Sharing weal and woe
The gatekeeper at the General's Mansion found the Duke of Anguo's family quite strange. The Duke and his wife arrived on horseback, each riding a horse, completely lacking the demeanor of a first-class duke. If the housekeeper hadn't told them, who would have believed this was the Duke of Anguo, a man so wealthy he could rival a nation? A few days later, the family's third son also arrived, accompanied by the great general, Prince Ding, as his attendant. Now, the eldest son arrived again, driving a carriage. To have the eldest son of the Duke of Anguo as his driver, he must be an even more significant figure. The gatekeeper didn't dare to neglect the matter and hurried to report it.
After a while, the housekeeper came out and said that Mu Yi and Mu Yao were inspecting military affairs and were not in the mansion, so he directly brought Su Musong and the tightly covered Xiao Luochen to Su Maoyi and his wife.
When Xiao Luochen took off his gauze hat, Su Maoyi and Changsun Qinan were both shocked. They even suspected for a moment that Su Musong's heart disease had recurred and he had found someone who looked like Xiao Luochen.
"Luo Chen has met his uncle and aunt."
It was not until Su Musong and Xiao Luochen kowtowed and performed the ceremony together that Su Maoyi and his wife recovered from their shock.
Changsun Qinan hurried forward to help Xiao Luochen to his feet, examining him carefully. The frail, sickly boy had grown into a sturdy, capable young man. The gentle composure in his eyes was almost gone, now filled with a steely determination. The young man, who had never known hardship, must have endured the hardships of life in the past ten years. If his parents were still alive, they would surely be heartbroken to see their beloved son struggling to survive. At this thought, the Lady of the Duke of Anguo, who never cried easily, suddenly felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"Child, have you been doing well these years?"
Xiao Luochen wanted to answer, "Everything is fine," but when the words came to his lips, the sadness and grievance that had been suppressed for many years burst out like a wild horse. Over the years, he was a father, a leader, and the leader of the alliance. Some people loved him, some admired him, and some feared him, but no one had ever loved him as an elder.
"I'm not doing well. I hate fighting and killing, I'm tired of being trapped in a corner, hiding and dodging, I hate myself for being incompetent and unable to avenge my humiliation! I'm afraid I haven't raised my children well enough and I'm not going to let my brother and his wife down! I miss my parents, I miss my brothers, and I miss you too..."
Xiao Luochen's tears flowed like a spring, and soon his clothes were wet.
Su Musong silently took out a handkerchief and wiped away Xiao Luochen's tears, but did not want to interrupt him.
This was a catharsis ten years overdue. Upon learning of his family's calamity, Xiao Luochen had no time to grieve before embarking on a thousand-mile exile with Xiao Buyi. Later, with the passage of time and the finality of the situation, the fear, resentment, and grief of that time had become a deep well within his heart. Xiao Luochen refused to allow himself to be weak. These emotions, though they gnawed at his heart, ached from time to time, he could not release them. Meeting Su Maoyi and his wife reminded him of his own parents, and he finally accepted that he, too, was a child, vulnerable and capable of support.
After Xiao Luochen calmed down a little, Su Maoyi spoke to comfort him.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back, everything will be fine from now on."
Xiao Luochen realized that he had lost his composure and apologized to the Duke of Anguo and his wife.
"Luo Chen is rude, please don't blame me, uncle and aunt."
"Since we are family, we should laugh when we want to laugh and cry when we want to cry. How can we say it is disrespectful?"
Xiao Luochen was somewhat surprised to hear Changsun Qinan's words. Although he knew that Su Maoyi and his wife were open-minded and broad-minded, he had never expected them to accept his and Su Musong's behavior, which seemed unconventional to most people, without any grudges. Xiao Luochen looked at Su Musong with a hint of surprise. Su Musong simply smiled and took his hand, everything being self-explanatory.
Xiao Luochen evaded the main issues when talking about his experiences over the years. He only said that he was rescued by someone and first arrived in Yuelong, then went north through Qingning to Chixia Mountain, and settled down with Xiao Buyi's great-grandfather. However, he did not mention how he crossed the vast grassland and Gobi alone, and finally arrived at Qingzhu Village after surviving many dangers. However, he was faced with internal strife in the village and had no relatives to turn to.
It was a great blessing to meet again after crossing the line of life and death, so both sides tacitly let the past sufferings disappear into the dust.
