My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 687 I Want to Learn from Su Chen

The chirping of cicadas echoed through the treetops. In the direction where the warm summer breeze blew, the lotus flowers blooming in the pond swayed slightly as dragonflies danced and chased each other.

Bees and butterflies were flying among the nearby flower beds, and an old man and a young boy were walking slowly on the paved cobblestone path.

Su Chen was supporting Xiao Xi and walking in the backyard of the Su Mansion.

This month is not the hottest, but the sick old woman in bed was actually full of energy and went out to walk in the garden with her grandson, which made Su Congfang, Su Yong and Su Lie look at each other in surprise.

"Didn't the doctor say before that you can't get out of bed?"

"You said you were weak...but this guy walks more steadily than me." Su Lie muttered.

Amid the annoying chirping of cicadas, an old man and a young boy at the other end of their field of vision would occasionally laugh.

"Mother, you have deceived grandfather, uncle and second uncle badly." Su Chen smiled brightly, much more cheerful than when he was in the palace. He had been learning to preside over government affairs in the court for two years. His gentle and cheerful personality became depressed by all kinds of political affairs, speculations and going against his will.

These should have been his father's business, but they fell on his shoulders, making him feel suffocated.

"Haha, grandma learned this from your father!" Xiao Xi touched her grandson's little head. When she saw Su Chen, it was as if she saw Su Chen's mischievous appearance as a child. Her depressed mood these days immediately improved.

The personal maid came over from the back hall, carrying a cold red fruit drink.

"Chen'er, try the red fruit drink that Grandmother prepared for you. The well water is too cold to quench your thirst." After entering the pavilion, Xiao Xi asked Su Chen to sit down, took out the red soup, and carefully placed it in front of the boy, "Quickly try Grandmother's cooking."

Su Congfang, his son and his two sons watched for a while in the distance, but did not go over to disturb them. With Su Chen's company, they felt at ease.

Then he returned to the front yard to greet the Prince's Grand Tutor Xun Yu and the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Division Li Bai who had come with the Prince.

……

The eaves of the pavilion cast a cool shade, and the long corridor in the distance, the trees beside the wall, and a large pond, with ripples created by dragonflies in the pond, all glowed in the sunlight.

"Grandmother, why do they all say you are sick? But when I see you, you seem to be in good health." Su Chen put down the soup bowl and licked his lips. It was really comfortable to drink such a thirsty cool drink in this weather.

The weather was hot, and the aisles and pavilions on the pond were deserted, except for the maids serving by the pavilion and the guards patrolling on duty in the distance.

Amid the sound of cicadas chirping, the sound of quarreling could be faintly heard coming from the next courtyard at the other end of the corridor.

"Grandmother's illness is caused by her missing your father..." Xiao Xi looked at the little person in front of her with a smile, "Luckily, you still know how to love Grandmother and come back from Yanjing."

"Look, your visit has cured my mother's illness."

Su Chen frowned slightly, then whispered: "Grandmother is pretending to be sick."

"Haha!" Xiao Xi laughed out loud, "Chen'er has been in court for a few days, and his vision has become unique. He can see through that our eldest mother is pretending to be sick. Not bad, not bad, you are as good as your father when he was a child. It's just that your personality is much more quiet than your father when he was a child."

"Isn't this good? My mother said that my personality is very suitable for being a crown prince!" Su Chen was a little unconvinced, and raised his little face slightly, saying seriously: "Teacher Xun also said so."

"Yes, of course."

Xiao Xi stretched out her hand and brushed a strand of hair from the boy's forehead, "But you can't be too gentle. You're going to be an emperor in the future, and if you're too gentle, others will think of being disloyal.

Sometimes, you have to learn from your father. When you need to be ruthless, don't show any mercy or hesitation.

If your father had hesitated even a little, the name of Marquis Su would no longer exist, and the Great Xia would no longer exist."

The cicada's chirping was annoying. Su Chen, dressed in white clothes and robe, supported his chin and listened quietly to his great mother's nagging, and then talked about the great achievements of his father when he was young.

He had heard all this countless times, and it seemed as if his grandmother never got tired of hearing it.

at the same time.

Located in the south-west direction of the city, in a street with small courtyard houses, in the Jiang residence, a woman in her thirties sat under the eaves of the bedroom, piercing the soles of her shoes with needle and thread.

Hearing the sound coming, she raised her wrinkled face and went over there. A long corridor stretched out and the figure coming over was staggering, as if he had been drinking.

This made Jiang Wan feel depressed.

With Xiao Xi's secret support over the years, they have been living a much more affluent life, and their mansion has been renovated and expanded in the past two years.

Apart from the north and south courtyards where the two children lived, the backyard where she lived was the most spacious. There was a small pond in the yard, a pavilion was built by the water, and there were rockery and a small bamboo forest.

In my spare time, I would sit in the pavilion or play the piano in the bamboo forest.

But she was narrow-minded. Seeing her son coming back drunk, she had no mood to sew shoe soles today. She put the needle and thread and shoe soles back into the basket, stood up and called out to the boy who was stumbling towards her in the corridor.

Her tone was serious and stiff.

