Chapter 85 This is simply like an absurd illusion...
"Mother, Mother..." Lou Xueying sobbed uncontrollably, "You... I thought you..."
Madam Lou quickly patted her back, her eyes red, and said, "It's alright, it's alright, I'm right here, perfectly fine."
“Sister…” Pengpeng tugged at Lou Xueying’s sleeve, her eyes brimming with tears, and said tearfully, “Sister, I miss you so much…”
Lou Xueying released Madam Lou, then knelt down to hug Pengpeng, saying with heartache, "Pengpeng has lost so much weight..." She looked up again, choking back tears, "Mother has lost so much weight too... and sister-in-law..."
Lou Boyu's wife stood to the side, wiping her eyes.
Li's mother said, "Your mother, your sister-in-law, and your younger sister just arrived not long ago, and they haven't even had time to unload their luggage yet. You've come back at just the right time!"
Lou Xueying opened her teary eyes and looked around in a panic: "Why are there only a few of you? Where are Father and my brother?"
Madam Lou's eyes darkened: "Let's go inside and talk."
"Yes, yes, let's go inside and talk," said Li's mother. "It's cold outside, but warm inside. Tell me slowly!"
Lou Xueying couldn't wait any longer. As she led Madam Lou into the room, she pressed on, "Where are Father and Brother? Have...have they encountered some trouble?"
Madam Lou, holding Pengpeng's hand, whispered, "Your brother is alright; they are currently with the Marquis. It's just that your father remained in the capital, and we haven't heard from him since."
Lou Xueying paused in her steps.
Pushing open the door, a wave of warmth washed over her. Mrs. Lou took a deep breath before explaining the whole story.
It turned out that one day after Lou Xueying and Li Pan left the capital, Lou Shu suddenly called Lou Boyu and his wife back home from Yutian County. The family gathered together and discussed things for a long time.
Although it was called a meeting, Lou Shu was basically making all the arrangements.
"Your father said that His Majesty has long harbored the intention to kill the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince's confinement to the imperial garden might be His Majesty's opportunity to act. But until the very last moment, no one knows the outcome..." Madam Lou said, "If the Crown Prince wins, he will certainly not let the Marquis's mansion off the hook, and then you will be in danger, and so will we. If His Majesty wins... your father said that you specifically reminded us to withdraw early, perhaps you knew something, but it was inconvenient to explain at the time. So, regardless of who wins or loses, he will send us away from the capital first..."
Lou Xueying exclaimed, "So he's going to stay in the capital alone?"
"Yes..." Madam Lou wiped away her tears. "He said that if he left, it would be too easy to be discovered. If we left first, we might still have a chance. He withdrew some cash from the bank beforehand and gave it to us to keep safe. Actually, there are still many fields and houses at home that haven't been liquidated, but firstly, it would be too much of a commotion, and secondly, there wasn't enough time. We didn't even dare to withdraw too much cash to avoid arousing suspicion. I said why be so cautious, but he said it's better to be safe than sorry. It's always good to be prepared. If nothing happens, it's not too late to come back."
Lou Xueying was stunned.
“During that time, your second brother kept feigning illness so that we could leave in time. On the very day the news of the Crown Prince's death arrived, your father sent people out of the city overnight, and we went to Yutian County to bring your eldest brother and sister-in-law with us…” Madam Lou choked up as she spoke, “The next day, we heard that it was the Marquis who had the Crown Prince murdered… But how could that be? Only then did we realize that His Majesty was using someone else to do his dirty work… Why, why… What did the Marquis's mansion and the Lou family do to offend His Majesty? Was it just because the Marquis publicized the Crown Prince's scandalous affairs and caused His Majesty to lose face? But didn't His Majesty intend to get rid of the Crown Prince in the first place?”
The sister-in-law couldn't help but chime in, "We were terribly worried when we heard that Father was under house arrest, but we couldn't turn back, so we could only come looking for you... There were so many of us, and our features were too obvious. We were afraid that the imperial court would come to hunt us down, so we kept taking the less traveled paths, which took a lot of time. We didn't even dare to stay in an inn... In the end, we heard that the Marquis had rebelled halfway there..."
Lou Xueying was silent for a moment, then said, "He is no longer a marquis. The court has long since stripped him of his title and official position. We now call him a general. He is a self-appointed general, not a general appointed by imperial decree."
“…Good, General.” His sister-in-law swallowed hard. “General, how dare you rebel? And you, Susu, you even wrote such a vehement manifesto…”
When they first heard that Li Pan had rebelled, everyone in the car almost fainted, except for Pengpeng, who asked in confusion, "What does 'rebellion' mean?"
The group quickly dragged Pengpeng back to the car and took out a proclamation that was being secretly circulated among the people, reading it quickly. After finishing, they all remained silent for a long time.
But clearly they had no other choice. Whether Li Pan rebelled or not, their only option was to side with him. If Li Pan rebelled, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow him.
This is like an absurd fantasy.
The Lou family had dominated the capital for a century, never imagining that one day they would become traitors and rebels.
Lou Xueying said softly, "The emperor sent someone to deliver an imperial edict, ordering the general to come to the capital to report. If this were just part of the investigation process, it would be fine, but he also sent another general, General Sun from the Imperial City Guard, to be appointed as the General Who Conquers the West, to hand over military affairs to the general. Do you think this means the general is still coming back? If we don't rebel, do we have any way to survive?"
Madam Lou's eyes widened in astonishment.
