Chapter 193 Home Furnishing
Su Fengzhang stayed with Liu Neng for most of the day, took him out to buy some delicious snacks, and did not leave until dusk.
Compared to getting along with Old Madam Liu, Su Fengzhang prefers to play with the child. Liu Neng is lively and innocent, and it is rare that he is not spoiled at all. He is a sensible and very lovable child.
Watching the carriage go away, Liu Neng leaned against the doorway, somewhat reluctantly. It was not until he heard Madam Liu cough that he hurried back to help her with her back. "Grandma, are you feeling better?"
Madam Liu smiled, took her grandson's hand, and asked, "Aneng, do you like Lord Su?"
"I like it." Liu Neng said without hesitation, "Uncle is good in every way, especially to me."
When Liu Wei left the capital, Liu Neng was still a baby. He probably couldn't even remember what his father looked like. In his mind, if his father could come back, he would be someone like Su Fengzhang.
Madam Liu stroked his hair, sighed, and said, "As long as you like it, that's good. As long as you like it, that's good."
On the other side, Su Fengzhang couldn't help but sigh as he got into the carriage. Su Arong listened and asked, "Erlang, what's going on? Is Madam Liu not feeling well?"
Su Fengzhang shook his head and said, "It's about the same as before, neither good nor bad."
Su Arong knew his worry and said, "Erlang, if you are worried, I will come to check on them every day. That way, the two maids will not dare to neglect their duties."
Mrs. Liu's words, as if she were giving instructions for her last wishes, inevitably made Su Fengzhang a little more worried. He listened and said, "Okay."
The carriage was a bit stuffy, so Su Fengzhang simply sat on the front frame. Seeing that he looked unhappy, Su Arong increased the speed and the carriage slowly drove towards the Su family.
When passing by the dim sum shop, Su Fengzhang shouted, "Stop for a moment and buy some to take back. Mom and Huihui also like it."
Su Arong jumped off the carriage after hearing this, but Su Fengzhang did not move. He was thinking about the official business of the past few days. Although the Fourth Prince did this for his own selfish reasons, it did help the Ministry of Revenue a lot.
As the newly appointed Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he was also very busy, but at least he was able to get things done that had been delayed for a long time.
"Hey, have you heard that it was the Crown Prince who abducted the Fourth Prince by the Xianbei barbarians?"
"Really? The Crown Prince is the heir apparent to a nation. Even if he's fighting for the throne, he wouldn't resort to violence on the battlefield."
"You don't know this. The Crown Prince not only attacked the Fourth Prince, but also intercepted the military pay of the Zhenbei Army. If it weren't for him, how could so many people die in this battle?"
"Didn't someone go to the palace gate a few days ago and cry about how the Crown Prince owed money and wouldn't pay it back, so much so that he couldn't even pay out the funeral allowances?"
"There's nothing our prince can't do. He's done so many ridiculous things over the years."
"That is to say, everyone knows that the Crown Prince is disregarding human life, and he is also extravagant. I heard that the floors of the East Palace are paved with white jade, and the Crown Prince's concubines use pearls as projectiles to play with."
"Have you heard that not only does the Crown Prince spend the national treasury's money himself, but his eighteen concubines do the same. What they eat and drink is all the hard-earned money of the people."
"I don't care how he spends his money, but since he harmed the Fourth Prince and the Zhenbei Army, won't Your Majesty punish him?"
"Oh, you don't even know our emperor. He's extremely partial and biased. It's him who has allowed the crown prince to be so arrogant and domineering."
"Tsk tsk tsk, the prince is also lucky, he was born in heaven, so naturally he doesn't take us ordinary people seriously."
"If he becomes emperor in the future, he will probably be a tyrant!"
"You're asking for death! How dare you say such things..."
Su Fengzhang looked to the left and saw two men who looked like ordinary people talking together in a small shop in the distance. They looked like ordinary people and spoke very carefully, fearing that they would be overheard.
The distance was too far, and most people probably couldn't hear it clearly. Only Su Fengzhang, who had extraordinary hearing, could vaguely hear it.
Su Arong came back with some cakes and saw his face and asked, "Erlang, what's wrong with you?"
"Let's go." Su Fengzhang just said this.
It wasn't until they reached the doorstep that Su Fengzhang suddenly mentioned, "Arong, there have been a lot of rumors about the prince these days."
With that incident in mind, Su Arong naturally hated the prince and wished him bad luck. After hearing this, he said, "It's not a rumor at all. Although it's outrageous, every bit of it is true."
"It didn't just start in the past few days. After the Zhenbei Army returned victorious, rumors began to spread in the capital that were unfavorable to the Crown Prince. However, at that time, no one dared to speak openly."
"After the palace farce, this talk can't be stopped. Now even the vegetable vendors on the street are talking about it."
Su Fengzhang raised his eyebrows slightly, knowing that the Xu family and the Fourth Prince must have been behind this.
There is a strange balance and tranquility in the court now. The people of the Fourth Prince's lineage have given in, and the people of the Crown Prince's lineage are no longer aggressive. For a moment, in stark contrast to the undercurrents among the people, everything seems calm.