The living still have a future, but the dead have no future. Therefore, washing away the injustice and stigma of the dead is the only comfort the living can give.
The idea of overturning the Xiao family's case had been lingering in Su Musong's mind for a decade. Recently, the Emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager had fallen out, and it was feared that both sides would be destroyed. The opportunity Su Musong had been waiting for seemed to be finally here. Success would naturally bring joy to all. Failure would mean the same fate as the Xiao family. Su Musong was gambled not only on his own life, but also on the lives of his entire family. Therefore, before proceeding, he had to tell his parents his plan without reservation.
Xiao Luochen knew that Su Musong had never doubted the Xiao family, and he also knew that if he wanted revenge, he would definitely risk his life to help him. However, he did not expect that in the past ten years, even when Su Musong thought he was no longer alive, he never gave up on vindicating the Xiao family.
"Now the evidence is complete, but the Wang family is powerful. If the timing is wrong, I'm afraid it will backfire."
Su Musong was well aware that while the Right Prime Minister had directly perpetrated the Xiao family's treason, the Wang family's instigation and support were crucial. However, even after a decade of careful investigation, he could find no evidence of direct Wang family involvement. As long as the Wang family remained standing, the Xiao family's vindication was impossible. While the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were now openly fighting, the Emperor's power was insufficient to effectively eliminate the Wang family. A head-on confrontation would have been a coup.
"Whatever you decide, just remember to do what you want and don't worry about your family. I have my own arrangements."
Although Su Musong has been managing the Su family's business over the years, Su Maoyi is not unaware of what Su Musong has been doing. He did not stop Su Musong, but secretly arranged a retreat for his family. If there really comes a day when it is absolutely necessary, they will have to abandon everything in Xiangping and flee to another place.
Xiao Luochen was heartbroken and fell to his knees again, but Su Maoyi held him up.
"Since we're family, we should share joys and sorrows. There's no need to do this. Besides, I respect your father. It's a pity that I couldn't help him when the incident happened. If I can help the Xiao family clear their name, it can make up for it a little."
The family borrowed the territory of the general's mansion and held a family banquet. Before the banquet was over, the host returned.
Xiao Luochen and Mu Yi were both surprised to see each other. They looked at each other but remained silent. After a while, Xiao Luochen spoke first and asked
"May I ask, General, where were you serving ten years ago?"
As a junior, asking such a direct question seemed to be inappropriate, but Mu Yi did not care. He looked at Xiao Luochen with complicated emotions in his eyes. Finally, he answered
"In Luzhou, he served as a deputy general. After handling the case of the Xiao family, the imperial criminal, he was transferred to another place."
In this question and answer, the two seemed to have said nothing, yet it seemed as if they had said everything.
Xiao Luochen bent down and kowtowed solemnly to Mu Yi. Su Musong immediately realized that it was Mu Yi who rescued Xiao Luochen in Luzhou that year, and he also kowtowed.
"I'm just following orders. I really can't accept your generous gift."
Mu Yi helped Xiao Luochen up and told him the truth that was unexpected yet reasonable.
Before Xiao Luochen was arrested, a secret letter from the emperor had already reached Mu Yi, asking him to find a way to save Xiao Luochen and Huo Yanran's lives if possible. Mu Yi then came up with a scheme to deceive the emperor and exchange Xiao Luochen for a prisoner on death row, and took away the newborn Xiao Buyi. However, Huo Yanran was frightened and had a difficult labor, and even a god could not save her.
With Mu Yi's current strength, all he could do was escort Xiao Luochen and his nephew out of Xiangping. Beyond that, he was unable to do anything else. Despite this, Mu Yi had no acquaintance with the Xiao family, and even the emperor considered the matter difficult and risky. Therefore, he sent a secret letter, not a decree, leaving it to Mu Yi to handle at his discretion. Despite this, Mu Yi risked being implicated and saved the lives of Xiao Luochen and his nephew.
Knowing the existence of the emperor's secret letter, it was clear that the Xiao family was wronged. Coupled with the evidence collected by Xiao Luochen and Su Musong over the years, all they needed to overturn the case was an opportunity.
Now that the emperor is seriously ill and Prince Ding has returned to the capital, it is unknown how the situation in the capital will change. However, something strange has happened in Xizhou. An epidemic that came from nowhere is spreading in Xizhou City.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
