Chapter 97 Jiang Qixin---The next second, a gale howled. Before...
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The next second, a gale howled.
Before the people on the street could react, large raindrops began to fall without warning.
In an instant, the rain poured down.
The raindrops pattered on the roof, splashing up layers of water, making the sounds of horses' hooves and footsteps barely audible.
The shop assistants at Jiang's braised meat shop initially thought they had misheard, until they saw soldiers in armor running past on the street, which startled them so much that they leaned out to check.
Last time, when news of the death of the Loyal and Brave Marquis came from the frontier, there wasn't this kind of commotion.
The shop assistant had only taken two steps when he was stopped by stern-faced soldiers: "Halt! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to approach!"
Like this shop assistant, there were many other shop assistants in the surrounding shops, as well as passersby.
The officers and soldiers, their expressions solemn, raised their guns horizontally with both hands and forcefully pushed the shop assistant back into the store: "You all better behave yourselves!"
The shop assistant was startled and quickly hid back inside the shop. Uncle Chai, seeing this, ran into the house and reported the incident to Su Zhihan and Yinghong, who were eating ice cream to escape the heat inside.
Su Zhihan's fingers trembled, and the silver spoon clattered onto the table. Yinghong thought Su Zhihan was worried about Jiang Zhenniang and the others who were far away on the frontier, so she quickly comforted her, "Don't be nervous, Sister Han. When Brother Su wrote back last time, he said that the frontier was peaceful recently, so there should be nothing to worry about."
At the beginning of this year, the Tubo Kingdom and the Dali Kingdom signed contracts with our dynasty one after another, which improved the situation on the border and greatly increased trade activities.
Yinghong comforted Su Zhihan, but she was actually quite scared. They had only been stable for about half a year, so it shouldn't be that problems would arise so soon, right?
Su Zhihan wasn't thinking about the frontier, but rather the plot; calculating the time, it seemed about right.
She stood up and walked forward, looking at the soldiers lining the street, her suspicions growing stronger.
This doesn't look like an urgent message from eight hundred li away; it's clearly a control measure for people's movement, indicating that something has happened in the capital.
Yinghong had never seen such a scene before and was too frightened to go out. Seeing that the curfew was going to last for who knows how long, Su Zhihan simply told the shop assistants to close the shop, divide up the remaining braised food, and let them go home to rest early.
As for Su Zhihan and Yinghong, they also returned to the house.
Yinghong absentmindedly picked up the soup spoon and ate the red bean shaved ice with tea in a daze, glancing outside every now and then. She felt restless, as if countless cat claws were scratching at her heart. After a while, she said to Su Zhihan, "I wonder what's going on outside..."
"Calm down."
"Hmm..." Yinghong nodded and took a big gulp. This Mocha Shaved Ice is made by mixing Mocha with milk, freezing it in an icebox until it solidifies, and then grinding it into a fine powder.
Then add sweet and delicious red beans and smooth and silky ice cream, and you're all done.
Yinghong was immediately captivated by the sweet and refreshing taste after just one bite.
This pastry also became Su Zhihan's stepping stone. Not only fifth and sixth-rank families, but also first and second-rank families in the capital, and even the wives of marquises and earls, would send people to visit her, just to pay a lot of money to ask Su Zhihan to come and make it for them.
Thinking of this, Yinghong ate even more happily!
Su Zhihan propped her cheek up with her hand, slowly eating the sweet tea shaved ice, her eyes lowered as she pondered what had happened earlier.
If the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion falls...
Su Zhihan calculated the money in her hand. Buying Cao Mama's family with her own money wouldn't be too difficult. In addition, Granny Zhao and the others had helped her a lot, as well as Qiu Yue and Su Lan...
Thinking of this, Su Zhihan breathed a sigh of relief.
The two went to sleep, each lost in their own thoughts. The next morning, they went out to inquire—or rather, they didn't even need to inquire, for Yao Lang, who was well-informed, rushed over, his eyes filled with shock: "The Rong Prince's Mansion has been raided! It's said that the Zhongyong Marquis's Mansion, the Changping Marquis's Mansion, and the Chongxin Earl's Mansion have all been surrounded!"
Su Zhihan's heart sank into her stomach, while Yinghong jumped up immediately: "What? The Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion is besieged?"
