Chapter 203: Entrusting an Orphan to Him
"Master Su, you're finally here!" As Su Fengzhang got off the carriage, a maid from the Liu family ran out and said, "The old lady has been in a coma for a long time. Even the doctor can't help."
Su Fengzhang couldn't help but frown: "Where's Aneng?"
The maid replied with a bitter face, "He's in the room. He's been with the old lady since last night. I tried to persuade him but he wouldn't listen."
Su Fengzhang walked quickly into the room, and before he even entered the door, he smelled a pungent smell of medicine. He saw Old Madam Liu lying on the bed dying, and Liu Neng was lying in front of her bed.
"Uncle!" Seeing Su Fengzhang appear, Liu Neng felt as if he had found his backbone. "Is my grandma okay?"
Su Fengzhang couldn't give him the answer he wanted. He just stroked his hair and asked the doctor who had been invited earlier, "Doctor, how is the old lady's condition? Is there any other way?"
The doctor shook his head and said, "Master Su, it's not that I'm unwilling to prescribe medicine, it's simply that the old lady is at the end of her life."
Su Zhaoshi also followed in. Upon hearing this, she frowned and asked, "Doctor, what if we use ginseng? Could it save the old lady's life?"
The doctor hesitated and said, "I've tried several methods just now, but I couldn't wake the old lady up. Ginseng isn't a panacea. If I had a century-old ginseng, I might be able to think of a way."
"But life and death are determined by fate, and the old lady is already old. Lord Su, please make preparations for her afterlife."
Upon hearing this, Su Zhaoshi hesitated and said, "There are ginsengs that are fifty years old, but this hundred-year-old ginseng is far from easy to come by."
A hundred years of life is not something you can buy with money. Su Zhaoshi has hidden a few ginsengs that were given to Su Fengzhang after he was promoted, but the best one can only live for fifty years.
The doctor couldn't make up his mind, so he just asked tentatively, "How about we give it a try first?"
Su Fengzhang turned around and said, "Come here, take the token and go to Prince Cheng's mansion, explain the situation and ask for a hundred-year-old ginseng."
Su Arong was not at home, and the servant brought by Su Fengzhang was receiving such an order for the first time. He was stunned for a moment and then left in a hurry.
Su Zhaoshi asked worriedly, "Will the prince give it to you?"
"If there is, I will definitely give it to you." Su Fengzhang said.
Su Zhaoshi wanted to ask Prince Cheng directly for such precious medicinal herbs, but seeing Su Fengzhang's expression, she didn't ask. She walked over and washed the handkerchief herself to wipe the old lady's wound.
At this time, Su Arong came back in a hurry, but he was alone: "Erlang, there is no one at the Imperial Hospital. I asked people and they said that all the imperial doctors were summoned to the palace last night and have not returned yet."
"What?!" Su Fengzhang was also shocked. All the imperial doctors were summoned into the palace. Something big must have happened in the palace. Considering what Prince Cheng had said before, the only thing Su Fengzhang could think of was that there was something wrong with the emperor's health.
Unfortunately, Madam Liu's condition couldn't wait. Su Fengzhang had originally thought that the imperial physician's medical skills would be more advanced, but now that hope was gone, he said, "Doctor Wang, I'm sorry to trouble you."
Doctor Wang didn't think there was anything wrong with them asking the imperial physician. Instead, he said, "If we have a hundred-year-old ginseng, we can use the golden needle method to help the old lady wake up."
Su Fengzhang reluctantly nodded, brought another glass of water and secretly replaced it with Lingquan, saying, "Mother, I'll give the old lady some water first. If she can swallow, I can feed her the ginseng soup later."
"Come here, mother." Su Zhao took it and tried to feed it to Old Madam Liu, but most of it spilled out after the first mouthful. It was obvious that Old Madam Liu could no longer swallow on her own. It took a lot of effort to barely moisten her dry lips.
Su Fengzhang didn't know whether the spiritual spring could still work. After all, Old Madam Liu drank a lot of spiritual spring, but her health was still deteriorating day by day, to the point where it was now.
He sighed and then looked at Liu Neng beside him. Liu Neng was usually a lively person, but at this moment his eyes were red and he was holding on to the corner of his clothes tightly.
Su Fengzhang sighed inwardly. After losing his parents, the child was about to lose his only relative. This kind of pain was something others could not understand. He reached out and hugged Liu Neng, whispering comfortingly, "Don't be afraid, your uncle is here."
Liu Neng threw himself into his arms and asked in a tearful voice, "Uncle, will grandma never wake up again?"
Su Fengzhang sighed and could only say, "The old lady loves you so much, she will definitely not be at ease with you passing away like this."
Not long after, the sound of horse hooves could be heard outside. It was the chief steward of Prince Cheng's mansion who arrived personally with ginseng. He was extremely respectful and said, "Sir Su, this is a century-old ginseng gifted by the emperor. The prince learned of the old lady's situation and asked me to bring it here specially. He hopes that the old lady can recover from her danger."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Su Fengzhang was not polite and directly handed the ginseng to the doctor, "Doctor Wang, thank you for your help."
The palace steward did not leave and continued, "The prince originally wanted to come here in person, but someone suddenly arrived at the palace, and His Majesty ordered the prince to come to the palace immediately. The prince was too busy to come here, so we have to trouble Lord Su to take care of this."
Su Fengzhang's eyelids twitched slightly. The butler seemed unaware that he had revealed something so profound. He continued, "Master Su, if there is anything I can be of assistance with, please feel free to ask."
Su Fengzhang glanced at him and didn't care when he saw that he was guarding the door and hadn't left.
