"Old lady, Madam, Madam Min, the eldest grandmother, the second grandmother, the Marquis and General Su are already outside the second gate. I estimate that they will be here in less than a quarter of an hour."
After the housekeeper finished his joyful report, Old Lady Fang nodded repeatedly, ordered someone to reward the housekeeper, and began to stretch her neck to look, and sighed to Su Nuannuan beside her: "Back then, your aunt, although she was a concubine's daughter, was determined to do something, and would not turn back even if she hit a wall. The whole family refused to agree to her marriage, but she dared to elope. Who knew that the man she fell in love with, although he was a gangster, was also a man of great ability. She has a son, and now he has made great achievements. It can be seen that she has good vision. In this way, when I go to the underworld in the future, I can also explain it to your grandfather."
General Su is Su Donglou. After the emperor abdicated to the crown prince due to poor health, within a few years, the King of Xiangyang was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in the original Xiangyang Palace for allowing his slaves to commit crimes, and he completely fell from power. For a man who once had the ambition to rule the world, such a life is worse than death, but he was reluctant to die. Until now, it is said that he lives a life of drunkenness and dreams.
After that, as the war in the northern border was tense, Su Donglou resolutely went north with the former forces of Mingyulou and joined the three armies. Because of his great contribution, he was promoted to a third-class general at the beginning. After four years of fighting, the Northern Huns fled to the north of Mogan Mountain, and the Nuoda grassland was incorporated into the territory of Dayin.
Without the grassland, the survival of the Northern Huns became a problem, and the invasion from the south was even more impossible. The Great Yin Dynasty finally ushered in a prosperous and stable situation that had not been seen for thousands of years. And Su Donglou was also awarded the title of general for his outstanding achievements. Duan Tingxuan had previously revealed that the emperor meant to confer a title on Su Donglou in two years. After all, because of this war, his rise was already fast enough. Conferring a title now would definitely cause controversy.
Originally, Su Nuannuan thought that Su Donglou's mother was a princess, so Duan Tingxuan said that the other party was the prince's cousin that day. Later, she found out that the other party's mother was the concubine's daughter of the Anping Marquis's Mansion.
The story is very clichéd. The hero rescues the beauty and promises to marry her, but is blocked by the woman's family, so the two resolutely elope. The reason why this clichéd drama unexpectedly did not end in tragedy is because Su Donglou's father was very well-hidden. After kidnapping the daughter of the Marquis's mansion, he disappeared like a bird in the mountains. The Marquis's mansion did not know that there was such a flesh and blood child living outside until Su Donglou was ten years old.
Therefore, the cousin of the prince and so on all start from the Empress. At that time, the Emperor and Empress felt sorry for Su Donglou being alone in Jiangnan, and wanted to summon him to Beijing for training several times. They were rejected every time. Now, this wish has finally come true. Little Su is indeed a man with connections in the court and a strong person. He successfully cleared himself in a battle with the Northern Huns.
Sure enough, Duan Tingxuan and Su Donglou soon entered the North Courtyard. Looking at the familiar figure, Su Nuannuan felt dazed until Su Donglou came to her and bowed, calling her "cousin". She sighed and smiled, "After ten years of separation, I always wondered how you were doing. Now I see you. You haven't changed much. How is Mr. Lu?"
Su Donglou hesitated for a moment and said softly, "Not bad. He also misses his cousin and cousin's wife. Let's find a time and I'll take you to see him."
"OK."
In front of everyone, Su Nuannuan couldn't say too much and could only agree softly.
However, after the elders finished asking about each other's well-being and talked a few more words, Duan Tingxuan and Su Nuannuan stood up to say goodbye, and took Su Donglou away from the North Courtyard as well, saying only that they would come back at dinner time for a family reunion dinner.
Back at Chunfeng Garden, without outsiders around, the well-behaved teenagers immediately surrounded Su Donglou and asked about the details of the four-year-long war with the Northern Huns. Among them, the nine-year-old Duan Maozheng was the most enthusiastic.
After finally dealing with the children and distributing countless rare items as gifts, the three good partners who had stirred up trouble in Jiangnan and finally uprooted the Xiangyang King's foundation could finally sit together and talk about their farewell feelings. Su Nuannuan smiled and said, "How many children do you have now? Can they compare with ours? I'm not bragging, our Brother Fan passed the examination for a scholar last year and ranked first. He will take part in the provincial examination next autumn."
Su Donglou was surprised and said, "Brother Fan is only fifteen years old? He will take part in the provincial examination next year? Incredible, he is worthy of being the child of a beast like my cousin. I thought my cousin's grades were already very beastly. What if Brother Fan gets the first or second place in the imperial examination at the age of seventeen? He would be even more beastly than his father."
"Pah! You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth."
Duan Tingxuan spat, while Su Nuannuan couldn't stop showing off, and said with a smug smile, "Fan Ge'er is fine, after all, he is fifteen. Chuan Ge'er also passed the examination for a scholar last year, and ranked behind his brother. The second one will also take the provincial examination next year, and that child is only fourteen."
Su Donglou: ... "Oh, cousin, if you are fourteen, you are only one year younger than fifteen. It seems... it's nothing, right?"
"Why are you talking so much? It's rare for your sister-in-law to be so happy. She has been showing off to all the noble families in the capital this year. It's not easy for someone like you who doesn't know anything to come here. Just listen carefully."
The young marquis scolded seriously, which immediately made Su Donglou feel upset: What kind of people are these two people?
"Although Ming'er is not very good at literature, he is a good material for martial arts. I'm not saying anything bragging, Donglou, you are lucky to have caught up with the opportunity. You have made great contributions on the battlefield of the Northern Huns. If this war had been delayed for a few more years, you probably wouldn't have had a chance."