"I don't care what others say, but tell everyone in the Su family to keep their mouths shut and not to bring trouble upon themselves," Su Fengzhang instructed.
Su Arong hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Erlang. Auntie also said so. Everyone in the family has been warned. They will never dare to say anything and will not cause any trouble for you."
Su Fengzhang nodded. He was not afraid of offending the prince, but he was afraid that once the case was investigated, he would not be able to protect the person who spoke nonsense.
He walked into the house with snacks. Su Zhaoshi smiled when she saw him. "You're finally back. Did you eat at Liu's? Mother even saved some chicken soup for you. Would you like to have some?"
Su Fengzhang smiled and sat down: "Even if I'm full, I can still drink a bowl of the chicken soup that mother made."
"You're the only one who can talk." Su Zhao smiled and instructed the servants. She turned around and asked about Old Madam Liu's situation. After hearing this, she sighed, "The old madam only has one son. Now that General Liu is gone, how can the old madam feel happy?"
As a mother herself, Su Zhaoshi could understand Old Madam Liu's thoughts better and was very caring towards her.
Su Fengzhang took a sip of the chicken soup and found it was indeed delicious. He then said, "Mom, I brought back some snacks. Where are Lan Zhang and Hui Hui? Let's call them out to try some too."
When Su Zhaoshi heard this, she smiled and said, "Lan Zhang is studying, and Hui Hui is being forced by Aunt Bai to do needlework."
Su Fengzhang laughed: "At this time, Lan Zhang is still studying diligently. Has he gotten into trouble again?"
Su Zhaoshi said, "Wait until he comes over and ask him yourself and you'll know."
After a while, Su Lanzhang and Su Huihui came one after another, and Aunt Bai followed behind.
As soon as she entered the door, Su Huihui walked up to Su Fengzhang and said coquettishly, "Second brother, I haven't seen you for a long time."
Su Fengzhang smiled helplessly and said, "We see each other every day, so how can I say it's been a long time since we last met?"
Su Huihui said, "Second brother has been very busy lately, leaving early and returning late. We can't even eat together. We can only see each other once a day at most. How can that be considered a meeting?"
"That's my fault." Su Fengzhang laughed. "Next time we have a day off, I'll take you out for a walk, okay?"
Before Su Huihui could say anything, Su Lanzhang jumped up and shouted, "Really, second brother? I want to go outside the city to see the peach blossoms."
As a result, Aunt Bai hit him directly and scolded him, "You are the only one who knows how to make trouble. You don't study hard and just want to play all day. Erlang must be so tired. He is busy enough on weekdays. It's a rare day off and he can't even rest properly."
Su Lanzhang was used to being scolded by her and didn't care at all: "The peach blossoms outside the capital are so famous, maybe my second brother would like to go there too."
Aunt Bai was so angry that she laughed: "Come on, do you think everyone likes to play as much as you do?"
It was rare for his younger brother and sister-in-law to be around, so Su Fengzhang relaxed a little. He smiled and said, "You can play if you want. Second brother is here to test whether you have studied hard these days."
When Su Lanzhang heard this, he said confidently, "Brother, go ahead and take the exam. I'll study hard these days."
Su Fengzhang picked out a few questions to test him. Seeing that he answered them fluently, he was surprised: "It seems that you have really worked hard. Our Lan Zhang has also made progress. He should be rewarded well."
When Su Lanzhang heard this, his eyebrows danced with joy: "Second brother, I don't want any other rewards, I just want to go see the peach blossoms."
Without waiting for Aunt Bai to refuse, Su Fengzhang said with a smile: "In that case, let's set a day off. Then we can take An Neng with us. He's not young anymore, so it's better for him to go out and walk around more."
Su Huihui smiled and said, "That's fine. I will take good care of Aneng when the time comes."
Su Fengzhang set the date, and neither Su Zhaoshi nor Aunt Bai objected. In fact, after Su Fengzhang passed the imperial examination, even Su Zhaoshi would not object if he made a decision on any matter big or small at home.
Although Aunt Bai was good at disciplining her son, she was always obedient to Su Fengzhang, especially after they came to Beijing.
Su Fengzhang added, "Mother, Auntie, you should come along when the time comes. It's time to go out for an outing."
Su Zhaoshi hesitated a little: "It would be too much trouble for us to go together, so you can just take Lan Zhang and Hui Hui with you."
Aunt Bai even said, "Yes, you guys can just go. It's not cheap for me to follow you."
Su Fengzhang insisted, "The house is so small, and it would be so suffocating if we stayed here for too long. It's rare for us to have some free time, so why not go out for a walk as a family? It won't be a big deal."
Upon hearing this, Su Zhaoshi laughed first: "You can't say that nonsense. The house that His Majesty has given us is very spacious. Although it only has two courtyards, it is larger than other people's courtyards with three courtyards. How can we feel stuffy?"
"The scenery outside is never as fresh as it used to be." Su Fengzhang insisted.
Under his lobbying, Su Zhao finally agreed. Aunt Bai was still a little hesitant, but she didn't want to bring disgrace to everyone because of herself. Su Lanzhang laughed happily when he saw this.
Su Huihui was a little more restrained, but she also smiled as she leaned against Su Fengzhang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
