Thunderbolt
Duke Anguo's Mansion, Young Master Su has arrived!
With a loud shout, everyone's eyes were all focused on the gatehouse. A handsome young man in a brocade robe and jade belt came down from the carriage decorated with bird feathers and inlaid with seven treasures.
Su Musong gently waved his folding fan as he leisurely made his way through the crowd, greeting acquaintances and exchanging a few pleasantries. He was very elegant and composed, but this made the Duke Ji Ziming, who was waiting at the door to greet him, anxious.
Today is the first birthday party of Princess Duanmin's youngest son. The house is packed with distinguished guests, horses are neighing, and carriages are rumbling. Guests coming to congratulate are endless, and the carriages and horses have blocked half of the street in front of the princess's mansion.
It took Su Musong a cup of tea to walk a short distance of half a mile. The wide range of friends that Young Master Su had was obviously beyond the expectations of the Duke.
Until Princess Duanmin came from the backyard to greet him at the gate, Su Musong was still stuck in the crowd.
"Musong!"
Princess Duanmin's call actually saved Su Musong. He hadn't expected that in such an occasion, there would be so many people eager to get to know him. He was stuck, but he took this opportunity and quickly arrived at the door.
"Duanmin! I am so honored that I have troubled the host to come and greet me personally.
"Since Young Master Su is here in person, I naturally have to greet him in person to show my respect."
The princess and her husband happily welcomed Su Musong into their house. Among the guests was a newcomer to Kyoto who was very surprised to see this and asked:
"Who is this young man? He seems to be very close to the princess. It seems unethical for a woman to welcome a man."
"If we talk about the most suave and charming man in Kyoto, it has to be this Young Master Su. His appearance, figure, and talent are all first-rate, his temperament is first-rate, his taste is first-rate, and his spending is first-rate."
"With such an outstanding talent, his wife must also be a rare lady from a prominent family?"
"This young man is not married yet."
"Since he is on good terms with the princess, Young Master Su should be at least 25 or 26 years old now."
"Well, you'll understand after you've been in Kyoto for a while. Anyway, when the princess goes to greet him, no one except you, a newcomer to Kyoto, will think anything of him."
A few minutes after leaving the banquet, the princess and her husband led Su Musong to a quieter place in the inner hall and continued their conversation.
Su Musong took out a brocade box
"This is a first birthday gift for Xiao Qi'er."
Duan Min opened the brocade box and found another pearl the size of a chicken egg.
"You save yourself the trouble."
"It's best to treat brothers and sisters equally."
"You've got to make it sound so righteous as to not want to bother. Only you, Master Su, have the nerve to do that."
Su Musong sighed helplessly.
"My Lady Princess, do you know how rare it is to have a pearl this size? You've had two in the past eight years. If you have another baby next year, I won't be able to give it to you even if I want to be fair."
Duan Min smiled. She knew that there were probably not many pearls like this in her cousin's treasury. Giving it to her son as a first birthday gift was really a big deal. She was just teasing Su Musong. This habit she had developed over the years was something she would never change.
"Master Su, your business is spread across many countries, and you have a lot of rare treasures. A mere pearl is nothing to you. How can it be difficult for you?"
Su Musong looked at Ji Ziming helplessly, pretending to complain
"Oh my, Brother Ziming, you should take care of your wife."
"It's been two years since we last met, Brother Su, have you forgotten that the princess is the head of our family?"
"Forget it, you two are of one mind, so I, a lone man, naturally can't argue with you."
Su Musong smiled bitterly, looking at the loving couple, and suddenly a feeling of emotion arose in his heart.
"It's wonderful to be paired with your shadow. Time flies by and it's unforgiving. The last time we met seems like yesterday, but it was already two years ago."
It is clear that time flies, but this lonely life seems so long that it makes people despair.
I only see the cold moon and warm sun, which are here to burn people's lives.
Su Musong couldn't help but have tears in his eyes. Not wanting to lose his composure in front of the princess and her husband, he quickly turned his back.
Duan Min knew that he must be thinking of that person again, and didn't know how to comfort him. His expression darkened, and the three of them fell silent for a while.
Two years ago, Duan Min was exiled to Lingzhou with Ji Ziming. She only came back to visit her father's grave on his memorial day. Ji Ziming guessed that they had met at that time, but he didn't know what happened.
"Princess, the Grand Princess invites you over."
When the maid came to deliver the message, Duan Min came to his senses. It was really inappropriate for him, as the host of the banquet, not to show up for a long time. Moreover, given the current atmosphere, it was not appropriate for him to stay here any longer. If he stayed for too long, it would probably cause more trouble.
"Mother called me, husband, I will leave Mu Song to you."
After Duan Min left, the housekeeper invited Ji Ziming over, and Su Musong followed the servant's instructions and led him to the table. Su Musong was about to sit down when the servant of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion came over and presented Su Musong with a letter sent by carrier pigeon from Xizhou.
Su Musong was a businessman, with pigeon lofts scattered across various cities. Currently, his third brother was on the battlefield in Xizhou. Worried about his brother's safety, Su Musong had instructed that any news from Xizhou, regardless of his whereabouts or what he was doing, must be reported immediately.
In the past, it was just some progress of the war, but this time, the letter was written by my third brother himself.
Su Musong unfolded the letter and saw that it said
"I met the leader of Qingzhu Village, who called himself Xiao Luochen. He said he was an old friend of mine. I'm here to ask for your confirmation. This is about borrowing the road to attack the enemy. I hope you can return quickly."
Just two short lines, just a few words, but it was as if someone had ignited gunpowder in Su Musong's brain, blowing his mind blank.
The moment he saw that person's name, his heart seemed to stop beating. He felt a breath stuck in his lungs and couldn't exhale it. His face flushed red and veins bulged.
The servant who reported the news was frightened when he saw his master like this, so he had to pull Su Musong's sleeve and call out repeatedly.
"Young Master! Young Master!"
Su Musong seemed to come back to his senses, let out a breath, and then read the short letter word by word several times. After confirming that he had not read it wrong, he immediately stood up and left.
Without saying goodbye to the Duke, nor leaving a single word, he rode away in a hurry, leaving the guests all stunned. They didn't know why the usually calm, composed, elegant and polite Master Su had lost his composure like this.
Su Musong did not return to the Anguo Mansion, but rode out of the city.
If anyone knew where he was going, they would think he was a madman.
Without any preparation, he traveled alone to Xizhou, thousands of miles away.
But he really couldn't wait any longer. God knew how much he wished he could grow wings right now so that he could fly to Xizhou quickly and see that person. The boy he had been thinking about for ten years, missing for ten years, and who he thought had died ten years ago.
Su Musong and Xiao Luochen met on a cold winter morning twenty years ago.
At that time, Su Musong was still a little beggar who almost froze to death under a tattered straw mat on the street, and Xiao Luochen was still the most famous little prodigy in the city of Yongjing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