On the other side, Doctor Wang had personally boiled some ginseng soup and brought it over. After trying every possible way to feed the old lady the ginseng soup, Doctor Wang took out a set of gold needles passed down from his ancestors, and soon, Mrs. Liu's head was full of gold needles.
After a while, Mrs. Liu finally woke up. Doctor Wang quickly pulled out the needles and explained, "The needles can't be left in for too long. Otherwise, it will be bad."
But after taking the pulse, Doctor Wang's frown did not relax. He sighed and said, "The old lady's time is running out. If you have anything to say, please speak now."
Su Fengzhang's face changed slightly. Liu Neng in his arms couldn't help crying. He rushed to the bed and shouted, "Grandma, look at Aneng. Grandma, don't leave."
Old Lady Liu woke up slowly, but all she saw was a gray haze and her ears were filled with the cries of her grandson. She wanted to hug the child and comfort him, telling him that she would not leave and that she wanted to watch him grow up with her own eyes.
But her body had no strength at all. Madam Liu soon realized that her time was up and that there would never be another day like that.
"Su... Lord Su..." Old Madam Liu struggled to squeeze out three words, but it was Su Fengzhang's name.
Su Fengzhang knelt in front of the bed and said, "Madam, I am here. Please rest assured. Brother Liu saved my life. As long as I am here, I will take care of Aneng."
Old Madam Liu didn't know where she got the strength from, but she actually grabbed his hand. After being ill for more than a year, Old Madam Liu's hands were so thin that only bones were left, but at this moment, the strength she exerted was so great that it hurt.
"Master Su, I have a request that you would like to make. I beg you to grant it."
Su Fengzhang looked up at Madam Liu. The old woman's eyes were dim and she stared blankly ahead, yet she seemed to be staring at him closely through something. "Madam, please speak."
Old Madam Liu raised the corners of her mouth, as if she wanted to smile, but her body was no longer able to produce a charitable smile.
"Aneng, come here." Old Madam Liu called out, and Liu Neng quickly called out, "Grandma, I'm right here."
Madam Liu reached out and touched Liu Neng's face, then took his hand and placed it in Su Fengzhang's hand: "Master Su, Aneng is unlucky. His biological parents died young, and I am also a failure. I won't live long now."
"I believe in you, Lord Su. Even if I'm gone, you will take good care of Aneng."
"But Aneng is a member of the Liu family, so it's not legitimate after all. I'm afraid that after I die, those relatives who haven't been around for more than ten years will show up again and act like elders in front of Aneng."
"If that day ever comes, even if Lord Su is willing to stand up for Aneng, it will still be troublesome and easy for people to gossip about it."
"Master Su, today I have the audacity to ask you for a favor. Please accept Aneng as your adopted son. From now on, we can call each other father and son. From now on, you will be Aneng's adopted father."
Su Fengzhang did not expect that Old Lady Liu would bring up this matter. In ancient times, adoptive fathers and adopted sons were not uncommon, and adopted sons usually did not change their names. On the surface, it seemed that the adoptive father was at a greater disadvantage.
But in fact, in ancient times when people attached great importance to propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame, this kind of relationship between adoptive father and adopted son was equivalent to putting a yoke on the adopted son's head. It is no exaggeration to say that in the future, the adoptive father could control the adopted son by using the great principles of filial piety and brotherhood.
What's worse, in their southern region, there are many nominal father-son relationships, but in fact the adopted sons are used as cheap labor just to avoid going to the government office to pay taxes.
In the final analysis, if they become adoptive father and son, it will definitely bring more benefits than disadvantages to the stronger party, while it will definitely bring more disadvantages than benefits to the weaker party, unless the latter relies on this kind of nepotism to curry favor with the higher-ups.
Madam Liu's words were equivalent to placing Liu Neng's entire future on Su Fengzhang.
Su Fengzhang sighed in his heart. Parents who love their children will make long-term plans for them. In the final analysis, Old Lady Liu still did not trust human nature.
"Old Madam, there's really no need for this. I, Su Fengzhang, swear here that I will take care of Aneng until he grows up, gets married, and has children. As long as I'm around, I won't let anyone bully him."
Madam Liu shook her head and insisted, "Master Su, this is my last request. Please agree to it."
Su Fengzhang looked at Liu Neng in his arms. He leaned against him somewhat helplessly, his eyes full of trust.
Even Su Zhaoshi whispered, "Since this is the old lady's last wish, why not just agree to it? As long as you treat Aneng well, the relationship between adoptive father and adopted son will be more convenient."
Su Fengzhang stretched out his hand and placed it on the back of Liu Neng's hand. The three of them put their hands together. Su Fengzhang said, "Don't worry, old lady. I promise. From now on, Aneng will be my son."
Madam Liu's lips trembled as she shouted, "Aneng, why don't you call me foster father? From now on, Lord Su will be your father."
Liu Neng didn't quite understand what was going on, but he liked Su Fengzhang and was happy to call him daddy: "Dad!"
The word "Dad" made Old Lady Liu shed tears. Poor Liu Wei had never heard his son call him dad in his entire life, and now the person he called was someone else.
After feeling sad, Old Lady Liu felt completely relieved. With this reputation, she was no longer afraid of those people from her hometown pestering her, and she was even less afraid that Su Fengzhang would forget about Aneng after a while.
Life is too long, so even if Su Fengzhang is good at everything, Mrs. Liu will never be at ease.
Until the very end, Old Lady Liu did not let go of her grandson's hand.
"Master Su, thank you. Awei did not trust the wrong person."
After saying this, Mrs. Liu fell asleep again, and this time she never woke up again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