Su Donglou: ...Hey, hey! If you want to praise your child, just praise him. Can you not show off by suppressing others? This is not kind.
"And Sen'er, this kid is not interested in fame, but at such a young age, he is proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting. Everyone in the capital knows that our fourth son of the Marquis's Mansion is not interested in fame, but in the future he will become a master in poetry, calligraphy and painting. Do you understand?"
Su Donglou nodded reluctantly, thinking to himself, there isn't a single bad kid in your mansion, right?
"The two girls are great, but it's a pity that your cousin said that girls don't need to be famous, otherwise... hehe! They are also talented women of their generation." Su Nuannuan couldn't help but glare at her husband sadly when she said this.
"What about Zheng?" Su Donglou was curious: "My cousin knows all these children well, so there's no reason for her to miss her own son, right?"
"So I said you have a good chance. Our brother Zheng is also a man of both civil and military talents like his father, and he loves the art of war the most. Every day he and his second brother tinker with battle formations and kill enemies in a very professional manner. You say, if you don't seize the time to make achievements, and the war is delayed for a few more years, what will you have to do then?"
Su Donglou: ... "That... I don't think you can say that. The battlefield is dangerous and the swords and guns are merciless. You should be thankful that we fought hard and ended the war. Otherwise, with the personalities of your two precious sons, if something happened on the battlefield, you would have no place to cry."
After the words fell, Su Nuannuan tilted her head and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Yeah. That's right, that's the truth. In this case, I really have to thank you."
Su Donglou didn't expect Su Nuannuan to admit his "achievements" so readily, and was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, he heard the woman curiously ask: "Tell me quickly, how many children do you have? That... you said Lu Fengyu is okay. Poor guy, is he really... still alive?"
Su Donglou smiled bitterly and spread his hands. After a long while, he said softly, "Cousin, I don't have any children."
"ah?"
Su Nuannuan was shocked. Even Duan Tingxuan was horrified and said in a lost voice, "Nonsense, didn't you say you married a chivalrous woman? Didn't you have two sons? And you said that people in the martial arts world don't care about trivial matters. You went to Beihai for a tour. So this is a marriage, and I don't need to travel far to attend. How come... could it be that all your nephews... died young?"
"No." Su Donglou smiled bitterly, "I lied to you because I was afraid that you and the emperor would force me. That... when I said that, the emperor was still the crown prince, so it doesn't count as deceiving the emperor."
"You bastard, is this the point?" Duan Tingxuan was so angry that his head was dizzy. He pointed at Su Donglou and roared, "The three unfilial acts are not having descendants, and the worst is not having descendants. Why... why on earth..."
Before he could finish, the young marquis suddenly came to his senses, gasped, looked at Su Donglou in disbelief, and murmured, "You... did it for that... that Lu Fengyu? Bastard, didn't you say you were just playing around? Who told you to be serious? Damn it, can you be a little more capable?"
"Tingxuan, calm down, calm down. I've said it before, that idiot Donglou is definitely in love with Lu Fengyu, but you just don't believe me. What do you think? I was right, right? No wonder, you men are so careless. How can you understand the truth that 'love comes like a tornado'? It doesn't reason with you, okay?"
For the first time, Duan Tingxuan ignored his wife's consolation. He panted heavily, stared at Su Donglou, and shouted fiercely: "I don't care. This time you are appointed as a general, I don't know how many famous officials want to marry you. Find me someone you like, or I will kill Lu Fengyu, that scourge."
Before he could finish, he saw Su Donglou also stand up, looking at him calmly, and said softly but firmly: "Cousin, if someone asked you to divorce your cousin's wife and marry another beautiful woman, or even threatened you to kill your cousin's wife if you didn't obey, what would you do?"
"You... bastard! How can Lu Fengyu compare to your sister-in-law? Who do you think your sister-in-law is? You are such a bastard."
The young marquis rarely lost his composure and flew into a rage, but Su Donglou said firmly: "In your heart, your cousin's wife is naturally the first person; similarly, in my heart, he is also the first person. Apart from him, there is no room for anyone else. If someone forces you to divorce your cousin's wife and marry another beautiful woman, you will kill him and never reconcile with him, right? I will do the same."
"You... why are you so stubborn? You just won't listen to anything." Duan Tingxuan stamped his feet, but Su Donglou smiled and said, "Have you forgotten whose son I am? If my parents hadn't been so stubborn, I wouldn't exist in this world at all."
This sentence left the young marquis speechless. He sat down after a long while, but turned his head and ignored Su Donglou. On the other hand, Su Nuannuan was full of curiosity and expectation about this couple. She asked many questions with a smile, which made Master Su, who was as alert and bitter as a hedgehog, feel much better.
Hearing that Lu Fengyu had lost weight and was not in a good mood, Su Nuannuan was surprised and asked, "It's been ten years, and you haven't turned him gay yet? This shouldn't be the case. He didn't even have a wife before, which shows that he is not completely straight. Even if he can't fall in love with you, the King of Xiangyang has fallen. Now he has a super rich man like you to guarantee his life without worries. There is no reason for him not to seize the opportunity."
Su Donglou smiled bitterly and said, "Just like what my cousin said, I can feel that he doesn't hate me very much. When we first got together, he...he was always like a dead fish, but later...he gradually got interested..." Before he could finish, he saw the young marquis glaring at him, so he had to raise his hands in surrender and said with a bitter face, "Anyway...it's just...my cousin, you understand, right?"
"Yeah! I understand." Su Nuannuan nodded, thinking that if Lu Fengyu was not opposed to sex, he must like Su Donglou, right? Even if he didn't like him, with his greed, he would pretend to like him. Besides, the King of Xiangyang was not dead, so he didn't need to mourn for his old master. Besides, was he that loyal?
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