finally snapped out of her daze when a piece of paper was stuffed into her hand.
"The doctor said my mother had a sudden heart attack and went to the hospital. She must have been traumatized and blamed me for being late."
Rong Rong explained softly, and Su Yanqiu quickly glanced at the letter in her hand, then burst into tears again.
His elder brother, Su Dashan, had indeed died in battle. The imperial court sent a small amount of compensation, which represented Su Dashan's death.
He thought that his mother must have been so grief-stricken after receiving this terrible news that the accident happened.
In the following days, Su Yanqiu buried his mother with the help of the villagers.
As for Rong Rong, Su Yanqiu didn't let her show her face much.
After meeting Rong Rong, Su Yanqiu understood the good intentions of his mother and elder brother.
For my sister-in-law's safety, we should hide her away properly.
Once everything was settled, Su Yanqiu finally had some free time.
The Dayong Dynasty was newly established, with a small population and a scarcity of talent.
In order to make the best use of people, the imperial court specially exempted the three-year mourning period from being observed, and changed it to one month.
Officials no longer need to observe mourning periods for the death of their elders, and students can participate in the imperial examinations as usual.
Su Yanqiu stayed at home for a month before continuing her studies at the academy.
If before he only wanted to try it out next year, now he is determined to pass the imperial examination next year.
He couldn't wait any longer; his family had fallen apart.
Su Yanqiu handed over his brother's pension and all the family's savings to Rong Rong for safekeeping.
Rong Rong was initially hesitant, but Su Yanqiu's words, "An elder sister-in-law is like a mother," made her give up.
From the moment she called Su's mother "Mother," Rong Rong had already acknowledged her marriage to Su Dashan.
Now she feels perfectly justified in accepting money.
After Su's mother passed away, Su Yanqiu took over the task of delivering meals and doing laundry for Rongrong.
Rong Rong remained in her courtyard and did not go out.
At first, Rong Rong was a little embarrassed to let Su Yanqiu wash her personal clothes, but Su Yanqiu said that an elder sister-in-law is like a mother, so Rong Rong gave in.
The main reason is that Su Yanqiu is very tactful. Every time she comes to her courtyard, she knocks on the door. When she delivers food, she never sees Su Yanqiu in person, but just puts the food on the table with her head down and leaves.
If she was inside, Su Yanqiu would wait outside with a food box until she entered the inner room, at which point Su Yanqiu would go in and place the food on the dining table.
Su Yanqiu maintained a strict distance from her widowed sister-in-law, yet still respected and valued her, making Su Yanqiu admire Su's mother's excellent parenting skills.
Both sons were upright gentlemen.
The bracelet was pawned for a lot of money back then, and with Su Dashan's compensation, it was enough for Rong Rong and the others to live on for a long time.
Therefore, Rong Rong discussed with Su Yanqiu about renting out the land.
Su Yanqiu was single-mindedly focused on passing the provincial examination next year and then participating in the metropolitan examination. He believed he could succeed, so he agreed with Rong Rong's opinion and stopped worrying about family matters.
After he went to the academy, he specifically asked the aunt next door to cook and deliver meals to Rongrong, paying her a few coins each month as a reward, while the food was provided by the Su family themselves.
Su Yanqiu wasn't worried that his neighbor would spread the news about his sister-in-law. He lied and said that his sister-in-law was seriously ill. He was worried that the illness would affect his neighbor, so he asked his neighbor to bring the food to the yard.
The aunt and her sister-in-law would not meet, and naturally, she would not spread the word about her sister-in-law's affairs.
At most, people would spread the word that their sister-in-law was seriously ill. Outsiders would be even less likely to disturb her, for fear of catching the strange disease.
A year passed in the blink of an eye, and Su Yanqiu successfully passed the provincial examination and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination). Then he was to go to the capital to participate in the metropolitan examination.
Due to a shortage of personnel in the imperial court, the imperial examinations were conducted at a very tight pace.
But this suited Su Yanqiu's wishes perfectly; he wanted it to happen as quickly as possible.
The imperial examination is in three months, and Su Yanqiu should set off for the capital.
This time, Su Yanqiu planned to bring Rong Rong along. He was confident that he would pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi. At that time, whether he stayed in the capital or was sent to a post outside the capital, he probably would never return to Jishan Village.
It would be more convenient to bring his sister-in-law along, as he still remembered her kindness in pawning her jewelry to support his studies.
He couldn't possibly abandon his sister-in-law; he had to take good care of her.
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