"Shu'er! How disgraceful!"

Over there, Beigong Shu, who was holding onto a porch pillar, his wine-red cheeks pressed against the pillar. When he heard his mother's scolding, he glanced over and grinned.

"Mother, isn't this what you wanted to see your child like? A playboy... a scoundrel... hehe..." "Shu'er, what happened to you today? What happened to you?" After all, he was her own flesh and blood. Jiang Wan was a little stern, but then her expression softened. She quickly called the maid in the room and went over to support Beigong Shu.

As soon as the two men stretched out their hands, Beigong Shu waved them away.

"I don't need help!"

The word "I" startled Jiang Wan, and she instinctively looked at the maid. Fortunately, the maid bumped into another wooden pillar and was grimacing in pain while holding her shoulder. She probably didn't hear Beigong Shu's words clearly.

The boy's eyes were red as he glanced at his mother who was pushed to the opposite fence. He breathed heavily, "Mom...you are my real mother...what real mother would want her son to be a street scoundrel who does nothing all day long!"

"Shu'er, let's go back to the room and talk!"

Jiang Wan was sure that someone had said something to her, so she quickly stood up and helped the drunk Beigong Shu to the bedroom.

As for the maid, she had already sent her somewhere else.

As soon as she entered the bedroom, Jiang Wan helped her son to sit down at the round table, then went over to close the door. Turning around, she looked at Beigong Shu with an increasingly stern look.

"Shu'er, tell me the truth, who did you meet outside today?!"

"Mom... don't lie to me anymore!" Beigong Shu said as he took the teapot on the table and poured a cup of tea into his mouth: "My father... was actually killed by the traitor Su Chen. For so many years, you and him have been working together to deceive me."

Now that things have come to this, there is definitely no need to keep it secret any longer.

Jiang Wan had actually been prepared for this a long time ago. When her son asked her this, she was startled for a moment, but then quickly regained her composure.

"Now that you know, I have nothing to hide from you, but you have to understand that I am protecting you... At that time, you might die."

"But why didn't you tell me about this when we got to Ding'an City?"

Beigong Shu took a deep breath and clenched the cup tightly in his hand: "Actually, I don't blame my mother... I know you did it to save my life. But why, after coming here, you still raised me into a street gangster even though you've already saved my life?"

He looked at his mother who was facing the door and said, "Tell me... why is this happening?"

"That's because I'm worried that you'll know about it, and that you'll be filled with hatred and want revenge!" Jiang Wan pursed her lips, walked over slowly with lotus steps, sat down, held her son's hand, and said in a gentle voice: "I'm afraid of losing my son, and your sister Su Ying will lose her brother."

"What sister? That's the bastard born of you and the traitor. She's not my sister!"

Beigong Shu had suppressed his temper, but after hearing Su Ying's name, he shook off his mother's hand, stood up from the stool, and staggered back a few steps.

"Mom...I want to move out. Don't try to persuade me. It's useless. I won't listen."

The door creaked open as he pulled it open.

Jiang Wan rushed over and asked, "Where are you going?!"

Beigong Shu stepped over the threshold and turned his face slightly.

"Take back what belongs to me!" He pushed away the woman who rushed towards him and strode towards the front yard. His tone was tough and firm.

"Mother, just stay at home and wait for the news. I will take care of the rest!"

"return!"

Jiang Wan also followed out of the door. Her skirt was too long, and she stepped on it and fell to the ground in a hurried few steps. Su Ying, who was practicing music, chess, calligraphy and painting in another room, came out after hearing the news. The little girl was already seven or eight years old, and was becoming more and more beautiful. When she saw her mother fall to the ground and her brother striding away, she rushed to Jiang Wan and supported her.

"Mom, hurry up, did your brother push you?"

"No."

Jiang Wan was dizzy from the fall, with beads of sweat on her face. She didn't even have the strength to speak and could only watch her son's back go away.

Now that Su Chen is not here, there is no way she can report this.

Pass it to the Su Mansion?

Jiang Wan quickly rejected this idea. Although the old lady of the Su family might show some mercy and save her and Su Ying for Su Ying's sake, Beigong Shu would definitely be dead.

This is a crime of treason!
Jiang Wan thought about it over and over again, but had no idea what to do. She could only sit on the ground blankly, letting Su Ying support and push her, her little face turning red.

For several days, Beigong Shu did not come back to live here, and she was not even given a chance to persuade him. Just as Jiang Wan was guessing where Beigong Shu was going and what he would do next, the Crown Prince of the Su family bid farewell to the Su family on June 29th, got on a carriage and drove out of the north gate of Ding'an and returned to Yanjing.

At the same time, several long streaks of smoke streaked across the southeast sky.

The cavalry galloped along the official road, the sound of their hooves like thunder, and behind them was a long dragon-like team of infantrymen, holding swords and spears, running silently through the dense smoke and dust.

The entire team had no flags.

On a hillside of this official road, Zhang You and Xu Qinghu looked at the team below. Behind them, a boy of fifteen or sixteen rode a horse crookedly forward, and with him came a Confucian scholar named Li Wen.

(End of this chapter)