The sister-in-law exclaimed in horror, "Why is Your Majesty treating the general like this?!"
Lou Xueying closed her eyes.
"Mother, sister-in-law," she said bitterly, "if I said that all of this was because of me, would you blame me?"
Madam Lou and her sister-in-law exchanged a glance, then asked blankly and cautiously, "What...what did you do?"
Lou Xueying lowered her head and slowly recounted how she had met Emperor Jinghui through the zither. She didn't mention her past life, not wanting to cause them further distress.
Mrs. Lou and her sister-in-law were stunned.
"So, when you and the general had just married, His Majesty sent him to fight in the Northwest because..." Madam Lou realized what he meant and turned pale.
Lou Xueying nodded slowly.
“My child, my poor child—” Madam Lou hugged her tightly and cried, “What did we do wrong? Why do all the bad things happen to you? Do you have to be ugly and useless to be good?”
“Mother.” Lou Xueying sniffed and forced a smile. “Actually, if I think about it, I’m not that unlucky. I still have the General. The General… the General doesn’t mind these things; he only cares about me…”
"For so long, I never knew any of this. I saw that you and the general had a good relationship, so I thought you had always been carefree..." Madam Lou wept uncontrollably, "Susu, why have you kept so many things from your heart! You are willing to tell the general, why are you unwilling to tell us!"
“I didn’t want to tell him at first, but he sensed something was wrong, and I was forced to tell him…” Lou Xueying said in a low voice, “They are the rulers and we are the subjects. What’s the use of telling you? Wouldn’t it just cause you more trouble? If we hadn’t been forced into a corner by them this time, the general and I would not have wanted to take this path.”
After hearing about Lou Xueying and Emperor Jinghui, her sister-in-law was speechless until now. She finally came to her senses and said with lingering fear, "Susu, what if you had married someone else instead of a general...?"
Lou Xueying: "If he sells me to curry favor with the emperor, I will commit suicide, which would be a relief." She paused for a moment, then said softly, "But dying like this would be too lonely. I will grab whichever man was with me at the time and take him down with me."
"Stop talking, stop talking." Madam Lou became more and more frightened as she listened. "Let's not talk about this now, Susu, let's talk about something nice."
Lou Xueying: "Mother hasn't said yet why my brothers stayed with the general."
Madam Lou wiped her eyes, composed herself, and said, “We went west, and the general went east. We heard that the general had just captured a city, so we went into the city to see him. The general was overjoyed to see us and quickly wanted to have someone escort us back. But your two brothers thought that since things had already come to this, they could only go all the way. There was nothing to do back at the general’s mansion, so they might as well stay by the general’s side and do something.”
Lou Xueying was taken aback: "The general left his brothers behind?"
“Yes,” said Madam Lou. “The general was short of clerical staff, so they filled the vacancies. It just so happens that your eldest brother was a county magistrate before, and he is best at governing the people, while your second brother is a corrector at the Jixian Academy, and he revises documents every day. Isn’t that a perfect match? The general also said that he can fight, but managing the city and compiling military reports keeps him very busy. With your brother’s help, he will be able to relax a lot and he can focus on fighting.”
Lou Xueying: "But my brothers don't know martial arts. Aren't they afraid something will happen if they stay by the general's side?"
“They’re not charging ahead with swords and spears; they’re just handling desk work in safe places or running errands around the city. How dangerous could they be?” Madam Lou said. “Although I have some concerns, I also think that they are young and it’s the perfect time for them to make their mark. Why don’t they just follow the general and work hard? Why do they have to come back with us?”
Lou Xueying pursed her lips.
"What's wrong?" Madam Lou observed her complexion. "Are you worried about them? Or about the General? I've seen the General. He looks quite well and has a strong voice. He shouldn't be injured."
"It's nothing," Lou Xueying said. "I...I'm worried about my father."
Mentioning her husband, Madam Lou's face fell again: "With the general's rebellion, I'm afraid your father will..."
"Will Father die?" Pengpeng suddenly asked from the side.
"Don't talk nonsense." Her sister-in-law gently covered her mouth. "Father is a lucky man, he'll be fine."
“At least not now,” Lou Xueying said quietly. “The emperor knows I value my family. How could he easily give up such an important asset as my father?”
Madam Lou said in a trembling voice, "What if he uses your father as leverage to force the general to withdraw his troops?"
Lou Xueying took a deep breath: "First, we will never retreat, but we will not stand by and watch our father die; second, if he really kills our father, it will be the same as enraging an army that has no scruples. It all depends on which side can hold out first."
Madam Lou couldn't help but touch Pengpeng beside her, murmuring, "In this cold weather, I wonder if your father is sick..."
The atmosphere was tense when Cai Ling knocked on the door: "Madam, the guest room is ready."
Lou Xueying stood up and said, "Let me show you where you live."
The three of them then followed Lou Xueying out of the room.
As Lou Xueying walked, she said, "The Northwest is bitterly cold and prone to sandstorms. The furnishings in the General's Mansion are simple, so please don't find them too crude."
Madam Lou quickly replied, "It's good enough to have a place to stay and a hot meal. How could we complain about how simple it is?"
When traveling, they dared not linger in the market. They would buy their things and leave immediately. For many days, they ate dry rations and slept in their carts. They had never experienced such hardship in their lives.
Seeing the bedding and charcoal brazier in the general's mansion now, and smelling the aromas wafting from the kitchen, I even feel a surge of bittersweet joy, bringing tears to my eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com