News of the Rong Prince's Mansion being raided and the Three Marquises' Mansions being besieged spread quickly throughout the capital, and the students and common people who came to the shop for a meal often mentioned these things.
Soon, more news came that the Rong Prince's Mansion had close ties with the Tubo Kingdom and the Dali Kingdom, repeatedly selling weapons and supplies from the border military camps, and even intercepting letters discussing when to start another war, intending to overthrow the royal power.
Immediately, public sentiment was outraged.
Although the war between the three kingdoms has temporarily ceased, in previous years when battles were frequent, many soldiers were killed or wounded. Wherever the flames of war spread, houses collapsed, people were displaced, and many families were torn apart and destroyed overnight.
Now, it has been revealed that Prince Rong secretly colluded with the two countries and even tried to incite them to attack so that he would have the opportunity to overthrow the monarchy.
Isn't this... a traitor?
Upon hearing this, one student slammed his hand on the table and angrily exclaimed, "How could the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor have such descendants after three generations of his family sacrificing their lives for the country?"
"It seems that the former prince was a coward who dared not go to the front line, so he let his second uncle inherit the title and go to the front line."
"I never expected him to be such a coward."
"Bah! How shameless these people are! They've ruined the reputation of generations past!"
"I'd say it's not necessarily true," the man next to him scoffed, crossing his arms. "They might have been colluding all along, otherwise how come the war has dragged on for so many years?"
These words made the atmosphere even more tense.
Not to mention that there were many officials who shared the same thoughts as this person, there were also some powerful officials who wanted to take advantage of the downfall of the Marquis of Zhongyong and other families and make a quick buck. In the following half month, impeachment petitions flew into the court like snowflakes, and countless families in the capital alone were implicated.
Even by the Mid-Autumn Festival, the atmosphere in the capital had not improved. At first, Su Zhihan would inquire about things, but later she dared not ask any questions for fear of being implicated. She could only hear a little bit of information when she occasionally went to the homes of officials to do kitchen work.
However, Su Zhihan had no time to pay attention to this. She received a letter from Jiang Zhenniang, informing her that Su Lifeng was returning to the capital because he had discovered Rongwang Mansion's connection with Tubo Kingdom, and she would be returning with him.
By the time the letter arrived, they had already set off.
By the end of August, Su Zhihan saw several carriages stop at the gate. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly put down what she was holding and went out to greet them.
Immediately afterward, a familiar figure lifted the curtain and stepped out. Jiang Zhenniang jumped down from the carriage and reached out to hug her: "Han'er—"
"Mother!" Su Zhihan stepped forward to greet her.
"Han'er!" Jiang Zhenniang looked at her daughter, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, and was both excited and thrilled.
The mother and daughter hugged for a while before Jiang Zhenniang calmed down. She quickly turned around and called Su Lifeng over: "Feng-ge'er, what are you standing there for? Come here, come over here!"
"Come, come, Han-jie, take a look."
"You two siblings haven't seen each other in a long time."
Su Zhihan looked up and saw a face that was both unfamiliar and familiar. Her heart trembled slightly, and the emotions that had been weighing on her mind drifted gently before suddenly dissipating.
There's no need for so much anxiety.
Su Zhihan finally realized that although she may have been the Su Zhihan of the 20th century, she was also the Su Zhihan of this era.
Thinking of this, Su Zhihan's nose tingled, and countless grievances surged in her heart. Finally, she choked out, "Brother..."
Su Lifeng's eyes reddened slightly. He stepped forward and hugged Su Zhihan tightly: "I'm sorry, it's me, it's all my fault..."
"Why are you crying? We're finally reunited!"
"Mother...you're criticizing me, but you're crying yourself." Su Zhihan turned around and glanced at Jiang Zhenniang, unable to help but complain.
The family laughed and cried, and talked for a long time after returning home. Su Lifeng had made great contributions this time and was promoted another rank, now serving as a Right Martial Grand Master of the sixth rank and an official under the Maozhou Pacification Commissioner.
At just over twenty years old, he had already risen to such a position, immediately drawing the attention of countless families to Su Lifeng.
Unfortunately, Su Lifeng was already married, and everyone else's attention shifted to Su Zhihan. In the half month following the issuance of the imperial edict, matchmakers in the capital almost wore down the Jiang family's gate.
Su Zhihan, who had initially only considered the matter three-tenths, now considered it five-tenths. She made arrangements with Jiang Zhenniang and Su Lifeng to handle some matters before leaving with them.
Travel across the beautiful landscapes of China, see different parts of the world, and at the same time improve your culinary skills and find the best ingredients.
Jiang Zhenniang was initially against it, but she couldn't resist Su Zhihan's constant nagging and the matchmaker's repeated visits, so she finally gave in.
Then, Su Zhihan waited for the imperial edict.
Soon, imperial edicts were issued to deal with the Rong Prince's Mansion and the Zhongyong Marquis's Mansion. The Rong Prince, the Rong Prince's Heir Apparent, and the Heir Apparent's Consort were the ringleaders and were all sentenced to death by slow slicing. All adult males and male servants were executed, and all females, underage males, and female servants were confiscated and sent to the Inner Palace.
The Marquis of Zhongyong's family was also involved in the serious crime of treason. Treason was listed as the most heinous crime, meaning it could not be pardoned under any circumstances. Therefore, even though the three generations of the Marquis of Zhongyong died for their country, the Marquis of Zhongyong's family could not escape the calamity.
Erlang and Changge'er were sentenced to death, and all the families of the eldest and second wives in the mansion were exiled to slavery. Only Sanlang died in the line of duty, and his wife took back her dowry and returned to her parents' home. After investigation, it was found that he was unaware of the inside story and had not been involved in the case, so he was no longer included in the scope of joint liability.
However, her son and daughter, being of the third wife's bloodline, were still within the scope of punishment. Her daughter was taken into the inner palace, but fortunately, the third wife's family paid a large ransom, allowing her daughter to return home with her. Her son, however, did not have such a good opportunity; although he was beheaded, he was exiled to the frontier as a slave.
In addition, the handling of the Marquis's and Earl's mansions was roughly the same.
That day, blood flowed everywhere at the execution ground, and cries of agony shook the heavens. Even though the officials and soldiers quickly washed the ground with water, the stench of blood lingered for a long time.
Next came what Su Zhihan was most concerned about. She kept an eye on the time when several mansions were selling their slaves, bought all of Cao Mama and the others, arranged for them to live in the surrounding area, and then went to the government to help cancel their slave status so they could live a normal life.
When Jiang Zhenniang asked about the other ladies in the household, Cao Mama cried and said, "The eldest lady was lucky... she passed away first, so she is spared from suffering."
"The old lady went there on the spot when she heard the news."
“The other girls were not so lucky. When the news of their exile to slavery came down, the second mistress took her young daughter and hanged herself.”
When Cao's mother recalled the terrible scene, she wept bitterly, her eyes filled with fear, but also with relief.
At least they were saved by Madam Jiang and Sister Han, but other families are not so lucky. They might be scattered and never have the chance to meet again.
Afterwards, various officials in the imperial court were implicated and punished intermittently, but these matters had little to do with Su Zhihan.
She entrusted all business matters in the capital to Yinghong and Cao Daya, and then took Jiang Zhenniang with her to return to the northern frontier to take up their new posts with Su Lifeng.
On the winter solstice of that year, they fulfilled the wish they had made that year. The family stayed indoors happily, watching the snow falling outside, laughing and joking, with the children's energetic babbling interspersed among them.
Yes, there is now another child in the house.
Su Zhihan poked the child's chubby cheeks, watching the little guy pout and grin, her eyes crinkling with joy.
"Brother, have you named the baby yet?"
“Well, let’s name the child Qixin.” Su Lifeng paused, then said another plan: “I plan to let him take his mother’s surname, Jiang.”
Jiang Zhenniang exclaimed, "Oh dear, what should we do?"
Su Zhihan gave a thumbs up: "Why not! If changing my surname weren't so troublesome, I would have changed it too."
Father Su, or perhaps the people of Su Family Village, have long since vanished without a trace. It's time to let the last trace disappear.
Just like the name Qixin, which refers to the time when the sun is about to rise, it seems to mean that from today onwards, everyone will be heading towards a brand new world.
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Author's note: The main story is now complete.
I will write a side story later, about Han Jie'er's life and love life while she was away.
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